4 ms·

I'm curious how well that works. There's plenty of "epic", "anything goes" space opera already. What made The Expanse special for me was the gritty, realistic s

I'm curious how well that works. There's plenty of "epic", "anything goes" space opera already. What made The Expanse special for me was the gritty, realistic solar system period and not the things where protomolecule based tech was in full swing already. I'd gladly have taken prequels actually, with only human tech and stories from the period before the protomolecule appeared.

oaiey 3y ago
Same here but I like their writing style, so I have hope
em-bee 3y ago
There's plenty of "epic", "anything goes" space opera already i am always on the lookout for new authors, but there are to many to choose from. so i have a hard time whenever i have to pick my next book. like you, i loved the realistic details in the expanse, but i am also very much into exploration, so when the gates appeared, i thought now it would get really interesting and i picked the last three books (and some novellas) after watching the tv series because i wanted to know how it progresses. it is not my favorite series though, because while society in the expanse is formed through the experiences and discoveries they make, the humanity itself doesn't actually develop, like it does in say the culture series by Iain M. Banks. halfway through book 8 the end is now predictable.
wkat4242 3y ago
I really loved the expanse and I hate the way the last 3 books haven't been filmed (yes I know the time break but there's options) Though the whole inaros pirate thing and the fascist Laconia empire (in the book only for now) things were a bit dragged out IMO.. I thought the alien tech parts were much more interesting and the last 2 TV seasons were very forgettable in particular.
sen 3y ago
If you haven’t read all the Novellas, they’re totally worth a read. They’re some of my favourite parts of the Expanse universe. I agree though. I’m a huge Expanse fan (read all the books/novellas 5 times over, etc) and not a huge fan of a lot of other space opera. It really is unique in how much world building they do, with realistic explanations of all sides of the story and a lot of relatable characters. So much other space opera is “this/these person/people took on the universe and kicked their butt because.. spaceships and guns.”
- Voultapher 3y ago
  It's certainly more tech heavy and a power fantasy, but I recommend you give Salvation by Peter F. Hamilton a read. Especially the first book has many layers, and has maybe the most intense "oh fuck" moment I've ever read. Peter F. Hamilton is incredible at creating coherent worlds.
  - stefanfisk 3y ago
    I’m reading Pandora’s Star right now. BOY is the “world building” tedious compared to The Expanse! I usually read before bed. There’s been times where I have to restrain myself from waking up my partner by moaning in frustration while he spends page after page on some nonsense that adds nothing to the story. There’s something interesting in there. But I feel like it’s at least 50% fluff.
    - Voultapher 3y ago
      That part is polarizing, some people find it boring and tedious, personally I love it. It's so full of details that all fit into each other like a giant puzzle, pretty much every detail has some relevance, sometimes 40 hours and one book later.
    - calamari4065 3y ago
      I've read through pretty much all of Hamilton's books, as well as the mainline Expanse books. The number of times I've muttered "James fucking Holden" is orders of magnitude higher than the times I've been frustrated by Hamilton's verbosity. I was truly disgusted and disappointed to see the Expanse series jump decades into the future and it's still about James fucking Holden Say what you will about Hamilton, but he's got more than one character to beat up on. I found Banks to be much more tedious to read. He says the same things over and over and every story is the same as the last. Every problem has a deus ex machina solution. Every problem is also a deus ex, but that's kind of the point. The ending and epilogue to the Expanse was deeply unsatisfying. More deus ex, more protomolecule. Nothing truly resolved, nothing answered. My read is that Banks is an inexperienced author with more space to talk than things to say.
devuo 3y ago
Based on that, you might like "First Formic War" trilogy that are a prequel to Ender's Game.

oaiey 3y ago

Same here but I like their writing style, so I have hope

em-bee 3y ago

There's plenty of "epic", "anything goes" space opera already i am always on the lookout for new authors, but there are to many to choose from. so i have a hard time whenever i have to pick my next book. like you, i loved the realistic details in the expanse, but i am also very much into exploration, so when the gates appeared, i thought now it would get really interesting and i picked the last three books (and some novellas) after watching the tv series because i wanted to know how it progresses. it is not my favorite series though, because while society in the expanse is formed through the experiences and discoveries they make, the humanity itself doesn't actually develop, like it does in say the culture series by Iain M. Banks. halfway through book 8 the end is now predictable.

wkat4242 3y ago

I really loved the expanse and I hate the way the last 3 books haven't been filmed (yes I know the time break but there's options) Though the whole inaros pirate thing and the fascist Laconia empire (in the book only for now) things were a bit dragged out IMO.. I thought the alien tech parts were much more interesting and the last 2 TV seasons were very forgettable in particular.

sen 3y ago

If you haven’t read all the Novellas, they’re totally worth a read. They’re some of my favourite parts of the Expanse universe. I agree though. I’m a huge Expanse fan (read all the books/novellas 5 times over, etc) and not a huge fan of a lot of other space opera. It really is unique in how much world building they do, with realistic explanations of all sides of the story and a lot of relatable characters. So much other space opera is “this/these person/people took on the universe and kicked their butt because.. spaceships and guns.”

Voultapher 3y ago
It's certainly more tech heavy and a power fantasy, but I recommend you give Salvation by Peter F. Hamilton a read. Especially the first book has many layers, and has maybe the most intense "oh fuck" moment I've ever read. Peter F. Hamilton is incredible at creating coherent worlds.
- stefanfisk 3y ago
  I’m reading Pandora’s Star right now. BOY is the “world building” tedious compared to The Expanse! I usually read before bed. There’s been times where I have to restrain myself from waking up my partner by moaning in frustration while he spends page after page on some nonsense that adds nothing to the story. There’s something interesting in there. But I feel like it’s at least 50% fluff.
  - Voultapher 3y ago
    That part is polarizing, some people find it boring and tedious, personally I love it. It's so full of details that all fit into each other like a giant puzzle, pretty much every detail has some relevance, sometimes 40 hours and one book later.
  - calamari4065 3y ago
    I've read through pretty much all of Hamilton's books, as well as the mainline Expanse books. The number of times I've muttered "James fucking Holden" is orders of magnitude higher than the times I've been frustrated by Hamilton's verbosity. I was truly disgusted and disappointed to see the Expanse series jump decades into the future and it's still about James fucking Holden Say what you will about Hamilton, but he's got more than one character to beat up on. I found Banks to be much more tedious to read. He says the same things over and over and every story is the same as the last. Every problem has a deus ex machina solution. Every problem is also a deus ex, but that's kind of the point. The ending and epilogue to the Expanse was deeply unsatisfying. More deus ex, more protomolecule. Nothing truly resolved, nothing answered. My read is that Banks is an inexperienced author with more space to talk than things to say.

devuo 3y ago

Based on that, you might like "First Formic War" trilogy that are a prequel to Ender's Game.