I have a question about the expanse. I’ve always wanted to get into it, but I heard the series doesn’t cover all the books. Does the show end on a cliffhanger? Or will there eventually be a continuation to the series? Thanks!
This and there is currently a run of comics continuing from where the TV show leaves off. Think it’s a 12 issue run, most of the way through. I’m saving it to binge read all of them.
I’ve read all expanse books (the first 3, 3 times each) and all the novellas. Love this series and the show was excellently done with a lot of love for the source material.
Do the comics follow the series or the books? As there are some differences. Ie Alex.
They pick up where TV series ended. I think it’s new stories because (spoiler for those who haven’t read books 7-9)
There is a 30 year time jump before books 7-9. So there’s lots of room for additional stories in between book 6 (where show ended) and the next books.
So Alex is dead in the comics?
The show covers the books up until a timeskip. I think it’s 5 or so books? Anyway it’s a clean ending. All plot points are taken care of
Almost all, but it doesn’t feel like a big drop
All plot points are not taken care of
What did they miss from the show?
There were some plot points from the book that the show didn't pick up on at all, but I can't remember any that they started not being finished.
The protomolecule storyline? The man who funded and enabled the biggest mass murder in human history escaping Scott free to another solar system with protomolecule powered ship building? The strange dogs? The “goths” wiping people out of existence and why?
The books don't even finish that storyline with the goths. We learn that the protonolecule is a tool for building gates in the show, that's as far as we know in the books too.
But yeah, forgot about the strange dogs, and I remember being pissed at that at the time.
The books do finish that story line though
They don't? Attacks in the ring zone intensify and people run.
That's it? We don't learn anymore info about them than we do from the show (that there was some sort of war and the Romans burned systems then mysteriously die)
Did you even read the book? It does get explained why they attack..?
Yes because travelling through their space hurts them. That's also explained in the show.
Not quite, try again.
You’ll have a few questions at the end, but it wraps up well and you will be very, very glad that you had this experience. Plus chances are you will want to dig in more and the written series is excellent and goes further.
The TV series does a fantastic job of bringing the books to the screen but there's a point where there's a time skip and after that point there's a lot more alien weirdness coming into the story that would simply have required an astonishing SFX budget to bring to the screen. The series does not end on a cliffhanger and is an absolute joy to watch with some truly awesome characters. After I finished the TV show I went back and read the books from start to finish and I found they helped to fill in some of the blanks that the TV show couldn't quite cover and then continued beyond where the TV show ended and completed the story.
The show doesn't cover all of the books but ends at a natural-feeling point. There will probably never be more of the show.
read the series, watch the show. they compliment each other. don't forget the novella's!
Don't pass up reading the books, if just to see what happens to Amos. The show was "complete" (as far as it goes) so well worth the time too.
Book six has a natural end point making books 7 to 9 feel like sequels rather than a continuation. So the show ending there also feels fine, no cliffhanger. That said the show did dip it's toes into hinting at things that occur in books 7 to 9 so you'll be left wondering WTF were those moments about.
Minor spoilers if curious about why books 7 to 9 feel like sequels rather than a continuation
The show wrapped up what’s going on in this solar system. But for some reason they introduced a new plot line on one of the other worlds in the final season, which of course wasn’t followed through. I wouldn’t worry about it though. It’s more of a setup for it they do new seasons later.
I got bored with the books around where the show ended and started re-reading the books when the show came out. Show stopped around the spot I gave up on the books, so I still have that ending out there if I choose to read them a third time (likely). Really good books and show.
Why don’t you…just start reading from book 7 then?
SyFy abandoned it, Amazon picked it up to continue it for fans…
… and then Amazon decided it didn’t want to follow-through and started cutting corners like every studio does when it chops up and destroys novels.
Sure, enjoy the TV show… but you’ll enjoy the novels oh so much more.
Imo every season has absolutely stunning graphics, especially if you have a 4k tv. In terms of plot, things dropped off after miller
The show is such a pale reflection of the books that you're better off reading the novels.
I feel the opposite.
The show is much better. I was actually halfway through the 1st season before I even remembered I read the books.
Disagree.
The authors used to show to clean up a lot of the extraneous, tacked on, or outright oddball bits from the books, making for a much cleaner story overall that does away with a lot of the repetitive beats and moments and makes for a clearer experience overall.
As good as the show was, you're always better off reading the books. Always.
The tone of the show fits the novels so well though, that watching is a very entertaining way to consume it faster the first time. there’s plenty of good sci-fi books, but very little sci-fi TV that is this good. My first time through, I watched seasons 1-3 and then devoured the following books while waiting for s4. It felt like the characters on the screen were right there in the next book, without a jarring gap in the media translation.
The show covers the first 6 books. There's a pretty natural stopping point there. Most of the storylines are tied up and it comes to a satisfying conclusion. There are hints of what is to come and I believe they've said a continuation could happen in the future. The show is mostly faithful to the books, so you could always read the last 3 (or all 9 -- the books are fabulous!) if you wanted to find out what happens.