I’ve read the first two books and enjoyed them both. I enjoyed the TV series. But I see there are nine novels and eight novellas in the series, and I know the book series goes on longer than the TV series. I’m curious: is the quality fairly consistent or, like a lot of longer book series, does it degrade over time?
Edit: Thanks everyone! Sounds like the vast majority of folks enjoyed all of the books - enough that I’ll probably read them all. I have other books on my reading list, so I might take breaks and read some of those in between.
I really appreciate all the responses. Thank you all. Upvotes all around!
Just finished last month and it’s one of the best series I’ve ever read. I haven’t read the novellas so after some time I will reread the series with them included.
I loved the series
Some of the short stories are hit or miss but they are short and worth reading either way and only short
Some are better than others, but they’re all fairly high quality? I’ve definitely read worse than even the ones I’m not super thrilled about, so I’d say it’s worth reading them all if you have the time.
With most series of this length, towards the end I’ve tended to wish that the author would just wrap things up already so I could find out the ending and move on with my life.
With this series I actually got sad as I made my way through the last book because it meant that the story was going to end soon and I had been enjoying it so much that I didn’t want it to end. (Having said that, I also absolutely loved the ending, which is also unusual for me for a series that is this long!)
The Expanse if the best books series I have read in years and might be the best science fiction series I’ve ever read. The quality does not diminish (in my opinion), and I am glad I didn’t watch the show beyond the first season before reading the books. But there is a lot more than the show covers. I think you can come back to the Novellas later if you like. They are great but you don’t need to read them alongside the main novels unless you are so inclined.
I think I read the first seven and my reading pace didn’t slow down. I like the “personal drama” as other posters characterized it.
Could not set them down… except the last one. Jumping 25 years into the future was a strange choice and, for me, less entertaining.
Spoiler warning maybe?
That’s not a spoiler
Feels like one to me. When I get into a series I prefer to know as little about the final entry as possible. Didn’t know that was such a hot take around here.
It’s not the last book. It’s how the seventh book, Persepolis Rising, starts.
Reading book 8 right now. They’re very, very good.
I’m in the middle of book 7 and holy what a shift. I’m in the part where it’s so overwhelming, you can’t even begin to imagine how this will get resolved. Very excited to read the last two books.
