The Expanse: Books vs. Series
The Expanse is Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby's 2015 series, adapted from 9 books written by James S. A. Corey. It stars Steven Strait, Dominique Tipper, Wes Chatham and Shohreh Aghdashloo and ran for 6 seasons and 62 episodes on Syfy and Prime Video.
From Books Adapted
Which books each season covers
Six seasons stop before the final three novels
The early seasons split books across season endings. Later seasons follow the novels more closely, while drawing on shorter stories and bringing some events forward.
| Season | Books adapted |
|---|---|
| 1 | About the first three-quarters of Leviathan Wakes, book 1. Avasarala is introduced early from Caliban's War, book 2. Fred Johnson's past draws on The Butcher of Anderson Station. |
| 2 | Finishes Leviathan Wakes in episode 5, then begins Caliban's War, book 2. It also draws on The Vital Abyss for the scientists' backstory. |
| 3 | Finishes Caliban's War, book 2, then adapts Abaddon's Gate, book 3. |
| 4 | Cibola Burn, book 4, with Bobbie's story drawing on Gods of Risk. It adds stories elsewhere in the solar system and brings forward some material from book 5. |
| 5 | Mainly Nemesis Games, book 5, with Amos' past drawing on The Churn. Drummer's story borrows from Michio Pa's part in Babylon's Ashes, book 6. |
| 6 | Babylon's Ashes, book 6, with Strange Dogs supplying the story on Laconia. Some of book 6's material had already appeared in season 5. |
| A guide, not an exact match: shows move scenes and storylines between books and seasons. | |
As of October 18, 2026, the series has ended after six seasons. Persepolis Rising, Tiamat's Wrath and Leviathan Falls, books 7–9, remain unadapted. The novels make a large time jump after book 6; season 6 does not compress those last three books into an ending.
What changed from the book
Drummer carries several book characters' stories
Camina Drummer appears much earlier in the series than in the books, where she first appears in Nemesis Games. Her role also grows by taking on other characters' stories. By season 5, that includes material written for Michio Pa in Babylon's Ashes.
Co-author Daniel Abraham said combining characters let the series keep those stories without asking viewers to follow such a large cast. It also changed how events unfold, particularly toward the end of season 3.
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Naomi's capture is no longer part of Marco's original plan
In Nemesis Games, Marco plans from the start to bring Naomi to him. The series changes that: Naomi seeks out Filip, and Filip's decision to seize her is impulsive. Marco has to respond to something he did not arrange.
Showrunner Naren Shankar said the change gave Marco an unexpected situation to deal with, rather than making Naomi's arrival another part of his existing plan.
The books, in order
Details
- Author
- James S. A. Corey
- Year
- 2011
- Pages
- 592
- Audiobook length
- 20 hr 56 min
- Narrator
- Jefferson Mays
- Series
- The Expanse, book 1
A distress call takes ice-hauler officer Jim Holden and a small crew to an abandoned ship, setting off a chain of attacks that threatens to turn Earth, Mars, and the Belt against one another. On Ceres, detective Miller is hired to locate a wealthy family’s missing daughter. Her trail leads toward Holden and evidence of an experiment whose sponsors are willing to sacrifice entire populations to protect it.
Details
- Author
- James S. A. Corey
- Year
- 2012
- Pages
- 624
- Audiobook length
- 21 hr
- Narrator
- Jefferson Mays
- Series
- The Expanse, book 2
Botanist Prax Meng searches for his daughter after fighting devastates Ganymede, the agricultural moon where they live. Holden’s crew takes up his search while Martian marine Bobbie Draper tries to explain the creature that killed her fellow soldiers. On Earth, Chrisjen Avasarala suspects that the people urging military action know more about the attack than they admit, linking a missing child to a conspiracy capable of restarting interplanetary war.
Details
- Author
- James S. A. Corey
- Year
- 2013
- Pages
- 576
- Audiobook length
- 19 hr 42 min
- Narrator
- Jefferson Mays
- Series
- The Expanse, book 3
An enormous alien ring draws scientific expeditions, warships, and religious observers to the edge of the solar system. Holden would rather keep the Rocinante away, but someone intent on destroying his reputation pushes him toward the investigation. Beyond the ring, the visitors encounter forces they do not understand, and disagreements over how to respond threaten to become as dangerous as the structure itself.
Details
- Author
- James S. A. Corey
- Year
- 2014
- Pages
- 624
- Audiobook length
- 20 hr 7 min
- Narrator
- Jefferson Mays
- Series
- The Expanse, book 4
Belter refugees settle on Ilus hoping to build a home, only to face a corporation with a competing claim to the planet. Sent to negotiate after violence breaks out, Holden finds that neither side trusts his authority or intends to surrender its investment. While biologist Elvi Okoye studies the unfamiliar environment, ancient machinery begins stirring beneath the settlement, turning a dispute over ownership into a struggle to survive there.
Details
- Author
- James S. A. Corey
- Year
- 2015
- Pages
- 576
- Audiobook length
- 18 hr 6 min
- Narrator
- Jefferson Mays
- Series
- The Expanse, book 5
With the Rocinante undergoing repairs, Amos returns to Earth, Alex visits Mars, and Naomi answers a message from the son she left behind. Holden stays on Tycho Station, where reports of missing ships suggest that the rush toward newly accessible worlds is concealing something else. Separated by distance and unfinished personal business, the crew must navigate a coordinated assault on the solar system without the ship that usually keeps them together.
Details
- Author
- James S. A. Corey
- Year
- 2016
- Pages
- 576
- Audiobook length
- 19 hr 58 min
- Narrator
- Jefferson Mays
- Series
- The Expanse, book 6
Marco Inaros’s Free Navy controls vital routes through the solar system while a devastated Earth struggles to feed its survivors. Holden and the Rocinante join an uneasy coalition trying to break that control, but defeating Marco will require support from Belters who have little reason to trust the inner planets. Across the scattered fleets and stations, military plans collide with the needs of civilians dependent on the same threatened supply lines.
Details
- Author
- James S. A. Corey
- Year
- 2017
- Pages
- 592
- Audiobook length
- 20 hr 34 min
- Narrator
- Jefferson Mays
- Series
- The Expanse, book 7
After decades of carrying cargo between colony worlds, Holden and Naomi are considering retirement when warships emerge from the isolated Laconia system. Their commanders demand submission to an empire armed with technology the other human powers cannot match. As Laconian troops occupy Medina Station, the Rocinante crew becomes part of a resistance facing an enemy that regards conquest as the beginning of permanent peace.
Details
- Author
- James S. A. Corey
- Year
- 2019
- Pages
- 576
- Audiobook length
- 19 hr 8 min
- Narrator
- Jefferson Mays
- Series
- The Expanse, book 8
With Holden imprisoned on Laconia, the remaining Rocinante crew works through a scattered resistance to undermine the empire. Scientist Elvi Okoye investigates the disappearance of the civilization that built the gates, using resources supplied by a ruler determined to confront whatever destroyed it. Inside his palace, Teresa Duarte begins questioning the future her father has planned for her as his experiments place far more than his own life at risk.
Details
- Author
- James S. A. Corey
- Year
- 2021
- Pages
- 560
- Audiobook length
- 19 hr 39 min
- Narrator
- Jefferson Mays
- Series
- The Expanse, book 9
The forces that destroyed the gate builders are turning their attention to humanity, threatening every colony connected by the ring network. Elvi Okoye searches the builders’ surviving records for a way to understand the attacks, while a Laconian investigator hunts the missing emperor and his daughter. Pursued aboard the Rocinante, Holden and his companions face a crisis that cannot be settled by defeating another fleet or government.
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