Leviathan Wakes
James S. A. Corey
A ship officer and a detective, in a solar system split between Earth, Mars and the Belt, are drawn into one mystery that grows into a threat to all three.
Book 1 of 9, published 2011.
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The Expanse reading order
The Expanse is a science fiction series set in a future where humans have settled the solar system, and it runs to nine novels. Here they are in the order they were published, which is also the order of the story.
Where to start
Begin with Leviathan Wakes. The series tells one story across the nine books, so each one assumes you have read the ones before it.
The books include violence and strong language. There are also novellas and short stories, collected in Memory's Legion, which add background but are optional for following the novels.
Publication order
Publication order is also story order, so there is one way through the nine novels. The novellas and short stories are left out; they fill in events before, between and after the novels. James S. A. Corey is the pen name of two writers, Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck.
Caliban's War
James S. A. Corey
The second book adds new viewpoints, including a Martian marine and a UN politician, as another crisis pulls the three powers toward conflict.
Book 2 of 9, published 2012.
Abaddon's Gate
James S. A. Corey
The third book takes its characters far from the planets they know, on a mission into the unknown.
Book 3 of 9, published 2013.
Cibola Burn
James S. A. Corey
The fourth book is a frontier story, with settlers and a corporation in a fight over a newly opened world.
Book 4 of 9, published 2014.
Nemesis Games
James S. A. Corey
In the fifth book the crew go separate ways, and the story widens to take in the whole system.
Book 5 of 9, published 2015.
Babylon's Ashes
James S. A. Corey
The sixth book follows the crew and their allies as they deal with the fallout of the fifth.
Book 6 of 9, published 2016.
Persepolis Rising
James S. A. Corey
The seventh book jumps ahead by decades, with an older crew and a younger generation of characters.
Book 7 of 9, published 2017.
Tiamat's Wrath
James S. A. Corey
The eighth book continues the story of a system under new pressure, with the stakes rising for the worlds people have settled.
Book 8 of 9, published 2019.
Leviathan Falls
James S. A. Corey
The ninth and last novel, which brings the series to its end.
Book 9 of 9, published 2021.
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