10 epic sci-fi/fantasy book series to binge

Image: Amazon

3. The Expanse

Like Malazan, The Expanse is a series that originally began as a tabletop gaming campaign. Written by James S.A. Corey (a pseudonym for collaborators Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham), this one is a space opera, set in a near-future where humanity has colonized the solar system…and brought all of its political baggage with it into space. The sort of politics that made Game of Thrones such a huge success are very much at play in The Expanse, as the people of Earth, Mars, and the asteroid belt (a.k.a. Belters) vie for power and advantage over one another.

The Expanse has a large and memorable cast of characters, but at its core is James Holden, captain of the legitimately salvaged Martian bomber ship Rocinante. Holden and his small crew are pulled into a system-wide conspiracy when they uncover the secrets behind the Protomolecule, an alien virus that has many nasty ways of killing people. Of course, all the powers that be want to get their hands on this alien substance, and thus, the drama unfolds.

At the other end of the spectrum is Miller, a hard-nosed detective charged with finding a missing heiress to a powerful Earth corporation. Miller’s story hearkens back to the crime noir of the 1950s, presenting a really cool counterpoint to all the science fiction elements in the series’ first book, Leviathan Wakes.

At eight books and seven novellas, there’s plenty of material to sink your teeth into with this story. The final book is expected to be out sometime this year, so this is a great time to hop into the series and get caught up before the swan song plays.

Amazon is also currently adapting the TV show after a network change from SyFy. Its fifth season finished filming right before the lockdown started, but there hasn’t been much word on where things stand since. If you’ve been missing shows like Battlestar Galactica in your life, then giving The Expanse a chance might be just the ticket.