The Expanse
The Definitive Sci-Fi Saga of the 21st Century
The Expanse is a comprehensive science fiction franchise that includes a nine-novel book series, a critically acclaimed television show, and various canonical comics and video games. The narrative explores a future where humanity has colonized the solar system, resulting in a tense three-way political conflict between the United Nations on Earth, the militaristic Martian Congressional Republic, and the oppressed Belters. Critics and fans praise the series for its rigorous commitment to realistic physics, such as the effects of centrifugal gravity and the mechanics of inertia in vacuum travel. While the television adaptation maintains the scientific grounding and core themes of the books, it introduces several character and timeline adjustments to suit a visual medium. Expansion materials, like the Telltale video game and BOOM! Studios comics, further enrich the universe by providing prequel backstories and continuing the story after the show's conclusion. Overall, the sources highlight how the franchise uses its grounded worldbuilding to present a sophisticated analysis of capitalism, colonialism, and human nature.
Chronological Timeline
Camina Drummer faces a mutiny aboard the scavenger ship Artemis. A prequel story that explores the Belt before the war.
The ice hauler Canterbury is destroyed. Detective Miller searches for Julie Mao. The Protomolecule is unleashed on Eros.
Mars and Earth are on the brink of war. Protomolecule hybrids attack Ganymede. Bobbie Draper defects.
The Ring Gates open. Humanity rushes into the Slow Zone. The Rocinante crew faces the end of the world inside the alien station.
The colonization rush begins. On Ilus, settlers and corporations clash over an alien world that is waking up.
The Free Navy attacks. Marco Inaros drops rocks on Earth, killing billions. The crew is scattered across the system.
The System War. The Combined Fleet of Earth and Mars fights the Free Navy for the soul of the solar system.
The Transport Union era. The Rocinante crew hunts pirate remnants while a new threat grows in the dark.
The Laconian Empire returns. With advanced tech, Winston Duarte conquers the Sol system in a matter of days.
The Resistance. Scattered and outgunned, the crew fights a guerrilla war against a god-emperor.
Franchise Archive
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