James S. A. Corey

James S. A. Corey is the joint pen name of American authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, best known for The Expanse, a nine-novel space opera following the crew of the ice-hauler-turned-warship Rocinante through a solar system fractured by political conflict between Earth, Mars, and the Belt, and complicated by the arrival of an alien technology called the protomolecule. Beginning with Leviathan Wakes in 2011, the series is known for combining hard-science plausibility -- real orbital mechanics, realistic space combat -- with fast, character-driven plotting more typical of thrillers than traditional space opera.

Franck worked for years as George R. R. Martin's personal assistant, and The Expanse originated from a tabletop role-playing campaign he ran before Abraham, an established fantasy and horror novelist, joined him to turn it into a novel. Their partnership has continued into related Expanse novellas and short fiction that fill in gaps between the main series' novels.

A new reader should start with Leviathan Wakes, which introduces the Rocinante crew and the series' central mystery. The Expanse was adapted into a television series that ran from 2015 to 2022, first on Syfy and later Amazon Prime Video, widely praised by both critics and the book's own fanbase as an unusually faithful adaptation.