Series · science fiction

The Expanse

The Expanse series by James S. A. Corey has 10 known books (10 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with Leviathan Wakes (2011). The latest book with a fully recorded publication date is Memory's Legion: The Complete Expanse Story Collection.

Books: 10 known books (9 novels + 1 collection)
Published: 10
First published: 2011
Status: completed
Shelved under: Science Fiction
Last checked: 12 September 2026

Start here: Leviathan Wakes (2011) — then read straight through in publication order.

Book one

Leviathan Wakes (2011)

Reading order

The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.

Book 1:
Leviathan Wakes
Novel2011
Leviathan Wakes opened The Expanse in June 2011, running 592 pages under the byline James S. A. Corey and launching the numbered sequence that Caliban's War would continue the following year.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Leviathan Wakes
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Book 2:
Caliban's War
Novel2012
James S. A. Corey followed Leviathan Wakes with Caliban's War in June 2012, a 608-page second installment released almost exactly a year after the series began.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Caliban's War
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Book 3:
Abaddon's Gate
Novel2013
At 1,792 pages, Abaddon's Gate is by far the longest entry in The Expanse -- the third novel, published in June 2013 between Caliban's War and Cibola Burn.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Abaddon's Gate
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Book 4:
Cibola Burn
Novel2014
Cibola Burn, the fourth novel in The Expanse, appeared in June 2014 at 607 pages, continuing the annual June release rhythm James S. A. Corey had kept since 2011.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Cibola Burn
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Book 5:
Nemesis Games
Novel2015
Nemesis Games, published in June 2015, is the fifth book in The Expanse and, at 536 pages, the shortest of the numbered novels released up to that point.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Nemesis Games
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Book 6:
Babylon's Ashes
Novel2016
Babylon's Ashes followed Nemesis Games as the sixth entry in The Expanse, published in December 2016 -- a shift away from the series' earlier June release pattern -- and ran 538 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Babylon's Ashes
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Book 7:
Persepolis Rising
Novel2017
The seventh novel, Persepolis Rising, arrived exactly one year after Babylon's Ashes in December 2017, running 555 pages between Babylon's Ashes and Tiamat's Wrath.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Persepolis Rising
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Book 8:
Tiamat's Wrath
Novel2019
Tiamat's Wrath, book eight of The Expanse, followed Persepolis Rising in March 2019 after a gap of over a year and preceded the ninth novel, Leviathan Falls, spanning 539 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Tiamat's Wrath
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Book 9:
Leviathan Falls
Novel2021
Leviathan Falls closed out the nine-book main sequence of The Expanse in November 2021, published nearly two years and eight months after Tiamat's Wrath -- the longest gap between any two entries in the series -- and running 584 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Leviathan Falls
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Book 10:
Memory's Legion: The Complete Expanse Story Collection
Collection2022
Memory's Legion: The Complete Expanse Story Collection followed Leviathan Falls in March 2022, gathering the series' shorter fiction into a single 472-page volume credited, like every entry before it, to James S. A. Corey.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Memory's Legion: The Complete Expanse Story Collection
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About The Expanse

Two hundred years from now, humanity has spread across the solar system — Earth, a crowded and politically fractious Mars, and the asteroid Belt, whose miners and dockworkers live under the thumb of both. When a conspiracy on an ice hauler triggers a chain of events involving a missing girl, a protomolecule that rewrites the rules of biology, and the fragile balance between three rival powers, a rag-tag salvage crew on the gunship Rocinante and a jaded Belter detective get pulled into events that will decide whether humanity survives contact with something that isn't from around here.

James S. A. Corey — the pen name of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck — builds a nine-book saga that starts as hardboiled noir crossed with a submarine thriller in zero gravity and grows, book by book, into something closer to first-contact space opera, with newly opened alien gates leading to a wider, stranger galaxy. The physics are grounded (no artificial gravity without spin or thrust, no sound in vacuum, real orbital mechanics), the politics feel lived-in, and the large ensemble cast is tracked across decades. It's for readers who want epic-scale science fiction that never loses sight of the individual people caught in it, adapted into the acclaimed Expanse television series (2015-2022).

How to read this series

Read the nine novels in publication order, starting with Leviathan Wakes — this is one continuous story told across a widening cast and timeline, with no alternate chronology to consider. Each book picks up soon after the last, though the series does make occasional multi-year time jumps within the main sequence (most notably before Nemesis Games and again before Persepolis Rising).

Alongside the novels, the authors wrote a set of shorter novellas and short stories that fill in side characters and events between the main books (The Butcher of Anderson Station, Gods of Risk, The Churn, The Vital Abyss, Strange Dogs, Auberon and The Sins of Our Fathers); all are collected together in Memory's Legion. They add texture but aren't required to follow the main plot, so new readers can skip straight through the nine novels and come back to Memory's Legion afterward.

Frequently asked questions

How many books are in The Expanse series?

There are 9 main novels, from Leviathan Wakes (2011) to Leviathan Falls (2021), plus a collection of novellas and short stories gathered in Memory's Legion (2022).

What order should I read The Expanse in?

Publication order, starting with Leviathan Wakes. The nine novels are one continuous, forward-moving story, so there's no separate chronological order to worry about.

Do I need to read the novellas?

No. The novellas and short stories collected in Memory's Legion add backstory and side-character depth but aren't required to follow the main plot of the nine novels. Read them alongside or after the main series, in whatever order you like.

Is The Expanse series finished?

Yes. Leviathan Falls (2021) is the intended ninth and final novel, and authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck have said the main story is complete. They've since moved on to a new, unrelated series, The Captive's War, beginning with The Mercy of Gods (2024).

Is The Expanse TV show the same as the books?

The Amazon/SyFy television series (2015-2022) closely follows the novels for its first several seasons before diverging and ending earlier than the books do, wrapping up around the events of book six, Babylon's Ashes.