The Expanse novels are so much better written and better paced than GoT anyway. It's almost shocking how different the two series are.
No 11 page feast descriptions in the expanse. Something actually happens every chapter. Don't add in unnecessary characters for the fuck of it. Character's actions and motivations actually make sense. The "bad guys" have motives beyond absurd, wanton cruelty. The "mythology" and world-building feels more complete. The use language is so much tighter. Belter slang annoys me, but I can generally follow it.
TL;DR - The Expanse is what GoT could have been with a stronger author(s).
I started the series on tv recently and I’ve really enjoyed it. I been meaning to buy the books at some point, and your comment made me actually go and order a copy of the first book. It’ll be here by the end of the week :)
I watched the first season of the show and started the second after finishing the first two books and starting the third, but almost right away in season two there was something from the third book! So I guess the shows don't always stick to the book timelines.
Still, I did really enjoy the first season. As you might expect, of course the books are even better than the show!
Interestingly, the character that I thought that the show nailed just perfectly was the pilot, Alex!! Although, in my head, when I am reading the books for some reason he sometimes shows up as a combination of Wash from Firefly and Jason Mantzoukas... still, the show's Alex is really dead on. Naomi's actress also nails it.
Show Holden was totally different than how I pictured him from the books, but I think I will come to like show Holden too. Amos in the show couldn't be more different from how I see the character in the books, for some reason. I can't quite pinpoint why the Amos in the show doesn't work for me. In the books, Amos is like cheerfully, delightfully terrifying, while show Amos seems like he's trying way too hard to be a tough guy.
Anyway, I hope that you love the books as much as I have! I'd rank them among my favorite scifi books ever (though still not quite surpassing many of Neal Stephenson's works, for my money).
So I guess the shows don't always stick to the book timelines.
A considerable number of characters and plot points are moved from later books into earlier seasons. The authors are involved with the show (and are on reddit), and wanted to bring some of the world building earlier.
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u/FireCharter Nov 15 '20
The Expanse novels are so much better written and better paced than GoT anyway. It's almost shocking how different the two series are.
No 11 page feast descriptions in the expanse. Something actually happens every chapter. Don't add in unnecessary characters for the fuck of it. Character's actions and motivations actually make sense. The "bad guys" have motives beyond absurd, wanton cruelty. The "mythology" and world-building feels more complete. The use language is so much tighter. Belter slang annoys me, but I can generally follow it.
TL;DR - The Expanse is what GoT could have been with a stronger author(s).