It's funny how much our view of the future changes. In the 60s with it's retro fusion and in the 80s with cyberpunk grunge. The future as a society likes to see it—as ironic as it is—is in my opinion, a pretty good indication of what our present holds. Every world imagines, from Star Trek to even the Hunger Games has been an encapsulation of the virtues and worries some of us hold. Gene Roddenberry aspired for a utopian future as did his million's of fans. The Expanse by James S. A. Corey is no different.





Sure it's bleaker and maybe a bit more mature, but it's point of value is no different; this is the future. At least one of them.





The first three books.

I've watched the show and I've read until the sixth book. James S.A Corey is a master at crafting a world that's both immersive and thought provoking and it's a treat and inspiration to witness the birth of a new revolution in Sci Fi Culture. The world doesn't rely on tropes or one dimensional science fiction concepts; instead it crafts its own foot prints by burying its own weight through sheer originality to keep it grounded and somehow believable despite the flying space ships and alien portals. Ships have thrust gravity. Planets and asteroids actually have divided cultures with their own desires, values and fights. And maybe the most interestingly; space is actually big. When the Enterprise takes four minutes to go between dozens of light years to other stars, the Rocinante takes about a year to go from Earth to Uranus. And although on the surface that may seem like it just drags away from the planetary action, when space travel takes time, it opens up hundreds of new ideas for concepts and interesting human behavior.





This is why The Expanse is up their with the greats; Alien, Blade Runner, Star Trek. It's Sci Fi but its New Sci Fi. And for a genre that seems to be having less and less media exposure in the last decade, its a breath of fresh air to see a new spin on something that many of us hold so beloved.





With Amazon taking over from Syfy and announcing a fifth season just before the fourth one is released, there are talks that with a bigger budget and better out reach, Expanse may just yet become the biggest it will ever be. Many are searching for the next big thing now that Game of Thrones is finished and with George R.R Martin himself having endorsed the books and likening it back to his series it really seems that Amazon and James S.A Corey are sitting on gold.





They just have to dig in the right direction.

#TVShows #Books #SciFi #TheExpanse