Reading order · Science fiction
The Expanse Reading Order
The Expanse by James S. A. Corey has 9 main books (2011–2021), plus 8 novella or companions. Start with Leviathan Wakes (2011) and read the numbered books in order.
The Expanse books in order
Your reading speed
- 10 h 22 min
- 34 min
- 10 h 39 min
- Track your The Expanse reading in Bookwisp — it shows the next book you’re missing.
- 1 h 19 min
- 10 h
- 1 h 38 min
- 10 h 36 min
- 9 h 27 min
- 1 h 24 min
- 9 h 31 min
- 1 h 57 min
- 9 h 43 min
- 9 h 26 min
- 1 h 22 min
- 9 h 48 min
#9.5 · Novella
The Sins of Our Fathers
2022
—- 8 h 16 min
Main books together: 5,114 pages, about 89 h 32 min at 238 words per minute.
Page counts: median across editions on Open Library. Times assume about 250 words per page. How we calculate.
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The Expanse: common questions
- How many books are in the The Expanse series?
- There are 9 main books in The Expanse, plus 8 novella or companion books. The most recent main book listed here is Leviathan Falls (2021).
- What order should I read The Expanse in?
- Read The Expanse in its numbered order: Leviathan Wakes, Caliban's War, Abaddon's Gate, Cibola Burn, and so on.
- What is the first The Expanse book?
- The first book is Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey, published in 2011.
- How long does it take to read the whole The Expanse series?
- The 9 main books add up to about 5,114 pages (median edition lengths). At 238 words per minute that is about 89½ hours of reading, or about 180 days at 30 minutes a day.
- Do I need to read the The Expanse novellas?
- The 8 novella or companion books (The Butcher of Anderson Station, Gods of Risk, The Churn, The Vital Abyss, Strange Dogs, Auberon, The Sins of Our Fathers, Memory's Legion) sit outside the main numbering. You can follow the main story without them; their numbers (like 0.5 or 2.5) show where they fit between the main books.