SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

First trailer for The Expanse, based on James S. A. Corey's series of books. Not sure how deep into the series the first 10 episode season will go.

http://infinispace.net/2015/01/expans...

I gave the book 4 stars but remember almost nothing about it now. That said, the high points of the trailer remind me of the book.

But that cinematography really reads like a B-movie TV series.

Will be interesting to see where it goes. Sci-fi really needs a good show.

They are planning on doing the series like HBO did the Game of Thrones adaptation. Every season will be a book, so Season 1 will be about the events detailed in book 1: "Leviathan Wakes."

This is my current favorite series so I am VERY PSYCHED about the TV series on SyFy

Anyone checked out the first episode? If so what did you think?

Kim wrote: "Anyone checked out the first episode? If so what did you think?"

It looked way better than the initial trailer.

I thought the story was okay. It's been so long since I read the book that I was having trouble following everything that was going on. The stuff with the ship/pirates/explosion was what I recall most clearly, and that was the part of the show I was able to follow, as well.

I don't know if that's coincidence or causation.

I'll have to watch the pilot again once the second episode airs.

MadProfessah wrote: "They are planning on doing the series like HBO did the Game of Thrones adaptation. Every season will be a book, so Season 1 will be about the events detailed in book 1: "Leviathan Wakes."

This is ..."

hm, I wonder when the two will start going separate ways. The series isn't done right? the write TV a lot faster than it takes a publisher to publish the next book. At some point they won't match up anymore. i've heard this started by season 3 of GOT.

Well they've released the first 5 books so far and the authors write a lot faster than GRRM so maybe it won't be as big an issue?

I watched last night. Loved it.

The authors release one book a year every year and have book 6 planned for June 2016 while Season 1 of the show is premiering December 14 2015. I think there's almost no chance the Game of Thrones/GRR Martin fiasco will reoccur here.

I also saw the first episode (Dulcinea) of THE EXPANSE this week and was very impressed (especially with lead actor Steven Strait's body--wowsa!!)

The show looks incredible and is clearly trying to get the look and feel of the milieu of the series as accurately as possible. The story is really complex and full of lots of "oh crap!!" moments that will work really well on TV.

He did not look like how I pictured Holden though.

I've got less than a 100 pages to go in the book. I've really been enjoying the story. It's kept me hooked from the very beginning. My patience with Miller is wearing thin though.

Veronica wrote: "I've got less than a 100 pages to go in the book. I've really been enjoying the story. It's kept me hooked from the very beginning. My patience with Miller is wearing thin though."

This thread is about the new TV series, not the book Leviathan Wakes or any of the sequels. You can find threads about book 1 here.

I am aware of that. I only meant to convey that my enjoyment of the book has me looking forward to the show. I'll just go back to lurking.

So what do you all think of it?

I hate it I hate it I hate it. It's so far from the books that we spent the entire two hours of viewing complaining!

MadProfessah wrote: "The authors release one book a year every year and have book 6 planned for June 2016 while Season 1 of the show is premiering December 14 2015. I think there's almost no chance the Game of Thrones/..."

I just don't see Holden being BUILT like that, though! To me, he's lanky and slender. There is NO time in the books where he works out, none at all.

It's okay. After three episodes I've officially stopped watching it because it's not interesting to me.

I'm guessing Syfy is already regretting ordering two seasons, since the ratings have not been good.

Killjoys almost certainly costs only a fraction as much to produce and garners similar ratings.

I've only watched the first two episodes so far. I'm liking it, I'm not a source material purist. My wife has been finding it confusing though so I don't know how much people who haven't read it will keep up.

Wow surprised to see so much negativity. I've really been loving it. I ended up watching all 4 episodes they released. I can't wait for episode 5.

I've been wondering the same thing Kim. I could see it being hard to follow if you haven't read the book.

And I don't believe they've ordered a second season yet Trike. Unless that just happened recently.

I watched the first four episodes last night and am enjoying it. I haven't read the books yet and it has been a bit confusing at points. I really wanted to get the book in before the show started but never got around to it.

Kim wrote: "He did not look like how I pictured Holden though."

Me either. I kinda pictured Holden more as an "every man". This actor is way more Greek godlike and broody. I don't like it.

But. I'm liking the show after 2 episodes. My wife isn't into it at all though and I really can't blame her. She hasn't read the series.

I'm loving it too. Just through two episodes though.

And I think I also saw that it was renewed for Season 2, but I couldn't say where.

Found this: http://seriable.com/the-expanse-renew...

On twitter recently, they said they were writing for season 2, but hadn't been given the green light to shoot it. I'll see if I can find that again.

I am looking forward to watching episodes 2-4 this weekend

Really like the series. Episode 4 was when things really started getting good, so I'm looking forward to episode 5 tomorrow!

It is ok for a TV show. Still waiting for it to catch fire, though. It needs more definition and shape somehow.

aPriL does feral sometimes wrote: "It is ok for a TV show. Still waiting for it to catch fire, though. It needs more definition and shape somehow."

I love the CGI and sets, but have not really warmed up to the characters. The best one so far is probably the guy who identifies himself as a "bus driver" but has to drive the high tech Mars ship to save the day. :)

I've felt for a long time that a new model for TV would be to make great mini-series then spin off if the writing allows it.

I am enjoying the show so far. I read book one already. They have definitely toned down the weirdoness of the detective's obsession with the girl. Holden is just as ego-centric as in the books! Overall, when reading the book I kept thinking how everyone was unlikable and I liked that about the book. The show, the personalities seem more moderated.

I have a much more positive view of this adaptation than Childhood's End, which I just don't think is well-suited for adaptation.

There are a lot of stock sci-fi elements for sure. But once you get to the alien stuff, it gets much more interesting. I'm looking forward to seeing that in the show. I've only watched the first three episodes. The book that struck me as made for tv was The Darwin Elevator.

My biggest issue with the books was how disjointed they seemed, which totally made sense once I realized it was two authors. The show should help this issue.

David wrote: "The books are terrible, in my opinion. They have all the feeling of a beat-novel (completely plotted novel, scene by scene, before it's written, one that follows a generic structure). BUT, I was talking to my fiancé about it, and I said, "Why didn't those two guys skip the novels and just write it as a screenplay?"

The books actually started as an RPG, first as a tabletop (or I guess the digital equivalent) game run by Ty Franck, and later as a proposed MMORPG or something that one of his friends wanted to make (which didn't get made).

Then Daniel Abraham wanted to take the story/world and write novels around it, but ended up writing the book together with Ty. Thing is that they write alternate chapters (one viewpoint character each) and then edit each other's chapters. I think this shows a bit in the first book. I like the books, unlike you, but I notice who wrote what character's voice in the first book, and I notice that Ty Franck wasn't a seasoned author at that point. I do think the writing improves a lot in the later books though.

"Because the book reads like a screenplay, really, and when I saw the show, I thought it was very good."

I agree that it reads like a screenplay. I read an interview with the authors where they said they had done some research on how long chapters should be to hook people in and want to read "just one more" before putting the book down, and some other stuff, which results in a lot of cliffhangers at the end of the fairly short chapters.

Heather wrote: "My biggest issue with the books was how disjointed they seemed, which totally made sense once I realized it was two authors."

I had that issue as well. The first book felt a little schizophrenic.

The rest of the books are better as Abraham and Franck evolve as a writing team and the writing becomes much more seamless. A friend of mine was talking to Franck recently and he said he wrote a POV character, in Abaddon's Gate I think, that I would have sworn was written by Abraham.

Heather wrote: "I am enjoying the show so far. I read book one already. They have definitely toned down the weirdoness of the detective's obsession with the girl. Holden is just as ego-centric as in the books! Ove..."

That's funny because I feel just the opposite. I've read up to the third book and I really like the characters in the book (except for Holden, he's just creepy) whereas I'm not much liking their tv counterparts at all. Book Amos would never put book Alex in a headlock. And Avasarala was smarter in the books and didn't need to stoop to gravity torture to figure things out.

I haven't read the books, but I've watched every episode so far, and I have to say, it took a while, but they hooked me. It took a while because they were doing what screenwriters everywhere should be doing... building the exposition slowly and (more importantly) avoiding infodumps. At first I wasn't sure I could care about any of these characters, but now I care about every single one. I even cared about two that have already been killed off.

This show is currently one of my favorite things on TV.

Heather wrote: "The book that struck me as made for tv was The Darwin Elevator. "

I agree! It's not a very good book (I didn't feel the need to read the rest of the trilogy, but it was an awfully close call (and it's 50-50 that I might go back and read them, if they were $1.99 on kindle). However, they definitely read VERY fast, like a fast-paced TV show....

I can't say I recommend The Darwin Elevator. It's kinda zombies and sci-fi mashup. I enjoyed it, but eventually it felt like action scenes only and I got bored. I read reviews of the next book and decided I didn't want to continue. Supposedly it doesn't go anywhere.

To me The Expanse tv show characters don't match with the characters in my head from the book.

I'd never heard of the books but after watching the first 4 episodes of The Expanse I got copies from the library.
So for me, Holden is like I had pictured him more or less, lol. The series deviates greatly from the first book, imo, but I don't mind it.

I'm glad there is a series about space. I just hope it doesn't devolve into zombies or vampires. I'm tired of that crap. ( for those who have read the book: yes, there are zombies,sort of, but they are not the whole subject of the book)

I'm loving the show. My husband is highly entertained because whenever I really enjoy a character they get gored or have their head shot off, etc. I say "But I really liked him!" in the same hurt voice.

So in this show, the kiss of death is me liking someone. It doesn't look good for that prostitute/language teacher.

I like a show that's not afraid to kill great characters.

I've watched the first five episodes and love it! It reminds me a bit of Blade Runner with its dark streets, morphed languages, genetic abnormalities. I also appreciate the director's attention to detail: right down to a cracked screen on a phone. Smart!

Heather wrote: "I can't say I recommend The Darwin Elevator. It's kinda zombies and sci-fi mashup. I enjoyed it, but eventually it felt like action scenes only and I got bored. I read reviews of th..."

Isn't that always the way? I've never had characters on film match my idea of who they were when I read the book.

Stan wrote: "I haven't read the books, but I've watched every episode so far, and I have to say, it took a while, but they hooked me. It took a while because they were doing what screenwriters everywhere should..."

I feel the same way. It's gotten to the point that I look forward to the new episode each week. I like the epic feel, lots going on but quite gripping now! I really hope this show gets renewed!

My biggest issue with the books was how disjointed they seemed, which totally made sense once I realized it was two authors. The show should help this issue.

I listened to Leviathan Wakes on audiobook, so I didn't have that issue while "reading" the first book, but I definitely felt like the first episode was really disjointed. I wonder how much of it was due to the scenes in screenwriting being much shorter than their book forms, or if it's an extension of the disjointedness you experienced as a reader. How has the show been for you? Better? Worse?

I think the show is less intellectual than the book (of what is there in the first place), but it is still an entertaining show. However, they either better beef up the action scenes or move the plot along faster if they want a third season. What works in a book sometimes does not work for Tv, and the requirements of trying for at least 5 seasons (for the future world residual market) of production.

The production and marketing of books uses a different group of experts in monetizing product than Tv, so I'm used to the different Television story that comes out of a book idea. Yes, I'm cynical, but I still appreciate a good Tv show, even if it is nothing like the book. However, they are beginning to tread water too much in the Tv version of 'The Expanse", IMO.

I read all 5 books. Disappointed with the last 2. I got excited about the books thru the TV series. The TV series deviates far enough for me to still watch it.
IMO, Iain Banks writes wonderful scifi and I have yet to find a writer(s) better than he.

I just read the first book. Was surprised that the crew's dynamic was so different, I like it more when they are more friendly to each other

Jan wrote: "I read all 5 books. Disappointed with the last 2."

The fourth book was disappointing for me and almost anyone I've talked to, but the fifth was great! My favorite in the series so far, by far. Especially when we talk about the crew's dynamic, hehe.

I'm astonished that anyone who read the first four books could be disappointed with the fifth!!

I'm counting the days until book 6 BABYLON'S ASHES comes out in June.

I was never tempted to read the books after browsing them.

The first episode didn't impress me either. It didn't feel futuristic at all, and the politics and social elements lacked subtlety or cohesion.

Plus the lack of discipline in the ship's crew was annoying. None of the characters interested me and the style was very choppy.

I'm still debating whether to bother watching the second episode.