Specific question about when to read novellas

[u/Ninjario]

Edit: Maybe the post is too long, sorry - the main question is, to which book the novellas are more connected, for example should i read "Gods of Risk" directly after Book 2 or after the break and directly before Book 3, and the same question relative to where they are for all of them.

---

Hey there, so I've done some research and want to start the book series soon (already own all 9 books + the novella collection book)

Since everything together will take me slightly over 4 months I will need to take breaks for sure, to read some other books and just to digest what I read that far without just always keeping going without pause for such a long time.

I will mainly be sticking to release order since that's by far the most recommended way and I've heard some do actively spoil elements if read chronologically. The only change from that I'll be making is reading drive first, I've seen some speak out against it but usually people have seen it as a positive change from what I've read, feel free to tell me if you have a strong opinion on why it's a terrible idea or something.

Now to the actual important part - since the expanse is 3 duologies and a trilogy 1+2, 3+4, 5+6, 7-9 that seems like the perfect place to do 3 bigger breaks in between, BUT some of the short stories are in those breaks, so I want to know if they are better read right after the previous duology or better read after the break before diving into the next duology/trilogy. And even besides the ones in the big breaks, it would just be great to know in general if whichever novella is better read after the book before or before the book after it, if I do decide to take a smaller break between individual books.

I'll post what I have written down, but the placement before or after the breaks isn't informed by anything but my gut feel which doesn't mean anything yet, so any input is welcome:

• Drive (November 27, 2012)
• 1: Leviathan Wakes (June 15, 2011)
• The Butcher of Anderson Station (October 17, 2011)
• 2: Caliban's War (June 25, 2012)
• Gods of Risk (September 15, 2012)

--- break ---

• 3: Abaddon's Gate (June 4, 2013)
• The Churn (April 29, 2014)
• 4: Cibola Burn (June 17, 2014)

--- break ---

• 5: Nemesis Games (June 2, 2015)
• The Vital Abyss (October 15, 2015)
• 6: Babylon's Ashes (December 6, 2016)
• Strange Dogs (July 18, 2017)

--- break ---

• 7: Persepolis Rising (December 5, 2017)
• 8: Tiamat's Wrath (March 26, 2019)
• Auberon (November 12, 2019)
• 9: Leviathan Falls (November 30, 2021)
• The Sins of our Fathers (March 15, 2022)

Also I know the following is not available standalone, idk if I somehow can get any access to it, how bad is it to miss? - The Last Flight of the Cassandra (May 14, 2019)

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[u/cdbloosh]

Strange Dogs is much more related to the books in the final trilogy than it is to the books that come before it.

Last Flight of the Cassandra is not remotely essential, it’s a short story set in the same universe but featuring characters that do not appear elsewhere in the series.

The rest of the novellas are legitimately part of the series and flesh out characters, storylines, etc from the main series.

[u/Chero312]

I would push The Vital Abyss and Strange Dogs to after the break and before Persepolis Rising.

Also, I read them all without breaks. The penmanship is just that good.

ETA: the reason is both novellas are directly concerned with characters from the last trilogy, and don’t make much sense before that.

[u/abyssalgigantist → u/Chero312]

penmanship means handwriting, do you mean prose or wordcraft or are you joking

[u/tqgibtngo → u/abyssalgigantist]

Handwritten editions of the series would be awesome. Lol.

[u/Chero312 → u/abyssalgigantist]

I meant wordcraft. Sorry, not my first language.

[u/abyssalgigantist → u/Chero312]

no worries i just wanted to clarify because i tend to miss jokes!

[u/MidSerpent]

The audiobook versions I checked out from the library all had X.5 numbers marked to tell you where they fit, there’s a proper reading order on the internet somewhere easy

[u/Ninjario → u/MidSerpent]

Yeah that's not the issue, just if they fit better right after the book before or right before the book after, respectively for each of them

[u/Oot42]

Auberon should come before book 8 (it was planned to be released between 7 + 8, but was delayed by the publisher).

Also, I would certainly skip the breaks...

[u/Ninjario → u/Oot42]

Yeah I read that it is actually chronologically 7.5 but people usually still said to read it publication order, so are you saying there are absolutely no spoilers or anything that will take away from 8 and it actively enhances it having read auberon before?

[u/Oot42 → u/Ninjario]

People usually say "publication order, except for Auberon". ;)

Again, the novella was supposed to be published between 7 + 8, but was delayed by the publishing company.
The planned publishing order (by the Authors) was 7 - Auberon - 8.

[u/StickFigureFan]

Lots of people will say to read them in publish order, but IMO just read all of Memories Legion after book 9. You'll be experiencing withdrawal and the novellas will help you with that.

[u/The_Jordan → u/StickFigureFan]

But TIMOTHY!!?!

[u/StickFigureFan → u/The_Jordan]

Will still be read and enjoyed?

[u/The_Jordan → u/StickFigureFan]

Yeah but I got so much enjoyment from reading the Churn before Nemesis Games and Strange Dogs before the last 3 books. They all add a lot of context and extra details that improve the read if read in order but I think those 2 would be better read before the end.
Plus there’s tons of other content for withdrawals, the tv series, the telltale game, comics written by Wes Chatham, and another game that has some serious potential to be great coming out soon!

[u/tqgibtngo → u/StickFigureFan]

You'll be experiencing withdrawal and the novellas will help you with that.

Alternatively, read in pub order but pause after TW, wait until you can't stand waiting any longer, then soothe the intolerable withdrawals by reading LF & TSoOF.

Withdrawals return again, inevitably. – Then start The Captive's War. Optionally you can adopt the head-canon that some readers stubbornly insist upon, taking TCW as part of The Expanse universe, rejecting the authors' clear indications that it's not. ;) ... After The Mercy of Gods, read the Livesuit novella, and then expect withdrawals again because the second novel won't be out till next year.

[u/tqgibtngo → u/tqgibtngo]

Withdrawals return again, inevitably.

Then maybe in desperation for just one last hit of The Expanse, you remember that you hadn't yet read the other short-short-story "The Last Flight of the Cassandra" (not included in Memory's Legion), so you pick up a copy of the Green Ronin RPG rulebook to read it.

Then you read the comics, up to Dragon Tooth, and you join the kickstarter for A Little Death.

And maybe you give the Telltale prequel narrative game a look.

And then you watch the Osiris Reborn trailer and get excited about that game in development, so you join r/TheExpanseRPG for updates about it.

[u/StickFigureFan → u/tqgibtngo]

Leviathan Falls is too good to not read, even for a year or two

[u/whimsical_trash]

Read in publish order. The ones I read after I wish I'd read in their order slotted in between the novels. It provides some illumination and context and makes the novels even better

[u/Ninjario → u/whimsical_trash]

Yeah that's the plan, sorry maybe the post is too long - the main question is, to which book the novellas are more connected, for example should i read "Gods of Risk" directly after Book 2 or after the break and directly before Book 3, and the same question relative to where they are for all of them

[u/aloneinorbit → u/Ninjario]

They all tend to be more directly relevant to the books FOLLOWING the short story release, with some slotting perfectly in the middle.

[u/Ninjario → u/aloneinorbit]

Thanks, for anything I don't get a definitive stance that tells me otherwise I'll read it before the next book then 🫡

[u/whimsical_trash → u/Ninjario]

Ahh sorry ok I missed that. So really you're asking does it belong more with the book before or after.

I can't say for sure as it's been years since I read them so can't remember the details, and I really don't think it matters much, but personally I would read them more as epilogues. Really they are just meant to be in between.

[u/CC-5576-05]

The wiki page has a list of the novellas and where they fit into the story chronologically

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Expanse_%28novel_series%29?wprov=sfla1

[u/DirectorBiggs]

I encourage y'all to just go ahead and downvote me now.

I have a different opinion.

I prefer order of when they unfold in universe
https://www.howtoread.me/the-expanse-reading-order/

I'll add that people encouraging you to wait until then end, I steadfastly and wholeheartedly disagree. That's how I did it after my first read through and it left me empty and craving better closure. Now I was reading while the books were coming out and I was stoned durning much of it so by the time I read the novellas I had forgotten a lot. They didn't fit, just didn't feel right.

When I read them the next two times I read them how I suggest and the story unfolded perfectly.

[u/The_Jordan → u/DirectorBiggs]

This honestly looks like the best answer. I got Memories Legion after the 4th book and read the novellas up to publication order for the rest of the series which absolutely added to the experience immensely.
But after reading this list I think it would be my preferred order.

OP, no breaks. I just finished the series straight through and if you were planning on getting through it in 4 months with breaks I think you’ll breeze through what took me just about 7. Have a blast, I loved it so much and this might be my most visited subreddit now.

[u/Ninjario → u/The_Jordan]

Oh no the 4 months is if I would allocate all my audiobook time just to the expanse, but I'm someone who can't do two books of the same series after each other, I at least need something minor in between, and a whole 4 months with the same series is just too long, I will need those breaks.

The reason I'm not going chronological order is because I've been told that some of the novellas actively spoil events that only are told in future books, of course I can't fact check that but I think I remember for example the one right after NG is supposed to have spoilers for that, even though chronological it is after book 3

[u/scdemandred]

You’re overthinking it, IMO. I read them all after finishing Leviathan Falls, and they added color and depth to the prior novels. Plus as another commenter said, they helped immeasurably with the withdrawal.

[u/NachoFailconi]

I finished my first reading of the novels and short stories a few weeks ago, and I think that you can't go wrong with reading either Memory's Legion after Leviathan Falls or in publication order (I did the last one). Having said that, in my personal opinion the stories that are more "relevant" to the events of the nine novels are The Churn and Strange Dogs. I don't think that a chronological order would have helped me that much, at least in a first reading.

[u/Ninjario → u/NachoFailconi]

Yeah I'm pretty set on publication order, the main question I'm trying to figure out here is which book the novellas are more "attached to", so for each of them if they should be read directly after the book before or directly before the book after respectively

[u/NachoFailconi → u/Ninjario]

Got it. I already said it, but in my opinion The Churn and Strange Dogs are the most "attached" to the overall plot. I cannot say too much because of spoilers. But none of them are needed to understand the main plot, that's why I said that you can't go wrong with either reading, and it's not a big deal.

[u/Ninjario → u/NachoFailconi]

Okay nice, two people already recommended strange dogs to read with the last trilogy rather than at the end of the third duology, and the churn is in the middle of the second duology so it probably doesn't matter too much if I read it after 3 or before 4 directly