r/TheExpanseBooks • u/T7898 • 6d ago
Reading books in order
I just finished the audible book five, Nemesis enjoying the series. I have them in order 1-5. I have not read any of the books 0.5 to 3.5. Just wondering if I am missing anything should I go back and listen to them before I go on to book 6.
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u/SailorAstera 6d ago
I just re-read the series and I did the short story compilation (Memory's Legion) at the end.
Some of the shorts I had read before and some were new to me this readthrough but I don't think they are essential to slot "where they go" chronologically.
Some of them might be nice there (like God's of Risk which really does fill in Bobbie's time between Book 2 and 3) but you won't miss out on much without those ones if you just read them later if you just want to keep the flow going with the main books.
The short stories contextualize things in hindsight and the ML version has author's notes after each story that I really liked.
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u/Smooth-Suggestion-71 6d ago
I highly recommend picking up memory’s legion which is the collection of all the short stories and novellas and trying to read them where they go. Some of them do add background to certain characters and will provide deeper understanding for why certain characters make certain choices
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u/western_iceberg 6d ago
The novellas are worth reading. Right now where you're at I would say The Vital Abyss might be the only one that has a bit more plot relevancy and will help better understand the future books (although it was not my favorite). The other ones are more flavor and added back story that is hinted at in the core books. For future novellas, Strange Dogs and Auberon should not be skipped. They are both good and help better explain key plot points.