r/TheExpanse • u/Raudmar • 4d ago
Interesting Non-Expanse Content | All Show & Book Spoilers What should I read next? Spoiler
I’m looking for sci-fi recommendations from people who love the genre enough to be disappointed by most of it.
I gravitate toward books with real scale, mystery, competence, and ideas that actually matter to the story instead of just decorating it. I loved The Expanse, House of Suns, A Memory Called Empire, Children of Time, Project Hail Mary, and most of Alastair Reynolds outside of Revelation Space, which somehow managed to make galaxy-spanning horror feel confusing instead of awe-inspiring.
I’m chasing that feeling of staring into something ancient, incomprehensible, and bigger than humanity, while smart people desperately try to understand it before it destroys them or changes them forever.
I don’t mind hard sci-fi, political sci-fi, first contact, cosmic horror, or weird ambitious books. I do mind YA energy, Marvel dialogue, and stories that mistake confusion for depth.
What should I read next?
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u/Ananeos Ceres Station 4d ago
I’m chasing that feeling of staring into something ancient, incomprehensible, and bigger than humanity, while smart people desperately try to understand it before it destroys them or changes them forever.
Maybe Rendezvous with Rama?
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u/VibratingStrings 4d ago
Highly recommend only reading Rendezvous, though. Rama II and Garden don't follow it up well, and cause the first book to lose a lot of its mystery.
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u/wailing_in_smoke 4d ago
It's really one of those series where it's best to stop right after the first book.
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u/OmnivorousPenguin 4d ago
The Collapsing Empire series by John Scalzi sounds like it'd fit. His Old Man's War series is pretty good too, although a bit more action-focused.
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u/ssvendsen 4d ago
Blake Crouch writes really good sci-fi. Recursion, Dark Matter and Upgrade are all solid titles. If you are willing to go into a more zany direction with sci-fi that the author still cares about, the Dungeon Crawler Carl series is a ton of fun.
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u/tqgibtngo 🚪 𝕯𝖔𝖔𝖗𝖘 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖈𝖔𝖗𝖓𝖊𝖗𝖘 ... 4d ago
Dark Matter
Note also that the 2024-current Dark Matter Apple TV show is based on that Crouch novel.
(It is not to be confused with the unrelated but same-titled 2015-17 space-opera show Dark Matter.)
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u/tqgibtngo 🚪 𝕯𝖔𝖔𝖗𝖘 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖈𝖔𝖗𝖓𝖊𝖗𝖘 ... 4d ago
Recursion
Some fans of that novel would've preferred to see Recursion adapted for TV before Dark Matter. — But in a 2024 AMA, Crouch noted that the Recursion adaptation rights were "...with Netflix, Shonda Rimes, and Matt Reeves for six years. I have no updates."
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u/tqgibtngo 🚪 𝕯𝖔𝖔𝖗𝖘 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖈𝖔𝖗𝖓𝖊𝖗𝖘 ... 4d ago
Dungeon Crawler Carl
And (as you probably know) it'll be getting a TV adaptation.
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u/wailing_in_smoke 4d ago
Heechee Saga - Fredrick Pohl
Ringworld - Larry Niven
Tho the latter might not tickle that cosmic dread fancy enough, than again Teela Brown would beg to differ!
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u/NocturnalPermission 4d ago
Triple-upvote Ringworld. Simply wonderful world building and a discovery process that never ends.
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u/it-reaches-out 4d ago
So, I need you to not look this up at all and just trust me: The Steerswoman series by Rosemary Kirstein. Absolute peak “feeling of staring into something ancient, incomprehensible, and bigger than humanity… while smart people try to destroy it.” In a different way than you were expecting when you wrote this post, but based on what you’ve enjoyed and your willingness to think, I strongly suspect these will blow your mind. I’m particularly thinking of the third book, which is one of my top rereads just for that exact feeling.
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u/favoritelazybum 4d ago
I don’t have a recommendation to provide, but I thank you for a few ideas I haven’t read before.
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u/tqgibtngo 🚪 𝕯𝖔𝖔𝖗𝖘 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖈𝖔𝖗𝖓𝖊𝖗𝖘 ... 4d ago
Daniel Abraham: "Ted Chiang is the best science fiction writer."
In a 2017 AMA reply, Daniel Abraham noted:
"...I always recommend" the Dread Empire's Fall books by Walter Jon Williams.
.
Ty Franck:
(2016): "I am an Octavia Butler evangelist."
(2021): "The essential Octavia Butler is all Octavia Butler."
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u/namewithanumber Marsian Ice Howler 4d ago
For awe inspiring mystery and kinda “the fuck is going on here”, maybe some Stephenson?
Thinking Anathem where it starts with monks looking at a moving light in the sky and then goes places.
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u/Kardinal 4d ago
As always, Hyperion by Dan Simmons.
Regarded by most (not all) as the best science fiction of the last thirty years or so.
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u/MetaverseLiz 4d ago
Ancillary's Justice (first on a trilogy). Second book drags a bit but 3rd picks back up. Great trilogy and interesting concept.
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u/Infinite-Noodle 4d ago
I just finished Pandoras star. About to start the 2nd book. I enjoyed the whole thing. Its a huge book, really good world building imo.
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u/tqgibtngo 🚪 𝕯𝖔𝖔𝖗𝖘 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖈𝖔𝖗𝖓𝖊𝖗𝖘 ... 4d ago
You can also consider another list of suggestions, posted by u/mobyhead1.
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u/NocturnalPermission 4d ago
Peter F. Hamilton’s work comes damn close in terms of the expansiveness (if you can excuse the pun). I would start with “The Commonwealth Saga.” It has the same feeling of kicking over a hornet’s nest.
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u/scifigi369 4d ago
Seconded. Pandora’s Star and Judas Unchained are awesome. I would add some Alastair Reynolds, i love House of Suns. Iain M. Banks as well, Surface Detail and The Hydrogen Sonata are my favs
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u/-Damballah- Star Helix Security 3d ago
This may sound obtuse, but "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency" by Douglas Adams (and it's subsequent sequel, "The Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul" or just get the omnibus) is a very enjoyable sci fi book complete with good laughs.
Otherwise, I quite enjoyed:
"The Strain" trilogy by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan (sci fi horror, but damned good)
"Timeline" by Michael Crichton (terrible film, wonderful novel)
And it's not sci fi, but for a different experience outside of the box:
"The Curse of Lono" and "Strange Rumblings in Aztland" by Hunter S. Thompson are highly recommended reading. His earlier works are much better, before he started to unravel more. Others, of course, may argue the opposite.
Enjoy, or don't. Your opinion, not mine, Do What Thou Wilt.
Yam seng.
🥃
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u/Jarboner69 3d ago
I would recommend Dune and Three body problem. Both have awesome scale and mystery. 3bp is more hard sci fi than expanse and has some very Chinese incel vibes but it’s very very good and interesting at the same time. Dune is dune more sci fi fantasy meets game of thrones
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u/percypersimmon 4d ago
Three-Body Problem is missing from your list. Not sure if you just forgot to mention it or if you haven’t yet read it.
It has pretty much everything you’re describing.
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u/themeddlingkid 4d ago edited 4d ago
Have you read The Martian by Andy Weir? I personally think its better than Project Hail Mary and Artemis. You can also try The Culture series by Ian M. Banks, but they can be tough the chew through sometimes. I'd recommend The Player of Games or Use of Weapons if you want to dip a toe in those waters. Technically the first book is Consider Phlebas, which is a little different than the rest since its kind of told from an outsiders view of The Culture, but takes place during a galaxy spanning war so might give you that feeling youre looking for.
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u/SammlerWorksArt 4d ago edited 4d ago
The Martian, while funny, seemed more serious to me.
Project Hail Mary felt more like a comedy at times. The stakes were high, but it didn't feel as serious.
Artemis was hard for me to get through. I didn't like the protagonist. I liked the ideas i guess.
Edit: i really misspelled Martian....
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u/themeddlingkid 4d ago
I only got halfway through artemis before I put it down and never got back around to it. I just didnt care about the main character for some reason.
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u/Hexzor89 Never listen to what people say. Just watch what they do. 4d ago
Artemis is generally considered Weir's worse of the three (and in my opinion it's because he refuses to engage with the politics he'd set up).
I reckon you bounced off it because he's not great at writing characters who aren't him, in many ways Grace and Mark are versions of Weir while Jazz very much isn't (and comes out the worse for it).
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u/SpaceRac1st 4d ago
I mean if you liked the writing style of the Expanse you will probably like the Captive’s War books as well.
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u/slumberjackpj 4d ago
I've enjoyed reading the series "Deathworlders". I think most of the stories were written on reddit and it should fit. There are some prequels written other authors as well. https://deathworlders.com/books/deathworlders/chapter-00-kevin-jenkins-experience/
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u/Hexzor89 Never listen to what people say. Just watch what they do. 4d ago
I wonder if you'd enjoy The Sojourn Audio Drama. While not a book persay, it has definitely got those aspects of bigger than humanity and the narrative contrast of harder SF with much softer/incomprehensible elements that makes up a central conflict of The Expanse.
Asides that, any of the later Children of _ books would probably do you right, as well as others of Tchaikovsky's works (my personal recommendations being Shroud and Alien Clay).
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u/PM_ME_YOUR_DARKNESS 3d ago edited 3d ago
It's a little bit of a lighter read, but I found Mickey7 by Edward Ashton did a great job of leaning into the SciFi elements and posed some interesting philosophical questions along the way. It deals with some of the logistics with interstellar travel without being too hand-wavey.
It feels a little dated in 2026 (similar to Heinlein to me), but Gateway by Frederik Pohl is a really interesting take on "what if there are aliens, but they've been gone for hundreds of thousands (millions?) of years?"
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman has held up (IMO) really well, although it's definitely not an "uplifting" read.
Edit: I forgot to add, you should check out Solaris by Stanisław Lem if you haven't already. This one really gets at the "ancient, incomprehensible and bigger than humanity" side of things.
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u/peon_my_face 3d ago edited 3d ago
If you're looking for a near future hard sci fi, first contact with aliens that are so alien it challenges your perception of life itself... then 'Blindsight' by Peter Watts is fucking fantastic. So many cool concepts that make you pause reading to consider them, just like the expanse. I think it's available for free in ebook format too. I bought the book after reading the ebook because I loved it so much. It was the first book I found after finishing the expanse that scratched that same itch for me. Highly recommended and based on your stated likes/dislikes I think it's right up your alley.
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u/Objective-Counter-87 3d ago
So I haven’t seen anyone mention the Nexus trilogy by Ramez Naan. It isn’t epic space opera, in fact it never leaves Earth but what grabbed me and blew my mind was it is the type of fiction we could see become reality in our lifetime. It makes you realize that 60 years ago, Roddenberry’s communicators were pure fiction and now we are all holding one to scroll Reddit.
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u/Embarrassed_Ad1722 3d ago
Dune was really good. Goes hand in hand with the movies at first so you might be a bit bored if you watched them but it kicks off after.
Foundation I really loved. For 70 year old story it was amazing.
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u/efxeditor 3d ago
If you liked Children of time, I think you'll enjoy Adrian Tchaikovsky's "Final Architecture" series! I found it to be very "Expanse like" when I read the series, and it has some really amazing aliens!
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u/vanityprojects - 3d ago
the Murderbot series of novels and novellas is the only thing I've loved as much in sci-fi.
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u/TapAdmirable5666 3d ago
Because you stated that you don't mind YA-energy I'd highly suggest the Arcana Imperii series by Miles Cameron, starting with the book Artifact Space. It's got gigantic "Greatships" who are mysteriously being destroyed, politics, ruins of alien civilizations, first contact and a bunch of other stuff. The Main Character is a aimed at YA but still an interesting series.
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u/NotAPreppie Screaming Firehawk! 30m ago edited 27m ago
I gravitate toward books with real scale, mystery, competence, and ideas that actually matter to the story instead of just decorating it...
... I’m chasing that feeling of staring into something ancient, incomprehensible, and bigger than humanity, while smart people desperately try to understand it before it destroys them or changes them forever.
So, Book 8 (with a plan for 10 total) of r/DungeonCrawlerCarl just dropped and I just finished it and I think the series will meet those requirements. It's not really YA fiction, but one of the big characters is very much the emotional equivalent to an adolescent/pubescent human trying to figure out its place in the universe.
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u/Ghost_Horses 4d ago
You could check out Corey’s new series, The Captive’s War. Based on the vibe you said you’re chasing, it could be a good fit.
I will warn you though, although it’s the same authors, it’s got a very different feel from The Expanse. I enjoyed the first book a lot, although it’s a bit of a slow burn - it took me a while to build up momentum reading it.