The Expanse-tv show review

In the last week or more I have managed to watch this new sci-fi show which thankfully just suddenly ended up on Netflix in the UK here. I had read about it many months ago, but there had been very little news about when it would come over here or on what television channel.

I had been aware that it is adapted from the hugely popular SF space opera book series from the last few years written by James S.A.Corey (which is actually two writers working together). Like that book series this seemed to be a very epic and complex story, weaving together a number of plots and characters.

In the last couple of years we have had a few mostly good quality new SF shows, often on SyFy channel. These included Continuum, Defiance and more recently Killjoys and Dark Matter. How would this show compare to these other recent successes? What would all of the fans of the book series it is based upon think of it?

I have not personally read the Expanse book series and so had no solid expectations or ideas of how the characters should look, act or what the show should look like. I do though write space opera-my latest published book is in that style- and I am a fan of the classic tales of that kind.

So what did I think? Well first of all, with just the first episode it looked very well made with high production values and good direction. The sets seemed to be on a big scale as if for a feature film and the visual effects seemed like something you would possibly see in a cinema. It started very well.

It soon gives us a space attack and mystery, and a small group of main characters are thrown together and left to desperately travel to safety in deep space. Somewhere else on colonised space habitat a tired detective begins to follow a trail which leads him toward some interesting but dangers people and places.

The show had the look and feel at times of the recent very popular Battlestar Galactica television reboot-quite realistic camerawork, fairly dark and gritty lighting often, desperate and tense situations. Sometimes though it has some lighter brief moments of humour and colour which remind of the cult hit Joss Whedon Firefly show.

This does look like the most visually impressive tv science fiction show for years, which is great and unusual to see on a small screen. For the most part, the writing is very good. The characters and acting do pull you in and you want to watch them interact and see where they go together and how. In some sense because the visuals do look so good, almost Hollywood sci-fi cinema level an slight difficult feeling arises as it feels like a film stretched over several hours and there are maybe a few times when it does drag just a bit.

Is it what I thought it would be? I may have been expecting something more like the ALIENS films due to the early photographs and pictures of this show in magazines and online. Was I let down? No, it was a very good show, which could hopefully continue and get even better as it does leave us with some intriguing new mysteries in space to be resolved. I also do have to say that the actor Thomas Jane -previously most well loved for his shot at a Punisher Marvel movie over a decade ago-here he is a fantastic character, so well worn in watchable.

I have recently seen the new trailer for season two of this show and so next year will reveal if it can keep going and give us even more great deep space action and thrilling adventure.

 

James E.Parsons is author of SF books Orbital Kin and Minerva Century-both available as paperback/ebook from all good bookshops internationally now.

 

 

Minerva Century -New SF Book News 2

My second science fiction book to be published is due in print soon, and this one-titled Minerva Century-probably sits in the SF subgenre called space opera.

The story follows Dale and Cathy, two characters from Earth but now like so many others, many decades later living either on the space stations or new adopted human planet Minerva.

My first book Orbital Kin was some kind of dystopian sci-fi thriller perhaps, and was influenced by books and films such as I am Legend, 28 Days Later, 2001, the works of J.G.Ballard, Philip K Dick to name only a few.

This new book has been influenced by books such as Frank Herbert’s Dune, the works of Isaac Asimov, films including the Terminator movies, Robocop, Mad Max series, Arthur C. Clarke.

This book is set much further into our future, where mankind has left planet Earth, found a new home planet and named it Minerva. Political and social ways have changed, adapted. Our known cultures and societies reformed, made a kind of peace, and come together to explore the wider galaxy.

Things never remain perfect for too long. Mankind may have learned from the colossal mistakes made on Earth over centuries, but in space there are still some dangerous things which wait and move around, the paranoia, uneasy and carefully structured harmony soon to be threatened once again.

The story explores our faith in technology, our pursuit of understanding our place beyond Earth, identity, addiction, our use and abuse of technology and more.

Watch here for the next part of this Minerva Century introduction.

 

James E.Parsons is author of science fiction novel Orbital Kin, available now as paperback/ebook from all good bookshops and online retailers.