Orignally has this as a top level comment because I missed yours. SO this is just a copy/paste. ---- After Amazon's last ditch rescue of The Expanse, I decided to read the books, spurred on by Wes Chatham saying what he genuinely wanted most for his career (after hearing about the cancellation) was season 4, in particular because of the story arcs in Nemesis Games (the 5th book.) As I read through I'd re-watch episodes until I passed the show. A really unusual experience - watching something so close to having read it, but enjoyable. It's a little confusing when various characters and plots differ, but I think I gained a lot more from the TV show than if I hadn't read the books or if I'd read them years before and forgotten lots of details. The books themselves unfold very much like serialised TV and the authors have obviously spent a lot of time thinking about how to keep you turning the page. Nothing particularly deep, profound or that pushes sci-fi forward, just well crafted stories and characters that keep you on the hook. A bit preachy and politically correct, but not too in-your-face to make you stop reading. They dwell too much on the theme of tribal conflict without a truly thoughtful or insightful payload. It's not mind-bending sci-fi, but a good, honest and entertaining read.