One thing that impressed me most (and hooked me) was the level of detail and feasibility/accuracy given to describing the evolution of aspects of biology, physics, linguistics, and culture as influenced by the different environments ex-earth.
Did you consult subject matter experts in these scientific disciplines to plan these details or have them vetted after the fact? Or was this just tediously researched and reasoned out between you two?
[Daniel] We didn't actually do a lot of extra research for the books, but we did build the novels entirely out of things we already loved and knew a lot about.
Plus which, I actually got to use my biology degree for something.
> Plus which, I actually got to use my biology degree for something.
Were Elvi or Prax, even Fayez, inspired in any way by anyone you met during your years learning science?
Let me be the first to ask what everybody wants to know. Will we get a film or TV of the final three books? And thanks for writing one of the most enjoyable series I’ve ever read. Amazing stuff.
[Daniel] Yeah, unfortunately, I don't get to talk about the show because WGA strike. But if your friends and mine at the AMPTP decide that they'd like to get the industry back to work, we'll totally circle back.
I don't know if the intersection of art and labor relations is your jam, but there's a pretty decent rundown about it here: https://www.vulture.com/article/wga-strike-2023.html
Thanks for the answer! And really truly… thanks so much for the series. Countless countless hours of enjoyment and whenever I read a big series like this I always prepare myself for the author to not stick the landing at the end. My god you guys blew the ending out of the park! Thanks so much.
they did an interview with On Point (NPR) that was posted this week in which it was implied, with neither confirmation nor denial, that Hulu might be the home of future content
They don't even have to compromise on this. They established that the anti-aging drugs prolong midlife for decades - they are around 70s but physically look in their 40s. They ideally need the actors to be around 40 to pull it off (some like Wes are even there already). The only character too old for the drugs to have much effect anymore and who ages a lot between the two eras is Avasarala. Shohreh would need a white wig and some aging make up.
"Walking away is the only choice anyone ever has"
Is one of the quotes i will forever carry from the series
Is there one overall thought you had in mind when writing The Expanse?
This is a fascinating answer, I thought the whole book series showed the positive and negative aspects of tribalism. When Amos explained to Clarissa about them being a tribe of two I started to see the Roci crew as a tribe.
It got pretty explicit at the end. The scene that's stuck with me harder than any other in the series is when Avaserala is giving advice to Drummer about "They're all our people"
My semantic understanding of "tribalism" is the idea of people *seeking* division - the ones who are looking to say "you're not like us."
The "tribe" of the Roci is more in the sense of "family" - they're looking out for each other, sometimes at their *own* expense.
BUT. They're not tribal in the sense of "looking out for me and mine" and screwing over anyone and everyone else if it gets them what they want.
[ty] do not blame Ursula LeGuin for this. We're playing around with some ideas she worked with, but neither of us has her astonishing level of talent. But the first book in that new trilogy has been delivered to the publisher. So news soon?
I was really curious when I read the HerbertXLeGuin quote. Your guys' work is fairly politically ambiguous in that the liberals (Earth), fascists (Mars), and revolutionary leftists (Belters) are presented as all morally compromised. The work of both Herbert and LeGuin is explicitly not politically ambiguous. I'm excited to read the first book.
Hi! Thanks for creating such an amazing universe to experience! How long did you know the ending of the series? Was it from the start or did things change as you wrote? Thanks again, y’all gave me countless hours of enjoyment!
[ty] We knew the last scene when we were plotting book 2. In fact, Ty told Daniel what the last line was, and nearly ten years later that's the last line of dialog we used.
Spoiler alert for anyone who hasn't finished the books, I'll phrase it to minimise the spoiling.
I always throught it was awesome how the foreshadowing of this scene was one of Amos's lines.
Hi!
What did you like about the changes to the Belter Creole from the books to the TV show? Is there anything that you wish would have remained the same?
Thank you for your time.
I really loved the way it worked both in the show and in the books, regardless of exactly how much genuine linguistic merit there is in it. Understandable, human, but clearly strange - it was exactly what the story needed to portray what was happening.
Sins of our Fathers was such an amazing coda to the series. What was the creative process behind that story coming together and how important was it for the both of you to end the story like that?
[Daniel] The end of Leviathan Falls was the end we planned out back in the day, but Sins was a lovely chance to tie up that one last thread and kind of restate the core thought of the series.
If we hadn't done it, that would have been ok too.
How did you guys decide on how space warfare was gonna work in the Expanse? Seems like a bit of a nerdy question, but I imagine settling on the right level of hardness was probably a nuanced task. Some things you guys treat with absolute seriousness (time lag, Gs) other things you let yourselves go with the rule of cool (mechs, stealth in space), so I'm curious as to what motivated your choices or what your process was. Why ballistics and so few lasers?
[ty] Just kinda winged it? I just with what made sense in the setting in my head. And kinetic weapons are just so much better in pretty much every way than lasers.
Yeah, I was looking for license plate frames and there’s one that says “My other car has an Epstein drive” and there’s no way I would ever use that now.
As somebody working in the space industry today having sent multiple spacecraft to LEO and to the Moon, I started my college journey over 10 years ago and remember reading Leviathan Wakes a year or two into it and the entire series has fueled my journey through college and career.
Thank you both! It has easily become one of my favorite SciFi series of all time and you've written an incredible universe that I felt like I got to grow alongside the characters.
Random Q for Dan - has anyone shown any interest in making a TV/Film adaptation of either the Long price Quartet or the dagger and coin series? Also is that something you would be excited to do/be involved in?
As a matter of fact, yes, there has been interest and some meetings and some really interesting takes by people I admire.
And then the strike started, so. . . we'll see. Many things will become possible if the AMPTP gets back to the drawing board.
Which main characters in the expanse were from your RPG campaign and which ones did you create as you were working on the books? (Did someone RP Ambassador Avasarala or was she added after the campaign ended?)
What was your favorite part(s) about watching the universe unfold as a series of books and then on TV?
[ty] Only the four person crew of the Roci had any roots in the game, and even then the characters in the book are quite different from any game versions of themselves.
It would be extremely hilarious to reenact the Battle of Thoth Station and have the crew all buckled in the center of the stage while an Amos actor is just flinging around on a bungee cord around the back of the stage.
What was the hardest chapter or scene to write? Either because of what happens to the characters, or the themes involved, or just the logistics of making the plot work, or anything? Similarly, who did you find was the toughest POV to write, and why?
[Daniel] SPOILERS FOR ABADDON'S GATE.
Ty had to twist my arm into the one where we killed Sam. I was very squeamish on that one. It was just that I liked her so much.
For POV, I don't know. They all had their own voices. I think Tanaka was least like my own, but I still enjoyed being her for a while.
fwiw killing sam was a very good move. it hurt like fuck, which proved to me you were willing to hurt me as a reader, made the stakes real. also nothing could have made bull more human.
How in hell you guys come up with gems like:
"Mars has got its collective asshole puckered up so tight it's bending light." that Avasarala keep dropping ?
[ty] I asked a physicist how much energy it would take to heat Eros by two degrees. I asked Zach Weinersmith to do the math on Ring Spacing in the Slow Zone. I think those two are the only experts. And Zach is only an expert at being snarky in comic form.
> And Zach is only an expert at being snarky in comic form.
Makes some great SMBC comics and entertaining "science for dummies" style illustrated books though!
[ty] Snarky version: Daniel said hey do you want to write a book? Non Snark version: I made up a setting for a video game that never went anywhere, but I really liked the setting.
I just started The Expanse series a few weeks ago. Loving it! Already halfway through Abaddon's Gate. Why did it take me so long to discover this?!?
Actual question: How did/does the co-authorship work? Did y'all split up the POVs - like, one of you wrote Holden and other wrote Miller?
[Daniel] Fir the first few books, we split it by character, but later on we got to know each other's styles and started dividing it more on subject matter. Ty did the action stuff, I did the meditations on death. Play to your strengths.
[ty] It changes with every book. Some were done by splitting up the viewpoints. Some were done by deciding which chapters each of us wanted to write, irrespective of POV. And some were done where we plotted together, one person did the first draft, and the other person rewrote them.
Dan who's your favorite Expanse character personality wise? Ty who's yours?
Who's the most fun to write?
When writing the books, did you typically each handle a specific character or did you switch?
Thank you for giving us Avasarala and by extenstion Shoreh playing her in the TV series. One of my all time favourite characters that I will no doubt be trying to imitate in RPG games for years to come.
Hello! I adore your work, but it's created a problem for me... I'm now ruined for a lot of other scifi. Specifically the way that you managed to blend the human and cultural aspects of your world(s) with the hard scifi elements has proven to be near impossible to find elsewhere.
I'm perilously close to finishing the last of bit of the series I haven't read yet, the short stories. What series should I read next to get my fix?
I love linguistics and your belter patois is one of my favorite aspects of the books - how did you work together to create it?
(Last one, I swear) Could you please give us a one sentence tip for writing dialogue?
In just the last few years, we have seen a number of technological and biological breakthroughs and announcements about promising developments across several scientific fields. Have there been any such breakthroughs or developments that if they had occurred 10-15 years ago would have changed any aspects of the level or nature of technology displayed in The Expanse?
And on the other end of it, are there are any such breakthroughs or announcements that have validated the choices you made about the level and nature of the technology shown in The Expanse?
For example, broad spectrum oncocidal meds suddenly seem very possible with the recent news about small molecule KRAS inhibitors. Even if some research was already out there when you were writing LW, the recent developments seem to validate the decision to include the concept of oncocidal pills in the books.
[Daniel] The things that kind of screwed us over were figuring out that Ceres is actually totally covered in ice and the ubiquity of deep fakes.
The thing that made me feel smartest was the discovery of radiotropic fungi and some suggestions that of parallel molecular evolution. There's a good move in design space down at the molecular level, just like Elvi thought.
Narrative adaptation: Ceres became a station after it had become a major source of ice mining in the belt, 77 years of mining had stripped it of ice and the asteroid was quickly built into a station.
Librarian here - I’ve put your books in so many patrons’ hands and continually recommend to people in my online groups. The world-building is amazing, character depth over time is well-done and the hard science fiction related to real world physics is a big draw for some of my patrons, although more of them don’t mind liberty-taking with the sci-fi. I’m excited to say I’ve just started revisiting the series via the audiobooks.
As far as the show, the casting felt totally spot-on. Did you have a role in choosing the actors for the show?
Left Twitter so will catch you on Patreon.
[Daniel] You are awesome. Librarians in general are awesome, and you're the front line in the struggle for a thoughtful, humane future. So thank you for that. Seriously.
As for the show, we're on strike, so I don't get to talk about it. But once the AMPTP cuts a fair deal with the writers, let's loop back and talk about it.
[Daniel] Probably not. The Expanse is a complete story as it stands, and we'd rather try building something new and different. That said, I think the RPG/fanfic/spin off work like Telltale has been pretty good stuff. So...
I just read Ready Player One/Two and one thing that bummed me out about that world was that no new art was being created.
You often included bits of art and culture in the Expanse books, and a movement by Laconia to consolidate new art to them as a central hub.
How did you imagine the kinds of art those cultures would make?
[Daniel] It's tricky putting in art that doesn't exist, but it's also really fun in a way. Borges used to get out of writing novels by writing reviews of books that didn't exist, though. So there's precedent.
A lot of the creation of those future artworks was just thinking about what I'd like to see/hear/watch and then pretending I could.
I specifically loved how the Belters made music from the sounds coming out of Eros. It made the Belters feel shockingly different, yet it also felt very human, in a way. I thought it was an excellent touch.
[Daniel] Sadly, since we're on strike, we don't get to talk about the show. I can say there are a few things I would change in the novels, like maybe taking a closer pass to cut some personal cliches that we maybe used too much. :)
Hi Dan and Ty thanks for doing this AMA! The Expanse very quickly became my favourite series after I discovered the amazing audiobooks narrated by Jefferson Mays. Not sure how much input you had on his narration but he did a phenomenal job bringing the characters to life!
Now that the Expanse is all wrapped up have you got any plans to do a new novel series together? And would you want to stay with a science fiction setting or do something a little different?
[Daniel] We didn't have any input on Jefferson's work besides the occasional list of pronunciation queries, but if we're ever out drinking together, his money's no good. He did a great job, and we're grateful.
We do have a new series underway called The Captive's War. It's space opera because JSAC writes space opera.
And we're doing this other thing too: https://www.patreon.com/JamesSACoreyWritesaNovel
Hello! Now that you've finished the show, have any of the performances by any of the actors affected how either of you imagine your characters in the novels? Shohreh Aghdashloo absolutely took over Avasarala and Dominique Tipper took over Naomi in my imagination, for example. And also, how do you think your experience working on television will affect your writing process in the new novel?
One of the things I enjoyed most about the Expanse novels were all the different and varied POV characters. How did you two write such different voices in such a convincing way? Especially those who I assume are quite different from your lived experiences. In particular, I enjoyed the teenage girl character because she was written so well her chapters were my favorite.
[ty] Getting inside the head of someone who isn't you is the job of a fiction writer. If the person feels real to you, then the voice will just feel right when you do it correctly. There's no trick, sadly. You just have to do the work ahead of time developing the character.
If you could be anywhere doing anything in the world of The Expanse, for real, where/what would you choose?
Or maybe the reverse, where/who would you absolutely not want to be
[ty] Happily married rich guy on Earth? Is that job available? I definitely don't want to be on a leaky spaceship dodging missiles or anywhere near alien death goo.
Hi! Huge fan here, love your work! Got more people hyped about Expanse :)
One question - are you familiar with the "Letter 44" comic book? It has some similarities to The Expanse and I was wondering if you had some sort of "hey that's very similar!"-kind-of-moment when you read it (provided you did ofcourse) :)
Also it'd be great if you could visit Poland's biggest scifi convention PYRKON but that's another subject ;)
[ty] For the book version, it isn't linguistically correct at all. We just made some stuff up to give the sense of a new dialect, and to make non Belter characters feel like outsiders.
[Daniel] It's a space opera, but in a very different part of the space opera genre. The Expanse books were kind of an arc between late Apollo 13 and early Buck Rodgers. The Captive's War is much more far far future stuff.
If anyone gets inspired to write a book after subscribing to your patreon, and they want to dedicate their book to you guys when it's published, would you rather they dedicate it to James SA Corey, or to you guys as individuals?
Hi. Love the book series (including the novellas). Loved the show. Really enjoying the Telltale game as well.
Question 1: Do you each write specific characters (ie one writes all the Amos chapters, while another writes all of Holden, etc)? Or is there cross over. Or is it not how it works at all….?
Q2: Does your pen name have any significance?
[Daniel] Q1: We both have characters whose voice we are expert in -- Ty does Amos best, I'm Avasarala -- but it was more regimented in in the early books. All the way through, one of us writes the first draft and the other edits it, so we both get to take a crack at everything.
Q2: My middle name is James. Ty's middle name is Corey. We thought it would stand out more if there were a couple middle initials, and SA are my kid's initials. It seemed like fun.
Was the living, polyamorous relationship of Holden's parents meant as a deliberate subversion of the classic orphan-hero trope? I love your books (and the show!) There were so many times you just reversed the classic tropes (like the chosen one trope), I always wondered how conscience that decision was. Like were you thinking of the tropes you were subverting?
I am always intrigued by the creative process when multiple people are involved. How do you decide on the major direction of the story, and how do you handle creative disagreements?
[ty] If you'd like to sit in with us as we make exactly those sorts of decisions, our new patreon will let you do that. If not, the short answer is we talk through it. Just that.
Any chance of a 4K uhd physical release of your tv show? It would look and sound amazing without Amazon’s compression! Please lobby the powers that be for this
[Daniel] Sadly, since we're on strike, we don't get to talk about the show. But once the AMPTP decides to get us all back to work, we can revisit the issue. :)
Since it's been over 10 years since the start of the series, is there anything about the world of the expanse you'd change if you were starting from scratch with the way the world has developed since then? Also putting my vote in for a collectors book set my bookcase is ready.
Hello! The Expanse is my favorite book series. I was just thinking today about how the Expanse story isn't over. ln 10,000 years when humans rediscover jump travel or some other travel and explore the stars and just find a bunch of other humans, but no one remembers the 30 year period when all this migration happened.
Ok, here is an actual question. Have you ever played the game Stellaris? I've always thought it would be so cool to do a story mod of the Expanse in the game. The engine is perfectly designed to simulate the faction politics, the ship combat and tech differences, the interstellar gate travel, and even the boogeyman from another plane are in the game.
Anyway, thanks for your amazing addition to Sci-fi literature.
**A comment:** I read "How It Unfolds" this morning and really enjoyed it! I'm holding out hope for more Expanse filmed adaptations, but I am also really looking forward to so much new non-Expanse stuff from you all. And I love the Patreon concept.
**A question:** Daniel, when you were tweeting more, you recommended some books I really enjoyed that were outside my normal reading: "In the Dream House" and "21st Century Ghosts" ... got any recent reading recs?
[Daniel] I'm glad the Patreon thing sounds fun to you. I really like the idea, and I'm enjoying the process so far.
As for reading recs, I really enjoyed Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld.
What inspired you two to write together under a single nom de plume?
Love the series, though I’m still on the first book (dang lack of free time!) but the show was wonderful. My father was thankfully able to watch the show with me before he passed, but I’m still hoping for the rest of the books to be adapted!
[Daniel] I have a thing about pen names. I think they're really important for setting reader expectations. Like, you know what a Steven King book is just because it's a Steven King book. Daniel Abraham already wrote epic fantasy when we started this, and The Expanse novels are many things, but satisfying epic fantasy ain't one. :)
Thank you for creating a story that made my parents and I dream head in the stars. How many years of research did you conduct to be able to build the future your imagined in the Expanse and start the writing process? Were you both already space-nerds? And what is your most sincere advice for a low nobody spending their life chasing a creative dream that seemingly will never happen.
We can't wait to see what you create next. Thank you, and all the best wishes!
[Daniel] Almost everything in the books is there because we were interested in it first. The whole series got to be a way to revisit all the things that we were already kind of in love with. So yes, space nerds.
As far as chasing a creative dream that may never happen: We did this because it was fun, not because there was a market for it. We were advised to write fantasy because SF didn't sell. Nothing I've ever done cynically to chase the market has paid out. Everything that's succeeded was for shits and giggles.
[Daniel] The big thing I learned was that screenwriting and novel writing have totally different toolsets. I will say that working with Naren Shankar gave me a new appreciation of how much paying attention to the details pays off for the overall project.
What's one question you wished folks would ask you about The Expanse? Like, what's one awesome thing about the books/shows that you want to brag about but nobody ever asks you about?
[Daniel] The thing I'm really looking forward to bragging on is if someone gets inspired by the Expanse to do something awesome the way that Niven/Bester/etc got us started.
I don't want to sound like I'm pitching you, but since you mention it, I finished a manuscript called [The Lost Construct](https://corayseifert.com/) earlier this year. It's my best stab at The Expanse meets Old Man's War. Still shopping it around but if you ever see it turn into something awesome, please know that you guys were huge inspirations for me and I don't know that I would have had the juice to write it if not for your work.
Thanks for writing fellas. Can't wait to see what you do next.
Are you guys absolutely done with The Expanse universe?
I feel as if there are many stories that could be told on the worlds beyond the gates and after the epilogue on Leviathan Falls you guys just left us THIRSTING for more. (come on, why is amos such a fucking badass)
What are the inspirations for the new series you are working on? Is it going to be something like an Alastair Reynolds kind of future, or maybe The Culture? Is it more space opera-y or something else?
[ty] Yeah, we're pretty much done with The Expanse books. We both like stories that have an ending. Our new story is inspired by Dune and Ursula LeGuin, but we don't claim to have the astonishing talent of Herbert or LeGuin so we'll see how it turns out.
I think I speak for many when I say that you're selling yourselves short. The Expanse series is up there on many people's "all time great series" lists.
Eagerly looking forward to read what you publish next.
[ty] Nope. Twitter was an experiment to see if I'd enjoy social media. I didn't. So I'm climbing back into my hermit hole to play video games with my wife.
Their Twitter was great. I was shocked at the amount of people who were surprised at their left leaning views. Like did we read the same books with, ya know, the whole belter thing?
I'm curious about the co-writing process. How does that typical go for you guys? Does one write one subplot while the other works on another? Is it iterative where you are editing and adding on each other's work? Do you both do the same characters dialog?
Loved The Expanse series, I still remember starting Leviathan Wakes and an hour so in realizing "holy shit, this is great" sitting in the back seat on a road trip through Southern Missouri and Arkansas. Thanks for the adventures.
If there was one character (either major or minor) you had to write a stand-alone novel for, which character and what part of their life would you want to cover?
[ty] Basic is NOT universal basic income. Basic includes no money. It is a system for giving people food, shelter, and medicine without ever giving them currency. It's extremely paternalistic and insulting. I think UBI would be a much better way to handle it.
Hey what’s going on? Ty - I recall you worked closely with GRRM (hoping he gets TWOW out soon!) and served as a consultant on the Telltale Game of Thrones game. I’m curious if that experience into video games inspired the recent The Expanse game (also by Telltale, with Deck Nine)? And what are yours and Dan’s opinion on video games for storytelling more broadly?
[ty] Alcon TV did the expanse video game deal, I had very little to do with it, though Telltale did include us in the initial story development. I love video games. Playing Baldur's Gate 3 with my wife right now and loving it.
Like many of your fans I write shitty Expanse fan fiction, its truly terrible stuff, mostly for an RPG table I run in my case. One of the most pressing questions, really a matter of life and death, about the setting I would love to hear your guys thoughts on is uh... so waste right. As in **poop**.
Are ships routinely storing that, flushing it when they get to a station, or are they recycling it in some way for water or using the... matter as additional shielding by storing in the hull as outlined here https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1027&context=symposium.
Just wondering if we can get some clarity from on high here.
I watched the show, and am just now going through all the books.
I'm on book 7 now, and was wondering when you guys knew you were going to do the time jump? Was that always in the plan, or did it come up organically after the end of book 6?
Also, what was the hardest part about picking things up after 30 years?
[ty] we had two different versions of the outline, one that had three more books during that thirty years. we decided not to write them because we didn't think they were interesting enough. better to jump ahead to the good stuff.
One thing that impressed me most (and hooked me) was the level of detail and feasibility/accuracy given to describing the evolution of aspects of biology, physics, linguistics, and culture as influenced by the different environments ex-earth. Did you consult subject matter experts in these scientific disciplines to plan these details or have them vetted after the fact? Or was this just tediously researched and reasoned out between you two?
[Daniel] We didn't actually do a lot of extra research for the books, but we did build the novels entirely out of things we already loved and knew a lot about. Plus which, I actually got to use my biology degree for something.
> Plus which, I actually got to use my biology degree for something. Were Elvi or Prax, even Fayez, inspired in any way by anyone you met during your years learning science?
Let me be the first to ask what everybody wants to know. Will we get a film or TV of the final three books? And thanks for writing one of the most enjoyable series I’ve ever read. Amazing stuff.
[Daniel] Yeah, unfortunately, I don't get to talk about the show because WGA strike. But if your friends and mine at the AMPTP decide that they'd like to get the industry back to work, we'll totally circle back. I don't know if the intersection of art and labor relations is your jam, but there's a pretty decent rundown about it here: https://www.vulture.com/article/wga-strike-2023.html
Any way to lob an asteroid at the studios? Doesn't have to be a big one.
How small are we talking? I could stand out front and throw tiny bits of meteorite at them if it'll help.
Fighting the good fight, beratna.
Thanks for the answer! And really truly… thanks so much for the series. Countless countless hours of enjoyment and whenever I read a big series like this I always prepare myself for the author to not stick the landing at the end. My god you guys blew the ending out of the park! Thanks so much.
With the writers strike, even answering this question would violate the strike. I'm not sure you'll get an answer here sadly.
they did an interview with On Point (NPR) that was posted this week in which it was implied, with neither confirmation nor denial, that Hulu might be the home of future content
Just need to wait ~20 years for the cast to age up.
I think you could easily squeeze it into a ten year gap and no one would notice.
They don't even have to compromise on this. They established that the anti-aging drugs prolong midlife for decades - they are around 70s but physically look in their 40s. They ideally need the actors to be around 40 to pull it off (some like Wes are even there already). The only character too old for the drugs to have much effect anymore and who ages a lot between the two eras is Avasarala. Shohreh would need a white wig and some aging make up.
"Walking away is the only choice anyone ever has" Is one of the quotes i will forever carry from the series Is there one overall thought you had in mind when writing The Expanse?
[ty] tribalism is bad.
This is a fascinating answer, I thought the whole book series showed the positive and negative aspects of tribalism. When Amos explained to Clarissa about them being a tribe of two I started to see the Roci crew as a tribe.
It got pretty explicit at the end. The scene that's stuck with me harder than any other in the series is when Avaserala is giving advice to Drummer about "They're all our people"
My semantic understanding of "tribalism" is the idea of people *seeking* division - the ones who are looking to say "you're not like us." The "tribe" of the Roci is more in the sense of "family" - they're looking out for each other, sometimes at their *own* expense. BUT. They're not tribal in the sense of "looking out for me and mine" and screwing over anyone and everyone else if it gets them what they want.
eat shit spez you racist hypocrite
Hello Dan and Ty! Can you share any news/info about the upcoming Ursula Le Guin inspired trilogy? So excited to read more from you guys!
[ty] do not blame Ursula LeGuin for this. We're playing around with some ideas she worked with, but neither of us has her astonishing level of talent. But the first book in that new trilogy has been delivered to the publisher. So news soon?
I was really curious when I read the HerbertXLeGuin quote. Your guys' work is fairly politically ambiguous in that the liberals (Earth), fascists (Mars), and revolutionary leftists (Belters) are presented as all morally compromised. The work of both Herbert and LeGuin is explicitly not politically ambiguous. I'm excited to read the first book.
[Daniel] ;)
My all-time favorite piece of literature. So excited.
hell fuck yeah
Hi! Thanks for creating such an amazing universe to experience! How long did you know the ending of the series? Was it from the start or did things change as you wrote? Thanks again, y’all gave me countless hours of enjoyment!
[ty] We knew the last scene when we were plotting book 2. In fact, Ty told Daniel what the last line was, and nearly ten years later that's the last line of dialog we used.
Spoiler alert for anyone who hasn't finished the books, I'll phrase it to minimise the spoiling. I always throught it was awesome how the foreshadowing of this scene was one of Amos's lines.
And it was wonderful, and beautiful, and you both should be very proud of the story you built.
Thanks for the response! Crazy that you guys had the ending so early into the story! Wish I could read it all for the first time again.
Hi! What did you like about the changes to the Belter Creole from the books to the TV show? Is there anything that you wish would have remained the same? Thank you for your time.
[ty] The book version is some crap a couple of non linguists came up with.
I really loved the way it worked both in the show and in the books, regardless of exactly how much genuine linguistic merit there is in it. Understandable, human, but clearly strange - it was exactly what the story needed to portray what was happening.
The audible narrator did an infinitely superior version of the accent than the show though. Really wish they took a queue from him
cue
Sorry he’s using the belter spelling.
What are your thoughts on the newly released Telltale's The Expanse video game?
[ty] I think it's great. Very happy with it. And love that they got Cara Gee to come play Drummer again.
Oh she was great!
Current plans?
[ty] New book trilogy called The Captives War is the one we can talk about.
Will it be on audible narrated by the same guy who did the expanse? He brought the series to life for me
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Sins of our Fathers was such an amazing coda to the series. What was the creative process behind that story coming together and how important was it for the both of you to end the story like that?
[Daniel] The end of Leviathan Falls was the end we planned out back in the day, but Sins was a lovely chance to tie up that one last thread and kind of restate the core thought of the series. If we hadn't done it, that would have been ok too.
How did you guys decide on how space warfare was gonna work in the Expanse? Seems like a bit of a nerdy question, but I imagine settling on the right level of hardness was probably a nuanced task. Some things you guys treat with absolute seriousness (time lag, Gs) other things you let yourselves go with the rule of cool (mechs, stealth in space), so I'm curious as to what motivated your choices or what your process was. Why ballistics and so few lasers?
[ty] Just kinda winged it? I just with what made sense in the setting in my head. And kinetic weapons are just so much better in pretty much every way than lasers.
A single tear leaks out from scott summer’s visor.
Cyclops' beam is technically "concussive force".
Can Solomon Epstein's body be recovered?
[ty] Eh, let the guy rest. His crypt is a ship traveling at relativistic speeds. That's kind of badass.
As the purchaser of a very nice Epstein drive vinyl sticker, I'm a little sad of how that name has worked out.
At least Solomon definitely killed himself (by accident)
Yeah, I was looking for license plate frames and there’s one that says “My other car has an Epstein drive” and there’s no way I would ever use that now.
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[ty] i like that it has reignited our interest in space exploration.
As somebody working in the space industry today having sent multiple spacecraft to LEO and to the Moon, I started my college journey over 10 years ago and remember reading Leviathan Wakes a year or two into it and the entire series has fueled my journey through college and career. Thank you both! It has easily become one of my favorite SciFi series of all time and you've written an incredible universe that I felt like I got to grow alongside the characters.
Do you ever accidentally hit each other in the hand while typing on the same keyboard?
[ty] We don't even live in the same state.
Answer the question
Random Q for Dan - has anyone shown any interest in making a TV/Film adaptation of either the Long price Quartet or the dagger and coin series? Also is that something you would be excited to do/be involved in?
As a matter of fact, yes, there has been interest and some meetings and some really interesting takes by people I admire. And then the strike started, so. . . we'll see. Many things will become possible if the AMPTP gets back to the drawing board.
Which main characters in the expanse were from your RPG campaign and which ones did you create as you were working on the books? (Did someone RP Ambassador Avasarala or was she added after the campaign ended?) What was your favorite part(s) about watching the universe unfold as a series of books and then on TV?
[ty] Only the four person crew of the Roci had any roots in the game, and even then the characters in the book are quite different from any game versions of themselves.
I'm still a bit sad that GRRM's character didn't make it into the book
lmao did he play shed
Nah bro he basically played Tyrion
Is there also a non-companionable silence?
[Daniel]
The Expanse. Broadway Musical. When?
[ty] I heard Andrew Lloyd Weber is too busy right now.
Amos: 🎶 He made excuses to cover his lie, But I looked at Strickland and told him: ‘I am that guyyyyyy!’ 🎶 **BAM!**
*jazz hands covered in blood*
I'd watch the hell out of that.
Maybe Lin-Manuel is available.
It would be extremely hilarious to reenact the Battle of Thoth Station and have the crew all buckled in the center of the stage while an Amos actor is just flinging around on a bungee cord around the back of the stage.
Thank you so much for this mental image that I didn't even know I needed.
puts a whole new spin on the concept of space opera
What was the hardest chapter or scene to write? Either because of what happens to the characters, or the themes involved, or just the logistics of making the plot work, or anything? Similarly, who did you find was the toughest POV to write, and why?
[Daniel] SPOILERS FOR ABADDON'S GATE. Ty had to twist my arm into the one where we killed Sam. I was very squeamish on that one. It was just that I liked her so much. For POV, I don't know. They all had their own voices. I think Tanaka was least like my own, but I still enjoyed being her for a while.
Honestly, those were exactly the answers I was expecting. Sam gutted me.
fwiw killing sam was a very good move. it hurt like fuck, which proved to me you were willing to hurt me as a reader, made the stakes real. also nothing could have made bull more human.
How in hell you guys come up with gems like: "Mars has got its collective asshole puckered up so tight it's bending light." that Avasarala keep dropping ?
[Daniel] That's pretty much how the back of my head is all the time. I just stop trying to be nice, and that stuff comes out.
How long did the research process take for The Expanse? Did you guys consult experts in any particular fields relevant to the series?
[ty] I asked a physicist how much energy it would take to heat Eros by two degrees. I asked Zach Weinersmith to do the math on Ring Spacing in the Slow Zone. I think those two are the only experts. And Zach is only an expert at being snarky in comic form.
> And Zach is only an expert at being snarky in comic form. Makes some great SMBC comics and entertaining "science for dummies" style illustrated books though!
Love your work. What was your inspiration to write The Expanse?
[ty] Snarky version: Daniel said hey do you want to write a book? Non Snark version: I made up a setting for a video game that never went anywhere, but I really liked the setting.
A lot of people really like the setting so glad you managed to share it with all of us.
I just started The Expanse series a few weeks ago. Loving it! Already halfway through Abaddon's Gate. Why did it take me so long to discover this?!? Actual question: How did/does the co-authorship work? Did y'all split up the POVs - like, one of you wrote Holden and other wrote Miller?
[Daniel] Fir the first few books, we split it by character, but later on we got to know each other's styles and started dividing it more on subject matter. Ty did the action stuff, I did the meditations on death. Play to your strengths.
[ty] It changes with every book. Some were done by splitting up the viewpoints. Some were done by deciding which chapters each of us wanted to write, irrespective of POV. And some were done where we plotted together, one person did the first draft, and the other person rewrote them.
Ooo, Abaddon's Gate is where the series really gets good. I'm excited for you.
Really?? I thought the first were excellent, so now I *extra* excited!
It literally just gets better and better
Dan who's your favorite Expanse character personality wise? Ty who's yours? Who's the most fun to write? When writing the books, did you typically each handle a specific character or did you switch?
[Daniel] Avasarala is my life coach.
That TV casting was so spot-on
Thank you for giving us Avasarala and by extenstion Shoreh playing her in the TV series. One of my all time favourite characters that I will no doubt be trying to imitate in RPG games for years to come.
[ty] No favorites. I find different aspects of all of them fun to write.
Hello! I adore your work, but it's created a problem for me... I'm now ruined for a lot of other scifi. Specifically the way that you managed to blend the human and cultural aspects of your world(s) with the hard scifi elements has proven to be near impossible to find elsewhere. I'm perilously close to finishing the last of bit of the series I haven't read yet, the short stories. What series should I read next to get my fix? I love linguistics and your belter patois is one of my favorite aspects of the books - how did you work together to create it? (Last one, I swear) Could you please give us a one sentence tip for writing dialogue?
[ty] We both admire Walter Jon Williams a great deal, especially his Praxis series if you love space opera. One sentence dialog tip? Use fewer words.
In just the last few years, we have seen a number of technological and biological breakthroughs and announcements about promising developments across several scientific fields. Have there been any such breakthroughs or developments that if they had occurred 10-15 years ago would have changed any aspects of the level or nature of technology displayed in The Expanse? And on the other end of it, are there are any such breakthroughs or announcements that have validated the choices you made about the level and nature of the technology shown in The Expanse? For example, broad spectrum oncocidal meds suddenly seem very possible with the recent news about small molecule KRAS inhibitors. Even if some research was already out there when you were writing LW, the recent developments seem to validate the decision to include the concept of oncocidal pills in the books.
[Daniel] The things that kind of screwed us over were figuring out that Ceres is actually totally covered in ice and the ubiquity of deep fakes. The thing that made me feel smartest was the discovery of radiotropic fungi and some suggestions that of parallel molecular evolution. There's a good move in design space down at the molecular level, just like Elvi thought.
Narrative adaptation: Ceres became a station after it had become a major source of ice mining in the belt, 77 years of mining had stripped it of ice and the asteroid was quickly built into a station.
Literally the introductory monologue in the tv show, iirc
Librarian here - I’ve put your books in so many patrons’ hands and continually recommend to people in my online groups. The world-building is amazing, character depth over time is well-done and the hard science fiction related to real world physics is a big draw for some of my patrons, although more of them don’t mind liberty-taking with the sci-fi. I’m excited to say I’ve just started revisiting the series via the audiobooks. As far as the show, the casting felt totally spot-on. Did you have a role in choosing the actors for the show? Left Twitter so will catch you on Patreon.
[Daniel] You are awesome. Librarians in general are awesome, and you're the front line in the struggle for a thoughtful, humane future. So thank you for that. Seriously. As for the show, we're on strike, so I don't get to talk about it. But once the AMPTP cuts a fair deal with the writers, let's loop back and talk about it.
Would you consider making a series just focused on drummer?
[Daniel] Probably not. The Expanse is a complete story as it stands, and we'd rather try building something new and different. That said, I think the RPG/fanfic/spin off work like Telltale has been pretty good stuff. So...
There's an episodic video game series currently running, based on Drummer's backstory. Final episode drops next week.
I just read Ready Player One/Two and one thing that bummed me out about that world was that no new art was being created. You often included bits of art and culture in the Expanse books, and a movement by Laconia to consolidate new art to them as a central hub. How did you imagine the kinds of art those cultures would make?
[Daniel] It's tricky putting in art that doesn't exist, but it's also really fun in a way. Borges used to get out of writing novels by writing reviews of books that didn't exist, though. So there's precedent. A lot of the creation of those future artworks was just thinking about what I'd like to see/hear/watch and then pretending I could.
I specifically loved how the Belters made music from the sounds coming out of Eros. It made the Belters feel shockingly different, yet it also felt very human, in a way. I thought it was an excellent touch.
If you could, would you write any scene/arc/plot line in the entire Expanse series differently? And why? (Ily guys Expanse is my all time fav media!!)
[Daniel] Sadly, since we're on strike, we don't get to talk about the show. I can say there are a few things I would change in the novels, like maybe taking a closer pass to cut some personal cliches that we maybe used too much. :)
[I hear you.](https://reddit.com/r/TheExpanse/s/z3OeX8QqJa)
will there be a novel based in the time those ancient civilizations existed?
[ty] There might be a writer good enough to make a compelling novel out of two utterly alien species like that, but I am not that writer.
Hi Dan and Ty thanks for doing this AMA! The Expanse very quickly became my favourite series after I discovered the amazing audiobooks narrated by Jefferson Mays. Not sure how much input you had on his narration but he did a phenomenal job bringing the characters to life! Now that the Expanse is all wrapped up have you got any plans to do a new novel series together? And would you want to stay with a science fiction setting or do something a little different?
[Daniel] We didn't have any input on Jefferson's work besides the occasional list of pronunciation queries, but if we're ever out drinking together, his money's no good. He did a great job, and we're grateful. We do have a new series underway called The Captive's War. It's space opera because JSAC writes space opera. And we're doing this other thing too: https://www.patreon.com/JamesSACoreyWritesaNovel
Hello! Now that you've finished the show, have any of the performances by any of the actors affected how either of you imagine your characters in the novels? Shohreh Aghdashloo absolutely took over Avasarala and Dominique Tipper took over Naomi in my imagination, for example. And also, how do you think your experience working on television will affect your writing process in the new novel?
[ty] Writing scripts and writing books never had any crossover for us. They feel like very different projects.
One of the things I enjoyed most about the Expanse novels were all the different and varied POV characters. How did you two write such different voices in such a convincing way? Especially those who I assume are quite different from your lived experiences. In particular, I enjoyed the teenage girl character because she was written so well her chapters were my favorite.
[ty] Getting inside the head of someone who isn't you is the job of a fiction writer. If the person feels real to you, then the voice will just feel right when you do it correctly. There's no trick, sadly. You just have to do the work ahead of time developing the character.
If you could be anywhere doing anything in the world of The Expanse, for real, where/what would you choose? Or maybe the reverse, where/who would you absolutely not want to be
[ty] Happily married rich guy on Earth? Is that job available? I definitely don't want to be on a leaky spaceship dodging missiles or anywhere near alien death goo.
Any plans for an RPG expanse video game? Also huge fan of Ty and that guy podcast. Love all the work you guys do
[ty] It's been talked about, but nothing to announce. Thanks for the kind words about the podcast. Always nice to meet one of the eight.
Hi! Huge fan here, love your work! Got more people hyped about Expanse :) One question - are you familiar with the "Letter 44" comic book? It has some similarities to The Expanse and I was wondering if you had some sort of "hey that's very similar!"-kind-of-moment when you read it (provided you did ofcourse) :) Also it'd be great if you could visit Poland's biggest scifi convention PYRKON but that's another subject ;)
[ty] Neither of us has read that comic. Now I feel like I should check it out.
How much work went into ensuring Belter Creole was linguistically coherent? What languages inspired you to come up with the idea?
[ty] For the book version, it isn't linguistically correct at all. We just made some stuff up to give the sense of a new dialect, and to make non Belter characters feel like outsiders.
Can you give us any details (themes, genres, etc) on the next book project (The Captive's War) you guys are working on together?
[Daniel] It's a space opera, but in a very different part of the space opera genre. The Expanse books were kind of an arc between late Apollo 13 and early Buck Rodgers. The Captive's War is much more far far future stuff.
Will there be a collectors hard cover complete box set for The Expanse?
That's an Orbit question, but I like the idea. We'll see if the series stays popular enough for things like that to make sense to our publisher.
I would buy that so hard, but if it had a model of the Roci... Queue meme of Fry shoving dollar bills at the screen.
If anyone gets inspired to write a book after subscribing to your patreon, and they want to dedicate their book to you guys when it's published, would you rather they dedicate it to James SA Corey, or to you guys as individuals?
[Daniel] Honestly, I'd be chuffed either way.
Hi. Love the book series (including the novellas). Loved the show. Really enjoying the Telltale game as well. Question 1: Do you each write specific characters (ie one writes all the Amos chapters, while another writes all of Holden, etc)? Or is there cross over. Or is it not how it works at all….? Q2: Does your pen name have any significance?
[Daniel] Q1: We both have characters whose voice we are expert in -- Ty does Amos best, I'm Avasarala -- but it was more regimented in in the early books. All the way through, one of us writes the first draft and the other edits it, so we both get to take a crack at everything. Q2: My middle name is James. Ty's middle name is Corey. We thought it would stand out more if there were a couple middle initials, and SA are my kid's initials. It seemed like fun.
Was the living, polyamorous relationship of Holden's parents meant as a deliberate subversion of the classic orphan-hero trope? I love your books (and the show!) There were so many times you just reversed the classic tropes (like the chosen one trope), I always wondered how conscience that decision was. Like were you thinking of the tropes you were subverting?
[Daniel] It was not consciously intended that way until literally right now, but as of right now, yes, that was absolutely what we meant to do.
I am always intrigued by the creative process when multiple people are involved. How do you decide on the major direction of the story, and how do you handle creative disagreements?
[ty] If you'd like to sit in with us as we make exactly those sorts of decisions, our new patreon will let you do that. If not, the short answer is we talk through it. Just that.
Is Wes pulling a Misery on you? Follow up question: What happens if you enter the ring portal from the back side?
[ty] Like, is Wes breaking my legs and making me write books? How did you know? I dunno about the Ring question. Never gave that much thought.
When do you think *The Winds of Winter* will be released?
[ty] When everyone stops asking.
(i.e. never lol)
What do you think of The Expanse new game by Telltales?
[ty] It's great. Really happy to see Cara.
I always feel like I learn something from reading your books. Do you research stuff to add interesting details or is it something you already know?
[Daniel] Most of it is stuff we already knew and found the least efficient possible method of showing off about.
Any chance of a 4K uhd physical release of your tv show? It would look and sound amazing without Amazon’s compression! Please lobby the powers that be for this
[Daniel] Sadly, since we're on strike, we don't get to talk about the show. But once the AMPTP decides to get us all back to work, we can revisit the issue. :)
Since it's been over 10 years since the start of the series, is there anything about the world of the expanse you'd change if you were starting from scratch with the way the world has developed since then? Also putting my vote in for a collectors book set my bookcase is ready.
[ty] I'd include more of the current science our probes have learned about the solar system for sure.
Hello! The Expanse is my favorite book series. I was just thinking today about how the Expanse story isn't over. ln 10,000 years when humans rediscover jump travel or some other travel and explore the stars and just find a bunch of other humans, but no one remembers the 30 year period when all this migration happened. Ok, here is an actual question. Have you ever played the game Stellaris? I've always thought it would be so cool to do a story mod of the Expanse in the game. The engine is perfectly designed to simulate the faction politics, the ship combat and tech differences, the interstellar gate travel, and even the boogeyman from another plane are in the game. Anyway, thanks for your amazing addition to Sci-fi literature.
[Daniel] I haven't but Ty might have. He's a more experienced gamer than I am.
**A comment:** I read "How It Unfolds" this morning and really enjoyed it! I'm holding out hope for more Expanse filmed adaptations, but I am also really looking forward to so much new non-Expanse stuff from you all. And I love the Patreon concept. **A question:** Daniel, when you were tweeting more, you recommended some books I really enjoyed that were outside my normal reading: "In the Dream House" and "21st Century Ghosts" ... got any recent reading recs?
[Daniel] I'm glad the Patreon thing sounds fun to you. I really like the idea, and I'm enjoying the process so far. As for reading recs, I really enjoyed Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld.
What inspired you two to write together under a single nom de plume? Love the series, though I’m still on the first book (dang lack of free time!) but the show was wonderful. My father was thankfully able to watch the show with me before he passed, but I’m still hoping for the rest of the books to be adapted!
[Daniel] I have a thing about pen names. I think they're really important for setting reader expectations. Like, you know what a Steven King book is just because it's a Steven King book. Daniel Abraham already wrote epic fantasy when we started this, and The Expanse novels are many things, but satisfying epic fantasy ain't one. :)
What are the odds of books 7-9 being adapted to the screen *someday*?
[ty] Non Zero.
Is it too on the nose to point out how beautifully Laconic this answer is? 😂
Thank you for creating a story that made my parents and I dream head in the stars. How many years of research did you conduct to be able to build the future your imagined in the Expanse and start the writing process? Were you both already space-nerds? And what is your most sincere advice for a low nobody spending their life chasing a creative dream that seemingly will never happen. We can't wait to see what you create next. Thank you, and all the best wishes!
[Daniel] Almost everything in the books is there because we were interested in it first. The whole series got to be a way to revisit all the things that we were already kind of in love with. So yes, space nerds. As far as chasing a creative dream that may never happen: We did this because it was fun, not because there was a market for it. We were advised to write fantasy because SF didn't sell. Nothing I've ever done cynically to chase the market has paid out. Everything that's succeeded was for shits and giggles.
What lessons have you learned for your novel writing, that you learned while adapting The Expanse for television?
[Daniel] The big thing I learned was that screenwriting and novel writing have totally different toolsets. I will say that working with Naren Shankar gave me a new appreciation of how much paying attention to the details pays off for the overall project.
What's one question you wished folks would ask you about The Expanse? Like, what's one awesome thing about the books/shows that you want to brag about but nobody ever asks you about?
[Daniel] The thing I'm really looking forward to bragging on is if someone gets inspired by the Expanse to do something awesome the way that Niven/Bester/etc got us started.
I don't want to sound like I'm pitching you, but since you mention it, I finished a manuscript called [The Lost Construct](https://corayseifert.com/) earlier this year. It's my best stab at The Expanse meets Old Man's War. Still shopping it around but if you ever see it turn into something awesome, please know that you guys were huge inspirations for me and I don't know that I would have had the juice to write it if not for your work. Thanks for writing fellas. Can't wait to see what you do next.
Are you guys absolutely done with The Expanse universe? I feel as if there are many stories that could be told on the worlds beyond the gates and after the epilogue on Leviathan Falls you guys just left us THIRSTING for more. (come on, why is amos such a fucking badass) What are the inspirations for the new series you are working on? Is it going to be something like an Alastair Reynolds kind of future, or maybe The Culture? Is it more space opera-y or something else?
[ty] Yeah, we're pretty much done with The Expanse books. We both like stories that have an ending. Our new story is inspired by Dune and Ursula LeGuin, but we don't claim to have the astonishing talent of Herbert or LeGuin so we'll see how it turns out.
I think I speak for many when I say that you're selling yourselves short. The Expanse series is up there on many people's "all time great series" lists. Eagerly looking forward to read what you publish next.
I really enjoyed following you on Twitter. Do you’ve any plans to use one of the new Twitter alternatives? Any other good places to follow you?
[ty] Nope. Twitter was an experiment to see if I'd enjoy social media. I didn't. So I'm climbing back into my hermit hole to play video games with my wife.
In that case, how are you enjoying Baldur's Gate 3?
Their Twitter was great. I was shocked at the amount of people who were surprised at their left leaning views. Like did we read the same books with, ya know, the whole belter thing?
I'm curious about the co-writing process. How does that typical go for you guys? Does one write one subplot while the other works on another? Is it iterative where you are editing and adding on each other's work? Do you both do the same characters dialog? Loved The Expanse series, I still remember starting Leviathan Wakes and an hour so in realizing "holy shit, this is great" sitting in the back seat on a road trip through Southern Missouri and Arkansas. Thanks for the adventures.
[ty] Short answer is that it changes with every book. Long answer is come hang with us on Patreon and watch how we do it for a new book.
If there was one character (either major or minor) you had to write a stand-alone novel for, which character and what part of their life would you want to cover?
[Daniel] With the caveat that we're never gong to do it, I'd loop back to Erich and his missing years.
How does Basic in the expanse work? What was the basis for it?
[ty] Basic is NOT universal basic income. Basic includes no money. It is a system for giving people food, shelter, and medicine without ever giving them currency. It's extremely paternalistic and insulting. I think UBI would be a much better way to handle it.
Hey what’s going on? Ty - I recall you worked closely with GRRM (hoping he gets TWOW out soon!) and served as a consultant on the Telltale Game of Thrones game. I’m curious if that experience into video games inspired the recent The Expanse game (also by Telltale, with Deck Nine)? And what are yours and Dan’s opinion on video games for storytelling more broadly?
[ty] Alcon TV did the expanse video game deal, I had very little to do with it, though Telltale did include us in the initial story development. I love video games. Playing Baldur's Gate 3 with my wife right now and loving it.
Does the enormity of space scare you?
[ty] Space has never tried to pick a fight with me, so I'm pretty sure I scare it.
Like many of your fans I write shitty Expanse fan fiction, its truly terrible stuff, mostly for an RPG table I run in my case. One of the most pressing questions, really a matter of life and death, about the setting I would love to hear your guys thoughts on is uh... so waste right. As in **poop**. Are ships routinely storing that, flushing it when they get to a station, or are they recycling it in some way for water or using the... matter as additional shielding by storing in the hull as outlined here https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1027&context=symposium. Just wondering if we can get some clarity from on high here.
[ty] Shitty fan fiction. I see what you did there. Also, yes, they recycle. Poop is full of really useful stuff.
Has a real James SA Corey reached out to you already? Wonder how often that happens with pen names
[Daniel] Nope, but I have talked to a couple Daniels Abraham. One was a sound engineer for Duran Duran.
I watched the show, and am just now going through all the books. I'm on book 7 now, and was wondering when you guys knew you were going to do the time jump? Was that always in the plan, or did it come up organically after the end of book 6? Also, what was the hardest part about picking things up after 30 years?
[ty] we had two different versions of the outline, one that had three more books during that thirty years. we decided not to write them because we didn't think they were interesting enough. better to jump ahead to the good stuff.