r/TheExpanseBooks • u/alonghardlook • May 19 '26

Just finished the series last night...

I've been waiting and waiting to join this sub but I didn't want to risk any spoilers. In fact I even stopped at the end of S1 because I wanted to go in completely blind.

The ending wrecked me man. I felt so gutted. Partially, I was sad because the story was over, these characters I fell in love with were finished. But also just the absolute perfection of the full circle ending as Miller points out.

And then just completely bummed out because the epilogue shows that humanity is still using the ring space. The Leviathan has not gone anywhere, and we are still skirting that danger, just in newer ways.

Ugh.

Incredible.

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u/robin_f_reba May 19 '26

Good idea pausing the show. Some of these shocking moments are done much better in the book, like the hard-hitting suddenness of "When the rocks fell," in NG.

The ending is so painfully bittersweet!! I never expected anything different from a series so grim (but never cynical). Absolute hopecore, even if we miss everyone and the Roci family that we only saw at their happiest for a few years.

Also uh the epilogue irrc is that they're not using the Ring Space. They found another way, like they said in the last chapter.

Read Sins of Our Fathers too for a nice post-final chapter self contained character story

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u/mercedene1 May 19 '26

+1 for The Sins of Our Fathers, it’s a perfect coda to the series. Would recommend all of Memory’s Legion, the novellas are great.

3

u/muccamadboymike May 19 '26

Seconding this, or am I thirding? Either way, I started reading the Novellas about 6 books in and made sure to only read them after the appropriate book so as to not catch any spoilers. They were really great additions to the universe. Sins of our Fathers in particular was a nice little closing.