James S. A. Corey

A novella set in the hard-scrabble world of James S. A. Corey's NYT-bestselling Expanse series, The Vital Abyss is the secret history of the cataclysmic events that occurred on Eros station, and the revelation of what came after. . . Now a Prime Original series. HUGO AWARD WINNER FOR BEST SERIES Somewhere in the vast expanse of space, a group of prisoners lives in permanent captivity. The only company they have is each other and the Belters who guard them. The only stories they know are the triumphs and crimes that brought them there. The only future they see is an empty life in an enormous room. And then the man from Mars came along . . . The Expanse Leviathan Wakes Caliban's War Abaddon's Gate Cibola Burn Nemesis Games Babylon's Ashes Persepolis Rising Tiamat's Wrath ​Leviathan Falls The Expanse Short Fiction The Butcher of Anderson Station Gods of Risk The Churn The Vital Abyss Strange Dogs Auberon

An Expanse Novella

The Vital Abyss

Simon Crocker

Cindy Lieberman

If you've been reading the excellent Leviathan/Expanse series, you may have wondered how Protogen could have filled their labs with scientists willing to conduct the necessary experiments. This brief story introduces one of those scientists and allows him to explain his how and why. [3.5]

The Vital Abyss is a novella that expands the world of James S. A. Corey's New York Times bestselling Expanse series - now a Prime Original TV series. Somewhere in the vast expanse of space, a group of prisoners lives in permanent captivity. The only company they have is each other and the Belters who guard them. The only stories they know are the triumphs and crimes that brought them there. The only future they see is an empty life in an enormous room. And then the man from Mars came along . . . The Expanse series: Leviathan Wakes Caliban's War Abaddon's Gate Cibola Burn Nemesis Games Babylon's Ashes Persepolis Rising Tiamat's Wrath Praise for the Expanse: 'The science fictional equivalent of A Song of Ice and Fire' NPR Books 'As close as you'll get to a Hollywood blockbuster in book form' io9.com 'Great characters, excellent dialogue, memorable fights' wired.com 'High adventure equalling the best space opera has to offer, cutting-edge technology and a group of unforgettable characters . . . Perhaps one of the best tales the genre has yet to produce' Library Journal 'This is the future the way it's supposed to be' Wall Street Journal 'Tense and thrilling' SciFiNow

Manuel Grabowski

I hadn't read any of the novellas so far. When I started reading the main series I wasn't invested enough, and once I was invested enough to be interested, I didn't want to spend time on anything outside of the main series. Also I was already ahead of the suggested reading order of the novellas and main series, further complicating things. It was hard to take a break from the main series, especially with the ending of book five. My rating of this novella, which takes place between book five and six, might be a bit tainted by the fact that I'd much rather read on with the characters I know and love. On the other hand, I really enjoyed the additional world-building. While book five also showed a bit more of how the world works for normal people who are not part of the adventures of the books but merely live in that universe, this novella added quite some more depth.

The Vital Abyss An Expanse Novella

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