After nine, incredible, addictive, imagination-inspiring, novels, The Expanse series comes to an end with Leviathan Falls, and just like the books before it, it was so easy for me to fall back into the story, recalling where my beloved characters, Amos, Alex, Naomi and Jim were, remembering the new names that gave been added to the roster, and those we’ve said goodbye to on the way.

With humanity hanging in the balance, James Holden and the crew of the Rocinante, have one last battle to face, as they confront a horrifying threat to humanity from beyond our own reality, and from within it.

Space opera has never been written better than it is in these novels. The authors keep the story moving at a breakneck pace, but ensure that there are all these fantastic character beats, while grounding their future world in as much reality as they can.

As the pages began to run out in the book, I was increasingly worried about what that would mean for these characters, that ship that I’ve travelled on, and know, and also what it would mean for the future of humanity.

And boy are those questions answered.

And they are answered well, there are no cheap moments in this one, each decision, each moment, each character has a real impact on everything that happens, and the way the last thirty pages played out had me weeping freely, but leaving me with some real hope for humanity.

It’s amazing how expansive these novels are, where they have taken the readers and the characters, the worlds, the revelations, the good, and the ugly. And the home that the Roci provides.

I don’t want to give anything anyway, nor do I want to discuss plot points and characters, I just want those who haven’t read the series to dig in and enjoy it. I remember discovering these novels, and treasuring each one as I got to know the characters, and the very believable future they inhabit.

It’s not perfect. It’s a dirty, working future, but it is very human, with all that that word means. And now, it’s all over. Sure, there is the short story collection coming in March, which I will happily devour, but my time aboard the Rocinante, travelling those starscapes, seeing amazing and horrifying things, is done.

Now all I can do is cheer for the series, and hope I lead new readers to it. This is fantastic, and powerful storytelling, and science fiction fans need to devour them if they haven’t already. And even if you aren’t a science fiction fan, and just want an adventure that is going to captivate you, The Expanse will fit the bill.

Read these books! And thank you to those fantastic authors, Daniel Abraham, and Ty Franck, who under the name James S.A. Corey, took me on an amazing ride.