25 modern book-to-screen adaptations that didn’t let us down

The Expanse

James S.A. Corey’s The Expanse Series is one of the biggest modern-day science-fiction stories to grace the shelves of bookstores. And with such a huge story and following, it makes sense that Syfy chose to turn it into a television series — one that has now been picked up by Amazon in response to its near cancellation and the #SaveTheExpanse campaign that followed it.

The adaptation of The Expanse is one worth saving, offering science-fiction fans a political story about intergalactic relationships, much like many of the fantasy series that currently exist. Set 200 years in the future, the series follows a detective and a captain attempting to solve the case of a missing woman. Of course, they stumble upon far more than that while they’re searching for her, unveiling a much bigger conspiracy than either of them imagined.

The world Corey built contains plenty of mystery and intrigue, and the television series relays all of that in a satisfying way. The acting and writing do a decent job of unraveling the story while keeping the viewer interested in what comes next, and neither strays too far from the original story.

Coming up on its fourth season, The Expanse still has plenty left to cover, too. Corey’s book series is expected to reach nine novels before its conclusion —  and those novels aren’t exactly short. The television series has plenty to work with going forward, and the world and its characters have enough depth that it could even go beyond what the author intended if it chose to.