Spoilers for The Expanse season two and book two of the series: Caliban's War to follow.
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I’m very, very excited about the return of The Expanse—Syfy’s adaptation of James SA Corey’s book series about political upheaval and adventure in the middle-distance future, where humanity has a solid foothold in the solar system. Season three will begin next week, but something is new on my end: I’ve actually been reading the books this time (my introduction to the series was via the TV show), and man, there are a lot of major differences.
I’m not sure which I actually like better—the books are much more meandering, but give, of course, those important character insights that only POV chapters (or, the dreaded cinematic technique of voiceover, I guess) can do. In most cases, it’s wonderful: Detective Miller, a down and out space cop who gets caught in way over his head on a kidnapping case, is much more likable when you’re privy to his inner thoughts and motivations. Bobbie Draper—a badass Martian Marine who witnesses something profoundly awful—experiences a far less dramatic turn of events in the books, but she’s funnier and more interesting. Avasarala, a salty elder politician who wields power and profanity with equal grace, is just wonderful in both.
But James Holden, handsome space captain dude who always tries to do the right thing (and is something of the de facto protagonist of the show and the books, despite both being an ensemble series) is positively insufferable in the books. On the show, he’s a fairly bland but likeable hero—a guy who gets faced with a series of impossible challenges and does his best. He’s naive, yes, but he’s a good captain, clearly cares about his crew and doing Good Deeds.
In the books, though, we’re privy to his inner thoughts. And he is the absolute worst. A privileged asshole who grew up with multiple parents, all of whom poured love and attention on him, he is self-centered, obnoxious, and kind of toxic. He thinks thoughts about how he is the only one of his crew who grew up rich enough to have real wood furnishings at home. He constantly broadcasts inflammatory things across the solar system, hailing “everyone has a right to know!” while basically never taking responsibility for the wars he starts. But perhaps worst of all are his dealings with Naomi, his genius executive officer and (spoiler!) later girlfriend, who he first describes in the least flattering fashion, in his inner dialogue.
He claims something along the lines of “no one would ever mistake her for being classically beautiful, but there’s something there…” like a horny space PUA. Later, when he gets together with her and wants her to meet his parents, this scene happens.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://waypoint.vice.com/en_us/article/3kj5nw/the-expanse-the-magicians-books-tv
