The tenth book in the Expanse is the collection of the short stories, all packed in one tome. The Orbit publishers had asked Daniel and Ty, whose pen name was James SA Corey, to come with a selection of fine additions to the main story. Probably it explains why some of the stories are an absolute luxury to read, while others seem slow and bland. On my end, I truly enjoyed four of the shorts, with favourite ones being the earliest written.

The overarching theme in the Expanse saga is about unfathomable constraints to leave Earth and to settle the Galaxy. Humanity had gotten themselves to settle Mars, and some asteroids beyond, but it got stuck in the technology to push on. How far can we go, if chemical-fuelled rockets can only get us to a limited part of the Solar system. Because they are too massive, too expensive and too slow. So, naturally, the early short story in the Expanse is about the invention of the Drive.

Spoilers below.

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