James S. A. Corey

The author of The Captive’s War series is James S. A. Corey, a pseudonym already responsible for some of the finest science fiction texts of the last decade. More than a pseudonym, James S. A. Corey is now an established heavyweight in American science fiction. 

Who is James S. A. Corey?

James S. A. Corey is (barely) hiding two writers, Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. To understand the scope of this literary adventure, we have to take each artist apart and consider their work and personal trajectories.

It is worth mentioning the quality of this four-handed writing, which blends two different styles in a uniquely homogenous yet defined style. This seamless result is the result of a fine-tuned writing process in which both writers correct and tweak each other’s scenes.

Daniel Abraham

Daniel Abraham is an American science fiction and fantasy novelist, screenwriter, and a bit more. He writes under his name but also under several pseudonyms, including M. L. N. Hanover or Daniel Hanover. Why Hanover? Well, that part might be answered at a later time.

Daniel Abraham series include:

M. L. N. Hanover has published The Black Sun’s Daughter series, which includes:

– Unclean Spirits

– Darker Angels

– Vicious Grace

– Killing Rites

– Graveyard Child

Daniel Abraham has also participated in the following works:

– Hunter’s Run

– Inside Straight

– Suicide Kings

– The incident of the Harrowmoor Dogs

He has also worked on A Game of Thrones: The Graphic Novel, The Hard Call, Fevre Dream and Skin Trade (all with George R. R. Martin.

Daniel Abraham has won a Hugo Award, a Nebula Award, a World Fantasy Award and the International Horror Guild Award.

On a personal note, it is worth mentioning his punch sentences and his visual and sometimes graphic metaphors, a trait akin to a sip of nice whiskey in the midst of a pleasant conversation. The kiss of a stranger in the night.

Ty Franck

Ty Franck has a less extensive writing career than Abraham. However, he has long been involved in the fantasy and science-fiction communities. Assistant to George R. R. Martin, he was well known in the local role-playing circles.

The story says he met Daniel Abraham, while mastering a campaign for a new role-playing game he invented, a story about space exploration and a protomolecule…

Although Ty Franck has been described as the one developing stories and doing the world-building, he has rapidly become an indispensable part of the writing process in this duo.

Considering The Captive’s War it is yet to be discovered how much Franck has written, but if one goes by extrapolating the work on The Expanse, one could reasonably conclude that Ty Franck wrote maybe as much as Daniel Abraham.

If the duo gives us further information, it will be shared with you.

James S. A. Corey’s Novels and series

Up to The Captive’s War, James S. A. has written a series of novels, The Expanse (which is to be celebrated) and a Star Wars Novel entitled Honor Among Thieves, part 2 of the diptych Star Wars: Empire and Rebellion.

Honor Among Thieves

Honor Among Thieves is the last Legend Star Wars novel published, Lucasfilms having discontinued that part of the franchise.

The story revolves around Han Solo and Chewbacca, in the purest form of pulpy adventure, and is set just after the Battle of Yavin.

Sure, Honor Among Thieves is a Star Wars novel, and it brings that baggage with it —not necessarily bad, but with constraints. Considering this, James S. A. Corey does a fairly good job playing with the standards of the franchise, such as double crosses, pew-pew lasers, improbable Evil Knievel actions on the ever-misfonctioning Millenium Falcon and Han Solo not 2020’s appropriate innuendos.

A very good, simple, and fun read, with the style of James S. A. Corey colouring the whole story, hinting at a deeper and more layered world. 

The Expanse

Le plat de résistance. The Expanse is a series of 9 novel plus a collection of short stories. A grand tapestry of science fiction, not in the scale or style of Space Operas of the Golden Age, but a more intimate modern and realistic (you’re thinking cynical out loud) approach to a ginormous concept.

Yes, one could argue that the characters are somewhat stereotypical or that this idea has been seen before, but guess what? We don’t care. Because it works. One could think of Needful Things (Stephen King) being the same idea in different clothes than Something Wicked This Way Comes (Ray fuckin’ Bradbury). That might be, and it is irrelevant, because it works, and it does so deliciously.

The Expanse is the story of a colonised solar system, split by new kinds of class struggles and nationalisms, discovering an alien (exoforming?) technology. That technology called “the protomolecule” opens a ring (wormhole?) in the vicinity of Uranus. That ring gives access to 1373 other rings leading to far-distant systems, some of which are habitable.

The spoilers should stop here, as the series is very well built from a writer’s point of view, and the architecture of cliffhangers (supported by the metronomic length of POV chapters) is one of the many reasons to read it.

Some James S. A. Corey’s short stories

James S. A. Corey has taken the habit of offering short stories all along the writing process of The Expanse. A lot of them are focused on The Expanse, but several are stand-alone stories.

Memory’s Legion

Book number 10 concluding The Expanse series. Memory’s Legion is a collection of all the short stories published in the universe of The Expanse. Without being a mandatory read to understand the general arc, they are interesting pieces of a broader world building. Some of them tie loose-ish ends, like The Sins of Our Fathers, telling us more about the whereabouts of Filip Nagata when the curtain is about to drop.

Memory’s Legion includes:

– Drive

– The Butcher of Anderson Station

– Gods of Risk

– The Churn

– The Vital Abyss

– Strange Dogs

– Auberon

– The Sins of Our Fathers

Silver and Scarlet

We thought Silver and Scarlet would be our bread and butter Star Wars stories. It is not. There are a million ways that this very short story could have gone wrong — skid marks, over the road fence and down into the ravine. Instead of letting it burn in a firework of gasoil and tire rubber, James S. A. Corey turned it into something quite nice, surprising and less polluting.

In a few pages the themes that we peek into are numerous and not the usual easy ones (usual for Star Wars, no judging, sometimes we like our easy way). Redemption, acceptance of our own wrongdoings, perception of alterity, the guns are big and loaded, but the corral is so small, damn too small.

Star Wars can also be subtle, atypical and all over more layered than what meets the eye.

Sure, there are also Elroy Flynn-like scenes without which Star Wars would not be Star Wars, so do yourself a favour and read that short story. It’s not feel good, just better: it is feel right.

Rates of Change

Rates of Change is probably the only short story from James S. A. Corey that we found sticking out of their usual production. Not the right way around.

All in all the story is nice and enjoyable to read, but it feels somewhat less honed, less adventurous than their other works. The characters are not captivating, maybe a bit too undercooked, and the theme, despite being interesting, lacks depth and subtlety.

It could have been great, and longer, but it is neither, and this one won’t remain in our — already overcrowded — mind.

How it Unfolds

How it Unfolds is a kind of Amazon special, so to speak. A beefy short story that reads light fast and approaches fascinating ideas.

Earth is done for, and one way to save humanity is to populate space — the far one, not our stellar neighbourhood. Good, because humanity has invented a way to transport information, in the physical sense of the term. It is then possible to beam information towards a distant planet/spot of space and materialise things, inert and living, there.

Along the short story the reader follows a few characters, mainly Roy Court, a middle-aged man trained to be part of the package sent to populate space. Of course the package has baggage, and the baggage causes troubles.

How it Unfolds is a great short story, but — because there is always one — it seems to try to serve a too ambitious idea for that format, especially considering the narrative choices made by James S. A. Corey. It is sometimes a bit confusing and requires focusing — which is good, we don’t like the easy way — not because of the writing, but most likely because of the format. A novella might have been a more suitable length, especially considering all the arcs we could see flying off of these 9 000-ish words.

A quick note on that “collection” Amazon is publishing, The Far Reaches. It is composed of 6 volumes, the other 5 being :

1. Void by Veronica Roth.
2. Falling Bodies by Rebecca Roanhorse.
3. The Long Games by Ann Leckie.
4. Just Out of Jupiter’s Reach by Nnedi Okorafor.
5. Slow Time Between the Stars by John “Dialogue” Scalzi.

All great stories, “sur le pouce” with about the same-ish length, in Kindle format. If you want to check them, you can find them here, for free if you have Kindle Unlimited.

Literary awards

James S. A. Corey has received numerous accolades for their work on The Expanse series, amongst others:

• Hugo Award 2012 nominated for the Best Novel, with Leviathan Wakes. (Award won by Jo Walton)
• Locus Award 2012 nominated for the Best Science Fiction Novel, with Leviathan Wakes. (Award won by China Miéville)
• Locus Award 2014, won Best Science Fiction Novel, with Abaddon’s Gate.

FAQ on James SA Corey

Is James SA Corey a pen name?

James SA Corey is the pen name of two American authors: Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck.

Is The Expanse book series done?

Yes the Expanse is a completed series of 9 books plus a collection of short stories. Here at thecaptiveswar.com we think that not extending The Expanse is a good idea, a clever career choice, with a logically narrative conclusion. People wanting more of The Expanse is the sign of its quality and success, and like any good meal, in order to be appreciated it needs to have an end.

What is James SA Corey doing now?

From the information we have, we know that James S. A. Corey is working on two projects right now. The first one is of course the Captive’s War series, which first volume, The Mercy of Gods, is to be released on the 6th of August 2024. The second project is a novel written in “public”. The project named “James SA Corey Writes a Novel”, hosted on Patreon has the goal of showing the writing process of a novel from the inside.

Is James SA Corey writing a new book?

James SA Corey is writing a new Space Opera series, The Captive’s War, and an experimental project, James SA Corey Writes a Novel, for a Patreon audience.

What is James SA Corey writing process

Besides putting words next to each other, it has been said, but might not still be exact, that both writers write a defined set of chapters’ drafts that are corrected and tweaked by their counterpart. That clever process is meant to ensure a united tone, style, and narrative gimmicks.

Where is James SA Corey from?

James SA Corey is an author from the United States of America.