They follow quite closely, as the authors were also show runners.

Each season is not exactly one book: season 1 is 2/3 of book 1, season two goes from there to half of book 2, season 3 wraps books 2 and 3. Seasons 4 to 6 are one book each.

Season 3 condenses book 3 quite a lot so you should expect differences here. As is usual in adaptation, characters and plot points are merged/moved around at diverse moments. A huge change is made at the end of season 5 due to one actor being outed as a perv piece of crap.

Books 7 to 9 were not adapted.

In the end, both mediums are great experiences and you should definitely enjoy both.

The show is very close to the books in spirit, but on a scene-by-scene level almost everything is different. And some of the best characters and scenes in the series don’t have exact book counterparts—it’s worth watching for that even if you’re read the books.

The first book ends in the middle of the second season, and the second book ends in the third season, but after that it’s one book per season.

If you read and watch at the same time, be aware that the fourth season contains some elements from the fifth book that might be minor spoilers.

Tons of great answers in this thread, but as you can see from my username, The Expanse is my favorite piece of media of all time. Both the books and TV show are god tier IMO. The show is one of the rare examples where the majority of the book readers agree that the show is a top tier adaptation, as opposed to a lot of other shows based off great books that the book readers don't like due to major changes. There are definitely changes to make the show flow better, but I'd say the changes are very well done and I've gone through all the books and novellas twice, and watched the show about 8 times all the way through.

Both the books and TV show are top tier sci-fi. Any sci-fi fan owes it to themselves to give either or both a shot!

Lotta beating around the bush in the comments. After you finish the books, then watch the series. There are so many little changes to scenes and characters between the two it will be hard to keep them straight if you consume both at the same time. The major stuff is the same and the spirit of the books is definitely honored in the show but from an enjoyment perspective I’d suggest keeping them separate.

As far as I’ve gotten through the books it is a very faithful adaptation, as everyone has said. It’s a really well done show—does fall victim to the usual dip in quality that any cancelled and renewed show experiences but well worth a watch.

To be more specific: The show feels like the book authors took the opportunity to revise, edit, and improve their own work. The books provide extra context to some situations, Caliban's War in particular. But it's fun to see the smart decisions they made in the TV show to consolidate some characters and tweak storylines.

It's as faithful an adaptation I've ever seen. I would finish the books first though but that's just how I am personally. I like to absorb the source before the adaptation when possible.

There are major differences between the books and show. It for the most part follows the books, but I was never a huge fan of condensing characters. They also do remove quite a large number of book scenes with character development. The worst thing they did though was not completing the series. The true ending is great and would have made for pretty epic television.

I’ve read about as much as you and it does seem to follow it fairly well. The TV show actually got me into reading the books, which have been fun to read.

The books are awesome and so is the TV show. They are two sides of the same coin really, different, yet the same.

I pretty much agree with every change made from the books to make it a good TV series. They really did a great job.

The first season follows the books the most faithful in terms of small details. Those details got lost a bit in the later seasons because of budget constraints.

Reading the books is very much recommended as it gives context and motivation for all the characters and decisions they made. In the series stuff just kinda happens and you don't always know why or what lead to that point.

The cutting of the storyline of one of the most awesome characters (Bull) is a shame, but I can understand why they did it.

The show ends early, but until the final season, very very closely. I won't spoil it but towards the end production of the show ran into some problems due to some ill advised behaviors by one of the actors, and then they kind of just tell you what happened in the book and rush through the shows ending, they covered like half a book in the final episode, the usual shitshow when a show dies prematurely.

The books don't end when the show does. The show is still worth watching, 100%, but I think if it had ended when syfy dropped it it would've ended on a high note.

How about the new Telltale game? I watched a bit of the first season and have been playing the game, but wasn't sure if there was overlap between the show/books?

they lost me with the casting. Bobbie Draper needed to be bigger.