Fans who have been waiting to see whether The Expanse special edition hardcover collection would continue beyond the opening trilogy finally have an answer.
Orbit has officially revealed collector’s editions of Cibola Burn, Nemesis Games and Babylon’s Ashes. The fourth, fifth and sixth novels in James S. A. Corey’s science fiction series are all scheduled for release on December 8, 2026.
That confirmation ends a lengthy wait for collectors. The special edition of Leviathan Wakes arrived for the book’s tenth anniversary in 2021. Matching editions of Caliban’s War and Abaddon’s Gate followed in December 2023, but fans were left wondering whether the treatment would extend to the remaining books.
Nearly three years later, the collection is officially growing from three volumes to six.
What is included in each collector’s edition?
According to Orbit’s official announcement, each of the new hardcovers includes:
- A newly designed cover
- Stained page edges
- Illustrated endpapers
- A reversible dust jacket featuring the full, uncropped artwork from the original cover
Will Books 7, 8 and 9 receive special editions?
Orbit has not announced collector’s editions of Persepolis Rising, Tiamat’s Wrath or Leviathan Falls. Memory’s Legion, which collects the shorter fiction set within The Expanse, is also not currently part of the special edition line.
However, this new announcement is still a promising sign. Orbit is now continuing the collection five years after the first special hardcover arrived, and its promotional material presents all six books as one matching series. Moving from a trilogy to six volumes makes a complete nine-book run appear much more likely.
For now, fans can at least complete the first two major sections of the saga in matching collector’s editions when Cibola Burn, Nemesis Games and Babylon’s Ashes arrive on December 8, 2026.
The collector’s edition of Cibola Burn is also currently available for preorder on Amazon.
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