"The Expanse" Series Trivia [2] Quiz

Answer: With hand gestures

Belters lived close to vacuum, either in spaceships or space stations. They developed a way to communicate using obvious hand gestures because head movements could not be seen when wearing a spacesuit. Even outside of the suits, Belters would nod and shake their fists instead of their heads.

Answer: The Mars Congressional Republic

Solomon Epstein was a Martian engineer who bought a small used yacht to tinker with. He created a new drive so good that the unexpected acceleration crushed him and he wasn't able to reach the safety cutoffs. Luckily he'd left plans on his home computer for other people to find. His story was told in the short story "Drive".

Answer: Razorback

A pinnace is class of small boat dating back to sailing ships. In "The Expanse", the Razorback was a tiny ship with an oversized engine that was difficult to control. When Julie was absorbed by the protomolecule, her memories of piloting the Razorback influenced the movement of the asteroid Eros.

Answer: Bull

Bull was a viewpoint character in "Abaddon's Gate" (book 3), in which he died. In the television adaptation, his role in this part of the series was given to Camina Drummer (played by Cara Gee). A different incarnation of Bull appeared in season 5 (covering the events of book 5).

Answer: Mimic Lizard

Mimic lizards would mimic the sounds of their environment, kind of like a parrot. They would do this to lure prey closer. When in range, they would open their mouth and violently launch their stomach to pin their prey, like a fast version of a starfish.

The incorrect answers were all animals found on the colony world Laconia.

Answer: Skippy

Elvie was the first biologist to directly study a new tree of life. In the weeks she was on the new planet, there was just not enough time to catalog and name all the new organisms. Without a proper name, Elvie called the blindness organism "Skippy," which was confusing to her colleagues because she never told them about the new name.

Answer: To see his ex-wife

Alex had loved his wife Talissa, but he had to be a pilot. His marriage ended when he signed up for a 5-year contract on the Canterbury and left without even telling her. In "Cibola Burn" (book 4), he had a frank conversation about family with Basia; about owning one's mistakes.

When he got back from Ilus, he decided to go to Mars to get proper closure. Talissa was unimpressed when he showed up. She had already achieved her own closure, and called out her former husband for still being selfish.

Answer: The Razorback

The Razorback was only mentioned in "Leviathan Wakes" (book 1). Avasarala and Bobbie saw the ship itself when they boarded Jules-Pierre Mao's yacht in "Caliban's War" (book 2). They stole the Razorback to escape the yacht and meet up with the Rocinante. Avasarala gave the yacht to Bobbie, who just kept it in a berth until she and Alex needed a ride off Mars in "Nemesis Games" (book 5).

Answer: Roberts, Salis, Jakulski, and Vandercaust

The work crew were the viewpoint characters for the action at Medina Station, and for interactions with the new Laconian Empire, which was already producing new high-tech weapons.

For the incorrect answers, Ren, Stanni, Soledad, and Bob were Clarissa Mao's work crew in "Abaddon's Gate" (book 3). Mfume, Ip, Droga, and Steinberg (along with Lombaugh, Kazantzakis, and Patel) were the replacement crew for the Rocinante in "Nemesis Games" and "Babylon's Ashes" (books 5 and 6). Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck are the authors of "The Expanse". "James S.A. Corey" is their pen name.

Answer: Laconia

On Earth, Laconia is a region in Greece that contains Sparta. Both the Spartans and these new Laconians were known for having very capable militaries.

The Spartans were famously defeated by Thebes at Leuctra. When the Sol system tried to fight the new Laconians, they met at "point Leuctra", hoping for similar results. History did not repeat itself.