Bear Head and DoW are same series and tbh I’m still waiting for my library to get me DoW and Bee Speaker (3rd in series). I’m really judging the series by book 2, Bear Head and I thought it was fantastic and very original. I loved Bear Head even though it’s dark af. It strikes a deep chord, especially with the current politics in the states. Written in 2019 AT nailed our current figurehead and political climate, I was floored. One of my favorites as well. As far as comparing fan appeal to Expanse, that’s up to each individual. Of all the AT works I’ve read the Final Architecture filled the space opera void but each work of AT’s doesn’t need to be judged in comparison to the Expanse.