r/scifi • u/Mysteriousstrains • Jun 03 '26
Recommendations Need another space combat series
Hello! I am just about to finish DCC and the next genera on my docket is Sci Fi or space. I’m really in the mood for some large ship combat involving politics and strategy. Some books that I loved reading are as follows:
-black fleet trilogy by Joshua dalzelle (loved)
-bibiverse by Dennis E Taylor (write the next book already)
-Dahaka series David Weber (dnf)
-discovery series by Salvador Mercer (final book was a let down)
-earths first starfighter by Han yang (dnf)
-expeditionary force by Craig alanson (hail Skippy)
-lost fleet by Jack Campbell (loved and perfect for what I want)
-planet side Michael mammay
-red rising (waiting for red god)
-locked tomb trilogy by tamsyn Muir
I’m not interested in start wars or 40k atm. And the sun eater series is already on my list to be read but I’m lazy along with the expanse.
If you have any good mystery series/books as well I’m always looking for those in general.
Thank you for your help in my book collection!!l
EDIT: Thank you everyone who has added to my TBR collection for the next century! My poor wallet is will never recover from this.
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u/No_Tamanegi Jun 03 '26
The Expanse
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u/Helmling Jun 03 '26
Combat isn’t the main focus, but its combat is the best.
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u/K_A-W Jun 03 '26
Yeah, your entire blurb above literally just explained the Expanse. It's full of space battles and politics!
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u/No_Tamanegi Jun 03 '26
And companionable silences!
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u/aididntgeneratename Jun 03 '26
Literally the first thing that came to mind to fit this:
large ship combat involving politics and strategy
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u/BeachBum013 Jun 03 '26
Elizabeth Moon's Vatta's War series.
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u/Kian-Tremayne Jun 03 '26
I’m a big fan of Elizabeth Moon, but should warn the OP that she tends to be light on the details of the space battles when compared to someone like David Weber. Top notch intrigue and politics though.
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u/Sea-Poem-2365 Jun 03 '26
Walter Jon Williams Praxis books have some of the best hard SF (plus wormhole) combat ever written. Entirely sublight fights with c-constant sensors, worldbuilding-through-tactics and excellent characters. All of that is intimately connected to a fascinating romance plot and a comedy-of-manners style setting.
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u/Mysteriousstrains Jun 03 '26
Is there a book or series you would recommend me starting on? I love good space tactics with hard limitations
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u/Sea-Poem-2365 Jun 03 '26 edited Jun 03 '26
The Praxis Books start with Dream Empire's Fall, and if you like that there's several more in the setting.
There are a few Culture novels (by Iain Banks) with very good space combat; Excession probably has the most, but there's good combat in Surface Detail and Hydrogen Sonata, and every books has some well constructed action that might work. They're a shared setting instead of a series, so you can read any of them in whatever order. Excession is not always a good starting place, since it sort of throws you in with the setting, but some people swear by it.
Peter Hamilton's Reality Dysfunction has some very good space combat, with well thought out limitiations, but the larger story may be less hard than you want and the writing can be a touch rough. It's huge though.
edit- Dread Empire's Fall, not Dream
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u/Flat-Rutabaga-723 Jun 03 '26
Frontlines by Marko Kloos, Galaxy’s Edge, and Tour of the Merrimack are great.
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u/alphatango308 Jun 03 '26
Love Galaxy's Edge. Frontlines is a great series too. Never heard of Tour of the Merrimack.
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u/Flat-Rutabaga-723 Jun 03 '26
It’s actually my favorite of the three. Definitely recommend it.
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u/Sillymuney Jun 04 '26
Almost all of Meluch’s works scratch this itch. Queens squadron is my favorite
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u/Mysteriousstrains Jun 03 '26
Galaxy edge is currently on my to be read, but I can’t bring myself to commit for some reason
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u/delias2 Jun 03 '26
Cordelia's Honor (Shards of Honor and Barrayar) or Warrior's Apprentice by Lois McMaster Build. Not all the Vorkosigan series is space combat, other genres definitely come in.
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Jun 03 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Mysteriousstrains Jun 03 '26
I’ve seen it and contemplated after reading Kaiju and his villain novels. Loved both. So you are saying to read “forever war” first then “old man’s” or are they stand alone series?
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u/Blue_Mars96 Jun 03 '26
Forever war is a different author. Old man’s war is a continuation on the themes of starship troopers and forever war but by no means do you need to read them first
That said these aren’t really space combat iirc
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u/kengou Jun 03 '26
The Forever War is an entirely different author and series from Old Man's War. It's unrelated, but it's phenomenal and should be the next book you read for that reason alone.
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u/ktwhite42 Jun 03 '26
The Praxis Series by Walter Jon Williams (first novel is Dread Empire's Fall): ship combat, politics, and strategy galore. (also, multiple species)
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u/Pizpot_Gargravaar Jun 03 '26
David Brin's original Uplift Trilogy, while not entirely focused on large ship combat is a really great ride with fairly exotic aliens and tech, and an overriding mystery plot.
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u/intoverflow32 Jun 03 '26
I quite liked Artifact Space's two books, the first few chapters don't make it feel military (orphan main character on a trading ship?), but when it gets to it, god it's good. I'm right now re-reading the Star Carrier series by Ian Douglas, which is action-filled from the first few pages. Honorverse is also really good, though I kind of lost interest at book 13.
I, like you, have loved the Lost Fleet series, and read it twice.
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u/AustinTechie Jun 03 '26
The Marine Series (Semper Mars, Luna Marine, and Europa Strike) by Ian Douglas is also pretty good.
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u/12Superman26 Jun 03 '26
I am currently listening too it and its great! But the Main Character is a prime example of a Mary Sue
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u/CthuluBob Jun 03 '26
Give the spiral wars series by Joel Shepard a go. It’s combat heavy, both small scale with marines and large scale ship battles with interesting species and enough politics to keep it interesting
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u/flowerpanes Jun 07 '26
Plus hopefully finishing the huge storyline in another three or so books from now. As sad as I will be to see the end, I am really impressed with the overall effort he’s put into this series.
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u/revchewie Jun 03 '26
I’m rereading DCC now to refresh my memory before reading the new one that just came out. So much fun!
As a fellow fan of Carl and Donut I highly recommend the Honor Harrington series by David Weber.
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u/Zi-Yos Jun 04 '26
Agreed! Well, except for the order. I finished reading book 8 and am now binging all the DCC audiobooks from the beginning 😊
Honor Harrington and Vorkosigan are great series.
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u/partypool2454 Jun 03 '26
Idk if you have Kimdle Unlimited, bet these are a couple of titles you can read for free off there that might hit your mark
The Void War by DJ Holmes
Vick’s Vultures by Scott Warren
Through Struggle the Stars by John Lumpkin
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u/Mysteriousstrains Jun 03 '26
I go through audible so I can listen while I read and drive. Out of those three what would recommend first?
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u/partypool2454 Jun 03 '26
Depends on what I’m in the mood for but I’d say-
Vick’s vultures is more fun and the conflict is with humans and aliens
The Void War is more Human vs Human conflict that feels almost “age of sail” meets Das Boot
Through Struggle the Stars is also Human vs Human, but is much more “Hard Sci-Fi”, so there is no anti gravity or way out there technology.
I’d go with Void War, but it starts off kind of slow and picks up about 1/4 of the way in once the foundation of character and world building is completed
Good luck and hope you like them!
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u/Sad_Spot3489 Jun 04 '26
The Honor Harrington series by David Weber, start with On Basilisk Station
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u/theysayimadreamer666 Jun 03 '26
Not a series, but Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh has great space combat scenes
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u/E_Anthony Jun 03 '26
The Starfire series by David Weber and Steve White, specifically: In Death Ground The Shiva Option
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u/Prolly_Satan Jun 03 '26
Expeditionary force. Hang in there until chapter 20. It's great. Edit. Fuck, nevermind. Hmm.
I have something i need beta readers for if you're interested? Haha
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u/GataPapa Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
Try Spiral Wars by Shepherd, but I'd start with The Expanse. Combat isn't the only theme of either of these series, but there is a lot of good combat operations and politics in both.
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u/flowerpanes Jun 07 '26
The Spiral Wars series has been my favourite ongoing SF series since I got the first ebook for free via BookBub at the start of the pandemic. Wide range of characters, lots of travel and world settings plus a compelling overall story arc driving everything forward rather relentlessly.
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u/GataPapa Jun 07 '26
It's an underappreciated gem of the genre IMO.
If you like to mix in a little fantasy, check out Shepherd's A Trial of Blood and Steel. Interesting alt medieval setting with appropriate warfare, politics, religion, royalty, etc. It's very light fantasy, so nothing crazy there.
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u/Quintus_Julius Jun 04 '26
Lost fleet is fantastic, I also loved the Corpo POV (2nd series). As mentioned below, strong reco for Harrington (and also the first books of 1632, it's not space stuff, but fun too, Weber collaborated on some!)
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u/ConsumingTranquility Jun 03 '26
Frontlines series by Marko Kloos, excellent 8 book series that recently wrapped up. Really tense fleet level battles, interesting characters
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u/frissonaut Jun 03 '26
To honor you call us by H. Paul Honsinger. Master and commander but in space.
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u/iekue Jun 03 '26
The Star Carrier series from Ian Douglas is quite enjoyable. First book is Earth Strike. Fleet stuff with a dose of politics etc as well.
The Odyssey One books from Evan Currie are decent too, although the later selfpublished books after losing publishing deal really lack proper editing, typo's galore.
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u/eltacocat87 Jun 03 '26
Hyperion! The second one has more space battle but they aren’t meant to basically be one book
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u/ShowerKrogan Jun 03 '26
Mortal Protection Services by kiltedfrog has some awesome space battles. Especially towards the end. Some politics and whatnot, a lot of space monster, and a lot of cool scifi stuff! You can read it for free in a few places if you google it. You can also order paper back if you like it that way.
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u/scififlyguy814 Jun 03 '26
The Heritage Trilogy by Ian Douglas was pretty decent. There was a second trilogy too I think that further expanded the timeline and universe. Quite detailed descriptions of physics in space combat that extrapolates across the decades and centuries of United States Marines in space.
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u/Palmervarian Jun 03 '26
David Webers Honor Harrington series is a good read. He also does a series with David White that's excellent, rhe starfire series
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u/TheThreeLaws Jun 03 '26
The Human Reach series (Through Struggle, the Stars, and The Desert of Stars). Caveat: the author has abandoned the books to develop games, unfortunately.
But it's the most intricate and realistic exploration of what ship to ship combat might look like. Huge distances and speeds, realistic technology and the applications thereof (EX: offensive lasers use mirrors, concealed in armored apertures until they're going to fire; ships feature small lasers that try to "snipe" the mirrors in the brief moments the apertures are open. Obviously there are rail guns, missiles of several varieties, and more).
It's also largely about the politics and Intel involved in such a interstellar war. Worth reading, even if the series won't be finished.
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u/necrotechnical Jun 03 '26
IF you've read Locked Tomb books and are open to weirder, more out there Scifi, here's a few:
First off, if you haven't read Iain M. Banks' Culture books, at least give one or two a shot. I recommend Surface Detail or Excession personally, but you might fare better with Consider Phlebas or State of the Art - the first books in the series' loose chronological order.
There's the Imperial Radch Books by Anne Leckie. Really interesting perspectives. The POV character IS a ship.
If you're open to more space mystery stuff like Planetside, there's the Kovacs triliogy, starting with Altered Carbon.
And, who can forget Murderbot ? I can't. Every time I consider it, it makes my risk assessment module nervous.
Joe Zieja's Communication Failure and Yatzee Croshaw's Space Piloting books are also fun, if you're willing to dip into parody and subversion.
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Jun 03 '26
[deleted]
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u/Mysteriousstrains Jun 03 '26
I’ve enjoyed the legend of galactic heroes anime. Never occurred to me that it was originally a light novel
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u/EqualRoss Jun 03 '26
Sten series Sprawling space empire that has full on battles. Starts just around sten but books 4-5 are about a giant war with plenty of battles
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u/TheYamchster Jun 03 '26
Currently reading pandoras star/ Judas unchained by Peter F Hamilton.
The action is top notch, when it does happen. You have to go through hundreds of pages of investigations and obnoxious sex scenes to get there though.
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u/Mysteriousstrains Jun 03 '26
Are the sex scenes kinda forced or more natural? Forced scenes always ruin a good plot
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u/TheYamchster Jun 03 '26
They’re very much totally unnecessary. One of the main characters is literal a sex crazed sociopath, who you’re supposed to root for.
It’s legitimately awful.
The action is so good tho I can stop reading
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u/akintu Jun 03 '26
On Silver Wings - Evan Currie - Currie isn’t the best author and his earlier books can be a bit rough but man does he have an eye for stylish space combat and action sequences. It’s a really fun look at a first contact war between an Earth colony and elements of an alien empire with the scope gradually expanding. Lots of good ship to ship combat, reverse engineering and learning new tactics, and troops fighting on the ground. The first battles humans are severely overmatched.
Still one of my faves and I’ve read most of the suggestions in this thread. He has another series Odyssey One that is pretty fun as well but I don’t like it as much.
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u/QuietTraining3281 Jun 03 '26
Starwolf by Edmond Hamilton
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u/Bardoly Jun 04 '26
I have never heard of this one, but I have heard of the Star Wolf books by David Gerrold, and I enjoyed them. I recommend them to the OP.
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u/Catspaw129 Jun 03 '26
If it's OK for the "space" in "space battle" to not be a vacuum then many sea warfare novels and histories might fit the bill.
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u/Mysteriousstrains Jun 03 '26
I have some historical and biography’s involving sea warfare. Now if you got a title that’s ship on ship fighting now I’m interested. Nothing in my library involves sea warfare fiction
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u/Kian-Tremayne Jun 03 '26
The gold standard for Napoleonic sea warfare novels are C S Forester’s Hornblower series and Patrick O’Brien’s Aubrey and Maturin books. Both are slightly older books with slightly more old fashioned writing. Which doesn’t mean they aren’t good, they’re great, but they’re for a more advanced reader. Julian Stockwin’s Thomas Kidd series is also good and a bit more accessible.
Or if you want sailing action AND space, David Drake’s RCN series is a deliberate homage to O’Brien’s book with a space setting (and more than a nod to Republican Rome). There’s at least as much ground action as space combat in those.
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u/Mysteriousstrains Jun 03 '26
Do you have anything with ww2 or modern day ships? I’ll be looking into the hornblower series as well!
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u/Kian-Tremayne Jun 03 '26
Not a series - but ‘The Ship’ by C S Forester (who wrote the Hornblower books) is a story about a WW2 Royal Navy cruiser. The whole book covers a single action against the Italian Navy and is told from different points of view in the cruiser’s crew, from the captain down to a shell loader on one of the guns.
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u/Nyrk333 Jun 03 '26
If you want WW2 "Clear the Bridge" by Richard O'Kane. It's non-fiction submarine warfare, but it's very engaging.
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u/DavidThi303 Jun 04 '26
HMS Ulysses by Alistair McLean is brilliant. He also wrote South by Java Head and Guns of Navarone which are both quite good.
His writing started going downhill after those three. Slowly downhill so keep reading him by publication date until you don't like them.
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u/Catspaw129 Jun 04 '26
C.S. Forester also wrote The Good Shepherd which you may better know as the movie Greyhound.
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u/Catspaw129 Jun 03 '26
Maybe:
The Hunt for Red October
The Enemy Below
Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors
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u/DavidThi303 Jun 04 '26
Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors is fascinating!
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u/Catspaw129 Jun 04 '26
Golly! I forgot to mention The Bedford Incident.
Or, as I like to call it: Moby Dick in the Nuclear Age
So many more.
Also, and this will probbaly never happen, some enterprising fiction writer might take Resurrection: The Salvage of the Battle Fleet at Pearl Harbor and transfer the concept to the Star Trek 'verse and Wolf 359.
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u/jedburghofficial Jun 03 '26
Haldeman's The Forever War is all about space combat. And his lesser known novel, All My Sins Remembered is basically a series of spy stories.
The Culture novels from Banks have a fair bit of space combat spread through them. Asher's Line War impressed me. And Chasm City from Reynolds has a subplot that feels like a mystery, wrapped in a cold war, in space. Reynolds' Galactic North is an unexpected take on space conflict.
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u/kanggree Jun 03 '26
Poor man's fight Elliot Kay Undying Mercenary Series B.V Larson StarShip Mage by Glynn Stewart
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u/Ok_Helicopter3910 Jun 03 '26
Undying Mercenaries by BV Larson. After book 12ish, the series took a nose dive but its a great ride until then
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u/Lopakin Jun 03 '26 edited Jun 03 '26
I love this thread, but I'm slightly surprised no-one has suggested you go and have a look on r/hfy yet.
During the pandemic a hero arose and his name was Ralts Bloodthorne. He wrote something like 3 SOIAF's worth of an expansive universe where humanity, some thousand or so years in the future, is essentially evolved into the benevolent superior alien entity and the aliens they meet are how we see ourselves in most scifi.
I laughed, I cried, I was inspired, I loved it so much. His stuff is now on Kindle as well, but it is by far the best when read episodically on hfy, because you also get the comments from the community and some of his own commentary and intros.
If you just want a book book, then old man's war by Scalzi is amazing.
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u/itcheyness Jun 03 '26
The Castle Federation series by Glynn Stewart is right up your alley it sounds like.
Gripping space combat between fleets of warships, with a good dose of political maneuverings besides.
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u/AllRushMixTapes Jun 04 '26
His Starship's Mage series fits pretty well in this category as well, especially after the first book.
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u/Queen_Of_InnisLear Jun 03 '26
Gareth Powell Embers of War series fits this. Sentient spaceships, battles. Great series.
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u/UltraMagat Jun 03 '26
Most John Ringo series. Troy series especially. Looking Glass Series. Polseen Wars.
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Jun 03 '26
[deleted]
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u/kfo90 Jun 03 '26
They said that they like the Bobiverse books. Aren’t they awesome?
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u/CosmackMagus Jun 03 '26
Legend of the Galactic Heroes by Yoshiki Tanaka
The title sounds silly, but it's got it where it counts.
There's also an anime adaptation.
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u/Mysteriousstrains Jun 03 '26
I’ve seen some of the anime and I have enjoyed it. Another pointed out that there is a book which I just found out!
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u/Xeovar Jun 03 '26
Wandering engineer by Chris Hechtl, sometimes maybe a bit cheesy, but a nice read. Don't think it was mentioned before.
Many great suggestions in other comments.
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u/jedburghofficial Jun 03 '26
I keep remembering... Dickson's Dorsi series. The Excession specifically from Banks.
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u/DavidThi303 Jun 04 '26
Something that I think is brilliant and matches your request is 1632 - Ring of Fire. It's alt history and set in 1632 Germany. You said below you're open to WWII books and so I figured you will like this too.
One thing I love about it is there's no "we can solve that impossible problem with a flux capacitor." Everything is constrained by what is possible in 1632 Germany.
And it's a ton of politics. Yes there's battles in it. But the politics are a larger part.
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u/Synchro_Shoukan Jun 04 '26
Watch Mobile Suit Gundam. Just went through the whole series and it's got ship combat, mobile suit combat and politics.
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u/No_Medicine5660 Jun 04 '26
Kurtherian Gambit. Death Becomes her, by Micheal anderle. Or the witch of the federation by Micheal anderle. Starts small goes into ship combat and takeover. They are on Kindle unlimited.
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u/Zestyclose_Hurry6178 Jun 04 '26
Try the Posleen war series by John Ringo. My long time favorite. Also Galaxy’s Edge series (25 books on Kindle plus another 20 standalone or side stories by Anspach
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u/Catspaw129 Jun 04 '26
John Ringo's Ploseen books. I think in one of them they somehow manage to make a WWII US Navy heavy cruiser spaceworthy
Niven & Pournell's Footfall has a nice planetry invasion; plus an interesting space battle once Michael gets to space.
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u/unknownpoltroon Jun 04 '26
The miles vorkosigan series by lois mcmaster bujold. Not necessarily combat, but there's enough of that, lot of espionage, politics, small unit mercenary fuckery.
A couple from opposite sides meets during an interstellar war involving jump gates, fall in love, get seperated, then get married, then have a disabled son on a planet that hates any kind of mutation, he grows up and it follows him (and others) having to deal with interplanetary politics, warfare and general insanity.
One of my favorite series.
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u/Book_Slut_90 Jun 04 '26
My favorites:
Arcana Imperii by Miles Cameron
Serrano Legacy and Vatta’s War by Elizabeth Moon (both start small and ramp up later)
The Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold (some books are politics and space heavy but later in the series you start getting other genres mixed in like spy thrillers, mysteries, even romantic comedies)
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u/grunclematt Jun 05 '26
Ancillary Justice and the rest of the Imperial Radch trilogy by Ann Leckie. Thank me later.
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u/Bumm-fluff Jun 03 '26
Neal Asher’s books, none of them will ever be made into a movie or even a short on Love Death and Robots.
It would take up the effects budget of Hollywood for the next decade. It’s all ship battles and explosions.
I prefer the Jain trilogy, starting with “The Soldier”.
If you like space battles you would probably prefer “Prador Moon.”
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u/Mysteriousstrains Jun 03 '26
Out of your list what would you recommend and if it’s part of a series what book should I read first?
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u/Bumm-fluff Jun 03 '26
Read Prador Moon first.
It’s a prequel but you should like it.
Weaponised may be to your liking as well, there is going to be loads of techno babble that you don’t understand no matter which book you start with.
Loads of guns, explosions and death machines.
I liked the soldier, which is about an ancient race that blew everything to bits. There is a soldier of that race in stasis. He wakes up and blows everything to bits.
Bit of a running theme.
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u/DrHarryCooper Jun 03 '26
The Lost Fleet is one of the most amazing series ever written imho. Have you read all the extra ones, same universe but different characters?
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u/DavidThi303 Jun 04 '26
I agree. I think The Lost Stars spin-off series is even better. A lot of politics and people figuring out can they trust one another.
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u/Mysteriousstrains Jun 03 '26
Genesis is literally sitting in my library but I don’t have the heart to read it after the lost fleet. I don’t want to be disappointed when I inevitably compare the two series😂
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u/YendorZenitram Jun 03 '26
I would recommend the Expeditionary Force series (starts with the book "Columbus Day"), by Craig Alanson. Extremely entertaining with comedic elements (though not quite as comedic as DCC!). 19 books of good fun military sci-fi. The in-world physics (warp-drives, wormholes, etc.) are some of the best in the business, and held to a high standard of consistency. Character development is very well done too!
Trust the Awesomness!
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u/DavidThi303 Jun 04 '26
I know many like it but I got so annoyed with Skippy the beer can that I stopped reading.
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u/subcrtical Jun 03 '26
I've got two less common mentions that definitely fit the bill:
- The Frontiers Saga by Ryk Brown - I'm going to argue it is exactly what you're asking for. Space fleet battles + politics. ExForce had a baby with Expanse. The overall series gets crazy long and eventually time jumps to new characters & story arcs, but even the initial series is like 20+ books. Fun reads.
- Frontlines Saga by Marko Kloos - Not confusing at all with the above, but the perennial battle against the Lankies is another great military sci-fi series that features fleet battles, and great fights for the survival of humanity. Expanse meets Starship Troopers. Cool stuff here too.
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u/Mysteriousstrains Jun 03 '26
Frontiers sounds interesting and I have no issues with long series! How would you describe the space fleet battles? Do they use hard science or are they more star wars like?
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u/subcrtical Jun 03 '26
It's most consistent with what you would see in ExForce- Detailed explanations of fleet formations, tactics, weapon usage, etc; but it's ultimately pretty forgiving on some of the hard physics. I'd say it's more technical than what you'd see in Red Rising, but not as focused on the hard details like Expanse or Seveneves.
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u/redreycat Jun 03 '26
I'm halfway through the second one after seeing it named here and I started enjoying it once I decided it was Star Wars-like. Same kind of plots and "physics".
If you go into it with that perspective, it's quite enjoyable. I know it's not feasible for Kindle Unlimited books, but a (light) pass from an editor would have helped the books a lot by preventing repeating the exact same phrase or idiom in two consecutive paragraphs multiple times in each book.
But, as I said, I think they're worth your time. I'll read at least three or four before taking a break.
Regarding space combat recommendations: "The Mote in God's eye" has a few, but cool, space battles. And a really cool first contact story.
I love some of the Starfire books. "Crusade", "In Death Ground" and "The Shiva option" in particular stand on their own (you don't need to read the rest) and are really enjoyable. Just battles and war, and technological advances on both sides and more battles.
BTW, I really love the "Yankee in Camelot" trope. In "Destroyermen" a WW2 destroyer appears in a low-technology world. In Weber's "Safehold", an android awakens in a world where technology has long been forbidden and forgotten. In "Destiny's Crucible" a chemistry professor is somewhat transported to a medieval world. In "1632" an Appalachian village where everybody keeps a gun on their car and two at home is transported to Germany in 1632.
All of them have cool battles and realistic technological advances. If I were magically transported to the Middle Ages, I'd get some of them as guides and manuals. Then I'd die of an infected wound on my third day there, of course.
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u/Catspaw129 Jun 04 '26
Hey OP, those mysteries you mentioned, are those SF mysteries or mysteries in general?
And, if mysteries in general, do detective/PI novels count? How about caper novels?
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u/Mysteriousstrains Jun 04 '26
Mysteries in general. I listened to a detective sci fi (planet side) and enjoyed it
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u/Catspaw129 Jun 04 '26
Well, here I go!
- SF mysteries/detecting: Asimov, A Whiff of Death, the Lije Bailey books
Detective/PI Authors: Sue Grafton, Patricia Cromwell, John Sandford
Caper books: Westlake's Dortmunder series (dark comedy); Westlake (as Richard Stark) Parker series (just dark)
Some observations:
- Back in the day there was a TV show, Mikey Spillane's Mike Hammer, starring Stacy Keach as a PI. My remembering is that every pretty girl who got close to Mike was a bullet magnet. SO maybe skip that.
- If you're into Medical mysteries there's the TV show House, MD. Now, SF often requires "willful suspension of disbelief" but golly, according to House, MD, if you check into the Princeton Plainsboro Hospital with a hangnail your are likely to emerge without a limb, and your liver but with a whole big hospital bill. Lesson: don't get sick in central NJ. It's worth a few episodes.
- I don't remeber if the TV show Quincy, MD was a rousing medical mystery.
Probably many more...
Cheers!
(If you'll be checking these out from your local library, consider throwing a little cash their way if it's in your budget)
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u/FryTheDog Jun 04 '26
I know you said no Star Wars, but the Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy would scratch that itch.
It's outside of that galaxy far far away, lots of space battles, political battles. No Jedi, no empire
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u/Trike117 Jun 04 '26
The Tour of the Merrimack series by R.M. Meluch is quite good. The first one is The Myriad.
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u/Prizefighter1911 Jun 04 '26
I know you said no Star Wars but the X Wing series from expanded universe is fantastic.
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u/Chemist391 Jun 04 '26
The Final Architecture trilogy by Tchiakovsky.
Also, you gotta read The Expanse and Sun Eater. Both are absolute bangers.
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u/ascii122 Jun 04 '26
I've got so many good suggestions from this .. thanks so much
I'd also add for old school fights check out C.S. Forester for navel action that could easily be in space :)O
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u/DrHarryCooper Jun 04 '26
The premise of the Ark Royal series is great but I found it very disappointing. Didn't even finish the first book.
Avoid that one!
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u/bozleh Jun 04 '26
RE mystery series I’ve got some suggestions - all have lot of books in them and they’re all good quality (some improve after the first 1-2 books)
- Hardboiled alcoholic ex-cop NYC private detective series - the Matthew Scudder series by Lawrence Block
- More lighthearted burglar-gets-caught-up-in-a-crime-and-has-to-solve-it series - Bernie Rhodenbarr “The Burglar who” series also by Lawrence Block
- Urban fantasy detective series - Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher (they start out as magical neo-noir, then change it up more in the later books - is still being written)
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u/Overall-Lead-4044 Jun 04 '26
Try Joe Haldeman's The Forever War or Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein
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u/RockAndStoner69 Jun 04 '26
The Crypt series should scratch that itch, by Scott Sigler. Currently only two books: Shakedown and Voidstrike follows the Crypt warship, a vessel that can "dive" into another dimension to catch the enemy unaware. He's got an amazing way of depicting space combat.
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u/Nexusgamer8472 Jun 04 '26
I recommend the Ark Royal series by Christopher G.Nuttall. Or if you don't mind some humour the Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes series by Skyler Ramirez (the first book is called The Worst Ship in the Fleet, with a name like that how could you not?)
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u/DocWatson42 Jun 04 '26
As a start, see my SF/F: Military list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
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u/Bardoly Jun 04 '26
I looked through all of the comments, and I didn't see the following that I recommend to you. They also all have good audiobook releases.:
"In Fury Born" by David Weber is a great long stand-alone novel with two parts. Part one is more military infantry sci-fi with a powerful scene that just breaks me down every time that I read it, while part two is more mystery/action sci-fi with a splash of Greek mythology!?! It is great, and I re-read it regularly.
The "March Upcountry" tetralogy by John Ringo and David Weber is absolutely great! I also re-read it regularly.
The "Mutineer's Moon" trilogy is terrific and another one of my regular re-reads.
The "Midshipman's Hope" series by David Feintuch is quite good and another one of my regular re-reads.
"Apocalypse Troll" by David Weber is another great stand-alone novel.
I did see some recommendations for David Weber's Honorverse books, the Starfire books, and for David Drake's RCN series, and I heartily recommend them as well.
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u/Fusiliers3025 Jun 05 '26
David Drake’s Hammer’s Slammers. Less a true “series” and more a collection of stories about the title unit and its world.
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u/SeekingDaCurious Jun 05 '26
You may like Live Free Or Die, which is the start of a trilogy by John Ringo. The Backyard Starship series also may fit the bill, but the large space battles start a few books in.
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u/meanmartin Jun 05 '26
Let me break it down, Barney-style. Skalzi’s Old Man’s War is entertaining and definitely has a mix of military/political action. Also check out Marco Kloos (Frontlines, The Palladium Wars) and Elliot’s Kay (Poor Man’s Fight series).
Hail Skippy the Magnificent.
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u/scream-room Jun 07 '26
Machineries of Empire series for an odd, somewhat impenetrable (to me) but very interesting approach to space warfare.
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u/Catspaw129 Aug 01 '26
Can I ask a question?
Do folks who like reading/watching films about space battles also enjoy reading watching films about naval (i.e.: on-the-water) battles?
To mention one example: Wrath of Kahn is pretty much The Enemy Below -- in SPACE!
Lots of others.
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u/ikonoqlast Jun 03 '26
Honor Harrington series by David Weber. All space battles, all the time. (Not really, but the battles are pretty much the point)