Universe

Books like Foreigner: 9 series to read next

Foreigner is science fiction and first contact, set in other star systems and far future. The 9 series below are ranked by how much of that they share — each card says which parts.

Foreigner is 25 books across 4 series, 1994–2023.

“A starship lost its way, and the colonists it stranded made an uneasy peace with the only world within reach — a world already owned.”
from the catalogue description

The Foreigner page →Narrow this list →

CoDominium
Dune
Ender's Game
Doona
Hainish
Heaven Chronicles / Zones of Thought
Conquerors
Alliance-Union
Old Man's War

CoDominiumUniverse

universe98 books1971

Military science fiction.

“The body of work runs along a few hard threads rather than one line.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

DuneUniverse

universe78 books1963

Science fiction and space opera, about political intrigue, set in far future and other star systems.

“The desert planet, where empire runs on a single substance: the spice melange, which folds space, prolongs life, and unlocks prescience, and which exists nowhere else in the known universe.”
from the catalogue description

Start with Dune →

Ender's GameUniverse

universe39 books1977

Science fiction, set in far future.

“To beat your enemy you must first understand him so completely that you love him — and in the instant you love him, you destroy him.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

DoonaSeries

seriesAnne McCaffrey & Jody Lynn Nye3 books1969

Science fiction, set in far future and other star systems.

“The colonists and Hrrubans must negotiate an unprecedented, closely governed coexistence rather than the separation their governments would prefer.”
from the catalogue description

Start with Decision at Doona →

HainishSeries

seriesUrsula K. Le Guin33 books1964

Science fiction, reflective in tone, set in far future and other star systems.

“The Hainish Cycle consists of a number of science fiction novels and stories by Ursula K. Le Guin.”
from the catalogue description
Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Start with Rocannon's World →

Heaven Chronicles / Zones of ThoughtSeries

seriesJoan D. Vinge & Vernor Vinge8 books1976

Science fiction and space opera, set in far future and space.

Reading order →

ConquerorsSeries

seriesTimothy Zahn3 books1994

Military science fiction, adventurous in tone.

“Zahn alternates perspective between the human and alien chains of command, using the shifting viewpoints to slowly unpick why the conflict started in the first place.”
from the catalogue description

Start with Conquerors' Pride →

Alliance-UnionUniverse

universe173 books1976

Science fiction, set in far future.

“Around that spine cluster the merchanter novels of trader Families, the Faded Sun trilogy of human envoys among the martial alien Mri, and the Chanur books, narrated from the hierarchical, whiskered viewpoint of the hani.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

Old Man's WarSeries

seriesJohn Scalzi16 books2005

Military science fiction, adventurous in tone.

“Sign a document at 65, saying you intend to join up 10 years later.”
from the catalogue description
Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Start with Old Man's War →

Why these

No sales rank, no star ratings, no readers also bought.

Shared terms are not a promise that a book feels the same. Two series can be far-future political intrigue and read nothing alike — what the ranking can say is what they are about, and each card says which parts it shares.

Questions readers ask

What should I read after Foreigner?: CoDominium — the closest match to Foreigner on what it is about, not on what sells.
How big is Foreigner?: Foreigner is 25 books across 4 series, 1994–2023.

Books like Foreigner: 9 series to read next

Read next in Foreigner

Why these

Questions readers ask

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