Series

Books like Forerunner: 9 series to read next

Forerunner is science fiction, 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.

Forerunner is 5 books, 1960–1985.

“Under desperate circumstances, a beautiful young woman must team up with a star traveler in order to find the key to the start of civilization so that the future might be saved.”
from the catalogue description

The Forerunner page →Narrow this list →

Known Space
Heechee
Humanx Commonwealth
Catteni Sequence
Uplift
CoDominium
Academy / Priscilla (Hutch) Hutchins
Hainish
Heorot

Known SpaceUniverse

universe142 books1964

Set in space.

“Give a clever species a few centuries and a working fusion drive, and it will fill the sky with problems.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

HeecheeSeries

seriesFrederik Pohl19 books1972

Space opera, about space exploration, set in space.

“The Heechee are an advanced alien race that visited the Solar System hundreds of millennia ago and then mysteriously disappeared.”
from the catalogue description
Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Start with Gateway →

Humanx CommonwealthUniverse

universe39 books1972

Set in space.

“Two species that ought, by every buried instinct, to recoil from one another instead clasp hand to truhand and build a galaxy together.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

Catteni SequenceSeries

seriesAnne McCaffrey5 books1970

Space opera.

“The Catteni series is a tetralogy of science fiction novels by American writer Anne McCaffrey.”
from the catalogue description
Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Start with Freedom's Landing →

UpliftUniverse

universe13 books1980

Space opera, about uplift, set in space.

“No species, the Galactics insist, ever climbs to sapience alone.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

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 →

Academy / Priscilla (Hutch) HutchinsSeries

seriesJack McDevitt16 books1983

About space exploration, set in space.

“Beginning with The Engines of God, the series treats deep time and the near-total absence of intelligent alien life as its central mystery, favoring slow-burn discovery over action.”
from the catalogue description

Start with The Engines of God →

HainishSeries

seriesUrsula K. Le Guin33 books1964

Reflective in tone.

“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 →

HeorotSeries

seriesJerry Pournelle, Larry Niven & Steven Barnes4 books1987

About space colonization.

“Reproduction and fertility expert Dr Jack Cohen acted as a consultant on the book, designing the novel life cycle of the alien antagonists, the grendels.”
from the catalogue description of The Legacy of Heorot

Start with The Legacy of Heorot →

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 Forerunner?: Known Space — the closest match to Forerunner on what it is about, not on what sells.
Where do I start with Forerunner?: Forerunner. It is the entry the catalogue recommends for Forerunner.
How big is Forerunner?: Forerunner is 5 books, 1960–1985.
Is Forerunner finished?: Yes — 5 books, 1960–1985.

Books like Forerunner: 9 series to read next

Read next in Forerunner

Why these

Questions readers ask

Other series like this one