Series

Books like Moties: 9 series to read next

Moties is science fiction and space opera, about aliens and political intrigue, set in far future. The 9 series below are ranked by how much of that they share — each card says which parts.

Moties is 4 books, 1974–2011.

“Together the three books trace an escalating encounter between human and Motie civilizations within the codominium universe.”
from the catalogue description

The Moties page →Narrow this list →

Known Space
Alliance-Union
Commonwealth
Dune
Conquerors
Ender's Game
Uplift
Old Man's War
Janissaries

Known SpaceUniverse

universe142 books1964

Science fiction, about aliens, set in far future and 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 →

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 →

CommonwealthUniverse

universe12 books2002

Science fiction and space opera, set in far future.

“Step aboard the train at the Second Chance terminal and ride the wormhole to another star.”
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 →

ConquerorsSeries

seriesTimothy Zahn3 books1994

Science fiction and first contact, tense and adventurous in tone, about aliens and political intrigue, set in far future and other star systems.

“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 →

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 →

UpliftUniverse

universe13 books1980

About uplift.

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

Reading order →

Old Man's WarSeries

seriesJohn Scalzi16 books2005

Science fiction and space opera, adventurous in tone, about war, set in far future and other star systems.

“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 →

JanissariesSeries

seriesJerry Pournelle, Roland J. Green, David Weber & Phillip Pournelle4 books1979

About slavery.

“Janissaries are an American series of military and political-based science fiction novels are set in an interstellar confederation of races, in which humans are a slave race entrusted with military affairs and law enforcement.”
from the catalogue description
Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Start with Janissaries →

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 Moties?: Known Space — the closest match to Moties on what it is about, not on what sells.
Where do I start with Moties?: The Mote in God's Eye. It is the entry the catalogue recommends for Moties.
How big is Moties?: Moties is 4 books, 1974–2011.

Books like Moties: 9 series to read next

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Why these

Questions readers ask

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