Universe

Books like Starfishers: 9 series to read next

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

Starfishers is 4 books across 2 series, 1982–1985.

“Glen Cook writes this frontier the way he writes everything: from down in the grunt's seat, close to the sweat and the static and the fear, where nobody is clean and the pay is never worth the dying.”
from the catalogue description

The Starfishers page →Narrow this list →

Forever War
Dune
Nicholas Seafort
Berserker (Fred Saberhagen)
The Gap
Known Space
Ender's Game
Bio of a Space Tyrant
Polity

Forever WarSeries

seriesJoe Haldeman10 books1972

Science fiction and military science fiction, set in far future and space.

Start with The Forever War →

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 →

Nicholas SeafortSeries

seriesDavid Feintuch7 books1994

“Additionally, Children of Hope is narrated by Randy Carr, the son of a close friend of Seafort.”
from the catalogue description
Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Start with Midshipman's Hope →

Berserker (Fred Saberhagen)Series

seriesFred Saberhagen, Connie Willis, Edward Bryant, Jane Lindskold, Larry Niven, Poul Anderson, Roger Zelazny & Stephen R. Donaldson59 books1963

About robots and artificial intelligence.

Start with Berserker →

The GapSeries

seriesStephen R. Donaldson5 books1990

Science fiction and space opera, dark and tense in tone, about aliens and political intrigue, set in far future and space.

“Here, Donaldson gave a loose retelling of Wagner's Ring cycle.”
from the catalogue description
Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Start with The Gap Into Conflict: The Real Story →

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 →

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 →

Bio of a Space TyrantSeries

seriesPiers Anthony6 books1983

Set in outer planets & moons.

“Teenager Hope Hubris and his family flee the Jupiter moon Callisto after their home becomes unlivable, joining a crowded convoy of refugees crammed into a barely spaceworthy 'bubble' bound for the gas giant's cloud cities.”
from the catalogue description of Refugee
Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Start with Refugee →

PolityUniverse

universe72 books1992

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

“The Quiet War is already over by the time you arrive.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

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 Starfishers?: Forever War — the closest match to Starfishers on what it is about, not on what sells.
Where do I start with Starfishers?: Shadowline. It is the entry the catalogue recommends for Starfishers, which is a whole world rather than one run.
How big is Starfishers?: Starfishers is 4 books across 2 series, 1982–1985.

Books like Starfishers: 9 series to read next

Read next in Starfishers

Why these

Questions readers ask

Other series like this one