Series

Books like The Helmsman: 9 series to read next

The Helmsman 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.

The Helmsman is 9 books, 1985–2011.

“The Helmsman is Bill Baldwin's eight-book military space opera saga about Wilf Brim, a working-class officer who rises through the ranks of a spacefaring navy modeled on Age-of-Sail command.”
from the catalogue description

The The Helmsman page →Narrow this list →

Known Space
CoDominium
Ender's Game
Old Man's War
Alliance-Union
Honorverse
The Lost Fleet
Vatta
Dune

Known SpaceUniverse

universe142 books1964

About aliens.

“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 →

CoDominiumUniverse

universe98 books1971

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

“The body of work runs along a few hard threads rather than one line.”
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 →

Old Man's WarSeries

seriesJohn Scalzi16 books2005

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

“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 →

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 →

HonorverseUniverse

universe83 books1993

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

“At the center stands one officer, Honor Harrington — captain, then something far larger — and the six-limbed empathic treecat who rides her shoulder.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

The Lost FleetUniverse

universe27 books2006

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

“A war a hundred years old has forgotten how to fight it.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

VattaUniverse

universe10 books2003

Science fiction and space opera, tense and adventurous in tone, set in far future and space.

“Get kicked out of the Academy and the family still hands you a ship.”
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 →

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 The Helmsman?: Known Space — the closest match to The Helmsman on what it is about, not on what sells.
Where do I start with The Helmsman?: The Helmsman. It is the entry the catalogue recommends for The Helmsman.
How big is The Helmsman?: The Helmsman is 9 books, 1985–2011.
Is The Helmsman finished?: Yes — 9 books, 1985–2011.

Books like The Helmsman: 9 series to read next

Read next in The Helmsman

Why these

Questions readers ask

Other series like this one