More like Encounter at Farpoint

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CoDominiumUniverse
universe98 books1971
Military science fiction.
“The body of work runs along a few hard threads rather than one line.”
from the catalogue
Start with The Mote in God's Eye →
includes Moties, Laurie Jo Hansen, Falkenberg's Legion, War World
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
Start with Ringworld →
includes Ringworld, Fleet of Worlds, Man-Kzin Wars
Starman JonesNovel
Robert A. Heinleinstandalone novel1953
About coming of age.
“Starman Jones, a 1953 science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein, features a farm boy who wants to go to the stars.”
from the catalogue
HeecheeSeries
series19 books1972
completed
Science fiction and space opera, about aliens and space exploration, set in far future and space.
“The Heechee are an advanced alien race that visited the Solar System hundreds of millennia ago and then mysteriously disappeared.”
from the catalogue
Start with Gateway →
Heaven Chronicles / Zones of ThoughtSeries
series8 books1976
Science fiction and space opera, set in far future and space.
Start with The Outcasts of Heaven Belt →
UpliftUniverse
universe13 books1980
About uplift.
“No species, the Galactics insist, ever climbs to sapience alone.”
from the catalogue
Start with Sundiver →
includes Uplift, Uplift Storm