More like The All-Consuming World

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Blindsight / FirefallSeries
series3 books2006
Hard science fiction and first contact, tense in tone, about aliens.
Start with Blindsight →
Vacuum FlowersNovel
Michael Swanwickstandalone novel1987
Set in other star systems.
The Stars My DestinationNovel
Alfred Besterstandalone novel1956
Space opera, about revenge and survival, set in other star systems.
RadchaaiUniverse
universe11 books2012
Space opera, about political intrigue, set in other star systems.
“Civilization is what the Radch calls itself, and civilization is a courtesy extended at gunpoint.”
from the catalogue
Start with Ancillary Justice →
includes Imperial Radch
Jean le FlambeurSeries
series3 books2010
Space opera and hard science fiction, about virtual reality, set in other star systems.
“Jean le Flambeur is a master thief broken out of a virtual prison to pull off one more impossible heist, in a solar system reshaped by uploaded minds, post-human factions, and economies built on memory and privacy themselves.”
from the catalogue
Start with The Quantum Thief →
Implied SpacesNovel
Walter Jon Williamsstandalone novel2008
Space opera, reflective in tone, about virtual reality, set in other star systems.