Books like 'Critical Mass'
Readers who enjoyed Critical Mass by Craig Alanson also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
sc-fi space military, war & conflict space-opera war military aliens ai humor
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Brushfire by Craig Alanson
Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsPeacetime can be a rough adjustment for the battle-hardened Merry Band of Pirates.Especially when aliens don’t get the memo that the shooting is over... -
![Message for the Dead by Jason Anspach, Nick Cole]()
Message for the Dead by Jason Anspach, Nick Cole
Rated: 4.54 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsSurvive the Future. As Legion Commander Keller attempts to coax the Republic and Black Fleet into a winner-take-all battle at the heart of the Galactic Core, Wraith uncovers secrets from Tyrus Rechs’s past. Determined to liberate his crew from the clutches of a dormant fleet controlled by a hostile AI, the soldier-turned-rogue comes face to face with the galaxy’s greatest threat... -
![Armageddon by Craig Alanson]()
Armageddon by Craig Alanson
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsAfter the Renegade mission by the crew of the starship Flying Dutchman, the UN Expeditionary Force thought Earth was safe for hundreds of years, at least. After there was trouble on the Homefront, and the President had to authorize a nuclear strike on an American city. UNEF decided they did need the Merry Band of Pirates again. So, the Flying Dutchman is sent out on a simple recon mission... -
![Valkyrie by Craig Alanson]()
Valkyrie by Craig Alanson
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsAfter saving the world many times, the Merry Band of Pirates have accepted the inevitable: Earth is doomed. All they can do is try to bring a few thousand people to safety, before vicious aliens arrive to destroy humanity's homeworld. No. There is one other thing they can do: hit the enemy so hard that the aliens will regret they ever heard of humans... -
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![Zero Hour by Craig Alanson]()
Zero Hour by Craig Alanson
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsUnited Nations Special Operations Command sent an elite Expeditionary Force of soldiers and pilots out on a simple recon mission, and somehow along the way they sparked an alien civil war. Now the not-at-all-Merry Band of Pirates is in desperate trouble, again. Their stolen alien starship is falling apart, thousands of lightyears from home... -
![In Fury Born by David Weber]()
In Fury Born by David Weber
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsImperial Intelligence couldn't find them, the Imperial Fleet couldn't catch them, and local defenses couldn't stop them. It seemed the planet-wrecking pirates were invincible. But they made a big mistake when they raided ex-commando leader Alicia DeVries' quiet home work, tortured and murdered her family, and then left her for dead... -
![Fallout by Craig Alanson, R.C. Bray]()
Fallout by Craig Alanson, R.C. Bray
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsListening time 22 hours 29 minutesThe Expeditionary Force saga continues with Fallout, the eagerly awaited sequel to number one Audible-ranked and New York Times best-selling Breakaway, from an epic sci-fi writer at the top of his game. Join the millions of listeners who have enjoyed R.C... -
![Breakaway by Craig Alanson, R.C. Bray]()
Breakaway by Craig Alanson, R.C. Bray
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe Expeditionary Force saga continues with Breakaway, the eagerly awaited sequel to number-one Audible-ranked and New York Times best-selling Brushfire, from an epic sci-fi writer at the top of his game. Join the millions of listeners who have enjoyed R.C. Bray’s hilarious portrayal of Joe, Skippy, The Merry Band of Pirates and so many other unforgettable characters... -
![Paying the Price by Terry Mixon]()
Paying the Price by Terry Mixon
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsNo good deed goes unpunished… Admiral Jared Mertz and Princess Kelsey Bandar saved billions of lives and staved off an invasion of the Terran Empire, but not everyone is cheering their success. Their triumphant return sets off a chain of events that threaten not only their lives, but everyone they hold dear... -
![Renegades by Craig Alanson]()
Renegades by Craig Alanson
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsThe battle-scarred star carrier Flying Dutchman is finally on her way back to Earth, after an exceptionally successful series of missions that have once again Saved The World. The ship needs a serious refit, and her exhausted crew just wants a break from constant clandestine warfare against a vicious and superior enemy. Wishes come true, right? Not for the Merry Band of Pirates... -
![Governor by David Weber, Richard Fox]()
Governor by David Weber, Richard Fox
Rated: 4.55 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsA NEW MILITARY SCIENCE FICTION SERIES FROM NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING AUTHOR AND CREATOR OF THE HONOR HARRINGTON SERIES DAVID WEBER AND BEST-SELLING AUTHOR RICHARD FOXSix Billion Dead—And One Man Intent on Putting a Stop to the Killing For more than fifty years, the Terran Republic and the Terran League have been killing one another... -
![Stowaway by Z.D. Dean]()
Stowaway by Z.D. Dean
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsLt Zade, on his last days of his last deployment to Afghanistan, still couldn’t find the excitement he so desperately needed. A chance encounter, on his last mission, sends him hurtling through space on the Unity exploration ship XES01. Surrounded by aliens, Zade must quickly learn to interact with the non-soldiers on the crew... -
![Border Wars by Evan Currie]()
Border Wars by Evan Currie
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe mission continues as Sorilla, the Green Berets of the Fifth, and the Lucian Sentinels take their investigation to the colony world claimed by Islamic separatists during the very earliest of Earth's Diaspora period... -
![Sting of the Mustard Mines by Barry J. Hutchison]()
Sting of the Mustard Mines by Barry J. Hutchison
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsThe Space Team Universe has been changed forever!Having journeyed through time in order to restore peace to the galaxy, Cal Carver and Space Team are a little dismayed to find out they may have inadvertently made things even worse.Whoops... -
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![Black Ops by Craig Alanson]()
Black Ops by Craig Alanson
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsThe elite crew of the pirate ship UNS Flying Dutchman had a simple mission: determining whether the Thuranin are sending another starship to Earth. Along the way, they became sidetracked by securing a future for the UNEF troops on the planet Paradise. When asked whether Earth was now safe, their ancient alien AI responded 'Not so much'... now they have to deal with the consequences... -
![Haraken by S.H. Jucha]()
Haraken by S.H. Jucha
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsNine years of tranquility came to an abrupt end when a Méridien starship entered the Hellébore system, sounding a dire warning for Alex Racine, the Haraken president. Unwanted visitors had arrived again. But this time, they’re not alien; they’re human... -
![Freefall by Craig Alanson]()
Freefall by Craig Alanson
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe Alien Legion has a new mission, and this time, they are working for the enemy. Also against the enemy. Like every operation that Emily Perkins plans, it’s complicated... -
![Deathtrap by Craig Alanson]()
Deathtrap by Craig Alanson
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThe human soldiers stranded on the planet Paradise have been recruited into an Alien Legion, to do the dirty jobs that the high-tech species won't do. Their first mission is to kick the enemy off a backwater planet no one cares about. It's a simple assignment, except everyone has a hidden agenda, and the planet could become a deathtrap... -
![Superdreadnought 3 by C.H. Gideon, Craig Martelle]()
Superdreadnought 3 by C.H. Gideon, Craig Martelle
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA Military AI Space Opera The superdreadnought gates into the middle of a battle. Whose side do they take? Krokus 4. The system’s nexus of intelligent life. Who are the Krokans? Who are the Orau? Are there any good guys to protect?It’s a dog’s breakfast from the word go. Reynolds is positioned to keep the sides from killing each other while he and the crew try to figure out what is going on... -
![Race to Terra by Terry Mixon]()
Race to Terra by Terry Mixon
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSeparated by an almost unimaginable gulf in space, Princess Kelsey Bandar and Admiral Jared Mertz must fight to stop the diabolical artificial intelligences that destroyed the Old Terran Empire. Though unable to communicate with one another, they must overcome terrible odds and defeat foes determined to kill or enslave them. They cannot allow themselves to fail. Yet time is running out... -
![Hidden Enemies by Terry Mixon]()
Hidden Enemies by Terry Mixon
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsTrapped between murderous xenophobes and calculating artificial intelligences, an interstellar war threatens to wash Princess Kelsey Bandar away in a tide of blood. With her most powerful ship crippled, only a desperate mission to steal what she needs right out from under the noses of her enemies offers a way to get her people safely home... -
![To Stand or Fall by John Scalzi]()
To Stand or Fall by John Scalzi
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsPart four of four parts of the full-length novel, The End of All Things.Back on Earth, the beginning and end of all things. The nations of humanity's home planet have parted ways with the starfaring Colonial Union, the human interstellar empire originally established to keep the home planet free. The Union needs to regain Earth's trust... -
![Paradise by Craig Alanson]()
Paradise by Craig Alanson
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsWhile the crew of the starship Flying Dutchman have been trying assure hostile aliens do not have access to Earth, the UN Expeditionary Force has been trapped on the planet they nicknamed 'Paradise'. The Flying Dutchman is headed back out on another mission, and the UN wants the ship to find out the status of the humans on Paradise... -
![Qalea Drop by Joel Shepherd]()
Qalea Drop by Joel Shepherd
Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsThe UFS Phoenix embarks on a dangerous quest for the AI Ceephay Queen who rules at the heart of the Reeh Empire. For cover, Phoenix will use the enormous war being launched by the new rulers of the croma, Croma'Dokran, into reeh space... -
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![For Honor We Stand by H. Paul Honsinger]()
For Honor We Stand by H. Paul Honsinger
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsIn 2315, the Earth Union is losing a thirty-year-long war with the Krag Hegemony.Having encountered the Krag before, Space Commander Max Robicheaux now faces daunting challenges aboard the USS Cumberland: the dangers from the enemy without… and clashes with crew and superiors within... -
![Cain's Last Stand by Sandy Mitchell]()
Cain's Last Stand by Sandy Mitchell
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsAudiobook 6 of the Ciaphas Cain SeriesThe Imperium's most unlikely hero is back, reluctantly returning to the front line and hoping his luck will hold out!LISTEN TO IT BECAUSEThis entry from the Cain Archives takes the Hero of the Imperium into his greatest – and possibly last – battle... -
![Mavericks by Craig Alanson]()
Mavericks by Craig Alanson
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsThe remnants of the Expeditionary Force stranded on the alien-controlled planet 'Paradise' get a chance to prove themselves, in a simple off-world training mission with a ship full of teenage alien cadets. When the mission goes horribly wrong and the survival of everyone on Paradise is at risk, the Merry Band of Pirates may have to come to the rescue. Unless they get killed first.. -
![XD-317 by S.J. MacDonald]()
XD-317 by S.J. MacDonald
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratings"The committee has planned a task series for you, Alex..." With an alien aristocrat joining the crew, the Fourth Fleet Irregulars embark on a mission that will take them beyond the League's borders - and beyond their wildest dreams... -
![Indomitable by Mike Shepherd]()
Indomitable by Mike Shepherd
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsGrand Admiral, Her Royal Highness Kris Longknife, commander of the Iteeche Imperial Combined Fleets has the enemy on the run. Literally. The last time she entered a rebel system, every disloyal ship picked up its skirts and ran... -
![Flight of Freedom by Jeffrey Burger]()
Flight of Freedom by Jeffrey Burger
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratings"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." Edmond Burke...The adventure continues - with one major difference: Jack Steele's Freedom is no longer the wounded duck she once was. They leave UFW Blackmount Station repaired and retooled, with a complete crew, fully armed and resupplied, ready to hunt... -
![Trapped Outside by Alan Black]()
Trapped Outside by Alan Black
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe sequel to #1 best selling science fiction novel Metal Boxes. Blackmon Perry Stone hasn't gotten over his fear of being outside and he still hasn't settled into life in the Empire's Navy. After months of legal wrangling over his last assignment, he has been given a new assignment. He was looking forward to getting an new posting on a spaceship or a station... -
![At the Edge by Alan Black]()
At the Edge by Alan Black
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsEnsign Stone’s goals were to make his way in the empire’s navy, make his family proud of him, and make love to his fiancée. No matter which way he turned, someone was conspiring against him. Disgraced and humiliated, he is court-martialed, discharged, and abandoned... -
![Sergeant by Jonathan P. Brazee]()
Sergeant by Jonathan P. Brazee
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsRyck Lysander has proven himself as a Marine, as a warrior. As he is promoted to sergeant, though, his responsibilities expand beyond merely fighting to leading other Marines into battle... -
![Manxome Foe by John Ringo, Travis S. Taylor]()
Manxome Foe by John Ringo, Travis S. Taylor
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsIn the midst of recovering from their successful if casualty prone first mission, the crew of the Alliance Space Ship "Vorpal Blade" are suddenly scrambled back into action. All other priorities take second place as word arrives on earth of a gate colony which has fallen to an unidentified alien assault... -
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![The City and The Ship by Anne McCaffrey, S.M. Stirling]()
The City and The Ship by Anne McCaffrey, S.M. Stirling
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsTwo novels in one large volume, both set in the same universe as The Ship Who Sang: The City Who Fought: Simeon was bored with running the mining and processing station that made up his "body." Then the invaders came. If anyone was to survive, somehow he must transform his wargaming hobby into the real thing and become The City Who Fought... -
![Renegade by Joel Shepherd]()
Renegade by Joel Shepherd
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsOne thousand years after Earth was destroyed in an unprovoked attack, humanity has emerged victorious from a series of terrible wars to assure its place in the galaxy... -
![Trouble on Paradise by Craig Alanson]()
Trouble on Paradise by Craig Alanson
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsBook '3.5' in the ExForce series: While the crew of the UN Expeditionary Force's pirate starship Flying Dutchman are enjoying a luxury vacation cruise (not!), UNEF troops are still stranded on an alien-controlled planet. Major Emily Perkins and her team are busy picking up the pieces, and it's not easy, because there is trouble on Paradise.. -
![Brothers in Valor by H. Paul Honsinger]()
Brothers in Valor by H. Paul Honsinger
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsIt is the year 2315, the 33rd year of the Krag Wars. The tide has been running against humankind and its allies. One small destroyer, the USS Cumberland, under the command of its young Cajun skipper, Max Robichaux, fights along with the rest of the Union and Allied navies to preserve the very existence of the human race... -
![Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe by Frank O'Connor, Tobias S. Buckell]()
Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe by Frank O'Connor, Tobias S. Buckell
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsWhen humanity expanded beyond the safety of Earth to new stars and horizons, they never dreamed what dangers they would encounter there. When the alien juggernaut known as the Covenant declared holy war upon the fragile human empire, millions of lives were lost—but, millions of heroes rose to the challenge... -
![Claws That Catch by John Ringo, Travis S. Taylor]()
Claws That Catch by John Ringo, Travis S. Taylor
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsIt's Not Over Til The Skinny Lady Sings . . . Working off of a piece of intelligence from the alien Hexosehr, the Vorpal Blade is dispatched to investigate rumors of an ancient and powerful civilization that may have been the creators of the “black box” that drives humanity's only space ship... -
![Stalwart by Mike Shepherd, Lee Moyer]()
Stalwart by Mike Shepherd, Lee Moyer
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe foolish Iteeche clans that hauled Grand Admiral Kris Longknife back to the Iteeche Capital and interrupted her campaign against the rebels, are dead. Very dead. Their clans are disgraced and their palaces in ruin. However, while Kris was handling that noise, the rebels took back one of the planets she had recently captured, Arteccia, and are planning to take more... -
![Kris Longknife's Successor: Grand Admiral Santiago on Alwa Station by Mike Shepherd]()
Kris Longknife's Successor: Grand Admiral Santiago on Alwa Station by Mike Shepherd
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThis is the third book with Grand Admiral Sandy Santiago serving as Kris Longknife's Relief, then Replacement, and now Successor on Alwa. She has all the challenges a gal could ask for. Granny Rita is on the rampage, and the cats have gone on strike... -
![The Mercenaries by Bill Baldwin]()
The Mercenaries by Bill Baldwin
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAs the ravaged postwar Imperial Fleet stands helpless, nearby worlds fall to the League of Dark Stars. Commanding a squadron of Starfuries, Wilf Brim sets course to save the star kingdom of Fluvanna. If he fails, the Empire is doomed... -
![First Light Chronicles Freeground by Randolph Lalonde]()
First Light Chronicles Freeground by Randolph Lalonde
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe first book in the First Light Chronicles Series. Large enough to support an entire civilization, one of the last free ports all alone in the dark, Freeground Station is about to come under siege... -
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![Pirates Bane by Chris Hechtl]()
Pirates Bane by Chris Hechtl
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFresh from fighting the ghost of a terrifying bioweapon On Epsilon Triangula, Fleet Admiral John Henry Irons has taken on a new task, to get to the fabled star system of Bek on the other side of the sector. But to do that the admiral must do what is now unheard of, a long jump through uncharted space. The jump is a test of man and machine... -
![Jethro Goes to War by Chris Hechtl]()
Jethro Goes to War by Chris Hechtl
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhen the wandering engineer was forced out of Pyrax he left a small but growing group of military officers and enlisted. These men, women, and non humans are determined to restore the Federation despite the corrupt politicians standing in their way. They have to pick up the pieces Fleet Admiral Irons has left behind and soldier on without him in the hope that he'll return someday... -
![Commanding by Mike Shepherd]()
Commanding by Mike Shepherd
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsGrand Admiral, Her Royal Highness Kris Longknife is up to her ears in problems . . . again. While summoned to the Imperial Iteeche Court to be humanity’s Emissary, it turns out that what the Iteeche really want is a fighting admiral! You see, they’ve got this huge civil war going, and the Imperial side isn’t doing so well. Kris now has command of the entire Imperial Combined Fleet. Sort of... -
![The Apex Predator by T.R. Harris]()
The Apex Predator by T.R. Harris
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe Apex Predator … The Human Chronicles Saga Part Two Book 2 of 3 In this alien universe, Humans are the Supermen – stronger, faster and more coordinated than nearly all the other aliens in the galaxy. It’s this unique concept that has made The Human Chronicles Saga one of the most-popular science fiction series on the market today... -
![Admiral by Mike Shepherd, Mike Moscoe]()
Admiral by Mike Shepherd, Mike Moscoe
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAdmiral Kris Longknife should have known the job offer was too good. Really, she knew by now that what was too good to be true really, really isn't. Still, she jumped at the chance to be the first human emissary to the Iteeche Empire... -
![The Crucible of Empire by Eric Flint, K.D. Wentworth]()
The Crucible of Empire by Eric Flint, K.D. Wentworth
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhen humans and their Jao overlords joined forces in a desperate battle to save the Earth from the malevolent race called the Ekhat, the relationship between the two species was changed forever. Two years later, humans and Jao are learning to work together in an uneasy alliance. Then, in a distant nebula, three Jao ships detect signs of another sentient species during a battle with the Ekhat...
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