Books like 'Beginning Operations'

Readers who enjoyed Beginning Operations by James White also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.

sc-fi space action / adventure military, war & conflict space-opera aliens medical first-contact galactic-empire espionage

She is the Principle: A Kurtherian Gambit Series by Michael Anderle
Rated: 4.83 of 5 stars
· 6 ratings
A teenage boy with a terminal condition, a group of school bullies, and an incognito Empress with a short temper…Kirian Larsen knows he won’t live to see adulthood. Dex and his gang only care that he’s a human living on “their” planet.Their determination to make his life harder bothers Kirian less than their efforts to do the same for their other victims...

Categorized as:
aliens galactic-empire invasion space-opera action-adventure adult book fiction
The Colossus by Jay Allan
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
· 10 ratings
The Hegemony strikes again… The Confederation and its allies have won their first victory, retaken their capital from he forces of the Hegemony. But the enemy is not beaten, far from it, and they are back, with an unstoppable weapon, a vast superbattleship, a deadly hybrid of imperial and Hegemony technology, called the Colossus...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure
Elvians by S.H. Jucha
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
· 10 ratings
Two crises challenge the Omnians. Alex Racine’s fleet draws a first-contact conflict, which faces the Ollassa, a symbiotic flora race. The Omnian fleet sails from alliance space in an effort to interdict an alien ship that arrives at the Worlds of Lights, the Ollassa system. Soon after arriving, the alien ship deploys machines to scour asteroids for resources in the system’s far belt...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration first-contact invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult
SADEs by S.H. Jucha
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
· 10 ratings
Dangerous forces are at work across galactic space that the Omnians are attempting to stabilize, but their resources are severely strained. The SADEs, self-aware digital entities, express to Alex Racine and Renée de Guirnon their desire to know the method of their creation. Alex and Renée, the Omnian co-leaders, want to obtain the knowledge for the SADEs, who are humans’ closest allies...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration first-contact invasion medical space-opera space-travel action-adventure
Nua'll by S.H. Jucha
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars
· 12 ratings
The Omnian expeditionary fleet sails for the faraway place they call “the wall.” The worlds of humankind have consolidated their resources to create a powerful armada to confront the alien federation.During the Omnians’ previous encounter with an alien fleet at the wall, the Nua’ll comm sphere spoke to them in multiple languages...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration first-contact invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult
Duchess of Terra by Glynn Stewart
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars
· 26 ratings
When Terra knelt to an alien Imperium They guaranteed our safety and our future But now their enemies are coming for us To preserve humanity’s survival and freedom in a hostile galaxy, Annette Bond tied her world to the A!Tol Imperium, taking on the mantle of Duchess of Terra to rule humanity in the Imperium’s name...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure
Terra and Imperium by Glynn Stewart
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars
· 23 ratings
Secrets both ancient and new. Powers great and greater— With Terra caught in the middle Humanity’s first colony is a project neither the Duchy of Terra nor the A!Tol Imperium can allow to fail. The planet Hope in the Alpha Centauri system has been lavished with resources and attention—but when an unknown alien force attacks the system, all of that is in danger...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure
Leviathan's Fear: A Military Sci-Fi Series by Craig Martelle
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars
· 6 ratings
Trapped in Ga’ee space, Leviathan runs for its life.And the lives of its crew.Declan Payne and Harry Wesson decide to go on the offensive. They have no choice.They can’t go home. It only delays the inevitable.The Ga’ee march relentlessly into the space of the seven races while turning an inward eye toward the interloper, the ship they call God1...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure
Sector Force by Jamie Davis, Michael Anderle
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars
· 6 ratings
Tardex is safe and the Marshals of Lone Wolf Squadron stand down for some much needed rest and relaxation.Needless to say, the frontiers of the Etheric Federation don’t stay peaceful for long.The growing squadron must battle sinister forces threatening their part of the frontier.A delegation arrives from a neighboring system to request aid from Commander Beau Ward and his pilots...

Categorized as:
space-opera space-travel exploration galactic-empire aliens invasion first-contact sci-fi
The Terran Privateer by Glynn Stewart
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars
· 16 ratings
Earth is conquered. Sol is lost. One ship is tasked to free them. One Captain to save them all. When an alien armada destroys the United Earth Space Force and takes control of the human homeworld, newly reinstated Captain Annette Bond must take her experimental hyperspace cruiser Tornado into exile as Terra’s only interstellar privateer...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure
Junkyard Spaceship by Jamie McFarlane
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars
· 21 ratings
When aliens threaten his country, one grumpy old vet will take the fight to the stars.Albert Jenkins would like nothing more than to putter around his junkyard, selling parts and working on old cars. When an alien spacecraft is shot down by US Air Defense and crash lands on his newly rebuilt home, he’s dragged back into the fight of his life...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration first-contact invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult
Darkness Beyond by Glynn Stewart
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars
· 24 ratings
A newly-founded human colony world burned from orbit A warship squadron of the galaxy’s oldest race ambushed and destroyed An ancient enemy reborn in the darkness beyond the known stars The A!Tol Imperium and their new human subjects have had fifteen years of relative peace. New colonies have been founded, new worlds explored, new ships built...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure
Shield of Terra by Glynn Stewart
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars
· 20 ratings
The mother, ruler of an entire world Sent to the heart of an old enemy to build a new peace The daughter, officer of a deadly warship Sent to the darkness to find the new enemy hunting them all A dozen inhabited worlds of the Kanzi Theocracy and the A!Tol Imperium are ash...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure
Crusade by Glynn Stewart
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars
· 10 ratings
A newborn Alliance, forged to stop the destroyers of worldsA potential ally, with secrets hidden by a thousand liesA long-doomed star, whose ruins hold a vital answer...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure
Galactar by Anthony James
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars
· 10 ratings
Following decades of war and the recent catastrophic loss of an entire planet, the Human Planetary Alliance is riven by internal disputes and rivalries. The military’s old guard fights for power against those who see a chance to turn things around.After a series of hard-fought victories, Captain Carl Recker is becoming recognized as a man who gets results - a man who knows how to beat the Daklan...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration galactic-empire invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult
Fulcrum Gun by Anthony James
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars
· 10 ratings
Lost in hostile space and pursued by the most powerful warship in the known universe, Captain Carl Recker is losing hope and running out of options. His battleship Fulcrum is no match for this enemy and the Meklon aliens who might have helped him are dead, killed by the Galactar’s murderous weaponry.Somehow, Recker must find a way to succeed where the might of an alien empire already failed...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration galactic-empire invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult
Laws of Ancidium by Anthony James
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars
· 10 ratings
Having fought his hardest battle, Captain Carl Recker returns to planet Lustre, bringing the alien battleship Fulcrum with him.Recker is under no illusions that he’ll be offered backdated shore leave, but his feet don’t even touch the ground before trouble shows up. A heavily armed fifty-thousand-metre Meklon interstellar drops out of lightspeed near the planet...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration galactic-empire invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult
The Dark Invaders by Raymond L. Weil
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars
· 10 ratings
From USA Today Best Selling Author Raymond L. Weil comes the second book in the Star Cross series. Over fourteen months have passed since Fleet Admiral Kurt Vickers drove the Profiteers from Earth. Eighty million people died while the planet was being ransacked and its wealth stolen. Now a new and deadlier threat comes from intergalactic space...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure
Alliance by S.H. Jucha
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars
· 10 ratings
Olawale Wombo and a small contingent of Omnians are sent to assist Earth to uplift its technological prowess. With the aid of the incomparable SADEs, advanced tech is transferred to the Sol Enclave, the system’s governing body.After Sol’s construction of Tridents, Omnian-designed warships, Earthers possess the ability to transit quickly among the stars...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration first-contact invasion medical space-opera space-travel action-adventure
Salvage by Jenny Schwartz
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars
· 10 ratings
Secrets can get a girl killed. Cherry Pendit knows to keep hers close. But what if it’s whispering to her? What if it’s warning her of danger on the galactic horizon, and only she can save her clan?To save the people she loves, Cherry will have to risk her life to rescue a man she’s never met.A hunted man, a man abandoned on a derelict space station, on the far side of a black hole...

Categorized as:
space-opera aliens galactic-empire invasion exploration first-contact space-travel sci-fi
Refuge by Glynn Stewart
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars
· 11 ratings
A dying world, shattered by a broken machineA desperate flight, their only hope for refugeA robotic race, ally and destroyer alikeThe Republic of Exilium has grown in strength and confidence at the far end of the galaxy from the rest of mankind, sending out scout ships to survey the worlds around them as they try to learn more about the mysterious Construction Matrix AIs...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration first-contact invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult
Relics of Eternity by Glynn Stewart
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
· 12 ratings
The edge of Imperial expansionFar from Earth and the other homeworldsHere lie the secrets of ancient godsHere…there be dragonsSeeking to escape the shadow of Annette Bond’s success, Captain Morgan Casimir has taken a posting on the far side of the A!Tol Imperium. Here, she hopes to begin a legend for herself that stands apart from her stepmother the Duchess...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure
Omnia by S.H. Jucha
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
· 12 ratings
Alex Racine, who led an elite group of humans and SADEs (self-ware digital entities), left the newly discovered planet of Celus-5 under difficult circumstances. Few of the Harakens with Alex thought there was little he could do to bring peace to the embroiled planet...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration first-contact invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult
Celus-5 by S.H. Jucha
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
· 12 ratings
For the Sojourn’s initial mission, the Haraken explorer ship undertakes the investigation of Celus-5, a world identified by Willem, a SADE (self-aware digital entity), and his team of scientists, as the best prospect for a new colony.What should be a routine survey mission becomes a disaster. To the Harakens’ surprise, they discover, not one, but two alien species engaged in conflict...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration first-contact invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult
The Prince Awakens by Fred Hughes
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
· 12 ratings
Hazard King had always wanted to be an Imperial Fleet officer, just like his father.But he’s a Prince of the Realm, which make things a bit more… complicated. And when Hazard’s parents tell him that they don’t trust his older brother and want Hazard to be the Crown Prince—the heir to the throne—things go from bad to worse.And just when they can’t get any worse, the Empress is attacked...

Categorized as:
space-opera aliens invasion space-travel galactic-empire first-contact exploration sci-fi
Direct Fire by Rick Partlow
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars
· 21 ratings
From street criminal to war hero.From outcast to Marine officer.The journey has been a long one, but now it’s reaching the end.Cam Alvarez leads his platoon of Drop-Troopers into the Tahni Imperium, into the final days of the war and the bloodiest battles yet...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure
The Art of Smuggling by Craig Martelle, Michael Anderle
Rated: 4.69 of 5 stars
· 11 ratings
Why would anyone steal art? Who can you sell it to? The High Chancellor puts Rivka on the trail of serial art thieves. Dismantle the ring. Recover the art. Put the thieves behind bars, thieves who stay one step ahead.Insiders? Or maybe outsiders with inside knowledge? No suspects. No clues...

Categorized as:
aliens first-contact galactic-empire invasion action-adventure book fiction space
The Others by Jay Allan
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars
· 17 ratings
From the deepest darks of unknown space, evil comes… Admiral Tyler Barron and the Confederation navy face a new threat, darker and deadlier than any that have come before...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure
The Meridian Ascent by Richard Phillips
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars
· 24 ratings
In their battle to save Earth from becoming another conquest of the alien Kasari Collective, Mark and Heather Smythe have struck crucial blows against the enemy. But their best efforts have still failed to derail the completion of the wormhole gateway that would give the insidious extraterrestrial invaders access to the planet—and doom humankind as helpless slaves of the Kasari hive mind...

Categorized as:
aliens espionage exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion political-intrigue space-travel
Dark Moon Arisen by Chris Kennedy, Mark Wandrey
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
· 6 ratings
The war continues! The Omega War is in full swing. Earth has fallen to General Peepo’s army, and the surviving Human mercenaries have taken refuge at the hidden Winged Hussars’ base in New Warsaw...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure
The Deadliest of Intentions by Marc Stevens
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
· 6 ratings
The Principal Investigator of the Chaalt people, has covertly enlisted the aid of Nathan Myers and the crew of the Legacy. They desperately need help gaining access to their secret Prule research station. The facility has gone dark, and the automated defenses activated...

Categorized as:
aliens first-contact invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult ai
Corruption by Sarah Noffke, Michael Anderle
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
· 6 ratings
A new evil lurks in the darkness. After an explosion, the crew of a battlecruiser mysteriously disappears.Bailey and Lewis, complete strangers, find themselves suddenly onboard the damaged ship. Lewis hasn’t worked a case in years, not since the final one broke his spirit and his bank account. The last thing Bailey remembers is preparing to take down a fugitive on Onyx Station...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure
Alpha Contracts by Chris Kennedy, Mark Wandrey
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
· 6 ratings
“Before CASPers were the lords of the battlefield, men tested their metal against aliens one-on-one.” First contact has been made, and Earth’s militaries and its premier mercenary companies stand ready to take their first tentative steps outside the Solar System...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure
Assassin by Kacey Ezell, Marisa Wolf
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
· 6 ratings
Depik. The race of cat-like assassins is feared galaxy-wide. Few living people have seen them, as the sight of one is usually the last thing its victim sees. Clan politics on the Depik home world of Khatash are complicated, with clans jockeying for contracts and the prestige and wealth they bring. There’s only one rule—Depik do not kill other Depik. Ever...

Categorized as:
aliens espionage exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion political-intrigue space-travel
Star Force: Phoenix by Aer-ki Jyr
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
· 6 ratings
Cal-com's journey is not at an end. In fact, it's just beginning..

Categorized as:
aliens exploration galactic-empire invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult
Stardust by Edward W. Robertson
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
· 6 ratings
The invaders have arrived. The last battle for humanity is about to begin. STARDUST is the final book in the Rebel Stars series...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration first-contact invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult
Valkyrie's Daughter by John E. Siers
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
· 6 ratings
The alien Akara have a secret. They've discovered the location of a planet that is home to a primitive human civilization, another ancient "seeding" of the legendary Progenitors. But this planet lies in the territory of the Otuka, spacefaring alien predators who consider human flesh to be a delicacy and the planet to be their private hunting preserve...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure
Junkyard Raiders by Jamie McFarlane
Rated: 4.59 of 5 stars
· 12 ratings
Dumped on a backwater planet, heroic old vets will risk everything to take a stand against vicious alien invaders.On the pastoral, backwater planet of Fimil Alpha, something or someone is eradicating the tribespeople of the Gauder Plains. Back on Earth, Albert Jenkins and his crew are enjoying the short-lived fame that accompanied their last adventure...

Categorized as:
aliens first-contact galactic-empire invasion space-opera action-adventure adult book
Star Force: Origin Series by Aer-ki Jyr
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars
· 8 ratings
The Origin Series is empire building at its finest, with 100 episodes and over 2.5 million words in the military science fiction serial detailing the rise of Star Force from corporate entity into an interstellar empire over the course of more than a millennium...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration galactic-empire invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult
Star Force: Origin Series by Aer-ki Jyr
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars
· 8 ratings
The Origin Series is empire building at its finest, with 100 episodes and over 2.5 million words in the military science fiction serial detailing the rise of Star Force from corporate entity into an interstellar empire over the course of more than a millennium...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration galactic-empire invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult
Empires in Ruin by Anthony James
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars
· 8 ratings
Protected by their energy shields, the Lavorix warships Aeklu and Verumol survived the largest explosion ever created by technology. Now salvaged by the Human Planetary Alliance and their new Daklan allies, these once unstoppable weapons of mass destruction sit in a construction yard undergoing extensive repairs...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration galactic-empire invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult
Fratricide by Craig Martelle, Michael Anderle
Rated: 4.66 of 5 stars
· 10 ratings
Safety takes a back seat to profit. Until it crosses the line. Shipyard deaths. Labor complaints. Fear. Intimidation. Rivka gets called in to sort things out, investigate the safety issues, mediate the dispute.What she finds isn’t a negotiation at all. She puts on her Magistrate hat and gets to work sorting out crimes made to look like accidents...

Categorized as:
aliens first-contact galactic-empire invasion action-adventure book fiction space
The Alliance by Raymond L. Weil
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
· 10 ratings
A mission to free a world from the Kleese has gone terribly wrong. Lieutenant Ryan Nelson and his Marines are trapped with no hope of rescue. On the Kleese home world, a division grows between the regular Kleese and the militaristic Zaltule. The war against the Kleese intensifies as the human led Alliance attempts a daring attack against the heart of the Kleese Empire...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure
Insurrection by Raymond L. Weil
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
· 10 ratings
The final battle between the Humans and the Zaltule is drawing near. However, the Arachnids have a secret that will ensure victory and allow them to wipe out the Human race once and for all.In the Strell Empire, former Supreme Overlord Xatul plans his return. He has amassed a fleet to take back control of the Kleese Empire...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure
Fortress Earth by Vaughn Heppner
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
· 10 ratings
Earth’s last Assault Troopers target the oldest being in existence. In the fourth book of the Extinction Wars series, Abaddon commands a Karg-Jelk Super Fleet bent on annihilating humanity. Years of intense terraforming has healed the Earth from the ravages of alien hell-burners and a deadly bio-terminator...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure
Your Life Is Forfeit by Craig Martelle, Michael Anderle
Rated: 4.59 of 5 stars
· 11 ratings
Red has a price on his head. Rivka is determined to find those who put it there. Criminals commit crimes. Career criminals do it in secret. They are good at hiding.Rivka’s latest case has her hunting fugitives. Red is on a mission to find them and make them pay for what they’ve done.Her search leads her through dark warrens of political intrigue and ecological disasters...

Categorized as:
aliens first-contact galactic-empire invasion space-opera action-adventure audiobook book
Even Legends Die by Jay Allan
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
· 12 ratings
Book eight of Jay Allan’s bestselling Crimson Worlds series (over 800,000 sold)... The final battle has begun. Gavin Stark, the former head of Alliance Intelligence, and the bitter nemesis of the Marine Corps, has made his bid for power. The manufactured clone soldiers of his Shadow Legions have seized control of dozens of colony worlds, imposing his brutal rule over millions of colonists...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure
Deep Black (Infinite Sky #1) by Samuel Best
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
· 12 ratings
Two crews return to Titan. Who will survive?Titan. Sixth moon of Saturn. A deadly enigma harboring the greatest secret in the history of humankind.In the wake of the first mission, two companies with very different goals plot a return to that distant moon. Their ships are safer, their technology has improved…and they want answers...

Categorized as:
aliens first-contact invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult book
Eyes of Tomorrow by Glynn Stewart
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars
· 15 ratings
An ancient power unleashed from its prison.Fleets summoned by oaths old and new alike.A rising tide of war that may consume the galaxy!Captain Morgan Casimir’s mission to stop a war has ended in a nightmare. In the heart of an ignored nebula, trapped behind a ring of newborn stars, she has awoken a creature of another time: the horde of biological starships who call themselves the Infinite...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure
Banishment by Raymond L. Weil
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars
· 14 ratings
From USA Today Bestselling Author Raymond L. Weil comes the first book in a new military science fiction series. Can Earth save the Human Empire? The Confederation consists of the seven oldest races in known space. They control a vast section of the galaxy. All races in that part of the galaxy are subjects of the Confederation and forced to obey the Confederation’s laws...

Categorized as:
aliens exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure

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