Books like 'The Star Kings'
Readers who enjoyed The Star Kings by Edmond Hamilton 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 pulp classics single-planet war time-travel
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A Call to Insurrection by David Weber, Timothy Zahn
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsYesterday, the Star Kingdom of Manticore was a small, unimportant interstellar backwater. A quiet little star nation, only recently recovered from the devastating blow of the Plague Years. More affluent than some, perhaps, but with little to attract trade or interstellar commerce, it had little need for a navy . . . and even less interest in paying for one.But Manticore has now become a target... -
Return by Nathan Hystad, Flynn Earl Jones
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe Rift opens once again. The battle for Earth continues. Only the Eureka and her crew can turn the tides. The Eureka returns to Sol through the Rift as an extreme time dilation creates complications. With a familiar face now the Earth Fleet's Grand Admiral, Ace and the others struggle to acclimate to their new reality... -
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... -
Betrayer by Aaron Dembski-Bowden
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsThe Shadow Crusade has begun. While the Ultramarines reel from Kor Phaeron’s surprise attack on Calth, Lorgar and the rest of the Word Bearers strike deep into the realm of Ultramar. Their unlikely allies, Angron and the World Eaters, continue to ravage each new system they come across – upon the garrison planet of Armatura, this relentless savagery may finally prove to be their undoing... -
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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... -
A Call to Vengeance by David Weber, Timothy Zahn
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAfter the disastrous attack on the Manticoran home system by forces unknown, the Royal Manticoran Navy stands on the brink of collapse... -
Dark Force Rising by Timothy Zahn
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsThe dying Empire's most cunning and ruthless warlord—Grand Admiral Thrawn—has taken command of the remnants of the Imperial fleet and launched a massive campaign aimed at the New Republic's destruction... -
A Call to Arms by David Weber, Timothy Zahn
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsLieutenant Travis Long of the Royal Manticoran Navy is the sort of person who likes an orderly universe. One where people follow the rules. Unfortunately he lives in the real universe. The good news is that Travis is one of those rare people who may like rules but has a talent for thinking outside them when everything starts coming apart... -
Deep Space - Hidden Terror by Laurence E. Dahners
Rated: 4.62 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsThis hard Sci-Fi novel is the sixth book in the “Stasis Stories,” a series of optimistic tales of technological innovation in the near future. They follow Kaem Seba, a young man with extraordinary math talents. With his friends, he’s come up with a device that allows time to be stopped within limited volumes of space-time... -
Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Woodring Stover, George Lucas
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe turning point for the entire Star Wars saga is at handAfter years of civil war, the Separatists have battered the already faltering Republic nearly to the point of collapse. On Coruscant, the Senate watches anxiously as Supreme Chancellor Palpatine aggressively strips away more and more constitutional liberties in the name of safeguarding the Republic... -
A Thousand Sons by Graham McNeill
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsCensured at the Council of Nikea for his flagrant use of sorcery, Magnus the Red and his Thousand Sons Legion retreat to their homeworld pf Prospero to continue their use of the arcane arts in secret... -
Though Hell Should Bar the Way by David Drake
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA NEW NOVEL IN THE NATIONALLY BEST-SELLING RCN MILITARY SF SERIES. David Drake, Dean of Military Science Fiction, returns with another entry in his best-selling RCN series. FROM WEALTH AND POWER, TO POVERTY AND INSULTS! Roy Olfetrie planned to be an officer in the Republic of Cinnabar Navy, but when his father was unmasked as a white-collar criminal he had to take whatever he was offered... -
Fortune's Stroke by Eric Flint, David Drake
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAide, a human soul embodied in a jewel, journeys back in time to join forces with Belisarius, the greatest general of the sixth century, to stop Link, an evil supercomputer that is using its vast powers to rewrite history to create the powerful, technologically advance Malwa Empire. Reprint... -
Pretender by C.J. Cherryh
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsExhausted from a two-year rescue mission in space, the crew of the starship Phoenix return home to find disaster: civil war has broken out, the powerful Western Association has been overthrown, and Tabini-aiji, its forceful leader, is missing... -
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Cauldron of Ghosts by David Weber, Eric Flint
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSequel to national bestsellers Crown of Slaves and Torch of Freedom, Cauldron of Ghosts is the return of Secret agent Anton Zilwicki and Victor Cachat in the Wages of Sin, the classic tie-in series set in David Weber's Honorverse... -
Triple Zero by Karen Traviss
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsFollowing the eruption of the bloody Clone Wars at the battle of Geonosis, both sides remain deadlocked in a stalemate that can be broken only by elite warrior teams like Omega Squad, clone commandos with terrifying combat skills and a lethal arsenal. . . .For Omega Squad, deployed deep behind enemy lines, it's the same old special ops grind: sabotage, espionage, ambush, and assassination... -
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.. -
Know No Fear by Dan Abnett
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsUnaware of the wider Heresy and following the Warmaster’s increasingly cryptic orders, Roboute Guilliman returns to Ultramar to muster his Legion for war against the orks massing in the Veridian system. Without warning, their supposed allies in the Word Bearers Legion launch a devastating invasion of Calth, scattering the Ultramarines fleet and slaughtering all who stand in their way... -
For the Emperor by Sandy Mitchell
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsCommisar Ciaphas Cain - hero of the Imperium and renowned across the sector for his bravery and valour - is sent to help maintain order on an outpost world on the borders of Tau space. But when the alien ambassador is murdered and the situation quickly spirals out of control, Cain and his regiment of Valhallans find themselves in the middle of a war... -
Star Wars: A New Hope by Geof Smith
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe epic space saga, Star Wars: A New Hope, is retold in the Little Golden Book format! Luke Skywalker begins a journey that will change the galaxy, as he leaves his home planet, battles the evil Empire, and learns the ways of the Force... -
Trident Fury by Richard Turner
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsCaptain Michael Sheridan and Master Sergeant Alan Cole are back. This time the stakes couldn't be higher. When word of a brutal Kurgan prison planet reaches Earth, the men and women of the Sixth Fleet are sent into action. From a smuggler's hideout, to a prehistoric planet to a deadly fight with the dreaded Kurgan Imperial Guard, the struggle to survive continues... -
Reprieve by C.R. Daems
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsYou have glioblastoma, an incurable brain cancer, and have less than a month to live...Categorized as:
war space-opera sci-fi military fiction action-adventure space-fleet violent-conflict -
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... -
The Dark Lord Trilogy by James Luceno, Matthew Woodring Stover
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFor the first time in one thrilling volume, three novels–Labyrinth of Evil, Revenge of the Sith, and Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader–that follow an epic chain of events: the last days of the Republic, the creation of the Empire, and the ultimate transformation of Jedi Anakin Skywalker into the notorious Darth Vader... -
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The Complete Hammer's Slammers Volume 1 by David Drake
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThis volume features all of the Hammer’s Slammer short fiction, as well as all of the interstitial material from the original Slammers collection, new artwork and new interstitial material. Volume 1 also features an introduction by Gene Wolfe and an original Slammers story, “A Death in Peacetime... -
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... -
Destiny's Shield by Eric Flint, David Drake
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsEric Flint and David Drake's alt-history epic devoted to real-life Byzantine butt-kicker Belisarius has reached part three--Destiny's Shield--and this installment finally busts loose with some serious head-to-head... -
In the Stormy Red Sky by David Drake
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsDANIEL LEARY IS CINNABAR'S MOST SUCCESSFUL SPACE CAPTAIN; HIS FRIEND, LADY ADELE MUNDY, IS ITS MOST EFFICIENT SPY--BUT THEY'VE GOT THEIR HANDS FULL THIS TIME AS THEY FACE:• A Cinnabar Senator furious at losing an election—and still powerful enough to make her anger deadly... -
The Empire Strikes Back by Donald F. Glut
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsAlthough they had won a significant battle, the war between the Rebels and the Empire had really just begun. Soon, Luke, Han, the princess and their faithful companions were forced to flee, scattering in all directions—the Dark Lord's minions in fevered pursuit... -
Vision of the Future by Timothy Zahn
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsLuke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo are thrust into the middle of an impending civil war - and discover the shocking truth behind the rumored resurrection of the dead Admiral Thrawn. For a beleaguered Empire, desperate times call for desperate measures. Sowing discord among the fragile coalition of The New Republic, remnants of the once powerful Empire make one last play for victory... -
Aliens by Alan Dean Foster
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsHaving survived one encounter with an alien, Ripley is persuaded to return to the planet where her crew found the alien ship. A colony has been established there, but suddenly all contact with the settlers has been lost. Accompanied by marines, Ripley is going to find out why... -
Admiral's Spine by Luke Sky Wachter, Caleb Wachter
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHaving defeated his enemies in Sector 25 and crushed the pirates in the Battle of Tracto, Admiral Jason Montagne of the Multi-Sector Patrol Fleet was ready - and even eager - to settle down to the task of rebuilding his fleet and consolidating his position within his home Sector. Unfortunately, there’s no time to rest on his laurels... -
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... -
Colossus by Richard Turner
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsNewly promoted Captain Michael Sheridan finds himself leading a company of untried Marines against their enemy, the Kurgans, dug in on Illum Prime. Fighting for survival, Sheridan and his mentor, Master Sergeant Alan Cole, must do all they can to keep their people alive not only from the Kurgans but from traitors hidden in plain sight... -
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Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back by Geof Smith
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe epic space saga, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, is finally retold in the iconic Little Golden Book format! After the destruction of the Death Star, the Empire has regrouped—with Darth Vader leading the hunt for Luke Skywalker... -
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi by Geof Smith
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe epic space saga, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, is finally retold in the iconic Little Golden Book format! Luke Skywalker heads a mission to rescue Han Solo from the clutches of Jabba the Hutt, and faces Darth Vader one last time... -
The Long Night of Centauri Prime by Peter David, J. Michael Straczynski
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn this first novel of a new trilogy based on the Hugo Award-winning TV series, the malevolent beings are reshaping the Centauri Republic into a secret seat of power from which to launch deadly strikes against Interstellar Alliance President John Sheridan and the Earth itself... -
First Strike by Christopher G. Nuttall
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe best defense… Starting a war with an enemy a hundred times stronger is insane. It’s desperate. And it’s Earth’s only hope. A massive alien power looms over humanity, claiming Earth as its territory and humanity as its slaves. The Hegemony has already taken over one colony, yoking hundreds of thousands under their brutal rule... -
The Sea Without a Shore by David Drake
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsCinnabar's chief spymaster is a mother also--and her son is determined to search for treasure in the midst of a civil war... -
Firstborn by Christie Golden
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsJake Ramsey -- an unassuming, yet talented archaeologist -- has been given the chance of a lifetime. Hired to investigate a recently unearthed Xel'Naga temple, he knows this latest assignment will open up whole new possibilities for his career. Yet, when Jake discovers the remains of a long-dead protoss mystic, his hopes and dreams are irrevocably drowned in a flood of alien memories... -
When the Tide Rises by David Drake
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen the Republic of Cinnabar doesn't have enough battleships to deal with all the crises in its war with the Alliance, it sends the next best thing: Commander Daniel Leary and his friend, the spy Adele Mundy... -
Deathstalker Coda by Simon R. Green
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsMore than two centuries ago, angry and grief-stricken after losing Owen Deathstalker, Hazel d'Ark entered the Madness Maze-- which fed off her raw emotions and transformed her into the Terror, a force capable of devouring galaxies... -
Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice by Karen Traviss
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsCivil war rages as the Galactic Alliance–led by Cal Omas and the Jedi forces of Luke Skywalker–battles a confederation of breakaway planets that rally to the side of rebellious Corellia... -
What Distant Deeps by David Drake
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsNO REST FOR THE WEARY Captain Daniel Leary and his friend, the spy Adele Mundy, have been in the front lines of Cinnabar's struggle against the totalitarian Alliance. Now these galactic superpowers have signed a peace of mutual exhaustion--But the jackals are moving in!The Republic of Cinnabar was on the verge of collapse under the weight of taxes, casualties, and war's disruption of trade... -
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Traitor by Matthew Woodring Stover
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom the depths of catastrophe, a glimmer of hope.After the capture of Coruscant, the mighty heart of the New Republic, a stunned galaxy fears that nothing can stop the Yuuzhan Vong. Still, that crushing defeat produces one small miracle: Jacen Solo is alive. Yet he can scarcely imagine himself in stranger circumstances... -
The Apocalypse Troll by David Weber
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThere he was in his sailboat in the middle of the Atlantic, all alone and loving it. Well, there was a US Navy carrier group on his southern horizon, but he was US Navy himself, so he didn't mind. Then came the UFOs, hurtling in from the Outer Black to overfly the carriers at Mach 17. Their impossible aeronautics were bad enough - but then they started shooting at each other. And at the Navy... -
The Way to Glory by David Drake
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsViolence racks Cinnabar. The fleets of the tyrannical Alliance are on the move, and at home class riots threaten to rip apart not only society but the Republic of Cinnabar Navy. Lt. Daniel Leary has earned promotion, but the needs of the Republic and the RCN require that he serve under an officer whose paranoia has already led him to execute crewmen out of hand... -
Deathstalker Return by Simon R. Green
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsLewis Deathstalker abandoned his place as Paragon and Imperial Champion for the love of Jesmine Flowers, the King's intended. Both have been branded traitors to the Empire and are now traveling in more notorious cicles-- with immoral gladiator Rose Constantine, con man Brett Random, and alien reptiloid Saturday... -
Doctor Who: Engines of War by George Mann, Aslı Dağlı
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratings"The death of billions is as nothing to us Doctor, if it helps defeat the Daleks."The Great Time War has raged for centuries, ravaging the universe. Scores of human colony planets are now overrun by Dalek occupation forces. A weary, angry Doctor leads a flotilla of Battle TARDISes against the Dalek stronghold but in the midst of the carnage, the Doctor's TARDIS crashes to a planet below: Moldox... -
The Shiva Option by David Weber, Steve White
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIn the long-awaited sequel to In Death Ground, the Grand Alliance of Humans, Orions, Ophiuchi, and Gorm continue their galactic battle against the Arachnids--a carnivorous legion of insects that regard any competing sentient species as a food source...
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