Books like 'The Cestus Deception'
Readers who enjoyed The Cestus Deception by Steven Barnes 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 war far-away-galaxy classics
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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... -
![A Call to Vengeance by David Weber, Timothy Zahn]()
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]()
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]()
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... -
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![True Colors by Karen Traviss]()
True Colors by Karen Traviss
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsAs the savage Clone Wars rage unchecked, the Republic’s deadliest warriors face the grim truth that the Separatists aren’t their only enemy–or even their worst.In the Grand Army’s desperate fight to crush the Separatists, the secret special ops missions of its elite clone warriors have never been more critical . . . or more dangerous... -
![Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Woodring Stover, George Lucas]()
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... -
![Though Hell Should Bar the Way by David Drake]()
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... -
![Order 66: by Karen Traviss]()
Order 66: by Karen Traviss
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsAfter the fierce combat of Hard Contact, Triple Zero, and True Colors comes the spectacular culmination of New York Times bestselling author Karen Traviss's gripping Republic Commando series. As a battle-scarred era nears its end, a shattering power play is about to stun the entire galaxy . . . and set in motion events that will alter destinies and resound throughout history... -
![Hard Contact by Karen Traviss]()
Hard Contact by Karen Traviss
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsAs the Clone Wars rage, victory or defeat lies in the hands of elite squads that take on the toughest assignments in the galaxy–stone-cold soldiers who go where no one else would, to do what no one else could. . . . On a mission to sabotage a chemical weapon research facility on a Separatist-held planet, four clone troopers operate under the very noses of their enemies... -
![Triple Zero by Karen Traviss]()
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... -
![Star Wars: A New Hope by Geof Smith]()
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]()
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]()
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 -
![501st by Karen Traviss]()
501st by Karen Traviss
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsThe Clone Wars are over, but for those with reason to run from the new galactic Empire, the battle to survive has only just begun. . . .The Jedi have been decimated in the Great Purge, and the Republic has fallen. Now the former Republic Commandos–the galaxy’s finest special forces troops, cloned from Jango Fett–find themselves on opposing sides and in very different armor...Categorized as:
far-away-galaxy space-opera war action-adventure adult anthologies fiction galactic-empire -
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![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... -
![The Dark Lord Trilogy by James Luceno, Matthew Woodring Stover]()
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... -
![The Complete Hammer's Slammers Volume 1 by David Drake]()
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]()
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... -
![In the Stormy Red Sky by David Drake]()
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]()
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]()
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... -
![Clidepp Requital by Thomas DePrima]()
Clidepp Requital by Thomas DePrima
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe long-awaited second book in the AGU: Border Patrol series, resumes the storyline of the first book. The severely damaged SC Destroyer Perry, nearly destroyed while battling the Clidepp destroyer Glassama, is awaiting the arrival of a Space Command ship-transporter vessel, which will convey it to the Mars shipyard for repairs... -
![Admiral's Spine by Luke Sky Wachter, Caleb Wachter]()
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]()
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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![The Star Brotherhood (AGU: SC Intelligence #1) by Thomas DePrima]()
The Star Brotherhood (AGU: SC Intelligence #1) by Thomas DePrima
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSpace Opera meets Horse Opera in this fast-paced adventure story featuring the Space Command Intelligence undercover team headed by Trader Vyx. The team, introduced in Book 4 of the A Galaxy Unknown series, and with small roles in subsequent books, is now featured in their own story as this AGU: SCI series kicks off... -
![Colossus by Richard Turner]()
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... -
![Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back by Geof Smith]()
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]()
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]()
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... -
![Citizen X by Thomas DePrima]()
Citizen X by Thomas DePrima
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsSydnee Marcola's greatest desire was to join the command of Admiral Jenetta Carver in Region Two, and in pursuit of that goal, she achieved top grades while at the Academy, and then again in advanced studies at the Warship Command Institute... -
![The Sea Without a Shore by David Drake]()
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]()
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]()
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... -
![Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice by Karen Traviss]()
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... -
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![What Distant Deeps by David Drake]()
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... -
![Specter of the Past by Timothy Zahn]()
Specter of the Past by Timothy Zahn
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsHugo Award-winning author Timothy Zahn makes his triumphant return to the Star Wars(r) universe in this first of an epic new two-volume series in which the New Republic must face its most dangerous enemy yet--a dead Imperial warlord.The Empire stands at the brink of total collapse. But they have saved their most heinous plan for last... -
![I, Jedi by Michael A. Stackpole]()
I, Jedi by Michael A. Stackpole
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsNew York Times bestselling author Michael A. Stackpole presents a stirring new tale set in the Star Wars® universe: the dramatic story of a heroic X-wing pilot on the razor's edge between the Force--and the dark side.Corran Horn has distinguished himself as one of the best and brightest of Rogue Squadron's elite fighting force... -
![The Way to Glory by David Drake]()
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... -
![The Shiva Option by David Weber, Steve White]()
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... -
![The Ship Avenged by S.M. Stirling]()
The Ship Avenged by S.M. Stirling
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsIt's ten years later, and Joat, the eleven-year-old techno-demon from "The City Who Fought," is an adult herself, and by hook, crook, and blackmail (with an assist from Rand, her very own Artificial Intelligence), she's become one of the youngest commercial ship owners in human space... -
![The Sunfire by Mike Smith]()
The Sunfire by Mike Smith
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsCommander Jonathan Radec is dead. However, the Commander has already died once before, and for some death is but a doorway..."For whoever has lived unjustly and impiously goes to the dungeon of requital and penance which, you know, they call Tartarus... -
![Rogue by Michael Z. Williamson]()
Rogue by Michael Z. Williamson
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsKenneth Chinran commanded the elite unit assigned to take out an entire planet in a terrible war. Millions died; billions more perished in the aftermath. One doesn't send a sociopath on such a mission. A sociopath might not stop. Chinran did stop – but in the process nearly lost his sanity and his soul. But one of Chinran’s men was a sociopath going in... -
![Death's Bright Day by David Drake]()
Death's Bright Day by David Drake
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA NEW NOVEL IN THE NATIONALLY BEST-SELLING RCN MILITARY SF SERIES! Leary and Mundy are back in another military science fiction adventure as they undertake a mission to a distant but critical star system.IT'S JUST A REBELLION IN A DISTANT STAR CLUSTER. Captain Daniel Leary thinks that his marriage will allow him to slip into the quiet role of a naval officer in peacetime... -
![Lancejack by Phillip Richards]()
Lancejack by Phillip Richards
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAndy Moralee is no longer the young and terrified recruit who had last set foot upon New Earth two years ago. Decorated for his bravery during the final hours of the invasion and promoted to lance corporal, he is still troubled by his memories and haunted by nightmares... -
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![Mission Zero by S.J. MacDonald]()
Mission Zero by S.J. MacDonald
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSkipper Alex von Strada is one of the Fleet’s highest achieving officers, commanding the corvette Minnow with a company of eccentric officers and last-chance crew sent to him for rehab. After a PR disaster has activists and media storming the Admiralty gates, First Lord Dix Harangay sends Minnow out on a makework patrol. Inspector Mako Ireson goes with them to investigate what’s really going on... -
![One Good Soldier by Travis S. Taylor]()
One Good Soldier by Travis S. Taylor
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratings"One Good Soldier" is the third book in the rapid-fire hard science military SF series of "One Day on Mars" and "The Tau" "Ceti Agenda... -
![Recoil by David Sherman, Dan Cragg]()
Recoil by David Sherman, Dan Cragg
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSwift, silent, and deadly–they strike where no one else dares.Fear is the fastest-growing crop on Haulover, a newly colonized planet where someone–or something–is destroying isolated farmhouses. The unseen enemy strikes without warning, then disappears, leaving no stone standing, no trace of families or farm animals... -
![Steel Walls and Dirt Drops by Alan Black]()
Steel Walls and Dirt Drops by Alan Black
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe new commander of the 1392nd Allied Protective Expeditionary Services is Hamisha Ann McPherson and this is her first command of anything larger than a squad. She is a larger-than-life combat veteran and a bonafide war hero. She knows combat. She also knows that combat is one thing and that command is a warthog of a different and dubious color... -
![Contact Imminent by Kristine Smith]()
Contact Imminent by Kristine Smith
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFormer captain Jani Kilian is a genetically altered human-idomeni hybrid who acts as a bridge of communication between two fiercely incompatible races. With intergalactic civil war looming large -- with renegades in the Service secretly plotting extermination -- Jani Kilian is being pulled once more into perilous space... -
![The White Regiment by John Dalmas]()
The White Regiment by John Dalmas
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThis long awaited companion novel to The Regiment finds those legendary warriors training the first test regiment of teenagers--the first ever White Regiment. But teenagers who make the perfect warriors are about as easy to train and control as wildcats. And there's little time to whip them into shape before the horrendous Klestronu unleash their massive firepower on the inexperienced regiment...
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