Books like 'Dark Beyond the Stars: A Space Opera Anthology'

Readers who enjoyed Dark Beyond the Stars: A Space Opera Anthology by Patrice Fitzgerald, David Gatewood, Julie E. Czernea, Blair C. Babylon, Annie Bellet, Elle Casey, Ann Christy, Autumn Kalquist, Theresa Kay, Susan Kaye Quinn, Rysa Walker, Jennifer Foehner Wells & S.M. Reine also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.

sc-fi space military, war & conflict action / adventure space-opera space-travel soldiers military exploration aliens

Fields of Fire by J.N. Chaney, Terry Maggert
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars
· 16 ratings
Van's next mission has begun, and at the heart of it is the power to save lives.Meanwhile, a hungry galaxy looks to a brilliant young scientist for answers, making her the most wanted person in known space.After years of research, Adayluh Creel perfects a resource to feed sixteen races--or more, all with one golden plant capable of growing on the most hostile worlds...

Categorized as:
space-opera military aliens galactic-empire space-travel soldiers exploration space-fleet
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 colonization exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion military soldiers
The Lost Supernova by Vaughn Heppner
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars
· 12 ratings
Androids used to mingle among us, pretending to be human. Then an alien puppet-master altered their programming. Unknown to us, androids began leaving human society, burning their clothes and peeling off their skin to reveal the chrome-colored bodies underneath. They gathered in a system were a star had exploded, blowing away the atmosphere of a Jupiter-like planet...

Categorized as:
aliens colonization exploration galactic-empire invasion military soldiers space-fleet
The Grand Alliance by Jay Allan
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars
· 12 ratings
Hell is Unleashed The Hegemony controls Megara, the Confederation’s capital. War has raged for five years. Millions are dead, vast fleets of ships have been destroyed. But in the stronghold where Tyler Barron and his comrades have gathered their allies and the last of their strength, a plan is being devised...

Categorized as:
aliens colonization exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion military soldiers
The Lost Swarm by Vaughn Heppner
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars
· 12 ratings
Star Watch stands guard over the Commonwealth, having defeated New Men, massed Swarm fleets and android attackers. The victories have cost lost ships, slain crews and smashed star systems. The accumulated damage means that Star Watch now strains to keep order as political instability, increased space piracy and rebellions stretch the stellar organization to the limit...

Categorized as:
aliens colonization exploration galactic-empire invasion military soldiers space-fleet
Liberty by Nick Webb
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars
· 14 ratings
War. It rages across United Earth space, claiming millions of lives. The Swarm have returned, larger, more fierce, and more technologically advanced than ever before. The voice from Saturn's moon Titan claiming to be Tim Granger is warning humanity that this time, the Swarm may be unstoppable...

Categorized as:
aliens colonization exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion military soldiers
The Lost Artifact by Vaughn Heppner
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars
· 14 ratings
Star Watch defeated the Swarm Invasion Fleet, but at a terrible cost in destroyed star systems, smashed battleships and billions of dead. In the aftermath of the costly victory, chaos threatens as worlds leave the Commonwealth of Planets, face mass starvation or succumb to increased piracy. The war against the Swarm Imperium has just begun. Humanity needs unity or each planet will fall alone...

Categorized as:
aliens colonization exploration galactic-empire invasion military soldiers space-fleet
Kinetic Strike by Rick Partlow
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars
· 25 ratings
The war made him a hero. Now the Marines need him to be a leader.Cam Alvarez is a Drop-Trooper. A warrior-knight wrapped in the futuristic armor of a high-tech battlesuit, and he’s one of the best. When he’s promoted to sergeant and asked to become a leader, he faces a whole new challenge. The Marines are striking deep into enemy territory and the casualties are mounting...

Categorized as:
aliens colonization exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion military soldiers
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 colonization exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion military soldiers
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 military soldiers space-fleet
Prince Peacemaker by Fred Huges
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
· 8 ratings
Hazard survived the war… but can he survive the peace?The empire defeated the Swarm at the Battle of Iris, but it came at a great cost. To win, Hazard King needed to reveal he was Crown Prince Henry and take command of the Imperial Fleet as War Leader. Now their enemy is suing for peace, something many in the empire don’t want to give...

Categorized as:
military aliens invasion colonization space-travel galactic-empire soldiers first-contact
Prince Commander by Fred Hughes
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
· 8 ratings
Hazard King was ready to get back to a normal life…Well, as normal a life as the next emperor of the Brittania Empire could expect, anyway. Hazard wanted to continue his naval career—to grow and take on positions of higher responsibility—because he knew the Swarm would be back, and he intended to be there to fight them when they returned...

Categorized as:
aliens invasion colonization military space-travel galactic-empire soldiers first-contact
Danger Close by Rick Partlow
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars
· 24 ratings
All Cam Alvarez has known is war.For three years, he’s fought the marauding alien Tahni on one God-forsaken planet after another, leading a squad of armored Drop Troopers.But the war is about to change.Cam is an officer now, fresh out of OCS and taking charge of his old platoon, and things have reached a tipping point...

Categorized as:
aliens colonization exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion military soldiers
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 military soldiers space-fleet space-opera
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 military soldiers space-fleet space-opera
Winds of Vengeance by Jay Allan
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars
· 10 ratings
Earth Two. A new home for the survivors of the fleet, the men and women who battled against seemingly insurmountable odds to survive the assault of the First Imperium and to destroy the homicidal Regent, the artificial intelligence committed to their destruction...

Categorized as:
aliens colonization exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion military soldiers
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 military soldiers space-fleet space-opera
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 colonization exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion military soldiers
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 military soldiers space-fleet
Fracture by Ken Lozito, Scott Aiello
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
· 12 ratings
Colonel Sean Quinn is stranded in another universe, along with two thousand people under his command. They've been hiding from the enemy long enough, now it’s time to return home. Outnumbered against a superior foe, Sean must risk everything in a daring operation, but the mysterious enemy has a few surprises of their own...

Categorized as:
aliens colonization exploration first-contact invasion military soldiers space-fleet
The Lost Star Gate by Vaughn Heppner, Mark Boyett
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars
· 12 ratings
The Swarm is coming!This time, enemy science vessels study us as Hive Masters gather hundreds of thousands of starships for an avalanche invasion.Instead of facing massed bug fleets in hopeless battle, we have a desperate plan: use a Builder nexus, create a hyper-spatial tube and send suicide-ships thousands of light-years into Swarm territory...

Categorized as:
aliens colonization exploration galactic-empire invasion military soldiers space-fleet
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 military aliens invasion colonization space-travel galactic-empire soldiers
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 colonization exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion military soldiers
Blood World by B.V. Larson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
· 16 ratings
A dirty deal was struck. Humanity was allowed to keep three hundred rebellious worlds. In return, we declared war on a powerful enemy from beyond the frontier. A frantic build-up of forces has begun, but the task is hopeless. Seeking allies, Earth’s legions are sent to BLOOD WORLD. A planet on the fringe of known space, where the people only respect masters of combat...

Categorized as:
aliens colonization exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion military soldiers
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 colonization exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion military soldiers
When the Axe Falls by Jon R. Osborne
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
· 6 ratings
The clouds of war continue to build…and not everyone is blind… Bjorn Tovesson III, the owner of Bjorn’s Berserkers, is a man tied to the past, but who’s not afraid to innovate. Whether it is new tactics or new equipment, Bjorn is willing to try anything, once, in an effort to grow his company into the status of the fabled Four Horsemen...

Categorized as:
aliens colonization exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion military soldiers
Dirty Deeds by Mark Wandrey
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
· 6 ratings
Old mercs don't die, you do. Abraham Murdock left his home of Sheridan Arkansas at seventeen to start a merc career that spanned almost 50 years, working for dozens of companies, killing aliens and getting paid across the galaxy. Near the end of his career, he landed a gig with Cartwright’s Cavaliers...

Categorized as:
aliens colonization exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion military soldiers
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 colonization exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion military soldiers
Star Force: Temple Wars by Aer-ki Jyr
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
· 6 ratings
he bell has been rung, and the Return of the Reignor has come...

Categorized as:
aliens colonization exploration galactic-empire invasion military soldiers space-fleet
Honor the Threat by Kevin Ikenberry
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
· 6 ratings
Peacemakers. The Galactic Union’s most capable enforcers and resolute negotiators, their name alone elicits fear and awe among the Union’s citizenry. Except for Jessica Francis. Not only is she the newest Peacemaker, Jessica is also the first Human Peacemaker, and she commands the respect of few, both inside and outside the Peacemaker’s Guild...

Categorized as:
aliens colonization exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion military soldiers
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 colonization exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion military soldiers
A Pale Dawn by Chris Kennedy, Mark Wandrey
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
· 6 ratings
The tides of war have shifted, and humanity has the Galactic Union on the run. After a stunning victory at the Merc Guild shipyard of Golara, the leaders of the Four Horsemen mercenary units of Earth have decided it’s time to take back the colonies the Merc Guild has captured, and the Horsemen split up to liberate them...

Categorized as:
aliens colonization exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion military soldiers
Storm Clouds by Chris Kennedy, Mark Wandrey
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
· 6 ratings
The Omega War ended, not with a bang, but with a whimper. The Peacemaker-enforced ceasefire brought an end to the hostilities, but not a resolution, and now it’s up to the Four Horsemen to forge a lasting peace...

Categorized as:
aliens colonization exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion military soldiers
Do No Harm by Robert E. Hampson, Chris Kennedy
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
· 6 ratings
When Todd’s critically damaged ship dropped out of hyperspace near the Human colony world of Azure, he had no memory of his past. He didn’t know who he was, or even what he was, and the Humans didn’t either. That didn’t stop the colonists of Azure—they took him in, anyway…even though they didn’t understand how he could do some of the things he could do...

Categorized as:
aliens colonization exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion military soldiers
Kill Box by Rick Partlow
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
· 6 ratings
Book 9 in the Amazon Bestselling Drop Trooper series by Rick Partlow is here...

Categorized as:
aliens colonization exploration galactic-empire invasion military soldiers space-fleet
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 colonization exploration galactic-empire invasion military soldiers space-fleet
Lucky Justice: Lucky's Marines | Book Seven by Joshua James
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
· 6 ratings
A simple mission gone impossibly wrong. Ambushed by an enemy that shouldn't exist, Lucky and his Marines must overcome powerful forces with limitless resources – and a princess with limitless ego. But Sergeant Lucky Savage has a powerful weapon of his own. Whether he can manage to control it is an open question...

Categorized as:
aliens colonization exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion military soldiers
Acheron Redemption by Ken Lozito
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
· 6 ratings
Sentinel warships were the answer to the Federation Wars. They brought peace and stability....or so they thought.The Sentinels are a menace, terrorizing spacers across the galaxy in their hunt. But change is coming, and spacers across the galaxy will have to choose whether to fight for their future or not...

Categorized as:
aliens colonization first-contact galactic-empire invasion military soldiers space-fleet
Star Force: Reclaimers by Aer-ki Jyr
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
· 6 ratings
Does Star Force have enough races in it yet? No...not even close...

Categorized as:
aliens colonization galactic-empire invasion military soldiers space-fleet space-opera
Star Force: The Powers That Be by Aer-ki Jyr
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
· 6 ratings
In youth you'd lay awake at night and scheme..

Categorized as:
aliens colonization exploration galactic-empire invasion military soldiers space-fleet
Devil Calls the Tune by Chris Maddox
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
· 6 ratings
Welcome to the Choirboys! Niko Devlin was a street kid. When his father was called to duty and his mother made an invalid by a plague, Niko learned to survive by his wits. He stole what he needed to stay alive and fought to keep what he stole. Until he got arrested...

Categorized as:
aliens colonization exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion military soldiers
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 colonization exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion military soldiers
The Lyons' Pride by Chris Kennedy, Marisa Wolf
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
· 6 ratings
No other Human is more enigmatic than the LyonOn the African savanna, the male lion is the lord who watches over his family, while the females of the clan do the real work.Joel, “The Lyon” Lyons thought that owning a mercenary company would be similar—he could sit back and allow the Lyoness to run the Pride...

Categorized as:
military galactic-empire space-fleet aliens invasion exploration first-contact space-travel
Imperial Command by D.J. Holmes
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars
· 11 ratings
Trapped behind enemy lines, the survivors of the raid on Jaranna have been forced to flee deeper into enemy territory. Behind them Karacknid fleets gather to exact revenge. With danger at every turn, Admiral Lightfoot must find a way to get his ships home or Earth will be left defenceless.On Earth the Empire has been formed and is bringing the outlying colonies into its fold...

Categorized as:
aliens colonization exploration galactic-empire invasion military soldiers space-fleet
The Prisoner of Eldaron by Jay Allan, Mark Boyett
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars
· 8 ratings
The Search for Erik Cain...The Superpowers of Earth have fought their final war, leaving Earth a devastated ruin, populated only by scattered groups of survivors living in primitive squalor. Out in space, however, humanity moves forward, and the former colonies of Earth's dead nations are now free from the yoke of the despotic governments that had long ruled over them...

Categorized as:
aliens colonization exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion military soldiers
War Eternal, Books 1-3 by M.R. Forbes
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars
· 8 ratings
3 books. 1000+ pages. Over 100,000 unbundled copies sold. Book 1: Starship Eternal A lost starship... A dire warning from futures past... A desperate search for salvation… Captain Mitchell “Ares” Williams is a Space Marine and the hero of the Battle for Liberty, whose Shot Heard ‘Round the Universe saved the planet from a nearly unstoppable war machine...

Categorized as:
aliens first-contact galactic-empire invasion military soldiers space-fleet space-opera
Star Force: Origin Box Set #93-96 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 colonization exploration galactic-empire military soldiers space-fleet space-opera
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 colonization exploration galactic-empire invasion military soldiers space-fleet
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 colonization exploration galactic-empire invasion military soldiers space-fleet
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:
colonization exploration galactic-empire military soldiers space-fleet space-opera space-travel

Dark Beyond the Stars: A Space Opera Anthology by Patrice Fitzgerald, David Gatewood, Julie E. Czernea, Blair C. Babylon, Annie Bellet, Elle Casey, Ann Christy, Autumn Kalquist, Theresa Kay, Susan Kaye Quinn, Rysa Walker, Jennifer Foehner Wells, S.M. Reine

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