Books like 'Skylark of Valeron'
Readers who enjoyed Skylark of Valeron by E.E. "Doc" Smith also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
sc-fi space action / adventure space-opera classics single-planet
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Hard Knocks by Nathan Lowell
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIt pays to take a second look.In the Deep Dark, it's a long walk home.The Marva Collins runs into unexpected problems a long way from port. Faced with some hard decisions, and uncertain about the choices, Ishmael has to roll the dice with inadequate information... -
The Ender Quintet by Orson Scott Card
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThis set contains Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, Children of the Mind, and Ender in Exile.At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied... -
William Shakespeare's Star Wars Trilogy: The Royal Box Set by Ian Doescher
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsMay the verse be with you! Return once more to a galaxy far, far away with this retelling of George Lucas’s Star Wars® Trilogy in the style of the immortal William Shakespeare. This Royal Imperial Boxed Set includes all three volumes in the original trilogy: Verily, A New Hope; The Empire Striketh Back; and The Jedi Doth Return... -
Conspirator by C.J. Cherryh
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFirst in a brand-new "Foreigner" trilogy from Hugo Award winning author C. J. Cherryh. Cajeiri is the young son of the powerful leader of the Western Association-and he has become a target for forces bent on destroying his father's rule. For Cajeiri is the first "ateva" youth to have lived in a human environment...Categorized as:
single-planet space-opera action-adventure adult aliens audiobook book female-author -
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Change Management by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTimes are perilous, violence rife, and the future uncertain. Success and the survival of all you hold dear may hinge on how you manage change. Some people advise that we “Embrace Change!” Other people realize that change has edges, and if you embrace it the wrong way, it may feel a lot more like a knife than a bromide when it touches your guts... -
Foundation and Chaos by Greg Bear
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsA major science fiction author continues one of the most famous SF stories of all time... -
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... -
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...Categorized as:
single-planet space-opera action-adventure adult aliens audiobook book female-author -
Invader by C.J. Cherryh
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsThe first book in C.J.Cherryh's eponymous series, Foreigner, begins an epic tale of the survivors of a lost spacecraft who crash-land on a planet inhabited by a hostile, sentient alien race... -
Deliverer by C.J. Cherryh
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIn the aftermath of civil war, the world of the atevi is still perilously unstable. Tabini-aiji, powerful ruler of the Western Association, along with his son and heir Cajeiri, and his human paidhi, Bren Cameron, have returned to the seat of power. The usurper, Murini, has escaped to the lands of his supporters, but the danger these rebels pose is far from over...Categorized as:
single-planet space-opera action-adventure adult aliens audiobook book female-author -
Skyblaze by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsVertu dea'San, Delm of Clan Wylan, has her hands full with daughter, son, and taxi business, when she's offered an opportunity to solve several pressing problems in one fell swoop. All she needs to do is ferry a few people to a "picnic ground" to deal with an honorable matter of Balance... -
Halfling Moon by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAdventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 16Two Stories of a Tumultuous TimeThe Department of the Interior's bloody plot against planet Liad has failed, at least for now, but Clan Korval's firing upon Solcintra, Liad's capital city, to save it from the release of ancient killer machines has resulted in the clan's banishment... -
With Stars Underfoot by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTwo short stories "Lord of the Dance" and "This House". "This House" first appeared in the anthology "Stars" edited by Janis Ian. This is the first appearance of "Lord of the Dance"... -
Quiet Knives by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTwo short stories "Veil of the Dancer" and "Quiet Knives". "Veil of the Dancer" first appeared in the magazine Absolute Magnitude. This is the first appearance of "Quiet Knives"... -
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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... -
Star Wars: Rogue One - The Ultimate Visual Guide by Pablo Hidalgo, John Knoll
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe essential, comprehensive guide to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story(TM).This exciting reference format accompanies the eagerly anticipated, first-ever standalone Star Wars(TM) movie: Rogue One. This beautifully detailed title features in-depth character profiles, plus 5 newly commissioned and fully annotated cross-sections of vehicles and mapped-out locations... -
The Face by Jack Vance
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsKirth Gersen tracks Lens Larque across several worlds, most notably Aloysius, the desert world Dar Sai and the more temperate Methel. He eventually learns that Larque is a Darsh, born Husse Bugold. He had been deprived of an earlobe and made a rachepol or outcast from his clan for a crime considered "repulsive but not superlatively heinous... -
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
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... -
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 Green Hills of Earth / The Menace from Earth by Robert A. Heinlein
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsTwo of the Grand Master's finest: The saga of the opening of the space frontier as courageous men and women risked their lives to build the first space station and colonize the Moon and Venus, while praying for one last landing on the globe that gave them birth, to return to The Green Hills of Earth... -
Neutron Star by Larry Niven
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsCome to Larry Niven's Universe and meet all the natives: Thrints, Bandersnatchi, Puppeteers -- and a host of other wonderfully created characters.Visit Lookitthat, Down, and Jinx -- indeed, an entire galaxy of planets found only in these stories that trace man's expansion and colonization throughout Known Space.A spectacular cycle of the future . . -
Crystal Singer by Anne McCaffrey
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsHer name was Killashandra Ree. And after ten grueling years of musical training, she was still without prospects. Until she heard of the mysterious Heptite Guild who could provide careers, security, and wealth beyond imagining. The problem was, few people who landed on Ballybran ever left. But to Killashandra the risks were acceptable...Categorized as:
classics single-planet space-opera action-adventure audiobook book contemporary dragons -
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... -
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The Book of Dreams by Jack Vance
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsHoward Alan Treesong gave a banquet to ten friends. All died in agony, save himself.Howard Alan Treesong went to his old school reunion to teach his former classmates the meaning of terror.Howard Alan Treesong was the most elusive of the five Demon Princes upon whom Kirth Gersen had sworn vengeance. A galaxy-wide guessing game proved his undoing... -
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... -
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... -
The Summer Queen by Joan D. Vinge
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSequel To The Hugo Award-Winning Bestseller The Snow QueenThe Summer Queen is the extraordinary sequel to one of science fiction's most celebrated novels, The Snow Queen. Set in a fully realized universe of wonders, this spectacular space epic, itself a finalist for the Hugo Award, is one of the most remarkable novels in the field...Categorized as:
classics single-planet space-opera 20th-century action-adventure adult book female-author -
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... -
Killashandra by Anne McCaffrey
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsKillashandra Ree's life was one of catastrophic changes. She had joined the Heptite Guild to become a crystal singer, get rich, and forget her past. And at first everything went just as she had hoped. In one season on the deadly beautiful world of Ballybran, she had sung Black Crystal, grown wealthy, and met a man who made her sorrows seem unworthy of notice...Categorized as:
classics single-planet space-opera action-adventure audiobook book dragons female-author -
Foundation's Triumph by David Brin
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIsaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy is one of the highwater marks of science fiction.The monumental story of a Galactic Empire in decline and a secret society of scientists who seek to shorten the coming Dark Age with tools of Psychohistory, Foundation pioneered many themes of modern science fiction... -
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... -
Orphan Star by Alan Dean Foster
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsOne man in the Universe holds the key to the mystery of Flinx’s past–and that man is trying to kill him!It is a strange childhood for a kid, to be adopted by the restless Mother Mastiff and raised in the bustling marketplace of Drallar. Flinx never knew the mom and dad who abandoned him years ago. In fact, his birth has always been shrouded in mystery... -
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Norstrilia by Cordwainer Smith
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThis is a volume in the NESFA's Choice series. The objective of this series is to publish the classic works of neglected sf authors, and to keep these works in print...Categorized as:
classics space-opera action-adventure adult anthologies dystopia fiction hard-sci-fi -
The Dirdir by Jack Vance, H.R. Van Dongen
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsGetting back to Earth from the planet Tschai involved only stealing a spaceship or having one built to order — for Tschai was the abode of several intelligent star-born races and, as such, had spaceyards. But Adam Reith's problem was not so simple... -
The Pnume by Jack Vance, H.R. Van Dongen
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe Pnume are native to Tschai, living underground in a vast network of caverns with their human slave-species, the Pnumekin... -
Star Wars: The Rise of the Empire by John Jackson Miller, James Luceno
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWitness the rise of the Empire with these two thrilling Star Wars novels—plus exclusive short stories by Melissa Scott, John Jackson Miller, and Jason Fry! TARKIN “Compelling . . . The villains of Star Wars are as much fun as the good guys... -
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... -
Ecce and Old Earth by Jack Vance
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe planet Cadwal has an ecosystem unique in the human-explored galaxy; a thousand years past it was set aside as a natural preserve, protected by law and covenant against colonization and exploitation.But now the elite Conservator culture that has developed on Cadwal is facing a conspiracy of humans and aliens to open the planet, and its rich resources, to full commercial use...Categorized as:
single-planet space-opera action-adventure adult audiobook book fiction law-enforcement -
Grand Central Arena by Ryk E. Spoor
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWith new content by Ryk E. Spoor! It was supposed to be a simple test flight, one that pilot Ariane Austin was on only as a last-ditch backup; intelligent, superhumanly fast automation would handle the test activation and flight of humanity's first faster-than-light vessel... -
A New Hope: The Illustrated Screenplay (Star Wars, Episode IV) by George Lucas
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsNow here is the complete screenplay of the film that launched a science fiction phenomenon. Experience the capture of Princess Leia by Lord Darth Vader and the evil minions of the Empire...Farmboy Luke Skywalker's discovery of her desperate message hidden in the droid R2-D2...Luke's fateful meetings with legendary Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi and intergalactic smuggler Han Solo.. -
Ivory by Mike Resnick
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIn the year 6303, when earth is bare of anything larger than an insect or a mouse and most people have left for the stars, Duncan Rojas receives a most unusual visitor. His name is Bukoba Mandaka, and he is the last of the Maasai.Mandaka wants Rojas, senior researcher for Braxton's Records of Big Game, to find the tusks of the Kilimanjaro Elephant, tusks that weigh over 200 lb. each... -
Marune: Alastor 933 by Jack Vance
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA mysterious amnesiac is found at a distant spaceport. The science of the Alastor Cluster is unable to do anything but determine his home planet and culture: he is a Rhune from the planet Marune - Alastor 933. When he returns home, he learns that he is a powerful landowner whose household is faced with an important alliance... -
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Wyst: Alastor 1716 by Jack Vance
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsOn Wyst, world 1716 of the Alastor Cluster, millions of people live together in harmony, work only a few hours each week, and share the fruits of their labor equally. Wyst seems a utopia. But the Connatic, mysterious ruler of the Alastor Cluster, knowing better that to take utopia at face value, one day decides to investigate--a decision that may cost him his life... -
Renegades by Dan Worth
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIt is two years since the events of ‘Exiles, Book One of the Progenitor Trilogy’.Humiliated by defeat, the K’Soth Empire has finally collapsed into civil war amongst the noble houses and now the Commonwealth stands victorious over its old enemy. Vast swathes of territory have been liberated from the alien oppressors and humanity struggles with the post-war burden of restoring order and rebuilding... -
Flight by Yoshiki Tanaka
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIt's the Galactic Empire versus the Free Planets Alliance in Japan's greatest space opera epic!In the thirty-sixth century, humanity has conquered the galaxy and colonized countless star systems. The Galactic Empire, modeled along Prussian lines, and the democratic Free Planets Alliance are at war, and the fate of every human being in the universe hangs in the balance... -
Ships of My Fathers by Dan Thompson
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAnother tale from Beneath the Sky's vast Hudson Confederacy universe...Michael was orphaned at seventeen, light-years from home. His inheritance: a starship, distant relatives he never knew existed, and inescapable questions that challenge everything he thought was true... -
The Road of Danger by David Drake
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsCaptain Daniel Leary with his friend–and spy–Officer Adele Mundy are sent to a quiet sector to carry out an easy task: helping the local admiral put down a coup before it takes place. But then the jealous admiral gets rid of them by sending them off on a wild goose chase to a sector where commerce is king and business is carried out by extortion and gunfights... -
Twilight at the Well of Souls by Jack L. Chalker
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsThe rift in the fabric of space was fast approaching the Well World, and time was running out. Troops all over the planet were gathering for the final battle.Nathan Brazil and Mavra Chang somehow had to reach the Well of Souls in time to save the universe and before any of the hostile natives managed to kill them.At best, a difficult mission...
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