Books like 'Deadman Switch'
Readers who enjoyed Deadman Switch by Timothy Zahn also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
sc-fi space action / adventure space-opera suspense galactic-empire
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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... -
![Stand Alone: Wolfhounds - Book One by John Van Stry]()
Stand Alone: Wolfhounds - Book One by John Van Stry
Rated: 4.59 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsChase had it all planned out, do a little time in one of the emperor's jails, say a four year stretch for getting rid of some trash that no one would miss, and when he got out, the path to the leadership would be wide open... -
![She is the Principle: A Kurtherian Gambit Series by Michael Anderle]()
She is the Principle: A Kurtherian Gambit Series by Michael Anderle
Rated: 4.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA 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... -
![Tyrant by Richard F. Weyand]()
Tyrant by Richard F. Weyand
Rated: 4.71 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsThe Council Revolt has started. The Council has struck at the Throne.As the Council plots to place their own candidate on the Throne, a single survivor is dragged out of the fires burning in the Imperial Residence.Hoping to take advantage of the capital’s chaos, enemies internal and external move against the Empire... -
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![Forged in Flame by Michael R. Hicks]()
Forged in Flame by Michael R. Hicks
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThis is the second book of the First Empress saga, following From Chaos Born.Keel-Tath, the child who would unite her people as foretold by an ancient prophecy, has grown to be a young warrior in the confines of the Desh-Ka temple, where she has been sheltered by her old friend and mentor Ayan-Dar from the clutches of Syr-Nagath, the Dark Queen... -
![Fortitude by Glynn Stewart]()
Fortitude by Glynn Stewart
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAn offer that no one else could matchA mission that no one else could achieveAn enemy only a few know they share…Commodore Kira Demirci is now the commander of a small but powerful mercenary force—one of the most dangerous in the cluster of stars she now calls home. Her own actions have brought peace to the Syntactic Cluster, though, and a mercenary is in limited demand...Categorized as:
space-opera galactic-empire sci-fi military action-adventure soldiers space-fleet fiction -
![Owner's Share by Nathan Lowell]()
Owner's Share by Nathan Lowell
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsEverything in the universe comes with a price. When Diurnia Salvage and Transport undergoes a change in management, Captain Ishmael Horatio Wang finds himself adrift in a sea of red ink, and intrigue. He dives in only to find that he is over his head in a universe where cut-throat competition takes on an all new meaning... -
![Conqueror by Richard F. Weyand]()
Conqueror by Richard F. Weyand
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsANOTHER INTERSTELLAR WAR!The Empire has won the war against the Alliance. But at the close of that war, an invasion fleet from the Democracy of Planets sought to annex Jasmine. So Jasmine annexed to Sintar, and Sintar destroyed that fleet, causing resentment that is driving the Democracy of Planets to go to war with Sintar.The Democracy of Planets is a much more deadly enemy than the Alliance... -
![Usurper by Richard F. Weyand]()
Usurper by Richard F. Weyand
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsTHE REFORMS MUST CONTINUEAt the age of twenty-seven, Deanna Dunham Garrity has become the Empress of Sintar, absolute ruler of 150,000 worlds and their 300 trillion inhabitants. She would continue the reforms of her predecessor, but the Imperial Council stands in her way... -
![Madame Guillotine by Jason Anspach, Nick Cole]()
Madame Guillotine by Jason Anspach, Nick Cole
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsLeave no man behind. On Detron, a simmering protest boils over and turns deadly when militants hiding among the demonstrators deliberately shoot down a group of legionnaires, executing one survivor and taking two for ransom. The only Republic asset the captured leejes can rely on is a lone marine sniper who defies orders in a desperate attempt to save them... -
![Star Force: Rift by Aer-ki Jyr]()
Star Force: Rift by Aer-ki Jyr
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe temporary truce between Star Force and the V'kit'no'sat sends shockwaves throughout the galaxy. No one has ever defied the V'kit'no'sat and lived, but now Star Force has and many races are taking notice...including one that no one expects, on either side... -
![Star Force: Excalibur by Aer-ki Jyr]()
Star Force: Excalibur by Aer-ki Jyr
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe Zak'de'ron take note of the Rit'ko'sor joining Star Force, making contact and making their wishes known...but in the process they make a critical mistake that will forever alter their relationship with the trailblazers...Categorized as:
galactic-empire space-opera action-adventure adult aliens book fiction genetic-engineering -
![Breaking Point by David Alastair Hayden]()
Breaking Point by David Alastair Hayden
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSilky, Siv, and Mitsuki are now willing to do whatever it takes to find and rescue Ambassador Galen Vim. But government agents, criminal organizations, and bounty hunters swarm the Titus II system. Getting to the planet alive may be the easiest part of this mission since no one has seen the ambassador since he was captured by Tekk Reapers...Categorized as:
space-opera galactic-empire sci-fi audiobook humor action-adventure military space-fleet -
![The Gap Into Ruin: This Day All Gods Die by Stephen R. Donaldson]()
The Gap Into Ruin: This Day All Gods Die by Stephen R. Donaldson
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsFrom the bestselling author of Chaos and Order comes the conclusion of the Gap series. As the crew attempts to pursue the pirate ship Soar and her captain, their hopes turn to Angus Thermopyle. Angus, Morn Hyland, and her son, Davies, race home, unaware that Warden Dios and The Dragon are locked in a final confrontation that may alter the fate of humankind forever. HC: Bantam... -
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![Shield of Terra by Glynn Stewart]()
Shield of Terra by Glynn Stewart
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsThe 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... -
![Rimward Stars by Glynn Stewart]()
Rimward Stars by Glynn Stewart
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA helpless ally calls for aid A ruthless enemy strikes without mercy The fate of empires turns on even the smallest actions When a minor trade partner sends the Castle Federation a desperate call for aid, they have few resources to spare from their all-consuming war against the Terran Commonwealth... -
![Excalibur Lost: a Space Opera Novella by Glynn Stewart]()
Excalibur Lost: a Space Opera Novella by Glynn Stewart
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA broken speciesA broken manA lost legend…Only dreams and stories remain of the worlds humanity once called home, but scattered refugees live in the corners of the empire of their conquerors, the Sacred Council of Races... -
![Equilibrium by Glynn Stewart]()
Equilibrium by Glynn Stewart
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsPeace forged on the edge of civilizationLies forged in the heart of mankindA legend rises to the final challengeExile to the Syntactic Cluster has been good for Kira Demirci and her friends. Once elite pilots of the Apollo System Defense Force, they now own the most powerful mercenary warship in the entire star cluster... -
![Star Force: Origin Series by Aer-ki Jyr]()
Star Force: Origin Series by Aer-ki Jyr
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe 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:
galactic-empire space-opera action-adventure book colonization fiction military soldiers -
![Salvage by Jenny Schwartz]()
Salvage by Jenny Schwartz
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSecrets 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 suspense galactic-empire sci-fi action-adventure other-world aliens super-powered -
![Ship of Ruin by Lindsay Buroker]()
Ship of Ruin by Lindsay Buroker
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsAll Casmir Dabrowski wants is to return to his normal life as a robotics professor on the solid ground and agreeable gravity of his home world. No sane person would want to cavort around in space, being chased by mercenaries, soldiers, and knights—not to mention the unidentified organization that’s been sending robot assassins after him...Categorized as:
galactic-empire space-opera action-adventure adult anthologies audiobook fiction futuristic -
![Full Share by Nathan Lowell]()
Full Share by Nathan Lowell
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsA Trader's Tale from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper : Book 3The Lois McKendrick runs headlong into trouble when a routine in-system transit goes bad. Ishmael and the rest of the crew must scramble to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it in order to keep the ship alive...Categorized as:
space-opera suspense action-adventure audiobook book coming-of-age fiction futuristic -
![Double Share by Nathan Lowell]()
Double Share by Nathan Lowell
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsAN INEXPERIENCED OFFICER. A DYSFUNCTIONAL SHIP. LIFE IN THE DEEP DARK JUST GOT A LOT HARDER.In his first assignment as an officer, Ishmael Horatio Wang finds himself fresh out of school, wet behind the ears, and way out of his depth. Aboard the William Tinker the senior officers are derelict and abusive, the crew demoralized and undisciplined, and change unwelcomed and dangerous...Categorized as:
space-opera suspense action-adventure audiobook book coming-of-age fiction futuristic -
![Slave Trade by Craig Martelle, Michael Anderle]()
Slave Trade by Craig Martelle, Michael Anderle
Rated: 4.64 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsNo respect for life. Or the law. It’s the trade. In sentience. Run by the Corranites, creatures that have always traded in intelligent alien life.Bought and sold. Nothing more than property.Rivka is having none of it. With an eye toward taking the entire supply line down, she launches into the greater galaxy. All the way to the heart of the Federation.It’s bigger than anyone knows... -
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![Defiant Ruin by Marie Andreas]()
Defiant Ruin by Marie Andreas
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe fight for the Commonwealth comes to an explosive conclusion! The good news is that Captain Vaslisha Tor Dain and most of her rag tag band of mercenaries managed to survive a devastating confrontation with the resurrected ancient enemy the Asarlaí. The bad news is that the WARRIOR WENCH has crash landed on a deserted planet in an unknown galaxy... -
![Star Force: Dawn of the Apocalypse by Aer-ki Jyr]()
Star Force: Dawn of the Apocalypse by Aer-ki Jyr
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe onslaught has begun and the galaxy must cope with a very slow moving certainty of its eventual destruction... -
![Shadows of Olympus by Christian Kallias]()
Shadows of Olympus by Christian Kallias
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWith the arrival of a powerful new threat in orbit around Earth, the Alliance is forced to vacate Earth space while a small group stays behind to ensure humanity isn’t enslaved or worse, wiped out. Meanwhile, the rest of the fleet splits into separate missions, each of them vital in rebuilding the Earth Alliance forces and strengthening what’s left of the fleet... -
![Throne of Stars by David Weber, John Ringo]()
Throne of Stars by David Weber, John Ringo
Rated: 4.51 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsBooks 3 and 4 in the New York Times best-selling Empire of Man series: March to the Stars and We Few, both New York Times bestsellers.Prince Roger MacClintock was an heir to the galaxy's Throne of Man and a self-obsessed spoiled young brat - that is, until he and the Royal Marines sent to protect him were stranded by an assassination attempt on the wild and dangerous planet of Marduk... -
![Imperial Command by D.J. Holmes]()
Imperial Command by D.J. Holmes
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsTrapped 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:
galactic-empire space-opera suspense action-adventure adult aliens book colonization -
![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...Categorized as:
galactic-empire space-opera action-adventure adult book far-away-galaxy fiction military -
![Evasion (Scattered Stars: Evasion Book 1) by Glynn Stewart]()
Evasion (Scattered Stars: Evasion Book 1) by Glynn Stewart
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA captain on the run from the horrors of his pastA girl on the run from the trap of her presentA ship that will bring them togetherCaptain Evridiki “EB” Bardacki was once a nova fighter pilot for a nation he truly believed in. Betrayal and failure sent him into exile and flight... -
![Empire's Birth by D.J. Holmes]()
Empire's Birth by D.J. Holmes
Rated: 4.66 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe Karacknid invasion of Earth has been turned back. Yet the War of Doom has only just begun. Tens of thousands of warships are amassing along the Varanni Alliance border. In one fell swoop they threaten to strike into the heart of Alliance space, conquering and devastating everything in their wake...Categorized as:
galactic-empire space-opera suspense action-adventure adult aliens book colonization -
![Deception by Glynn Stewart]()
Deception by Glynn Stewart
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsA new home on the edge of nowhereA new hope for a peaceful futureAn old enemy that won’t let goKira Demirci left her homeworld of Apollo pursued by assassins seeking revenge for her victories in the war against the Brisingr Kaiserreich. Now she has a new home and a new role: as the nova fighter wing commander aboard the mercenary carrier Conviction under Captain John Estanza...Categorized as:
galactic-empire space-opera suspense action-adventure audiobook book fiction military -
![Your Life Is Forfeit by Craig Martelle, Michael Anderle]()
Your Life Is Forfeit by Craig Martelle, Michael Anderle
Rated: 4.59 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsRed 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:
galactic-empire space-opera action-adventure aliens audiobook book fiction first-contact -
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![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...Categorized as:
galactic-empire space-opera action-adventure adult book far-away-galaxy female-author fiction -
![The Worst Ship in the Fleet by Skyler Ramirez]()
The Worst Ship in the Fleet by Skyler Ramirez
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA Military Science Fiction Adventure!Brad Mendoza is an idiot. He knows it, and so does everyone else. A promising naval career down the drain just because he accidentally killed 504 civilians. So, it's time for him to give up and accept a dead-end command on Persephone, the worst ship in the fleet... -
![Drifter's Folly by Glynn Stewart]()
Drifter's Folly by Glynn Stewart
Rated: 4.55 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsAn enemy on the run to neutral spaceAn elite squadron beyond the reach of any backupA secret deal that could doom the whole sector…When United Planets Alliance Captain Henry Wong and Ambassador Sylvia Todorovich attempted to bring peace to the Ra Sector, they turned to the Drifters for neutral ground. Instead, the nomadic spacers betrayed the summit and attempted to kill everyone there...Categorized as:
galactic-empire space-opera suspense action-adventure adult audiobook book colonization -
![Half Share by Nathan Lowell]()
Half Share by Nathan Lowell
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsSIX MONTHS IN THE DEEP DARK. FOUR VERY DIFFERENT WOMEN. ONE MAN DISCOVERS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A SPACER. It's a time of change on the Lois McKendrick. Sarah Krugg joins the mess deck and Ishmael Wang moves to the environmental section...Categorized as:
space-opera suspense action-adventure audiobook book coming-of-age fiction futuristic -
![Fractured Stars by Lindsay Buroker]()
Fractured Stars by Lindsay Buroker
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsMcCall Richter finds criminals, con men, and deadbeats better than anyone else in the empire. She’s proud of her success and that she owns her own spaceship, especially since she struggles to understand human motivations, can’t tell when people are lying to her, and is horrible at recognizing faces... -
![Mutineer by D.J. Holmes]()
Mutineer by D.J. Holmes
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe Flex-aor have returned, putting in motion a chain of events that will thrust humanity into a galactic war, the scale of which no human has seen before. Banished in all but name, James’ political enemies have assigned him to the protection of humanity’s colonial frontier as a ploy to rid themselves of the hero of the Siege of Earth...Categorized as:
galactic-empire space-opera suspense action-adventure adult aliens book colonization -
![The Kasari Nexus by Richard Phillips]()
The Kasari Nexus by Richard Phillips
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsJennifer Smythe escapes Earth’s invasion by the insidious Kasari race, hijacks an alien starship, and survives the deadly passage through a wormhole.But escape is short-lived…When Jennifer emerges on the new world of Scion, she is confronted by the same deadly enemy... -
![Krimson Run by Julia Huni, Craig Martelle]()
Krimson Run by Julia Huni, Craig Martelle
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe Federation will make you pay for your crimes, even the fake ones.Tony, a spy from a rival star system who is the scion of a galactic crime family. Quinn, falsely accused former military, betrayed by her husband. A conspiracy that intertwines their lives.Where did the government go wrong? When they separated Quinn from her kids... -
![Embracing Oblivion by Toby Neighbors]()
Embracing Oblivion by Toby Neighbors
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHumanity has a new enemy The threat is no longer in doubt Three questions remain: When will they come? How will they attack us? Can we survive? The Kroll are real, but very little is known about humanity’s strange new enemy...Categorized as:
galactic-empire space-opera action-adventure adult book fiction first-contact military -
![A Question of Faith by Glynn Stewart]()
A Question of Faith by Glynn Stewart
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTwo star nations struggle for primacyA protectorate of both left defencelessA call for help from any who can hearThe Castle Federation and the Coraline Imperium have built pocket empires on the fringe of human space. Tiny by the standards of the behemoth Commonwealth born of Terra, they remain unchallenged in their own sectors—but their fleets watch the border between them with careful eyes... -
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![Taken by Ell Leigh Clarke]()
Taken by Ell Leigh Clarke
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“Protect the sword with your life!” When Bentley discovers she has incredible swordsmanship, she wonders if her problems are over.After all, if she can fend for herself, why hang out with three exiled gods in constant moral crisis?Unfortunately, any thoughts of change are forgotten when the crew find themselves being chased across the sector by Amroth and his army...Categorized as:
galactic-empire space-opera action-adventure book coming-of-age female-mc fiction new-adult -
![Space Rogues 2: Big Ship, Lots of Guns by John Wilker]()
Space Rogues 2: Big Ship, Lots of Guns by John Wilker
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsPreviously, on Space Rogues...Thanks to an intergalactic crime boss and all around horrible being, Xarrix, there's a price on the crews' heads, no good deed goes unpunished, as they say.What do you do to keep food on the table and fuel in the tank? Take jobs as privateers of course.This page-turning adventure kicks off with Zephyr answering a call from an old friend...Categorized as:
galactic-empire space-opera action-adventure adult aliens book fiction first-contact -
![Star Force: Essence by Aer-ki Jyr]()
Star Force: Essence by Aer-ki Jyr
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe ever-growing peace and order in the galaxy has nearly run its course as a new series of events begin to take shape. Buckle your seat belt, Dorothy, because Kansas is going bye bye.. -
![Space Rogues 3: The Behemoth Job by John Wilker]()
Space Rogues 3: The Behemoth Job by John Wilker
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFor the crew of the Ghost, it's never just a job The last one nearly cost them a member of the crew.Well, they fight spider-bears, meet Bennie’s family and learn more than anyone wants to about Wil’s digestive tract, and Wil reveals what he’s been hiding under his bed all this time... -
![Imperial Twilight by Eric Thomson]()
Imperial Twilight by Eric Thomson
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe most powerful empire in human history is rushing headlong toward destruction, ending our species' supremacy in the known galaxy.Two men with widely divergent visions are on a mission to save civilization in at least one sector, far from the imperial capital where a demented ruler holds sway... -
![Warlord by Richard F. Weyand]()
Warlord by Richard F. Weyand
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsINTERSTELLAR WAR!Their resentment of Sintar’s success fanned by the Democracy of Planets, the Alliance has voted to wage war on Sintar. They are mustering their fleets and gathering their strength to take on the Imperial Navy. Over three million warships are gathering to deliver the blow that will bring the Empire to its knees, with seven million additional warships in reserve...
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