Books like 'Scornful Stars'

Readers who enjoyed Scornful Stars by Richard Baker also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.

sc-fi  space  action / adventure  hard sci-fi  military, war & conflict  space-opera  war  military  survival  exploration 

  • A Rock and a Hard Place by Ryk Brown, Jeffrey Kafer

    A Rock and a Hard Place by Ryk Brown, Jeffrey Kafer

    Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    Two worlds preparing their defenses . . . A ship struggling to get back in the fight . . . An enemy continuing its relentless attack . . . A former enemy that could hold the answer . . . With the fate of billions in his hands, Captain Scott is offered a way to save them all and end the bloodshed, but if it backfires, he could lose everything. Sometimes, there is no good choice...
  • Into the Serpent's Lair by Ryk Brown

    Into the Serpent's Lair by Ryk Brown

    Rated: 4.76 of 5 stars
    · 17 ratings
    Empires at the brink of war…A galactic alliance on the horizon…Worlds on the verge of destruction…Comrades taking up arms against one another…Nathan Scott must use all his cunning to save not only his own world, but the worlds of his friends and his enemies. But to do so, he must make a deal with the devil, and risk everything on a fight no one believes he can win...
  • A Grimm Sacrifice by Jeffery H. Haskell

    A Grimm Sacrifice by Jeffery H. Haskell

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    In order to survive, Interceptor must change the rules.The Consortium is in real trouble. Caliphate Naval forces have stepped up their raids on the border planets and are taking people by the thousands. They can defend the wormhole, or they can defend their planets, not both...
  • Who Takes No Risk by Ryk Brown

    Who Takes No Risk by Ryk Brown

    Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars
    · 21 ratings
    Part 2: Episode 7 Old allies go dark… New worlds join the fight… A rescue from an enemy held world… A lone operative with a dangerous plan… The Karuzari finally have the support of an industrialized system, but they need time to build their forces. Unfortunately, time is the one thing they may not have...
  • I Am Justice by Ryk Brown

    I Am Justice by Ryk Brown

    Rated: 4.53 of 5 stars
    · 21 ratings
    Part 2: Episode 9 A chance to gain resources… A need to prepare a defense… A trap about to be sprung… An opportunity for justice… As his sister faces a critical moment, Captain Scott must chase his friends to regions he has yet to travel. Sometimes, you just have to take risks for those you care about. Sometimes, quite often...
  • Secrets in the Stars by Mackey Chandler

    Secrets in the Stars by Mackey Chandler

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    When Lee Anderson and her parents discovered a new world teeming with life, it was the dream of every explorer: they were rich beyond their imaginations. But tragedy struck when a herd of creatures overran their camp and killed her parents. The only other adult in her life had been their partner Gordon, who adopted her as parent. Which didn’t turn out to be easy, because he wasn’t human...
  • That Which Other Men Cannot Do by Ryk Brown

    That Which Other Men Cannot Do by Ryk Brown

    Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars
    · 26 ratings
    Episode 15 New forces grow… Old friends are lost… New alliances are forged… Old weapons are made new… With political unrest growing, the Alliance must rush to rebuild their fleet and expand their 'sphere of influence' before their support runs out. But when the Jung up the ante, the Alliance must turn up the heat...
  • Edge World by B.V. Larson

    Edge World by B.V. Larson

    Rated: 4.48 of 5 stars
    · 23 ratings
    A lonely planet circles a star on the very border of Province 921. Critical resources produced there are claimed by both the Mogwa and the Skay. War between the Galactic giants becomes more likely every day.James McGill and Legion Varus are deployed to protect Edge World, a planet that rotates at a walking pace. Each day is as long as a year back on Earth...
  • Sanctuary by Ryk Brown

    Sanctuary by Ryk Brown

    Rated: 4.52 of 5 stars
    · 20 ratings
    Part 2: Episode 8 A family nearly destroyed… A loved one in need of help… A fleet in need of a home port… An Alliance struggling to be reborn… Captain Scott has lost his entire family, save his sister, who needs better medical care than the Aurora can provide...
  • Return of the Corinari by Ryk Brown

    Return of the Corinari by Ryk Brown

    Rated: 4.61 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    Part 2: Episode 13 A host of new allies… A plethora of advanced technologies… A daring gamble to advance their forces… A chance to retake lost worlds once and for all… The Dusahn have been backed into a corner, barely able to hold the worlds of the Pentaurus cluster, let alone the entire sector. Forced to dig in, they may have to resort to drastic measures to save their fledgling empire...
  • Destroyer by Joshua Dalzelle

    Destroyer by Joshua Dalzelle

    Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    A relentless enemy… An old wolf's last hunt… The future of two species hanging in the balance… The Darshik war machine is flagging, but the war is far from over. Even as an exhausted Federation military tenses up for a counterattack after repelling the last Darshik invasion, reports are coming in of a new, more powerful class of ship that's striking deep into Terran space...
  • Iron & Blood by Joshua Dalzelle

    Iron & Blood by Joshua Dalzelle

    Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    The Black Fleet Saga continues… A human planet has been invaded. The enigmatic Darshik have landed troops on a frontier world and have begun subduing major cities even as their blockade repels all attempts by the fledgling United Terran Federation to mount a counteroffensive...
  • Rescue by Ryk Brown

    Rescue by Ryk Brown

    Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars
    · 23 ratings
    A leader left behind... An Alliance falling apart... Friends stranded on an enemy-held world... A chance to rediscover long forgotten truths... The new threat will require an immediate response. But first, Jessica and the Ghatazhak must execute a daring rescue in order to secure their future. But to do so, they need the one man they have been trying to protect. The question is..
  • Liberation by Ryk Brown

    Liberation by Ryk Brown

    Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars
    · 26 ratings
    Episode 10 Heartfelt reunions with friends… Desperate plans to gain advantage… Opportunities that cannot be ignored… Discovery of family once thought lost… The time has come for Captain Scott to fight for that which was taken… the very freedom of the world he was sworn to protect. “Liberation” is a 108,000 word novel, and is the 10th episode in The Frontiers Saga...
  • The Long Voyage of the Little Fleet by Mackey Chandler

    The Long Voyage of the Little Fleet by Mackey Chandler

    Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    In the first book of this series "Family Law", Lee's parents and their business partner Gordon found a class A habitable planet. They thought their quest as explorers was over and they'd live a life of ease. But before they could return and register their claim Lee's parents died doing a survey of the surface...
  • The Middle of Nowhere by Mackey Chandler

    The Middle of Nowhere by Mackey Chandler

    Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    April returns home from her trip down to Earth unhappy with what she accomplished. Papa-san Santos is finishing her rescue of the Lieutenants, Her traitorous brother is dead, and so many things are uncertain.The Chinese and North Americans both continue to give her and Home a hard time. But April, Jeff, and Heather are gathering allies and power...
  • Shakedown by Scott Sigler

    Shakedown by Scott Sigler

    Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    "A gritty tale of cosmic dread.”— Pierce Brown, #1 New York Times Bestselling author of RED RISINGFew know the warship’s actual name. Fewer still know what it really is. And almost no one knows of its unique ability, an ability that could tilt the balance of power if not outright win the war.But everyone has heard the rumors. Rumors about the worst place the Planetary Union Fleet can send you...
  • The Weak and the Innocent by Ryk Brown

    The Weak and the Innocent by Ryk Brown

    Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars
    · 27 ratings
    Episode 14 A ship in the hands of their enemy… A liberation gone wrong… A chance to double their ranks… A bold and daring plan… Their support from the Pentaurus cluster dwindling fast, the Alliance faces new and unpleasant realities in the Sol sector. But untoward changes also bring unexpected opportunities… The 'trick' is in how you use them...
  • Artifact Space by Miles Cameron

    Artifact Space by Miles Cameron

    Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars
    · 21 ratings
    Out in the darkness of space, something is targeting the Greatships.With their vast cargo holds and a crew that could fill a city, the Greatships are the lifeblood of human occupied space, transporting an unimaginable volume - and value - of goods from City, the greatest human orbital, all the way to Tradepoint at the other, to trade for xenoglas with an unknowable alien species...
  • Born of the Ashes by Ryk Brown

    Born of the Ashes by Ryk Brown

    Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars
    · 27 ratings
    Episode 11 A world in chaos… An eager new ally… A newly acquired ship… An even greater threat on its way… Captain Nathan Scott must decide whether to stand and fight to the end, or live to fight another day… even if it means the end of his world. “Born of the Ashes” is a 122,000 word novel, and is the 11th episode in The Frontiers Saga...
  • Resistance by Ryk Brown

    Resistance by Ryk Brown

    Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars
    · 27 ratings
    Episode nine of The Frontiers Saga...A chance to gain much needed resources… A group of highly trained, merciless soldiers… A half-completed ship on a trajectory to nowhere… A lone operative on familiar yet dangerous ground… Captain Scott and the crew of the Aurora have a chance to get everything they need to liberate their home world, but they may have to fight someone else's war first...
  • Green World by B.V. Larson

    Green World by B.V. Larson

    Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars
    · 20 ratings
    Rebels build a secret base on Green World. Their plan is to attack Earth and retake all the planets the Humans have conquered.Hegemony starships gather to strike the Rebels first, but where is their base? As the fleets search, Earth warships trespass into Skay space igniting a fresh border conflict between rival Galactics...
  • De Oppresso Liber by Evan Currie

    De Oppresso Liber by Evan Currie

    Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    The war may be over, but the fighting continues as SOLCOM learns of an excursion by the Ross'El against an unaffiliated pre-space civilization in the no man's land between Earth and the Alien Alliance. With always more questions than answers, SOLCOM dispatches a ship to quietly survey the situation and determine what, if any, course of action is best...
  • Escalation by Ryk Brown

    Escalation by Ryk Brown

    Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    A cease-fire that has lasted seven years… Worlds half-destroyed that have been rebuilt anew… Friends and crewmates scattered light-years apart… New leaders that would be kings… The Jung threat has been renewed, in ways not imagined. It will take a new savior to inspire the masses, and once again lead those willing to fight against oppression...
  • Open Arms by Evan Currie

    Open Arms by Evan Currie

    Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    With the war officially over, and years of fighting weighing on her, Sorilla has officially put in her papers and called in every chit she's owed. It's time to hang up her power armor, lay down her rifle, and try to build something for herself rather than for other people. The War, however, is only over when the powers that be say it is...
  • Rise of the Alliance by Ryk Brown

    Rise of the Alliance by Ryk Brown

    Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars
    · 26 ratings
    Episode 12A new ally providing aid…An old ally joining the fight…Their resources growing with each passing day…Their homeworld finally on the road to recovery…Things finally seem to be coming together for Captain Scott and the Alliance, as he takes his forces on the offensive. However, the Jung may in turn give him more trouble than he bargained for...
  • The Little Ships by J.A. Sutherland

    The Little Ships by J.A. Sutherland

    Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    Newly commissioned lieutenant, Alexis Carew is appointed into HMS Shrewsbury, a 74-gun ship of the line in New London’s space navy. She expects Shrewsbury will be sent into action in the war against Hanover, but instead she finds that she and her new ship are pivotal in a Foreign Office plot to bring the star systems of the French Republic into the war and end the threat of Hanover forever...
  • Salvation Lost by Peter F. Hamilton

    Salvation Lost by Peter F. Hamilton

    Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
    · 30 ratings
    The comparative utopia of twenty-third century Earth is about to go dreadfully awry when a seemingly benign alien race is abruptly revealed to be one of the worst threats humanity has ever faced. Driven by an intense religious extremism, the Olyix are determined to bring everyone to their version of god as they see it...
  • Blood World by B.V. Larson

    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...
  • A Line in the Sand by Ryk Brown

    A Line in the Sand by Ryk Brown

    Rated: 4.48 of 5 stars
    · 16 ratings
    Part 2: Episode 14An enemy lashing out in desperation…An alliance poised to expand…A new fleet of ships to help them…A covert mission to get answers…The Dusahn Empire has been contained for the moment. But there is much work to be done in order to keep them from reasserting their dominance over the Pentaurus sector...
  • Rise of the Corinari by Ryk Brown

    Rise of the Corinari by Ryk Brown

    Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars
    · 18 ratings
    A time to recover…A chance to make a new ally…A brief respite to repair and rearm…An opportunity for a people to regain their honor…For every civilization there comes a moment when a stand must be made against tyranny.The time has come for the Alliance to draw a line in the sand...
  • Mutineer by J.A. Sutherland

    Mutineer by J.A. Sutherland

    Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    Just as Midshipman Alexis Carew thinks she’s found a place in the Royal Navy, she’s transferred aboard H.M.S. Hermione. Her captain is a tartar, liberal with the cat, who thinks girls have no place aboard ship. The other midshipmen in the berth are no better. The only advice she’s offered is to keep her head down and mouth shut – things Alexis is rarely able to do...
  • A Show of Force by Ryk Brown

    A Show of Force by Ryk Brown

    Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars
    · 27 ratings
    Episode 13 The liberation old worlds… The addition of new allies… The fall of a regime… The death of a trusted friend… The Aurora begins clearing a 20 light year sphere of safety around Earth, taking out Jung forces as they liberate the core systems. However, Captain Scott and the Alliance quickly discover that not every world wants to be liberated, and the Jung have a few surprises of their own...
  • March to the Sea by David Weber, John Ringo

    March to the Sea by David Weber, John Ringo

    Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars
    · 20 ratings
    A Bad Neighborhood "Always Faithful." That was the IMC motto, and the Marines of Bravo Company, Bronze Battalion, of the Empress' Own Regiment, lived by it...even if they did occasionally wonder why they bothered. After all, Prince Roger MacClintock, Tertiary Heir to the Throne of Man, was a real piece of work...
  • Head of the Dragon by Ryk Brown

    Head of the Dragon by Ryk Brown

    Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars
    · 26 ratings
    Time is running out…An ally has all but fallen…Resources are running low…The time for attack has come...The Alliance must strike deep into the heart of the empire.This time, the Aurora will be going home, or going to her grave.“Head of the Dragon” is a 133,000 word novel, and is the 6th episode in The Frontiers Saga...
  • Explorer by C.J. Cherryh

    Explorer by C.J. Cherryh

    Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
    · 27 ratings
    It has been nearly ten years since the starship Phoenix returned to Alpha, the station orbiting the world of the atevi, which had been abandoned following a rift between a faction of the station's inhabitants and the spacers' Pilot's Guild...
  • The Expanse by Ryk Brown

    The Expanse by Ryk Brown

    Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
    · 27 ratings
    Episode 7A newly repaired ship…A willing and eager crew…A host of new technologies…A long anticipated return home…The crew of the UES Aurora finally has the chance to fulfill their mission, but first they must complete a long and dangerous journey across a thousand light years of unexplored space.“The Expanse” is a 104,000 word novel, and is the 7th episode in The Frontiers Saga...
  • Corvus by Marko Kloos

    Corvus by Marko Kloos

    Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    When the aliens evolve, so does the threat against humanity in this thrilling sequel to Scorpio that finds Alex Archer in an epic battle of survival against the odds and the alien invaders.Alex Archer is a soldier now, the only civilian survivor from Scorpio to join the NAC Defense Corps...
  • The Complete Hammer's Slammers Volume 3 by David Drake

    The Complete Hammer's Slammers Volume 3 by David Drake

    Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars
    · 8 ratings
    With a veteran ’s eye for the harsh and gritty details of war, David Drake depicts a futuristic analog of Vietnam-era tank combat in his Hammer’s Slammers fiction. Upon this tactical foundation, Drake uses historical metaphor to provide a rich and detailed future-history that is both unique and strangely familiar...
  • TFS Fugitive by Tori L. Harris

    TFS Fugitive by Tori L. Harris

    Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars
    · 15 ratings
    Having successfully repelled the Resistance incursion into the Sol system, Terran Fleet Command must now deal with the far-flung worlds of the Sajeth Collective, which sponsored the attack. Task forces are dispatched to Damara and Lesheera to begin the first Human blockades of entire planets...
  • Rogue World by B.V. Larson

    Rogue World by B.V. Larson

    Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars
    · 27 ratings
    The Galactics arrived with their Battle Fleet in 2052. Rather than being exterminated under a barrage of hell-burners, Earth joined a vast Empire that spanned the Milky Way. Today, Battle Fleet 921 is returning to Earth. It hasn’t been seen by human eyes since our blissful day of Annexation...
  • March Upcountry by David Weber, John Ringo

    March Upcountry by David Weber, John Ringo

    Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars
    · 24 ratings
    Prince Roger MacClintock is a spoiled young princeling hardly worth the space he takes up. Now he must become a man, or the entire galaxy will suffer arrested adolescence...
  • New Canaan by M.D. Cooper

    New Canaan by M.D. Cooper

    Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    Tanis Richards has spent half her life on the Intrepid, guiding the great colony ship, and its two million passengers, across hundreds of light-years. She has risked life, limb and those dearest to her to get this far. Now she’s within reach of her goal; the New Canaan System, and a normal, stable life. The kind she's only dreamed about...
  • April by Mackey Chandler

    April by Mackey Chandler

    Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars
    · 10 ratings
    April is an exceptional young lady and something of a snoop. She finds herself involved with intrigues that stretch her abilities after a chance run in with a spy. There is a terrible danger she and her friends and family will lose the only home she has ever known in orbit and be forced to live on the slum ball below. It's more than a almost teen can deal with...
  • TFS Navajo by Tori L. Harris

    TFS Navajo by Tori L. Harris

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    Only a few short months after Humanity’s first interstellar flights, the first shots have been fired in what will eventually become known as the Alliance Wars. Terran Fleet Command teeters on the edge of chaos in the aftermath of Chairwoman Crull’s removal from power, while in space, Earth’s defense falls squarely on the shoulders of Admiral Kevin Patterson...
  • Earth Fleet by B.V. Larson

    Earth Fleet by B.V. Larson

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    At long last Earth has a handful of starships. Surrounded by Rebel Kher, Imperials and the mysterious Nomads, Humanity dares to assert our right to independence. The interstellar community reacts harshly. In the eyes of our neighbors, we’re upstarts, dangerous beings that don’t know our place. For the Kher, freedom can only be won through battle...
  • Spinward Fringe Broadcast 1: Resurrection by Randolph Lalonde

    Spinward Fringe Broadcast 1: Resurrection by Randolph Lalonde

    Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars
    · 12 ratings
    Captain Jacob Valance has no memory of his past. Left on a strange ship in an unfamiliar sector of the galaxy, he's forced to begin a new life. Possessing a skill set that leads to bounty hunting and object repossession, he gathers a crew from the rough fringe of the galaxy...
  • Kantovan Vault by Joel Shepherd

    Kantovan Vault by Joel Shepherd

    Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    The UFS Phoenix is on a mission to find a lost data-core that may contain the secret to defeating the alo-deepynine alliance. But the means to find the data-core is hidden deep in tavalai space, in a highest-security vault where the tavalai's manipulative State Department keep all their most treacherous secrets. To recover it, Phoenix must pull off the most daring heist the Spiral has ever seen...
  • TFS Theseus by Tori L. Harris

    TFS Theseus by Tori L. Harris

    Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars
    · 14 ratings
    “Welcome to the Pelaran Alliance …” With those simple words, the Guardian spacecraft openly revealed itself to Humanity, heralding a new chapter in its 500-year-long mission to cultivate our world...
  • Home World by B.V. Larson

    Home World by B.V. Larson

    Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars
    · 26 ratings
    The Galactics arrived with their Battle Fleet in 2052. Rather than being exterminated under a barrage of hell-burners, Earth joined a vast Empire that spanned the Milky Way. When the Earth is invaded by a rival empire, James McGill’s legion must defend the Home World. The top brass has complex plans, but none of that matters much to McGill, who chooses his own unique path...
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