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[kazi]

Revelation Space was one of my all time favorite books. I think you should set up an Inhibitor trap somewhere in a remote Starsector system haha... (something along those lines is my current favorite theory of what happened with the Collapse, etc, right now)

Some really great reads I think you (and others) might enjoy:
Merchanter's Luck - Cherryh wrote this one ages ago and it's still great. It's just about trading in space and it's somehow captivating.
Souls in the Great Machine - a bit of a rare book, but quite an entertaining read (both from a humor and story standpoint), the original Mayorate writing was based off those guys
Also, read Ancillary Justice yet?
Hannu Rajaniemi's books (The Quantum Thief/The Fractal Prince) are fantastic, but definitely an acquired taste (the writing is amazing but quite dense)

Also I like the blog tags. What are they even for anyways haha... ?

[Harmful Mechanic]

The Joan D. Vinge/Vernor Vinge Zones of Thought universe, comprising:
by her:
"Media Man"
"Fool's Gold"
The Outcasts of Heaven Belt
by him:
"The Blabber"
A Fire Upon the Deep
A Deepness in the Sky
Children of the Sky

The Jack McDevitt I would have chosen is A Talent For War.
Some of Poul Anderson's work seems like a good fit, especially the Dominic Flandry stories; spy fiction set in the decline of a pan-human interstellar empire (Anderson had a highly depressive, cyclical view of history; it fits the tone of Starsector's setting).
If you like Merchanter's Luck, there's a bunch more stuff in that universe. Downbelow Station is probably the most relevant, along with Tripoint and Rimrunners, which center on various fugitive types trying to make an honest living.
Alexander Jablokov's Carve The Sky.

[kazi]

The Joan D. Vinge/Vernor Vinge Zones of Thought universe, comprising:
by her:
"Media Man"
"Fool's Gold"
The Outcasts of Heaven Belt
by him:
"The Blabber"
A Fire Upon the Deep
A Deepness in the Sky
Children of the Sky

The Jack McDevitt I would have chosen is A Talent For War.
Some of Poul Anderson's work seems like a good fit, especially the Dominic Flandry stories; spy fiction set in the decline of a pan-human interstellar empire (Anderson had a highly depressive, cyclical view of history; it fits the tone of Starsector's setting).
If you like Merchanter's Luck, there's a bunch more stuff in that universe. Downbelow Station is probably the most relevant, along with Tripoint and Rimrunners, which center on various fugitive types trying to make an honest living.
Alexander Jablokov's Carve The Sky.

Read all of the Cherryh and Vinge stuff. Came *this* close to adding A Fire Upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky to my list. Rimrunners has been sitting on my desk for like a year, but still haven't opened it lol >_<

Not a fan of McDevitt though...

[Zaphide]

...
Also, read Ancillary Justice yet?
Hannu Rajaniemi's books (The Quantum Thief/The Fractal Prince) are fantastic, but definitely an acquired taste (the writing is amazing but quite dense)
...

Both Ancillary Justice and Ancillary Sword are great, and The Quantum Thief and The Fractal Prince are both absolutely excellent (although I did have to re-read a couple of sections to fully comprehend what is going on!).

I also like Neal Asher's 'Polity' series novels, and I am currently reading Orbus which I am enjoying, although I don't find these quite as good as some of the other books mentioned here

[Oniy]

Revelation Space, the series as a whole, is amazing.

Anyway I think I would like to make a few contributions myself.

The Foundation Series by Issac Asimov. While most certainly not in line with the overall Starsector theme I think it has several points of familiarity. Collapse of an empire most prevalent, obviously. Also just a damn classic. Certainly more about humanity and society than laser pewpew.

The Expanse by James S.A. Corey. While a lot of other stories deal with an already galaxy spanning empire, which is fun, The Expanse brings it all to before man has even left the solar system. Not even Mars is fully terraformed. However, it already illuminates just how much of a powder keg human civilization is. Also, at least the first book Leviathan Wakes, has a very nice noir theme as well. Also more mystery than blowing things up. Though that does happen.

Red Rising by Piece Brown. Again not totally in line with Starsector. Just as with The Expanse the story takes place in the solar system. No galaxy spanning empire here! However, there is a heavy influence from Roman myths, which is always a plus right? I mention this because of the empire the Golds have created and the collapse that they strive to keep at bay. A lot of blood generally.

Would also suggest Jack McDevitt's A Talent for War.

[Frodalf]

Peter F. Hamilton
I've only read the Night's Dawn Trilogy, but great space opera, with a bit of metaphysical thrown in. His world just seems so... actual possible future.

Asimov's Foundation series. Definitely a favorite. The man was such a visionary. Far ahead of his time.

And can't leave out Ender's Game.

[ciago92]

Peter F. Hamilton
I've only read the Night's Dawn Trilogy, but great space opera, with a bit of metaphysical thrown in. His world just seems so... actual possible future.

Asimov's Foundation series. Definitely a favorite. The man was such a visionary. Far ahead of his time.

And can't leave out Ender's Game.

Love Peter F Hamilton, but I haven't read Night's Dawn yet. I love the Pandora's Star/Judas Unchained duo. The void trilogy set later in the same universe is also an interesting read. Definitely doorstopper material though, these books are huge!

[BillyRueben]

I'm trying very hard right now to get through Revelation Space. I hope it picks up soon, because the beginning is very frustrating to read.

[Alex]

I'm trying very hard right now to get through Revelation Space. I hope it picks up soon, because the beginning is very frustrating to read.

Thinking back, yeah, I kind of remember that. For me, it took a little while to build up a complete-enough mental picture of the world for things to really fall into place/start making sense.

[David]

I'm trying very hard right now to get through Revelation Space. I hope it picks up soon, because the beginning is very frustrating to read.

Thinking back, yeah, I kind of remember that. For me, it took a little while to build up a complete-enough mental picture of the world for things to really fall into place/start making sense.

Revelation Space is Reynolds' first published novel and I think it shows. I recall characters not being particularly likable and the story advancing through the setting pretty cavalierly. (Some of his short stories that are effectively a prequel to Revelation Space suffer from the same problems, I feel.) It does set up later novels which get much stronger, at least.

Speaking of: I was going to add to the blog list another book or two by Ken Macleod (another Scot) but I thought they were either a bit weird or fell apart in certain ways, thought aspects of them fit with Starsector. In particular I had in mind "Newton's Wake: A Space Opera" for the distinctive factions and swashbuckling, though I think the ending is weak. A runner-up in the Macleod list would have been "The Cassini Division" for the factions and worldbuilding, though the communism is probably laid on a bit thick for most people (he often does a communism vs. libertarianism thing) and the overall arc isn't super strong. Macleod in general seems to write books with a lot of fascinating ideas and some pretty damn funny jokes (in my opinion) that perhaps he invests a little too much in. The overarching story often fizzles a bit, unfortunately.

[deMangler]

Maybe I shouldn't tell you that since i'm too impatient for the new features to be implemented before I play the game, but if you want something exceptional to read, you should try "The gap" serie from Stephen R. Donaldson. It got the quality to go on par with the books you talked about.

My first post is a huge necro... but...
I have just started playing Starsector, and after maybe 50 hours or so I found myself really feeling that Gap Novels vibe. It is spot on for this game. The way business is done as well as the combat... almost everything come to think of it it's uncanny. Lore is different of course but...
I am going to read them again. Excellent books.