Books (and one anime) for Browncoats
Love Firefly? You’ll love these too.
An 80s sci-fi novel following the adventures (and misadventures) of a pilot as he fights the government that’s stolen his planet - and the drug that gives him that power.
Old Man's War by John Scalzi
The Colonial Defense Force doesn’t want young people to fight its war for land out in the far reaches of space. It wants people with the knowledge and skills of a life long-lived, and it wants young Earth shielded from the knowledge of what’s really going on out there.
My Life, After Berserker by Steven Jordan
The Berserker virus, if activated, turns anyone infected into a deadly weapon. Carolyn Kestral is infected, but she’s also done with the Rangers. As a freighter captain, she’s highly unlikely to ever have to worry about it again...
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
The mismatched crew of the Wayfarer has landed a lucrative government job in a distant region of space. During the long journey to the site, the crew - from the new clerk looking for distance from her past, to the doctor/chef whose species destroyed itself, to the prickly fuel tech no one likes - will develop a new appreciation of what it means to choose your family.
Sirantha Jax’s ability to take a ship through grimspace makes her a highly valued navigator - right up until an accident steals her memory and the lives of an entire crew. Now the Corp just wants her in a jail cell - and a group of rogue fighters want her for the resistance.
Consider Phlebas by Iain Banks
The war between the Idirans and the Culture has been long and bloody - but there’s something that could end it, buried deep in a labyrinth on an a planet of the dead. It’s up to an Idiran shapeshifter and his crew to find it.
The classic anime following the perpetually-broke bounty-hunting crew of the Bebop as they try to make ends meet (and cope with their various pasts)
The Dark Tower series by Stephen King
Part western, part sci-fi, part fantasy. Roland the gunslinger chases the Man in Black across the desert, confronting madness, demons, and a kid from New York along the way.
