Books like 'Phule's Company'
Readers who enjoyed Phule's Company by Robert Lynn Asprin also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
futuristic sc-fi comedy space action / adventure horror 20th-century violent-conflict humor war
-
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
49 ratingsA lone astronaut.An impossible mission.An ally he never imagined.Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and Earth itself will perish.Except that right now, he doesn't know that. He can't even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.All he knows is that he's been asleep for a very, very long time...Categorized as:
aliens first-contact humor space-opera space-travel 21st-century action-adventure amnesia -
The Martian by Andy Weir
55 ratingsSix days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he’s sure he’ll be the first person to die there... -
Network Effect by Martha Wells
32 ratingsMurderbot returns in its highly-anticipated, first, full-length standalone novel... -
Exit Strategy by Martha Wells
37 ratingsMurderbot wasn’t programmed to care. So, its decision to help the only human who ever showed it respect must be a system glitch, right?Having traveled the width of the galaxy to unearth details of its own murderous transgressions, as well as those of the GrayCris Corporation, Murderbot is heading home to help Dr... -
-
For We Are Many by Dennis E. Taylor
32 ratingsBob Johansson didn't believe in an afterlife, so waking up after being killed in a car accident was a shock. To add to the surprise, he is now a sentient computer and the controlling intelligence for a Von Neumann probe. Bob and his copies have been spreading out from Earth for 40 years now, looking for habitable planets. But that's the only part of the plan that's still in one piece...Categorized as:
aliens exploration first-contact humor military space-opera space-travel violent-conflict -
All These Worlds by Dennis E. Taylor
29 ratingsBeing a sentient spaceship really should be more fun. But after spreading out through space for almost a century, Bob and his clones just can't stay out of trouble.They've created enough colonies so humanity shouldn't go extinct. But political squabbles have a bad habit of dying hard, and the Brazilian probes are still trying to take out the competition... -
The Segonian by Dianne Duvall
14 ratingsNew York Times bestselling author Dianne Duvall brings readers the second stand-alone novel in a thrilling new sci-fi romance series full of action, humor, and happily-ever-afters.Eliana's life has never been what one might term ordinary. At least, it hasn't been for a very long time... -
We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor
36 ratingsAlternate Cover Edition can be found here. Bob Johansson has just sold his software company and is looking forward to a life of leisure. There are places to go, books to read, and movies to watch. So it's a little unfair when he gets himself killed crossing the street...Categorized as:
aliens colonization exploration first-contact humor military space-opera space-travel -
My Ride is a Bitch by Michael Anderle
16 ratingsIt's out there, it's ALWAYS been out there - just no one believed it.Governments, Black Ops, Rich Businessmen...All want alien tech and some are going to great lengths, illegal lengths, to procure it.Someone went so far as to endanger a young girls family. A young girl who wrote a letter to the Queen Bitch. Now, those that are searching for the technology will have to deal with TQB... -
Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells
30 ratingsNo, I didn’t kill the dead human. If I had, I wouldn’t dump the body in the station mall... -
Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
42 ratingsIt has a dark past – one in which a number of humans were killed. A past that caused it to christen itself “Murderbot”. But it has only vague memories of the massacre that spawned that title, and it wants to know more.Teaming up with a Research Transport vessel named ART (you don’t want to know what the “A” stands for), Murderbot heads to the mining facility where it went rogue... -
A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold
26 ratingsMiles Vorkosigan has a problem: unrequited love for the beautiful widow Ekaterin Vorsoisson, violently allergic to marriage after her first exposure. If a frontal assault won't do, Miles thinks, try subterfuge. He has a cunning plan... Lord Mark Vorkosigan, Miles' brother, also has a problem: his love has just become unrequited again. But he has a cunning plan..Categorized as:
20th-century humor industrial-era military space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult -
Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells
37 ratingsSciFi’s favorite crabby A.I. is again on a mission. The case against the too-big-to-fail GrayCris Corporation is floundering, and more importantly, authorities are beginning to ask more questions about where Dr. Mensah's SecUnit is.And Murderbot would rather those questions went away. For good...Categorized as:
aliens humor military space-opera space-travel violent-conflict 21st-century action-adventure -
And Now for Something Completely Different by Jodi Taylor
16 ratingsHere's a question for you. What's the most exciting thing ever found in a fire bucket? And don't say 'fire' because you'll be wrong...Categorized as:
humor industrial-era steampunk action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook book -
-
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
63 ratingsSeconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of the The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out of work actor...Categorized as:
20th-century aliens humor satire space-opera space-travel action-adventure audiobook -
Old Man's War by John Scalzi
49 ratingsJohn Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife's grave. Then he joined the army.The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce-- and alien races willing to fight us for them are common. So: we fight. To defend Earth, and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate... -
Miles, Mystery, and Mayhem by Lois McMaster Bujold
16 ratingsContains: Cetaganda Ethan of Athos Labyrinth.Diplomat, soldier, spy - Lieutenant Lord Miles Naismith Vorkosigan of the Barrayarayan Empire, a.k.a. Admiral Naismith of the Dendarii Free Mercenaries, is a young man of many parts... -
The Star Diaries by Stanisław Lem, Michael Kandel
18 ratingsStanislaw Lem's set of short stories, written over a period of twenty years, all feature the adventures of space traveller Ijon Tichy and recount him spinning in time-warps, spying on robots, encountering bizarre civilizations and creatures in space and being hopelessly lost in a forest of supernovae... -
Captain Vorpatril's Alliance by Lois McMaster Bujold
24 ratingsCaptain Ivan Vorpatril is happy with his relatively uneventful bachelor’s life as a staff officer to a Barrayaran admiral. Cousin to imperial troubleshooter Miles Vorkosigan, Ivan is not far down the hereditary list for the emperorship. Thankfully, new heirs have directed that headache elsewhere, leaving Ivan to enjoy his life on Komarr, far from the byzantine court politics of his home system...Categorized as:
humor military space-opera space-travel 21st-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
All Systems Red by Martha Wells
51 ratings"As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure."In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety.But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern...Categorized as:
aliens humor military space-opera space-travel violent-conflict 21st-century action-adventure -
Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith
18 ratingsStark lives in Colour, a neighbourhood whose inhabitants like to be co-ordinated with their surroundings – a neighbourhood where spangly purple trousers are admired by the walls of buildings as you pass them. Close by is Sound, where you mustn’t make any, apart from one designated hour a day when you can scream your lungs raw...Categorized as:
20th-century exploration horror humor industrial-era space-travel steampunk action-adventure -
The Warrior's Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold
30 ratingsBetween the seemingly impossible tasks of living up to his warrior-father's legend and surmounting his own physical limitations, Miles Vorkosigan faces some truly daunting challenges. Shortly after his arrival on Beta Colony, Miles unexpectedly finds himself the owner of an obsolete freighter and in more debt than he ever thought possible...Categorized as:
20th-century humor military space-opera space-travel violent-conflict war action-adventure -
Big Dicker by K.C. Cross, J.A. Huss
8 ratingsWelcome to Mighty Minions Resort. Jimmy’s personal hell. All Jimmy wants is a booster shot of DNA scrambler so he never has to find his one-true soul mate. But life rarely goes the way you plan it. After dropping Xyla off on Blue Sand Beach for a little vacay with her sexbot girlfriends the Big Dicker has to make an emergency landing on the demon-themed Mighty Minions Resort...Categorized as:
aliens first-contact humor invasion violent-conflict action-adventure adult audiobook -
The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi
33 ratingsThe first novel of a new space-opera sequence set in an all-new universe by the Hugo Award-winning, New York Times-bestselling author of Redshirts and Old Man's War... -
-
Honor's Flight by Lindsay Buroker
17 ratingsAfter spending four years fighting for the Alliance, fighter pilot Alisa Marchenko only wants one thing: to reunite with her young daughter. But this involves a journey to her former home world, which has become the last imperial stronghold...Categorized as:
aliens exploration galactic-empire humor military space-fleet space-opera space-travel -
Winterfair Gifts by Lois McMaster Bujold
19 ratingsThis Hugo-nominated novella adds a delightful extra chapter to Bujold's Vorkosigan series, describing the wedding of Miles and Ekaterin and events leading up to it. In the festive season of Winterfair on the planet Barrayar, Lord Miles Vorkosigan is making elaborate preparations for his wedding...Categorized as:
humor military space-opera space-travel 21st-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
Brothers in Arms by Lois McMaster Bujold
26 ratingsIn the wake of unexpected planetary peace and the disappearance of the Dendarii payroll, mercenary captain Miles Naismith attempts to discover the link between the insufferable Captain Galeni and the Komarran rebel expatriates. Reissue. AB...Categorized as:
20th-century humor military space-opera space-travel violent-conflict war action-adventure -
Moon of Odysseus by J.S. Morin
8 ratingsOne man’s crash is another man’s treasure. “Blackjack, this is Scarecrow. I finally found it. We’re going to be rich.” Carl Ramsey gets a comm from an old squadron mate with a lead on the salvage of a lifetime: an ARGO battleship... -
Bypass Gemini by Joseph R. Lallo
12 ratingsIn a distant future, Trevor "Lex" Alexander was shaping up to be the next great race pilot until a fixed race got him banned from the sport. Reduced to making freelance deliveries, he thinks his life can't get any worse. That's when a package manages to get him mixed up with mobsters, a megacorp, and a mad scientist. Now his life depends on learning what their plans are, and how he can stop them... -
Alien Tango by Gini Koch
16 ratingsFor Alien Super-Being Exterminator Katherine "Kitty" Katt, anti-alien conspiracies, threats from outer space, and a couple of killer alligators are all in a day's work. It's been five months since Kitty joined Centaurion Division, working with the aliens from Alpha Centauri. She and Jeff Martini have grown closer and life looks rosy...Categorized as:
aliens first-contact humor invasion military violent-conflict action-adventure adult -
Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi
28 ratingsJack Holloway works alone, for reasons he doesn't care to talk about. Hundreds of miles from ZaraCorp's headquarters on planet, 178 light-years from the corporation's headquarters on Earth, Jack is content as an independent contractor, prospecting and surveying at his own pace. As for his past, that's not up for discussion...Categorized as:
aliens colonization first-contact humor invasion space-opera space-travel violent-conflict -
Terminal Alliance by Jim C. Hines
14 ratingsWhen the Krakau came to Earth, they planned to invite humanity into a growing alliance of sentient species. This would have worked out better for all involved if they hadn’t arrived after a mutated plague wiped out half the planet, turned the rest into shambling, near-unstoppable animals, and basically destroyed human civilization. You know—your standard apocalypse... -
Hello, Nebulon! by Ray O'Ryan
10 ratingsGet to know Galaxy Zack—and his new home planet!In Hello, Nebulon!, Zack makes the big move from Earth... -
The Doomsday Brunette by John Zakour, Lawrence Ganem
8 ratingsThe hilarious sequel to The Plutonium Blonde. In the year 2057, the last freelance private investigator, partnered with an experimental A.I. named Harv, solves cases involving androids, future tech wizards, and all sorts of mayhem.. -
-
The Radioactive Redhead by John Zakour, Lawrence Ganem
6 ratingsIn this final title in a hilarious trilogy--following "The Plutonium Blonde" and "The Doomsday Brunette"--the last freelance private detective has a new case to solve involving androids, future tech wizards, out-of-control artificial intelligence, and futuristic mayhem. Original... -
Wayward Saint by J.S. Morin
6 ratingsThe galaxy’s worst bounty hunter just might be its most relentless hero. Esper may dress the part. She has her own ship. She even carries a blaster—not that she ever uses it.But she violates the cardinal rule of the galaxy’s most cold-blooded profession: get paid.At least she's not alone. Her partner Kubu is an alien who gets mistaken for a dog.One is a wizard on the run from her past...Categorized as:
humor military space-fleet space-opera violent-conflict action-adventure adult audiobook -
Intentional Abduction by Eve Langlais
16 ratingsShe intentionally abducted him because of his skills as a warrior, but when the chance arose, he stole her for revenge.Aylia is on a quest to get pregnant, and in the time-honored tradition of her people, she must find a suitable male for the task. Seducing a battle hardened warrior is more difficult than she expected... -
The Android's Dream by John Scalzi
27 ratingsA human diplomat kills his alien counterpart. Earth is on the verge of war with a vastly superior alien race. A lone man races against time and a host of enemies to find the one object that can save our planet and our people from alien enslavement...A sheep.That's right, a sheep. And if you think that's the most surprising thing about this book, wait until you read Chapter One...Categorized as:
aliens first-contact humor invasion satire space-opera space-travel violent-conflict -
Superego by Frank J. Fleming
8 ratingsRico has a problem. The experimental program that gave him the high intelligence and lightning reflexes he needs as a hit man for a galactic crime syndicate left him incapable of internalizing moral imperatives the rest of us take for granted. It takes real effort for him to pass as a normal human being and he avoids it whenever he can. But he has a job he loves, a fast ship and plenty of cash... -
The Blue-Haired Bombshell by John Zakour
6 ratingsThe world's last freelance detective, Zach Johnson, must find the assassin who murdered Sexy Sprocket and two other members of the World Council. His investigation leads him to the Moon-and to a tall, sensuous, blue-haired beauty named Lea who possesses psychic powers, and powerful ambitions.. -
Night of the Living Trekkies by Kevin David Anderson, Sam Stall
16 ratingsJim Pike, the disillusioned manager of a hotel that is hosting a Star Trek convention, finds himself leading a ragtag crew of survivors as a strange virus turns the convention-goers into zombies.. -
No Fear by Jaid Black
14 ratingsMousy, modern day librarian Brynda Mitchell doesn’t lead a very exciting life…yet... -
Enslaved by Jaid Black
14 ratingsHis glowing blue eyes summoned the primitive weapon from her grasp. Shuddering with fear, she realized she had just lost the only thing standing between her freedom and becoming... Enslaved... -
Mothership by Martin Leicht, Isla Neal
12 ratingsTeen pregnancy is never easy—especially not when extraterrestrials are involved. The first in a new trilogy.Elvie Nara was doing just fine in the year 2074. She had a great best friend, a dad she adored, and bright future working on the Ares Project on Mars. But then she had to get involved with sweet, gorgeous, dumb-as-a-brick Cole--and now she’s pregnant... -
-
Starflight by Melissa Landers
24 ratingsSolara Brooks needs a fresh start, someplace where nobody cares about the engine grease beneath her fingernails or the felony tattoos across her knuckles. The outer realm may be lawless, but it's not like the law has ever been on her side. Still, off-world travel doesn't come cheap; Solara is left with no choice but to indenture herself in exchange for passage to the outer realm... -
No Mercy by Jaid Black
14 ratingsGiselle McKenzie trembled inexplicably as the sound of a low growl reverberated throughout the threads of her consciousness. She knew it couldn't have emitted from her date, the man sitting across from her in the quaint restaurant. Yet every time he placed his hand over hers, she heard that eerie, primitive growl.. -
Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen by Lois McMaster Bujold
21 ratingsCordelia Naismith Vorkosigan returns to the planet that changed her destiny.FUTURE IMPERFECT Three years after her famous husband's death, Cordelia Vorkosigan, widowed Vicereine of Sergyar, stands ready to spin her life in a new direction...Categorized as:
humor military space-opera space-travel 21st-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
Mechanical Failure by Joe Zieja
14 ratingsA smooth-talking ex-sergeant, accustomed to an easygoing peacetime military, unexpectedly re-joins the fleet and finds soldiers preparing for the strangest thing—war.The two hundred years’ (and counting) peace is a time of tranquility that hasn’t been seen since...well, never... -
Redshirts by John Scalzi
43 ratingsEnsign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It’s a prestige posting, and Andrew is thrilled all the more to be assigned to the ship’s Xenobiology laboratory... -
Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold
25 ratingsOn Athos, a world without women, Dr. Ethan Urquhart delivers babies from uterine replicators. But when the ovarian cultures start dwindling, he is sent abroad on a mission to replenish the planets stocks...
Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.