If you loved how Spensa’s undercover mission on Starsight spirals from a simple objective into delver-sized stakes—complete with station skulduggery, space chases, and explosive reveals—you’ll click with Leviathan Wakes. Holden’s crew and Detective Miller start with a straightforward search for Julie Mao, only to uncover a protomolecule conspiracy that blows open the whole system. That same propulsive, goal-first momentum that carried you from Spensa’s first infiltration to the delver maze fuels every chapter here.

Did Starsight’s alien tapestry hook you—the kitsen’s pluck with Hesho, Morriumur’s dione lineage puzzle, and Cuna’s varvax diplomacy? The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet revels in that same joy of encountering and respecting difference. A human clerk joins the Wayfarer’s multispecies crew—Aandrisks, a Sianat Pair, and more—where every meal, handshake, and negotiation turns into worldbuilding you can feel. If you loved how Spensa learned to read the Superiority’s cultural cues, this delivers that wonder on every page.

If Winzik’s quiet scheming, Cuna’s careful maneuvering, and the coup tension on Starsight station were your favorite beats, A Memory Called Empire puts you in the hot seat. Ambassador Mahit Dzmare lands in the heart of the Teixcalaan Empire and must navigate court factions, succession crises, and murder—no less perilous than Spensa threading the Superiority’s bureaucracy. It’s the same knife’s-edge diplomacy you liked, minus the starfighter, plus a labyrinth of imperial politics.

If M-Bot’s deadpan one-liners and the irreverent chatter that lightened Spensa’s dogfights made you grin, Old Man’s War hits the same sweet spot. Scalzi pairs brisk, cinematic battles with wisecracking soldiers and clever tech, so the humor lands even as the stakes climb—much like M-Bot cracking jokes while Spensa evades missile locks. You’ll get the wit, the warmth, and the “strap in and go” energy you enjoyed on Starsight.

If your heart belonged to the growing trust between Spensa and M-Bot—especially when M-Bot confronts fear and personhood during the delver operation—meet Murderbot. This socially anxious security AI would rather binge serials than socialize, but when its humans need help, it steps up with M-Bot–grade sarcasm and unexpected tenderness. The voicey humor and evolving human–AI relationship echo those terrific Spensa/M-Bot beats.