If you were hooked by Captain Jackson Wolfe getting saddled with an aging destroyer and then forced to lead his people through a crisis after humanity’s first brutal encounter with a hostile alien force, you’ll love how Captain John “Black Jack” Geary wakes from stasis to shepherd a surrounded, mauled Alliance fleet home in Dauntless. Like Wolfe, Geary wrestles with bad orders and shaky morale while executing a clear, high-stakes mission under constant enemy pressure—every jump and formation change matters, and every mistake bleeds.

Enjoyed how Warship moves—ambushes, snap decisions on the bridge, and hard pivots when Wolfe realizes the threat isn’t what command thinks it is? Into the Black delivers the same throttle-open feel as Captain Eric Weston takes the brand-new starship Odysseus on a mission that spirals into first contact, running battles, and clever gambits to keep his crew alive. It’s packed with crisp engagements, boarding actions, and that same "we’re not ready for this, but we’re doing it anyway" energy.

If what grabbed you in Warship was the big-canvas naval SF—Wolfe’s ship thrown against a terrifying foe, fleets scrambling, and civilization on the line—The Cruel Stars hits that vein hard. When a genocidal enemy returns, scattered captains, officers, and civilians have to rally battered ships and improvise a defense on the fly. Expect missile swarms, brutal broadsides, and desperate last-stand moments that echo those white-knuckle battles Wolfe had to survive.

If the political headaches in Warship—Wolfe fighting timid brass, bad intel, and a cover-your-ass chain of command while the real threat grows—kept you turning pages, Leviathan Wakes will scratch that itch. Holden’s crew uncovers a corporate-black-ops nightmare tied to an alien protomolecule, while Detective Miller navigates backroom deals and jurisdictional turf wars. The result is tense investigations that explode into system-wide confrontations, much like Wolfe’s battle reports turning into fleet‑level crises.

If you liked staying close to Jackson Wolfe—watching a single captain juggle an underfunded command, local tensions, and a looming threat—Honor Harrington’s first outing will feel familiar in the best way. Stranded on a backwater station with a neglected ship and little support, Honor digs into patrol work, uncovers something far uglier, and then has to fight a superior enemy with only what she can scrounge. It’s that same tight, command-deck perspective where every tactical choice and political slight lands.