Terran Empire-like Novels

[TechnoViking]

I’m looking for some novels that may have influence or are similar to the Terran Empire Setting.

I think noticed similarity between Larry Niven’s Known Space novels and the Terran Empire, can you think of any others?

Mike

[Starwolf]

For an early setting try Bio of a Space Tyrant.

[AlHazred]

Better yet, don't try Bio of a Space Tyrant. Not one of Piers' best works, IMO.

I think TE looks a lot like the Traveller setting, from the Rule of Man era -- a vigorous Earth overthrows an alien foe and carves out their territory in space, the admiral assumes imperial power, alien territories like bubbles surround the humans... Yep, very Traveller-esque. But with the stupid parts removed...

[Garet]

Poul Anderson's Flandry of Terra series in that area. Decandent Empire with new up and coming empire outside. He's a intell type guy.

Garet

[Logan D]

Originally posted by AlHazred
a vigorous Earth overthrows an alien foe and carves out their territory in space, the admiral assumes imperial power, alien territories like bubbles surround the humans... Yep, very Traveller-esque. But with the stupid parts removed...

What stupid parts? I really liked Traveller's setting and history, at least up through the Rebellion period. I prefer the reboot that GURPS Traveller does on the universe from that point, but the setting in general has always been a favorite of mine.

[TechnoViking]

Originally posted by AlHazred
Yep, very Traveller-esque. But with the stupid parts removed...
The Traveller universe is great up to Traveller: The New Era.

Traveller: The New Era and Champions: New Millenium, didn't anyone learn anything from new Coke:).

Mike

[Lord Mhoram]

Originally posted by Mike Basinger
The Traveller universe is great up to Traveller: The New Era.

Traveller: The New Era and Champions: New Millenium, didn't anyone learn anything from new Coke:).

Mike

Naw its the colon. Any RPG with a ":" in the middle just sucks rocks.

[James_Kiley]

Originally posted by Mike Basinger
Traveller: The New Era and Champions: New Millenium, didn't anyone learn anything from new Coke:).


As far as I can tell, Traveller TNE failed because I was its only fan. I didn't come into it with any Traveller baggage (never played or even read older editions of Traveller) and TNE struck me as just a great setting. Rampaging around the ruins of an old empire, never knowing quite what you're going to find on the next world? Oh man, sold.

jk

[Ron]

Originally posted by James_Kiley
As far as I can tell, Traveller TNE failed because I was its only fan. I didn't come into it with any Traveller baggage (never played or even read older editions of Traveller) and TNE struck me as just a great setting. Rampaging around the ruins of an old empire, never knowing quite what you're going to find on the next world? Oh man, sold.

jk

Although I am no fan of TNE -- GDW changed both the setting and the system -- truth is that it never failed, being a good seller at its time. GDW itself closed the doors ending TNE development. I understand that they closed operations as it wasn't financially a sound business anymore to the partners, they weren't drowing in debts or anything similar.

[Agent Escafarc]

I have two "Empire" type books:

The Dark Wing by Walter H. Hunt has some interesting uses of mental powers and an interesting alien race.

The Deathstalker series by Simon Green is a very HIGH level universe.

[Barghest]

GDW's problem at the time was that they had sunk a ton of money into Dangerous Journeys and were subsequently smacked down by TSR's assinine lawsuit. They lost a great deal of money in that and it just looked like they weren't going to be able to recover from it. There isn't much money in producing RPGs. It's often a labor of love and I think that episode tarnished the labor a fair bit.

[Thag13]

Harry Harrisons Deathworld books are good.

Going to the Classics you can't help to think of Asimov's Foundation books. Great series. Considering the books were written over 40 years ago, they still hold up quite well.

David Webbers Honor Harriington books are almost requited reading now. Fantasic competing empires, great space battles and very beliveable characters make engrosing reading.

worth picking up

[pawsplay]

Deitz. "Legion of the Damned"
Niven and Pernell. "The Mote in God's Eye."
Foster. "The Tar-aiym Krang."

[NuSoardGraphite]

Try the Star of the Guardians series from Margarete Weis (of Dragonlance fame) and its spin off, Mag Force 7. Good star-spanning, Space Opera feel to those books.

[Spence]

My current favorites are:

David Webers' Honor Harrington series.

Debra Doyle and James MacDonald's Mageworlds series.

And Sharon Lee and Steve Millers Laiden Universe novels. I just recently found these and they are great reading.

[Mutant for Hire]

The Vor novels by Lois Bujold, primarily centering around Miles Vorkosigan are also an excellent SF series for getting into a Terran Empire feel.

[Haerandir]

More David Weber: the 'Empire from the Ashes' trilogy (recently republished in collected form under that title, published individually as Mutineers' Moon, the Armageddon Inheritance and Heirs of Empire). Primarily interesting for the descriptions of the Fourth Empire, but the 'present day' of the stories is good for the whole 'rebuilding after the fall' element.

Birthright: The Book of Man, by Mike Resnick. A future history tracking the rise and fall of a human empire over the course of the next several thousand years. Not without its flaws, but it definitely deals with the topic at hand.

[Dr Rotwang!]

I've not read TE, but you could do a LOT worse than to read Asimov's Foundation novels.

You could, say, watch "Charlie's Angels", or, or, or punch yourself in the face with a hammer.

That's not to say the Foundation novels are --

Look, maybe you should forget all of this business about hammers and read the Foundation novels instead.

[rreay]

The terren Empire resembles Vernor Vinge's <i>A Fire upon the Deep</i> in some ways. Fire is also an incredibly good book so is definetly worth reading.

[AlHazred]

Originally posted by Logan D
What stupid parts? I really liked Traveller's setting and history, at least up through the Rebellion period. I prefer the reboot that GURPS Traveller does on the universe from that point, but the setting in general has always been a favorite of mine.

I'd no wish to hijack the original thread with a response, but since it's been quiet for a while, I'll post.

I love Traveller. It was one of the first games I played, and I still get the nostalgia of Traveller from looking at new products, such as the new T20 (Traveller D20) that recently came out.

But it had a few things about it I didn't like.

1) The aliens weren't alien enough. Yeah, I know it makes them harder for players to connect with, but that's kind of the point...

2) Limited technology track. All cultures developed technology along the same lines of investigation. As an engineer, I know that not all technologies are required for advances in any particular field. I would expect something a little different from any nonhuman race, since they don't think like us.

3) You can't go anywhere somebody else hasn't been first. Granted, there're uninhabited planets in most systems, but every system has at least a relay station, indicating someone's been there. That's fine for the middle of the Empire; I'd even expect it there. But there's one adventure which takes you beyond the borders of "explored space" for a year of travel and exploration. You check out tons of systems. And you find (if I remember correctly) exactly one unexplored, uninhabited system. Everywhere else, someone's already been. That kind of takes the fun out of exploring...

Those are the main points I didn't like.

For a good Terran Empire feel, check out the science fiction novels of Jack Vance, particularly the Demon Princes series (now available combined in a two-volume set) and the Cadwal Chronicles series (Araminta Station, Ecce and Old Earth, and Throy).