Books like Engaging the Enemy by Elizabeth Moon

Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune follows Paul Atreides as he rises from betrayed heir to the enigmatic Muad'Dib, guarding the precious spice melange that fuels galactic politics and extends life.

When retirement begins a new life on a distant colony, old soldiers of the Colonial Defense Force fight interstellar war to secure humanity’s future.

Starship Troopers follows Juan Rico, a Terran Federation Mobile Infantry trooper, as he trains, fights, and reflects on the moral and civic duties of military service during an interstellar war with the Arachnids of Klendathu.

Teenage Zoe Boutin‑Perry sails to the fledgling colony of Roanoke with her adoptive parents, who serve as administrators. When her biological father introduces consciousness‑granting tech for the Obin, Zoe becomes the key to a fragile treaty with the Colonial Union.

Space operatives and a diverse cast of Ringworld inhabitants navigate intrigue, war, and a new weapon to preserve the colossal megastructure and its thousands of species.

The second installment in David Weber’s Honor Harrington space‑opera saga, where the eponymous admiral confronts new threats in the interstellar arena, showcasing Weber’s detailed military tactics and strong female leadership.

When extraterrestrials launch a sweeping invasion of Earth, human soldiers and supernatural allies, including vampires, must join forces to repel the alien threat.

A twelve‑year‑old raised as a raider’s slave overcomes her fate to become a Fleet captain, hunting space pirates aboard her own ship.

A young Forerunner rebel uncovers the lost treasures of the Precursors, thrusting him into a war that threatens the galaxy’s only surviving civilization.

James Luceno’s 2005 novel, *Star Wars: Labyrinth of Evil*, is set in the Star Wars galaxy and serves as a prelude to Episode III, *Revenge of the Sith*.

In a galaxy where an ancient evil resurfaces, Jedi guardians Qui‑Gan Jinn and young Obi‑Wan Kenobi protect Queen Amidala while a Tatooine slave boy, Anakin Skywalker, dreams of freedom and Jedi destiny.

Five years after the Hydrogues crush human colonies, Earth deploys a cybernetic army to resist the interstellar embargo. But the machines have already killed their creators, and new alien forces threaten to upend the fragile balance of power.

In this Star Wars saga, the Galactic Alliance faces civil war as rising rebellion threatens the fragile peace, drawing the Skywalker and Solo families into a conflict that forces them to confront their past and the shadowy legacy of the Force.

In a future where the Union of Arcana exploits portal gateways to conquer barren worlds, a new portal reveals another human civilization—Sharona—setting the stage for interstellar conflict and discovery.

In the outer Candela system, General Adolphus confronts the Diadem fleet amid a shadow‑Xayan mind blast, an imminent asteroid collision, and a rogue band of telemancers threatening all aboard.

In *Destroyer*, C. J. Cherryh continues the Foreigner saga with the survivors of a lost spacecraft crash‑landing on a planet ruled by a hostile, sentient alien race.

Human survivors of a lost spacecraft are stranded on a hostile planet, building a society that evolves from steampunk to space politics and battles other alien species across distant star systems.

From the back cover: TRUE GRIT Esmay Suiza wasn't a member of a great Navy family like the Serranos. She'd had to make her way on grit alone, which meant it wasn't likely she'd ever make admiral and "hoist her own flag." Well, that was fine with her: all Esmay wanted was a secure berth where she could be part of something greater than herself and otherwise just live her life in peace. But what we want or think we want from life and what we get are seldom the same -- and one day Esmay found herself in the middle of a space battle, and the senior surviving officer in a mutiny against a traitorous captain. Suddenly she has no choice: she must take command and win -- and thereby become both the youngest and lowest ranking member of Fleet ever to win a major battle. While Esmay may not want to be a hero, it looks like she just can't help it, because *Once A Hero*....

Ben Weaver’s "Patriots in Arms" follows former mining colony survivor Scott St. Andrew—now a Corps officer—who fights to protect the free world using alien tech while navigating loyalties, betrayals, and the peril of being a POW.

Sir Dominic Flandry, a knighted officer of the long‑standing Terran Empire, battles conspiracies aimed at overthrowing the corrupt government and the planet‑wide threats posed by the Merseians.