Books like The sundering by Walter Jon Williams

The once‑mighty Dread Empire of the Shaa has collapsed with the death of its last tyrant, but the vaster liberation of the galaxy remains uncertain. Decades of subjugation for countless sentient species left the universe fractured, and now the Naxids, a powerful insectoid race, rise to claim dominance over the power vacuum. Already victorious in devastating battles, the Naxids threaten to replace the former oppression with a new tyranny. Against this grim tide, two survivors of the Magaria slaughter—Lord Gareth Martinez and the fiercely skilled gun pilot Lady Caroline Sula—has become legends in the annals of the coming Galactic Civil War. Yet their cunning, skill, and bravery will be tested when an overwhelming Naxid force descends upon the loyalist stronghold of Zanshaa. The impending confrontation will decide the universe’s very structure for millennia to come, determining who will live and thrive in the new world order.

First publish date: 2004