Books Like Iron Gold

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Tim Gerard Reynolds anchors this four- Red Rising expansion alongside John Curless, Julian Elfer, and Aedin Moloney across a 23-hour runtime that's deliberately juggling more characters and planets than the original trilogy — the ensemble keeps the multiple POVs from collapsing into each other, and Reynolds in particular has the sonics of a war story that hasn't forgotten the people inside it. The space opera scope here is wide but emotionally grounded. Nine picks run in the same long-form range, several from the Expanse universe, and all of them share that quality of military sci-fi where the scale and the personal stakes are both operating at full volume.

10 books for fans of Iron Gold

  1. 1
    Red Rising: Sons of Ares cover

    Red Rising: Sons of Ares

    Sons of Ares [Dramatized Adaptation] • Book 1

    by Pierce Brown

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    Before Darrow's revolution, a forbidden romance between the ruling Golds and enslaved Reds planted the seeds that would grow into the formidable Sons of Ares resistance.

    4.11 Goodreads (195 ratings)
  2. 2
    Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View cover

    Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View

    Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View • Book 1

    by Elizabeth Schaefer, Ben Acker, Jonathan Davis, Tom Angleberger, Janina Gavankar, Ben Blacker, Jon Hamm, Jeffrey Brown, Jason Fry, Neil Patrick Harris, Christie Golden, January LaVoy, Saskia Maarleveld, Pierce Brown, Ashley Eckstein, Carol Monda, Mur Lafferty, Marc Thompson, Ken Liu, Griffin McElroy, John Jackson Miller, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Nnedi Okorafor, Daniel José Older, Ian Doescher, Daniel M. Lavery, Madeleine Roux, Gary D. Schmidt, Matt Fraction, Cavan Scott, Sabaa Tahir, Kieron Gillen, Glen Weldon, Chuck Wendig, Gary Whitta, Meg Cabot, Pablo Hidalgo, Adam Christopher, Rae Carson, Zoraida Córdova, Delilah S. Dawson, Paul Dini, Alexander Freed, Claudia Gray, Paul S. Kemp, Elizabeth Wein, Beth Revis, Greg Rucka, Charles Soule, Wil Wheaton, Renée Ahdieh

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    Forty authors reimagine A New Hope through the eyes of cantina patrons, Death Star gunners, and other background characters, revealing hidden stories within the familiar epic.

    3.94 Goodreads (15.5K ratings)
  3. 3
    A Civil Campaign cover

    A Civil Campaign

    Vorkosigan Saga (Publication Order) • Book 12

    by Lois McMaster Bujold

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    Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan faces his greatest challenge yet—winning the heart of widow Ekaterin Vorsoisson, who's developed a violent allergy to marriage.

    4.41 Goodreads (20.4K ratings)
  4. 4
    The Dark Forest cover

    The Dark Forest

    Remembrance of Earth's Past • Book 2

    by Liu Cixin, Joel Martinsen

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    If the universe is a dark forest full of hidden predators, humanity just revealed its location to the Trisolaran fleet.

    4.40 Goodreads (224.9K ratings)
  5. 5
    Calibans Krieg cover

    Calibans Krieg

    The Expanse • Book 2

    by James S.A. Corey

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    Der zweite Band der Expanse-Saga eskaliert die Spannungen zwischen Erde und Mars, während das Protomolekül neue Bedrohungen auf Ganymed schafft. Corey erweitert das Universum um neue Charaktere und politische Komplexitäten.

    4.39 Goodreads (185.8K ratings)
  6. 6
    Persepolis Rising cover

    Persepolis Rising

    The Expanse • Book 7

    by James S.A. Corey

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    Thirty years after the ring gates opened, the Rocinante crew faces their biggest challenge yet when Laconia emerges with overwhelming alien-enhanced power.

    4.38 Goodreads (88.5K ratings)
  7. 7
    Leviathan Wakes cover

    Leviathan Wakes

    The Expanse • Book 1

    by James S. A. Corey

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    Ice hauler Jim Holden and cynical detective Miller stumble onto a conspiracy that threatens the fragile peace between Earth, Mars, and the asteroid Belt colonies. Corey launches their space opera with realistic physics, complex politics, and a mystery that escalates into system-wide warfare.

    4.31 Goodreads (324.2K ratings)
  8. 8
    Wild Cards I (Wild Cards Series) cover

    Wild Cards I (Wild Cards Series)

    Wild Cards • Book 1

    by Unknown Author

    5.00 Goodreads (1 ratings)
  9. 9
    Sector 64 Box Set cover

    Sector 64 Box Set

    Sector 64 • Book 1

    by Dean M. Cole

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    Cole's trilogy explores the unintended consequences of human advancement: our attempt at species uplift draws hostile alien attention. Fighter pilots become humanity's unlikely heroes in a war we never saw coming.

    5.00 Goodreads (1 ratings)
  10. 10
    Ground State cover

    Ground State

    Expeditionary Force • Book 19

    by Craig Alanson

    4.70 Goodreads (528 ratings)