Love Star Compass? Readers share 100 books like Star Compass...

By Anthea Sharp,

Here are 100 books that Star Compass fans have personally recommended if you like Star Compass. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Earth Concurrence

AM Scott Author Of Lift Off

From my list on sci-fi adventures with strong teen heroines.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve published eleven classic-style space opera novels, a novella, and many short stories. Before becoming a writer, I spent twenty years in US Air Force in space operations; even though my books are light on science, I really was a rocket scientist! Plus, Iā€™ve read science fiction since I was barely a teen, starting with Heinlein and McCaffery, and am always looking for my next favorite author!

AM's book list on sci-fi adventures with strong teen heroines

AM Scott Why did AM love this book?

Siti Kassis isnā€™t sure what she wants to do with her life, but following her father back to the deserted homeworld of humanity is pretty low on her list. But the Hero of Darenti Four insists, and itā€™s an exciting mission, so they enter deep sleep together, and emerge into a much different Earth than they expected.

The characters are believable and clever, with funny bits liberally sprinkled throughout, and Juliaā€™s writing is excellent. Young, old, male, or female; every reader will love Sitiā€™s adventures on a catastrophically changed Earth!

By Julia Huni,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Earth Concurrence as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A hero with big expectations. A daughter who doesnā€™t want to live in his shadow.

Siti Kassis, daughter of the ā€œHero of Darenti Four,ā€ doesn't know what she wants out of life. A lot of her friends are taking time to travel and see the galaxy. But her father wants her to attend the Academy and follow in his footsteps.

Then the Hero is offered one last assignment: take a team to find and explore the deserted homeworld of mankind. Itā€™s a twenty-year mission, and he doesnā€™t want to leave his only child behind. Siti's going, whether she wants toā€¦


Book cover of Fire in the Night Sky

AM Scott Author Of Lift Off

From my list on sci-fi adventures with strong teen heroines.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve published eleven classic-style space opera novels, a novella, and many short stories. Before becoming a writer, I spent twenty years in US Air Force in space operations; even though my books are light on science, I really was a rocket scientist! Plus, Iā€™ve read science fiction since I was barely a teen, starting with Heinlein and McCaffery, and am always looking for my next favorite author!

AM's book list on sci-fi adventures with strong teen heroines

AM Scott Why did AM love this book?

Clair Johnson is determined to prove herself and find out what really happened to her mother. Neither of those things happen the way she expects. 

This is an easy read, with interesting world building, and a realistic set of characters. I enjoyed the setting, the friend group, and the intrigue a lot!

By Chris J. Pike, M. D. Cooper,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Fire in the Night Sky as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In a world of music videos on television, punk rock, and roller derby, the race for space is finally on in this young adult SF adventure!

The United Federation has set a goal of sending a manned rocket to the moon; but rival countries will stop at nothing to plant their flags firstā€”no matter the cost.

For Claire Johnson, that cost might be her life.

The seventeen-year-old spunky waitress wants nothing more than to honor her mother's memory by gaining entrance to the United Federation Space Program and doing her part for the mission. Yet her father wants Claire asā€¦


Book cover of Crazy Foolish Robots

AM Scott Author Of Lift Off

From my list on sci-fi adventures with strong teen heroines.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve published eleven classic-style space opera novels, a novella, and many short stories. Before becoming a writer, I spent twenty years in US Air Force in space operations; even though my books are light on science, I really was a rocket scientist! Plus, Iā€™ve read science fiction since I was barely a teen, starting with Heinlein and McCaffery, and am always looking for my next favorite author!

AM's book list on sci-fi adventures with strong teen heroines

AM Scott Why did AM love this book?

Ruby hates robots and artificial intelligence. She desperately wants to join an expedition to the outer reaches of the solar system, where humans do the work, rather than computers. But sheā€™s still too young and needs to finish her degree. Determined to make her own fate, she sets off to join, but of course, sheā€™s abducted by space-faring robots with some very strange flawsā€¦

A really fun book, with robots that are all too human, and an endearing main character. 

By Adeena Mignogna,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Crazy Foolish Robots as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

What would you do if you were kidnapped by alien robots?

Ruby Palmer finds herself on an entire planet surrounded by the things she hates the most: robots. Besides taking everything she says way too literally, the robots have problems of their own. A myriad of technical glitches are, on the cosmological scale, quickly destroying them. Ruby has the programming knowledge and skills that matter to them, but can she overcome her fears and find it within herself to help? Her survival, along with the survival of all of humanity and robot kind, depends on it.

If you adore allā€¦


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Book cover of Those That Wake

Those That Wake by Jesse Karp,

Mal's older brother has disappeared into thin air. Laura's parents went away for the weekend and when she gives them a call, they have no idea who she is. In pursuit of answers, the teens become entangled with two others similarly targeted by a force they don't understand and now,ā€¦

Book cover of Fledgling

AM Scott Author Of Lift Off

From my list on sci-fi adventures with strong teen heroines.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve published eleven classic-style space opera novels, a novella, and many short stories. Before becoming a writer, I spent twenty years in US Air Force in space operations; even though my books are light on science, I really was a rocket scientist! Plus, Iā€™ve read science fiction since I was barely a teen, starting with Heinlein and McCaffery, and am always looking for my next favorite author!

AM's book list on sci-fi adventures with strong teen heroines

AM Scott Why did AM love this book?

Theo has lived in ā€œsafetyā€ her entire life, but as sheā€™s grown, sheā€™s become clumsy. Her safe world considers her a potential threat. Plus, her mother has moved them out of Theoā€™s life-long home, and wants to take her across the galaxy, and her father has disappeared. Everything in her life has changed and nothing is as it seems. But Theo is no weakling; sheā€™s a survivor.

Fledgling is an alternative entry point into the Liaden Universe, Lee & Miller fabulous space opera series. The writing is outstanding, the universe complex, and the characters fantastic. I love everything about this series!

By Sharon Lee, Steve Miller,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Fledgling as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

The latest novel in the bestselling Liaden Universe space adventure series.


Book cover of Sea of Ghosts

Lilian Horn Author Of Perils of Sea and Sky

From my list on fantasy worldbuilding you donā€™t want to get lost in.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up on a steady book diet of child detectives, fairy tales involving monsters in the woods, and historical fiction about the black plague. The same themes go through the books I love to read and write, transporting me with world-building set in realms or historical settings with technology so strange it could be fantasy. Characters are shaped by the world around them and the more perilous the world, the more it challenges the characters. If there are monsters, Iā€™m in. 

Lilian's book list on fantasy worldbuilding you donā€™t want to get lost in

Lilian Horn Why did Lilian love this book?

Alan Campbell set the mixed steampunk science-fantasy genre for me, with his high fantasy worlds where machines and magic go hand in hand, to prison cities surrounded by poisonous waters that can turn you into permanent sea-dwellers, and telepathic abilities worth killing for.

This is a world where a trip to the beach might kill you if the telepaths donā€™t find you first.   

By Alan Campbell,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Sea of Ghosts as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Leaving the behind the imaginings of Deepgate, Alan Campbell introduces a new world, a new cast of characters in a novel that reads like a cross between Stephen Deas and Joe Abercrombie.

With non-stop action, beautiful characterization and Alan's usual flair for imagination and lyrical writing, welcome to a world of water - where dragons are used as weapons and countries are separated by power, greed and fear...

Thrown out of the Graveyard corps by a corrupt and weak emperor, Granger has to turn to running his own prison. It's not a lucrative business but if he keeps his headā€¦


Book cover of The Emperor's Edge

L. Darby Gibbs Author Of Dragon-Eyed Rogue

From my list on creating a sense of family with strangers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm the product of a man who married more times than I like to admit to strangers and even family. We moved all the time. Those two elements in my life led me to run out the door immediately upon release from sorting my belongings from their thoroughly packed boxes. I made friends at once with everyone I came across. Who knew how long weā€™d live there? Over the years, I acquired deep friendships from around the U.S. and often daydreamed of them all being in the same place at once and loving the solidarity. It never happened, but it's a theme that runs through me. Itā€™s what I like to write about.

L.'s book list on creating a sense of family with strangers

L. Darby Gibbs Why did L. love this book?

This book captured me from the first moment with Amaranthe determined to be the best enforcer despite being looked down upon because she was a woman doing a manā€™s job and not doing what her family expected of her.

When she finds herself the target of an assassin which she must target, she gathers a collection of misfits who (spoiler sort of) become the family she needs to succeed and survive along with bumble, trip, fail, and regroup with.

I loved cheering her on and wincing at her (sometimes hilarious) struggles.

By Lindsay Buroker,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked The Emperor's Edge as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Imperial law enforcer Amaranthe Lokdon is good at her job: she can deter thieves and pacify thugs, if not with a blade, then by toppling an eight-foot pile of coffee canisters onto their heads. But when ravaged bodies show up on the waterfront, an arson covers up human sacrifices, and a powerful business coalition plots to kill the emperor, she feels a tad overwhelmed.

Worse, Sicarius, the empire's most notorious assassin, is in town. He's tied in with the chaos somehow, but Amaranthe would be a fool to cross his path. Unfortunately, her superiors order her to hunt him down.ā€¦


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Book cover of Eyes of Blue

Eyes of Blue by S.M. Sykes,

In a world ravaged by an inexplicable plague, society lies in ruins. Amidst the desolation, a lone survivor perseveres in a secluded state park along the Delaware Coast. Over a year has passed since she lost everything, yet as the sanctuary sheā€™s carved for herself begins to crumble, she mustā€¦

Book cover of The Rithmatist

Katelyn Yates Author Of Mad Marienne

From my list on YA steampunk novels with a dash of fantasy.

Why am I passionate about this?

Steampunk has always been a fascinating genre to me, especially seeing how different creators play with historical elements. But the question that Iā€™m always looking to answer is, ā€œWhy is this history different from our own?ā€ What has allowed this alternate Victorian era to create fantastical technology? As I asked this question about my own steampunk books, I found great delight in how other authors have combined magic with their technology to create delightfully refreshing outcomes. I continue to search out these books as I am always surprised at their creativity and novelty.

Katelyn's book list on YA steampunk novels with a dash of fantasy

Katelyn Yates Why did Katelyn love this book?

In true Sanderson fashion, the worldbuilding in this book is unparalleled. I adore how he has blended both steampunk elements and an entirely unique magic system revolving around chalk drawingsā€“it gives a sense of a much larger world beyond what the story shows.

The combination of art and math in the magic system is something that really fascinated me, and I love how the characters only succeeded when they combined their respective strengths. I always love a good mystery-adventure in a school setting!

By Brandon Sanderson, Ben McSweeney (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Rithmatist as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

The Rithmatist, Brandon Sanderson's New York Times bestselling epic teen adventure is now available in paperback.

More than anything, Joel wants to be a Rithmatist. Rithmatists have the power to infuse life into two-dimensional figures known as Chalklings. Rithmatists are humanity's only defense against the Wild Chalklings. Having nearly overrun the territory of Nebrask, the Wild Chalklings now threaten all of the American Isles.

As the son of a lowly chalkmaker at Armedius Academy, Joel can only watch as Rithmatist students learn the magical art that he would do anything to practice. Then students start disappearingā€•kidnapped from their rooms atā€¦


Book cover of Boneshaker

Katelyn Yates Author Of Mad Marienne

From my list on YA steampunk novels with a dash of fantasy.

Why am I passionate about this?

Steampunk has always been a fascinating genre to me, especially seeing how different creators play with historical elements. But the question that Iā€™m always looking to answer is, ā€œWhy is this history different from our own?ā€ What has allowed this alternate Victorian era to create fantastical technology? As I asked this question about my own steampunk books, I found great delight in how other authors have combined magic with their technology to create delightfully refreshing outcomes. I continue to search out these books as I am always surprised at their creativity and novelty.

Katelyn's book list on YA steampunk novels with a dash of fantasy

Katelyn Yates Why did Katelyn love this book?

How could I resist steampunk zombies? Every character in this book is unique and memorable, and I admire their grit and ingenuity as they navigate the dangerous environment they live in.

I found it very refreshing to have a book focused on the relationship between a middle-aged mother and her teenage son, and that it was her love for him that drove all her choices.

By Cherie Priest,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Boneshaker as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

At the start of the Civil War, a Russian mining company commissions a great machine to pave the way from Seattle to Alaska and speed up the gold rush that is beating a path to the frozen north. Inventor Leviticus Blue creates the machine, but on its first test run it malfunctions, decimating Seattle's banking district and uncovering a vein of Blight Gas that turns everyone who breathes it into the living dead. Sixteen years later Briar, Blue's widow, lives in the poor neighborhood outside the wall that's been built around the uninhabitable city. Life is tough with a ruinedā€¦


Book cover of Cogheart

Christyne Morrell Author Of Kingdom of Secrets

From my list on for children with mind-blowing plot twists.

Why am I passionate about this?

I hate surprises in real life, but in fiction, nothing beats a good plot twist. As both a reader and a writer, I love to get swept up in a story, especially when Iā€™m not certain where it will take me or what will happen next. Itā€™s like being on a thrilling ride! Each of the books on this list kept me guessing, caught me off guard, and made me shout ā€œaha!ā€  

Christyne's book list on for children with mind-blowing plot twists

Christyne Morrell Why did Christyne love this book?

I was initially drawn to the steampunk elements of this story but was quickly pulled into Lilyā€™s plight. Lilyā€™s father invented a priceless machine before he suddenly went missing. Now she must find him before sheā€™s nabbed by the shadowy figures who think she knows where his invention is hidden. Action and adventure abound, but itā€™s the mystery at the heart of this story that kept me ravenously flipping pages.   

By Peter Bunzl,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Cogheart as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The first in the bestselling Cogheart Adventures series, where mayhem, murder and mystery meet in a gripping Victorian world of fantastical imagination.

Some secrets change the world in a heartbeat.

Lily's life is in mortal peril. Her father is missing and now silver-eyed men stalk her through the shadows. What could they want from her?

With her friends - Robert, the clockmaker's son, and Malkin, her mechanical fox - Lily is plunged into a murky and menacing world. Too soon Lily realizes that those she holds dear may be the very ones to break her heart...

SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONESā€¦


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Book cover of Mannigan: A Speck of Light

Mannigan by L. Ross Coulter,

Born from the ashes of the old world, the great cities of humanity's new hope are beacons of light. Yet freed from the depths of a cruel prison, Will Manning is left with nothing but rage. Seeking revenge against the tyrannical rule of the Vitruvian elite with the help ofā€¦

Book cover of The Bands of Mourning

Katelyn Yates Author Of Mad Marienne

From my list on YA steampunk novels with a dash of fantasy.

Why am I passionate about this?

Steampunk has always been a fascinating genre to me, especially seeing how different creators play with historical elements. But the question that Iā€™m always looking to answer is, ā€œWhy is this history different from our own?ā€ What has allowed this alternate Victorian era to create fantastical technology? As I asked this question about my own steampunk books, I found great delight in how other authors have combined magic with their technology to create delightfully refreshing outcomes. I continue to search out these books as I am always surprised at their creativity and novelty.

Katelyn's book list on YA steampunk novels with a dash of fantasy

Katelyn Yates Why did Katelyn love this book?

This is my favorite of the Wax and Wayne series! Not only do the characters really work together in ways we havenā€™t seen before, but the treasure-seeking adventure gripped me tight and wouldnā€™t let me go. I could not put the book down; from train-top fights to secret base infiltrations, to ancient booby-traps, I was hooked the entire time.

Light humor and deep emotion in equal measure made this an entertaining read that has stuck with me more than any of the other books in the series.

By Brandon Sanderson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Bands of Mourning as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Mistborn trilogy has become a firm favourite with fantasy fans the world over. The imagination that Sanderson brought to the series and his skill at marshalling epic storylines and dramatic action, his ability to create vivid characters made him a natural choice to complete Robert Jordan's epic wheel of time sequence. But with Mistborn, Sanderson has shown his bountiful talents in his own fiction. Now he returns to the series that made his name with a new story, building on the incredible success of THE ALLOY OF LAW.

The new Mistborn books move the series into a richly imaginedā€¦


Book cover of The Earth Concurrence
Book cover of Fire in the Night Sky
Book cover of Crazy Foolish Robots

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5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in steampunk, worldbuilding, and earth?

Steampunk 106 books
Worldbuilding 162 books
Earth 319 books