Books: Mercenaries, Agents, Rifts, Auroras

Agent Of Vega by James H. Schmitz

Telepathic agents fight esoteric bad guys in a galactic civilization. Includes one bad-ass grandmaw agent. Mildly recommended.

Half-Resurrection Blues by Daniel José Older

The New York Council Of The Dead has a little problem with gremlins, and assigns a cantankerous inbetweener to solve it. Carlos Delacruz may be a post-death amnesiac, but he's good at his job, until his past comes back to... trip him up. Recommended.

Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson

A depressing look at the problems facing interstellar colonization by generation ship, as told through the eyes of a teen girl with more than a few problems of her own. Bleak, but filled with good science, and not entirely without hope. Recommended.

Beyond The Aquila Rift: The Best Of Alastair Reynolds

A collection of some of Reynolds' best stories, mostly in the transhumanist space opera vein. More than adequately mind-bending, recommended.

Planet Mercenary: The Role-Playing Game by Bahr, Tayler, & Tayler

Set in the world of the "Schlock Mercenary" space opera webcomic, this is an entirely serviceable RPG. Medium-heavy on skills, light on stats, with a card-based mechanic to encourage roleplaying, and a tactical element in the form of the fire-team your character controls (and, possibly, throws under a bus). It's not going to replace Traveller or Starfinder anytime soon, but it's entirely deserving of a place on my shelf.

Seventy Maxims Of Maximally Effective Mercenaries by Howard Tayler

Part of the "Schlock Mercenary" universe, this is a slim collection of pithy sayings, such as, "If the price of collateral damage is high enough, you might get paid to bring ammunition home with you," and, "If it will blow a hole in the ground, it will double as an entrenching tool." Fun, and occasionally wise.