Less Star Wars, More Star Work?

[brainwane]

I was reading a bit of military SF whose protagonist is a woman, and it got into more "galaxy-spanning intrigue and conspiracy" stuff, and I realized that what I had actually wanted was chick lit about a woman's career as a space mercenary and her ambition to get promoted. (As Leonard put it, "Can a space woman have it all?")

I welcome recommendations for, like, The Devil Wears A Prada EVA Suit. Pro fic and fan fic are both of interest!

(So far I think what I know to read in this subgenre is Elizabeth Moon's work (edited 30 Jan to add: I read a single Moon book once, Trading in Danger), and Polaris Rising by Jessie Mihalik which someone recommended.)

Feel free to publicly link this to help find more recommendations!

Comments

[indywind]

The Outback Stars sounds great; I have never heard of it before, will have to try.
Seconding Rimrunners.

Hmm, depending which aspects are important to you, if you like Elizabeth Moon, you might also like some of David Weber's Honor Harrington series-- the MC is a Space Navy commander rather than a mercenary, and there's more intrigue, conspiracy, and lovingly detailed descriptions of ships, battles, and tactics than chick-lit style relationshippy stuff, but there is some of the latter too.

You might also like select bits of Lois McMaster Bujold's scifi universe, specifically
Shards of Honor: Captain Cordelia Naismith of Beta Colony meets and eventually falls in love with Captain Lord Aral Vorkosigan of Barrayar when they are both stranded on an uninhabited planet. After being captured by the Barrayarans and then escaping twice, she returns home a war hero. However, her own people believe she has been brainwashed and try to "cure" her of her love for Aral. She eventually flees to Barrayar to be reunited with him. Collected in the omnibus edition Cordelia's Honor.
Barrayar: While Cordelia Vorkosigan is pregnant with Miles [her son with Aral Vorkosigan], an attempted assassination threatens her unborn child's life. Count Vordarian launches a coup. Collected in the omnibus edition Cordelia's Honor.
Ethan of Athos in which the title character ventures forth from his exclusively male-populated planet in search of replacement ovarian tissues for use in the reproductive replicators that allow his people to reproduce. Innocent of wider galactic culture, he gets unwittingly dragged into espionage and reluctant allyship with Elli Quinn, (female) leader of the Dendarii Free Mercenaries, when she saves his life.
Elli gets some neat moments scattered throughout the larger series, which is not at all focused on her; Ethan of Athos is the single book that gives her the most concentrated on-page time, though she's still not the lead.