I wonder if that inspired the Rick & Morty episode.
Show me what you got. 
Lone Star Planet (aka A Planet For Texans) by H. Beam Piper.
Google Books preview.
I dont know if they’re space operas but the Callahan crosstime saloon books?
I enjoyed the Hard Luck Hank series by Stephen Campbell, but will be the first to admit they’re not to everyone’s taste.
There’s the series of Star Wreck novels, parodies of Star Trek, written by Leah Rewolinski. I’ve read one or two of them
I had completely forgotten about it… I read it back in early high school and enjoyed it a lot.
But I’m not entirely sure if it would or wouldn’t be dated for today’s younger readers.
I’ve long wondered why it never was a miniseries or movie; it seems to be tailor-made for that.