Book picks similar to
First Contact by Raymond L. Weil


science-fiction
sci-fi
scifi
space-opera

Conquerors' Pride


Timothy Zahn - 1994
    . . measures that Lord Cavanaugh has no choice but to defy.  He recruits Adam Quinn, who once flew with the elite Copperheads--fighter pilots whose minds are literally one with their machines--to rescue his son.  Quinn assembles a crack force of Copperheads to steal out of the Commonwealth security zone and snatch Pheylan Cavanaugh from the conquerors.  Depending on the outcome, Quinn and his men will retum home as heroes or as the galaxy's most despised traitors--if they come home at all.

Alien Hunters


Daniel Arenson - 2014
    A group of scruffy mercenaries, the Alien Hunters travel the galaxy in their starship, a mechanical dragon that spits out plasma like dragonfire. If an alien has invaded your space station, asteroid mine, or lunar colony, the Alien Hunters will remove the pest for you. Low rates. No questions asked. Raphael "Riff" Starfire, a guitarist-turned-gunslinger, and Nova, a warrior-princess with an electric whip and a bad attitude, lead the Alien Hunters. They’re the solar system’s best pest controllers. Yet now they face a threat all their guns and grit might be unable to stop. The skelkrins, a race of apex predators from deep space, are swarming across the galaxy. Planets burn in their wake. As the skelkrins draw closer to Earth, will Riff and Nova be the ones hunting aliens... or will aliens hunt them?

The Last War


Peter Bostrom - 2017
     20 years after the American-Chinese war devastated our worlds, we finally have a tense peace. But legendary American Admiral Jack Mattis, on his inspection tour of the first joint American-Chinese space station, finds himself in the middle of the unthinkable: an alien invasion. Their ships are powerful, their weapons overwhelming. And in the confusion, our tentative peace with the Chinese is shaken to the core. Taking command of his old battleship, The Midway, Admiral Mattis races the alien fleet to Earth, desperate to prevent the utter destruction of humanity's home. And in Earth's darkest hour, Mattis must unify and lead old adversaries to the fight against a common enemy, one that doesn't care about flags or borders. An enemy driven by malevolent hate and a thirst for blood. An enemy that cares for one thing only: Earth's destruction.

Pandora's Star


Peter F. Hamilton - 2004
    The Intersolar Commonwealth, a sphere of stars some four hundred light-years in diameter, contains more than six hundred worlds, interconnected by a web of transport "tunnels" known as wormholes. At the farthest edge of the Commonwealth, astronomer Dudley Bose observes the impossible: Over one thousand light-years away, a star... vanishes. It does not go supernova. It does not collapse into a black hole. It simply disappears. Since the location is too distant to reach by wormhole, a faster-than-light starship, the Second Chance, is dispatched to learn what has occurred and whether it represents a threat. In command is Wilson Kime, a five-time rejuvenated ex-NASA pilot whose glory days are centuries behind him.Opposed to the mission are the Guardians of Selfhood, a cult that believes the human race is being manipulated by an alien entity they call the Starflyer. Bradley Johansson, leader of the Guardians, warns of sabotage, fearing the Starflyer means to use the starship's mission for its own ends.Pursued by a Commonwealth special agent convinced the Guardians are crazy but dangerous, Johansson flees. But the danger is not averted. Aboard the Second Chance, Kime wonders if his crew has been infiltrated. Soon enough, he will have other worries. A thousand light-years away, something truly incredible is waiting: a deadly discovery whose unleashing will threaten to destroy the Commonwealth... and humanity itself. Could it be that Johansson was right?

Finders Keepers


Linnea Sinclair - 2002
    You might get it... Her ship's in shambles, her boyfriend's dumped her and she's frankly out of funds. Captain Trilby Elliot hopes her luck has changed when a high-tech fightercraft crash lands at her repair site. Finders keepers. She can sell the ship as salvage, pocket the profits. Except for one small problem: the pilot, Rhis, is still alive and intent on commandeering her ship. And another much larger problem: someone very powerful and very important wants Trilby Elliot dead.

Slow Bullets


Alastair Reynolds - 2015
    A conscripted soldier is beginning to consider her life after the war and the family she has left behind. But for Scur—and for humanity—peace is not to be.On the brink of the ceasefire, Scur is captured by a renegade war criminal, and left for dead in the ruins of a bunker. She revives aboard a prisoner transport vessel. Something has gone terribly wrong with the ship.Passengers—combatants from both sides of the war—are waking up from hibernation far too soon. Their memories, embedded in bullets, are the only links to a world which is no longer recognizable. And Scur will be reacquainted with her old enemy, but with much higher stakes than just her own life.

Hard Duty


Mark E. Cooper - 2012
    Two hundred years later, the Alliance is cautiously exploring beyond its borders again, but the survey corp is considered a mere gesture by some. General Burgton of the 501st Infantry Regiment believes a lack of expansion is leading the Alliance into stagnation. So when one small ship discovers a new alien race, it should be an easy decision to make contact, but what if the aliens are like the Merkiaari?Captain Jeff Colgan of the survey ship ASN Canada is at the tip of the spear. His ship made the discovery, his crew's lives are on the line, and his decisions will decide the outcome. Will the Alliance make new friends or will he be responsible for another sixteen billion deaths? When the aliens discover his ship and begin hunting him through their system, his mission changes from one of study to one of survival.

Gates of Cilicia


Michael G. Thomas - 2012
    They have little in common, other than their love of wealth and adventure, and a bitter hatred for each other. Known simply as the Black Legion, they will blaze a trail of death and destruction that will be remembered for generations. For Xenophon, the Black Legion is an escape from the state that tried to kill him and his family. Exiled from his homeworld he joins the mercenaries, along with Glaucon, the rich playboy, Roxana, the veteran naval commander, and Tamara, the blue-haired castaway with a hidden past and a violent personality. Nothing will prepare them for the carnage awaiting them as they enter the borders of the Median Empire, the largest and most powerful entity in the known Galaxy, ruled with an iron fist by the tyrant, Emperor Artaxerxes and his legions of slave soldiers. The Black Legion boasts the best weapons, armour, and equipment known to humanity. As well as the most advanced warships ever constructed, from frigates and battleships to the four mighty Titans. These great floating fortresses house thousands of warriors inside their cavernous armoured hulls. These mercenaries are no heroes; they are exiles, thieves, opportunists, and criminals. Each looking to make their name in the greatest enterprise in living memory, a military operation deep into the heart of the Empire. Battle for Cilicia is the first book in the Star Legions series from Michael G. Thomas, the bestselling author of the Star Crusades series. Previously published as the Black Legion series.

Sky Hunter


Chris Reher - 2013
    The difference between the well-ordered Union air fields and this dusty garrison is made painfully clear when she runs afoul a brutal commander of ground troops.Her assignment takes her from the midst of a bloody uprising to the elegant new space station where she hopes to train for her Hunter Class pilot grade. But not all runs according to protocol and she soon suspects that more than farming is being done up there. When she uncovers the treacherous and illicit schemes taking place, it seems that local riots are the least of their troubles.

Missing


Andrew C. Broderick - 2016
    Haunted by the death of his father and one fatal decision that questions his morality, he doubts he will have a chance to redeem himself for a past he cannot escape. But when 100 colonists go missing on an alien planet, he sees his chance to prove once and for all that one decision doesn’t create a monster. With only a skeleton crew chosen to lead the rescue mission, and John not making the cut, he struggles to find any way possible to help save them. Can John find a way to get on board the vessel bound to find the lost colony, or will he be forced to watch from the sidelines as his destiny is snatched from him? Strap in for Missing! The first book in Andrew Broderick’s new Sci-fi adventure, The Lost Colony series! Please note: Missing is a novella, complete at 15,000 words Save $5 by buying The Lost Colony Series: Omnibus Edition, which contains all 4 books in one

Ghosts of Ophidian


Scott McElhaney - 2013
    except instilling fear and speculation upon the citizens below. After a few weeks, NASA gets a boarding party together to attempt to gain entry into the giant craft. Once inside the ship, they will discover over a million creatures on ice. They will also discover the reason that the ship hasn't been doing anything beyond maintaining an orbit above the Earth - it appears that the ship has been sabotaged by whatever used to exist in three of the empty cryogenic chambers. Their investigation leads to a lot more than a potential alien invasion. Nothing is as it seems and pretty soon, the two remaining astronauts aren't sure who they should trust anymore.The next book in the Ghosts of Ophidian universe "Alastair" is available now with much more to come in 2013.

Terminus


Kevin Hardman - 2014
    Served up as a scapegoat and drummed out of the military, he has since lived a life of seclusion with only an adopted alien as a companion. Now the Vacra have returned. As the only person to have ever faced them and survived, Maker is reinstated in the Corps and given the onerous task of finding this enemy on a world located at the edge of known space. Assisting him is an unlikely band of military rejects, including a blind sharpshooter, an unstable psychic, and a genetically-engineered killing machine who refuses to fight. Given that the Vacra have superior weapons and technology, Maker recognizes that his team is at a distinct disadvantage. But Marines are nothing if not resourceful, and Maker has an audacious plan that just may level the playing field – if it doesn’t get them all killed.

Armor


John Steakley - 1984
    The military sci-fi classic in a striking new packageFelix is an Earth soldier, encased in special body armor designed to withstand Earth's most implacable enemy-a bioengineered, insectoid alien horde. But Felix is also equipped with internal mechanisms that enable him, and his fellow soldiers, to survive battle situations that would destroy a man's mind.This is a remarkable novel of the horror, the courage, and the aftermath of combat--and how the strength of the human spirit can be the greatest armor of all.

Freehold


Michael Z. Williamson - 2003
    Mistakes might be made, but they are never acknowledged, especially when billions of embezzled dollars earned from illegal weapons sales are at stake. But where does one run when all Earth and the planets are under the aegis of one government?

The Honour of the Knights


Stephen J. Sweeney - 2009
    And it would not be long before they themselves would come face to face with that which destroyed an empire: an unforgiving, unstoppable, and totally unrelenting foe.There seemed to exist only one glimmer of hope of driving back the darkness: The ATAF Project - a secretly developed set of starfighters that may well just harbour some terrible secrets of their own.Reviews:"A tightly plotted action-adventure yarn with a good mix of likeable, interesting and nasty characters" "Written with perspicacity and drive, with a strong voice and good attention to detail."124,000 words~ 450 pages