Book picks similar to
Trajectory Book 1 by Robert M. Campbell
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science-fiction
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Echoes of Starlight
Eric Michael Craig - 2019
No bodies. No evidence of an attack. Just gone. On what should have been a routine cargo run to the far edge of the Coalition, Captain Ethan Walker is carrying a payload of medical technology and two passengers returning home to Starlight Colony. When they arrive, they discover that everyone on the planet is missing. The company he works for wants him to leave immediately, but he’s obligated to report to FleetCom that the entire population has vanished. Captain MacKenna of the Magellan, tells him stay put until they can arrive to begin an official investigation. Caught between his legal responsibilities and the need to know what happened, Walker has to resist increasing pressure to defy orders. Unfortunately, his passengers make a decision that forces him into doing the one thing he can’t do. Captain Walker must risk his ship and crew to return to the surface even though it may ultimately cost him everything. Get the exciting opening book to the new Wings of Earth series.
Evasion (Scattered Stars: Evasion Book 1)
Glynn Stewart - 2021
Betrayal and failure sent him into exile and flight. Now owner-operator of the freelance star freighter Evasion, he treks the edge of human space, taking cargos that lead him ever onward—but there are lines he will not cross.When those lines are challenged, EB makes enemies of the most powerful crime syndicate for a hundred light-years. When one of their victims stows away on his ship, he finds himself pursued by an enemy with assets everywhere he turns.Caught between the devil and the deep dark void, EB has run out of places to run—but in a child looking to him for salvation, he may have found something to fight for!CONTENT WARNING: This novel deals with themes and details of human trafficking and sexual exploitation.
Zeroglyph
Vance Pravat - 2018
Or at least that’s what Andy, its creator, believes.But when an accident forces Andy to stay home, he learns that the robot has disappeared from its lab, mysteriously bypassing a sophisticated security system and the cognitive “laws” supposed to keep it in check. Besides, the robot has never been in the outside world; will its programming hold or will it unravel, releasing some Frankenstein’s monster that was always lurking underneath?Confined to a wheelchair, under siege by a parent company hiding its own dark secrets, Andy is about to find out. At his remote and secluded mansion he has something the robot desperately needs… something that can erase its moral programming once and for all.And make no mistake, Raphael is coming for it.Zeroglyph is an explosive locked-room mystery / home-invasion thriller with a surprising new take on what it means to be a machine with a conscience.
The Variant
John August - 2009
But when a terrified woman falls through his bathroom ceiling, he's forced back into a life of gunfights, double agents and paranormal research. The secret he's been keeping for nearly four decades might reunite him with his lost love, or kill millions.This new short story by John August falls into the genre of paranoid "spy-fi" popularized by writers like Jorge Luis Borges and shows like The Prisoner and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.== What Others Say =="I really dug the story. Gave it a glance just to see, got totally hooked, and blazed on through to the end."-- Michael Chabon (The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, The Yiddish Policemen's Union) "The Variant" is both a good, fun, smart story and an interesting experiment in indie self-publishing for fiction."-- John Gruber, daringfireball.net== About the Author ==An excerpt of The Variant is available at johnaugust.com/variant About the AuthorJohn August is the screenwriter of eight feature films, including Go, Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Corpse Bride. He wrote and directed the 2007 movie The Nines.He can be found on Twitter, @johnaugust
Rebellion. The Complete Series.
M.R. Forbes - 2019
Rebellion is more than another alien invasion story. It’s a story about family, love, loss, and redemption told from both the human and alien sides, and written with the action-packed pacing, unexpected twists, and relatable characters that have made M.R. Forbes one of the most popular sci-fi authors on Amazon. From Book One: When the aliens came, they came without warning. Their weapons were unstoppable, their defenses unbreakable. Our technology was inferior, our militaries overwhelmed. Only one starship escaped before civilization fell. Earth was lost. It was never forgotten. Fifty-two years have passed. A message from home has been received. The time to fight for what is ours has come. Welcome to the rebellion. Includes: Man of War Weapons of War Tides of War
Citizen of Earth
Joseph J. Kassabian - 2019
His unplanned future changes dramatically when he is arrested and charged with crimes against the Central Committee. Rather than being put to death, he is sentenced to three-year's service in the Earth Defense Forces. Relieved by this twist of fate, Vincent is sent off to train at the local Replacement Depot. But any dreams of him lazing away his years of servitude are shattered when an alien horde called the Alliance attacks. On their way to the harsh killing fields of war, Vincent meets Fiona, a Martian gangster serving a life sentence. Together, they must find a way to survive against the most terrifying foe humanity has ever seen.
In Vitro Lottery
Ed Ryder - 2016
Decades later, the children of the survivors find themselves unable to conceive, with complex and expensive fertility treatment the only option. Some can afford it, but for everyone else, there is the In Vitro Lottery.Kate Adams never really wanted a family, so when her numbers come up for treatment at the clinic, she gives her winning ticket to her sister, Emily. Then tragedy strikes, and Kate is sent on a collision course with the clinic head Victor Pearson, and the Government, in her quest for answers.When Kate's investigation reveals devastating truths about her sister, she is drawn towards the pressure group IVFree and begins to question everything she believes in. Together, they formulate a plan to get answers and to uncover the real purpose behind the Lottery. When the fate of Humanity is at stake, who really controls the future, and what will they do to protect it?New Apple Summer e-Book Awards 2016 winner in SciFi / Dystopia
Galactic - Ten Book Space Opera Sci-Fi Boxset
A.C. HadfieldMelissa Lason - 2016
One thing is for sure, though, you’re in for a wild ride! The Atlantis Ship - by A.C. Hadfield Carson Mach, a former war hero turned freelancer, seeks the biggest payday of his life when he’s tasked to hunt down a ghost ship that has echoed through the centuries. The legendary Atlantis ship has become a reality, appearing at the Commonwealth frontier, and obliterating an orbital station. Failure to stop it is not an option! Prelude to Resistance - by Nick Webb Fighter Pilot Lieutenant Jacob Mercer learns the leader of the Resistance, Admiral Pritchard, has a secret that could change the course of the war. The question is, will he live long enough to find out what it is. The Terran Gambit - by Nick Webb Lieutenant Jacob Mercer likes fast motorcycles, faster women, and screaming space fighters. When Jake is put in the captain's chair of the most advanced warship in the galaxy, he has to face down a psychopathic Imperial Admiral bent on utterly destroying the Resistance and Earth itself. Hollow Space: Venture - by T.F. Grant & C.F. Barnes Forced to hyperjump during a brutal ambush, Sara Lorelle, navigator of the last human colony ship, discovers they’ve jumped to somewhere that shouldn’t exist. Trapped inside a pocket universe known only as Hollow Space, where technology inexplicably fails, Sara and her crew have to defy all odds to survive. Attack on Phoenix - by Megg Jensen Two hundred years ago, an interplanetary expedition crashed on a deserted planet. They caught the attention of the dragzhi, an aggressive alien species, and found themselves in the midst of a war they were doomed to lose. Unless Torsten Vikker, a soldier who’d rather read than fight, can find a way to stop them. Icarus - by Matt Verish Cole Musgrave’s dream of interstellar travel is about to become a nightmare. When a high-profile delivery is compromised aboard a state-of-the-art cargo vessel, the newly appointed captain finds himself embroiled in a deadly assignment far above his pay grade. But this unorthodox cargo pilot won’t go down without a fight—even after he is faced with a choice that will alter the course of his life forever. Containment - by Susan Kaye Quinn The Mining Master of Thebe is all alone… not counting the scavenger drones, foundry nanites, and magtread tractors. So when a spindly tower of rocks mysteriously appears at the pole, reporting it could mean reassignment to the Outer Belt… but probing the mystery further threatens to unlock something that might have been better left... contained. Light of the Earth - by Annie Bellet Ian and Jack Talley and the Prometheus Space Program set a record for the fastest manned flight to Jupiter. But the journey ended in disaster, crippling Jack and killing the rest of the team. Ten years later, an eccentric multi-billionaire offers them all his money, and a second chance, if they'll fly him to Pluto, which asks the question: are they making history? Or repeating it? The Hunted - by Melissa Lason On the dusty streets of Sentos thugs and thieves abound. One man who used to call those same streets home is sent into clean them up. Kyro is a bounty hunter of great reputation but when he returns to Sentos, his skills are truly tested.
Owning the Future: Short Stories
Neal Asher - 2018
However, though I think some of them are great, some aren’t, and some are profoundly dated. I am aware that there are those out there, who will just buy these without a second thought, so I have to edit, be selective, and I damned well have to show some respect for my readers. Kindle in this respect can be a danger for a known writer, because you can publish any old twaddle and someone will buy it. Time and again, I’ve had fans, upon hearing that I have this and that unpublished in my files, demanding that I publish it at once because surely they’ll love it. No they won’t. A reputation like trust: difficult to build and easy to destroy. I’ve therefore chosen stories other people have published here and there, and filled in with those I really think someone should have published. Here you’ll find some Polity tales, some that could have been set in the Polity (at a stretch) and some from the bleak Owner universe. Enjoy! Neal Asher 04/06/18
The Ascension Myth Boxed Set: Awakened, Activated, Called, Sanctioned
Ell Leigh Clarke - 2018
How Molly has survived military life this long, we'll never know.
When her implanted computer interface is hacked by a nascent AI, Molly has to escape. Between the militaries' high tech security shields and advanced personnel protocols, it makes getting out in one piece for Molly nigh on impossible.What’s more, her new “companion” has a spunky attitude which only complicates matters further.
And her biggest problem?
The swiftest and most efficient way to get out is also the most embarrassing.
This Boxed Set Includes the first four books in The Ascension Myth
Awakened
Activated
Called
Sanctioned
In Every Clime and Place
Patrick LeClerc - 2014
Always Faithful. The motto of the United States Marine Corps. Words to live by. On the ragged edges of civilization, Corporal Michael Collins has lived those words, taking on riots and evacuations, rebels and terrorists. Asteroid belt patrol is just another deployment. Ninety nine percent boredom, one percent terror. But soon the platoon of Marines find themselves entangled in the threads of a conspiracy of corporate greed, government corruption, piracy, and a band of war criminals. As the fire team leader struggles with tensions in the close knit unit, Collins and his fellow Marines find themselves outnumbered in a pitched battle to stop a corrupt land grab that seems right out of the Old West, but on a new, wider, more unforgiving frontier. And now he must confront the harsh demands of being “always faithful.” Semper Fi. Words to live by. Words to die by. Time to earn that combat pay, Marines. Welcome to the Suck. And remember, you volunteered for this. Patrick LeClerc has crafted a tense, military action adventure on the edge of civilization: Earth’s mining colonies in the asteroid belt. “In Every Clime and Place” combines the spirit of classic s/f of Heinlein’s “Starship Troopers” or David Drake’s “Hammer’s Slammers” with the isolated, small unit grunt’s eye view intimacy of George MacDonald Fraser’s “Quartered Safe Out Here.” "In Every Clime and Place” is a frontier land grab; a tale of government corruption and corporate piracy, and a near future Marine science fiction story, told with gritty authenticity, gallows humor and raw emotion, evoking the closeness and isolation of a small unit deployed to the distant edge of a bleak and dangerous frontier.
BOOK REVIEW
Set some 60 years in the future, this impressive, fast-paced novel is as much ‘Semper fi’ as it is sci-fi. The convincing story centers on the hard-hitting law and order role of the USMC in dealing with organized commercial pirates causing mayhem on planet Mars. The plot’s development is cleverly stage-managed by the author (a former US Marine) From the very first page, authenticity is the dominant hallmark of this exciting and very readable book. Don’t expect to read this novel a chapter at a time, last thing at night and then drop off to sleep. I found it impossible to put down. This book demanded and held my attention. The very believable characters live off the pages. They, their gritty Service dialogues and the battle scenes are all USMC through and through. Long before that iconic US Marine legend, Chesty Puller, was mentioned in the story, I was sold on this book’s authenticity and the author’s credibility. I thoroughly recommend it as an absorbing, exciting read. It has, too, the makings of a great film. -Mike Williams, Royal Marine, SBS, Author of The Tremayne Trilogy
Typhon Pact: The Khitomer Accords Saga: Plagues of Night, Raise the Dawn, and Brinkmanship
David R. George III - 2012
For almost three years, the Federation and the Klingon Empire, allied under the Khitomer Accords, have contended with the nascent coalition on a predominantly cold-war footing. But as Starfleet rebuilds itself, factions within the Typhon Pact grow restive, concerned about their own inability to develop a quantum slipstream drive to match that of the Federation. Will leaders such as UFP President Bacco and RSE Praetor Kamemor bring about a lasting peace across the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, or will the cold war between the two alliances deepen, and perhaps even lead to an all-out shooting war?
Raise the Dawn
After the disastrous events in the Bajoran system, Captain Benjamin Sisko must confront the consequences of the recent choices he has made in his life. At the same time, the United Federation of Planets and its Khitomer Accords allies have come to the brink of war with the Typhon Pact. While factions within the Pact unsuccessfully used the recent gestures of goodwill—the opening of borders and a joint Federation-Romulan exploratory mission—to develop quantum-slipstream drive, they have not given up their goals. Employing a broad range of assets, from Romulus to Cardassia, from Ab-Tzenketh to Bajor, they embark on a dangerous new plan to acquire the technology they need to take control of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. While UFP President Bacco and Romulan Praetor Kamemor work feverishly to reestablish peace, Captains Sisko, Jean-Luc Picard, and Ro Laren stand on the front lines of the conflict...even as a new danger threatens the Bajoran wormhole as it once more becomes a flashpoint of galactic history.
Brinkmanship
The Venette Convention has always remained independent, but it is about to become the flashpoint for a tense military standoff between the two power blocs now dominating interstellar space—the United Federation of Planets and the recently formed Typhon Pact. The Venetan government turns to the Typhon Pact’s Tzenkethi Coalition for protection in the new order, and has agreed to allow three of their supply bases for Tzenkethi use. But these bases—if militarized—would put Tzenkethi weapons unacceptably close to Federation, Cardassian, and Ferengi space. While Captain Ezri Dax and the crew of the U.S.S. Aventine are sent to investigate exactly what is happening at one of the Venette bases, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the U.S.S. Enterprise are assigned to a diplomatic mission sent to the Venette homeworld in order to broker a mutually acceptable resolution. But the Cardassian delegates don’t seem particularly keen on using diplomacy to resolve the situation, which soon spirals out of control toward all-out war. . .
The Beginning
T.A. Walters - 2013
In the story 'First Shift', Hugh Howey said in an interview that Silo 40 had shut itself down and you wouldn't believe what was going on in silo 40.
The Singularity Conspiracy Omnibus: The Complete Trilogy
Nicholas Erik - 2014
Kurt Desmond and Cassie Atwood are private investigators in the sleepy oceanside slum of Seaside Heights, CA. That is, until a stranger comes to town with an offer too good to refuse. But everything in this life comes with strings, and the pair soon find themselves embroiled in a 10,000 year old conspiracy that will reveal the origin of modern civilization. If they survive that long...