Book picks similar to
Starcaster by J.N. Chaney


science-fiction
sci-fi
scifi
fantasy

Pulse


Patrick Carman - 2013
    This telekinetic ability is called a “pulse,” and Dylan has the talent, too.In riveting action scenes, Faith demonstrates her ability to use her pulse against a group of telekinesis masters who are so powerful they can flatten their enemies by uprooting streetlights, throwing boulders, and changing the course of a hurtling hammer so that it becomes a deadly weapon. But even with her unusual talent, the mind--and the heart--can be difficult to control. If Faith wants to join forces with Dylan and save the world, she’ll have to harness the power of both.Patrick Carman’s Pulse trilogy is a stunning and epic triumph about the power of the mind--and of love.

The Derelict Duty: A Space Adventure


James Haddock - 2019
    I threw my covers off and was halfway to my Vac-suit locker before I was fully awake. It felt like I had just fallen to sleep having just finished a long EVA shift. It would be just like Dad to have an emergency drill after an EVA shift to see if I had recharged my suit. I had, I always did, both Mom and Dad were hard taskmasters when it came to ship, and personal safety. Vac-suit recharging was top of the personal safety list. If you can't breathe, you die, easy to remember. Donning a Vac-suit was second nature for me, after 16 years of drills and practice exercises. Having literally been doing this all my life, but I loved life on our Rock-Tug. I was reaching for the comms when I felt the ship shutter. "That can't be good,” I said to myself. Mom's voice came over ship-wide, "This is not a drill, this is not a drill, meteor strike, hull breach in Engineering". Mom's voice was just as calm as if she was asking, what's for lunch. This was a way of life for us, we trained and practiced so that when the reality of working in "The Belt" happened you didn't panic, you just did your job. You didn't have to think, you knew what you needed to do, and you did it. I keyed my comms, "Roger, hull breach in Engineering, where do you need me Mom?" "Get to Engineering and help your Father, I'm on the Bridge trying to get us in the shadow of a bigger rock for some protection." Mom answered. My adrenalin was spiking but Mom's calm voice, helped to keep me calm. I sealed my helmet and left my cabin heading for Engineering. The klaxon had faded into the background, my breathing was louder than it was. I kept telling myself "Stay calm, just do your job, stay calm." I had just reached Engineering, when the Tug was rocked by a succession of impacts each one harder that the last. The hatch to Engineering was closed and the indicator light was flashing red, telling me there was hard vacuum on the other side. I switched my comms to voice activated, "Dad? I'm at the hatch to Engineering it's in lockdown, I can't override it from here." "Dad? Dad?, Dad respond! "Mom, Dad is not answering, and Engineering is sealed, you are going to have to evac the air from the rest of the ship, so I can open the hatch." Mom's steady voice replied, "Understood, emergency air evac in 10 seconds." Those were the longest 10 seconds of my short life. The hatch indicator light finally turned green and the hatch door opened. The Engineering compartment was clear. No smoke, no fire, some sparks and lots of blinking red lights. I looked over to the Engineering station console, there sat Dad. He had not had his Vac-suit on when the hull was breached. Hard Vacuum does terrible things to the human body. I suddenly realized that I had not heard Dad on comms the whole time, just Mom. She probably knew what had happened but was sending help in the hope that Dad was all right and that maybe the comms were down. I heard Mom in the background declaring an emergency and calling on the radio for help. Her voice still calm somehow, "Mayday, mayday, this is the Rock Tug Taurus, Mayday, we have taken multiple meteor strikes, have multiple hull breaches, please respond." "Come on Nic, think! What do I need to do?" I asked myself. I closed the hatch to Engineering, to seal the vacuum from the rest of the ship. I turned and started back toward the bridge. There was an impact, a light flared, and sparks; time seemed to slow, there was no sound, we were still in a vacuum, just shuttering vibrations and sparks. Holes seemed to appear in the overhead and then the deck, it was so surreal. The meteors were punching holes through our ship like a machine punching holes on an assembly line.

Apex


Aer-ki Jyr - 2013
    Larson, and Evan Currie.A new dawn is coming.It's been eons since Humans controlled the universe. Defeated by a mysterious enemy, the downfall of Humanity brought about a virtual dark age. Culture and technology stagnated in their absence. But now, trade is once again flourishing as Human artifacts resurface throughout the galaxy, resurrecting long forgotten advancements.And one such discovery might very well alter the course of the future forever.An epic space adventure, Aer-ki Jyr's APEX is a breathless race to the ultimate prize, with the very fate of the stars hanging in the balance.The Author's Definitive Edition (previous edition published in 2013)

Mercenary Instinct


Ruby Lionsdrake - 2014
    But Ankari Markovich needs a few archaeological samples for her latest business venture, a venture that might prove lucrative enough to move her family off the impoverished planet where she grew up. Unfortunately, she has no sooner collected her samples than she’s captured by a band of brawny mercenaries. The captain might be handsome, but he’s intent on turning her over to some finance lord who has, for reasons unknown, put a bounty on her head, a ridiculously large one at that. If she can’t figure out a way to escape before she’s delivered to the lord’s home world, she could be forced into a life of indentured servitude—or worse.Captain Viktor Mandrake doesn’t usually take on piddling bounty hunting gigs, but when his intelligence officer informs him of a criminal on a nearby planet, he decides it wouldn’t hurt to take a shuttle down to collect the woman. But Ankari Markovich is trouble from the start, nearly eluding his elite forces, then fighting and tricking his people left and right. He finds himself admiring her spirit, but according to her warrant, she’s a criminal. The safest thing is to keep her in the brig and ignore her until she can be handed off to the man who wants her.But the situation grows more complicated when other bounty hunters show up, wanting to claim Ankari for themselves. Thanks to this woman, Viktor’s ship is in danger, his crew members are going missing, and he’s fighting enemies he never asked for in a jungle in the middle of a hurricane. He’s either going to strangle Ankari… or fall in love. Either scenario could get him killed.Mercenary Instinct is a full-length, stand-alone novel of 90,000 words. It is part of the “Mandrake Company” series of science fiction romance stories and is recommended for readers who enjoy space-based adventure (such as Firefly) and steamy love stories (in the style of Linnea Sinclair).

Star Nomad


Lindsay Buroker - 2016
    It should be a time for celebration, but not for fighter pilot Captain Alisa Marchenko. After barely surviving a crash in the final battle for freedom, she's stranded on a dustball of a planet, billions of miles from her young daughter. She has no money or resources, and there are no transports heading to Perun, her former home and the last imperial stronghold.But she has a plan.Steal a dilapidated and malfunctioning freighter from a junkyard full of lawless savages. Slightly suicidal, but she believes she can do it. Her plan, however, does not account for the elite cyborg soldier squatting in the freighter, intending to use it for his own purposes. As an imperial soldier, he has no love for Alliance pilots. In fact, he's quite fond of killing them.Alisa has more problems than she can count, but she can't let cyborgs, savages, or ancient malfunctioning ships stand in her way. If she does, she’ll never see her daughter again.

Wholesale Slaughter


Rick Partlow - 2019
    But a mercenary can. Logan Conner is the son of a king, the heir to the largest of the five star-dominions, and the best mech pilot in the galaxy. His people are plagued by pirates and raiders, surrounded by enemies, and not even his father can fight them all. Logan gives up his position, his rank, even his name, and becomes Jonathan Slaughter, leader of a rough-and-ready band of mercenary mech-jocks, bent on taking the battle to the enemy on their own terms. They’re Wholesale Slaughter. Kicking ass is what they do. Get book one in this thrilling and unpredictable Military Sci-Fi Adventure Today! Also available on Audible, narrated by the award-winning Marc Vietor.

Dark Space


Jasper T. Scott - 2013
    He owes crime lord Alec Brondi 10,000 sols, and his ship is badly damaged. When Brondi catches up with him, he makes an offer Ethan can't refuse. Ethan must infiltrate and sabotage the Valiant, the Imperial Star Systems Fleet carrier which stands guarding the entrance of Dark Space, and then his debt will be cleared. While Ethan is still undecided about what he will do, he realizes that the Imperium has been lying and putting all of Dark Space at risk. Now Brondi's plan is starting to look like a necessary evil, but before Ethan can act on it, he discovers that the real plan was much more sinister than what he was told, and he will be lucky to escape the Valiant alive. . . .

Fire with Fire


Charles E. Gannon - 2013
    2105, September: Intelligence Analyst Caine Riordan uncovers a conspiracy on Earth’s Moon—a history-changing clandestine project—and ends up involuntarily cryocelled for his troubles. Twelve years later, Riordan awakens to a changed world. Humanity has achieved faster-than-light travel and is pioneering nearby star systems. And now, Riordan is compelled to become an inadvertent agent of conspiracy himself. Riordan’s mission: travel to a newly settled world and investigate whether a primitive local species was once sentient—enough so to have built a lost civilization.However, arriving on site in the Delta Pavonis system, Caine discovers that the job he’s been given is anything but secret or safe. With assassins and saboteurs dogging his every step, it's clear that someone doesn't want his mission to succeed. In the end, it takes the broad-based insights of an intelligence analyst and a matching instinct for intrigue to ferret out the truth: that humanity is neither alone in the cosmos nor safe. Earth is revealed to be the lynchpin planet in an impending struggle for interstellar dominance, a struggle into which it is being irresistibly dragged. Discovering new dangers at every turn, Riordan must now convince the powers-that-be that the only way for humanity to survive as a free species is to face the perils directly—and to fight fire with fire.

The Warrior's Stone: A Military SciFi Romance


Matthew O. Duncan - 2014
    The war with the Serken has finally turned to the favor of the Allied worlds for the first time in over a decade, yet it is far from over. Lt. Commander Roy O’Hara leads his squadron of combat fighters against the enemy’s latest Super Destroyer and is shot down over an unexplored planet. Unknown to all, the planet holds secrets to a long lost alien weapon, the key to Roy’s own destiny and his role in an age old prophecy. Near death Roy is found by Katreena, a beautiful and mysterious woman. She is part of the medieval society on the planet that knows nothing of space or alien wars. On a solitary trip, she finds Roy, broken and battered, and saves his life with the Boto Stone; one of the most powerful tools of the healers in their society. She is unaware that by doing so she will create a deep bond and awaken an affect not seen for hundreds of years; the ability to communicate to each other in dreams. An unguarded moment leads to a forbidden night of intimacy; an act of betrayal to the crown, an act that will put both their lives in jeopardy. Katreena flees to save them both, but their ability to access each other’s dreams does not diminish. Danger increases as their secret may be discovered and war erupts on their planet.

Disperse: The Cesmial Accords: A LitRPG Gamelit Adventure


Kevin Sinclair - 2021
    Unhealthy for Lyewax, at least.It’s not every day that violent earthquakes cause a rare and potent energy to leak from the planet's core. One that immediately kills over half the world's population while gifting the survivors with incredible powers.That energy is Cesmial. One of the most highly sought-after resources in the universe. Its sudden appearance has attracted attention.Enter the monsters. Huge, fearsome creatures with one purpose. Remove the Earth’s current occupants, so the Cesmial can be harvested.Humanity is on the back foot. They need heroes. They need leaders. They need Lyewax Vix. But he has more problems than you can poke a stick at. Embroiled in a game of cat and mouse with an unknowable enemy. Trapped in a loop of someone else’s making. If he can survive, then perhaps humanity has a chance too.

Renegade Redhead


F.E. Arliss - 2017
    Her off-the-charts military testing gets her placed on an experimental ship bound for the outer reaches of known space. Once in the void, her willingness to question authority, uninhibited behavior, love of ancient ‘rock and roll’ music, and absolute sense of right and wrong, put her in disfavor with the ship’s crew. After rescuing an enormous alien war-dog, then blowing an alien slaver camp sky-high with her own brand of energy magic, Sasha is considered a freak of nature and disavowed. Set adrift in space, she collects a family of like-wise disenfranchised, yet talented, aliens and sets out to command her own future, ship, company, and planet. Nothing will stop this renegade redhead once she’s on a roll. For lovers of science fiction, science fiction and fantasy, chick lit, romance science fiction, romance action and adventure, space opera, womens fiction and anyone who admires a good woman doing what she wants.

Drafted: Proxy War


Adam Sampson - 2019
     Peter is one of thousands who get abducted every year, as payment to the aliens. The aliens have given humans portal travel, healing serums, and other advanced alien technology. The quality of life has improved, but everything has a price. Along with a group of strangers Peter is trained for war by going up against literal monsters. The troll-like aliens won’t give them modern weapons. Humans have to battle monsters with swords and shields, and that is just to get out of boot camp. His only chance to survive is to use the alien device he is given. The device can increase his strength and speed to superhuman levels. It can even grant him powers that seem like magic. Complicating things is that the device's interface is written in an ever-changing alien language. He will have to figure out its secrets if he wants to keep himself and his team alive. A Science Fantasy novel with LitRPG elements.

Pirates


Jim Rudnick - 2015
    Years ago, he proved victorious against a band of aliens. His ongoing fight with his own alcoholism however remains a stalemate. And suddenly, Pirates have appeared on the RIM. They have kidnapped the passengers of many craft and sold them into slavery and Scott is ordered to find them and rescue them. But the pirates aren't acting alone. They are sponsored by a powerful Royal with ambitious plans, and she isn't about to let some Navy captain stand in the way of her mining empire. Scott must rescue the slaves while simultaneously navigating the treacherous space of interstellar politics. If he fails, a Royal will gain more power, the entire Confederacy may unravel, and Scott's alcohol addiction will be the least of his worries…”

Everflame


Dylan Lee Peters - 2012
    Over time, humans lost their connection with a world they had been created to protect, they forgot the ways of their ancient creators, and accepted the Tyrant’s lies as truths from the mouth of a god.  Now, deep in the forests that surround Gray Mountain, two bears find a small child that is abandoned and left for dead. The bears name him Evercloud, raise him as a member of their kingdom, and teach the boy of the Ancients, all underneath the light of the Everflame, the flame that burns atop Gray Mountain as a monument to the integrity and spirit of the bears.  As Evercloud grows, rumors reach the bear kingdom of the Ancients’ return, and now the young man must leave his home to find them and help save the world he holds dear.  Will Evercloud lose himself in the darkness of the Great Tyrant’s lies, or will he have the courage to judge his own heart, the strength to master the darkness, and the faith to follow his purpose until it burns within his heart like the Everflame?

The Caphenon


Fletcher DeLancey - 2014
    Another decision to give it away. Captain Ekatya Serrado has spent her career fighting the Voloth, who view less advanced civilizations as fuel for their empire. The choice between saving her ship or a world under attack is easy. The choices that come after are harder. Lancer Andira Tal, the leader of Alsea, believes her people are alone in the universe until a gigantic spaceship crashes near her capital city. Now she is thrust into a struggle between two powerful forces, and her planet is the prize. With a civilization and the galactic balance of power at risk, friendships and alliances may not hold against betrayal. Honor is easy when the stakes are low.