Book picks similar to
Steal the Demon by Robert Roth


science-fiction
novella
first-reads
giveaways-won

Gaming the System


P.A. Wikoff - 2019
    In this MMORPG penal colony, inmates PVP to gain EXP, loot, and most of all...survive. Seph has been sentenced to play in one of these virtual correctional facilities. Sounds fun right? Maybe for some, but there is no worse punishment for Seph, mostly because he isn't a gamer. Will he be able to complete his sentence with all the trials and objectives thrown at him? Trapped in a virtual world he cannot escape, Seph now has to step outside of his comfort zone and align himself with the very thing he's been rebelling against his whole life--the system. Game designer and avid gamer, P.A. Wikoff wrote this story as a love letter to a lifetime of gaming.

Vagabond


Tim Rangnow - 2020
    Luna is torn between two allegiances, with each superpower controlling a dome on the home world's moon. In the asteroid belt, six mining colonies govern themselves. In the midst of it all is the Transport Guild.Erik Frost is the captain of a guild freighter. He took command when his father died four years ago, left with large debts and a rattling old ship badly in need of an overhaul. When he is offered a mysterious job with few details and a high payout, he can't resist the opportunity it represents. He and his crew head deep into the system for the asteroid belt to deliver their cargo, unprepared for the dangers they would soon face.They say some things are too good to be true, and this job could be one of them.

Unstolen: You can steal, but you can't hide


Tony Batton - 2018
    Almost.
 He returns stolen items to their rightful owners.
 For a price.

 A man has to make a living, and Jake more than most. Because he's still paying for mistakes made a long time ago. And they weren't even his.

Extinction


Tony Teora - 2014
    His body is enhanced for a special intergalactic mission. He suspects it might be a final mission—for him, his crazy team, and humanity! An interstellar war with the alien Greys has destroyed man’s nascent voyage into space. Ace and his team must save a group of scientists holed-up at a secret base doing studies on a virus they think can save mankind. But the virus is discovered to have an intriguing twist and the power destroy mankind. Can Ace and his unique ragtag Special Forces team fight off multiple enemies and overwhelming odds to save humanity? With a team comprised of a bipolar Russian who speaks to a teddy bear, a woman telepath and a partial cyborg--anything is possible.

A Drive Through Time


Andrei Saygo - 2021
    Good thing his companion is a mysterious young woman with exceptional fighting skills. Too bad she has her own agenda.When Duncan decided to take a month off and travel around Europe, he never imagined where he would end up. Or when.He wakes up in a world utterly different than the one he knew—a world with no GPS signal and no internet connection. Struggling with the societal norms, injustice, and inequity of the time, Duncan reluctantly accepts the help of a beautiful young woman, Alana, and her father.With the threat of an attack looming over their heads, Duncan must use his knowledge of modern chemistry, physics, and cyber technology to stop an invading army and save an entire town along the way. Will he find a way to protect them and return home or die at the hands of the ruthless Celtic warriors?

Youngblood


H. Peter Alesso - 2018
    But when he woke a century later, he was gasping for breath in a deserted underground bunker.The post-apocalyptic world he found was divided between the valley settlers who lived a subsistence existence and their mountain dwelling overlords who reaped all the benefits of a 22nd Century lifestyle.Seventeen-year-old orphan, Kira, was a kick-ass huntress who knew how to survive in this environment. So, when Youngblood was attacked by survivalists and left for dead, she saved him and together they raced to unravel humanity's darkest secrets and find a cure.After such global devastation--one thing was certain--only a man from another century could piece together the truth and discover the power to change the future and save the world.A wildly inventive adventure full of hairpin twists. A thrilling tale that weaves together fate, courage, and love.For Fans of The Postman and The Time Machine.

Pilot Error


Dan Moren - 2020
    But instead of being swept up in a new life of intrigue and excitement, Eli has instead been tasked with sharpening his rusty piloting skills on routine asteroid mining missions.But, as he’s about to discover, those missions can quickly become anything but routine…

The Blue Rose


Terry Toler - 2020
    How did her husband of twelve years never hear her sing?Cathy Tolliver, an insurance claims adjuster is processing a simple Christmas tree fire claim. When a hundred thousand dollar necklace shows up missing a week later from Wanda Rose's townhome, Cathy is suspicious. When two people are dead, she wonders if she will be next.What Others are Saying about The Blue Rose“Wow! That’s all I can say.”“I didn’t see the ending coming!”“I should know better than to try and figure out a Terry Toler plotline.”“So, the character takes the plunge and goes on the journey and what a journey it was!”

The Tattoo Artist (Women of Redemption #3)


Lori Lacefield - 2020
    An unknown and unstoppable outlaw. When their paths cross, all clues point to a killer. Reno, Nevada. Nine years after her mother’s still unsolved murder, former homeless teen Zoë Cruse has found stability with a husband, child, and a career as a tattoo artist. But when a biker comes in and asks for new ink, Zoë can’t help but draw comparisons between one of the images on his back and her mother’s death. Worse, his other ink appears to represent a deadly pattern, one that may indicate he’s a serial offender.Determined to unearth the truth despite her husband’s disbelief, Zoë researches the images and infiltrates the man’s notorious motorcycle club in search of evidence. But with the police, federal agents, and a rival gang all in pursuit of the same outlaw, her quest for closure may end with more than one person in the morgue…including her family.Can she unravel the mystery and find justice before she ends up six feet under?The Tattoo Artist is the chilling third book in the Women of Redemption suspense thriller series, featuring women who may not be perfect, but perfectly kick-ass when given a second chance. If you like strong female characters, fast-paced plots, and tension-filled pages, then you’ll love Lori Lacefield’s spine-tingling tale.

Living Proof


Peter J. Thompson - 2003
    The subjects, like Ramon, are taken from homeless shelters and prisons, and serve their country as unwilling lab rats.Ramon didn’t commit the murder that put him on death row. But he’s guilty of something worse—surviving the virus and escaping his captors. Ramon escapes, and begins a life on the run, a dead man hunted by would-be executioners determined to silence him. There’s only one person he can turn to—Lena Dryer, the reporter who covered his case and watched him die. Together, they must uncover the dark truth about the facility and its deadly secret.A secret that could alter the course of human history.A secret they may be too late to stop.Government secrets. Biological weapons. Human subjects. Fans of the dark imaginings of Stephen King and the breakneck pacing of Robert Ludlum will fall in love with “Living Proof.”

The Advent of Dreamtech (DREAMWORMS #1)


Isaac Petrov - 2021
    Definitely for the cerebral high concept sci fi fan.”A POST-APOCALYPTIC FIRST CONTACT EPIC — NO-BULL SCI-FI AT ITS BEST! Aliens, First-Contact, Collapse, Dreamtech, Revolution and Extinction. Twenty-first century: An exhausted Earth destroyed civilization.THAT WAS THE FIRST COLLAPSE.Twenty-second century: An intractable disease destroyed humanity.THAT WAS THE SECOND COLLAPSE.What little remains is the rural utopia known as Goah’s Gift, a rural paradise that expands a dying world. A world where you live quickly.A world where you love intensely.A world where you live quickly.A world where you love intensely.A WORLD WHERE YOU DIE CERTAINLYON YOUR TWENTY-SEVENTH BIRTHDAY.Aliens have been watching us for millennia. They know us well.They know humankind cannot take a Third Collapse.They just revealed themselves. To a few.INSIDE THEIR DREAMS.—————BOOK 1 of the DREAMWORMS series includes:EPISODE I: 2399 First ContactThe wu-sarc is truly a wonder of alien technology, the dream of every dreamer.EPISODE II: Alien MasterDo not let the words fool you, Overseer Yog. Human speech is as unstable as the surface of the ocean during a storm. After centuries of study, I have learned to find the truth beneath the waves. This human loves her parent with unusual intensity, even for a young female.EPISODE III: 31st December 2399Propaganda is like a recreational drug: it feels good, it feels right, but it eventually corrupts you, and kills you.—————Is this book for YOU? No-Bull Sci-Fi! Do you love Science Fiction that feels like it matters? That digs into the truth of human condition and the purpose of civilization? Engaging characters, escapist settings, intense adventures, wildly imaginative plots and EPIC stakes.

The Damnation Game


David Brian - 2015
    Kate Stringer is a woman in mourning, her murdered husband the latest victim of the notorious Catholic Jack slayer. A nationwide manhunt remains underway, but the serial killer continues to remain elusive. Now, unknown to her, Kate too has been targeted by the maniac. However, other forces are in play. Things moving in the shadows, with an agenda of their own...From those broken places, where trauma and distress cloister, they watch with accusing eyes. And if they judge us, they may look to share their pain.

The Antiterrorist


Al Macy - 2015
    Not exploding, not dropping out of the sky, just disappearing. When the Hubble Space Telescope vanishes, reluctant hero Jake Corby is dispatched to figure out who or what is responsible. He's used to solving problems for the FBI, but hunting down missing satellites? That's a new one. The mysterious force next cripples the International Space Station and destroys the only spacecraft that could rescue the astronauts. The race is on to avert the final death blow to the ISS and execute a risky plan to get the astronauts back home. Before it's too late. This short prequel to Contact Us is filled with the quirky surprises and humor that Al Macy's readers have come to expect. The Antiterrorist is a standalone book, with no cliffhanger or "to be continued" at the end. It may be read before or after other books in the series.

Extracurricular Activities


Yoon Ha Lee - 2017
    A space opera adventure set in a distant future where an undercover agent has to go behind enemy lines to recover a lost ship and a possible traitor.

Exodus of the Phoenix


Robert Stadnik - 2010