Book picks similar to
Through the Gate by L.J. Dalton Jr.
sci-fi
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a-reading-list
science-fiction
It Ain't Over...
Robert M. Kerns - 2019
Buy a planet and disappear...That's all Cole wanted.He spent thirteen years hiding on the fringes of society, piloting freighters for criminals and building a stash to do just that.But life happens when you're busy making plans.When Cole chooses to save an ejected castaway and stumbles into a crew of his own, he starts down a path that will force him to choose.Will Cole protect those who have become his people? Or will he slip away quietly in the night?
Breach Team
J.R. Handley - 2018
Corporal John Harden is a decorated soldier living in the shadow of his father, a celebrated war hero... Determined to make his own way In the galaxy, John develops a reputation as a brawler serving aboard the USS Hughes. A rescue beacon brings John and his fellow Marines to a cargo ship thought lost two decades ago… and the heavily damaged alien vessel of an unknown species that took it down. With the brass demanding details and apparent survivors begging for aid, John’s team boards the derelict ships, vowing to leave no man behind. On board, nightmares become reality as John and his team are separated and left behind, presumed to be killed in action. Assaulted on all sides by mysterious alien tech, John gets the chance to finally prove himself worth being his father’s son—if he can survive the onslaught. The way home is in sight, and John won’t back down from the fight, though a determined enemy will make him pay for every inch. Breach Team is a non-stop action thrill ride with fast-paced warfare written by two veterans. Join the fight by getting your copy today!
The Sorcery Code
Dima Zales - 2013
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Once a respected member of the Sorcerer Council and now an outcast, Blaise has spent the last year of his life working on a special magical object. The goal is to allow anyone to do magic, not just the sorcerer elite. The outcome of his quest is unlike anything he could’ve ever imagined – because, instead of an object, he creates Her.She is Gala, and she is anything but inanimate. Born in the Spell Realm, she is beautiful and highly intelligent – and nobody knows what she’s capable of. She will do anything to experience the world . . . even leave the man she is beginning to fall for.Augusta, a powerful sorceress and Blaise’s former fiancée, sees Blaise’s deed as the ultimate hubris and Gala as an abomination that must be destroyed. In her quest to save the human race, Augusta will forge new alliances, becoming tangled in a web of intrigue that stretches further than any of them suspect. She may even have to turn to her new lover Barson, a ruthless warrior who might have an agenda of his own . . .
Pirate of the Prophecy
Jack Campbell - 2020
The Mechanics Guild, whose members claim they came from the stars, controls technology far beyond that of the swords and sailing ships of the common people, while the Mage Guild wields strange powers that terrify all who face them. Jules, an orphan from the Imperial city of Landfall, has fought her way up to become an officer in training with the Emperor’s fleet. But her plans and her life are shattered when a Mage prophesizes that a daughter of her line will one day overthrow the Great Guilds and free the world. In that moment, the prophecy takes over her life. The Mages plot to kill her, the Mechanics try to find ways to use her, and the Emperor seeks to coerce her into having his children. Unwilling to surrender her life to serving the prophecy, Jules makes her escape by joining the crew of a pirate ship. As she fights for her comrades’ freedom as well as her own, she learns that the world is finally changing. But if that change triggers all-out war between the Great Guilds and the Empire, it may well devastate the world rather than free it.
Inhibitor Phase
Alastair Reynolds - 2021
The slightest hint of human activity could draw the wolves to their home, to destroy everything ... utterly. Which is how Miguel finds himself on a one-way mission with his own destructive mandate: to eliminate a passing ship, before it can bring unwanted attention down on them.Only something goes wrong.There's a lone survivor.And she knows far more about Miguel than she's letting on . . .Ranging from the depths of space to the deeps of Pattern Juggler waters, from nervous, isolated communities to the ruins of empire, this is a stealthy space opera from an author at the top of his game.Praise for Al Reynolds' Revenger'A swashbuckling thriller' The Guardian'A blindingly clever imagining of our solar system in the far flung future' The Sun'A rollicking adventure yarn with action, abduction, fights and properly scary hazards' The Daily Telegraph
Master of the Five Magics
Lyndon Hardy - 1980
As such, he had no right to aspire to the hand of the fair lady, Queen Vendora, not even when he saved her during the siege of her frontier castle. But aspire he did.Contains additional chapters, glossary, and author's afterword.
The Fury
Alexander Gordon Smith - 2012
Every single person you meet becomes a bloodthirsty, mindless savage, hell-bent on killing you - and only you. Friends, family, even your mum and dad, will turn on you. They will murder you. And when they have, they will go back to their lives as if nothing has happened. The world has the Fury. It will not rest until you are dead. Cal, Brick and Daisy are three ordinary teenagers whose lives suddenly take a terrifying turn for the worst. They begin to trigger a reaction in everybody they meet, that makes friends and strangers alike want to tear them to pieces. These victims of the Fury - the ones that survive - manage to locate each other. But just when they think they have found a place to hide from the world, some of them begin to change ...They must fight to uncover the truth about the Fury before it's too late. But it is a truth that will destroy everything they know about life and death.
The Institute
Kayla Howarth - 2015
Always looking over your shoulder. The source of your fear? The Institute.Allira Daniels will do anything to keep her Defective brother safe from the Institute. They claim to protect Defectives, but it’s human nature to fear the unknown. Defectives are dangerous, they possess abilities that no human should be able to. To Allira and the rest of her family, the Institute seems more like a prison than the safe-haven they promote themselves to be. Protecting Shilah from that fate is their number one priority.When Allira stumbles across a car crash involving two of her school classmates, she ignores all of her father’s warnings of laying low and not drawing attention to herself. By doing so, she may have just caught the eye of the Institute. She’s not Defective, but what seventeen-year-old girl has the ability to pull two teenage boys away from a fiery rubble and walk away without a scratch? It would definitely be seen as suspicious.Allira and her family need to make decisions. Do they stay, or do they flee again? Will they be coming for her? Will her whole family come under investigation? Will they discover Shilah and his ability to predict the future?Are you Defective? The Institute is coming for you.
The Last Phantom
T.C. Edge - 2017
A century from now we understand full well - science creates magic. And magic is destructive… She’s been hunted all her life. Now it’s time to become the hunter. Chloe Phantom has never been able to settle for long. At least, not since she was a girl. Living up to the promise she made to her genius father, just a week before he was killed in a fire at his lab, she’s been on the move for years. And worst of all, she doesn’t know exactly why. All she knows is that her father made her different. That the nanotech he put inside her is giving her magical powers and keeping her safe. And that the people who killed her father are now after her too. And some of them aren’t exactly human… Caught between the four new nations of a divided, future America, Chloe has found some semblance of peace in the deep ‘earthscrapers’ of LA, filling her days in the depths working menial jobs and trying to dodge the soldiers of the powerful WSA (Western States of America), and the terrifying nano-vamps that hunt people just like her. But deep inside her there’s a need to discover the truth of her past. And when her identity is exposed, and her hunters begin closing in once more, Chloe knows she needs help if she’s ever going to unravel the mystery. She is the last in her bloodline. The last Phantom. And soon enough, when all seems lost, help will come from the most unexpected of places… The Last Phantom is the first in a planned series, a thrilling mixture of sci-fi dystopia and urban fantasy, filled with civil strife, war, science, magic, heart-felt romance, and a host of weird and wonderful characters.
Sideshow
Mike Resnick - 1982
It went through 4 quick printings when it was published in 1982, and has appeared in many countries and languages.
The Best of Us
Karen Traviss - 2019
Asia has shut its borders to keep the threats at bay, and some with power and influence have already abandoned Earth. Now an escape route a century in the making – the Nomad mission – finally offers hope to a small town and a secret research centre hidden in a rural American backwater.Shrouded in lies and concealed even from the research centre's staff, Nomad is about to fulfil its long-dead founder's vision of preserving the best of humanity to forge a new future.But who decides who's worthy?The mission is now in the hands of a unique AI called Solomon, and an encounter with a band of military veterans reshapes his plans for mankind's future after the arrival of a scientist with a grudge threatens the whole mission.
Village of Hawkshead
John Elijah Cressman - 2021
Now he’s been abducted and dropped into a strange world with others who have been taken from their homes. And magic and monsters are real.Now, Ethan is a wizard and must convince his new companions to band together in order to survive in this strange new world as they level up, gain abilities and try to unravel the mystery of why they were abducted and how to find a way home.But things are never easy and soon he and his friends find themselves in the middle of a conflict that could spell disaster to their new home.Oh, and there might be something murdering wizards and sucking out their brains.Could things get any worse?
Irrelevant Jack
Prax Venter - 2018
When the people of Blackmoor Cove begin to ask about his combat role, Jack discovers his odd Hero Class and finds that parts of his game interface are riddled with exposed coding errors. He quickly learns that the only way the town can grow and push back the unknown substance threatening to consume it is if brave Heroes venture into an infinitely high, ever-changing tower, kill bizarre monsters for their valuable equipment drops, and then deposit those items into a special chest. As Jack struggles to level up and help save the people he has grown to care for, he learns the true nature of this simulated world and his destiny... But can he overcome his reckless nature and become the leader this strange world needs? This “Crunchy” GameLIT/LitRPG story contains: Item-Based game mechanics, town building, countless unique monsters, boss fights, and cheaty special abilities.
Order of the Centurion
Jason Anspach - 2018
When such an individual displays exceptional valor in action against an enemy force, and uncommon loyalty and devotion to the Legion and its legionnaires, refusing to abandon post, mission, or brothers, even unto death, the Legion dutifully recognizes such courage with this award.” Tired of sitting out the war on Psydon in a mobile office hab, Legion Lieutenant Washam agrees to undertake a covert and unsanctioned mission with a band of Republic Recon Marines. Inserted deep behind enemy lines, the strike force uncovers a surprise key to ending a bitter war. Now they must navigate a hostile jungle teeming with murderous alien rebels, pushing themselves to the limits of their abilities, to get this vital intel to Legion Command--if they can survive that long. THE ORDER OF THE CENTURION is an all-new series of stand-alone military science fiction thrillers set in the GALAXY'S EDGE universe, ranging from the Savage Wars to the arrival of the Black Fleet. Each book features the legendary heroes of the Legion who forgot nothing in their earning of the Legion's highest honor.
The Ancient Box
J.B. Bonham - 2019
In a coma. Now missing. Not at all what he imagined an engagement should be. To make matters worse, he wasn’t the father. Couldn’t be. Life had thrown Adam Garrett curveballs before. God seemed to have deserted him when high school sweetheart Jill died of leukemia at the tender age of nineteen. He hadn’t dated anyone since, and arguments with God were frequent. Now a second-year archaeology professor at a major university in Texas, research leads him to a cave on a tiny island near Italy where he recovers an old box left there by Pontius Pilate. Cell biologist Dr. Mary Walsh agrees to help analyze the box and the astonishing artifacts it contains. When she discovers they’re more than simple religious relics, science intersects with theology in a deeply captivating way. Will their findings revolutionize medical science, or destroy them both?