Book picks similar to
For Hire: Operator – The Chapter 24 1/2 Expansion Pack by Kevin Patterson
science-fiction
acquired-not-yet-read
action-adventure
authors-of-color
Cherry Drop (Abner Fortis, ISMC Book 1)
P.A. Piatt - 2021
When he makes his first combat drop, or cherry drop, he’s a know-nothing second lieutenant added to the mission roster as an afterthought. The Space Marines are tasked to support the Galactic Resource Conglomerate (GRC) while they test a revolution in military technology: Precision Crafted Soldiers (PCS). All the Space Marines have to do is kill bugs. Even when a tragic accident leaves Fortis in command, the mission is still an easy breather. When the Space Marines discover proof of a long-buried betrayal, though, friends become enemies, and their mission goes awry. Does Fortis have what it takes to lead the Space Marines to survival in the face of overwhelming odds?
Culture Shock
M.G. Herron - 2020
The target he’s chasing may be wanted for murder, but his bills aren’t going to pay themselves.As it turns out, he probably should've been more selective. When he tracks down Cameron Kovak, the wanted man turns out to be no man at all.Gunn finds himself face to face with a tentacled creature out of Ridley Scott’s worst nightmare - a baby Cthulhu, wearing his target's skin like a onesie. And that's just the start of it. Aliens have their eyes on us, and Gunn finds himself swept up in their mysterious plans.Experience the start of The Gunn Files, a sci-fi thrill ride that will have you wondering if aliens truly walk among us. It's perfect for fans of Men in Black and The X-Files.Also available on Audible, narrated by Oliver Wyman (Monster Hunter International).
Pines (Digital Sample) (The Wayward Pines #1)
Blake Crouch - 2015
Night Shyamalan, starring Matt Dillon and premiering May 14th on FOX. Secret service agent Ethan Burke arrives in Wayward Pines, Idaho, with a clear mission: locate and recover two federal agents who went missing in the bucolic town one month earlier. But within minutes of his arrival, Ethan is involved in a violent accident. He comes to in a hospital, with no ID, no cell phone, and no briefcase. The medical staff seems friendly enough, but something feels…off. As the days pass, Ethan’s investigation into the disappearance of his colleagues turns up more questions than answers. Why can’t he get any phone calls through to his wife and son in the outside world? Why doesn’t anyone believe he is who he says he is? And what is the purpose of the electrified fences surrounding the town? Are they meant to keep the residents in? Or something else out? Each step closer to the truth takes Ethan further from the world he thought he knew, from the man he thought he was, until he must face a horrifying fact—he may never get out of Wayward Pines alive.
2013 International Thriller Award Nominee
ZAP Agent Mathis
C.R. Daems - 2015
Of course it did fit a pattern of not being able to decide what she wanted to do with her life since grammar school. In college she had tried a variety of subjects, played sports, and partied, excelling at each, but she had graduated as undecided as she had been in grammar school. And the Ad, interview, and current speaker made the training sound like hard work and the job dangerous. But they had dangled two worms in front of her: the chance to see the lives of the rich and powerful up close and to protect important people. And she could quit if she decided it wasn’t what she was looking for—whatever that was. To everyone’s astonishment, can't-make-up-her-mind and party-girl Kate Mathis survives the training, makes agent, enjoys her job, and finds something she loves—outmaneuvering the terrorists.
Times What They Are
D.L. Barnhart - 2015
Panicked millions gridlock roads as Ray Bramlett escapes New York, barely ahead of a radioactive cloud. A thousand miles west, Karla Becker stares in horror at the televised images—sure the aftermath will bring worse. While Karla hunkers down at home, trusting her preparations, Ray seeks safety among his Tennessee friends. Each of their strategies buys time, but as social order collapses around them, both plans go awry. Now, survival means confronting a world teeming with sudden death and learning that no sanctuary remains safe forever.
Fae, Flames & Fedoras: A Changeling Blood Universe Novella
Glynn Stewart - 2019
With half a dozen mortal workers dead, the Fae Courts of the city find themselves forced to action despite their desperate lack of manpower.Their call for aid brings six young Fae to the city, among them the Seelie Noble Talus, son of Korinth. New to the city and expendable, they are tasked with finding the creature underneath the city.The youths are assured that nothing in the world can stand against six Fae Nobles.On the other hand, nothing supernatural should have been sleeping under New York City…This novella was previously released as part of Spaceships and Spellcasters ebook and is part of the print collection Spaceships and Spellcasters.
Titans
Niall Teasdale - 2021
Men and women with abilities science cannot explain. Heroes and monsters. Both beloved and feared, the Titans are the new superpowers in the post-Wave world.Into this changed world are thrust Mercy Garner and her crew, trapped in time for fifty years and thought to be dead. They were the first to detect the Wave, the first to be hit by it, and the last to discover the changes the Wave brought to their world.
Habitual Heroes
Elliott Kay - 2021
Collectively they include explicit violence, explicit sex, explicit language, explicit economic discontent, sorcery, lies, fluff, breaking and entering, premeditated public indecency, analysis of adult film, impersonation of a cow, angel gossip, punching, kicking, stabbing, shooting, defenestration, casual sex, assertive sex, sex in a stranger’s office, sex under the table, awkward shopping encounters, unsafe starship hallways, a jerk throwing a rock at a cat, the same jerk getting stomped for it, outdated sports merchandise, kidnapping, intimidation, judgmental peers, college hook-ups, persistent enabling, incomplete college notes, polyamory talk, hiding things from Mom, Tacoma traffic, snarky book titles, price gouging, the social and emotional trauma of a superior sense of smell, sorcerous inadequacy, rampant speculation, orc civics lessons, passive aggression, insubordination, ambushes, abusive leadership, misuse of medical equipment, betrayal, conspiracy, corruption, looting, espionage, baiting, social engineering, running in socks, weaponized shrooms, home invasion, a surprise snake, and failure to disclose the cult origins of used furniture.
Remnant
L.D. Whitney - 2020
An expedition is mounted to the deepest parts of the Amazon in search of the unknown. A team of researchers travels down remote tributaries and treks through dense jungle terrain in search of creatures long thought to be extinct. It isn’t long before they realize that certain remnants of the primeval past have managed to survive into current times.
Above All, Human
Natalie Debrabandere - 2020
WALKING AMONG US… BIDING THEIR TIME.US presidential hopeful Abigail Christensen is on a mission that goes far beyond her official political goals; it is planetary in its scope. As a secret global network threatens to silence her for good, she needs to watch her own back, or have someone do it for her.Army Ranger Crystal J. Thor spent her career running high-risk covert operations in the Middle-East. Now retired, she is done with her service with a capital D… Or so she would like to believe. A combination of restlessness and curiosity for the controversial candidate leads her to becoming Christensen’s personal bodyguard.A handsome soldier; tough as nails, and fiercely protective…An alluring politician; passionate, but vulnerable…A deadly conspiracy to enslave humanity...TWO WOMEN TO SAVE THE WORLD
The Chronicles of Dave: Dave vs the Monsters: A Protocol for Monsters / A Soul Full of Guns
John Birmingham - 2016
Dave. So, we're pretty much doomed.The Chronicles of Dave collects two great Dave Hooper adventures in one volume. In A PROTOCOL FOR MONSTERS we get the real story of Super Dave's embiggening, not the drunken, drug addled lies he told us in EMERGENCE. And in A SOUL FULL OF GUNS we learn the origin story of the only human being capable of kicking Dave's ass – the super-powered Colonel Karin Varatchevksy. Sent by the Russian military to spy on the US, she might he only thing that saves it from the worst superhero ever.If you love your fantasy action ludicrously violent, and your heroes hilariously flawed, this collection is for you.
First Flight
Zachary Jones - 2019
Just the Earth Federation and the League of Sovereign Systems fighting for the third time over who would be the supreme power in settled space, and who would have to exist in the victor’s shadow. Then the Ascendency showed up and ruined everything.One moment, Flight Lieutenant Mason Grey was a fighter pilot of the Federal Space Forces about to strike a League base located on a dwarf planet in an uninhabited system. The next, unknown starships showed up, blew his carrier to hell, killed his squadron, shot down his fighter, and left him stranded amid the ruins of the very base he had come to attack.With nothing but a space suit and a dwindling life support system, Mason was in way, way over his head. And that was just the start of his problems. (Content Warning: This novel contains violence and adult language)
The Leira Chronicles: The Complete Austin Series
Martha Carr - 2019
Also known as the Leira Chronicles. Grab this fantastic collection of the Austin Series and see how the Oriceran Universe began.
Waking Magic:
Solve a murder, save her mother, and stop the apocalypse?
No problem.She has a foul-mouthed troll on her side.For Austin homicide detective Leira Berens, happy is running down bad guys and solving crimes.And she’s damn good at it.Which is why when the Light Elf prince is murdered, the king breaks a centuries old treaty and crosses between worlds to seek her help.
Wait a minute. An Elf? Like from Lord of the Rings or something?
Yeah, Leira has a hard time accepting that.But it doesn’t matter what she believes.Magic is real, and it’s coming back with a literal bang.The prince’s death was only the beginning. Tracking down his killer is about more than just justice.
It’s saving the world.
Also included are books 2 - 8:
Release of Magic
Protection of Magic
Rule of Magic
Dealing in Magic
Theft of Magic
Enemies of Magic
Guardians of Magic
It’s gotten hard to tell who the good guys are and who’s out for her blood. Time for Leira 2.0 and a new set of rules. Ready or not, the new world order has started, and magic has returned. History will never be the same.
If you're looking for a heroine who prefers fighting to flirting, this books is for you.
Uncommon Bravery (Tinker/Knight Adventures Book 1)
Jamie McFarlane - 2018
An intrepid group of friends will stop at nothing to defend their home. A massive fleet of aliens arrived weeks back and have been battling it out with the combined fleets of mankind's most powerful nations. The war for humanity's very existence has begun and it's not going very well. With supremacy in orbit, the Kroerak empire has started the second phase of their invasion by sending in their armies. Lester Knight, Jeremy Tinker and Clara Daws have grown up in the sleepy little town, Elm Bluff on the western border of Iowa. Nothing much exciting every happens in Elm Bluff until suddenly it becomes a buffer between two armies. The town has only one chance of survival and that's if it can be cut off from the bugs. Read Uncommon Bravery and discover just how far a group of friends will go to protect their home.
The Violet Hour
Richard Greenberg - 2004
He has two manuscripts but lacks the funds to publish both. His difficult decision--whether to publish his lover's memoir or the novel written by his best friend--is further complicated by the arrival of a mysterious machine that produces pages predicting the future of the play's protagonists, affecting their lives and relationships in haunting and unexpected ways. "The Violet Hour" opened on Broadway on November 6, 2003, starring Robert Sean Leonard.