Book picks similar to
The Thermals of August by Edward Bryant
science-fiction
sf
waiting
Neither Here nor There
Mackey Chandler - 2018
So many scientific discoveries have been serendipity rather than a goal to which someone worked as a logical progression. Instead, it was a spill or a misplaced item. An ingredient measured out in error or from the wrong bottle. Often, a mistake over which someone was bright enough or curious enough to say: “Oops, but that’s interesting, isn’t it?” Uranium ore left next to photo plates, adhesive that wasn’t as permanent as hoped for, but still usefully tacky, or foreign growths in a Petri dish acting strangely… A major revelation could be a blessing indeed, or if it was big enough to be a life changing development, one might have a tiger by the tail. Wouldn’t that be interesting?
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
Cadets
Edward Miller - 2013
But when news comes of an alien invasion of Earth--the first in human history--they are thrown together on a deadly, unauthorized mission to face an unknown enemy. What they find is beyond their wildest expectations. A discovery that changes everything they thought they knew...about their hostile adversaries--and mankind. With a trail of riddles and mysteries, epic space battles and journeys to the far corners of Earth, this "Star Trek meets Indiana Jones" Sci-Fi Adventure from Author Edward Miller should appeal to fans of Sci-Fi Space Operas and Young Adult Science Fiction. Edward Miller's debut novel with co-author J.B. Manas, The Kronos Interference, was named to Kirkus reviews best of 2012 and received a Starred Review from Kirkus, which called it "Impressively original" and a "Tour De Force."
We Dare
Eric Thomson - 2019
The Marines of Ghost Squadron are humanity’s foremost black ops specialists who strike without warning and vanish without a trace. They will do whatever is necessary to protect humanity anywhere in the known galaxy. With the Commonwealth increasingly unstable thanks to venal politicians, greedy financiers, and power-hungry revolutionaries, they don’t lack for missions.When an undercover Constabulary officer vanishes after uncovering a massive cartel-run human trafficking operation, the Commonwealth’s interstellar police force calls for help from Naval Intelligence. Because the cartel’s operations could upend the delicate political balance between the older core worlds and the more recently colonized outer star systems, Ghost Squadron gets the job. Its mission: find the missing Constabulary officer and choke off the growing slave trade bedeviling humanity’s perilous galactic frontier.Ghost Squadron’s commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Zachary Thomas Decker, spent the last ten years as a Naval Intelligence agent. His job was thwarting plots and terminating the Commonwealth’s internal enemies alongside his partner, a trained assassin. Now, with several hundred of the deadliest Marines ever fielded at his back, Zack Decker will change the course of history and usher in a new era.
Humanity's interstellar empire ended in "Ashes of Empire." Witness its birth a thousand years earlier in Eric Thomson's new series "Ghost Squadron."
The Complete Void Wraith Trilogy
Chris Fox - 2017
Without warning. Without a trace. Fleet command chalks the attacks up to pirates, but Captain Dryker of the UFC Johnston isn’t buying it. Defying command, he leads his misfit crew into hostile territory in search of answers. They encounter the mythical Void Wraith, an unstoppable legend whispered by the first race. After 26,000 years the Void Wraith have returned to begin the next Eradication. Their technology is superior, their motives unclear. Humanity cannot stop them. Not without help. Captain Dryker’s only hope is to forge an alliance with mankind’s greatest enemy, the savage Tigris. One maverick captain, an unlikely crew, and an aging vessel are all that stand between humanity and the Eradication. “It’s like Battlestar Galactica and Mass Effect had a baby, and that baby was raised by Starcraft. I read this book in one sitting, and immediately looked for the next.”- The author’s totally biased friend. Contains the Complete Trilogy: Destroyer Void Wraith Eradication Receive a complimentary copy of the prequel story Exiled by signing up to the mailing list: eepurl.com/bU1XyT
Fallen Empire
Marc Alan Edelheit - 2021
The First Galactic Empire has fallen. The Keeper of the Unknowable, Guardian of the Gates, the Eternal Emperor, is dead. Entire star systems have been ravaged by war, planets cracked by powerful weapons, and suns sent into supernova. The infrastructure of an advanced civilization that spanned thousands of stars is ruined. Trillions have died. Instead of liberation and a return to democracy, freedom, and a new golden age, humanity has been plunged into darkness.Eighteen years after the Great Fall of civilization, stranded on the wrecked world Asherho, Keira Kane struggles to make her way. Shattered by war, the climate of the planet has become inhospitable to life and is getting worse with each passing year. The government is a brutal regime, focused on maintaining its own grip on power instead of feeding the few million ragged survivors living upon its surface. What little law and order there is has begun to erode and break down.Adopted, protected, and raised by former Imperial Marines, Keira has been trained as a mechanic and technician. Her skillset is indispensable to maintaining the decaying infrastructure of her dying planet.Sent out on a routine repair job to Hakagi Tower, a seedy apartment block, Keira rapidly finds herself a fugitive, hunted not only by the government she has faithfully served, but by the planetary militia who wants her for their own nefarious reasons. A mysterious battle-damaged warship has also arrived in-system and they want something too.Unbeknownst to Keira, her Imperial Marine companions have been guarding an incredibly valuable secret, one that has the potential to save humanity or see its light extinguished from the galaxy forever.Caught up in a planetary revolt and hunted, Keira is thrust into a life-or-death struggle she never imagined possible. Though she has yet to suspect it, the road ahead is not only dangerous, but a path destined for her and her alone.Does she have the courage to walk it? Does she have the willpower to pick up a fallen standard? Or will she falter and allow humanity to continue its fall into darkness? Only time will tell…Find out why thousands of readers have fallen for Amazon bestselling author Marc Alan Edelheit’s captivating books! The battle to save the galaxy begins here!
Hard Drop
Will van der Vaart - 2013
Their objective is classified, marked only by coordinates leading them into a deserted city at the heart of the fighting. From the beginning, everything possible goes wrong. A missile strike rocks the carrier mid-launch, and only a fraction of the unit reaches the surface alive.Outmanned, outgunned, and scattered, with a hard deadline to orbital bombardment looming, it is up to Drop Commander Tyco Hale to rally his troops and reach their objective. But what they find, hidden deep in the tunneled passages under the city, will change everything about what he fights for and what he believes in. With the unit in tatters and loyalties divided, the choice he makes in the dark will seal all of their fates - and much more besides.
The Wraith's Story
Natalie K. French - 2015
THIS BOOK CONTAINS ADULT CONTENT DANGEROUS BEAUTY... This first novella in an exciting new series will take you to a future unlike anything you’ve ever seen. The world of BRIGAND is as beautiful as it is cruel - a landscape of sharp edges and sharper characters. Sometimes it's funny, sometimes harsh, always sexy, it's a world filled with people who play power games that span multiple planets and the life of a scut can be bought for a few ounces of fresh water. Genetically modified and cybernetically augmented before she even left the womb, Subject 11 was to be one of the Mandate of St. Nicolo's most potent tools of statecraft. With her contract bid out to one of the great families of Marajo Lift, she would become a crucial wheel within the many thousands of wheels that formed the Mandate's legendary engine of intrigue. But 11 had other plans... NOTE: The cover illustration for this novella has been changed to more accurately reflect the main character. DO NOT buy it if you have already purchased The Wraith's Story. ~22,000 words
The Acheron: A Military Sci-Fi Series
Rick Partlow - 2020
He signed up to escape the grinding poverty of the Housing Blocks. And the unlikely friends envisioned boring, peacetime careers as shuttle pilots. The Tahni Imperium had other ideas... Caught in the desperate fury of the Battle for Mars, the two young pilots wind up the last defense against an alien armada, but their war is just beginning. Recruited to fly the Fleet's newest weapon in this new war, they take the fight deep into the heart of the Imperium and battle not just against the enemy but against incompetent leadership and ineffectual tactics. Can the unconventional strategies of a pair of hotshot young pilots change the course of the war? And when the time comes that a choice has to be made between duty to command and loyalty to a friend, which of the two will be willing to make one last flight alone... From the author of the bestselling Drop Trooper Military Sci-Fi Series comes another tale of war against an alien menace known as the Tahni. Perfect for fans of Jay Allan, Jasper T. Scott, and Scott Bartlett. (less)
Savage Stars (Chaos Core Book 3)
Randolph Lalonde - 2018
That means going to the Geist System, which is about to become the most prized looting target in the galaxy. Governments, raiders and corporations alike are ready to go to war over the advanced technology there, and Spin has to lead her people straight into the middle where she's unsure of what other obstacles the mad artificial intelligences have left for them.
Through Darkness and Stars
Steve Karmazenuk - 2011
BOOK TWO OF THE OMNIVERSEAn ancient Ship completing a millions-year old mission has taken Human passengers and crew on an historic voyage to the heart of an ancient cosmic dynasty.But despite their extensive training, no one aboard the Shipflight is prepared for what they find as they search for the Great Races of the lost League of Worlds.When catastrophe forces Shipflight onward, unable to return to Earth, they set out to discover what happened to those who passed through the cosmos before them.What awaits them beyond the world that Mankind has always called home is a growing madness aboard the Ship and a lost enemy, stalking them as they travel through darkness and stars...
The Forbidden Wilds: Jingle's Escape
Saxon Andrew - 2019
However, after a thousand years, a dictator arose in the core of the galaxy and took the name Rage Kahn. He secretly built a large fleet of warships and went out to conquer the galaxy; it took more than two-hundred years to finally defeat his forces. The Rager War finally ended, but the damage was done. Vast swaths of space around the core of the galaxy were blasted back into primitive existence and the rule of law disappeared. The surviving colonies in the core built up military forces to prevent any other planet from ever attacking them in the future. To enter the area around the core was extremely dangerous and it began to be called the Forbidden Wilds. During the Rager War, the colonies that were away from the galaxy’s core and were not affected by the war worried that the war would spill out into the rest of the Milky Way. A Central Government outside the core was formed and built a giant fleet of advanced warships to make sure none of the aggressive colonies in the core could threaten them. And that was how it remained for three hundred years. Until a young woman fleeing a warrant for her arrest fled the Union for the Forbidden Wilds. What followed would have a monumental impact on the uneasy truce in the Milky Way. The Forbidden Wilds-Jingle’s Escape is the newest novel by Bestselling Author, Saxon Andrew. Jingle hoped fleeing to the Forbidden Wilds would raise her pulse rate…she got much more than she bargained. She had a knack for causing trouble but even she would have never believed she would prompt a new galactic war.
The Alliance Trilogy
Michael Wallace - 2019
The aliens are Adjudicators, an ancient race whose ethos is to judge other species and reduce their survivors to a stone age existence.Tolvern sends a desperate message back to headquarters and retreats with her damaged ship to friendly systems. By the time she returns, the aliens have already invaded Alliance territory with a powerful fleet of star fortresses and accompanying dragoon ships, trapping and laying siege to the allied fleet.While repairing her ship, Tolvern cobbles together a squadron of damaged allied warships, former raiders, and the local survivors of an Adjudicator attack to drive off the alien fleet.The following books are included in this set:Alliance StarsAlliance ArmadaAlliance Insurgent
Resolute Command
James Prosser - 2013
Humanity has been enslaved or scattered to the galaxy, hiding out in lonely systems far from home. A cry for help from an enemy ship prompts action from an unlikely group of refugees and a lone fighter pilot. This begins an epic adventure that will unite the remains of the human race and take them into the depths of the darkest soul.The battle for survival is underway and the War for Terra has finally begun.