Book picks similar to
Invaders by Vaughn Heppner


sci-fi
science-fiction
fiction
military-science-fiction

The Legion Awakes


J.R. Handley - 2016
     Now he is woken into a strange new time, and tasked with whipping into shape the worst squad of misfits in the entire Human Marine Corps. THE PRICE OF FAILURE: DEATH! 2565AD. Tranquility-4 near the frontier of the White Knight Empire. Guided by mysterious orders, the authorities at the Human Marine Corps base of Beta City thaw Lance Scipio. In 2441, an entire Marine company was executed with the exception of Captain Grimgerde and Sergeant Lance Scipio, the usual punishment for running in the face of the enemy. But these two were preserved… as if they would be required in the future. Scipio is not expected to escape execution for long, but he has been given a slim chance. For a Marine, a chance can be all that’s needed to change the fate of worlds… The Sleeping Legion is a breakneck new sequence of military science fiction novels set in the worlds of the international bestselling series: ‘The Human Legion’.

Not Alone


Craig A. Falconer - 2015
     When Dan McCarthy stumbles upon a folder containing evidence of the conspiracy to end all conspiracies -- a top-level alien cover-up -- he leaks the files without a second thought. The incredible truth revealed by Dan’s leak immediately captures the public’s imagination, but Dan’s relentless commitment to exposing the cover-up and forcing disclosure quickly earns him some enemies in high places. For his whole life, Dan McCarthy has searched for a reason to believe. Now that he finally has one, he might soon wish he didn’t... Not Alone is a standalone tale of contact and disclosure for the 21st century. [approx. 850 pages]

Blackthorn


Nate Johnson - 2017
     Petty Officer Logan is tasked with escorting Kaylee Williams through the rough streets of Montlake. Little did he know a simple assignment would morph into a race across the galaxy. If he wants to get her to safety, Miller must avoid pirates, the Imperial Navy, and the hazards of deep space. All while keeping a decrepit starship from blowing up along the way. Kaylee Williams desperately needs to get to Taurus. The future of the Empire rests with the secret information she carries. But can she trust this strange man to help her? But, if she can’t trust a man who repeatedly risks his life for her. Then who can she trust.

The Singularity Trap


Dennis E. Taylor - 2018
    His one share buys him six months of searching the asteroid belt for that elusive cache of metals that could make the entire crew wealthy, and allow Ivan to pull his family out of the depths of poverty.While investigating a promising asteroid, Ivan triggers an extraterrestrial booby trap, which squirts a strange liquid substance onto his arm. The next morning, he wakes up to find his forearm turning into living metal. Soon his other limbs begin to change, and worse yet, there’s an artificial intelligence growing in his head and talking to him. As alien nanites eat his ship out from under him, the AI reveals its mission: to convert the solar system and the human race into a war machine meant to fight in an interstellar battle that has raged for millions of years.To save his family—and the human race—Ivan will need to play a deadly game of brinkmanship with the military, all the while hiding his plans from both his crewmates and the alien computer residing in his brain.

Koban


Stephen W. Bennett - 2012
    Nearly unlimited cheap energy from tachyons led to the creation of Jump Hole technology and faster than light travel to the stars. In two hundred years, humanity had colonized over seven hundred planets in a volume five hundred light years in radius. Humankind enjoyed the benefits of the end of wars and disbanded its standing armies. Life was idyllic for three hundred years. Then the Krall came.The Krall, a warrior race with lightning-fast reflexes has used combat for 25,000 years to select the genes of the strongest and fastest warriors. This breeding program created a species fit to dominate the galaxy. Dominate everywhere but on Koban, an uninhabited planet with high gravity, teal colored flora and impossibly fast and savage animals that employ organic superconducting nerves.The Krall captured humans at the fringes of their expansion for testing on Koban. Humanity was useful only if they were adequate fighters. If not, the Krall intended to destroy the species because they already had slave races, and humans were poor tasting meat animals. If humans proved worthy opponents, the Krall would fight with the same weapons humans used, in order to continue their quest for physical perfection.Growing weary of the humans’ incapacity to fight well, the Krall were close to a decision to eliminate the race when they captured their last cargo of humans for testing – a ship containing bio-scientists. The choice was simple: Put up a good fight or condemn humanity to extinction. The Krall will discover more than one species knows how to bypass natural selection.

Poor Man's Fight


Elliott Kay - 2013
    Congratulations! You have graduated high school. Your financial obligation is 67,879 credits. Please visit our loan officer as you exit."Tanner Malone never bought into military myths of honor and glory. He never wanted to wear a uniform or medals. Yet when family upheaval brings his otherwise stellar performance in school to a disastrous end, Tanner's plans for university lie in ruins. Facing homelessness and a mountain of debt, Tanner enlists in his home planet's tiny navy.It’s a hell of a time to sign up. Vicious pirates stalk the space lanes, claiming to fight an oppressive economic system even as they shed innocent blood. Civil war looms beyond the borders of Tanner’s home star system of Archangel. Corporate security fleets are nowhere to be found when trouble arises.In response, Archangel begins ambitious military expansion. Basic training becomes six months of daily bare knuckle brawls, demanding cross-training and constant stress. Brutal as it is, Tanner will need the preparation. The pirates grow more audacious with every attack. As if that’s not enough, Tanner is assigned to a small ship whose disgruntled crew has no patience for cerebral new recruits, and they’re on the front lines of all of Archangel’s woes.Tanner soon learns there is only one way to deal with his bullying comrades, their ruthless foes and the unforgiving void of space, and that’s to get up close and personal.

Gabriel's Journey


Steve Umstead - 2011
    Military science-fiction adventure at its best!---GABRIEL'S REDEMPTION, Book OneNorth American Federation Navy Commander Evan Gabriel was dishonorably discharged after losing his covert team on a far off world called Eden. Now, he’s being offered an opportunity to command a new team, on a new world, with a new mission, but the true motives behind the mission are unclear.From the decaying Caribbean to politically-charged South America, from the slums of Mars to a tiny colony on a planet six hundred light years from Earth, Gabriel's Redemption is a near-future military science fiction story of a personal journey seen from the perspective of a soldier who has lost everything; one who desperately needs to redeem himself not only in his government’s eyes, but also his own. Interstellar action and political intrigue mix with one-on-one battles on the surface of a frozen planet in this exciting tale of salvation.Approximately 66,000 words.GABRIEL’S RETURN, Book TwoOn the far-off icebound planet of Poliahu, North American Federation Navy Commander Evan Gabriel suffered the loss of several team members in order to free a native species and save his brother. Now he is being called away on a new mission by a friend in trouble, and by a name from his distant past. He and his surviving team must again travel across the galaxy to the planet where he lost his naval command, and his original team, so many years ago: Eden.Evan Gabriel must face three distinct threats on Eden: the well-armed terrorist group that has been raiding Eden City, the dangerous planet itself, and his own haunting memories of his past.Gabriel's Return continues the epic science fiction/adventure trilogy with characters new and old, devious political intrigue on the moon and Mars, and deadly jungle combat on Eden.Approximately 87,000 wordsGABRIEL’S REVENGE, Book ThreeA missile has no conscience. It is an inanimate steel object: cold, emotionless. But once ignited, it burns white hot inside, and cannot be shut off. Fired in combat, it has but one objective: the total destruction of its intended target. And it will only stop when its objective has been achieved, or it runs out of fuel.Not all missiles are made of steel.North American Federation Navy Commander Evan Gabriel thought it was over. Returning from a mission on the far-off world of Eden, he finds that Mars is in a state of political upheaval. Two major dome cities are now under the control of ambitious and ruthless men backed by the scheming South American Republic. Friends are in trouble, Renay Gesselli is missing, and the future of a world is in flux while rival governments bicker behind closed doors. From the ice-bound planet of Poliahu, to the dangerous jungle world of Eden, and back to his adopted home of Mars, Evan Gabriel has witnessed death follow him. Now, he's turning the tables, and no force would stand in his way.Approximately 80,000 wordsREVIEWS:“The action in this series rocks, complete with super-cool weapons and technology. Umstead takes a complex cast and gives them each a distinct personality that makes the team dynamic just great.” - L. Petersen“I am a huge fan of well-written science fiction, and the Evan Gabriel series hasn't disappointed... layered with dimension and feeling unlike quite a few other sci-fi titles out there.” - N. Holderby“Umstead has created what I can only describe as a Tom Clancy-esque world a few hundred years into the future.” - W.E. Linde