Book picks similar to
Fault Lines by Kelly Jennings
science-fiction
poly-families
science-fiction-space-opera
not-at-library
The Survivors (Box Set of Books 7-12) (The Survivors Collection Book 2)
Nathan Hystad - 2020
Aristoi
Walter Jon Williams - 1992
Successful in its efforts to create a glittering interstellar empire, founded on the use of an ultra-advanced computer and bioengineering technology, humankind becomes the prey of its own creation, the Aristoi.
Innate Magic
Shannon Fay - 2021
But in a world where magic is commonplace, sewing enchanted clothes is seen as little more than a frivolous distraction. Paul is hiding a secret, however: he possesses a powerful--and illegal--innate magic that could help him achieve his wildest dreams.Unfortunately, Paul confides in the wrong person--his latest crush, Captain Hector Hollister--and is drawn into a sinister plot that risks reigniting the machinery of war. To make matters worse, the pretty American gossip reporter Paul just met reveals her personal quest to expose a government cover-up may be related to Hollister's magical goals. When Hollister threatens the life of Paul's dearest friend, he realizes that his poor judgement has put not only his family and friends in danger, but also the whole world.The only way to set things right may be for Paul to undergo the dangerous ritual to become Court Magician--the most powerful magician in the country. But is becoming part of the institution the best way to enact change in a terribly unjust society?
Inscape
Louise Carey - 2021
Different community guidelines may apply, and you may be asked to sign a separate end-user license agreement. Do you wish to continue?Tanta has trained all her young life for this. Her very first mission is a code red: to take her team into the unaffiliated zone just outside InTech's borders and retrieve a stolen hard drive. It should have been quick and simple, but a surprise attack kills two of her colleagues and Tanta barely makes it home alive.Determined to prove herself and partnered with a colleague whose past is a mystery even to himself, Tanta's investigation uncovers a sinister conspiracy that makes her question her own loyalties and the motives of everyone she used to trust.
Bone Quarry
K.D. McNiven - 2019
Dive leader, Megan Gerhart and her team discover what appears to be an underwater graveyard, heaped with bones…human bones! When they call in paleontologist Rourke Wolf to investigate their chilling findings, the team is thrown into a spine-tingling adventure that could cost them their lives, both in and out of the water. Faced with death-defying odds, they must confront dinosaurs believed to be extinct for 8 million years … Does the team have the grit to escape this terrifying encounter alive, when the odds are not in their favor?
We Are Legion (We Are Bob)
Dennis E. Taylor - 2016
Bob Johansson has just sold his software company and is looking forward to a life of leisure. There are places to go, books to read, and movies to watch. So it's a little unfair when he gets himself killed crossing the street. Bob wakes up a century later to find that corpsicles have been declared to be without rights, and he is now the property of the state. He has been uploaded into computer hardware and is slated to be the controlling AI in an interstellar probe looking for habitable planets. The stakes are high: no less than the first claim to entire worlds. If he declines the honor, he'll be switched off, and they'll try again with someone else. If he accepts, he becomes a prime target. There are at least three other countries trying to get their own probes launched first, and they play dirty. The safest place for Bob is in space, heading away from Earth at top speed. Or so he thinks. Because the universe is full of nasties, and trespassers make them mad - very mad.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
Becky Chambers - 2014
While the patched-up ship has seen better days, it offers her a bed, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and most importantly, some distance from her past. An introspective young woman who learned early to keep to herself, she’s never met anyone remotely like the ship’s diverse crew, including Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, chatty engineers Kizzy and Jenks who keep the ship running, and Ashby, their noble captain.Life aboard the Wayfarer is chaotic and crazy—exactly what Rosemary wants. It’s also about to get extremely dangerous when the crew is offered the job of a lifetime. Tunneling wormholes through space to a distant planet is definitely lucrative and will keep them comfortable for years. But risking her life wasn’t part of the plan. In the far reaches of deep space, the tiny Wayfarer crew will confront a host of unexpected mishaps and thrilling adventures that force them to depend on each other. To survive, Rosemary’s got to learn how to rely on this assortment of oddballs—an experience that teaches her about love and trust, and that having a family isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the universe.
The Three-Body Problem
Liu Cixin - 2006
An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion. The result is a science fiction masterpiece of enormous scope and vision.
Star Realms: Rescue Run
Jon Del Arroz - 2016
When a new client’s mission goes sideways, Joan finds herself caught in the middle of dueling gambits between the Star Empire and the Trade Federation. Recruited to perform the heist of a lifetime, the fate of the Star Empire rests in her hands. On the opposite side of the galaxy, Regency BioTech manager Dario Anazao sees an unsustainable situation brewing that promises a full-scale revolution. The megacorporations of the Trade Federation have kept the population in horrible working conditions, violating their human rights. With no one else to help, Dario must take it upon himself to rescue the workers of Mars. Can two heroes from warring factions come together to make a difference in the galaxy? Star Realms: Rescue Run is the first novelization of the critically acclaimed Star Realms spaceship combat deckbuilding game. You can check out the game here: http://www.starrealms.com. “I’ve long been a big fan of epic science fiction and space opera. I think Jon’s entry into this realm is an excellent and compelling read. Fans of the Star Realms deckbuilding game will appreciate this look into the Star Realms universe, with its fast-paced story and intriguing characters. From his strong female lead to her amusing AI, I think Star Realms fans and sci-fi fans in general will be eager for Jon to write a sequel.” —Darwin Kastle, Star Realms creator “Jon Del Arroz is a promising new writer with a knack for story and an interesting voice.” —Jody Lynn Nye, author of the Wolfe Pack series “This game-related novel is a lively, action-filled tale that should appeal to those who want a space adventure romp with intrigue and a touch of romance. A disgraced ex-military thief, the thief’s snide former shipmate, a special operative who isn’t that good with guns, and the resentful son of an arrogant corporate executive attempt an impossible mission... and there’s a humorously glitched portable AI in the mix, too, breaking into song at odd moments.” —Elizabeth Moon, author of the Paksenarrion novels
Nod
Adrian Barnes - 2012
Or almost no one. A few people, perhaps one in ten thousand, can still sleep, and they’ve all shared the same mysterious dream. A handful of silent children can still sleep as well, but what they’re dreaming remains a mystery. Global panic ensues. A medical fact: after six days of absolute sleep deprivation, psychosis sets in. After four weeks, the body dies. In the interim, a bizarre new world arises and swallows the old one whole. A world called Nod.
The Dog Stars
Peter Heller - 2012
Now his wife is gone, his friends are dead, and he lives in the hangar of a small abandoned airport with his dog, Jasper, and a mercurial, gun-toting misanthrope named Bangley. But when a random transmission beams through the radio of his 1956 Cessna, the voice ignites a hope deep inside him that a better life exists outside their tightly controlled perimeter. Risking everything, he flies past his point of no return and follows its static-broken trail, only to find something that is both better and worse than anything he could ever hope for.
The Raw Shark Texts
Steven Hall - 2007
A note instructs him to see a Dr. Randle immediately, who informs him that he is undergoing yet another episode of acute memory loss that is a symptom of his severe dissociative disorder. Eric's been in Dr. Randle's care for two years -- since the tragic death of his great love, Clio, while the two vacationed in the Greek islands.But there may be more to the story, or it may be a different story altogether. As Eric begins to examine letters and papers left in the house by "the first Eric Sanderson," a staggeringly different explanation for what is happening to Eric emerges, and he and the reader embark on a quest to recover the truth and escape the remorseless predatory forces that threatens to devour him.The Raw Shark Texts is a kaleidoscopic novel about the magnitude of love and the devastating effect of losing that love. It will dazzle you, it will move you, and will leave an indelible imprint like nothing you have read in a long time.
The Warrior's Knife: A 26th Century Murder Mystery
Eric Thomson - 2017
Starships engaged in commerce have replaced the battlecruisers, and much of that commerce flows through free ports established on what was once a disputed frontier. Yet even long after the armistice, the relationship between humans and an unfathomable, easily offended species remains tense. When someone assassinates a Shrehari trade emissary on Aquilonia Station, a human-owned free port dug into the crust of an airless moon, leaving a Commonwealth Navy officer as the sole suspect, everyone fears the worst.An alien envoy killed by a member of the Armed Services is a case for the Commonwealth Constabulary, humanity's interstellar police force. And with galactic peace at stake, the investigation lands on the desk of Chief Superintendent Caelin Morrow.As head of the Rim Sector's internal affairs division, Morrow has one of the more challenging and unpleasant jobs in the Constabulary. She investigates those in authority -- members of the police, the military or government officials. That makes her one of the most disliked if not outright hated cops in the Commonwealth. However, Morrow and her officers are also known as the last of the incorruptibles. They're the ones with nothing left to lose, those who are highly skilled at uncovering and prosecuting malfeasance, no matter how powerful or wealthy their suspects might be. It makes them the ideal investigators to satisfy an angry Shrehari government.But soon after Morrow arrives on Aquilonia to establish the truth, she realizes there is something more ominous behind the Shrehari envoy's assassination than one of the seven deadly sins that usually motivate violent crimes. Was his murder an act of passion, or an act of politics? And what will the results of her investigation mean for the future of humanity's relations with its restive alien neighbor?
The Green Hills of Earth / Gentlemen be Seated
Robert A. Heinlein - 1948