Book picks similar to
AL:ICE by Charles W. Lamb
sci-fi
science-fiction
fiction
audible
Mutineer
Mike Shepherd - 2004
Her father is the Prime Minister of her home planet. Her mother the consummate politician's wife. She's been raised only to be beautiful and marry well. But the heritage of the military Longknifes courses through Kris's blood-and, against her parents' objections, she enlists in the marines.
Freedom's Landing
Anne McCaffrey - 1995
As human slaves were herded into the maw of a massive vessel, Kristin realized her normal life was over and her fight for freedom was just beginning…The alien Catteni value strength and intelligence in their slaves—and Kristin has managed to survive her enslavement while hundreds of other humans have not. But her trial has just begun, for now she finds herself part of a massive experiment. The aliens have discovered a new world, and they have a simple way of finding out if it’s habitable: drop hundreds of slaves on the surface and see what happens.If they survive, colonization can begin. If not, there are always more slaves.
Tech Mage
D.L. Harrison - 2019
Weak in comparison to other mages, but he has a special way with technology. But what good was rebuilding a car with magic, or hacking a computer, when an elemental mage threatens him with death?At least he was weak, until the government recruits him to advance their understanding of alien technology, of a ship that crash landed on Earth over seventy years ago.His life is about to change in a major way, and the surprises will keep coming, not all of them pleasant. Author’s note: This is primarily a space opera. The fantasy elements of the book are tangential at best, and I don’t believe that will change through the rest of the series. Oh, there’s mages, shifters, witches, and vampires in these pages, but that’s really not the focus.
Spin
Robert Charles Wilson - 2005
They all flared into brilliance at once, then disappeared, replaced by a flat, empty black barrier. He and his best friends, Jason and Diane Lawton, had seen what became known as the Big Blackout. It would shape their lives.Life on Earth is about to get much, much stranger.
The Praxis
Walter Jon Williams - 2002
But the Shaa will soon be no more. The dread empire is in its rapidly fading twilight, and with its impending fall comes the promise of a new galactic order... and bloody chaos.A young Terran naval officer marked by his lowly birth, Lt. Gareth Martinez is the first to recognize the insidious plot of the Naxid -- the powerful, warlike insectoid society that was enslaved before all others -- to replace the masters’ despotic rule with their own. Barely escaping a swarming surprise attack, Martinez and Caroline Sula, a pilot whose beautiful face conceals a deadly secret, are now the last hope for freedom for every being who ever languished in Shaa chains -- as the interstellar battle begins against a merciless foe whose only perfect truth is annihilation.
Perdition
Ann Aguirre - 2013
Hailed as the Dread Queen, inmate Dresdemona “Dred” Devos controls one of Perdition’s six territories, bordered on both sides by would-be kings eager to challenge her claim. Keeping them at bay requires constant vigilance, as well as a steady influx of new recruits to replace the fallen. Survival is a constant battle, and death is the only escape.Of the newest convicts, only one is worth Dred’s attention. The mercenary Jael, with his deadly gaze and attitude, may be the most dangerous criminal onboard. His combat skill could give her the edge she needs, if he doesn’t betray her first. Unfortunately, that’s what he does best. Winning Jael’s allegiance will be a challenge, but failure could be worse than death…
Rules of Redemption
T.A. White - 2019
Kira Forrest is a survivor. She’s risen above the pain of her beginnings to become a war hero only to leave it all behind in the pursuit of a simple life. Now a salvager, she makes a living sifting through the wreckage of dead alien ships from a war that nearly brought humanity to its knees. After her ship takes damage, she’s forced to re-route to a space station where her past and present collide with dangerous consequences. Kira’s existence holds the key to a faltering peace treaty with the Tuann—a technologically advanced alien race who dislikes and distrusts all humans. Winning her freedom should be easy, but a powerful and relentless Tuann warrior stands in her way. Deceiving him seems impossible, especially when he strays dangerously close to secrets she struggles to hide. Can Kira reconcile the pain of her past with the possibilities of her future? The fate of two races depends on her success.
Eifelheim
Michael Flynn - 2006
Tom, a contemporary historian, and his theoretical physicist girlfriend Sharon, become interested. Tom indeed becomes obsessed. By all logic, the town should have survived, but it didn't and that violates everything Tom knows about history. What's was special about Eifelheim that it utterly disappeared more than 600 years ago? Father Dietrich is the village priest of Oberhochwald, the village that will soon gain the name of Teufelheim, in later years corrupted to Eifelheim, in the year 1348, when the Black Death is gathering strength across Europe but is still not nearby. Dietrich is an educated man, knows science and philosophy, and to his astonishment becomes the first contact between humanity and an alien race from a distant star when their interstellar ship crashes in the nearby forest. It is a time of wonders, in the shadow of the plague.Tom and Sharon, and Father Dietrich, have a strange and intertwined destiny of tragedy and triumph in this brilliant SF novel by the winner of the Robert A. Heinlein Award.
Pushing Ice
Alastair Reynolds - 2005
Bella Lind and the crew of her nuclearpowered ship, the Rockhopper, push ice. They mine comets. But when Janus, one of Saturn's ice moons, inexplicably leaves its natural orbit and heads out of the solar system at high speed, Bella is ordered to shadow it for the few vital days before it falls forever out of reach. In accepting this mission she sets her ship and her crew on a collision course with destiny-for Janus has many surprises in store, and not all of them are welcome...
Embers of War
Gareth L. Powell - 2018
Seeking to atone, she joins the House of Reclamation, an organisation dedicated to rescuing ships in distress.But, stripped of her weaponry and emptied of her officers, she struggles in the new role she’s chosen for herself. When a ship goes missing in a disputed system, Trouble Dog and her new crew of misfits and loners, captained by Sal Konstanz, an ex-captain of a medical frigate who once fought against Trouble Dog, are assigned to investigate and save whoever they can.Meanwhile, light years away, intelligence officer Ashton Childe is tasked with locating and saving the poet, Ona Sudak, who was aboard the missing ship, whatever the cost. In order to do this, he must reach out to the only person he considers a friend, even if he’s not sure she can be trusted. What Childe doesn’t know is that Sudak is not the person she appears to be.Quickly, what appears to be a straightforward rescue mission turns into something far more dangerous, as Trouble Dog, Konstanz and Childe, find themselves at the centre of a potential new conflict that could engulf not just mankind but the entire galaxy.If she is to survive and save her crew, Trouble Dog is going to have to remember how to fight.
Titanborn
Rhett C. Bruno - 2016
After three decades as a Pervenio Corporation Collector, chasing wanted offworlders and extinguishing protests throughout the solar system, Malcolm Graves doesn't bother asking questions. So long as the pay is right, he's the man for the job. But his latest assignment doesn't afford him that luxury. A high-profile bombing on Earth has the men who sign Malcolm's paychecks clamoring for answers. They force him to team up with a strange, augmented partner who's more interested in statistics than instinct, and ship them both off to Titan to hunt down a suspected group of extremists: Titanborn rebels who will go to any length to free their home from the tyranny of Earth's corporations. Heading into hostile territory, Malcolm will have to use everything he's learned to stay alive. But he soon realizes the situation on the ground is much more complex than he anticipated...and much more personal. Check out the thrilling first book in a gritty and innovative science-fiction series perfect for fans of The Expanse and Blade Runner. You can also grab in on Audible performed by the award-winning RC Bray, narrator of The Martian.
Polaris Rising
Jessie Mihalik - 2019
As the fifth of six children, Ada von Hasenberg has no authority; her only value to her High House is as a pawn in a political marriage. When her father arranges for her to wed a noble from House Rockhurst, a man she neither wants nor loves, Ada seizes control of her own destiny. The spirited princess flees before the betrothal ceremony and disappears among the stars.Ada eluded her father’s forces for two years, but now her luck has run out. To ensure she cannot escape again, the fiery princess is thrown into a prison cell with Marcus Loch. Known as the Devil of Fornax Zero, Loch is rumored to have killed his entire chain of command during the Fornax Rebellion, and the Consortium wants his head.When the ship returning them to Earth is attacked by a battle cruiser from rival House Rockhurst, Ada realizes that if her jilted fiancé captures her, she’ll become a political prisoner and a liability to her House. Her only hope is to strike a deal with the dangerous fugitive: a fortune if he helps her escape.But when you make a deal with an irresistibly attractive Devil, you may lose more than you bargained for . . .
Red Gambit
Luke R. Mitchell - 2017
. . It's been fifteen years since the raknoth made a smoldering heap of Earth. But for some survivors, the problems are just getting started. Jarek Slater is a sword-slinging nomad with a powerful exosuit and a mean vigilante streak—or was until his exosuit was stolen. He wants it back.Rachel Cross is an energy-bending arcanist who wants nothing more than to find her brother and bring him home safely.When their paths collide, Jarek and Rachel are reluctantly pulled into a race across the nuclear wasteland to reclaim his suit and save her brother. All that stands between them and their goals is a vicious alien warlord, some grating interpersonal tension, and a whole bunch of violent marauders. Oh, and a mysterious alien device that may bring on the second apocalypse.Together, they might just be strong enough to pull it off. Assuming they don't kill each other first . . .----------------------------------Red Gambit is the first book in the Harvesters Series, a post-apocalyptic sci-fi adventure complete with blood-sucking aliens, power armor, and energy-bending arcanists. If you like Star Wars, Halo, or the likes of Neal Asher, E.E. Knight, and Michael Anderle, you'll love this series for its "fast-paced adventure," "compelling characters," and "wonderfully wise-cracking dialogue."
Foreigner
C.J. Cherryh - 1994
Cherryh's eponymous series, Foreigner begins an epic tale of the survivors of a lost spacecraft who crash-land on a planet inhabited by a hostile, sentient alien race.From its beginnings as a human-alien story of first contact, the Foreigner series has become a true science fiction odyssey, following a civilization from the age of steam through early space flight to confrontations with other alien species in distant sectors of space. It is the masterwork of a truly remarkable author.
The Chemical Mage
Felix R. Savage - 2017
Big mistake. The nightmare began with a massacre on a remote colony planet. Now we're fighting for our lives against the mysterious Ghosts, an army of ragged, shadowy horrors ... innumerable, unstoppable. The heroic defensive actions of the Navy fail to turn the tide. Earth itself is in danger of falling when a disgraced gunship pilot, Colm Mackenzie, stumbles on a clue to the mystery of the Ghosts. The key is buried in his own past ... With the clock running out on humanity's survival, it's up to Colm to unravel the Ghosts' ruthless vendetta against us. What he discovers will change the course of the war, and could alter the future of the galaxy. The Chemical Mage is Book 1 of the Tegression Trilogy, a new series of hard science fiction thrillers spiced with supernatural horror. New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Felix R. Savage delivers non-stop action and startling plot twists in an adventure that races from the Kuiper Belt to Betelgeuse ... and into the creepy depths of the unknown. The Tegression Trilogy 1. The Chemical Mage 2. The Hydrogen Druid (December 2017) 3. The Nuclear Warlock (March 2018)