Book picks similar to
Zero Day Threat by R.M. Olson
spsfc
sci-fi
science-fiction
action
Artemis
Andy Weir - 2017
Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you're not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you've got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent. Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down. But pulling off the impossible is just the start of her problems, as she learns that she's stepped square into a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself—and that now, her only chance at survival lies in a gambit even riskier than the first.
A Hymn Before Battle
John Ringo - 2000
You can protect yourself from your enemies, but God save you from your allies!
Revenger
Alastair Reynolds - 2016
Planets have shattered and been remade. Amongst the ruins of alien civilizations, building our own from the rubble, humanity still thrives. And there are vast fortunes to be made, if you know where to find them.Captain Rackamore and his crew do. It's their business to find the tiny, enigmatic worlds which have been hidden away, booby-trapped, surrounded by layers of protection—and to crack them open for the ancient relics and barely-remembered technologies inside. But while they ply their risky trade with integrity, not everyone is so scrupulous. Adrana and Fura Ness are the newest members of Rackamore's crew, signed on to save their family from bankruptcy. Only Rackamore has enemies, and there might be more waiting for them in space than adventure and fortune: the fabled and feared Bosa Sennen in particular. Revenger is a science fiction adventure story set in the rubble of our solar system in the dark, distant future—a tale of space pirates, buried treasure, and phantom weapons, of unspeakable hazards and single-minded heroism and of vengeance...
All the Way Back Home
J.R. Rain - 2019
ONLY A MAN'S TRUE CALLING CAN SAVE A DOG. The epic adventure of a lifetime. Be prepared to be swept away by J.R. Rain’s thrilling novel of redemption, self-discovery and powerful love. Dr. Shaye Fox has lost almost everyone and everything he loved, including his wife. Once a successful dentist with a passion for healing, he’s been stripped of his career, his self-esteem, and his reason for living. His life is a mess until one rainy night when Shaye finds a big white dog in the road. A dog in critical condition. A dog with a horrific secret. In his race to save the dog’s life, Shaye takes matters into his own hands. And when Shaye discovers that his dog companion is thousands of miles from home, it becomes his personal mission to return the dog to his rightful owners. All Shaye knows of War Daddy’s origins is that he comes from a small, forgotten, Northern African kingdom on the edge of the vast Sahara desert. Their journey of thousands of miles is just the beginning. When Shaye becomes a stranger in a strange land, his earnest intentions evolve into an inner quest to live a life of purpose and meaning. And if Shaye ever finds true love, that, too, would be a miracle. He just has to stay one step ahead of War Daddy’s enemies. From the mountains of California to the scorching, rolling sand dunes of the mighty Sahara, this epic adventure of a troubled man and a stolen dog is sure to touch anyone with a love for animals and a hunger for new beginnings. For fans of Richard Paul Evans and Paulo Coelho. Lawrence of Arabia meets A Dog's Purpose. For anyone who dreams of more, All the Way Back Home is a standalone, inspiring adventure, with a lot of heart, laughs... and drool!
Retribution Falls
Chris Wooding - 2009
An inveterate womaniser and rogue, he and his gang make a living on the wrong side of the law, avoiding the heavily armed flying frigates of the Coalition Navy. With their trio of ragged fighter craft, they run contraband, rob airships and generally make a nuisance of themselves. So a hot tip on a cargo freighter loaded with valuables seems like a great prospect for an easy heist and a fast buck. Until the heist goes wrong, and the freighter explodes. Suddenly Frey isn't just a nuisance anymore - he's public enemy number one, with the Coalition Navy on his tail and contractors hired to take him down. But Frey knows something they don't. That freighter was rigged to blow, and Frey has been framed to take the fall. If he wants to prove it, he's going to have to catch the real culprit. He must face liars and lovers, dogfights and gunfights, Dukes and daemons. It's going to take all his criminal talents to prove he's not the criminal they think he is ...
The Speed of Sound
Eric Bernt - 2018
Resident Eddie Parks’s contribution is nothing less than extraordinary: an “echo box” that can re-create never-recorded sounds using acoustic archeology.All Eddie wants is to hear his late mother’s voice. But what he’s created is inadvertently posing a threat to national security.To Harmony House’s shadowy government backers and radical extremists, the echo box is the ultimate intelligence asset—an end to the very concept of secrecy. Now for Eddie and the compassionate Dr. Skylar Drummond, the true nature of the institution is becoming chillingly clear.As ruthless competing enemies close in on Eddie and his miraculous machine, Skylar risks all to take him on the run. Because once that prize is won, Eddie Parks will no longer be considered a “special person” but a dangerous redundancy. An inconvenient echo that must be silenced.
In the Quick
Kate Hope Day - 2021
Younger by two years than her classmates at Peter Reed, the school on campus named for her uncle, she flourishes in her classes but struggles to make friends and find true intellectual peers. Six years later, she has gained a coveted post as an engineer on a space station—and a hard-won sense of belonging—but is haunted by the mystery of Inquiry, a revolutionary spacecraft powered by her beloved late uncle’s fuel cells. The spacecraft went missing when June was twelve years old, and while the rest of the world seems to have forgotten the crew, June alone has evidence that makes her believe they are still alive.She seeks out James, her uncle’s former protégé, also brilliant, also difficult, who has been trying to discover why Inquiry’s fuel cells failed. James and June forge an intense intellectual bond that becomes an electric attraction. But the relationship that develops between them as they work to solve the fuel cell’s fatal flaw threatens to destroy everything they’ve worked so hard to create—and any chance of bringing the Inquiry crew home alive.A propulsive narrative of one woman’s persistence and journey to self-discovery, In the Quick is an exploration of the strengths and limits of human ability in the face of hardship, and the costs of human ingenuity.
Outliers
Kate L. Mary
Within their walled city, exclusive access to the only remaining technology gives the Sovereign an advantage that seems impossible to beat. In exchange for meager scraps and free reign outside the walls, they use the brawn of the Fortis to their advantage while the Outliers struggle to survive. Living on land that has not healed from the poison of the past, and surrounded by dangers too numerous to count, the Outliers have adapted - but to the Sovereign and the Fortis, they are nothing. Indra is an Outlier. Each day she braves the wastelands, making the dangerous journey from the wilds where she lives to the City so she can serve the Sovereign in order to give her family a better life. Inside the walls, she has no rights and no freedom. Not only is she powerless to resist the Sovereign’s harsh rule, but she is also unable to do anything to save her people from the brutality of the Fortis. For centuries they have made their abuse of Outliers a sport, but when Asa comes to Indra’s rescue, she sees something different in him. Something that marks him as so much more than just a Fortis guard. But as Indra’s world begins to unravel, even the quiet alliance she has formed with Asa cannot save her from the wrath of the Sovereign. In one life-altering moment, everything Indra has ever known is ripped away, forcing her to face a world even more harsh and unforgiving. Broken and scarred, Indra finds herself on a journey that will challenge everything she’s ever been taught, learning along the way that she’s stronger than she ever imagined. Maybe even strong enough to free her people forever.
Skint Idjit
Felix R. Savage - 2016
Since he, and half the galaxy, signed on to the rat race of the technological relics trade, Fletch has long since come to terms with the idea that he will join the ranks of the unlucky explorers that perish lightyears from home without a dime to his name.As the first mate of an old, decrepit exploration ship--the Skint Idjit--things can't get much worse. As if that isn’t enough, he has a hard time convincing himself his luck is bound to change when he finds himself stranded on the planet Suckass, on a remote branch of the Interstellar Railroad. With his new assignment an unlikely candidate to hide alien treasures, true to his personality, Fletch settles down to work on his tan.But when disaster strikes and a member of his crew is killed, Fletch finds himself torn between loyalty to the surviving crew and the siren song of an unsuspected trove of A-tech.Can Fletch save the Skint Idjit and her crew from a horrible death? Or will he ignore their dying screams and laugh all the way to the bank?
Volume 2 of the Interstellar Railroad series, Intergalactic Bogtrotter, is now available!
Broken Skies
Theresa Kay - 2014
A disillusioned alien boy. They were never meant to meet…When Jax Mitchell’s twin is kidnapped by Earth's alien settlers, the E'rikon, she'll do anything to get him back—even form an alliance with a teenage E'rikon left behind by the same ship that took her brother.Jax agrees to act as a guide, and in return, the alien agrees to sneak her past the human-proof barrier surrounding the E'rikon city. Too bad it's not that simple. Jax soon finds that she's drawn to the alien boy with bright green hair and jewel-like scales on his back—and he's equally affected by her, the courageous redhead with haunted eyes. But she doesn't know the alien's true motives, and he has no idea that she is much more than she seems.With the aliens and the humans at odds, the connection forming between the two teens has consequences. What started off as a rescue mission sets in motion a chain of events that threatens not only the remaining humans and the growing alien society, but Earth itself.
Gregor's Run: The Universe is too Small to Hide
Saxon Andrew - 2016
He’s forced to scrub booster tubes on commercial starships to make enough coins to feed his alcohol addiction in his dirty day-to-day existence. The future looks dark and is getting darker. To make matters worse, he discovers that two very powerful forces are attempting to capture him and he has no clue why. One of them is the Venzel Dragons, who are recognized as the most deadly warriors in the known universe. The other is a secretive organization simply known as the Movement. Gregor just can’t figure out why they’re after him and remaining free is quickly disappearing as an option. He has no choice but to run and try to determine why he is being pursued across the known universe. He has no memory of his childhood or where he was born and before he can make sense of everything, he would need to go back to Earth and find out who he really is. What he finds changes his world completely and learning that his adopted father was assassinated makes him resolve to make the killers pay for their actions. But what could a filthy, alcoholic bum do against the two most powerful forces in the known universe? The answer lies on the forest world of Bellingham and according to the Cartian Database, no one has gone to that planet in more than six hundred years and lived. Gregor’s Run will keep you guessing at all the twists and turns as Gregor struggles to find himself in a universe gone insane. Excerpt: Gregor’s Run Gregor looked around the gathering, “Some of ye give it a go.” A warrior standing next to Gregor shook his head, “I think it’s clear that swords will not go through that thing.” Gregor said loudly, “All of ye agree that swords are useless against this force field.” The warriors all looked at each other and nodded. “Now if that piece of wood inside the force field was holding a blaster and ye were close enough to strike the force field, ye would die. All of ye see that.” Again the warriors looked at each other and were forced to agree with Gregor. Gregor turned and said, “Now, I want the archers to move back ten yards and fire at that piece of wood like it’s an enemy coming to harm ye families. I want ye to move back in case the arrows you shoot bounce off towards ye.” Several male warriors and ten females moved back ten yards and formed a line. Ellie was one of the archers and she lifted her bow and pulled an arrow out of her quiver. The arrow flew toward the target at a speed that was difficult to see but, when it bounced off the force field, everyone saw it penetrate the canoe twenty yards further up the beach. Everyone immediately moved back another ten yards. The archers didn’t give up as easily as the swordsmen. They fired arrow after arrow at the target and arrows were ricocheting in all directions. Finally, all of them stopped firing except for Ellie. Gregor saw the anger on her face and she started screaming as each arrow failed to penetrate the force field. Gregor sighed and saw her frustration getting the better of her. She jumped and slammed her elbows down to her sides as she stamped both feet into the sand. She screamed at the top of her voice and ran toward the force field. Gregor yelled, “NO, ELLIE! STOP!!” Ellie arrived at the force field, jerked the last arrow out of her quiver, and screamed as she threw it at the wooden target. The arrow went through the force field and stuck in the center of the target. Gregor’s mouth fell open as he heard the computer say over the link, “What the hell just happened here!”