The Ruins Of Mars


Dylan James Quarles - 2013
    Images captured by twin sentient satellites show massive domes, imposing walls, and a grid work of buildings situated directly on the rim of Mars’ Grand Canyon, the Valles Marineris. With the resources of Earth draining away under the weight of human expansion, a plan is hatched to reclaim Mars from the cold grasp of death. A small band of explorers, astronauts, and scientists are sent to the red world in mankind's first interplanetary starship to begin construction on a human colony. Among them is a young archaeologist, named Harrison Raheem Assad, who is tasked with uncovering the secrets of the Martian ruins and their relation to the human race. Aided by the nearly boundless mind of a god-like artificial intelligence; the explorers battle space travel, harsh Martian weather, and the deepening mystery of the forgotten alien civilization. Begin the epic journey in Book One of the Ruins of Mars Trilogy.

Interim


P.K. Lentz - 2015
    The crew of the sub-light freighter Lady of Chaos wants nothing to do with it. But when two fugitives, one a scientist, the other a rogue agent of the Social Engineering Service, the Interim's death squad, come aboard, Lady becomes the most wanted ship in the galaxy. And that's even before the Interim learns the true identity of her captain. The hunt is on, and its outcome will leave the universe forever changed. Interim is non-wartime, character driven space opera with plenty of action in the vein of Peter F. Hamilton, Charles Sheffield, Frederick Pohl, David Brin, and others.

Archangel One


Evan Currie - 2019
    In preparation for the inevitable next war, Commander Stephen Michaels is at the helm of the Archangel Squadron, and his orders are simple: go rogue.Disguised as mercenaries, Commander Michaels and the Archangels seek valuable intelligence on their imposing foe. Their mission takes them deep into uncharted territory, where they make inroads with the Empire, fiercely guarding their true identities and purpose. Fighting for the enemy goes against everything they stand for, but these are desperate times.As their deception increases, so does the risk. With the Empire’s deadliest secrets within reach, Commander Michaels and the Archangels accept a mission that will take them even deeper into the Imperial fold. They know all too well that one wrong step won’t just end their lives—it could end their entire civilization.

Forerunner


Isaac Hooke - 2018
    An unknown enemy lurking in the dark of space. The one man who hopes to conquer them both. Jain was the lieutenant commander of an elite SEAL team. He was accustomed to order and discipline, which he used to give the men under his command that particular brand of killer instinct his unit was known for. But one day that semi-comfortable, ordered life ended when he opened his eyes to find his body replaced by a starship. His mind had become its AI core. He is somewhere in deep space. Most of his systems are badly damaged. He has no memory of how he got here, or what his mission is. Evidence points to an attack by an unknown entity. He finds other damaged vessels in the vicinity and reactivates them. They, too, have no memory of the events leading up to their current situation. Jain, thrust into a leadership role, soon learns that commanding a fleet of starships isn't all that different from leading a platoon of SEALs. It helps that his database is chock-full of tactics and military strategies gleaned from every space battle humanity has ever fought. As he and his fleet explore their surroundings and slowly piece together what happened to them, they realize their attacker is not from any human system. And that any misstep means not only the loss of his fleet, but potentially the destruction of humanity itself.

The Heirs of Earth


Daniel Arenson - 2017
    Our planet is lost. We are the last humans, and we must go home. Two thousand years ago, aliens destroyed Earth. Our fleets shattered. Billions died. The last humans fled a burning planet, heading to the stars. Today we are still refugees. Hungry. Afraid. Our enemies hunt us everywhere. So we hide. On distant asteroids. In rundown space stations. In deep caves on frozen worlds. And we dream. Of green hills. Blue skies. Golden fields. We dream of Earth. And for the first time, we have hope. A few of us, just a handful of brave souls, form the Heirs of Earth. We are humans who stand tall. Who fight back. Aliens call us terrorists. The humans we save call us heroes. We have starships, weapons, and warriors. We can bring humanity home. Earth is far. We have not seen her in many generations. But we have not forgotten. Earth is our heritage. Earth is our birthright. We will return! ________ In 2016, the Earthrise series became a surprise bestseller, captivating hundreds of thousands of readers around the world. Set two thousand years later, Children of Earthrise begins a new story, one for both new readers and old fans.

Starshine: Aurora Rising Book One


G.S. Jennsen - 2014
    Now two individuals from opposite ends of settled space are on a collision course with the darkest of those secrets, even as the world threatens to explode around them.The year is 2322. Humanity has expanded into the stars, inhabiting over 100 worlds across a third of the galaxy. Though thriving as never before, they have discovered neither alien life nor the key to utopia. Earth struggles to retain authority over far-flung planets and free-wheeling corporations while an uneasy armistice with a breakaway federation hangs by a thread as the former rebels rise in wealth and power.Alexis Solovy is Earth Alliance royalty, her father a fallen war hero and her mother an influential military leader. But she seeks only the freedom of space and has made a fortune by reading the patterns in the chaos to discover the hidden wonders of the stars.Nothing about her latest objective suggests the secret it conceals will turn her life— not to mention the entire galaxy—upside down. But a chance encounter with a mysterious spy leads to a discovery which will thrust Alex into the middle of a galactic power struggle and a sinister conspiracy, whether she likes it or not.When faced with its greatest challenge, will humanity rise to triumph, or fall to ruin?Aurora Rising is an epic tale of galaxy-spanning adventure, of the thrill of discovery and the unquenchable desire to reach ever farther into the unknown. It's a tale of humanity at its best and worst, of love and loss, of fear and heroism. It's the story of a woman who sought the stars and found more than anyone imagined possible.

Skywave


K. Patrick Donoghue - 2018
    They contend the clicks are nothing more than terrestrial interference, so-called skywaves, or similar electromagnetic interference emanating from Jupiter or Callisto.To Dr. Kiera Walsh, an aerospace engineer introduced to Ajay and his findings, the consistent, repetitive pattern of the clicks points to the possibility of a lost Martian probe caught in Callisto’s orbit. She shares this view with her employer, billionaire and space exploration privateer, Augustus Amato, and is surprised to learn Amato disagrees with her conclusion. He believes the clicks herald something more ominous orbiting Callisto.Compelled to learn the true source of the clicks, Amato launches a fleet of experimental probes to investigate the Jovian moon. A mission that produces a string of startling discoveries, revelations that shake the space exploration establishment to its core and spark a controversial race to preserve the discoveries before they are destroyed or suppressed.Skywave, the first book in the riveting new sci-fi thriller series from mystery-thriller author K. Patrick Donoghue, leads readers on an epic journey that challenges conventional views of ancient aliens, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence and humankind’s place in the universe.

Archangel Down


C. Gockel - 2015
    They’re wrong.Commander Noa Sato plans a peaceful leave on her home planet Luddeccea ... but winds up interrogated and imprisoned for her involvement in the Archangel Project. A project she knows nothing about.Professor James Sinclair wakes in the snow, not remembering the past twenty four hours, or knowing why he is being pursued. The only thing he knows is that he has to find Commander Sato, a woman he’s never met.A military officer from the colonies and a civilian from Old Earth, they couldn’t have less in common. But they have to work together to save the lives of millions—and their own.Every step of the way they are haunted by the final words of a secret transmission:The archangel is down.

Honor Among Thieves


Rachel Caine - 2018
    In her eyes, living inside a dome isn’t much better than a prison cell.Still, when Zara commits a crime that has her running scared, jail might be exactly where she’s headed. Instead Zara is recruited into the Honors, an elite team of humans selected by the Leviathan—a race of sentient alien ships—to explore the outer reaches of the universe as their passengers.Zara seizes the chance to flee Earth’s dangers, but when she meets Nadim, the alien ship she’s assigned, Zara starts to feel at home for the first time. But nothing could have prepared her for the dark, ominous truths that lurk behind the alluring glitter of starlight.

Sanctuary


Caryn Lix - 2018
    As a junior guard, she’s excited to prove herself to her company—and that means sacrificing anything that won’t propel her forward.But then a routine drill goes sideways and Kenzie is taken hostage by rioting prisoners.At first, she’s confident her commanding officer—who also happens to be her mother—will stop at nothing to secure her freedom. Yet it soon becomes clear that her mother is more concerned with sticking to Omnistellar protocol than she is with getting Kenzie out safely.As Kenzie forms her own plan to escape, she doesn’t realize there’s a more sinister threat looming, something ancient and evil that has clawed its way into Sanctuary from the vacuum of space. And Kenzie might have to team up with her captors to survive—all while beginning to suspect there’s a darker side to the Omnistellar she knows.

Fall to Earth


Ken Britz - 2017
    A super-soldier experiment. Will cutting-edge technology change the world or destroy it?Indiana Beckham’s lifelong goal has just been cut down. Banned from competing in Olympic fencing, she jumps at the chance to join a research project that could make her the best. But to unlock the promise of her unlimited potential, Indiana must endure a risky, life-altering transformation…Lieutenant Arthur MacGabran has a mission: advance humanity in a single generation. Eager to prove his neuro-technology, he ignores the dangers and recruits his first live test subject. But when Indiana’s enchanted abilities turn deadly, he’ll have to keep a shocking secret to fuel his twisted dream…As Indiana harnesses her super-skills, the project and its subjects teeter on the edge of termination.Will the fencer’s attempt to better herself end up destroying her instead?Fall to Earth is the first book in the action-packed Pillars of Fire and Light military sci-fi series. If you like high-stakes technology, intriguing characters, and super-human soldiers, then you’ll love Ken Britz’s thrilling novel.

The Last Astronaut


David Wellington - 2019
    Haunted by her failure, she lives in quiet anonymity, convinced her days in space are over.She’s wrong.A large alien object has entered the solar system on a straight course toward Earth. It has made no attempt to communicate and is ignoring all incoming transmissions.Out of time and out of options, NASA turns to Jansen. For all the dangers of the mission, it’s the shot at redemption she always longed for.But as the object slowly begins to reveal its secrets, one thing becomes horribly clear: the future of humanity lies in Jansen’s hands.

Destruction


Raymond L. Weil - 2014
    To the Kleese, the Earth is nothing more than a planet full of conscripts to fight in their numerous wars of aggression. The Kleese are one of three large Galactic Empires that control the majority of the galaxy. To them, Earth is an extremely dangerous planet due to the aggressiveness of the humanoid species that inhabits it. The humans that inhabit Earth will make excellent conscripts, but something must be done to prevent them from expanding out into the galaxy. To the Kleese the solution is simple, take the conscripts they need and then destroy the planet.Mason Randle controls the Smithfield Mining Corporation. His main headquarters is inside the asteroid Vesta. The Kleese know nothing about what resides inside of the asteroid and the role it will play in saving the human race. Lieutenant Wade Nelson is a marine taken as a conscript by the Kleese. His primary goal is to find a way back to Earth. In the meantime, he will fight in the wars the Kleese are involved in until he knows enough to take the fight to the Kleese themselves. He will bid his time in the hope that someday he will find a way back home for himself and his marines.

The Synchronicity War Part 1


Dietmar Arthur Wehr - 2013
    As the outgunned Space Force is driven back in battle after battle in what appears to be a war of extermination, one officer experiences precognitive visions that help him blunt the enemy onslaught but he can't control or predict when they occur.With the Senior Brass convinced that he's a tactical genius, he's given more and more responsibility and is terrified by the belief that Humanity's Fate rests on his shoulders. Can he solve the mystery of his precognitive visions before the Human Race plunges into the abyss of total extermination? This is Volume 1 of a military SF series about desperate space battles and the men, women and Artificial Intelligences, who fight and die in them.

The Phoenix Conspiracy


Richard L. Sanders - 2011
    But, as he chases his prey across the stars, he realizes they are both pawns in a shadowy chess game. One that threatens humankind everywhere. If he is to uncover the conspiracy he must confront--and embrace--the darkest elements of the galaxy. And throw himself, his career, and everyone he loves into the line of fire. The Phoenix Conspiracy is the first in a series of five books. It is available for free on almost every device including iTunes, Nook, and (usually) Kindle. If it is currently not free on Kindle, you may click "tell us about a lower price" and Amazon may choose to match their competitors' promotion for you.