Book picks similar to
Independence by Alasdair C. Shaw


science-fiction
sci-fi
space-opera
short-story

UMO


K. Patrick Donoghue - 2018
    He is joined by flight engineer, Captain Nick Reed, and mission specialist, Dr. Christine Baker. Together they embark on a dangerous journey aboard the spaceship Cetus Prime - dangerous because they know what awaits them around Mars. UMO’s, or unidentified magnetic objects.UMO’s are believed to be an electromagnetic life form feeding on ions caught between Earth’s magnetosphere and ionosphere. The elusive creatures appear as nothing more than small bright lights, but they are capable of supersonic speeds and non-ballistic motion. Space exploration authorities have, at various times, provided benign explanations for these bright lights; melting frost shed by spacecraft caught in sunlight, solar wind particles or flaming meteors bouncing off the Earth’s atmosphere, to name a few. Anything but an alien life form.Disavowed for decades, the UMO’s had been viewed as harmless, amoeba-like blobs that existed only around Earth, as none had ever been observed by deep space probes to other planets in the solar system. But that perception changed with the final photographs snapped by one of the doomed Mars probes. The pictures showed a swarm of UMO’s descending upon the probe in the moments before communication was lost. Instrument readings from the same probe showed huge spikes in electromagnetic radiation in its last transmission.No one knows for sure what happened to the Mars probes, but authorities speculate the UMO’s destroyed them. Now, Avery, Nick and Christine must travel sixty-five million miles to Mars and gather evidence to confirm what destroyed the probes without attracting a swarm of the lethal creatures. For if a swarm of the UMO’s appears, Cetus Prime is ill-prepared for fight and too slow to escape.UMO, a novella, is the first installment of The Rorschach Explorer Missions, a new sci-fi thriller series from mystery-thriller author K. Patrick Donoghue. UMO is also the prequel to the full-length novel, Skywave, which is targeted for release in late November 2018. The Prologue from Skywave is included as a free bonus chapter in UMO.

Any Job Will Do


John Wilker - 2021
    His parents died when he was young. They were on the losing side of a civil war.He does what he can to survive, taking the jobs that come and not asking too many questions. He has a ship, and a crew of droids to help get him by.Kelso Station, one of the few remaining independent space stations left in what used to be the Independent Systems Alliance, now it’s called the Grand Human Empire, is home.The job sounds straightforward. More importantly, it pays well. The only problem is that it’s bigger than he can do on his own. He’s going to need help.There’s nothing worse than doing the job and finding out that you were played.Now they have to make things right while avoiding ever-present imperial patrols.No pressure.

Allies


S.J. Kincaid - 2013
    J. Kincaid’s fast-paced and humorous sci-fi Insignia trilogy, the earth is in the middle of World War III when teen gamer Tom Raines is recruited to train with other young cadets as a pivotal member of the elite combat corps, the Intrasolar Forces. At the Pentagonal Spire’s training academy, he makes the best friends of his life—fellow government weapons-in-training Wyatt Enslow, Vik Ashwan, and Yuri Sysevich.In this 47-page prequel novella to the series, budding genius Wyatt Enslow—intensely loyal and hyperintelligent if occasionally, hilariously, socially awkward—takes center stage as S. J. Kincaid reveals Wyatt’s life before she found her place, and her own inner strength, among her devoted band of friends at the Spire.

Legacy Marines


Jonathan P. Brazee - 2016
    When they are told that their father and mother have been assassinated, they are both devastated. Cut adrift, they each decide to enlist in the Corps—but for different reasons. Esther feels it is her duty to carry on the family legacy, confident that she can excel and reach the top. Noah simply wants to earn his father’s pride, even if it is too late. As children of General Lysander, they are not “normal” recruits. Seniors and peers are well aware of their background, and the twins can’t escape the public eye. From under their father’s heavy shadow, the two have to discover his or her personal path in the Corps, even when that seems to pull them apart from each other.

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.

The Dragons of Jupiter


Jacob Holo - 2013
    Two brothers at war.With advanced weaponry and impenetrable armor, the Crusaders smash aside anything that stands in their way. Led by Kaneda Kusanagi, they have only one mission: to destroy Matriarch, the last thinking machine, and free the people of Jupiter from her tyranny.Whether they like it or not.Standing in their way are the Dragons, led by Kaneda’s estranged brother Ryu. With super-human reflexes and invisible battle suits, the Dragons are masters of infiltration and sabotage. Loyal only to Matriarch, they will stop at nothing to protect their way of life.The two brothers are set to collide in a battle that will shake the great powers of the solar system and force both men to question what they believe in.

Last Stand of the Legion: Rift


Rod Carstens - 2014
     All that stands in their way are the men and women Colonel Dasan Daniel Sand's armored infantry and Fleet Admiral Usiche Raurk's sailors who must find a way to defeat the Xotoli with only the naval forces left after the overwhelming attack. They lead the likes of Private Ja Hu who just months out of training must face the most desperate battle humans have ever fought. Destroyer Captain Ririsa Grogen and her crew as they desperately try to fight back alien invasion fleet and save their ship. Petty Officer Zenus Lee a misfit who finds his purpose in the midst of battle. This is the story of the men and women who stand between the aliens and the rest of humanity. They include the crews aboard the Swift Boats, destroyers and battleships; Legion pilots; the Anjin assassin; Von Fleet Corporation's executives; and so many more. The Last Stand of the Legion is a story of intense combat and non-stop action that will change the course of history.

Peace Warrior


Steven L. Hawk - 2010
    Grant awakens to a civilization that has abolished war. A civilization that has outlawed violence and cherishes Peace above all else. A civilization that has been enslaved by an alien race called the Minith. Grant is humankind s final hope against the alien menace. He must be the Peace Warrior.Professionally re-edited edition of Peace Warrior, dated August 2011.

Night's Slow Poison


Ann Leckie - 2012
    “Night’s Slow Poison” is from the same setting as Ancillary Justice, and tells a rich, claustrophobic story of a galactic voyage that forces one guardsmen to confront his uneasy family history through the lens of a passenger with his lost lover’s eyes.

Until Midnight


Melissa Landers - 2014
    Homesick and worried about the upcoming year apart, Cara is desperate to make these final hours count. Worst of all, Cara is missing Christmas, stuck on board an alien spaceship. When Aelyx learns that Cara is forgoing her favorite holiday, he tries to recreate Christmas in space by researching traditional earth customs…but a few things get lost in translation.Coming December 23rd, this FREE short story will include multi-chapter excerpts of both ALIENATED and the sequel, INVADED.

Earth Strike


Ian Douglas - 2010
    Now the creatures known as humans are near this momentous turning point.But an armed threat is approaching from deepest space, determined to prevent humankind from crossing over that boundary—by total annihilation if necessary.To the Sh'daar, the driving technologies of transcendent change are anathema and must be obliterated from the universe—along with those who would employ them. As their great warships destroy everything in their path en route to the Sol system, the human Confederation government falls into dangerous disarray.There is but one hope, and it rests with a rogue Navy Admiral, commander of the kilometer-long star carrier America, as he leads his courageous fighters deep into enemy space towards humankind's greatest conflict—and quite possibly its last.

Resurrection


Nick S. Thomas - 2014
    The first instalment in an epic new series that tells of humanity's desperate struggle to survive in an uncertain and war-torn future. Four centuries have passed since the end of the alien invasion that almost destroyed humanity. The surviving races, human and alien, now live in peace as allies. But when a terrifying new enemy cuts a path of destruction through the Alliance, there seems little hope of resistance. The situation is desperate, and desperate measures are required. With reluctance, they agree to resurrect a hero from the past, Colonel Mitch Taylor. A mortally wounded man held in suspended animation since the end of the last war. A man who may hold the only key to their survival. Taylor emerges into a world he no longer recognises. A new alien race lives among them, a race he does not trust. Society, the Marine Corps, even the way he speaks, nothing fits this new life. Many in the Alliance refuse to accept him, for Taylor is an icon of a bygone era. Respected by some, hated by many. Isolated, alone, regarded as little more than a relic of a past era, he must accept the horror of knowing his old life is gone. He must also overcome the new enemy that stands before him, an enemy that wants nothing more than to destroy all known life in the universe. Battle Beyond Earth is a futuristic sci-fi action adventure, a standalone story in its own right. Yet it will also give a new perspective and a new storyline to the readers who followed Mitch Taylor's exploits in the epic series 'Battle Earth'.

Heliosphere 2265, Volume 1: The Dark Fragment


Andreas Suchanek - 2012
    Equipped with an experimental interlink drive and the latest offensive and defensive technologies, the Hyperion will serve on the front lines at hot spots across the Solar Union.On their first assignment the crew finds itself in a perilous predicament as a rescue mission spirals into disaster. Surrounded by hostile forces, Captain Cross must make a grave decision that could decide between life and death, and war and peace in the Solar Union ...More Informations:http://www.heliosphere2265.comhttps://www.facebook.com/Heliosphere2...

Swarm


B.V. Larson - 2010
    The ship is testing everyone it catches and murdering the weak. The good news is that Kyle keeps passing tests and staying alive. The bad news is the aliens who sent this ship are the nicest ones out there....SWARM is the story of Earth’s annexation by an alien empire. Long considered a primitive people on a backwater planet, humanity finds itself in the middle of a war, and faced with extinction. SWARM is an 88,000 word novel of science fiction by award-winning author B. V. Larson.This book is the first book in the STAR FORCE Series.

Second Variety


Philip K. Dick - 1953
    Left to their own devices, however, the claws develop robots of their own. II-V, the second variety, remains unknown to the few humans left on Earth. Or does it?Second Variety was adapted into the film Screamers.