Book picks similar to
Shades of Learning by T.S. Paul


science-fiction
sci-fi
federal-witch
not-interested-in-sequel

Retribution Required


C.R. Daems - 2018
    There smuggling, bribes, and a wild-west live-free-or-die attitude prevails and an eye-for-an-eye is the preferred method of retribution. For Zenaida, a child of the Rim, the death of her father requires retribution. But she must first learn how to survive while trying to track down her snow leopard's stolen litter and her father's killers. But unknown to her, her father's killers spared her for a reason—a secret that could mean her death if she discovers it.

Hunter, Warrior, Commander


Andrew Maclure - 2018
    A young Hunter. A vow of vengeance. Sah Lee survives the assault that destroys her planet. Can she survive the hostile alien army she joins to get her revenge? Hunter, Warrior, Commander is a military space opera. If you like characters that you can get to know and care about, alien armies, intense upfront and personal action and a story that you won’t want to put down, then you’ll love this. Are you ready for a sleeples night? You won't want to put this down! Hunter, Warrior, Commander is a standalone book set in the People’s universe, introduced in Unwilling From Earth by the same author.

The Forever Gate Ultimate Edition: Books 1-9 (Complete Series)


Isaac Hooke - 2019
    It has been one of the highest-rated sci-fi series on Amazon over the last three years. This bundle contains books 1 through 9--the complete series--and will captivate fans of science fiction, fantasy, thrillers, and cyberpunk. In this riveting nine-volume set, Hoodwink Cooper infiltrates a tyrannical alien regime and traverses multiple realities in a daring attempt to save his daughter from certain doom... There's only one problem. He might destroy the last living remnants of humanity in the process. This ultimate edition contains THE FOREVER GATE volumes one through nine. Strap yourself in, because the mind-bending thrill ride that explores what it means to be human has only just begun.

Scout Ship


D.L. Harrison - 2017
    Due to heroism and long distinguished service, he’s elevated to the rank of Lt. Commander when most of his peers have just attained senior lieutenant. His career appears to be going very well.The year is 2263, and the UEDF is in several star systems in a twenty-light year radius from earth, but are expanding even further. He’s assigned to a one year exploratory mission to become accustomed to his new rank, one that will finally culminate in reaching a new star system, 61-Virginis, which is just short of twenty-eight light years away from the Sol system, and he’s excited to be one of the first humans in a new solar system as they finish the race across the void between stars in the scout ship Columbus.There will be challenges he never imagined though, especially not on a simple survey mission. The death of his best friend to a senseless accident is the least of his troubles. Because mankind always thought they were alone in the stars. They’re about to find out they’re wrong, very wrong…Author’s Note: This series will be told in the first person, the reader will discover things as Michael does, there will be no other points of view excepting the prologue. This is also the start of a series, I will avoid cliffhangers as best I can, and believe it can stand as a series of mostly complete stories with overarching plots.

Echo of Tomorrow: Book One


Rob Buckman - 2014
    They say that vengeance is a dish best served cold, but to the men and woman who went with him over the border to deliver that vengeance, it was dish served hot, and out of the barrel of a gun and cannon, and from the air. Yet in victory came defeat as he found three hundred years later in the world he woke up in. One far different from the one he'd left behind when he went into cold sleep. Now he had to find a place in this strange new world, one without the means to wage war against an alien race raping the planet of its young people. First, he had to build an army, navy and air force from scratch while fending off attacks from the aliens and the secret government that wanted to put him and his men back into cold sleep or the grave.

Some Assembly Required


V.R. Tapscott - 2020
     But then her life got sidetracked by digging up the AI Pilot of a 140 million year old spacecraft. Now, she's running all over the world looking for spaceship parts, falling in and out of love and trying to keep her friends from thinking she's crazy. Not only that, but the ship she's helping to recover starts sounding more like the Death Star than the Millennium Falcon. When did life get so complicated?

Revenge is Best Served Hot


Saxon Andrew - 2014
    Two genetically modified human babies have been taken to the Choten-Zan Monastery to be raised to adulthood. The ancient priests have agreed to teach them their best hand-to-hand combat techniques and develop their speed and reflexes. The two children are sent away on their eighteenth birthday with a small warship and space armor that was left for them by the one that delivered them to the Zan. That’s all they received when they left the Monastery and they do not know who they are or where they were born. They kidnap a Werstag Engineer on a planet where they are attacked by hundreds of Yellow Armored Warriors. He tells them that they are a species called human and that their attackers are from a civilization that destroyed their home world. Grant and Cinny decide that Earth’s destroyers must pay for their crime. But first they have to find an invincible warship named Orion’s Sword to make that happen. The Werstag tells them that they were created to be the Orion’s pilots and the Yellow Species knows the danger they represent. It’s a race to see if the Raiders can kill the two before they find the most powerful warship in the universe. The action is non-stop as the two young humans struggle against dark forces arrayed against them. Discovering their real enemy is a shock that forces them to reevaluate their determination to take revenge for Earth’s destruction. But revenge served hot has a way of getting out of hand. Excerpt from Nemesis-Revenge is Best Served Hot Cinny shook her head, “What is so special about us?” The woman looked at her and her eyes twinkled, “You and your companion are the ultimate product of genetic development. You are unique and only the two of you can activate the Orion. Anyone else who tried would die.” Whippet nodded, “They are very different from what I saw Tom could do.” The woman looked at him, “They are faster, stronger, and smarter than any being alive today.” She paused, “And they are not at their ultimate abilities…yet.” Grant sat down, “I’m not sure what you mean, ultimate abilities?” “Part of my programing is to start your development. The Choten-Zan could only take you so far; you probably noticed that you surpassed their abilities.” Cinny and Grant nodded. “The landing bay on this ship has devices to assist you to develop your skills. However, there is another place we need to visit first.” Grant nodded, “Where you left the genetically modified animals from Earth.” The woman smiled and shook her head, “You are incredibly smart. How did you figure that out?” “I saw the ancestors of the animals you chose on the first download and I’ve talked with them several times in the past.” The Hologram stared at Grant, “You what?” “The coordinates of the planet where you left them were still in the navigation log. We went to see what was there and ran into them.” “That was an incredibly dangerous thing to do.” “I had a blaster and they didn’t take the chance of attacking.” The woman slowly shook her head, “That blaster wouldn’t have fazed them and they knew it.” Grant stared at the Hologram and Cinny said, “You mean they could have killed us.” “Yes. I’m surprised they didn’t. Those animals are the most dangerous creatures in the universe. They were specifically designed to be used against the civilization attacking Earth.

Pete, Popeye and Olive (Privateer Tales Shorts Book 2)


Jamie McFarlane - 2016
    When an opportunity to join the Mechanized Infantry presents itself, Pete is first in line. He knows that he's going to get shot at one way or another, but the idea of sitting in a warm and more importantly, dry mechanized suit appeals to him almost beyond reason. While still training in the jungle, Pete's squad is called out to intervene in a skirmish in a nearby village. Of course, the Marines haven't seen fit to certify his squad with ordnance. The fact that they'll be up against a platoon of squishies doesn't convince him that's it's any better of an idea and things turn quickly to crap when they discover the squishies are protected by grav-tanks. Pete, Popeye and Olive is a fast paced, short-story with plenty of action.

Arch Allies


Audrey Sharpe - 2019
    Sure, restoring the ship won’t be easy, especially when the Feds figure out she’s running an illegal salvage operation, but she’s never shied away from hard work. Or challenges. Good thing, too. Because she’s on a collision course with her competition. If you like sailing the black with rogues and rascals, then you’ll love Arch Allies. A must read for fans of Firefly and Star Wars. Pick up your copy today!

I Am Mech


Jonathan Yanez - 2020
    Instead, they get Jack.This ace mech pilot contends with legendary prophecies, ancient powers, and fickle companions as he sets out on an epic task to save his planet from a baddie hellbent on destruction.Has his positive self-talk got him in too deep or will he actually pull through to do some good this time?I Am Mech is a nonstop, rollercoaster ride of an adventure full of snarky humor and more than a few spit-out-your-drink moments.

A Titan's Vengeance


Ralph Kern - 2020
    A vast barren tract of space lying between the besieged stars of the Kingdom of New Avalon and their distant allies. And it is the latest battlefield in the war burning across the void.Admiral Valin Sarven of the Hegemony fleet is as cunning as he is ruthless. A master tactician commanding the most powerful vessel in space, the battleship Behemoth. He is dispatched into the Reach with a single goal; to sever the long, tenuous supply lines linking the Kingdom to the Liberty Federation.Captain Hal Cutter and his ship, Achilles, join the flagship of the Kingdom’s fleet, the legendary KSS Cronus, in hunting the monstrous vessel lurking in the dark.But nothing has prepared the proud Kingdom Navy for what they’ll face as battleships clash in savage combat. And when Cronus is lost in the first brutal engagement, Cutter must play a deadly game of cat and mouse among the dim stars of The Reach.For these warriors, no quarter will be asked or given.It isn’t just admirals, captains and officers fighting this war, though. It is often those below decks who pay the highest price. And two spacers, one on either side, learn that even amid the fires of war and hatred, an act of mercy may save a wounded soul.Turrets will roar and hulls will buckle in this epic tale of battleships clashing in the night.

Destiny: Union Station


E.M. Foner - 2021
    Joe McAllister is a reluctant mercenary who's looking for a way out and family-friendly place to start a business and raise an orphaned boy. Will the choices they make in the next few months shape the rest of their lives, or is free will just an illusion in a galaxy managed by ancient artificial intelligence? Destiny: Union Station takes place two years before the start of the nineteen book EarthCent Ambassador series.

Alliance


Jonathan P. Brazee - 2017
    Humanity is involved in a limited war with the alien Klethos, where gladitorial combat decides the fate of worlds, but that doesn’t affect the common Marine or sailor. His career has been training hard but never seeing actual combat. All of that changes when a new enemy invades the galaxy, one that threatens both humanity and Klethos. Mankind hasn’t fought an all-out war in centuries, but they’re about to. McKeever is assigned to a special task force with the mission to find out what makes this new enemy tick, and, if possible, stop them in their tracks before humanity is eliminated like so much insignificant vermin.

... and they are us


Patrick McClafferty - 2014
    Voracious and relentlessly, the Creednax consume everything in their path, including people, planets and themselves if necessary. Only the Rose of the Dawn has the smallest chance of stopping them — if the abducted captain and shanghaied crew can figure out how to run the alien ship in time. Unfortunately, time is the one thing they don’t have.

Bread Alone (Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 34)


Sharon Lee - 2021
    Bread is a good start for sustenance.Don Eyr and Serana were survivors who came to Low Port – it gave them air, water, a place to stand and a place to make bread. The place to sleep meant they needed a certain amount of safety and to get that they founded a bakery at the corner of Crakle and Toom, brought in others seeking to survive in the midst of the poverty and ignorance, and built a tiny bastion of a self-sufficient community dedicated to raising competent, alert children who understood decency.Low Port toughs tried to break the bakery and a planet-shaking blast from the skies nearly did it in, but the bakery was hope, and people who have hope will fight to keep it.This chapbook collects four stories about sustenance, all about the bakery, its people, and its influence. ″Degrees of Separation,″ ″Fortune’s Favors,″ and "Block Party" are reprints. The novelette ″Our Lady of Benevolence″ appears here for the first time.