Book picks similar to
The Recruitment by Michael Chatfield


sci-fi
science-fiction
space-opera
military-science-fiction

Outsystem


M.D. Cooper - 2012
    Despite her soiled record, Tanis still one of the best military counter-insurgency officers in the Terran Space Force. And they need her to find the terrorists responsible for trying to destroy the GSS Intrepid, a massive interstellar colony ship in the final phases of construction at the Mars Outer Shipyards. It’ll be her ticket out of the Sol system, but Tanis discovers she is up against more than mercenaries and assassins. Major corporations and governments have a vested interest in ensuring the Intrepid never leaves Sol, ultimately pitting Tanis against factions inside her own military. With few friends left, Tanis will need to fight for her life to get outsystem.

Wholesale Slaughter


Rick Partlow - 2019
    But a mercenary can. Logan Conner is the son of a king, the heir to the largest of the five star-dominions, and the best mech pilot in the galaxy. His people are plagued by pirates and raiders, surrounded by enemies, and not even his father can fight them all. Logan gives up his position, his rank, even his name, and becomes Jonathan Slaughter, leader of a rough-and-ready band of mercenary mech-jocks, bent on taking the battle to the enemy on their own terms. They’re Wholesale Slaughter. Kicking ass is what they do. Get book one in this thrilling and unpredictable Military Sci-Fi Adventure Today! Also available on Audible, narrated by the award-winning Marc Vietor.

War Dogs


Greg Bear - 2014
    Maybe my last.They made their presence on Earth known thirteen years ago.Providing technology and scientific insights far beyond what mankind was capable of. They became indispensable advisors and promised even more gifts that we just couldn't pass up. We called them Gurus.It took them a while to drop the other shoe. You can see why, looking back.It was a very big shoe, completely slathered in crap.They had been hounded by mortal enemies from sun to sun, planet to planet, and were now stretched thin -- and they needed our help.And so our first bill came due. Skyrines like me were volunteered to pay the price. As always.These enemies were already inside our solar system and were moving to establish a beachhead, but not on Earth.On Mars.

Ascend Online


Luke Chmilenko - 2016
    But from the moment that he logs in, Marcus finds himself separated from his friends and thrown into remote village under attack by a horde of goblins. Forced into battle, Marcus rallies the beleaguered villagers and with their help, manages to drive off the invading creatures. With the village in ruins and their supplies spoiled, the survivors desperately turn to Marcus for help in rebuilding the village. Realizing that this game is nothing like he's ever played before, Marcus is swept up into a whirlwind of adventure as he struggles to defend his new home, quickly finding that marauding goblins are the least of his problems.

A Talent for War


Jack McDevitt - 1989
    But now, one man believes Sim was a fraud, and Alex must follow the legend into the heart of the alien galaxy to confront a truth far stranger than any fiction.

Uncommon Purpose


P.J. Strebor - 2015
     The Telford family’s independent trading vessel, the Belinda is captured by Pruessen slavers and the crew forced into a life of brutal servitude. Their desperate bid for freedom succeeds but a tragic price is paid. Years pass and Nathan Telford, fighting the nightmares of his past and yearning for revenge, joins the Athenian Navy. His first posting is aboard the warship Truculent, patrolling the northern quarantine zone beyond which lurks the Empire. Answering a distress call from a beleaguered freighter, the routine mission becomes a desperate fight for survival. The Pruessans are once again testing the defenses of the Republic and this time they have technology far in advance of the last war. It is left to Nathan, three untried middies and a disgruntled petty officer to try and avert a looming disaster. With their high tech weapons rendered useless and facing overwhelming odds, Nathan risks everything on a brave, hastily conceived gamble. ........................................................................................................................

Glory Main


Henry V. O'Neil - 2012
    Both sides battle for control of habitable planets across the galaxy—often at any cost.Lieutenant Jander Mortas is fresh out of officer training and new to the war zone, but eager to prove himself. There's just one problem: disaster strikes while he's traveling to his first assignment. He wakes to find himself marooned on what appears to be a deserted planet, with only three other survivors: a psychoanalyst, a conscientious objector, and a bitter veteran of a brutal slave-scout detachment. As the group struggles to reach safety on a nearby base, Glory Main, they discover a Sim colony—which could mean their salvation, or their demise.Thrown together, they must fight the harsh elements, an ever-present enemy, and possibly each other.

Starship Scorpion


Tripp Ellis - 2016
    But with no sign of the enemy for 25 years, the Joint Planetary Operations Command decides to decommission the old destroyers. But when Slade senses an impending attack, she defies orders to return to base, and JPOC sends a lone assassin to terminate her wayward command.But the Verge have returned, more powerful than ever. Their technology is more advanced. Their armor is indestructible. And they are determined to exterminate all human life.A rogue captain, a misfit crew, and a decrepit destroyer are mankind’s only hope of survival. If JPOC’s assassin succeeds, humanity will perish.

Freehold


Michael Z. Williamson - 2003
    Mistakes might be made, but they are never acknowledged, especially when billions of embezzled dollars earned from illegal weapons sales are at stake. But where does one run when all Earth and the planets are under the aegis of one government?

Dark Space


Jasper T. Scott - 2013
    He owes crime lord Alec Brondi 10,000 sols, and his ship is badly damaged. When Brondi catches up with him, he makes an offer Ethan can't refuse. Ethan must infiltrate and sabotage the Valiant, the Imperial Star Systems Fleet carrier which stands guarding the entrance of Dark Space, and then his debt will be cleared. While Ethan is still undecided about what he will do, he realizes that the Imperium has been lying and putting all of Dark Space at risk. Now Brondi's plan is starting to look like a necessary evil, but before Ethan can act on it, he discovers that the real plan was much more sinister than what he was told, and he will be lucky to escape the Valiant alive. . . .

Wizard Defiant


Rodney W. Hartman - 2015
    They are a mix of technology and magic like abilities. Richard has been given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become one of these legendary soldiers. All he has to do is make it through the Wizard Scout Academy. But with a TAC officer who hates his guts, will he even be allowed to graduate. To make matters worse, the Empire has been attacked and soon finds itself in a major war. With heavy losses in the wizard scout corps, even the Academy cadets are starting to look good to the Empire’s High Command. Just when Richard thinks things can’t get any worse, he is suddenly sent by ‘the One’ to help a beautiful elf priestess fight a demon and its army of undead. Wizard scouts may be the best of the best, but Richard is still a cadet in training. Will his skills and technology be enough to overcome dragons, demons, trolls, ghouls, and various undead from his worst nightmare? With only the aid of his battle computer, Nickelo, and the magic of an elf priestess, will his wizard scout abilities be enough to turn the tide? With the fate of two galaxies riding in the balance, Richard is honor bound to do his best in spite of the odds. The question is, will his best be good enough?

Off to Be the Wizard


Scott Meyer - 2013
    With every use of this ability, though, Martin finds his little “tweaks” have not escaped notice. Rather than face prosecution, he decides instead to travel back in time to the Middle Ages and pose as a wizard.What could possibly go wrong?An American hacker in King Arthur’s court, Martin must now train to become a full-fledged master of his powers, discover the truth behind the ancient wizard Merlin… and not, y’know, die or anything.

A Desert Called Peace


Tom Kratman - 2007
    The Federated States of Columbia has consolidated power and risen against the oppression of Earth's corrupt Caliphate. But when Salafi madmen bent on a new jihad kill FSC Captain Patrick Hennessey's family in a cowardly attack, they create an enemy that will show even less mercy than they do.A legendary warrior is born: Carrera, the scourge of Salafism. He will forge an army from the decrepit remains of a military in a failing state. He will find those who killed his family. He will destroy them utterly. And he will try like hell to not becoming exactly like the enemy he is fighting. Only when he is finished will there be peace: the peace of an empty wind as it blows across a desert strewn with the bones of Carrera's enemies.

Pandora's Star


Peter F. Hamilton - 2004
    The Intersolar Commonwealth, a sphere of stars some four hundred light-years in diameter, contains more than six hundred worlds, interconnected by a web of transport "tunnels" known as wormholes. At the farthest edge of the Commonwealth, astronomer Dudley Bose observes the impossible: Over one thousand light-years away, a star... vanishes. It does not go supernova. It does not collapse into a black hole. It simply disappears. Since the location is too distant to reach by wormhole, a faster-than-light starship, the Second Chance, is dispatched to learn what has occurred and whether it represents a threat. In command is Wilson Kime, a five-time rejuvenated ex-NASA pilot whose glory days are centuries behind him.Opposed to the mission are the Guardians of Selfhood, a cult that believes the human race is being manipulated by an alien entity they call the Starflyer. Bradley Johansson, leader of the Guardians, warns of sabotage, fearing the Starflyer means to use the starship's mission for its own ends.Pursued by a Commonwealth special agent convinced the Guardians are crazy but dangerous, Johansson flees. But the danger is not averted. Aboard the Second Chance, Kime wonders if his crew has been infiltrated. Soon enough, he will have other worries. A thousand light-years away, something truly incredible is waiting: a deadly discovery whose unleashing will threaten to destroy the Commonwealth... and humanity itself. Could it be that Johansson was right?

To the Galactic Rim: The John Grimes Saga


A. Bertram Chandler - 2011
                John Grimes will one day command his own starship, and change the course of Galactic history, but right now he’s a wet-behind-the-ears junior officer who finds that he keeps running into problems which were never covered in his courses at the Academy.  The Road to the Rim—meet Lieutenant John Grimes of the Federation Survey Service; fresh out of the Academy—and as green as they come. To Prime the Pump—El Dorado is a planet with a pressing problem: the men are infertile, cause unknown, and the women want someone to Do Something! Not quite the problem young John Grimes expected to deal with . . .The Hard Way Up—a collection of seven tales of John Grime’s adventures, meeting danger and winning glory out at the rim of the Galaxy.The Broken Cycle—John Grimes never intended to get lost in space, let alone being lost with a very attractive policewoman who’s all business. And he really never expected to run into an entity who claims to be a god and has a garden of Eden ready and waiting for the pair.              Three novels and a story collection, all in one attractively-priced volume of space adventure.