Book picks similar to
Home for Christmas by Janet Edwards


science-fiction
short-story
fiction
military

Strange Company


Nick Cole - 2021
    Best to steer clear of the freaks in Voodoo, kid.”Surrounded and outgunned, a group of private military contractors known as “Strange Company” find themselves on a remote planet at the edge of known space, and on the losing end of a bad contract. Orbital D-beam strikes, dropships bristling with auto-guns, missiles, and troops - even Monarch space marines in state-of-the-art advanced battle rattle - will try to prevent the company from reaching the exfil LZ and getting off-world.For Strange, that means it’s time to hang tough and get it on with as much hyper-kinetic violence as they can muster to get clear of the whole mess. And what the Strange can’t get done by violent assault and crazy firefights, they’ll get done by the freaks of Voodoo Platoon - operators who have been changed by the Dark Labs into powerful and unnervingly unnatural asymmetrical weapons.This is the Strange Company. Because in the Strange, it’s always really Strange. Join them - and get ready for full auto combat at the furthest limits of human exploration.

Iron to Iron


Ryan Graudin - 2016
    If he can accomplish that, maybe his father will finally see him as a worthy son. He's completed the grueling trek from Germania to Tokyo before, but this time is different. Luka never expected to meet Adele Wolfe, another racer posing as her twin brother and with a singular dream--to live life on her own terms.When Luka and Adele form an alliance, an unlikely bond forms, and even possibly love. But only one person can win the Axis Tour....Can everything Luka and Adele built together survive the race?Word count: 24000

Cyborg Corps


J.N. Chaney - 2020
    Finally. he will be able to feel the warm sand beneath his feet again, or so the doctor promises.Lying on a table, Warren is told by the doctor that everything is going to be okay. He's going to have a brand new leg...and a much better life.Too bad it was all a lie.The next time Warren opens his eyes, four centuries have passed. Somehow, he's standing in the middle of a battlefield, stuck on a distant alien planet, far away from home.To make matters worse, his body appears to be entirely synthetic. He's a cyborg, nearly indestructible and enhanced for extreme combat.Now, with centuries of time missing from his memory and no idea how to get home, Warren is left with no choice but to fight against those who would see him enslaved... and free as many of his brothers as possible along the way.

Last Summer at Mars Hill


Elizabeth Hand - 1998
    There are 12 pieces in all here, ranging from those first published in places like Interzone and Pulphouse to a two-page poem taken from the pages of Asimov's. Although many readers may be familiar with Hand's longer works, such as Glimmering or Waking the Moon, here she shows that she's a master of short fiction as well. Her stylish prose and keen insights make for some wonderful stories. --Craig E. EnglerContents:Last Summer at Mars Hill (1994)The Erl-King (1993)Justice (1993)Dionysus Dendrites (1993) poemThe Have-Nots (1992)In the Month of Athyr (1992)Engels Unaware (1992)The Bacchae (1991)Snow on Sugar Mountain (1991)On the Town Route (1989)The Boy in the Tree (1989)Prince of Flowers (1988)

The Rising Dark: A Darkest Minds Collection


Alexandra Bracken - 2016
    But the League demands a lot from its members, and even the closest bonds can be broken. Vida has been on the run a long time. So when she and her sister find a place with a crew near Venice Beach, it feels like they might finally have a home. But Vida's powers are growing, and if she can't control them she'll put everything at risk. Clancy Gray's mind is a place nobody would dare enter. There are secrets hidden there, about his past, about his motives ... but in every mind, there's a doorway ... This is the perfect addition to the hit series that's soon to be a major motion picture starring Amandla Stenberg and Mandy Moore. Have you read every book? The Darkest Minds, Never Fade, In the Afterlight and Through the Dark are all available now.

Stand Into Danger


D.J. Holmes - 2015
     Human nations have been thrown into competition for the resources of nearby star systems. The Russian Star Federation decides to make a move for one of humanity's most important colonies. Returning home after a training exercise, Captain Jonathan Somerville and his ship HMS Achilles stumble into the middle of the warzone. Stranded behind enemy lines, the crew of Achilles must fight their way through occupied territory if they are to link up with coalition forces and help turn back the invaders. Stand into Danger is a military science fiction novella and introduction to the Empire Rising military sci-fi series.

The Old Republic Series


Sean Williams - 2016
    3,500 years in the past of the far-away galaxy, when the Jedi and Galactic Republic clashed with the Sith Empire, smuggler Jet Nebula has stumbled across a treasure richer than he ever dreamed. The Hutts want to auction it to the highest bidder, be it the Republic or the Empire, both of whom hope to bolster their chances in the coming conflict. But the Sith are interested too, and they don't bargain with anyone; the Jedi High Council is sending someone to investigate; a mysterious Mandalorian is chasing something connected to a long-forgotten crime; while a spy plays every side at once. What Jet has unearthed will surprise all of them, and leave none of them unchanged.

Hard Drop


Will van der Vaart - 2013
    Their objective is classified, marked only by coordinates leading them into a deserted city at the heart of the fighting. From the beginning, everything possible goes wrong. A missile strike rocks the carrier mid-launch, and only a fraction of the unit reaches the surface alive.Outmanned, outgunned, and scattered, with a hard deadline to orbital bombardment looming, it is up to Drop Commander Tyco Hale to rally his troops and reach their objective. But what they find, hidden deep in the tunneled passages under the city, will change everything about what he fights for and what he believes in. With the unit in tatters and loyalties divided, the choice he makes in the dark will seal all of their fates - and much more besides.

The House of the Stone


Amy Ewing - 2015
    Now we'll hear Raven's story and her time as a surrogate for the Countess of the Stone in this digital novella from Amy Ewing.When Raven is bought at the Auction, she knows immediately that things will not go well. And when she arrives at the Countess's palace, Raven quickly discovers that the Countess is much less interested in having a baby than experimenting with Raven's mind and body. Raven can only hope for an escape…and to see Violet again, all the while reminding herself that she is Raven Stirling, and she does matter.HarperTeen Impulse is a digital imprint focused on young adult short stories and novellas, with new releases the first Tuesday of each month.

World Glimpses: Parasite


Sara King - 2014
    In Planetside and Opening Night at the Naturals Preserve, you get to look into her upcoming new world of After Earth. In Parasite, for which this edition is titled, you have the chance to read into some of the background and history of one of the brilliant characters from Sara's Millennium Potion series, of which you can find the first novel, Wings of Retribution, right here on Amazon!

The Last Flight of the Cassandra


James S.A. Corey - 2019
    While prospecting in the Aten Asteroids, the crew come across a mystery on Xi-Mallow 434 that forces a tough decision.This story was published as part of Green Ronin's Expanse RPG as a jumping off point for new RPG sessions, and is not part of The Expanse book series canon.

King of Marbury


Andrew Smith - 2012
    A stranger had given Jack a pair of glasses – it’s through the lenses that the boys get to Marbury. Told through Conner’s point of view, THE KING OF MARBURY asks whether Marbury is only in Jack and Conner’s minds, or if it might actually be real. You decide.

Dust of Far Suns


Jack Vance - 1964
    A short story collection originally published as Future Tense by one of SF's greatest authors, Jack Vance.Contents:- Dust of Far Suns (1962)- Dodkin's Job (1959)- Ullward's Retreat (1958)- The Gift of Gab (1955)

Deep (Seeder Saga,#1)


Adam Moon - 2013
    But a new world has been discovered that has all the right ingredients to sustain human life. The vessel Seeder will travel four thousand years with its crew members and colonists to this new seed planet to ensure humanity lives on.But the stasis pods malfunction. When the crew is revived they discover they've been traveling for the past eighteen million years, and the colonists are all gone.And it only gets stranger. Book #1 of the best selling Seeder Saga (34 pages)

Shadows


Jennifer L. Armentrout - 2012
    As a Luxen, an alien life form on Earth, human girls are…well, fun. But since the Luxen have to keep their true identities a secret, falling for one would be insane.Dangerous. Tempting. Undeniable.Bethany can’t deny the immediate connection between her and Dawson. And even though boys aren’t a complication she wants, she can’t stay away from him. Still, whenever they lock eyes, she’s drawn in.Captivated. Lured. Loved.Dawson is keeping a secret that will change her existence...and put her life in jeopardy. But even he can’t stop risking everything for one human girl. Or from a fate that is as unavoidable as love itself.