Book picks similar to
Lot Beta by Tom Merritt


science-fiction
sci-fi
scifi
fiction

Resolute Command


James Prosser - 2013
    Humanity has been enslaved or scattered to the galaxy, hiding out in lonely systems far from home. A cry for help from an enemy ship prompts action from an unlikely group of refugees and a lone fighter pilot. This begins an epic adventure that will unite the remains of the human race and take them into the depths of the darkest soul.The battle for survival is underway and the War for Terra has finally begun.

Galleon


C.J. Williams - 2018
    His only hope for survival is to partner with an alien Artificial Intelligence named Alyssa. She is the brain of the most improbable star ship Gus has ever seen, part ancient sailing ship, part incredible star-faring vessel. But there is a catch. Alyssa’s first priority is to finish an epic yacht race that started twenty-eight thousand years ago. THE WORLD IS CAPTURED BY THE ALIEN DRAMA Every day Gus sends a video love letter to his wife via the lifeboat’s one-way subspace signal where it is automatically posted on YouTube. Few people care until another lifeboat crashes with two young women aboard, both of them celebrities. Their fame turns Gus into a worldwide phenomenon; everyone watches the three castaways fight to carve a life from the tiny island life even though they have little hope of rescue. When disaster threatens, Gus and the girls have no choice but to resurrect the crippled galleon. Their impossible task is to sail Alyssa across an alien sea and then fly her across unimaginable galactic reaches. WHEN ALYSSA FINALLY AGREES TO HELP, SPACE PIRATES STRIKE On live television, the public watches helplessly when a ship of vicious murderers attack the three survivors. The world grieves when the now-famous exiles go silent. At least until Earth's Space Navy reports they are under attack by a ship that is beyond imagination.

Far From Home: The Complete Second Series


Tony Healey - 2014
    The series has proved a best-selling sensation and has captured readers imaginations the world over. So buckle up and prepare for the ride of your life!

This Alien Earth: The Complete Series: A Dystopian Sci-fi Box Set


Paul Antony Jones - 2021
    

The Engineer


Neal Asher - 1998
    A space vessel called Schrodinger's Box discovers the creature, brings it back to life, and analyzes its intellectual and physical capabilities. It's not long before the scientists realize the creature is able to manipulate the make-up of objects, including organic matter, at a molecular level. The eyes of the scientific world are on Schrodinger's Box, but not everyone is pleased with the discovery. A group of terrorists attempts to intercept the ship and destroy it.

Star Quest: The Journey Begins


Patricia Lee Macomber - 2019
    Now, with the war over and the aliens defeated, she's teaching other pilots to fly the alien ships that turned the tide. Until the government approaches her about joining a super secret mission, that is. Steve Hunter is the product of alien DNA. He was created in a lab, designed to destroy the aliens in a ground war that was never fought. Now, they're finally putting him to use as the leader of this new mission. Together with the scientist who created Steve and the genius who invented the ship, Cara and her captain set off on a final adventure. The U.S.S. Endeavor goes in search of allies among the stars. What they find is more than they ever bargained for. If their mission is to be a success, they will have to solve a mystery and escape destruction at the hands of an all new foe. All in a day's work for the Endeavor crew.

Aurora Renegades: The Complete Collection


G.S. Jennsen - 2016
    A new world rises--one of unshackled AIs, indestructible starships, ethereal quantum spaces & potent new weapons--& the race is on to determine who will control its future.When faced with its greatest challenge, will humanity rise to triumph or fall to ruin?*SIDESPACEHumanity is saved. But its troubles are just beginning.To achieve their extraordinary triumph over the Metigen armada, humanity put aside its myriad of conflicts & united against a common foe intent on annihilating civilization. In victory, unparalleled peace & prosperity are theirs for the taking--if they can keep hold of them.When the secrets behind the Metigens' defeat escape the shadows, the people who won the war find their lives in danger. Facing anti-synthetic terrorists who want them dead, power-hungry politicians who want them chained, & a rapidly dwindling number of people they can trust, the Prevos--individuals & AIs sharing a single body--must take their fate into their own hands.51 Portals. 51 Universes.Intent on learning the purpose behind the Metigens' elaborate multiverse network, Alex Solovy, Caleb Marano & Valkyrie embark on a gripping journey through the network's portals, each one leading to a universe not their own. In a mosaic of spaces inhabited by fantastical aliens & worlds both beautiful & deadly, they will be forced to question everything they thought they knew, including the nature of life itself.*DISSONANCEKnow this: you need not be afraid. They own the fear. They fear us because they believe we are powerful, and they are correct to do so.The technology behind Project Noetica is on the loose. Prevos are spreading across the galaxy. Now two opposing but inexorably related forces threaten to plunge the galaxy into chaos. The Order of the True Sentients believes Prevos are monsters who endanger humanity,& it intends to destroy them by any means necessary. Underworld despot Olivia Montegreu, now a radically enhanced Prevo, is its doomsday warnings made flesh.As society splinters from within & the Earth Alliance falls to reactionaries, a formidable new player emerges on the galactic stage, one not afraid to do whatever it takes to protect all sentient life--human, Artificial and Prevo.The Metigen surged forward to engulf her in light. I see you, Alexis Solovy.Killers & saviors. Deceivers & protectors. Destroyers & creators. Could the Metigens truly be all these things? The search for answers leads Alex and Caleb to the most shocking revelation of all--the true face of the enemy.*ABYSMIn the quest to be the masters of their own fate, will humanity rise to become liberators or follow the path of their ancestors into darkness?Alex Solovy & Caleb Marano risked everything to learn the hidden purpose behind the Metigens' multiverse portal network, but nothing prepared them for the answer. Humans are a genetic recreation of the Anaden, the dictators & overlords of the master universe. Aurora is a recreation of their origins created by the Metigens in a desperate gambit to understand their enemy & find a way to defeat them.Aurora's future hangs in the balance as the Earth Alliance goes to war with itself over the right of synthetics and Prevos--human/AI hybrids--to exist. Terrorists sow chaos in a wave of bombings and assassinations. The next evolution of the human species will not be so easily defeated, but they must move quickly to win the day, because the true enemy is closing in faster than anyone realizes.

The Dark Element (The Elemental Saga Book 1)


Mason J. Torall - 2015
    The stars brought aliens to Earth. Claiming both cost us everything. A hungry alien empire known as The Collective has betrayed humanity. Earth is taken. Day-by-day, the ruthless Over-Seer harvests the planet we worked so hard to save, and only a mysterious group of individuals have found any success against him. The Elementals. Damien Vilan is one of these human enigmas. Able to spawn black holes and even smother light, he is the first man to ever command tangible darkness. While Damien stands lonely in the crumbling Seattle Islets alongside his adopted alien brother and an eccentric AI, the occupying aliens are hunting him. When a botched ambush on an enemy patrol wounds Damien’s brother, the trio is forced to test the weapon they’ve been building. If it works, it could change the downward spiral of the war, but if it fails and Damien’s dangerous powers are exposed? It could bring the Over-Seer himself crashing down on them. The tyrant would love to get his hands on such a powerful man, and he'd surely use Damien to find the elusive island sanctuary where other Elementals are gathering... When every chance of success has faded with the light, who better to turn to than the man who wields darkness? HOPE IS BORN IN DARKNESS

The Cyclops Effect


CJ Williams - 2020
    But that’s what happens when medical technology goes awry. Doctors said they could train her brain to interpret digital signals from the camera in her artificial eye. The module even has wi-fi so they can monitor signal traffic across her optic nerve. What they didn’t anticipate was that her brain would figure out how to use the wi-fi connection both ways. Asha can now see the Internet. ASHA'S INTELLIGENCE IS NOT ARTIFICIAL As her digital brain develops, she creates an online AI by copying part of her mind to the cloud. The AI she calls Abbot becomes her right hand as she goes to work for the FBI tracking down international terrorists. Unfortunately, she is so effective, the government believes she may be a co-conspirator. When they refuse to pay her, she walks out. IT'S NOT JUST THE FBI WHO SUSPECT HER When Asha crosses paths with Chinese military hackers, she stops them by taking out Shanghai’s electrical grid. Now the communist government wants to know who did it and how. Things go downhill after Asha gives a copy of Abbot to her husband’s company. When the Chinese military steals a copy of it, they immediately recognize its military significance. Their top priority, however, is to take out the woman who came up with it in the first place. CHINA FLEXES ITS NEW CYBER WARFARE TOOL Using her own technology against her, the Chinese suddenly become a serious threat to the US. The FBI calls Asha back and ask one last favor: stop the Chinese attack. She agrees, but this time there are conditions. Either they pay upfront, or she will take care of the Asian threat in her own way, and knowing Asha, that could mean World War Three.

Alive


Andreas Christensen - 2013
    When Ed Walker learns that others have been preparing for the disaster for years, he realize finding them may be his only shot at survival. But time is running out...In a dying world one man makes a choice to keep going, hoping against hope there might be a future after all.Alive is a 10.000 word story loosely based on events in Exodus by Andreas Christensen, but can also  just as easily be read as a stand alone.Notice: this novella is also available for FREE on the author's website.

Dryker's Folly: Book 1 in Void Wraith Origins


Chris Fox - 2020
    Before the Eradication.One man had a chance to stop it all, and failed...Captain Dryker is a washed up vet mining on the fringes of the Kuiper belt. He loads rocks into the Folly’s railgun, and fires them back to his corporate overlords on Earth. Boring, just the way he likes it. Until one day it isn’t.An alien signal bursts from Pluto, which as it turns out is neither a planet, nor a planetoid body. It is an ancient defense satellite activated because it detected the return of the Vuka Spectra. The Void Wraith.Dryker is the closest ship on the scene, but not the only one vying for the prize. Hostile aliens have emerged from our sun using something called a Helios Gate. The savage Tigris have come not just for the satellite, but to conquer Earth.Dryker’s only hope is finding something, anything, within the installation to counter the alien’s superior technology and save mankind.The prequel to the Void Wraith Saga. Learn how it all began...

Shall Not Perish


Richard Tongue - 2018
    Her crew a patchwork of veterans near retirement and rookies too green for the rest of the fleet, her commanding officer passed-over twice for her first star. A place where careers go to die. Until, early one morning, she finds herself on the front lines of her third interstellar war, the only ship standing between victory and defeat. Caught in a strange, hostile universe, Old Abe and her crew must fight the battle of their lives, or see freedom and liberty extinguished throughout the galaxy forever...

Thunder & Lightning


Christopher G. Nuttall - 2018
    An alien race called the Oghaldzon has decided that mankind is dangerously insane… and must be forcibly taken under control. The invasion fleet’s technology is decades ahead of Earth’s best. They have more ships than the human fleets combined, and a seemingly-inexhaustible number of ground troops. And they’re not afraid to kill billions of people. Humanity is outnumbered, outgunned, and divided. But they have a few cards left to play – and they’re not going down without a fight.

Works of H. Beam Piper (32 books)


H. Beam Piper - 2009
    Beam Piper with active table of contents.Works include:The AnswerThe Cosmic ComputerCrossroads of DestinyDay of the MoronDearestThe Edge of the KnifeFlight From TomorrowFour-Day PlanetGenesisGraveyard of DreamsHe Walked Around the HorsesThe KeeperLast EnemyLittle FuzzyThe MercenariesMinistry of DisturbanceMurder in the GunroomNaudsonceNull-ABCOomphel in the SkyOmnilingualOperation R.S.V.P.PatrolPolice OperationRebel RaiderThe ReturnA Slave is a SlaveSpace VikingTemple TroubleTime and Time AgainTime CrimeUllr Uprising

Theft of Fire


Michael Edelson - 2017
    The mission to destroy a domestic terrorist cell in possession of a nuclear bomb sounds like the opportunity he is looking for, until he realizes that his targets are not terrorists, and that what they have is something infinitely more dangerous than a bomb. On the run with Dr. Grace Llewellyn and the device she calls Prometheus, Markus finds himself pitted against the full might of US intelligence and military forces as they mount the biggest manhunt ever conducted on American soil. He quickly learns that Prometheus represents a technological advancement so profound that it can alter the course of history. But there is another such device already in play, and he, Grace and Prometheus are all that stand between it and the end of human civilization as we know it.