Book picks similar to
Specific Impulse by Charles Justiz


thriller
wanted-sci-fi
read-w-cw
science

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.

Greenwar


Steven Gould - 1997
    Accusing the company of corporate rapaciousness cloaked in environmental green, the group is dedicated to destroying Gulfstream's multi-million dollar ocean research station -- no matter who is killed in the process.

Uncontacted


Rick Chesler - 2017
    ONE GUARDED REVELATION THAT WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE SEEN. AND A CALAMITY ABOUT TO BE UNLEASHED. In the jungle cities of the Amazon, thousands of tribal descendants suddenly drop dead at the exact same moment for no apparent reason. Strange truths start to emerge that lead respected ecologist, Antonio Medina, into the deepest reaches of the rain forest, to a tribe that has seen virtually zero contact with the outside world. On the other side of the planet, in the Indian Ocean, anthropologist Stel Foster is on a similar quest. When he learns of unlikely ties to the tribe in Brazil that his long-time professional rival, Antonio Medina, is investigating, he agrees to work together with the ecologist. Antonio isn’t sure he can trust Foster, but together they are forced to solve a perilous puzzle, with the most alarming piece being two halves of a strange artifact safeguarded by both tribes for thousands of years. Even worse, a powerful secret society will stop at nothing to control the ultimate truth the artifact holds. With options running short and time even shorter, our comprehension of what it means to be human is about to shift forever. PRAISE FOR UNCONTACTED AND RICK CHESLER: "Uncontacted is everything you want in an action/adventure novel: races of unknown people, mysterious technology, and plenty of questions. What if? Rick hit it out of the park with this one, and what a ride it is!" --Nick Thacker, author of the bestselling Harvey Bennet Thrillers series "A jungle romp with undiscovered tribes and legendary artifacts…A threat to the very existence of humanity. It’s all here and more. UNCONTACTED by Rick Chesler is a fantastic science-thriller in the best tradition of Michael Crichton and James Rollins." --Sean Ellis, author of CAMP ZERO and ASCENDANT "Over the top, inventive and scary fun!" --Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of PATIENT ZERO "Great scientific concepts that are based in reality..." --ScienceThrillers.com "Chesler melds science and adventure with the brilliant command of the late Crichton." --Douglas Corleone, author of Robert Ludlum's THE JANSON EQUATION "The perfect combination of great research and impossible to put down writing." --Jeremy Robinson, international bestselling author of APOCALYPSE MACHINE and PROJECT NEMESIS

Changer


Matt Gemmell - 2016
    DESTINY CAN BE CHANGED.Jutland, Denmark: a billionaire industrialist seizes control of a top-secret project that the European Defence Agency calls Destiny, manipulating it for his own ends.Edinburgh, Scotland: physicist Neil Aldridge’s life is saved by an elite EU special forces team, codenamed KESTREL, drawing him into a race against time to prevent a disaster that will claim millions of lives.As the chase leads to London, Amsterdam and beyond, Aldridge and his allies must battle a ruthless adversary: a trained killer with an unnatural ability, who seeks to hasten the cataclysm.With time running out, Aldridge discovers that he and his enemy share an astonishing secret, which may be the key to salvation — or cause death on an unprecedented scale…

The Privateer


William Zellmann - 2012
    The slaves stole an ore carrier and escaped, and after failing at trade, desperation and hatred drove them to piracy. John was a hugely successful pirate, until forced to confront the horrors committed by his men. He grabs a ship and a bag of gems, and runs away, determined to regain his self-respect. Pursued by his former colleagues, he flees across man-settled space. Along the way, he learns that his ship is much more than a simple yacht, deals with a stowaway girl, almost accidentally buys an orbital scrap yard, finds himself responsible for a beautiful young woman, fights off a pirate attack, falls in love, makes a friend, and learns that his refuge has been invaded by another planet. John, now Cale, and his friends plan to use derelicts from his scrap yard to free his sanctuary planet. But can a bunch of resurrected hulks really defeat a planetary fleet? And just what IS a Privateer, anyway?

A Corporate Coup: Adventures of a Jump Space Accountant Book 4


Andrew Moriarty - 2021
    

Alien Infection


Darrell Bain - 2005
    Afraid of being thrown into an isolation chamber, Michael goes home, but quickly falls violently ill. By the time he recovers and returns to work scary things are happening. Everyone who has come into contact with that patient is being systematically killed. On the run, he accidentally infects a woman living in the shadows of the underworld. She becomes ill as well, but survives. Then they begin feeling younger-and younger. Why would the government want to suppress something like this? After barely escaping federal gunmen, the two of them set out to discover what kind of infection they are harboring even though it might mean the end of their freedom.

The Freezer (A Genesis Endeavor Book)


David Kersten - 2015
    He hadn’t even gotten over the loss of his family and now his doctor was telling him his recent aches and pains were cancer. Going in for his first surgery, he was uncertain he could, or even should, face the challenges ahead. When he woke up to find over three hundred years had passed, an entirely new set of challenges lay before him. Discovering where he was, how he got here, and why he was here was just the beginning of a life he thought was all but over. Now he had to fight for the very survival of the human species, a fight that would be centered around “The Freezer”.

The Bug: Complete Season One


Barry J. Hutchison - 2016
    A wave of violence is sweeping Hoon's city, and reports are flooding in that the whole world is rapidly tearing itself apart. As anger and violence gives way to full-blown madness, Hoon finds himself babysitting a group of survivors, who he has reluctantly vowed to protect. But with the madness that's gripping the rest of the world rapidly affecting him, can he get them to safety before he himself becomes their greatest threat? Meanwhile, across the ocean in Boston, two teenage slacker grocery store clerks are discovering that the end of the world isn't as much fun as they'd always imagined, as they are hurled into a desperate battle for survival - and a quest to find and rescue their parents. But the hordes of crazed infected are only the start of the world's problems, and things take a decidedly creepy turn when the true instigators of the violent epidemic come crawling out of the shadows... Because it isn't a virus that ends the world. It's a Bug.

The Ride


Aric Davis - 2013
    The biggest game in town centers on a massive, deadly roller coaster that winds its way through the Strip’s most famous attractions. On the first Saturday of every month, twenty-four desperate passengers get strapped into the notorious ride and gamble with their lives in a twisted game of chance, to the thrill of webcast audiences worldwide. One of them will win, and one will die, but the other twenty-two will escape with nothing but their lives. Bets are placed as the ride begins, but in Vegas, the house always wins.The Ride by acclaimed author Aric Davis is a terrifying near-future vision of bloodlust-as-entertainment taken to a horrific extreme.

Typhon Pact: The Khitomer Accords Saga: Plagues of Night, Raise the Dawn, and Brinkmanship


David R. George III - 2012
    For almost three years, the Federation and the Klingon Empire, allied under the Khitomer Accords, have contended with the nascent coalition on a predominantly cold-war footing. But as Starfleet rebuilds itself, factions within the Typhon Pact grow restive, concerned about their own inability to develop a quantum slipstream drive to match that of the Federation. Will leaders such as UFP President Bacco and RSE Praetor Kamemor bring about a lasting peace across the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, or will the cold war between the two alliances deepen, and perhaps even lead to an all-out shooting war? Raise the Dawn After the disastrous events in the Bajoran system, Captain Benjamin Sisko must confront the consequences of the recent choices he has made in his life. At the same time, the United Federation of Planets and its Khitomer Accords allies have come to the brink of war with the Typhon Pact. While factions within the Pact unsuccessfully used the recent gestures of goodwill—the opening of borders and a joint Federation-Romulan exploratory mission—to develop quantum-slipstream drive, they have not given up their goals. Employing a broad range of assets, from Romulus to Cardassia, from Ab-Tzenketh to Bajor, they embark on a dangerous new plan to acquire the technology they need to take control of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. While UFP President Bacco and Romulan Praetor Kamemor work feverishly to reestablish peace, Captains Sisko, Jean-Luc Picard, and Ro Laren stand on the front lines of the conflict...even as a new danger threatens the Bajoran wormhole as it once more becomes a flashpoint of galactic history. Brinkmanship The Venette Convention has always remained independent, but it is about to become the flashpoint for a tense military standoff between the two power blocs now dominating interstellar space—the United Federation of Planets and the recently formed Typhon Pact. The Venetan government turns to the Typhon Pact’s Tzenkethi Coalition for protection in the new order, and has agreed to allow three of their supply bases for Tzenkethi use. But these bases—if militarized—would put Tzenkethi weapons unacceptably close to Federation, Cardassian, and Ferengi space. While Captain Ezri Dax and the crew of the U.S.S. Aventine are sent to investigate exactly what is happening at one of the Venette bases, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the U.S.S. Enterprise are assigned to a diplomatic mission sent to the Venette homeworld in order to broker a mutually acceptable resolution. But the Cardassian delegates don’t seem particularly keen on using diplomacy to resolve the situation, which soon spirals out of control toward all-out war. . .

Permian: Emissary of the Extinct


Devyn Regueira - 2019
     Lining the granite walls of the first, high above an orderly reservoir of fossilized eggs, an inscription spanning eighty-five miles describes the genome of a proto-mammalian species eradicated during the Permian Extinction. In the next, researchers discover etchings of the constellations as they would have appeared across the eons; a global timeline of ten billion years remembered and foretold by a primordial intelligence beyond our own. Armed with a genetic recipe, compelled to act by the harrowing implications of a pattern detected in the timeline, an international effort begins to return that species from extinction before mankind encounters its own. The human race has only just learned to pluck at the strings of life on Earth. Will the curtains rise on a siren's song? Where will they fall?

Wealth of Time


Andre Gonzalez - 2019
    The 54 year old has lost the will to live since the disappearance of his 12-year-old daughter two decades ago.Unable to pull the trigger on himself, again, he later encounters a time-traveling antique dealer who offers him the chance to find out what happened to his only child. Martin wants nothing more than to answer the questions that have haunted his every waking moment all these years.This once in a lifetime opportunity proves irresistible, but is Martin prepared for the answer — and the cost of discovering the truth?Wealth of Time is the first novel in the suspenseful Wealth of Time Series. If you like fast-paced thrillers, time-travel, and deranged villains, then you’ll love this high-octane series from Andre Gonzalez!Buy Wealth of Time today to watch an ordinary man battle his past demons!

Op File Revenge


J. Clifton Slater - 2018
    Skilled. Dangerous. Some of the words used to describe Master Sergeant Diosa Alberich of the Galactic Council Marine Corps. Her call sign: Warlock. As one of the toughest and most-accomplished Striker Team Leaders in the Corps, Warlock has had her share of victories...and failures. And now, with her old team in shambles, she moves on to advanced Phase V training and a new team, ready and anxious for action. But right out of the gate things go wrong. Pirates have attacked a tramp steamer mother-ship, something they should have no interest in. But these guys are determined, and along the way Warlock is injured. An event that will change her life forever. Now equipped with a sophisticated, neural-linked bionic eye, the device is more than just a way to see. It's the most-advanced sensor array around, giving Warlock seemingly super-human abilities. And in her line of work, super abilities always come in handy. But when the powers-that-be decide Warlock is a risk, more than an advantage, she finds herself fighting not only the enemy, but her own people, determined to keep this new super-weapon under their ultimate control. Despite the forces allied against her, Warlock follows a higher calling, and sets out to save one of the most vital assets the Realm has against the Empress and her deadly forces...if it doesn't kill her in the process. Call Sign Warlock, Op File Revenge is military science fiction at its best. Full of action and adventure in a universe of exotic worlds, alien beings and heroic figures. And this figure isn't only smart, skilled and dangerous, she's also up for the challenge. Call Sign Warlock, Op File Revenge is set in author J. Clifton Slater's Galactic Council Realm universe. Warning: There is no magic or fantasy in the novel, just good old-fashioned Space Marine adventure. Pick up your copy of Call Sign Warlock, Op File Revenge today. Other novels by J. Clifton Slater: Space Opera, Galactic Council Realm series: On Station, On Duty, On Guard & On Point Historical Fiction, Clay Warriors Stories series Clay Legionary, Spilled Blood, Bloody Water, Reluctant Siege, & Brutal Diplomacy

Good Morning Vendemiatrix


H. Paul Honsinger - 2020
    In these labors, there is one friend that they can count on, day in and day out . . . he’s a constant companion in their headsets with the Smack and Crack, Sno Bro, and other music they love, as well offering a seemingly endless stream of friendship and encouragement: the morning DJ on Company Radio Channel D, Robin Whitlake. But, Robin is more than a warm human voice in the endless night, he is a man with a heroic, yet deadly and dangerous secret past that could condemn him to death at any time. Disfigured and aging rapidly, he must work harder and harder to project the youth and vitality that he brings to his broadcasts, all the while wondering when and if his past will catch up with him. On 14 January 2314, it did. A disaster in the mining colony brings the heroic and deadly elements of Robin’s past into sudden collision. Not only must he decide whether to subject himself to possible execution, Robin has to call upon all his professionalism as a broadcaster, the skills he spent decades honing in his former life, and the Morse code abilities of a red-headed, pig-tailed Space Scout named Elaine, in a desperate “Hail Mary” improvisation with thousands of innocent lives hanging in the balance. Good Morning Vendemiatrix is an 8800 word stand-alone novelette set in the “Man of War” universe. Fans of Honsinger’s other work will recognize the setting and be treated to a cameo appearance by a familiar character, while new readers will not find themselves “lost in space.” It is a humorous and exciting piece of shorter fiction written to be enjoyed by all Science Fiction readers.