Book picks similar to
Zon: Recollections of an Alien by Stus Rollins
first-reads
sci-fi
alien
book-i-won
Stealing Spaceships: For Fun and Profit
Logan Jacobs - 2019
A ladies’ man, a rogue, a rebel, a gambler, a drinker, and a fighter. His ship is reputed to be the fastest vessel in the galaxy, and it traversed the Strait of Jiltar in record time. He is a living legend. And I am going to rob him blind. Because that’s what I do: I steal spaceships for fun and profit.
Kaine's Sanction
D.M. Pruden - 2022
Hayden Kaine, a brash young cadet, thinks his family's influence has guaranteed his destiny as a future leader of the Earth Confederation. But falling on the wrong side of an Admiral is never a good idea, and he soon finds himself posted to an outdated military starship at the farthest reaches of the galaxy.What at first appears to be a routine mission turns south when an unforseen disaster traps Kaine and the crew of the Scimitar at the edge of charted space, with no means to return home.Little do they appreciate the dangers that lurk in the dead system, and soon they find themselves fighting an unknown alien species, not only for their survival, but for the future of the empire itself.
A Spacetime Tale
J. Benjamin - 2019
Kiara Lacroix has become one of Earth’s foremost exobiology experts. Her research brings her to the attention of the Global Space Federation, which has a top-secret mission for her: an advanced alien civilization has been discovered in the depths of an icy planet five light-years from Earth, and Kiara is expected to join the crew making first contact.Kiara has her hesitations, but as usual her scientific curiosity gets the better of her. She and her crew will be using experimental technology which establishes long-distance contact via a dream-reality beamed through a wormhole: the spacetime sequence. It’s even riskier than it sounds.Of course, Kiara’s not the only one with hesitations about the GSF’s actions. And some of those people have the resources—and the access to GSF’s classified mission information—to do something about them.A Spacetime Tale is high-concept hard science fiction at its finest.
Trajectory Book 1
Robert M. Campbell - 2015
Back on the planet, a group of students discover a mysterious object in space in an impossible orbit. The crew of the Lighthouse space station are shocked by a devastating accident that throws their routine into chaos as they strive to get their ships safely home. Cut off from Earth, the sub-surface Martian Colony of New Providence suddenly finds itself in peril from something hostile and unknown. Is it alien? Is it an AI from Old Earth? After five generations enduring the harsh conditions on Mars, will the 50,000 citizens of New Providence survive this new and terrifying threat?
Master Sergeant
Mel Odom - 2015
Larson, and Marko Kloos—will be sucked into Mel Odom’s military science fiction series, the Markaum War, starting with Master Sergeant.They call it The Green Hell. A maze of tangled jungle, the planet Makaum is one of the most dangerous places in the universe. And for Terran Military Master Sergeant Frank Sage, it is now home.The war between the Terrans and the Phrenorians rages, and both sides have their sights set on Makaum. If the planet's rich resources fall into enemy hands it could mean devastation for the Terran Army. To ensure that doesn't happen, Sage is sent to assess the Makaum troops and bring them in line with Terran Military standards. But soon after arriving at his post, he realizes the Phrenorians are not the only threat. Heading up a small but fearless unit, Sage must stop a brewing civil war with the power to unleash a galactic cataclysm unlike anything ever seen.
Real Monsters
Liam Brown - 2015
The lines are now so blurred, no one knows who the real enemy is anymore.Reeling from the terrorist attack that killed her father, Lorna lurches through an inebriated adolescence until she finds redemption in a young soldier called Danny. However, her dream of a stable life is shattered when Danny is called to serve in war overseas.Danny is lost in the desert. Most of his unit is dead – victims, it would seem, of a brutal ambush. With their equipment destroyed and food running out, the small band of men stumble through the sand and shadows, desperate to find salvation. As their hope fades, they begin to turn on each other, until finally it becomes clear that only the truly monstrous will survive.Brown creates a compelling and gripping experience alternating between the soldier and home narrative. Cleverly employing letters and unique voices we are drawn completely into the raw desert while being left with a thought-provoking and graphic view of modern warfare.What Reviewers and Readers Say:'Beautifully written, smart and punchy'. Sam Mills, author of The Quiddity of Will Self'A memorable and moving portrait of the futility of 21st century conflict'. Benjamin Myers, author of Pig Iron and Beastings
The Galactic Sentinel: Ultimate Edition - 1500+ Pages - 4 Books - And More
Killian Carter - 2020
The Rings of Hesaurun
Peter Harrett - 2021
Responding to the crash, the primitive earthlings discover the ship's commander Valerie Dunne is a 5,000-year-old woman from the future, forced to escape her nemesis, the Boecki, by hiding in the past. Soon they learn the fate of the future world now rests on this strange woman's ability to harness five Hesaurun rings - rings with the power to destroy, heal, and manipulate time - and somehow, to find a way to alter her own destiny.An epic Sci-Fi tale of good and evil, rescue and survival, betrayal and love, and a threat to mankind unlike anything the human race has ever faced, The Rings of Hesaurun: Book One burns with the scope and imagination of the greatest Fantasy novels of the golden age. Weaving in a huge cast of humans and aliens, Peter Harrett has crafted a galaxy for readers of the 21st century to believe in...immense, ancient, and mind-bending.
The Last Con
Zachary Bartels - 2015
. . WAITING IN DETROIT FOR A BORN-AGAIN CON MAN TRYING TO SAVE HIS FAMILY.Former con man Fletcher Doyle is finally home after six years in the pen. He’s working a menial job, regaining his bearings in the world, and trying to revive his relationships with his wife and twelve-year-old daughter. No easy feat.But when Fletcher and his family go on a mission trip to Detroit—in the company of the condescending church leader who also happens to be his landlord—Fletcher finds his old life waiting for him. Within hours of arriving in the city, he’s been blackmailed into doing a job for a mysterious criminal who calls himself The Alchemist.A series of relics hidden by the Knights of Malta, as ancient as they are priceless, are in the sights of The Alchemist. What he needs is a gifted grifter with a background in ecclesiastical history . . . what he needs is Fletcher Doyle.Between hiding his reawakened criminal life from his wife and trying to hide her from their relentless landlord, Fletcher is ready to give up. But when his family is drawn into the dangerous world he can’t shake, Fletcher is forced to rely on his years in the game to save the only people who mean more to him than the biggest con in history.
Indie Saint
V.K. Fox - 2021
But searching for the secrets of magic puts Jane on a collision course with villains and monsters so sinister they previously only existed in fiction. To save reality and live to see the year 2000, Jane will have to escape a morally gray ancient cult-poration, team up with a gun nun from a neighboring comba-convent, and captain a band of eccentric heroes to stop a middle aged madwoman from ripping a hole in the multiverse.Spicy Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets the X Files in this Urban Fantasy Romance adventure full of Arthurian mythology, complex multi-book puzzles, smart humor, and slow burn m/f and m/m love stories.
Scion of Conquered Earth
Michael J. Allen - 2016
Fighters bombard the ruins. Monsters hunt the wastes – some humans serving the Welorin in order to indulge their petty cruelties. The last free survivors struggle against starvation and capture. It’s a world where friendship costs too dearly and heroics verge on suicide.One young man simply can’t resist either. Welorin torture machines ravage his world, filling it with literal nightmares. Cannibalistic aerobics instructors hunt him and snatcher teams dog his every step. Alaric attempts one rescue after another, hoping someone might possess keys to unlock memories stolen by the initial assault.An aborted rescue lands him in a three way fight between Welorin forces and interstellar raiders. He takes cover in the pirates’ ship, coercing its AI, Cassii, into helping him. Success comes with unexpected consequence as Cassii abandons her crew, his friends and Earth’s solar system.Cassii refuses to return to Earth, decrying her former captain’s despoiling of the ship’s weapons and armor. Alaric leverages goods stolen from Earth by Cassii’s former crew into a bid at privateering. Surrounded by tech he barely understands and exotic life forms, he’s easy prey for the Protectorate’s mercenary population.Escort Captain Manc Shepherd and the sultry pirate Tyne Ren – Manc’s onetime partner – manipulate, exploit and seduce him across the stars. Alaric’s perilous heroics complicate their tug-of-war, endangering both and Alaric’s ship – their intended prize.Alaric must decide who he is, what he holds dear and how far he’ll go to protect both. He must choose who to trust: his mentor, his temptress or his smitten ship’s AI. The right choice could save worlds. The wrong one could throw him into a desperate battle to save thousands from his betrayer at the cost of his truest friend.
The Systems Mindset: Managing the Machinery of Your Life
Sam Carpenter - 2016
and serenity and wealth will follow.Starkly compelling in its simplicity, in The Systems Mindset: Managing the Machinery of Your Life, Sam Carpenter expands on the core inspirational element of his business bestseller, Work the System: The Simple Mechanics of Making More and Working Less, now in its third edition.Mindset is your path to quickly breaking free: to making a small tweak in how you see your world and then using that more accurate vision to get what you’ve always wanted from work, relationships, and health.When the systems mindset epiphany strikes, you will instantly see the visible and invisible machinery that determines your existence. With this startling new perception, you’ll see that your world is not a confusing array of sights, sounds, and events and, instead, grasp that it’s a simple and logical collection of systems, systems that can be quickly adjusted to deliver the life results you’ve always wanted.You will never be the same.