Book picks similar to
An Ornament to His Profession by Charles L. Harness


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science-fiction-and-fantasy

Nightfall


Moshe Ben-Or - 2016
    Let His Excellency sow his wild oats. Don’t let him kill himself, or anyone else, in the process.Piece of cake for a man of his skills. A glorified vacation. Or so it was supposed to be.Now Yosi is marooned on a foreign world, surrounded by people whom he doesn’t understand, and hunted by enemies who literally want to eat him alive. But these are the least of his problems. Because the biggest war in living memory has set all of Known Space aflame in an instant. And if Yosi Weismann is to ever get back home, he first needs to build an army…

Cyber Seed Quadrilogy: The Complete Box Set


Craig A. Falconer - 2019
    Others send it straight to hell... Grab all four books in the thrilling CYBER SEED QUADRILOGY for one low price, in this great value 1200-page sci-fi box set! When Kurt Jacobs imagines the ultimate gadget — one capable of replacing phones, credit cards, keys and TVs — the idea consumes his every waking moment. When the Sycamore corporation buys into Kurt's creation and The Seed becomes a reality, his every dream comes true. Power like this has never existed. The launch of The Seed, a powerful microchip implant that turns each user's palm into a fully functioning trackpad and effectively turns them into walking computers, breaks all sales records. Alongside the augmented reality UltraLenses which act as the system's display, it immediately renders all handheld devices obsolete. But amid all of the awe and optimism, there is far more going on behind the curtain than Kurt or anyone else could ever have predicted... Cyber Seed Quadrilogy imaginatively chronicles The Seed's colossal impact on a society unprepared to handle it, from the high hopes of launch day to the breakneck descent into corporate dystopia. Remarkable apps and groundbreaking features that make life easier and more enjoyable... unprecedented surveillance and privacy abuses in a world where your eyes can no longer be trusted... both sides of a timely story unfold in this 1200-page complete series box set. And Kurt Jacobs, the guilt-wracked genius responsible for it all, may well be the only man who can do anything to put things right... This box set contains all four books in the CYBER SEED QUADRILOGY, previously published individually as: 1) Sycamore 2) Sycamore 2 3) Sycamore X (10-story collection) 4) Sycamore XL (12-story collection) Imaginative new technologies, devious conspiracies, and a whole lot of action-packed drama... dive in to the thrilling CYBER SEED QUADRILOGY today! (From the author of the blockbuster international bestseller, Not Alone)

Suddenly Astronaut


Andrew J. Morgan - 2017
    Beyond it was the instrument panel, and beyond that, thick windows that looked out into the blackness of space." Benjamin Forrest is about to celebrate his 13th birthday 365 million miles from Earth. He lives on board the Jove orbital research platform circling Jupiter with his parents and forty-nine other families. He's lived there his entire life. But this birthday will be no ordinary birthday, because Ben will finally get to fulfil his dream of flying free of the station, on an external tour in a service tug with best friend and station computer, Tom. What Ben doesn't know is that his dream of flying free is about to become a lot more real than he ever expected. An incredible journey is about to begin! Suddenly Astronaut was written by the author of the hit novel New York Deep. Also available from the author: New York Deep Vessel New Dawn Noah's Ark

Battleborn


Andrew Beery - 2019
    For generations, the Riker men have been the best of the best. For the Battleborn that comes with a cost. *** I had to give the other guy credit. That was a fine right hook. Every bit as good as my mom used to give me. Of course, the best right hooks were the ones I landed on the other guy rather than the ones the other guy landed on me. My dear departed mother had always taught me it was better to give than receive. It’s unlikely that her cherished advice was meant to apply to bar fights, but then, she wasn’t a big fan of bars or fights in general. I spit out the blood in my mouth. My name is Tad Riker. I serve as a tactical weapons officer for the Wolves, but I was raised by the Stallions. The poor unfortunate reprobate, who was even now feeling the wrath of my fist, was serving as an armorer for the Stallions. That’s why I took this fight so personally . . . not that he was an armorer, but that he was a Stallion.

Echoes of Starlight


Eric Michael Craig - 2019
     No bodies. No evidence of an attack. Just gone. On what should have been a routine cargo run to the far edge of the Coalition, Captain Ethan Walker is carrying a payload of medical technology and two passengers returning home to Starlight Colony. When they arrive, they discover that everyone on the planet is missing. The company he works for wants him to leave immediately, but he’s obligated to report to FleetCom that the entire population has vanished. Captain MacKenna of the Magellan, tells him stay put until they can arrive to begin an official investigation. Caught between his legal responsibilities and the need to know what happened, Walker has to resist increasing pressure to defy orders. Unfortunately, his passengers make a decision that forces him into doing the one thing he can’t do. Captain Walker must risk his ship and crew to return to the surface even though it may ultimately cost him everything. Get the exciting opening book to the new Wings of Earth series.

Mason's Rats: 3 Short Stories


Neal Asher - 1999
    But he soon learns that rats in suits are even worse. What do you do when rats invade your barn? Kill them or negotiate? Mason finds out the hard way that force does not always work! An allegory of war and violence? A statement on the arms race? Neal Asher’s work takes Orwell’s Animal Farm into a grimly humorous future where evolution is outrunning humanity. You may never trust a rat again! “I’ve never read anything like MASON’S RATS before … it’s sharp, funny and highly inventive. There’s more fun in this one slim volume than in many a full-length novel!” – Stephen Gallagher

Beyond Armageddon III: Parallels


Anthony DeCosmo - 2011
    Trevor Stone has survived the invasion of alien armies and creatures, cut off their conduits to Earth, and built a small Empire that has turned the tide of the war, but victory has come at a high personal cost. When Nina Forest disappears, Trevor makes the reckless decision to personally lead a rescue team. What follows is a trip down the proverbial rabbit-hole, one that brings him face to face with the most terrifying monster in a changed world: himself. Parallels is a mature journey to a place where inhibitions are stripped, desires indulged, and where Trevor Stone may be eclipsed by the darkness within.

One Helluva Bad Time: The Complete Bad Times Series


Chuck Dixon - 2019
    Everyone and everything needs to get the hell out of their way. They have mission(s) to complete. Go up and click 'Read For Free' or 'Buy Now' and dig into an adventure that will have you hearing the sounds of the past, while smelling the gun powder as the team fights across the world, and time. A FEW QUOTES ABOUT CHUCK DIXON: “Chuck is a damn good writer who is really good at hooking you, giving you fun characters, and telling you one hell of an adventure story.” Larry Correia, Monster Hunters International, the Grimoir Chronicles “An intelligent and well thought-out high action time travel story.” Noah Mullette-Gillman, Luminous and Ominous “Dixon excels at putting down action, of introducing larger-than-life heroes, kicking them through the door into a big mess, and having them sort out a situation in a flurry of martial arts moves and big guns.” Mel Odom, The Rover series.

Zed's World Book Two: Roads Less Traveled


Rich Baker - 2016
    In the course of one night, mankind teeters on the brink of extinction. Fighting through gathering hordes of undead, a group of friends brave military checkpoints, armed civilians, and forced allegiances in an attempt to reach loved ones. Thwarted at every turn, they press forward. But taking roads less traveled, could cost them everything.

The Humanarium


C.W. Tickner - 2018
    An Epic Science Fiction Action Adventure Series We landed on the wrong world... On their planet, we are the insects, but humanity cannot hide forever.Geck Mulliver is first to step out into the unreal world of giant flora and fauna.Attempting to lead his band of misfit soldiers into war against the planet’s ruling species will put them face to face with the titans that roam the land.When one of the titans discovers our ships we must fight a war against our extinction.But how to kill a thousand foot giant?

Time Crimes: The Paratime Collection


H. Beam Piper - 2008
    Beam Piper stories of the Paratime Police, a law enforcement organization which has learned how to move between parallel universes with alternate histories. They must also protect the secret of paratime travel.In the Paratime universe, there are an infinite number of timelines, but in each timeline, events occurred differently. They are grouped into five Levels, based on the probabilities of success of an attempt by Martians to colonize Earth 75,000 to 100,000 years ago. They use this time-traveling ability to trade for goods and services which their own, exhausted Earth cannot provide. In this volume:Book One: GenesisBook Two: Police OperationBook Three: Last EnemyBook Four: Temple TroubleBook Five: Time CrimeA must-read for classic sci-fi and pulp-fiction fans!

Fractured Light


Nick Cook - 2018
    THEY UNCOVERED A THREAT TO EVERY PERSON ON THE PLANET. NOW AN INVISIBLE ENEMY IS HUNTING THEM DOWN. What would you do if you started to see something lurking in the shadows of our everyday world? That's the reality that Jake Stevens has been pitched into and now he’s questioning his sanity.Jake’s been an outsider in his hometown Stoneham, England, ever since his life was shattered when his father's experiment into dark energy exploded, killing himself and many others.When Jake witnesses a satellite crash-landing, and starts to receive garbled messages that hint at a conspiracy, a chain of events is unleashed that will threaten the very existence of all life on Earth in a dystopian nightmare.Can Jake, and the best friend that he froze out of his life, Chloe Haze, a coding genius who’s heavily entrenched with the underground hacking network, figure out the connections of the mystery that link all the events before it’s too late?Fractured Light is the first volume in the Fractured Light trilogy, and is also part of the Multiverse Chronicles, an epic series of interlinked stories that follows the struggle of humanity to survive across parallel universes. If you love books by Michael Grant and Robert J Crane, or adore series like Stranger Things and Fringe, then this page-turning smart sci-fi thriller, is for you.

Retribution


Joshua James - 2019
    Lucky Savage was once a powerful Empire Marine. But that was before the Empire collapsed, sinking the outer colonies into chaos and leaving the galaxy on the precipice of disaster. Now his ship, Last Gasp, is home to a ragtag crew of misfits and ex-soldiers just trying to navigate the endless conflicts while hoping to score a big payday. So far, they'd settle for scratching out enough to cover fuel. When a job with Lucky's old employer comes along, it looks like their luck might be turning. But it quickly goes sideways, and they find themselves in the middle of a massive manhunt for a deadly experiment gone wrong. Can the mercs save the day? Who knows. They're just trying to save their own skin. It wouldn't hurt to get paid, either. Retribution is the first book in Lucky's Mercs, an action-packed new series that reads like an unholy union of Starship Troopers and Firefly.

Map of Dreams


M. Rickert - 2006
    These underlying myths and fantasies exist not as musty old stories but as ancient truths that have come to illuminate the modern human condition. The title story touches on themes of grief, redemption, and time travel; "Cold Fire" ventures into love and obsession; and "Peace on Suburbia" introduces readers to a Christmas with an entirely different kind of savior. These and 13 other tales are framed by four interludes—Dreams, Nightmares, Waking, and Rising—that guide readers through a world that is at once familiar and eerily off-kilter.

Zero Day (A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Series)


William H. Weber - 2020
    When it hits it will bring over a meter of snow and numbing arctic winds.Some are prepared. Most are not.But something infinitely more dangerous is also on its way--a multi-pronged cyber-attack that will destroy the power grid, crippling the country at the worst possible moment.Like millions of others, ex-cop Nate Bauer and his family are bracing for the coming storm, unaware that it will test them in ways they could never have imagined.For hidden deep within the malignant code lies an even greater threat. One that holds the potential to destroy America forever.In the end, only a single question will matter. When the lights go out for good, who will have what it takes to survive?