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


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Storming Heaven (War of the Gods, #1)


Christopher G. Nuttall - 2012
    Now, the human race has spread through countless star systems, but remains hopelessly inferior to the Killers. The god-like aliens are systematically driving humanity to the verge of extinction.Desperate times need desperate measures and humanity launches a crazy plan, to board and seize a Killer starship, hoping to unlock their technology. But the Killer plan to rebuild the universe from scratch is well underway, leaving humanity at the verge of total extinction. If they fail, the Killers will be the only form of life remaining in the entire universe…

Escape


David Ryker - 2019
    Her people have fled. And Mitch Ayers is having a real bad day. Fifty years ago, our home was dying. We identified worlds that might be able to support human life. We built Ark Ships: huge colonization vessels carrying thousands of crew. And we set out, not knowing if we could make it to the other side of the blackness, or whether there would be anything there if we did. Mitch wasn't supposed to have to care about any of this. He was supposed to be happily dreaming in stasis for another twenty years. That's until he wakes up on the Ark Ship Nansen, three light years off course, staring right up at the barrel of a gun. All around him, he hears the screams of the dying. Terrorists are wiping out the Nansen's crew while they sleep, and he's the only one who can do a damn thing about it. But ain't that always the way. Mitch knows the Nansen's crew might be the only humans left in the universe. The problem is, he quickly learns that humans aren't alone in the stars. Aliens aren't just out there, they're everywhere. And the first one he meets tries to sink its teeth into his neck... Mitch is a long way from home, and it's not just the aliens he's up against. It's the traitors within his own crew. Now humanity's fate rests on his shoulders. So he'll have to think fast...

Super Sales on Super Heroes Omnibus Edition: Rise and Fall


William D. Arand - 2018
    Please read all the way through.) In a world full of super powers, Felix has a pretty crappy one. He has the ability to modify any item he owns. To upgrade anything. Sounds great on paper. Almost like a video game. Except that the amount of power it takes to actually change, modify, or upgrade anything worthwhile is beyond his abilities. With that in mind, Felix settled into a normal life. A normal job. His entire world changes when the city he lives in is taken over by a Super Villain. Becoming a country of one city. A city state. Surprisingly, not a whole lot changed. Politicians were still corrupt. Banks still held onto your money. And criminals still committed crime. Though the black market has become more readily available. And in that not so black market, Felix discovers he has a way to make his power useful after all, and grasps a hold of his chance with both hands. Warning and minor spoiler: This novel contains graphic violence, undefined relationships/partial harem, unconventional opinions/beliefs, and a hero who is as tactful as a dog at a cat show. Read at your own risk. This is the Omnibus edition of the 1st Super Sales on Super Heroes Trilogy. It contains all three books of the first trilogy. Only the description of the first book has been included to prevent spoilers from occurring. (Product Page for Book 1: https://www.amazon.com/Super-Sales-He...) (Product Page for Book 2: https://www.amazon.com/Super-Sales-He...) (Product Page for Book 3: https://www.amazon.com/Super-Sales-He...)

Timelines


Bob Blink - 2010
    Several things bother him however. Despite his technical skills he has made no progress in his attempts to understand how to control his destinations, or in understanding the basic operation of the time complex. Is there something special about the dates and locations pre-programmed into the machine? Is travel to times and places other than he has found even possible? There are clues that the answer to this question is yes, but he has yet to find a way to test what he suspects. He also has no more idea now than when he first chanced upon the time complex as to who or what built it, and why. Despite the hundreds of hours spent in the complex itself or traveling to other time periods, he has never encountered another traveler. The odd symbols on the equipment and what appear to be handwritten records lead him to suspect that the time complex was not created by future humans. If this is so, is there a sinister purpose behind the device, and why were the ‘Builders’ completely absent for so long? Perhaps they have finished their investigations, and have left. If so, why leave it powered and operational?He is also concerned how the complex might be used if he reveals its existence to the wrong people, yet he has come to the conclusion that he needs help if he is to make any headway understanding the secrets locked inside the hidden complex. His decision to disclose the secret to two of his closest friends will set in motion a chain of events he could not have anticipated.After a disastrous trip into the past to ‘show off’ his secret, Jim gains the trust of a fellow traveler from his own future. Together they assemble a select team to unravel the mysteries locked inside the complex. Their investigations lead to a race against time to determine the future of mankind.

Rift: The Complete Rift Saga: Books 1-3


Andreas Christensen - 2017
    They called this new nation the Covenant, and two centuries later, it is stronger than ever. The Moon people, descendants of lunar colonists who returned to Earth to rebuild it, rule with an iron fist, to ensure their dominance over the original inhabitants, the English. For the Covenant is a nation where a chosen few prosper at the cost of everyone else, and while the English are forced to serve their masters their entire lives, the Moon people have mastered the greatest secret, the secret of life itself. In the Rift Saga we follow Sue and Dave, two English teens sent off to serve, Evan, a soldier and a member of one of the most prominent families of the Moon people, and Mark, the oldest man on Earth, as they find themselves in the midst of events, uncovering conspiracies that have kept the Moon people in power ever since they left their dusty refuge behind. Sooner or later, in different ways, they will all find that lies and deception can only work for so long, and sooner or later the truth will be unveiled. What will happen once the veil of lies unravels? The Rift Saga takes place more than two centuries after the events of Exodus, in a dystopian society forged from the ashes of global disaster. The Complete Rift Saga consists of Rift (Book 1), Covenant (Book 2) and Legacy (Book 3).

The Year's Best Science Fiction: Thirty-Fifth Annual Collection


Gardner Dozois - 2018
    Now, in The Year's Best Science Fiction: Thirty-Fifth Annual Collection, the very best SF authors explore ideas of a new world. This venerable collection brings together award-winning authors and masters of the field. With an extensive recommended reading guide and a summation of the year in science fiction, this annual compilation has become the definitive must-read anthology for all science fiction fans and readers interested in breaking into the genre.

Agents of the Planetary Republic Books 1-10


Jaxon Reed - 2021
    Treaties are signed, trade is restored. But spies and diplomatic turmoil lead to a high-tech cold war of epic proportions. Ex Space Marine Gina Wilcox finds herself in a law enforcement career after the war, but life can be just as dangerous on the streets as the battlefield. Sleeper cells activate, assassinating government officials. Crime syndicates flourish. And a certain high-tech android has been stolen by the League, spirited off world for unknown purposes. Into this milieu a band of Marine outcasts join the fight. They spent more time in the brig than on the battlefield, yet racked up admirable wartime kill ratios. These renegades are quietly recruited by Republican Naval Intelligence to lead black ops against the League. Gina Wilcox will join their leader Commander Hamilton Wolf in a risky interstellar quest to retrieve an android who doesn’t even realize she’s not human. The fate of two civilizations hangs in the balance . . .

The Seafort Saga Books 1–3: Midshipman's Hope, Challenger's Hope, and Prisoner's Hope


David Feintuch - 2017
    Campbell Award–winning author: The original trilogy chronicling the military science fiction adventures of Nicholas Seafort. In a “splendid homage to the grand tradition of the old seafarer’s tale,” the Seafort Saga tells the story of an intergalactic captain’s journey through the galaxy (Roger MacBride Allen). Now, the first three installments of this epic series are available in one volume.  Midshipman’s Hope: The year is 2194. Seventeen-year-old Nicholas Seafort is a fresh recruit with the United Nations Naval Service, serving as midshipman onboard the UNS Hibernia. En route to the colony of Hope Nation, the ship answers a distress call—only to lose the senior command staff in a daring rescue attempt. The chain of command has elevated Seafort into a leadership role he never anticipated. Surrounded by resentful and potentially mutinous officers, Seafort earns his stripes throughout Hibernia’s voyage, but his real trial awaits at Hope Nation with a startling revelation for humanity.  Challenger’s Hope: Capt. Nicholas Seafort was in command of the UNS Challenger until he was assigned to Adm. Geoffrey Tremaine’s task force. Removed from his flagship, Seafort has been given the smaller UNS Portia, transporting colonists to the world of Detour. But an alien attack devastates both ships, leaving dozens of crewmen and passengers dead. Only UNS Challenger is in good enough condition to bring the survivors home—provided Seafort can regain and retain his captaincy.  Prisoner’s Hope: Nicholas Seafort’s disastrous mission as captain of the UNS Challenger cost him nearly everything. The aliens responsible for decimating the United Nations Naval fleet are still a threat to the colony world of Hope Nation, whose inhabitants feel abandoned as the navy returns to Earth. To save the colonists, Seafort will have to sacrifice everything he has left and commit an act of high treason that could result in his death sentence.

Six Seconds (Adrian Tarn)


E.R. Mason - 2020
    Adrian Tarn and R.J. Smith are persuaded to escort two scientists to a landing there to investigate. What they find has unexpected consequences for Earth and every person on it. Join Adrian Tarn, R.J. Smith, and Danica Donoro as they fight to close Pandora's box before Earth becomes a new asteroid belt.

Invasion and Conquest


Rob Buckman - 2018
    His mission was to retrieve an important package and get it to a secret military base in northern California. He was hundreds of miles inside alien held territory with no heavy weapons, no support, no Intel on the aliens, and no way to report the mission was a bust. Between him and the secret base stood the Sierra Nevada Mountain, four hundred miles of treacherous road and an unknown number of world destroying aliens. Any transport was immidiately attacked and destroyed, so the only way to get there was to walk. To even think about taking these women on a four hundred mile yomp was crazy at best, and completely insane knowing winter would catch them before they reached their goal. But ever the perennial sheepdog he didn't have a choice. It was either leave them to their fate, or take them with him. The only way to do that was to teach them. Not only survive, but to turn these inexperienced civilians into a snarling, battle hardened 'Wolf Pack', willing and able to take down the assorted bad guys and aliens that stood in their path. In the SAS, he'd done some crazy thing, and if there was a kindly God who looked after little children, fools and village idiots, John ‘Wolfman’ Decker hoped he was paying special attention right about now, because he was the biggest village idiot of them all.Cover Artist: Jesus Condi

Out of Time


Michael Stewart - 2015
    Searching for answers from his own past, James suddenly finds himself back in war torn Britain in December 1944 facing a new and very dangerous reality. James is enlisted as a member of an RAF bomber crew and is forced to face the horror of war in the skies over Nazi occupied Europe, an icy death in the English Channel and an execution at the hands of a crazed Gestapo officer. He also finds love amidst the drama of war and finally discovers that the reality of life on our world isn’t quite what we think it is.Out of time follows on from the extraordinary success of The Angel of Time by Michael Stewart. If you enjoy the thrill of historic war-time fiction coupled with a thought provoking twist. All sales during November will be donated to The Poppy Appeal!

The Archangel Response


Kevin Harmon - 2011
    A collector of classic art and fine wine, Michael's business has provided him with a very good life.But Michael also has a secret. One that could cost him everything if discovered. With the aid of Marlin, a former CIA case officer and his longtime mentor, Michael operates a clandestine organization that protects his company from a global network of intellectual-property pirates who want what he has, even if they have to kill to get it. Together, the two men use whatever means necessary to defend what Michael has spent his life building.Because of his very dangerous life, Michael has forbidden himself from ever getting too close to anyone. That is, until he meets Caitlin Doyle, a beautiful, intelligent, and politically connected campaign strategist working on the upcoming presidential election. While on a weekend vacation to the mountains, Michael and Caitlin come under attack by a group of hired assassins. Barely escaping the sudden, brutal, and well-orchestrated assault, Michael must respond against a powerful and unknown enemy in ways that test his courage and beliefs like never before. With merely a blurred photo of a man's hand to go on, Michael wages a battle that circles the globe – all to hunt down the men who invaded his perfect life.Set against the contrasting worlds of high technology, politics, and espionage, The Archangel Response moves quickly from a defiled Russian monastery to an exploding supertanker in Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor, through the corrupt halls of government in Washington DC to Spain's Running of the Bulls.Ending in a violent confrontation that could cost Michael everything he's worked for, and even the woman he loves, The Archangel Response is a pulse-pounding thriller from first-time author Kevin Harmon that will leave readers shocked and emotionally moved.

Fresh Fruit and Ammo (Abner Fortis, ISMC Book 3)


P.A. Piatt - 2021
    

Star Bourne (Star Man #1)


I.G. Roberts - 2016
    When he wakes, he is in another place and, it seems, another time. Colin is a very long way from home, on the Ship FNS Destiny with no way to return. When he visits the devastated colony of Zafar, he becomes a changed man, a man with a new purpose in life. Pirates attacking planets and Star-Ships quickly show him the universe is not the friendly place he once thought it was. The idea that people who are as technologically advanced as these will be peaceful and benevolent is only partly true. These Aliens must still maintain a military to defend themselves against their enemies. After pirates attack the ship he is travelling on, the entire command structure is out of action, leaving only Colin to guide the repairs and help the crew steer the ship safely back to home port. Along the way he must rescue innocent civilians from the pirates and help the Federation of Sentient Peoples (FSP) to survive. He learns that the very actions he must take to save the ship and crew could also see him branded a pirate if he is successful. While the FSP is by no means a utopian society, its leaders are smart enough to know they are in trouble and who they should ask for help. Can Colin save the ship and her crew? If he does, will the Federation authorities put him in prison for doing so?

Life as an Independent Space Hauler


Jason Hill - 2021
    Everything was taken from him and he was pressed into military service as a fighter pilot. A few years later, Jace has gotten out of military service and worked on a corporate freighter. He has grown to love space and plans to never return to earth. Dissatisfied with the corporate life, Jace finds the necessary backing to go independent. Thus, he begins the life of an independent freight hauler. This story is inspired by Nathan Lowell's Golden Age of the Solar Clipper series, Firefly, and some anime.