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


science-fiction
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short-story-collections
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The Warrior's Stone: A Military SciFi Romance


Matthew O. Duncan - 2014
    The war with the Serken has finally turned to the favor of the Allied worlds for the first time in over a decade, yet it is far from over. Lt. Commander Roy O’Hara leads his squadron of combat fighters against the enemy’s latest Super Destroyer and is shot down over an unexplored planet. Unknown to all, the planet holds secrets to a long lost alien weapon, the key to Roy’s own destiny and his role in an age old prophecy. Near death Roy is found by Katreena, a beautiful and mysterious woman. She is part of the medieval society on the planet that knows nothing of space or alien wars. On a solitary trip, she finds Roy, broken and battered, and saves his life with the Boto Stone; one of the most powerful tools of the healers in their society. She is unaware that by doing so she will create a deep bond and awaken an affect not seen for hundreds of years; the ability to communicate to each other in dreams. An unguarded moment leads to a forbidden night of intimacy; an act of betrayal to the crown, an act that will put both their lives in jeopardy. Katreena flees to save them both, but their ability to access each other’s dreams does not diminish. Danger increases as their secret may be discovered and war erupts on their planet.

Monolith (The Transcended #6)


Anthony James - 2019
    It works unseen, sending out vast entropy factories to construct machines of war for a single purpose: to bring extinction. Now, these spaceships are converging on human territory. The Confederation is worn down by endless conflict, its warfleet depleted and its armies stretched. Humanity never gives in. Two of the Space Corps’ top officers - Joe Nation and Becky Keller - are determined to fight for as long as it takes, in a battle which will lead them to alien places and to spaceships fitted with incredible weapons. The coming conflict will offer them a fleeting glimpse into the designs of an entity so powerful it might as well be a god. For Nation and Keller, the things they learn ensure nothing will ever be the same again. Monolith is a high-action science fiction adventure involving massive space battles, overwhelming odds and exciting technologies. It continues the Transcended series and picks up straight after book 5: Void Blade.

Shadow of Oblivion


Richard Tongue - 2019
    When war erupts, the heart of their battle fleet is Goliath, the largest battleship ever built, the result of years of work in hidden shipyards lost in the depths of space. Earth has no answer to her, no ship in her fleet a match for the overwhelming power of the warship. Defeat seems inevitable. Until a renegade Admiral concocts a final, desperate plan. Only one ship, an experimental warship, the Avenger, might possibly stand a chance against the might of Goliath. One ship, with a picked crew, a crew with nothing to lose and everything to gain, gathered from the dregs of Earth’s space forces, all facing charges ranging from murder to mutiny, but all of them the best in their respective fields. The last hope for the Terran Republic. The last, desperate hope for victory.

Rebel Tribe


Ramy Vance - 2021
    What do you do if you wake up hundreds of light-years from home in a strange ship and someone is trying to eat you?Jaeger can’t remember who she is or anything about her life, but she knows that's just wrong.The ship's AI tells her there are thousands of other lifeforms on board, but the instruments say she's alone—except for the killer.Something deep inside her screams that humanity’s fate hinges on her completing her mission…whatever it is.Jaeger must repair the ship and figure out her past while fighting for her life.Will she survive? If she can’t recall her mission, will humanity?

The Revival: Book II of the Stonemont Series


Steven C. Smith - 2018
    But the reviews and growing readership proved that it was more. It transcended its original target audience to appeal to many who had no previous interest in survivalism or preparedness as a lifestyle and made the jump to general adventure fiction.The reasons for this were several. It was well written, expansive in scope yet easy to follow. It told an interesting, compelling, story - intricate in its construction but smooth in its presentation. It introduced well-developed characters who jumped from the pages and spoke to the reader as easily and completely as do those around us, with thoughtful depth and easy humor. It spoke to our hearts, our souls, and the parts of us that search for a better way. But, more importantly, it asked, and answered, the seminal questions of our lives: Who are we? What do we believe in? What do we stand for? What will we stand against? And what is it, at our core, that enables ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things?Where The Reversion left off, The Revival picks up. From survival of an existential collapse, we enter the initial stages of the rebuilding of a society - a rebuilding seen through the eyes of those from Stonemont, and, eventually, beyond.As it should, The Revival takes us beyond The Reversion into a world we do not know, and cannot know, unless and until it happens. In doing so, it addresses unknown and unknowable situations with known and knowable human traits, tactics and strategies in pursuit of the stabilization of a world turned upside down. It is James Wesley, Rawles meets S.M. Stirling. It is a study of love, fortitude, morality, patriotism and the things that made America great, a critique of what caused the world to crumble, and a blueprint for the revival of those things we feel to be foundational for a people to return to a world of liberty, justice and freedom.As did The Reversion, The Revival breathes hope and fresh air into a genre which often, and rightly, concentrates on the devastation of society, and shows us a future world which is, in many ways, more positive than the one in which we currently live. Many readers, in fact, have stated that they prefer the world they have found in the Stonemont series to the one we live in. It can easily be understand why. The Revival continues the journey The Reversion started. It is a journey of life, love, learning and the human spirit. It is a journey you will be glad you are on.

The Gunn Files: The Complete Series: (An Alien Contact Mystery Box Set: Books 1-3)


M.G. Herron - 2021
    

The Station: A Novel


Rebecca J. Kelly - 2020
    

Out of Time: A story of archaeology... sort of


David LaVigne - 2012
    The grand opening of the Roman Colosseum. A British attack on Boston in 1776 that wasn’t supposed to happen.Doctor John Campbell, an archaeology professor at a community college, has led an ordinary life, a boring life, until the purchase of an old desk at a local flea market turns out to be an extraordinary find. A desk that once belonged to one of the most brilliant and frightening minds in the history of science. Hidden inside is a device that no one except the long dead scientist has ever seen. This discovery sparks a chain of events that sends Campbell on an amazing adventure that spans centuries, but Campbell’s journey quickly becomes more than he bargained for and the consequences could have dire effects on time itself.

His Share of Glory


C.M. Kornbluth - 1997
    M. Kornbluth. Many of the stories are SF "classics", such as "The Marching Morons," "The Little Black Bag," "Two Dooms," "The Mindworm," "Thirteen O'Clock," and, of course, "That Share of Glory". His Share of Glory includes all of Kornbluth's solo short science fiction, fifty-six works of short SF in all, with the original bibliographic details including pseudonymous by-line. The introduction is by noted SF writer and life-long friend and collaborator of C. M. Kornbluth-Frederik Pohl. Hardbound with cover art by Richard Powers.

The System Apocalypse Short Story Anthology, Volume 1


Tao Wong - 2019
    A Galactic dark elf. A woman who has given up her humanity to become something more. These stories and more are available in the first short story anthology for the System Apocalypse, covering year one on Earth. When the world ends, humanity steps up, finding new ways to survive in a world with Classes, magic and monsters. The anthology features exciting, new stories by five new writers and a new, never publicly released short story by Tao Wong. The System Apocalypse world was first introduced in 'Life in the North' and is a LitRPG science fiction and fantasy post-apocalyptic work that features monsters, science fiction technology, character sheets, supernatural races and ancient myths in one heady, LitRPG brew. Stories and writers featured in this anthology include: Craig Hamilton - "Hunting Monsters" has our protagonist doing what he does best. Finding those who would exploit the System and the people within. Except this time, there are even more complications than normal. Alexis Keane - "Tooth and Claw" is a heart-warming tale of friendship that knows no bounds of race or distance. Ix Phoen - "Rebel Within" tells a tale of hardship in South America, where the monsters are not always the ones outside the walls. Tao Wong – “Debts & Dances” covers the arrival of the System from the perspective of our favorite Truinnar Lord. R.K. Billiau – “Phoenix Rising” covers an unconventional hero, one whose mind is slipping from him before the apocalypse. Will the apocalypse be his salvation? Or doom? L.A. Batt - “Overture to Obliteration” brings us to far-off New Zealand to glimpse the wreckage the System has wrought.

Alliance


Jonathan P. Brazee - 2017
    Humanity is involved in a limited war with the alien Klethos, where gladitorial combat decides the fate of worlds, but that doesn’t affect the common Marine or sailor. His career has been training hard but never seeing actual combat. All of that changes when a new enemy invades the galaxy, one that threatens both humanity and Klethos. Mankind hasn’t fought an all-out war in centuries, but they’re about to. McKeever is assigned to a special task force with the mission to find out what makes this new enemy tick, and, if possible, stop them in their tracks before humanity is eliminated like so much insignificant vermin.

The Draco Tavern


Larry Niven - 2006
    Aliens on Mars angry humans forget their planet.

Cold Trap


Jon Waskan - 2014
    Inexplicably, the explorer vanishes, and the object along with him. Nearby, the gears spin on a secret device, setting in motion a chain reaction that could avert a civilization-ending cataclysm. Known only to a select few, the machine must be protected.But watching from the shadows, a brilliant sociopath has plans of his own. . .____________________________________________AboutInspired by Crichton, Asimov, and Brown, “Cold Trap” has intense action, political intrigue, a deep central mystery, and a backdrop of science and high-tech gadgetry, a combination that is sure to resonate with fans of contemporary science fiction and techno-thrillers.____________________________________________ReviewsMelinda Hills for Readers' Favorite (5 Stars)"I really enjoyed the story! ... a well written tale of scientific discovery and political/economic maneuvering for world dominance ... Tremendous creativity and an in-depth look at exo-geology - the study of rocks and deposits on the surface of the moon and other 'space rocks' - create a realistic background for action involving the basic human emotions of love, greed, the desire for knowledge and the hunger for power."

Savage Stars (Chaos Core Book 3)


Randolph Lalonde - 2018
    That means going to the Geist System, which is about to become the most prized looting target in the galaxy. Governments, raiders and corporations alike are ready to go to war over the advanced technology there, and Spin has to lead her people straight into the middle where she's unsure of what other obstacles the mad artificial intelligences have left for them.

The Super Olympian: Mystic Warrior (Shapechanger Tales)


Laer Carroll - 2012
    But Olympic gold medalist Sasha Canaro hides that side of herself. Publicly she is merely a high-paid fashion model and occasional consultant to police, who call her The Bloodhound. Then she meets a billionaire industrialist who may be another immortal shapechanger. Or something even stranger. And the woman has a job for Sasha.