Book picks similar to
The Signal by Nick Cook


sci-fi
science-fiction
scifi
first-contact

Unstolen: You can steal, but you can't hide


Tony Batton - 2018
    Almost.
 He returns stolen items to their rightful owners.
 For a price.

 A man has to make a living, and Jake more than most. Because he's still paying for mistakes made a long time ago. And they weren't even his.

High Strangeness


Eric Bickernicks - 2018
     Ken Wakeman, a skeptical UFOlogist who seeks the truth about paranormal phenomenon, struggles to discredit the myriad of crackpot theories out there. Melissa "Mel" Howard, a reporter for a small Cape Cod newspaper, copes with the seasonal tourist invasion and its accompanying anxieties. When the Cape becomes the national focus over a rash of UFO sights, they join forces to get to the bottom of it. Despite denials from town officials and the military that UFOs have landed, mass hysteria overcomes the seaside community. In addition to the frantic humans, Astro (Ken’s Golden Retriever) has also been acting strangely. Joining the invasion is Klick, the promiscuous leader of a spandex-clad UFO cult whose members want to “amalgamate” with the Fornacisians when their spaceship lands. Mel learns that when dealing with wing nuts, the truth isn’t necessarily “out there”. Tom Frasier, an infamous proponent of crashed saucers and frozen alien bodies, claims the local military base houses some intriguing secrets. After a visit from the FBI gives legitimacy to Tom’s story, Ken will ultimately decide how far he’s willing to go to witness humanity’s greatest close encounter.

Alien Abduction


Terry Compton - 2011
    They were forced to work as slave laborers on the Bug's mother ship where they formed a unique partnership. Each partner has unique talents that complement the others. This creates a synergy where the partnership is stronger than the sum of its members. They form a friendship with another kidnapped being on the mother ship who teaches them to fly the ancient space ship the 'Galactic Antiquarian'. The Bugs found the 'Galactic Antiquarian' floating in space and have spent years trying to get it open to learn its secrets. The trio learns how to open parts of the ship and escape from the mother ship on the Galactic Antiquarian with a minimum of fuel, air, water and food. They must use their unique talents to unlock more of the secrets of the ancient space ship so they can restock these essential supplies while avoiding recapture by the Bugs and their allies. The Bugs want the ancient space ship back badly and are pulling no punches to get it back. Are the secrets of the ancient ship enough to help them to restock and avoid capture? How will the Alcantaran ghosts fit into the puzzle? Will the secrets or the ghosts help them find their three home planets somewhere in the midst of the trillion galaxies in the universe? Alien Abduction is the first book in the series "The Alcantarans".

Foreign Involvement: A Chuck Winters Thriller


Robert E. Smith - 2018
    He soon gets caught up with a nemesis character that spews death and destruction, hiding throughout the world like a chameleon---causing Winters to leave his serene retirement and take chase.

Beach Traffic: The Ocean Can Be Deadly


Judith Lucci - 2019
    Kat’s childhood friend, Heidi is looking for great sex and a fantastic weekend hookup. But, things turned bad quickly when they learn a friend of theirs had been brutally attacked. Federal and local law enforcement officials are concerned about a vicious murder on the beach and the disappearance of five women. Scroll Up and Grab Your Copy Today!

The North Star: Galactic Sentinel Book One


Killian Carter - 2018
     Ensign Clio Evans is separated from her crew in the wreckage. She must re-join them if she stands any hope of surviving, but an alien army stands in her way. With the invaders hot on their heels, Grimshaw and Evans must find a way off the battle-scarred planet in time to warn the Galactic Council before the mysterious new race tears the Alliance asunder. Meanwhile, on the other side of the galaxy, Randis Kahn fights for survival on the lower levels of Sentinel Station. Caught between warring gangs and a political conspiracy, he must look to a past he would rather forget or lose everything he holds dear. Put three fresh characters in a glass. Fill it with action, and mix in some intrigue. Give it a good shake, and you have a cocktail called The North Star. If you enjoyed Star Wars, Mass Effect, and similar science fiction stories, you’ll love The North Star. Perfect for those who like books about alien invasion, first contact, colonisation, military science fiction, space opera, space fleet adventures, or anything related to the above.

Flat Space


Andrew Stanek - 2018
    When an alien spaceship crashes outside his house, he suddenly gets his chance. With the help of his friends - Eudox, a green space alien pretending to be from Texas, Sam Duval, a professional complainer who has huffed too much government mind control gas, and Corpsy, a stone-cold dead corpse - Arnold sets out into orbit to show everyone that the world is flat once and for all! Flat Earthers in space, the real reason the moon landing was faked, where the arrow in the Fedex logo is really pointing, the identity of the secret fifth Teletubby, the meaning of crop circles, and the true nature of the evil conspiracy that runs the world - all in Flat Space, a hilarious new comedy from author Andrew Stanek.

Cascade Point


Joshua Guess - 2017
    They fly at the edges of Alliance space, surveying new systems far from the problems that brought them all together. Some are former military, while others have more colorful pasts. Everyone aboard the Fallen Angel has a reason for staying on the fringes. It's a good life, but a chance discovery will change everything. Confronted by an enemy powerful enough to threaten all of human civilization, Grant and his crew are forced to choose between confinement or joining the Ghost Fleet, a hidden network of ships recruited and run by the Alliance Navy. Faced with an existential danger, Grant will lead his team into the far reaches of unknown space to keep the brewing conflict from exploding into all-out war.

Ryonna's Trials: Novella 1


Christian Kallias - 2016
     While acquiring vital information to infiltrate Hellstar, the maximum security prison her son is being held in, she makes an unlikely alliance that raises shadows from her past. It quickly becomes clear that the reasons behind the bounty on her head run deeper than she could ever have imagined. The shocking implications will turn Ryonna's entire life upside down. While attempting to break Ronan out of Hellstar remains her top priority, she embarks on a series of highly dangerous trials in order to uncover the truth behind it all, putting her life, mission and even her sanity on the line at every turn. --- The events of this Novella take place between book one (Earth – Last Sanctuary) and book two (Fury to the Stars) of the Universe in Flames saga. They focus around Ryonna's character. While it is not necessary to have read these books to enjoy this Novella, you’ll understand each reference to other characters and mention of races as well as some other world building details better if you did. If this is the first book you read from me, worry not, you can still go ahead and read it.

Outpost Omega


Marc Landau - 2018
    One robot. One dog. And a strange alien rock. Can they save the universe?Life's not going as planned on Earth Prime. Wil's lost his job, his living quarters, and the love of his life. Now all he wants is to get as far away as possible from his problems.But like the saying goes, you can't run away from yourself.He takes a sub-level military job as a night watchman patrolling the farthest end of the galaxy. He sits, watches, and waits. Alone, except for a robot and a contraband dog. Nothing ever happens at the farthest reach of the universe.Until it does.What starts out as an escape from life ends up thrusting Wil into the middle of war, an alien invasion, and an encounter with a mysterious lifeform as powerful as a God.Click and teleport to Outpost Omega!

Christmas on the Anvil


Michael Penmore - 2021
    Everyone but the spaceship’s grumpy XO/navigator. When mysterious Christmas-themed things start happening, can the jaded second-in-command debunk the myth, or will she start to believe in the magic of Santa and the sleigh? Warning: Filled to bursting with humour and Christmas songs you know and love to hate. Get into the spirit of Christmas with the Anvil’s crew in this light-hearted seasonal romp from the author of the Jane Poole Genesis.

Jump Gate Omega


Tom Shepherd - 2018
    “Specify, Dad. What do you want us to do?”His father glared at him. “Go to the Rim, sue those amphibious bastards for everything they’ve got, and get Jump Gate Omega on track again!”If the new Matthews Corporation Jump Gate fails to span 2.5 million light years to the Andromeda galaxy, the heavily invested star-faring civilization of the Milky Way will face economic ruin and brutal war.The Star Lawyers must run a gauntlet to the Rim, dodging pirates, politicians, prelates, and predatory star nations intent on seizing the new Gate to Andromeda.Without Jump Gate Omega, the Terran Commonwealth may not survive.

Uncommon Bravery (Tinker/Knight Adventures Book 1)


Jamie McFarlane - 2018
    An intrepid group of friends will stop at nothing to defend their home. A massive fleet of aliens arrived weeks back and have been battling it out with the combined fleets of mankind's most powerful nations. The war for humanity's very existence has begun and it's not going very well. With supremacy in orbit, the Kroerak empire has started the second phase of their invasion by sending in their armies. Lester Knight, Jeremy Tinker and Clara Daws have grown up in the sleepy little town, Elm Bluff on the western border of Iowa. Nothing much exciting every happens in Elm Bluff until suddenly it becomes a buffer between two armies. The town has only one chance of survival and that's if it can be cut off from the bugs. Read Uncommon Bravery and discover just how far a group of friends will go to protect their home.

Discovery


Nate Johnson - 2017
     Machinist Mate Nick Barns goes from ship’s mechanic, to bodyguard, to Mission Leader. His only job, keep everyone alive until they are rescued. A task, the primitive Eundai are determined to make difficult. Xeno-sociologist Amanda Rogers' dreams have come true. Humans have finally found an intelligent species. They may be primitives, barely out of their own bronze age. The last thing these Eundai need is to be overwhelmed with human technology. History is filled with examples of primitive cultures being ruined after initial contact. It is her job to make sure that doesn’t happen.

The Crying of Ross 128: Book 1 in the Ross 128 First Contact Trilogy


David Allan Hamilton - 2018
    Against this backdrop, space exploration is on the cusp of new technological breakthroughs. Jim Atteberry, a mid-30s English professor at City College in San Francisco, spends his free time listening for alien signals on the amateur radio astronomy bands. His life as a single parent to his precocious daughter is turned upside-down when he hears an intelligent cry for help from the Ross 128 system and realizes we are not alone. First Contact This signal unleashes a chain of events pitting Jim and his brilliant, mysterious colleague Kate against a power-hungry scientist with his own secret agenda. Jim must learn the truth about the signal, the strange disappearance of his wife Janet, and the meaning of true love before it's too late in this first contact science fiction thriller. The Human Side of Hard Science Fiction The Crying of Ross 128 is a sci fi mystery thriller and will appeal to fans of Robert J. Sawyer, Ted Dekker, Michael Crichton, and Ursula Le Guin. As well, readers of Star Trek will recognize the human side of hard science fiction presented here.This is the first book in the Ross 128 Science Fiction First Contact Trilogy.