Book picks similar to
Stowaway by Z.D. Dean


science-fiction
sci-fi
military
aliens

Confrontation


Nathan Hystad - 2019
    An unfamiliar crew. An old nemesis. Thomas Baldwin has been appointed captain of the state-of-the-art cruise ship Constantine, named after his heroic grandfather. When their first diplomatic mission turns deadly, all signs point to the return of a former adversary, one the Concord claims to have defeated five decades earlier. No one has seen Baldwin’s commander, Treena Starling, since her previous ship was destroyed in a gruesome battle, leaving her the sole survivor. Can her secret help them rescue one of their crew members from captivity at the enemy’s hands? When the Concord advises Baldwin to walk away from a fight, he must rely on his new crew, including the AI based on his younger grandfather, Constantine, to make the right decisions. One wrong step, and Captain Baldwin could be throwing the entire Concord into another intergalactic war...and this time they might not be so lucky. Confrontation is the first book in the epic new Baldwin’s Legacy series, written by the best-selling author of the Survivors series.

Fortune's Pawn


Rachel Bach - 2013
    She has plans. Big ones. And a ton of ambition. It's a combination that's going to get her killed one day - but not just yet. That is, until she just gets a job on a tiny trade ship with a nasty reputation for surprises. The Glorious Fool isn't misnamed: it likes to get into trouble, so much so that one year of security work under its captain is equal to five years everywhere else. With odds like that, Devi knows she's found the perfect way to get the jump on the next part of her Plan. But the Fool doesn't give up its secrets without a fight, and one year on this ship might be more than even Devi can handle.

The Wrong Stars


Tim Pratt - 2017
    or awaken an ancient evil and destroy all life in the galaxy.The shady crew of the White Raven run freight and salvage at the fringes of our solar system. They discover the wreck of a centuries-old exploration vessel floating light years away from its intended destination and revive its sole occupant, who wakes with news of First Alien Contact. When the crew break it to her that humanity has alien allies already, she reveals that these are very different extra-terrestrials... and the gifts they bestowed on her could kill all humanity, or take it out to the most distant stars. File Under: Science Fiction

Marines


Jay Allan - 2012
    The deal was simple; enlist to fight in space and he would be pardoned for all his crimes.In the 23rd Century, assault troops go into battle wearing AI-assisted, nuclear-powered armor, but it is still men and blood that win battles. From one brutal campaign to the next, Erik and his comrades fight an increasingly desperate war over the resource rich colony worlds that have become vital to the economies of Earth's exhausted and despotic Superpowers.As Erik rises through the ranks he finally finds a home, first with the marines who fight at his side and later among the colonists - men and women who have dared to leave everything behind to build a new society on the frontier, one where the freedoms and rights lost long ago on Earth are preserved.Amidst the blood and death and sacrifice, Erik begins to wonder. Is he fighting the right war? Who is the real enemy?

The Log of the Gray Wolf


Shane VanAulen - 2011
     “The Log of the Gray Wolf" is a self-published science fiction novel. Readers have found it to be a fast-paced and packed with action. This is a story crafted around a young man becoming a man, an officer, and a hero. It is a story set against incredible odds, where this underdog crew of gray wolves and young pups must somehow escape their world, steal a damaged ship and fight their way through enemy forces while raining pain down on the enemies of mankind. The adventure begins in a future time when Earth has colonized new worlds and has also found new enemies. The Karduans are a race of blue-skinned humanoids ruled by a matriarchal society. The Blues, as they are nicknamed - are aggressive and militant with their female rulers possessing telepathy to control their subservient male population. Most human worlds are ruled by the United Confederation of Earth, which had evolved from the old United Nations format after the Apocalypse War. At this time period, Earth has been at war for several years. Our hero, Mike Collins former midshipmen, now an Ensign, finds himself trapped on a breakaway world that has made a deal with the Karduans. This leads him and his classmates along with a group of retired veterans to plan an escape to rejoin Earth's forces. Join the fight! Note from Author: This book has been revised and re-edited since first self-published. Ratings and comments from early readers about editing are from before latest edits. Please look at reader ratings talking about content as editing has been pretty much fixed. I hope you enjoy it.

To the Stars


Thomas C. Stone - 2010
    Harry Irons dreams of escaping poverty and an over-crowded Earth by gaining employment with the Braithwaite Corporation. After proving himself in a series of tests, Harry gets his wish and soon enough finds himself struggling to survive on an alien world. TO THE STARS was written for a general audience and is sure to satisfy both younger and older fans of alternative fiction.

Linesman


S.K. Dunstall - 2015
    No ship can traverse the void without them. Only linesmen can work with them. But only Ean Lambert hears their song. And everyone thinks he’s crazy…Most slum kids never go far, certainly not becoming a level-ten linesman like Ean. Even if he’s part of a small, and unethical, cartel, and the other linesmen disdain his self-taught methods, he’s certified and working.Then a mysterious alien ship is discovered at the edges of the galaxy. Each of the major galactic powers is desperate to be the first to uncover the ship’s secrets, but all they’ve learned is that it has the familiar lines of energy—and a defense system that, once triggered, annihilates everything in a 200 kilometer radius.The vessel threatens any linesman who dares to approach it, except Ean. His unique talents may be the key to understanding this alarming new force—and reconfiguring the relationship between humans and the ships that serve them, forever.

Recon: The Complete Series


Rick Partlow - 2017
    His mother has his life planned out, with a seat by her side, running the conglomerate. Tyler has other ideas. With the help of a great-grandfather who was a United States Marine when there used to be a United States, Tyler changes his face and his identity, becoming Randall Munroe and enlisting in the Fleet Marine Corps, qualifying for the point of the sword, Force Recon. Plunged into an interstellar war against the relentless Tahni Empire, Munroe is stranded alone on an occupied colony and forced to organize a civilian resistance to the enemy. The year of constant violence and death wears him down, yet sharpens him at the same time. After the war, Munroe once again takes up arms, this time against his will, when his uncle, Andre Damiani, the head of the Corporate Council, blackmails him into leading a special squad of trouble-shooters, eliminating threats to Council business among the criminal cabals in the Pirate Worlds. But the real enemy is still the Council, and Munroe vows to take the fight to them, no matter what the cost.

The Bounty Hunter


Jasper T. Scott - 2020
    What he didn’t know was who he’d end up hunting.When it suited the Coalition, Cade was a Paladin, a member of their elite special forces. He did their dirty work and cleaned up their messes. Until his dark ops went public, and Cade was drummed out of the service with a dishonorable discharge. As if he’d ever been doing anything but following orders.Forced to the fringes of society by his service record, Cade broke the law just to survive. Then the Enforcers caught him, and he served his time. Sick of the hypocrisy in the supposedly utopian Coalition, he crossed over to the other side and made a life among his former enemies in the Free Systems Alliance. Now he hunts the galaxy’s worst lowlifes, for a fee, and the only orders he takes are his own.But when his past catches up with him, Cade is forced to fight for more than just credits…This time, he’s in it for revenge.

Beachhead


Chris Lowry - 2017
     Now the aliens are coming. They want to occupy earth. They want to destroy humanity. They want to kill every last one of us. But we are legion. Seven billion humans are tough to kill. Pockets of survivors band together to fight back. It's hard to know who to trust. Human collaborates will do anything to live one more day. The US mounts an offensive. They turn loose Lt William "Don't ever call me the Kid" Bonney and his eight headhunters to wreak havoc on the invaders. Their business is killing Licks and brother, business is good. But the Lick Commander has a plan. More betrayal. When Bonney and his squad raid a supply train on the orders of High Command, they rescue a prisoner with a secret. One that will change the tide of war and help the human cause win. If they can last long enough to reach it. Book One in the Invasion Series is an extension of the world built in PHALANX and PHYRRIC. Fans of dystopian military sci fi are going to love the adventures of Lt and his squad of misfits as they roam middle America siccing the dogs of war on alien invaders bent on colonizing earth. WARNING: This book contains graphic language. There are enough F bombs in here to make sailors blush, so if you are faint of heart, do not read further. But if you can handle a little spice in your reading pleasure, then grab your copy and join the fight today.

Gladiator


Jonathan P. Brazee - 2016
    Gladiators, as they are better known, are genetically modified human champions who meet Klethos d’relle in the combat ring when the Klethos issue a challenge for a human world. Win, and the planet stays in human possession; lose, and not only do they lose their lives, but the world as well. With the Klethos much more advanced and militarily powerful, able to defeat humanity in an all-out war, the challenge ring is the only way to retain at least some of the worlds of man. While life as a gladiator is full of celebrity status and the gratitude of humanity, it comes with a heavy price. Not only is there the real risk of death in the ring, if a gladiator survives that, the “Brick,” or Boosted Regeneration Cancer, will claim her life within a few years. Lance Corporal Veal, who has found a home in the Marines, has to decide whether to accept the nomination. She would have to leave her brothers and sisters in the Corps, be assigned to the combined human gladiator course, and undergo extreme genetic modification that will leave her almost unrecognizable from the woman she was before. Becoming a gladiator will enable her to serve humanity to a far greater extent than anything else she could do as a Marine grunt, but at a tremendous personal cost. Author’s note: For those readers familiar with my other Marine-related books, this one is a little different in that there is far less combat action, particularly from a Marine unit standpoint. This novel, which is the first of three planned books that follow three different women serving as United Federation Marines or as a Navy corpsman, is more about duty, sacrifice, and what it means to serve in defense of others.

The Complete Independence Day Omnibus


Stephen Molstad - 2016
    All satellite communications are interrupted, as fear grips the cities of the world. When the skies return to normal, it becomes clear that a force of incredible magnitude has arrived on Earth. Its mission: to eliminate all human life on the planet.SILENT ZONECREATED BY DEAN DEVLIN & ROLAND EMMERICH NOVEL BY STEPHEN MOLSTADIn the official prequel to Independence Day, Dr Brackish Okun, head scientist of Area 51, begins to suspect that a massive government cover-up has successfully buried all evidence of alien visitation throughout the years—a cover-up in which Okun is now an unwilling participant.WAR IN THE DESERTCREATED BY DEAN DEVLIN & ROLAND EMMERICHNOVEL BY STEPHEN MOLSTADIt is the fourth of July. Reeling from the enemy onslaught, a few surviving military pilots gather in the Saudi Arabian desert. Two of the best fliers discover that their recent “victory” was an illusion—part of a secret ambush that will open the planet to unimaginable horror, unless several Middle Eastern nations can overcome long-standing hatreds and unite against the aliens in the fiercest hand-to-hand combat of the war.

Arrival (The Tyr Trilogy, #1)


Richard Fox - 2021
    He left the violence behind for a life of science, raising a family far from the bloodshed of the Corporation. With his wife, Sarah, and son, Michael, he studied the alien Tyr for years, hidden among their complex societies. Their mission should have ended with the arrival of a replacement team. Instead, the Clays’ corporate overlords choose a death sentence: an invasion fleet to conquer the Tyr.This first contact will destroy the Tyr, and only Daniel Clay and his family can help fight back against the drug-fueled conscripts and military might of the invaders. The Clays must help the Tyr from the shadows or be killed by the Tyr who fear them...or by the Corporation they’ve betrayed.But the Clays aren’t the only hidden power.If you like Avatar or V, you’ll love The Tyr Trilogy, a series that combines the wonder, excitement, and drama of top-notch sci-fi.

Mako (The Mako Saga #1)


Ian J. Malone - 2013
    All of that changes, though, when Lee leads a team of old friends to virtual glory as the first-ever group to beat Mako Assault, a revolutionary new game that has emerged from nowhere to take the Internet by storm. As a reward for their achievement, the group is flown to meet the game’s mysterious designer and assist in developing the follow-on game Mako 2.0. But what they find when they get there is more than they’d expected…much more. Mako’s intent was never to entertain its players. It was to train them.An epic sci-fi thrill-ride of action, suspense, laughter, and romance, Mako is the story of five ordinary people who will have to rise to the challenge of extraordinary events, driven only by their faith in each other. If they can’t, the game will become very real to more than just themselves—the Earth itself may ultimately be at stake.

The Eyes of the Huntress (Shil the Huntress, #1)


Niall Teasdale - 2018
    The great and the good celebrate her victories. Criminals dread the day they hear she is hunting them. But it was not always thus…