Book picks similar to
Fire At Will by Christian Kallias
sci-fi
scifi
litrpg
sci-fi-fantasy
Star Crusades: Omnibus Edition
Michael G. Thomas - 2011
This epic science fiction series chronicles humanity’s first interstellar confederation, torn apart by religious strife and extremism.SIEGE OF TITAN In the first book of the Star Crusades Uprising series, the bloody struggle is told through the eyes of an illegal pit fighter named Spartan, who is forced to choose between incarceration or military service. Choosing the Confederate Marine Corps over servitude he begins his thirty long weeks of training. Together with his group of marines, they are honed into a force ready to be thrown into the meat grinder on the newest and greatest planet in the Confederacy, Proxima Prime. His term of service will soon become one of violence and carnage, as the entire sector is ripped apart by a brutal and virulent religious movement and its shocking plans.TEARS OF KERBEROS The religious insurgency continues to spread through the weakened colonies of the Confederacy. Spartan, now a sergeant in the Marine Corps and his armoured platoon is rushed to the defence of New Carlos on the planet of Prime. The massive city is besieged by the terrifying biomech shock troopers, its fall is imminent. As the battles rage across the continent enemy agents continue to foment revolt throughout the remaining colonies in their struggle to bring the empire crashing down.FIRES OF PROMETHEUS The sector is entering a short period of calm. There is peace in Proxima Centauri but for how long? The religious insurgency has already exploded throughout the system and one by one the colonies have seceded from the Confederacy, lured to the offerings of the Church of Echidna. Spartan and General Rivers have vanished and are presumed to have been executed at the hands of their Zealot captors for the murder of the President of Kerberos.This expanding saga includes the Star Crusades Uprising and new Star Crusades Nexus series that follows the story of the Centauri Alliance seventeen years after the end of the Uprising.
The Fifth Column
J.N. Chaney - 2019
The truth of what happened remains a mystery, and the government will stop at nothing to keep it buried. Together with the unit’s medic, Eva finds herself branded a terrorist and enemy of the State, hunted by two opposing governments. When the pair uncover a plot that could have ramifications for the whole galaxy, they know they have to act, but it will take all of their training, cunning and just a bit of luck to do what no one else has achieved. But what do you do when every secret begets another? And how far will you go to find the answers?
The Fight for Britannia
Saxon Andrew - 2018
They found a habitable planet and erased everything in the colony ship’s data banks about Earth in the hopes that none of their descendants would ever attempt to find mankind’s home world. Now, thousands of years after Britannia was settled, a war is looming between the Union and Coalition. Captain Grady Henricks is given a secret mission to discover how a small scout ship’s hull survived destruction from powerful blaster beams that destroyed everything but the hull. However, time is running out for Grady to finish his mission; the Coalition is becoming more aggressive and the war is going to kick off before Grady can complete his assignment. During his mission, Grady discovers that the scout wasn’t attacked and destroyed by Coalition warships. An alien civilization has found Britannia and it quickly becomes clear that not only is the Union threatened by the Coalition but all of Britannia is in danger of being attacked by the aliens. War breaks out and the aliens decide to strike in the aftermath. The Fight for Britannia is on and it appears that the humans living on Britannia don’t have long to live. Grady is forced to do something that the original colonists prayed would never happen; he goes in search of an ancient planet that might be able to save the remaining humans on Britannia. Earth must be found and quickly. Excerpt from The Fight for Britannia: Taffy stood behind the Hermit and saw the computer’s screen activate. She saw the startup screen appear and then go dark, as the Hermit turned a nob on the keyboard. Each time it clicked, another dark screen appeared. After ten clicks, a view appeared on the display. She heard the Hermit mutter to himself, “They left the polar satellite alone.” He began moving the cursor and the view changed. An image began zooming in and she saw a city appear. The image grew larger and she recognized that it was the city she lived in just over the mountains; the Government Tower was in the center of the city and that building couldn’t be anywhere else. She suddenly saw three large shapes move out of the mountains toward the outskirts of the city. Suddenly, brilliant beams of light stabbed out of the three objects hitting the ground. Her heart started pounding harder; where those light beams hit, massive explosions erupted, and everything caught on fire. The three-large objects moved out over the city and the only thing left behind them was a fire bright enough to be seen from space. She watched the fires move out into the city and saw her parent’s neighborhood go up in massive flames. The Hermit moved the cursor again and she saw numerous star ships moving toward the monitor. The Hermit pressed a button on the wall turning on the lights in the giant facility as he jumped up out of his chair and ran across the huge room. She followed him and suddenly saw a small ship in the center of the large cavern. The Fight for Britannia is a thriller and is the latest novel from the international bestselling author Saxon Andrew.
Scimitar's Glory (Swordships Odyssey)
Dietmar Arthur Wehr - 2018
7th Fleet discovers that one of those races is moving to attack. In a moment of panic, the commanding admiral orders the fleet to attempt a risky jump through hyperspace. They miss hitting their target star’s gravity well and end up deep in unexplored space with a shockingly long trip home and not nearly enough food to last that long. With war now raging in their home systems, the officers of 7th Fleet must find a way to put aside their egos, ambitions and fears in order to make it back, and they know that not all of them will. Scimitar’s Glory is the first book in a new, fast-paced, action-packed military SF series: Swordships Odyssey. The second book, Excalibur's Quest, is already available for pre-order. Excerpt: With a long, risky jump like this, Dejanus would have expected Corregidor’s astrogational AI to take at least ten minutes to aim the ship as precisely as possible to the distant star’s center. She was therefore surprised and somewhat alarmed when the flagship signaled to the rest of the fleet that they could start to match her trajectory after only half that time. “Goddammit, what’s the rush?” she said to Koenig who was the only other human on the Bridge. “There’s no possible way the Jab fleet can catch us before we jump, even if we take another hour to do it. Why not take a few extra minutes to get the most accurate trajectory possible?” When it became clear that Koenig had nothing to say, she continued. “Astro, I want you to check the flagship’s alignment with Alpha9 while we match vectors. Let me know if you think the flagship’s vector could be better.” That extra task delayed Excalibur’s alignment, and therefore she became the last ship in the fleet to signal her readiness for the jump. “Fleet Commander on Tac2, Commander,” said the com AI. Dejanus switched channels to her Command Pod. “Excalibur Actual speaking,” said Dejanus in the formal form of address that ship COs normally didn’t bother with. “What’s taking your Astro so long to get aligned, Commander?” Rostov didn’t bother to hide his annoyance. “Just double-checking the overall jump trajectory, Admiral.” Dejanus thought she heard Rostov swear under his breath, but it could have been her imagination. “You tell your Astro that if Excalibur isn’t aligned in the next two minutes, I’ll order him replaced and transferred to a cargo hauler. FC out!” The astro AI managed to get the ship aligned within the deadline to no one’s surprise. With all ships in the fleet now aligned perfectly with the flagship and jump velocity attained, the order was given to enter hyperspace. It was 131.3 hours later when both Koenig and Dejanus were on the Bridge again watching the jump chronometer countdown to the second when the ship should drop back down into normal space. Koenig watched the countdown clock hit zero and then start counting up again. After ten more seconds, Dejanus began shaking her head. She had a horrified expression on her face. “We’ve missed. That bastard has killed us all.” Genre categories: space fleet, military SF, space opera, galactic empire, alien invasion, first contact, space exploration.
Mozari Arrival
Jack Colrain - 2019
Now it’s time to return the favor. The massive Mozari spaceship struck without warning. In an instant major cities were leveled. Millions were wiped from the face of the Earth. The horrifying message to those remaining—your training starts now. Pods scattered across the globe are filled with strange, alien wares and scientists of all backgrounds must come together to harness the advanced technology in a race to discover its secrets before the one-year deadline. And before their experiments with the exo suits kill another soldier. Few possess the rare antibodies needed to control the Mozari armor. But Daniel West soon discovers he’s one of the civilians selected to be fitted and trained to use the suit. Instead of following in his family’s footsteps, he joins the military and is assigned to a team on a mission to the Mozari ship. But when tragedy strikes his team, he must take command of a mission into enemy territory that promises nothing less than certain death. What they discover on the ship changes everything. This novel contains violence and profanity.
Pirates
Jim Rudnick - 2015
Years ago, he proved victorious against a band of aliens. His ongoing fight with his own alcoholism however remains a stalemate. And suddenly, Pirates have appeared on the RIM. They have kidnapped the passengers of many craft and sold them into slavery and Scott is ordered to find them and rescue them. But the pirates aren't acting alone. They are sponsored by a powerful Royal with ambitious plans, and she isn't about to let some Navy captain stand in the way of her mining empire. Scott must rescue the slaves while simultaneously navigating the treacherous space of interstellar politics. If he fails, a Royal will gain more power, the entire Confederacy may unravel, and Scott's alcohol addiction will be the least of his worries…”
Tyche's Flight
Richard Parry - 2017
Grace Gushiken is a grifter and a liar. Worse, she’s an esper, an abhorrent creation of the Old Empire. Grace keeps her blade sharp and her wits sharper. She’s on the run from the Republic’s justice. Nathan Chevell captains the free trader Tyche, an ex-war heavy lifter. He’s no pirate, but he’s no white knight either. An encounter with espers saw him discharged from the Emperor’s Black before the real fighting even started. When the crew of the Tyche are hired to deliver a new transmitter for a downed Guild Bridge, Grace hitches a ride. They find the Absalom Delta colony deserted, its people turned into slaves by the insect-like Ezeroc. The aliens have descended like locusts on humanity, consuming all in their path. No one is safe. Even the Republic Navy is powerless against them. Facing an impossible foe, odds are stacked against the Tyche. The ship and her crew need to test their skill and their luck to survive. Will Grace and Nate be able to work together to get away? Or will fears and rivalries from the past destroy humanity’s hopes, ceding victory to the Ezeroc? Tyche’s Flight is the first book in Richard Parry’s gripping Tyche’s Journey trilogy. If you like page-turning space opera with great dialogue and heart-pumping action, get your copy today!
Victory's Wake
Daniel Gibbs - 2021
The war is over. Or is it?In the wake of the bitter galactic conflict, a cauldron of desperate refugees is rife with rival cartels and flooded with drugs and weapons. In this pocket of lawlessness, old enemies are fighting a new war by proxy. Captain Jackson Adams of the Coalition Defense Force is tasked with gathering a ragtag crew for a black ops mission—infiltrate the cartels and discover the enemy’s ultimate scheme. But what they uncover is more horrifying than anyone ever anticipated.
The Tenth Awakens
Michael Chatfield - 2018
What can a broken ex-trooper really do? What are they good for if they’ve gone through the EMF and been tossed out the other side? If you were to ask Mark... Maybe, doing what the enemy couldn’t and following his brothers and sisters. Mark wakes up to a nightmare, to an unfamiliar place with unknown faces. A planet under attack, an enemy he’s never seen before, he just wants to escape, but when he sees others in danger, a trooper stands for something, they stand to protect their own. No matter the cost.
Blackhawk
Jay Allan - 2016
A wanderer, a man running from a dark and sinister past. A genetically-engineered warrior, a capable and accomplished killer, he is also a lost soul, a man who has fled to the deepest reaches of space seeking his true identity.The Far Stars. The farthest extent of human habitation in the galaxy, a sector of a hundred inhabited worlds, it is a dangerous expanse full of pirates, mercenaries, and cutthroats. The sector is a rough and rugged frontier, lying beyond the darkness of the great Void, and the only place in all the vastness of space where men live free of the brutal empire that rules the rest of mankind.Celtiboria. Once the premier world in the Far Stars, now a planet wracked by centuries of brutal civil war, driven to the edge of a dark age by the unending struggle among its Warlords for power and control.Augustin Lucerne. One of Celtiboria’s feuding Warlords, a brilliant tactician and a respected commander. Lucerne is something rare on Celtiboria, in all of the Far Stars…an honorable man who fights not for personal aggrandizement but to save his world.When Blackhawk meets Lucerne he comes to a stark choice. He can continue on his way, a drifter wandering from world to world, alone and without purpose. Or he can join with Lucerne, fight at the Warlord’s side in desperate battle for survival. But whatever he chooses, he will have to face the demons that have pursued him across the stars, the dark version of himself that still lives deep within his mind.Blackhawk is a prequel to the Far Stars series, set twenty years before the existing books. For those who have read the Far Stars trilogy, this is the origin story of Arkarin Blackhawk. And for those who have not read the existing Far Stars series, Blackhawk is an ideal place to start.The Far Stars SeriesShadow of EmpireEnemy in the DarkFuneral GamesAlso by Jay AllanCrimson Worlds SeriesMarines (Crimson Worlds I)The Cost of Victory (Crimson Worlds II)A Little Rebellion (Crimson Worlds III)The First Imperium (Crimson Worlds IV)The Line Must Hold (Crimson Worlds V)To Hell’s Heart (Crimson Worlds VI)The Shadow Legions (Crimson Worlds VII)Even Legends Die (Crimson Worlds VIII)The Fall (Crimson Worlds IX)Tombstone (Crimson Worlds Prequel Novella)Bitter Glory (Crimson Worlds Prequel Novella) The Gates of Hell (Crimson Worlds Prequel Novella)Crimson Worlds Successors SeriesMERCS (Successors I)The Prisoner of Eldaron (Successors II)The Black Flag (Successors III - Coming Summer 2016)Crimson Worlds Refugees SeriesInto the Darkness (Refugees I)Shadows of the Gods (Refugees II)Revenge of the Ancients (Refugees III)Portal Wars SeriesGehenna Dawn (Portal Wars I)The Ten Thousand (Portal Wars II)Homefront (Portal Wars III)Pendragon ChroniclesThe Dragon’s Banne
Bring the Thunder
Jonathan Yanez - 2017
When others run from danger, Riot runs toward it. When others throw up, she throws down. And when there’s a brawl in a bar, well … she’s probably the one who caused it. But now, the person voted least likely not to blow stuff up by her unit has been given another mission: explore the universe and forge bonds with new alien races in order to save earth from another invasion. Backed by her ride or die crew - the only guys she’d trust on a mission such as this - and a scientist, because, well, science, Riot blasts off in a spaceship headed to distant galaxies, the fate of the planet resting on her shoulders. Bring the thunder is a fantastical space marine adventure with rollercoaster-like action and the kind of snarky humor you’ve come to love in movies like guardians of the galaxy. If you like the whiplash action of The Ember War and the ridiculousness of We Are Legion (We Are Bob), then you’ll be obsessed with the War Wolves series. Get your copy today to blast off to non-stop fun and war-games.
Universe Online - Enter the Game: Complete Edition
Ryan 'Viken' Henning - 2015
Even with our modern technology, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis cannot be treated or cured. I've been bed or chair bound since I was a kid. The advent of Virtual Reality technology has given me a chance for a new life. Or rather dozens of them. Heh. I'm an avid gamer, and I wouldn't have it any other way. In the games I could be what I wanted to be, who I wanted to be. A mighty warrior, a powerful spellcaster, the charming rogue. The crafter. The builder. All of those and more have helped to greatly alleviated my problems. But a new game is coming out; one with the power to change the world. It uses a brand new technology, based around the first ever deep immersion Dive Pod. With it there is no more game lag or graphical limits. It is being heralded as the greatest breakthrough in Virtual Reality technologies since its founding. And the first and only game for it: Universe Online. No longer will players be stuck on a single large world to explore. No longer will there a limit to what you can do, what you can be. Fly spaceships between the stars, conquer planets, create custom technology. Mine, Build, Destroy. Explore. Rule. This is my story, and my path in Universe Online.
Blackthorn
Nate Johnson - 2017
Petty Officer Logan is tasked with escorting Kaylee Williams through the rough streets of Montlake. Little did he know a simple assignment would morph into a race across the galaxy. If he wants to get her to safety, Miller must avoid pirates, the Imperial Navy, and the hazards of deep space. All while keeping a decrepit starship from blowing up along the way. Kaylee Williams desperately needs to get to Taurus. The future of the Empire rests with the secret information she carries. But can she trust this strange man to help her? But, if she can’t trust a man who repeatedly risks his life for her. Then who can she trust.
Starship Alexander
Jake Elwood - 2016
A worn-out ship. A crew of green cadets. And they're Earth's only hope. The Alexander is the last true warship, a relic from the days of interstellar war. She's destined for the scrapyard, and her captain, Richard Hammett, is about to retire. Their last mission is a training run with a ship full of cadets. It's supposed to be a routine hop through a wormhole Gate. But Gates have been going offline, one after another, and Hammett knows in his bones it means trouble. The kind of trouble only a real warship can handle. Defying orders, he takes the Alexander through another Gate, and puts the ship smack dab in the path of an alien invasion. Now a captain at the end of his career will have to take dozens of terrified cadets and forge them into a crew of warriors, because the Alexander is all that stands between the Earth and the swarming ships of the Hive.
Scout Ship
D.L. Harrison - 2017
Due to heroism and long distinguished service, he’s elevated to the rank of Lt. Commander when most of his peers have just attained senior lieutenant. His career appears to be going very well.The year is 2263, and the UEDF is in several star systems in a twenty-light year radius from earth, but are expanding even further. He’s assigned to a one year exploratory mission to become accustomed to his new rank, one that will finally culminate in reaching a new star system, 61-Virginis, which is just short of twenty-eight light years away from the Sol system, and he’s excited to be one of the first humans in a new solar system as they finish the race across the void between stars in the scout ship Columbus.There will be challenges he never imagined though, especially not on a simple survey mission. The death of his best friend to a senseless accident is the least of his troubles. Because mankind always thought they were alone in the stars. They’re about to find out they’re wrong, very wrong…Author’s Note: This series will be told in the first person, the reader will discover things as Michael does, there will be no other points of view excepting the prologue. This is also the start of a series, I will avoid cliffhangers as best I can, and believe it can stand as a series of mostly complete stories with overarching plots.