Book picks similar to
UMO by K. Patrick Donoghue


sci-fi
science-fiction
aliens
novella

The New World


Patrick Ness - 2010
    - Patrick Ness

Oblivion: The Complete Series


Joshua James - 2020
    Captain Lee Saito's massive new starship is sent to seal the uneasy truce.But a series of terrorist attacks on Earth and the mysterious acts of a strange cult threaten to derail the fragile peace.When the mission goes awry, Saito must try to salvage what he can in deep space while his estranged son must navigate a conspiracy back on Earth that could implicate the highest levels of government.As it all spirals out of control, the future of humanity hangs in the balance.Includes all 9 books in the Oblivion series:Lost MissionFirst ContactFinal InvasionStar FallenBeyond RuinOrion InboundEnter AbyssEarth AriseLast StandFive star reviews for Lost Mission, book 1 in the series:★★★★★ "Plenty of high octane action sequences ... Readers should expect a twisting and curving wild ride."★★★★★ "This is a fast moving book that you won’t want to put down."★★★★★ "A rip roaring tale that does a fine job of world building and character development."

Strange Dogs


James S.A. Corey - 2017
    Like many before them, Cara and her family ventured through the gates as scientists and researchers, driven to carve out a new life and uncover the endless possibilities of the unexplored alien worlds now within reach.But soon the soldiers followed and under this new order Cara makes a discovery that will change everything.

Lights Over Cloud Lake


Nathan Hystad - 2019
     Jessica Carver may have encountered one the night she disappeared. This is her story. Reporter Eva Heart is sent to Cloud Lake to write an exposé on flying saucer sightings, a subject she is extremely familiar with. Nearly twenty years ago, Eva, then known as Jessica Carver, went missing, only to appear a week later, confused and frightened. A man went to jail for the crime. Now Eva must face demons from her past as she meets both old and new friends along the way. Will her real identity be exposed? Can history truly repeat itself? Join Jessica as she discovers the truth about her childhood in Lights Over Cloud Lake, the newest novel from the author of the best-selling Survivors series.

Harper's Ten


J.G. Cressey - 2015
    But as they drop through the atmosphere of the uncharted planet Capsun 23, Cal can’t shake the feeling that something is off about this mission. Three data drones have previously touched down but quickly went dark. And now, all communication with a group of civilian researchers has been lost. Intel suspects scavengers are to blame—or at worst pirates. But Cal’s instincts are telling him otherwise. All that’s known about Capsun 23 is that the gravity is within acceptable limits, the air is breathable, and water is abundant. Three things to encourage life…but what kind of life?  Cal has never been one to back away from a potential fight, but if his instincts are right, a lone team simply won’t cut it. Not by a long shot. "Fast paced and gripping sci fi. If you liked Aliens you'll love this." Amazon reviewer'Harper's Ten' is the prequel to the Fractured Space series.

Salvation


Peter F. Hamilton - 2018
    A new technology of linked jump gates has rendered most forms of transporation--including starships--virtually obsolete. Every place on earth, every distant planet mankind has settled, is now merely a step away from any other. And all seems wonderful...until a crashed alien spaceship is found on a newly-located world 89 light years from Earth, harboring seventeen human victims. And of the high-powered team dispatched to investigate the mystery, one is an alien spy...Bursting with tension and big ideas, this standalone series highlights the inventiveness of an author at the top of his game, as the interweaving story lines tell us not only how humanity arrived at this moment, but also the far-future consequences that spin off from it.

Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days


Alastair Reynolds - 2003
    . . Alastair Reynolds burst onto the SF scene with the Arthur C. Clarke Award-shortlisted REVELATION SPACE, British Science Fiction Award-winning CHASM CITY, and REDEMPTION ARK. Now experience the phenomenal imagination and breathtaking vision of 'The most exciting space opera writer working today' (Locus) in these two tales of high adventure set in the same universe as his novels. The title story, 'Diamond Dogs', tells of a group of mercenaries trying to unravel the mystery of a particularly inhospitable alien tower on a distant world; 'Turquoise Days' is about Naqi, who has devoted her life to studying the alien Pattern Jugglers.

Nightflyers


George R.R. Martin - 1985
    Nine misfit academics on an expedition to find the volcryn, a mythic race of intersteller nomads, and the only ship available for this strange quest is the Nightflyer, a cybernetic wonder with a never-seen captain...Nine innocents are about to find themselves in deep space, trapped with an insane murderer who can go anywhere, do anything, and intends to kill them all.

Shattered Galaxy: The Complete After the Galaxy Series Box Set


Scott Bartlett - 2020
    Now Joe is a full Guardsman, with his own ship and a snide partner bot who hates humans almost as much as he hates other bots.To the pirates he hunts, Joe is known as the Butcher. His bloody reputation has landed him in the center of a sweeping conspiracy that threatens to stamp out the galaxy’s last surviving human settlements.As Joe races against time to salvage what’s left of his species, one thing becomes crystal clear: You can never escape your past.It all starts on Earth, humanity’s deserted homeworld....

The Signal


Nick Cook - 2018
    Why? Could it be we really are alone in the universe? Or is it that the truth has been withheld from us by a global conspiracy of silence? When radio telescope operators Lauren Stelleck, a woman with a special gift enabling her to literally see certain sounds, and Steve Andrews, a diehard sci-fi geek, detect a signal like no other at Jodrell Bank in England, a chain of events is unleashed that propels Earth towards all-out nuclear war. Can Lauren and Steve unlock the secret of the signal before our species tears itself apart? The Signal is a prequel novella to the Fractured Light trilogy, and is part of the Multiverse Chronicles, an epic series of interlinked stories that follows the struggle of humanity to survive across parallel universes. Watch the skies because the darkness is coming for us. Please note that there is the occasional use of strong language in The Signal and the story deals with adult themes. Recommended age is 16+.

Winter World


A.G. Riddle - 2019
    and a shocking discovery...will change humanity forever.In the near future, a new ice age has begun.Humanity stands on the brink of extinction.Desperate for answers, scientists send probes into the solar system to take readings. Near Mars, a probe spots a mysterious object drifting toward the Sun. Is it the cause of the ice age? Or could it be our only hope of survival?With time running out, NASA launches an international mission to make contact with the object. But it isn’t what anyone thought. In the dark of space, alone, the team makes a shocking discovery that will change the course of human history—and possibly end it.

Wool


Hugh Howey - 2011
    They've lived there so long, there are only legends about people living anywhere else. Such a life requires rules. Strict rules. There are things that must not be discussed. Like going outside. Never mention you might like going outside.Or you'll get what you wish for.

Finder


Suzanne Palmer - 2019
    He prefers the term finder.His latest job should be simple. Find the spacecraft Venetia's Sword and steal it back from Arum Gilger, ex-nobleman turned power-hungry trade boss. He'll slip in, decode the ship's compromised AI security, and get out of town, Sword in hand.Fergus locates both Gilger and the ship in the farthest corner of human-inhabited space, a gas-giant-harvesting colony called Cernee. But Fergus' arrival at the colony is anything but simple. A cable car explosion launches Cernee into civil war, and Fergus must ally with Gilger's enemies to navigate a field of space mines and a small army of hostile mercenaries. What was supposed to be a routine job evolves into negotiating a power struggle between factions. Even worse, Fergus has become increasingly--and inconveniently--invested in the lives of the locals.It doesn't help that a dangerous alien species thought mythical prove unsettlingly real, and their ominous triangle ships keep following Fergus around.Foolhardy. Eccentric. Reckless. Whatever he's called, Fergus will need all the help he can get to take back the Sword and maybe save Cernee from destruction in the process.

The Forgotten: The Complete Trilogy


M.R. Forbes - 2020
    He's never questioned it. Never thought about it. And why bother? Access points to the ship's controls are locked, the systems that guide her automated and out of reach. Life isn't perfect, but Hayden has all he needs to be content.Until a malfunction forces his wife to the edge of the habitable zone to inspect the damage.Until she contacts him, breathless and terrified, to tell him she found a body and it doesn't belong to anyone on board.Until he arrives at the scene and discovers both his wife and the body are gone.The only clue? A bloody handprint beneath a hatch that hasn't opened in hundreds of years.Until now.Includes:ForgottenForsakenUnforgivenWarning: contains adult language and situations

The Frozen Sky


Jeff Carlson - 2010
    Robot probes find an ancient tunnel beneath the surface, its walls carved with strange hieroglyphics. Led by elite engineer Alexis Vonderach, a team of scientists descends into the dark... where they confront a savage race older than mankind...FIRST CONTACTBased on the award-winning short story, The Frozen Sky is a new full-length sci fi thriller novel from the international bestselling author of Plague Year.