Book picks similar to
Defiant by Aaron Hodges


fantasy
sci-fi
science-fiction
dnf

Lord of the High Reaches


James Haddock - 2021
    Kol-ha is what the clan called him, which means shame in clannish. Being a half-breed, Cam was not allowed to take the test to become a clan member. Cam decides that rather than not being worthy to be part of the clan, the clan is not worthy of him. Taking nothing, he leaves the clan to find his place in the world. Though ignorant of the ways of the ‘outside’ world, Cam is a quick learner. His first lesson is the outside world is at war, and he is inadvertently drawn into it. Saving the life of a nobleman’s son, from an invading army’s scouts sets him on a path to meet the King of the Eastern Kingdom. As a reward, Cam is given lands and becomes a pawn in the King’s chess game. Cam sees it for what it is and decides he doesn’t want any part of the King’s game. Fate, however, has a different plan. Cam discovers two moored airships in a plague-stricken village with a single survivor, La-mar. He also finds new weapon innovations and information that will change the balance of power in the Kingdoms. With La-mar’s help, Captain Cam finds himself and his ships back in the King’s chess game. This time it’s with more than one King and Kingdom playing, and they’re playing for blood. When they kill some of Cam’s friends, he spoils their chessboard when he starts playing by his rules of fang and claw.

Scan


Walter Jury - 2013
    As Tate sees it, his father has unreasonably high expectations for Tate to be the best—at everything. Tate finally learns what he’s being prepared for when he steals one of his dad’s odd tech inventions and mercenaries ambush the school, killing his father in the process and sending Tate on the run from aliens who look just like humans. All Tate knows--like how to make weapons out of oranges and lighter fluid--may not be enough to save him as he’s plunged into a secret inter-species conflict that’s been going on for centuries. Aided only by his girlfriend and his estranged mother, with powerful enemies closing in on all sides, Tate races to puzzle out the secret behind his father’s invention and why so many are willing to kill for it. A riveting, fast-paced adventure, Scan is a clever alien thriller with muscle and heart.

Martian Tales of Edgar Rice Burroughs


Edgar Rice Burroughs
    

Spacer


J.A. Sutherland - 2018
    But a message of tragedy at home comes for him, and his expected life is flung far out of reach and he's cast into a role he never wanted. A portion of Spacer was previously published as the short story Wronged, by J.A. Sutherland

Gaia's Gambit


D.L. Harrison - 2018
    Had survived, as far as Jason knew.Jason lived the last millennia in a virtual utopia, which was slowly driving him insane. His mind suspended in a computer matrix, an ark of sorts, until they could grow new bodies and rejoin the real world, to rebuild. It would be a long time before the Earth recovered. Only four million out of billions had been saved in such a fashion, he was one of the lucky ones.At least, he’d been in a utopia until that morning, when he woke up in a new world on a bed of moss in the middle of a forest glade. Alone. No breakfast, no coffee, and no bacon. He wasn’t sure what to do, but he didn’t really have a choice but to move forward, it was either that or starve himself to death over and over. Not really a choice at all. Well, either that or be killed by monsters.He just wished he knew what the hell Gaia was thinking. Elves, dwarves, evil races, magic, swords, and bows? The A.I. must have lost her mind…

The Fourth Sage


Stefan Bolz - 2014
    There is no government. There are no schools. People are controlled by a ruthless Corporation. Any deviation from the Moral Code, the code of living set forth by the Corporation, is punished - sometimes with prison, sometimes with torture, sometimes with death. Aries hacks into the main frame computer, creating a loop with the camera feed to her room and so stealing one hour per night for herself. Sometimes she reads a book. That alone could send her to prison for three months. At other times, she roams the massive building via the air ducts. During one of her nightly excursions, she finds something that has the power to change her life and that of everyone around her. But in order for her to follow it, she has to become an outlaw, a criminal, an enemy of the Corporation. As the hunt for her unravels, she flees ever deeper into the belly of her building. What awaits her there, she could not possibly have foreseen. And the fate of her people now rests on her ability to survive.

Inter-Galactic Bounty Hunter


K.D. Jones - 2014
    The amazon purchasing history feature that lets you know if you have already purchased this book, may not work. Thank you.** Warning: For Mature Adult Audiences. Contains language and actions some may deem offensive. Sexually explicit content. MF In book one of the Inter-Galactic Bounty Hunters: Jagger Desantos, bounty hunter, takes on what he believes to be an easy case. A beautiful woman who has skipped bail. It should be a piece of cake. Get in, get the fugitive, bring them back, and get paid. Simple right? Except this case turns out to be anything but simple when the girl turns him inside out and upside down. Daniela Martin works at a five star restaurant as a sous chef. It is the pinnacle of her career so far. Her real dream is to open her own restaurant and with every day that passes the dream is closer to becoming a reality. Life quickly changes for her when she is accused of a crime she didn’t commit, causing her to run for her life. As danger surrounds them and their lives are threatened, they will have to find a way to trust one another. But can Jagger overcome the rules he has lived by in his bounty-hunting career and carry out his job, which requires him to turn Daniela over to the authorities? Will Daniela be able to trust Jagger with not only her life, but with her heart?

Star-Crossed Alien Mail Order Brides Collection - Vol. 1


Susan Hayes - 2018
    Join these three alien males as they go in search of love on the far side of the galaxy, on a primitive planet the resident lifeforms call Earth. What do you do when your planet runs out of women? Send for takeout, of course. Joran Joran, Crown Prince of Pyros, needs to claim his mate in order to ascend to the throne one day. The problem? His destined mate isn’t on Pyros. This book contains a redheaded barista who doesn’t believe in aliens, and a prince who is used to getting anything he wants without having to work for it ... until now. VadirVadir has a business empire to run and no time to spare on frivolous endeavours. So how did he wind up on the far side of the galaxy to claim a mate he never signed up for? A matchmaking queen and a royal decree, that’s how. This book contains a bohemian blonde with a hell of a right hook, and an interstellar tycoon who is about to learn that the best things in life can’t be bought or sold, they have to be won. KashKash knows he’ll never be allowed to claim a mate. A lifetime of military service has left him too battle-scarred and broken to be considered for the off-world mating project his rulers have created to save their people. This book contains a hopeful romantic who is giving up hope, and a soldier who is about to discover that love doesn’t obey orders, and it can’t be bound by rules.

The Free Trader of Warren Deep


Craig Martelle - 2016
    Free Trader Braden and his mindlinked Hillcat are plying the trade routes of Warren Deep when things start to get hot. Giving events time to be forgotten, Braden gathers engineered (mutant) creatures to him for a trip south of the Great Desert where he hopes to find Old Tech that he can trade for untold riches. The more he learns about the ancients, the more he wants to learn. Along the way, he establishes a new ideal regarding trade and collaboration in the south where trust of strangers is unknown. Braden and his companions, a Hawkoid, a Hillcat, a Tortoid, and a female warrior find that some Old Tech still functions, with the potential to change their world for the better or worse, depending on what they decide.

The Crafter's Son


Matthew B. Berg - 2019
    But can he master his powers in time to help thwart the plans of a vengeful god? Breeden Andehar grew up the son of a boatwright in a village far from the capital city of Arlon. At sixteen, he is given a chance to receive an education at the local monastery alongside three sons of nobility, a cloth merchant’s daughter and a clever orphan. Breeden and his new friends have their education cut short when a bitter rivalry between two brother gods spawns a conflict which threatens the entire Land. The Crafter’s Son is the first book in a new coming of age epic fantasy series. If you liked The Sword of Shannara, The Wheel of Time, The Dragonbone Chair, or the Stormlight Archive, then you’ll love Matthew B. Berg’s brand new epic fantasy! Pick up The Crafter’s Son to discover this exciting new series today!

Running Black


Patrick Todoroff - 2010
    Based in the Belfast Metro Zone, they're the best black contract outfit on the planet. Stable nano-technology: the melding of man and machine on a microscopic level. It's a break-through worth billions no one's been able to achieve. Until now. The Dawson Hull Conglomerate has finally developed a viable Nanotech Neural Network; an interface system that exponentially increases a person's cyber-capabilities. They're days away from unveiling the prototype to the world. And Eshu International just got hired to steal it. Video Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OFb28...