Book picks similar to
Effie by C.J. Williams


science-fiction
sci-fi
space-travel
x-standalone

Battlestar


T. Jackson King - 2016
    That puts Ensign Jacob Renselaer on the spot. Can he find out why the aliens killed his ship’s officers? Can he take command of the Battlestar? Does he want to be the leader of ten heavily armed starships that never expected to encounter aliens? Deep in the Kepler 22 star system, mutual misunderstanding between two peoples who cannot speak to each other leads to multiple space battles. Somehow Jacob becomes the leader he never wanted to be. His close friend Daisy the pilot helps him, as do other friends on the Battlestar. On the alien side, Hunter One is determined to kill the invaders who threaten his new colony world. His people the Swarm have never been defeated. Now, he faces Soft Skins who do not flee at the loss of their leaders. In a distant star system, people human and alien die, scheme, and fight for survival. None of them have ever faced combat before. But now, both sides learn what it is like to have someone seek your death and the death of your friends!

Space Scout


S.A. Pavli - 2015
    Resigned to spending the rest of his days as a latter day Robinson Crusoe, the Captain is shocked to find the remains of uninhabited alien exploration base on the planet. This soon becomes a desperate fight for survival for the Captain, but also an exhilarating journey, full of adventure and new discoveries.

Destiny: Union Station


E.M. Foner - 2021
    Joe McAllister is a reluctant mercenary who's looking for a way out and family-friendly place to start a business and raise an orphaned boy. Will the choices they make in the next few months shape the rest of their lives, or is free will just an illusion in a galaxy managed by ancient artificial intelligence? Destiny: Union Station takes place two years before the start of the nineteen book EarthCent Ambassador series.

Brilliant


Rick Lakin - 2018
    Edited to improve the timelines with new scenes.We all dream of discovering our superpower. For seventeen-year-old Jennifer Gallagher, that superpower is an IQ of 206. Captivated with the StarCruiser Brilliant movie franchise since she was five, she has a chance to intern with the Hollywood studio that produces the series.She knows that StarCruiser Brilliant is the key to finding out what happened to her father, but discovers that Brilliant will take her to the stars on her search.The first book of the StarCruiser Brilliant series will thrill and excite you as you get to watch Jennifer grow from a precocious teen to a powerful, professional woman and discover her true superpower.If you have read Brilliant before and would like the new edition, send me an e-mail at rilakin - at - gmail - dot - com and answer the following question: In the Virtual Copa, what was the name of the dancer Tayla replaced when she danced with Gene Kelly?Specify e-book, mobi, or pdf and I will send you the updated version and thanks for reading.

Star Raider


Jake Elwood - 2015
    This time she got greedy, though. She swiped a priceless artifact from Carmody, the most powerful man on Hesperus. He's been beating his daughter, Lark, so Cassie took the kid too.Now Carmody is tearing the galaxy apart hunting Cassie down. The artifact isn't just a priceless relic of a lost civilization. It's the key to a galaxy-wide conspiracy. Cassie needs to figure out the significance of the ancient egg, but with bounty hunters and mercenaries hounding her from one end of the galaxy to the other, she and Lark have another puzzle to solve -- how to stay alive.

Wilson's War


T.S. Paul - 2016
     Athena Lee's Quirky AI. Wilson has his origin story revealed at long last. Discover why he wants a Cat. Ever wonder why Hannibal Lee is afraid of the Farm? Meet lots of new characters and visit a few of our friends. Follow Wilson's adventures as he has fun at the expense of others. Taking advantage of Humans is too easy. Plotting Galaxy Domination is more fun. Prepare to Get down and Get Funky as the Hits just keep on coming!

Guard at the Gates of Hell (Gladius Book 1)


George Olney - 2016
    The Empire, the structure that held civilization together for a thousand years, is collapsing. Trying to hold things together is the Corps of Imperial Gladius, one of the pillars originally created to support and protect the Empire throughout its long life. A Gladius is a genetically bred ultimate soldier, the best soldier that ever existed. Despite that, the Emperor, a deeply paranoid sociopath, fears the Corps and is trying to destroy them, regardless of what that will do to the Empire's security.A surviving portion of a devastated Gladius legion arrives on the isolated and decadent world of Cauldwell to be confronted with the fact they must once again take up their ancestral trade, war. The appearance of the legion is probably the most newsworthy event on Cauldwell for the last century and star reporter Shana Ettranty decides to do a series of stories about them for her network. That decision radically changes her life when she decides to undergo Gladius recruit training to get a better perspective on the Corps. As she continues, Shana learns deeply buried secrets about Cauldwell... and about herself. Those secrets will change the course of human history. In the end, they destroy the Empire.This is a military science fiction book written by a retired Army officer whose viewpoint has ranged from being in the ranks to general staff, not just an action book. The story asks some very tough questions about survival and sacrifice made to let humanity survive. In it, the Corps and Shana are forced to make some hard decisions. Are their answers right or wrong? In the end, only the reader can decide.

Aeson: Blue


Vera Nazarian - 2021
    Intelligent, well-educated, perfectly isolated in his lofty rank, responsibilities, and privilege of the divine Imperial Dynasty. He's the most powerful boy on Atlantis and he's going into the real world for the very first time. . . .Now just another student in Fleet Cadet School, Aeson must learn everything normal people take for granted—including the basics of how to look after himself, how to interact with others his age, how to laugh, and how to make friends.As if that wasn't enough to boggle the mind of a confident but shy boy who's never had a real conversation with anyone but his mother, Aeson has one more lesson ahead . . . what it's like to fall in love.Get inside Aeson's mind and learn his story from the inside out as he forms the bonds that will change him forever—with Elikara, Xelio, Oalla, Keruvat, Erita, and other favorite Atlantean characters, long before they took to the stars as astra daimon! AESON: BLUE is the first in The Atlantis Grail Novella Series.

Star Quest: The Journey Begins


Patricia Lee Macomber - 2019
    Now, with the war over and the aliens defeated, she's teaching other pilots to fly the alien ships that turned the tide. Until the government approaches her about joining a super secret mission, that is. Steve Hunter is the product of alien DNA. He was created in a lab, designed to destroy the aliens in a ground war that was never fought. Now, they're finally putting him to use as the leader of this new mission. Together with the scientist who created Steve and the genius who invented the ship, Cara and her captain set off on a final adventure. The U.S.S. Endeavor goes in search of allies among the stars. What they find is more than they ever bargained for. If their mission is to be a success, they will have to solve a mystery and escape destruction at the hands of an all new foe. All in a day's work for the Endeavor crew.

Suddenly Astronaut


Andrew J. Morgan - 2017
    Beyond it was the instrument panel, and beyond that, thick windows that looked out into the blackness of space." Benjamin Forrest is about to celebrate his 13th birthday 365 million miles from Earth. He lives on board the Jove orbital research platform circling Jupiter with his parents and forty-nine other families. He's lived there his entire life. But this birthday will be no ordinary birthday, because Ben will finally get to fulfil his dream of flying free of the station, on an external tour in a service tug with best friend and station computer, Tom. What Ben doesn't know is that his dream of flying free is about to become a lot more real than he ever expected. An incredible journey is about to begin! Suddenly Astronaut was written by the author of the hit novel New York Deep. Also available from the author: New York Deep Vessel New Dawn Noah's Ark

A Stranger in the Citadel


Tobias S. Buckell - 2021
    Buckell.“You shall not suffer a librarian to live.”Growing up in Ninetha, Lilith has known this law all her life. The city’s every need is provided for by a god-machine called the cornucopia, which can produce food, clothing, anything in response to a thought. The gods provided this bounty on one condition: that humanity give up reading and writing. Then, a librarian, an actual seeker of forbidden written knowledge, walks through the gates of the citadel, his very presence unraveling the life Lilith has known. She learns her father, the Lord Musketeer himself, has been harboring a secret - one that turns Ninetha against Lilith’s family. Forced to flee, forced to throw in her lot with the librarian, Lilith uncovers even greater secrets - about the lie her life has been, and about the very nature of their world.

Shattered Lands


Darren Pillsbury - 2017
     Welcome to the Shattered Lands, the first truly immersive video game where you see, hear, touch, taste, and feel the game. In this online fantasy world of dragons, elves, wizards, and magic, two best friends enter at the same time and take very different paths. Daniel desperately wants to break free of his ‘nice-guy’ life in the real world… until his choices end in tragedy. Eric wants unlimited power by any means necessary. Assassin or summoner of demons, it makes no different. Join them on their quest – both inside the game and out – as they navigate the violence, the triumphs, the treachery, and the danger… Of the Shattered Lands. Shattered Lands is the first book in a LitRPG series.

Gallantry in Action (Halberd #1)


John Spearman - 2020
    Spearman. A sci-fi military novel set in space, the book follows Captain Jonah Halberd, newly assigned commander of the spaceship HMS Cumberland, an advanced cruiser in the Royal Navy of the Commonwealth, currently under the reign of King Edward XII. There is an ongoing war between the Commonwealth and the Rodinan Federation. After rescuing Lady Julia Hawthorne, the fiancee of First Space Lord Chesterfield, Jonah and his crew set off for yet another dangerous assignment. But an ensuing battle with the Rodinan armada causes heavy casualties, and Jonah finds himself captured by the enemy. A daring rescue led by Lieutenant Commander Fred MacMurray results in Jonah receiving a hero's welcome back home. Now, he must unite the Coalition for war.

Star Guild Saga Boxed Set: The Complete Series


Brandon Ellis - 2020
    

THE ANTIVERSE: APOCALYPSE


Liam Clay - 2021