Book picks similar to
Five Light-Years to the Firesnake by Rayner Ye
science-fiction
dystopia-future-steampunk
r-special-powers
4-low-priority
Broken Glass
John Hindmarsh - 2011
Adventures follow as his ability to link with computers develops, in emulation of the Acolytes who attend the mysterious Glass Complex of Homeworld. Steg purchases a commission in the Imperial Fleet where he aids in the capture of an alien space ship preying on Imperial shipping lanes. He is court-martialled on false charges and marooned on Hellfire, a desert planet controlled by the House of Aluta. Steg takes over the computer-based mining equipment and creates havoc, eventually escaping with Milnaret of Fain, a pleasure companion. Duels, deaths, enlistment in Imperial Special Forces, and exploration of ancient portals drives the tension. The pace is rapid with well developed and solid characters and a compelling storyline. Broken Glass is the first book in the Glass Complex trilogy.
Antioch (The Sword of Agrippa #1)
Gregory Ness - 2014
Join a controversial scientist in exile on a journey through a near future ruled by cyber mobs and a violent ancient past he confronts when he closes in on dark energy discovery. 400 pp. debut multi-genre dystopian sci-fi mixed with historical fiction and elements of alchemy and mysticism that trace back to ancient Egypt.Book Viral, Feb 27, 2017"Antioch is, in every sense of the word, a masterpiece and epic beginning to what will undoubtedly be an epic series and one you must certainly add to your reading shelf. It is recommended without reservation."First Goodreads review of 2nd edition:"Antioch, by Gregory Ness is a masterful piece of writing. I had the opportunity to read an earlier version of this book published in 2014. I considered it a good book at that reading, but now, having just read the 2016 edition, I rate this book as excellent! Without spoiling this beautifully done story, it takes us back and forth between the present, which is some years ahead of contemporary times, and thousands of years into the past, and then rolls us back and forth in an ever-consuming tale between now and then. The detail and imagery laced into the text about ancient Rome and Egypt, as well as Persia and Turkey, and their cultures and people, animates them, as if the reader is walking the stony streets of Alexandria. There is a beautiful love story which transcends time, depiction of brutal wars and great power struggles between Rome, Egypt and others – and the perspective of how Julius Caesar was, as a man, and a leader, makes the history books seem shallow in design. But what really makes this story shine is the way the author draws us into the world of our memories, of past lives we have lived, and the scientific dialogues and intrigue which are unfolding in the now, and how, all of this ties into the grand story which we are reliving thousands of years before when Pharaohs were the most powerful rulers on Earth, when Caesar and his armies marched into Egypt and when the infamous Cleopatra had the two most powerful nations of that time, in the palm of her hands. Antioch makes you think about the nature of who we really are, about the veracity of having lived countless past lives, about the scientific import of a tiny organ in our brain – a portal which not only allows us to interact with the world around us, but quite possibly, is also the very link to our immensely distant past. An entertaining, gripping, beautifully written and highly insightful piece of work."
Days of Judgment
Rob McLean - 2015
Enticed by an offer of $50 million each to come work for the clandestine outfit, without any details regarding the job they will be doing, they must make a choice that will change their lives forever. Join the group of eight - a lawyer, psychologist, priest, quantum physicist, rock star, sociologist, rogue special operative and industrial capitalist - as they descend into an abyss of mystery and subterfuge to discover that who they are may be mankind's last hope or its final undoing.The Fall of Man: Days of Judgment is a thought-provoking, fast-paced, keep-you-guessing ride through a world of quantum physics,virology, and moral philosophy where a chosen few must confront the question - has mankind gone too far?
The Dread Warlock (A Blackjack Chronicles Mission Book 1)
Orlando A. Sanchez - 2018
Meet the Blackjacks, a renegade mercenary group led by Jacques ‘Jack’ Noire. When they take a job to deliver state-of-the-art terraforming components to one of the outer stations, they realize the simple delivery mission isn’t so simple.The components are really a weapon and someone wants them dead. Now, with bounties on their heads, and Conglom Industrial hunting them, Jack and his crew must pilot his sentient ship, the Warlock, through some of the most dangerous parts of space. Outgunned and outnumbered, Jack has one secret weapon his enemies didn’t count on-magic. Jump onboard the Warlock and into a deep space adventure with the Blackjacks, as they face off against overwhelming odds and discover that when it looks too good to be true…it usually is!
The Scrapyard Incident
Phillip Nolte - 2013
It seems they would like nothing more than to start a revolution...Can the three Scrapyard survivors come together with an Islamic Ambassador on a mission of peace, a smuggling ring bent on nothing more than making a profit, and a small, underarmed orbital station security force to somehow thwart a terrorist attack that threatens to ignite a new interplanetary war?
REVELATIONS: Sunken Treasure lost worlds (Risky Business Chronicles Book 2)
Hep Aldridge - 2020
Burnett, and the Risky Business team are confronted by new perils and discoveries in their extraordinary quest for both treasures and what might be explosive, historical findings.New friends and new adversaries make their quest a suspense-filled thrill ride.Will they find the elusive treasure galleon, is the legendary golden library in Ecuador real?REVELATIONS - Volume 2 of the Risky Business Chronicles will engulf you as a virtual participant in this amazing adventure.It is the second book in Hep Aldridge's action and adventure series about Dr. Colten X. Burnett and the Risky Business team.
Colony One
T.L. Ford - 2018
She may be smart enough to create a battery that never needs charging, but can she outmaneuver those who don't share her vision of community and create something that really lasts? How far is Alex willing to go to achieve her goal? Accessibility featured: All graphics and illustrations have detailed descriptions in their alt-text so if you are reading using voiceover, you will not miss anything.
Trinity Unleashed
Rodney W. Hartman - 2017
When the Intergalactic Empire has a tough mission, they send in a wizard scout. When they have an impossible mission, they send in Wizard Scout Trinity Delgado. The planet Cavos is on the verge of civil war. Only an outmanned, outgunned force of Empire peacekeepers prevent an outbreak of bloodshed on a global scale. When the peacekeepers’ commander requests an armored regiment as reinforcements, the Imperial High Command sends him Wizard Scout Trinity instead. With only a fresh out of the university grad student and a half-crazy old pilot as allies, Trinity has to find the source of Cavos’s troubles before the Empire becomes part of a disaster far greater than a mere local civil war. Caught between the peacekeepers’ resentful commander and suspicious local government officials, Trinity and her battle computer, Jennifer, have their work cut out for them. Together they must weave their way through one mystery after another leaving a trail of bloody bodies along the way until they find the answer. That is, if they can remain alive long enough to find it.
Funny Science Fiction
Alex ShvartsmanShaenon Garrity - 2015
Fiction by Hugo and Nebula award winners and nominees as well as talented newcomers. Stories were selected by the Unidentified Funny Objects series curator Alex Shvartsman.
Zenith
James David Victor - 2017
A missing crew. Only one marine can save them. Sergeant Andrea “Andy” Dolan leads a squad of fearless marines into the depths of space. After the Star Chaser receives a distress call from the star base Zenith, Andy’s squad is sent to investigate. When all heck breaks lose, there is only one person who can save the crew of the Zenith and her own squad. Zenith is the first book in the ESS Space Marines series. If you like fast paced space adventures with engaging, and quirky, characters, you will love Zenith. Buy Zenith and get started on your next space adventure!
The Alorian Wars: Volume I
Drew Avera - 2017
But, as his ship decimates planet after planet, he finds his sympathies swinging toward their defeated enemies. Sergeant Anki Paro, a Luthian Marine, has been anxiously awaiting the call to deploy. As the last line of defense against the crushing Greshian forces, she hopes the time has finally come for her world to stand against tyranny. However, as her society prepares for imminent destruction, questions of misplaced loyalties lead Anki to wonder if the world she is trying to save has any real intentions of surviving. As Brendle's and Anki's worlds collide, they find themselves in an unlikely alliance to try to stop the full might of the Greshian Empire before there's nothing left to fight for.
A stolen ship, a mission on the line, enemies at every turn...
After four months in hiding, Brendle Quin can't delay his mission any longer. His ship, the Replicade, is held together with failing patches, and he needs to make repairs in a port. Unfortunately, the nearest world with proper facilities is situated deep in Greshian-owned enemy territory. The Greshian colony of Farax is a safe hold for piracy in the region, and none is more vile than Crase Tuin, a man known for trafficking people and weapons across the Alorian Galaxy. He has a reputation as the only pirate never to lose a ship--with the exception of the Replicade. When Crase finds the Replicade, he vows to claim the lives of those who stole her. But Brendle won't go down without a fight.
Nothing has stopped the Greshian Empire's expanse, but all hope isn't lost...
The illusion of peace shrouds a hidden darkness. Just as the crew of the Replicade are getting settled on a seemingly tranquil world, they encounter a young girl with special abilities--and she's being hunted by a secret, powerful organization that will stop at nothing to have her. When Anki and Brendle intervene to help the girl, they are caught in the organization's crosshairs. The crew must make a decision: give into the looming threat of the organization, or die fighting to protect her. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Commander Ilium Gyl has taken command of a Greshian scout ship. A breach in protocol raises questions of his loyalty to the Greshian Empire, leading to a power struggle as a rebellion sparks in a distant sector of the Alorian Galaxy. His ambitions may cripple the Greshian Fleet, or he might just be the empire's savior. The Alorian Wars is a space opera series, filled with political intrigue and shrouded in mystery, is sure to please fans of "The Expanse", "Dark Matter", "Firefly", and "Killjoys". Join the war today!
Typhon Pact: The Khitomer Accords Saga: Plagues of Night, Raise the Dawn, and Brinkmanship
David R. George III - 2012
For almost three years, the Federation and the Klingon Empire, allied under the Khitomer Accords, have contended with the nascent coalition on a predominantly cold-war footing. But as Starfleet rebuilds itself, factions within the Typhon Pact grow restive, concerned about their own inability to develop a quantum slipstream drive to match that of the Federation. Will leaders such as UFP President Bacco and RSE Praetor Kamemor bring about a lasting peace across the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, or will the cold war between the two alliances deepen, and perhaps even lead to an all-out shooting war?
Raise the Dawn
After the disastrous events in the Bajoran system, Captain Benjamin Sisko must confront the consequences of the recent choices he has made in his life. At the same time, the United Federation of Planets and its Khitomer Accords allies have come to the brink of war with the Typhon Pact. While factions within the Pact unsuccessfully used the recent gestures of goodwill—the opening of borders and a joint Federation-Romulan exploratory mission—to develop quantum-slipstream drive, they have not given up their goals. Employing a broad range of assets, from Romulus to Cardassia, from Ab-Tzenketh to Bajor, they embark on a dangerous new plan to acquire the technology they need to take control of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. While UFP President Bacco and Romulan Praetor Kamemor work feverishly to reestablish peace, Captains Sisko, Jean-Luc Picard, and Ro Laren stand on the front lines of the conflict...even as a new danger threatens the Bajoran wormhole as it once more becomes a flashpoint of galactic history.
Brinkmanship
The Venette Convention has always remained independent, but it is about to become the flashpoint for a tense military standoff between the two power blocs now dominating interstellar space—the United Federation of Planets and the recently formed Typhon Pact. The Venetan government turns to the Typhon Pact’s Tzenkethi Coalition for protection in the new order, and has agreed to allow three of their supply bases for Tzenkethi use. But these bases—if militarized—would put Tzenkethi weapons unacceptably close to Federation, Cardassian, and Ferengi space. While Captain Ezri Dax and the crew of the U.S.S. Aventine are sent to investigate exactly what is happening at one of the Venette bases, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the U.S.S. Enterprise are assigned to a diplomatic mission sent to the Venette homeworld in order to broker a mutually acceptable resolution. But the Cardassian delegates don’t seem particularly keen on using diplomacy to resolve the situation, which soon spirals out of control toward all-out war. . .
Recon
Devon C. Ford - 2018
The discovery of a clean energy source ended the world’s reliance on fossil fuels overnight, and years after the resulting wars, a new discovery puts the tenuous world peace at risk; that of faster than light travel. With humanity on the verge of travelling to new solar systems and all the humanitarian and scientific possibilities involved, a discovery by the reconnaissance team turns everything upside down. Join the small team of the reconnaissance mission who fight friend and foe to complete their mission objectives – no matter where it leads them or what the personal cost.
Becoming Human
Amy Michelle Carpenter - 2020
Carter doesn't believe in aliens. And he certainly doesn't defend his dad's claims that they exist, even if they aired on national television. But then, the girl he's falling for starts doing strange things, magical things, things that seem a bit out of this world.Kokab hungers to be a Perfect in a world where her emotions are her greatest flaw. But when her planet faces extinction, her sympathy makes her the perfect ambassador to persuade humans to accept her people. Failure means invasion, but success means she will never become a Perfect.Ags dreams of graduating from the Academy and becoming a guardian of Earth. Obsessed with all things human, she's eager to spend time on the unique planet. But when she uncovers an impending invasion, she's willing to lose everything, including herself, to stop it.
Citizen of Earth
Joseph J. Kassabian - 2019
His unplanned future changes dramatically when he is arrested and charged with crimes against the Central Committee. Rather than being put to death, he is sentenced to three-year's service in the Earth Defense Forces. Relieved by this twist of fate, Vincent is sent off to train at the local Replacement Depot. But any dreams of him lazing away his years of servitude are shattered when an alien horde called the Alliance attacks. On their way to the harsh killing fields of war, Vincent meets Fiona, a Martian gangster serving a life sentence. Together, they must find a way to survive against the most terrifying foe humanity has ever seen.