Books like 'Catalyst'
Readers who enjoyed Catalyst by Michael C. Grumley also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
sc-fi mystery action / adventure military, war & conflict suspense war military first-contact animals aliens
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Tiamat's Wrath by James S.A. Corey
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 48 ratingsThirteen hundred gates have opened to solar systems around the galaxy. But as humanity builds its interstellar empire in the alien ruins, the mysteries and threats grow deeper... -
Leviathan Falls by James S.A. Corey
Rated: 4.55 of 5 stars · 48 ratingsThe Laconian Empire has fallen, setting the thirteen hundred solar systems free from the rule of Winston Duarte. But the ancient enemy that killed the gate builders is awake, and the war against our universe has begun again... -
Ripple by Michael C. Grumley
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIt began in Ethiopia, hundreds of thousands of years ago. When a handful of genetic mutations caused evolution to split from the primates. And mankind was born.Now, eons later, evidence of more splits from the apes are being unearthed. And with them, a disturbing realization. Ours was only one of many.And yet we survived. But it was not by luck or chance... -
Rebellion by Joshua Dalzelle
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsThe quadrant is on the brink of all-out civil war, but almost nobody knows it. Now that he knows a malevolent AI that calls itself the Machine has seized much of the ConFed's military apparatus and even controls the Grand Adjudicators themselves, Jason Burke must decide if he risks picking a fight with such an overmatched enemy, or if he runs to hide and fight another day... -
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Legacies by Jason Anspach, Nick Cole
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsGalaxy's Edge returns with an all-new adrenaline-fueled season of the military sci-fi series! With his duty to the Legion satisfied, Wraith sets out to find a lost member of his crew-the young girl, Prisma. But not only does the journey bring with it more death and destruction-and loss-than he ever imagined, it revives the shadows of a forgotten past.. -
The Pandora Paradox by Joshua Dalzelle
Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsIt started with a revolution nobody had even realized occurred…Its cruelty sparked a rebellion that everyone refused to admit existed…Now, the Machine—a terrifying and relentless enemy—reigns supreme in the galaxy, and the real fight is just beginning... -
Boneshaker by Joshua Dalzelle
Rated: 4.53 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsMarine First Lieutenant Jacob Brown is bored.For months he's been sitting around on an alien planet, waiting for command to recall his scout team so they could rest and be re-outfitted. The team went through hell during their previous mission, losing both their commanding officer and their ship... -
Eisenhorn: The Omnibus by Dan Abnett
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsA Warhammer 40,000 OmnibusInquisitor Gregor Eisenhorn is one of Warhammer 40,000's most beloved anti-heroes. Operating on the very edge of Imperial doctrine, he investigates conspiracies that pit him against aliens, heretics, daemons, and even fellow Inquisitors.READ IT BECAUSEThis is every single one of Dan Abnett's Eisenhorn stories collected together for the first time in one mammoth tome... -
A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsNow a USA Today bestseller! Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2021Bookpage's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of 2021 Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee for Best Science Fiction Book of 2021"[An] all around brilliant space opera, I absolutely love it... -
Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 46 ratingsThe year is 2380. The Intersolar Commonwealth, a sphere of stars some four hundred light-years in diameter, contains more than six hundred worlds, interconnected by a web of transport "tunnels" known as wormholes. At the farthest edge of the Commonwealth, astronomer Dudley Bose observes the impossible: Over one thousand light-years away, a star... vanishes. It does not go supernova... -
Thrawn: Treason by Timothy Zahn
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsGrand Admiral Thrawn faces the ultimate test of his loyalty to the Empire in this epic Star Wars novel from bestselling author Timothy Zahn.“If I were to serve the Empire, you would command my allegiance.” Such was the promise Grand Admiral Thrawn made to Emperor Palpatine at their first meeting... -
Winged Hussars by Mark Wandrey
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFor more than a century, Winged Hussars has been the richest of Earth's mercenary companies, as well as the only one to specialize in space warfare. Led by Alexis Cromwell, they have carved out a reputation in the galaxy for being dependable, unflappable, and lethally efficient. Until people began shooting at them everywhere they went... -
A.L.I.V.E. by R.D. Brady
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAre we alone in the universe?The United States government has known the answer for decades.And that answer is about to escape.Reports of unknown objects in the sky date back hundreds of years. But since the early twentieth century, the frequency of those reports has increased dramatically... -
Deep Black by Miles Cameron
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsMarca Nbaro had always dreamed of serving aboard the Greatships, with their vast cargo holds and a crew that could fill a city.They are the lifeblood of human-occupied space, transporting an unimaginable volume - and value - of goods from City, the greatest human orbital, all the way to Tradepoint at the other, to trade for xenoglas with an unknowable alien species... -
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Order of the Centurion by Jason Anspach, Nick Cole
Rated: 4.54 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsA PRICE PAID IN BLOOD “The Order of the Centurion is the highest award that can be bestowed upon an individual serving in, or with, the Legion... -
Diplomatic Immunity by Lois McMaster Bujold
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsA rich Komarran merchant fleet has been impounded at Graf Station, in distant Quaddiespace, after a bloody incident on the station docks involving a security officer from the convoy's Barrayaran military escort. Lord Miles Vorkosigan of Barrayar and his wife, Lady Ekaterin, have other things on their minds, such as getting home in time to attend the long-awaited births of their first children... -
Earth Below, Sky Above by John Scalzi
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAt last, the Earth and the Colonial Union have begun formal discussions about their relationship in the futurea chance for the divisions in humanity to be repaired. The diplomats and crew of the Clarke are on hand to help with the process, including Ambassador Ode Abumwe and CDF Lieutenant Harry Wilson, both of whom were born on Earth. But not everyone wants The Human Division to be repaired.. -
The Solar War by A.G. Riddle
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsWe thought the war was over.We were wrong.They decimated Earth during the Long Winter.Now the grid has returned, and they won't stop until the human race is extinct.On a ruined world, humanity's last survivors fight against impossible odds. In their darkest hour, they discover a new hope for survival. But it comes at an unthinkable price, with consequences that will change everything... -
The Enemy Within by Joshua Dalzelle
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsThe quadrant is burning. Violent, deadly uprisings are breaking out, seemingly at random, all across the Confederation’s sphere of influence. The response by the powerful Confederation Fleet has been swift and decisive, but for every planet they restore order to, another erupts into chaos... -
Dark Victory by Jason Anspach, Nick Cole
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsThe Darkest Secrets Stay HiddenGalaxy’s Edge Season Two continues as a divided galaxy is navigated by heroes forced to chart their own dangerous courses.Wraith, seeking to acquire intel on the mysterious Kill Team Ice, finds himself teamed up with an unlikely Nether Ops ally. Zora and Garret, in pursuit of a lost friend, will have their loyalty to Captain Keel tested... -
Resurrecting Home by A. American
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsAgainst all odds, Morgan Carter and his family have endured despite the deteriorating conditions surrounding them. Armed with survivalist tactics, Morgan's crew, alongside their new friends from the recently-liberated DHS camp, have worked together to build a sustainable communuity. But not all situations can be prepared for...Categorized as:
military suspense war action-adventure adult alternate-history apocalyptic audiobook -
Inversion Point by Jenn Burke, Kelly Jensen
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsZander and Felix's relationship has been to the brink and back: the Human-Stin War, imprisonment and an actual death/resurrection. Zander's death, to be specific, and the experience has left him…changed. The mysterious race known as the Guardians chose to revive him and appointed him as their emissary... -
Salvage System by Kevin Steverson
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThey couldn’t afford a ship or a fleet…and now they have a whole system to defend! Harmon Tomeral, along with friends Clip, Zerith, and the artificial intelligence Jayneen, were heroes. They’d brought back the battlecruiser Salvage Title from an unknown system and had defeated the alien Squilla and saved their home system of Tretrayon, not once, but twice... -
Stryker's War by Josh Hayes, Jason Anspach
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFeel the thunder! Stryker Company always brings the fight, but when they relieve embittered and embattled Republic marines, they find an enemy unwilling to stand up and face them. Tasked with protecting the Republic's interests on a mining world, the legionnaires face roadside ambushes, double-dealing locals, and constant sabotage... -
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Alien Collective by Gini Koch
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsDespite not having run for office, nor wanting to remain in office, Representative Jeff Martini is being wooed as the vice presidential running mate for a charismatic senator who seems likely to win the campaign... -
Chains of Duty by Anthony James
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFor Captain John Duggan, it seems like war never ends. Each success brings another mission and more death. Following events at the Helius Blackstar, Duggan is given the Space Corps’ newest warship – a heavy cruiser armed to the teeth with the latest weapons and technology... -
Cascade by Joshua James
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsOPERATION CASCADE IS UNDERWAY.The changes on Enceladus are causing ripples throughout the solar system — and beyond. But the Artifact isn't done yet.The end is only the beginning...Cascade, the second book in the Saturn's Legacy series, is a sci-fi thriller full of mystery, intrigue, and epic action from the depths of the ocean to the edge of outer space... -
The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsIn 3016, the 2nd Empire of Man spans hundreds of star systems, thanks to faster-than-light Alderson Drive. Intelligent beings are finally found from the Mote, an isolated star in a thick dust cloud. The bottled-up ancient civilization, at least one million years old, are welcoming, kind, yet evasive, with a dark problem they have not solved in over a million years... -
Méridien by S.H. Jucha
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe Méridiens are fleeing to their far colonies—and they have reason to run. Over the course of decades, they have lost hundreds of ships, billions of people, and seven Confederation colonies to an alien enemy: an advancing swarm of silver ships transported in the bowels of a gigantic, spherical vessel... -
Discovery by Ken Lozito
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsExploring New Earth should be a thrilling undertaking. Instead, the more the colonists learn about the planet, the more alarmed they become. Alien ruins hint at a species who fought great wars among themselves and disappeared centuries ago.When Connor Gates discovers a hidden bunker, he finds something he never expected... -
Chinamerica.: Survivors of a post-apocalyptic world. by Alice Longo
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe mighty United States as we know it is gone,taken over by China after an undisclosed apocalyptic war,and giving birth to a dystopian Chinamerica.Jack Stride, a battle-hardened ex-military hero, survived the initial Chinese attack with his son, Zeke, and his new romantic partner, Lyn, only to be captured and thrown into a military work camp... -
Unto the Breach by John Ringo
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsSequel to Ghost, Kildar and Choosers of the Slain.Michael Harmon has been there and done that. Rescued co-eds, killed major terrorists, stopped nuclear assaults. Now he'd just like to kick back and relax with his harem of lovelies. Unfortunately, the world keeps turning... -
Alien Betrayed by Julie K. Cohen
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTrust no one…. Not the Brotherhood… nor the enticing human female working for them.RemmikovTrust no one. It’s a motto Remmikov has lived by since before the war. Now, he’s been framed for the bombings in Zyan’s capital and he is on the run from his own people. As the son of a traitor, no one will believe he’s innocent... -
Tidal Rip by Joe Buff
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA new world war has begun. It is the year 2012, and extremists in Germany and South Africa have succeeded in staging simultaneous coups to forge the Berlin-Boer Axis, a cabal determined to take over the world. The key instrument of this war is tactical nuclear weaponry, where a single torpedo or cruise missile can destroy an entire ship or city... -
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The Bronze Skies by Catherine Asaro
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsMajor Bhaajan achieved the impossible. Born Undercity, the slums below the City of Cries on the planet Raylicon, she broke free to become a military officer with Imperial Space Command. Now retired from military duty, she works as a private investigator on retainer to the Majda Family.Hired by The Ruby Pharaoh herself, Major Bhaajan is tasked with finding a killer... -
Control by David Mack
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom the New York Times bestselling author David Mack comes an original, thrilling Section 31 novel set in the Star Trek: The Next Generation universe!No law…no conscience…no mercy. Amoral, shrouded in secrecy, and answering to no one, Section 31 is the mysterious covert operations division of Starfleet, a rogue shadow group pledged to defend the Federation at any cost... -
A Pivot in Time by Douglas E. Richards
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsKelly, Justin, and Otto return in a riveting near-future thriller. From the million-copy New York Times best-selling author."Richards is an extraordinary writer" (Dean Koontz) who can "keep you turning the pages all night long". (Douglas Preston)The Enigma Cube is an alien object of unlimited power, with technology that can catapult civilization to dizzying heights - or destroy it entirely...Categorized as:
aliens first-contact military suspense action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook -
Alien vs. Alien by Gini Koch
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsJeff and Kitty Katt-Martini and the rest of the American Centaurion Diplomatic Corps are still recovering from their introduction to Washington D.C. politics, parties, and conspiracies. So when compromising pictures arrive, no one’s too surprised. They’re also the least of anyone’s worries... -
Crimson Tempest by Anthony James
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFifty-three years after it vanished, Earth's only Super-Devastator warship, the ESS Crimson sends out a distress signal... Humanity is fighting against an implacable foe. The Ghasts – a ruthless alien race - seem hell-bent on wiping out mankind. They have a vast warfleet and their technology is advancing at a terrible rate... -
A Battle Won by S. Thomas Russell, Sean Thomas Russell
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratings[A] thrilling story of nautical warfare (Kirkus Reviews) from the author of Under Enemy Colors. Winter 1793... -
The Hunted by Nicholas Sansbury Smith
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe deadly hunt continues in book two of the bestselling Trackers saga...Five days ago North Korea detonated three nuclear warheads over the United States, triggering an electromagnetic pulse that crippled the country. A second attack destroyed the nerve center of America in a nuclear blast that flattened the nation's capitol... -
The Observers by John Scalzi
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIn an effort to improve relations with the Earth, the Colonial Union has invited a contingent of diplomats from that planet to observe Ambassador Abumwe negotiate a trade deal with an alien species. Then something very bad happens to one of the Earthings, and with that, the relationship between humanitys two factions is on the cusp of disruption once more... -
The Gentle Art of Cracking Heads by John Scalzi
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsUnited States Diplomat Danielle Lowen was there when one of her fellow diplomats committed an unthinkable act, which had consequences for the entire planet. Now shes trying to figure out how it happened before it can happen again. Putting the puzzle pieces together could solve the mystery or it could threaten her own life... -
Legacy by Ken Lozito
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsHold the line. After narrowly defeating the invading enemy fleet, there is evidence that the attack isn’t over. Thousands have died and all that stands between human extinction and the invaders are the remnants of the colonial military. Connor must find a way to rally the colony using every scrap of ingenuity to stop the invaders... -
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The Dog King by John Scalzi
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsCDF Lieutenant Harry Wilson has one simple task: Watch an ambassador’s dog while the diplomat is conducting sensitive negotiations with an alien race. But you know dogs - always getting into something. And when this dog gets into something that could launch an alien civil war, Wilson has to find a way to solve the conflict, fast, or be the one in the Colonial Union’s doghouse... -
The Sound of Rebellion by John Scalzi
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe Colonial Defense Forces usually protect humanity from alien attack, but now the stability of the Colonial Union has been threatened, and Lieutenant Heather Lee and her squad are called to squash a rebellion on a colony world. It seems simple enoughbut theres a second act to the rebellion that finds Lee captive, alone, and armed with only her brains to survive... -
Renegade by Joel Shepherd
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsOne thousand years after Earth was destroyed in an unprovoked attack, humanity has emerged victorious from a series of terrible wars to assure its place in the galaxy... -
Into the Black by Evan Currie
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsThis edition of Odyssey One has been completely edited and remastered to correct the typos and content issues that reviewers commented on in the original edition. Beyond the confines of our small world, far from the glow of our star, lies a galaxy and universe much larger and more varied than anyone on Earth can possibly imagine... -
The Honor of the Queen by David Weber
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsIt's hard to give peace a chance when the other side regards war as a prelude to conquest. That's why Manticore needs allies against Haven, and planet Grayson is placed to make a good ally. But the Foreign Office overlooked a cultural difference when they sent Honor Harrington to carry the flag... -
Genesis by Ken Lozito
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsA mission gone wrong. Innocent lives have been lost. Escaping wrongful imprisonment wasn’t something Connor had in mind, but being put into stasis aboard Earth’s first interstellar colony ship was something he couldn’t have prepared for. For three hundred thousand colonists, the new colony brings the promise of a fresh start…a second chance...
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