Books like 'Synthetic Illusions'
Readers who enjoyed Synthetic Illusions by Mary Fan also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
sc-fi action / adventure conspiracies assassins ai space-opera political-intrigue
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Layers of Force by Lindsay Buroker
Rated: 4.72 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThe exciting conclusion to the Star Kingdom series!Even though Professor Casmir Dabrowski has been fighting for months to help the kingdom and humanity as a whole, few people in positions of power have appreciated his unorthodox methods. Now he's a captive of the king and being taken back to his home world without his friends or the crushers he relies upon to protect him... -
![Mosaic by Michael C. Grumley]()
Mosaic by Michael C. Grumley
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe world is losing hope. Political and social infighting threaten to destroy the world. Rancor and hatred only grow stronger, engulfing entire nations. And each day moral and economic strife brings embroiled countries ever closer to war. But hope is not dead. Everywhere, pockets of honor and compassion continue to persevere. Where human lives are cherished and valor endures...Categorized as:
conspiracies political-intrigue action-adventure adult audiobook book fiction military -
![Crossfire by Lindsay Buroker]()
Crossfire by Lindsay Buroker
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsFor the first time in his life, roboticist Casmir Dabrowski is headed to another star system as an advisor for the Kingdom space fleet. He’s being given a chance to prove himself to King Jager by helping find the ancient artifact he inadvertently lost. It’s best not to think about what might happen if he fails..Categorized as:
assassins political-intrigue space-opera action-adventure adult anti-hero audiobook book -
![Sentienced to Death by Barry J. Hutchison]()
Sentienced to Death by Barry J. Hutchison
Rated: 4.55 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsAccidental space adventurer Cal Carver has had a rough few months. He's fought spider-dragons, battled space clowns, and been repeatedly tortured by the galaxy's oldest assassin. And don't even get him started on the squirrel-tits. Now all that's behind him, Cal just wants to kick back and relax. The universe, however, has other ideas... -
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![Hero Code by Lindsay Buroker]()
Hero Code by Lindsay Buroker
Rated: 4.48 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsCasmir Dabrowski is finally heading back to his home world, determined to gain an audience with the queen and convince her to tell him the secret of his genes. But the terrorists who have been sending robot assassins after him are still there—and still want him dead. As soon as he lands, the trouble starts...Categorized as:
assassins political-intrigue space-opera action-adventure adult audiobook book cyberpunk -
![A Grimm Decision by Jeffery H. Haskell]()
A Grimm Decision by Jeffery H. Haskell
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFrom USA Today bestselling author Jeffery H. Haskell comes book six in the military science fiction epic in the tradition of Honor Harrington and Star Trek...Categorized as:
space-opera assassins political-intrigue sci-fi fiction military suspense action-adventure -
![Captain Caveman by Jerry Boyd]()
Captain Caveman by Jerry Boyd
Rated: 4.59 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsBob and the crew are off to deliver a shipload of lost property to its rightful owners. What dangers, seen and unseen, will they find at this lost colony? Will there be new crew members, waiting to be found? Find out in Bob and Nikki’s latest adventure... -
![Lost in Transit by Jerry Boyd]()
Lost in Transit by Jerry Boyd
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsCan Bob handle his biggest challenge yet, a couple days off? Will John ever find true love? What's aboard the colony ship Bob and Nikki found? The answers to these and other burning questions can be found in 'Lost in... -
![One Decision Too Late by Michael Anderle]()
One Decision Too Late by Michael Anderle
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHuman greed conspires with bizarre coincidences to unleash a Zoo nightmare of epic proportions.Disgruntled ex-employees seize a lab and resort to blackmail. The cryptids they study are their ultimate weapon.A super-spy has Desk in his sights.An unsuspecting world hangs in the balance.The Zoo is ready to expand. This time, it could be impossible to stop it... -
![No Time For Fear by Michael Anderle]()
No Time For Fear by Michael Anderle
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsYou mess with DESK, you mess with McFadden and BanksThe DOD and others want DESK. Taylor doesn’t want to give her up.The whole team gets behind the effort to save one of their own from a few in the government who are determined to bring DESK onto their team.Who is going to win?Is the Zoo sentient? Only time will tell.However, the Zoo has achieved a level of sneakiness that would make one think so...Categorized as:
conspiracies political-intrigue sci-fi military technothriller humor action-adventure aliens -
![Shaved Ape Key by Jerry Boyd]()
Shaved Ape Key by Jerry Boyd
Rated: 4.61 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsWhat do you do when you can’t give away a space carrier? Learn to be the best captain you can. If one of your most loyal bots has unfinished business, you have to send him out to finish it up, don’t you? Come along as Bob faces his new responsibilities as captain of the B. S. Gene Cernan. And don’t forget to sing along...“There’s room for you, and there’s room for me... -
![Starfoot by Jerry Boyd]()
Starfoot by Jerry Boyd
Rated: 4.53 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsAre Jim and Molly okay? John’s old friend Steve needs help. Can the crew take care of his problem? Can he help with some of their problems? Bob gets caught, loading a saucer. Will it mean big trouble, or a new crew member? Max finds marooned saucers on the Moon... -
![Tasmanian SFG: Welcome to Hell by C.R. Daems]()
Tasmanian SFG: Welcome to Hell by C.R. Daems
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsJolie was three when she found she was ugly and deformed. She was five when she found she was a sub-human and an outcast. She was seven when five boys and two girls dragged her out of the orphanage and beat her unconscious, leaving her lying bleeding and broken in the street. She was content to lie there and die, tired of being hated and abused...Categorized as:
assassins political-intrigue space-opera action-adventure aliens audiobook book fiction -
![Vengeance by Jennifer Foehner Wells]()
Vengeance by Jennifer Foehner Wells
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFive years have passed since Darcy Eberhardt left Raub for dead on Ulream. Darcy and her ragtag multispecies crew have used those years well, searching for her lost love, Adam, throughout the disreputable fringes of galactic society—though the odds are stacked against them. Along the way, they liberate the vulnerable and accumulate allies, some of them dubious...Categorized as:
assassins political-intrigue space-opera action-adventure adult aliens alpha-mc book -
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![Dynasty of Evil by Drew Karpyshyn]()
Dynasty of Evil by Drew Karpyshyn
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsTwenty years have passed since Darth Bane, reigning Dark Lord of the Sith, demolished the ancient order devoted to the dark side and reinvented it as a circle of two: one Master to wield the power and pass on the wisdom, and one apprentice to learn, challenge, and ultimately usurp the Dark Lord in a duel to the death...Categorized as:
assassins political-intrigue space-opera action-adventure aliens audiobook book contemporary -
![Tiona by Laurence E. Dahners]()
Tiona by Laurence E. Dahners
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratings“Tiona” picks up six years after the end of Vaz. Tiona, Vaz’s daughter, is starting grad school in physics, has a “bad boy” musician boyfriend, and does her own strange variety of charity work at a homeless shelter.Her professor has her start work on a project to try to achieve high temperature superconduction by doping the graphene membranes her lab partner has figured out how to precipitate... -
![Duty Calls: The adventure continues by James Haddock]()
Duty Calls: The adventure continues by James Haddock
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsDuty Calls continues the story of Nic, Mal, Jazz and Jade as they fight to hold what belongs to them. The Corporations are becoming more aggressive in their effort to steal their inventions. Our four friends are matching the corporate's aggression blow for blow. The fight has already turned deadly, and the Corporation has shown they aren't afraid to spill blood... -
![The Worldship Humility by R.R. Haywood]()
The Worldship Humility by R.R. Haywood
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe Worldship Humility...Categorized as:
ai conspiracies political-intrigue space-opera action-adventure adult audiobook book -
![Allies by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller]()
Allies by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsEven Clan Korval needs friends, and the kinds of friends they often need aren't simply buddies and pals, but allies. As Cantra so succinctly put it:"In the matter of allies only two things are important...Categorized as:
political-intrigue space-opera action-adventure adult anthologies fiction space sci-fi -
![Fortune's Favors by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller]()
Fortune's Favors by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsARE YOU FEELING LUCKY? Mar Tyn eys'Ornstahl is a lucky man. His very presence can determine the fall of a card, the spin of a wheel, or whether the bread will rise or fall. In fact, Mar Tyn eys'Ornstahl isn't merely lucky. Mar Tyn is a Luck; a focal point for the elemental force of random event. While most people think that there is good luck and bad, Mar Tyn knows better... -
![Changeling by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller]()
Changeling by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThis novella set in the Liaden Universe first appeared in Absolute Magnitude #14, Summer 2000. It was then re-issued in chapbook form. It tells the story of Ren Zel dea'Judan, Clan Obrelt, who becomes first (space) pilot in an obscure clan of shopkeepers. Not all the other clans, however, are happy that Obrelt should field a pilot... -
![Warden's Folly: A Sci Fi Adventure by Tony James Slater]()
Warden's Folly: A Sci Fi Adventure by Tony James Slater
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsLord Anakreon, Warden of the First Circle, has lost a weapon.Not just any weapon; the Planet Forge is an ancient alien artefact with the power to create worlds...Or to end them.His arch-rival, the traitor Lord Demios, is hell-bent on conquering Earth. He aims to tear the planet to pieces, and sell off the human population as spare parts... -
![The Exodus Gambit by Glynn Stewart]()
The Exodus Gambit by Glynn Stewart
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsHer family, gone, destroyed from withinHer kingdom, doomed, tainted by bloodUnless a scion rises to become something… moreIn a single ruthless blow, Commander Lorraine Adamant’s favorite uncle murders everyone ahead of him in the succession for the Star Kingdom of Adamant. Only luck and the paranoia of her bodyguard, Vigo Jarret, saves Lorraine’s life... -
![Kantovan Vault by Joel Shepherd]()
Kantovan Vault by Joel Shepherd
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe UFS Phoenix is on a mission to find a lost data-core that may contain the secret to defeating the alo-deepynine alliance. But the means to find the data-core is hidden deep in tavalai space, in a highest-security vault where the tavalai's manipulative State Department keep all their most treacherous secrets. To recover it, Phoenix must pull off the most daring heist the Spiral has ever seen... -
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![Eidolon by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller]()
Eidolon by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThis chapbook contains two original stories: "Shadow Partner," and "Persistence." Each story features a well-known member of Clan Korval, portrayed as others see them... -
![Misfits by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller]()
Misfits by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsBefore Miri Robertson met Val Con yos'Phelium she was an acclaimed mercenary soldier. Before she was an acclaimed mercenary soldier with the Gyrfalks, she was "Redhead," a young recruit in Lizardi's Lunatics. Meanwhile, there was a weatherman, Ichliad Brunner. A weatherman's job is to observe and predict... -
![Two Tales of Korval by Sharon Lee]()
Two Tales of Korval by Sharon Lee
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsChapbook with two short stories:To Cut an Edge: Val Con, a rookie scout, meets Edger the knife-making Clutch Turtle.A Day at the Races: Young Val Con and Shan run rings around prim and proper Kareen... -
![Courier Run by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller]()
Courier Run by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTwo new Liaden Universe® adventures! Novelette "Kin Ties" explores the ties that bind beloved kin -- and desperate enemies. Short story "Guaranteed Delivery" is a tale of love, leadership, and insurance fraud. Both stories appeared in slightly altered form on the authors' Splinter Universe website... -
![Duty Bound by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller]()
Duty Bound by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsPilot of Korval and Breath's Duty, two stories featuring Daav yos Phelium and including Er Thom, Clonak, and Shadia. Answers several Liaden Universe mysteries... -
![Her Alien Mates by Susan Hayes]()
Her Alien Mates by Susan Hayes
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsShe dreamed of being free to make her own decisions. When it comes to a mate, why must she pick just one?Haven colony has everything a newly freed cyborg could hope for. After a life of violence and forced obedience, Shadow can finally make her own choices. But freedom comes with its own challenges – and hers includes a pair of sexy as fraxx aliens who both lay claim to her heart...Categorized as:
assassins political-intrigue space-opera action-adventure adult aliens alpha-mc book -
![Dragon Tide by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller]()
Dragon Tide by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsKareen yos'Phelium Clan Korval has always done everything that was proper, rising by study and by example to become the foremost scholar of the Liaden Code of Proper Conduct on Liad - and perhaps in the galaxy. Indeed, it seems that the only people she cannot influence to seemly action are the members of her own Clan. Now, wit Plan B in effect, Kareen must act... -
![Theft of Fire by Devon Eriksen]()
Theft of Fire by Devon Eriksen
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAt the frozen edge of the solar system lies a hidden treasure which could spell their fortune or their destruction—but only if they survive each other first.Marcus Warnoc has a little problem... -
![The Seraphim Sequence by Nathan M. Farrugia]()
The Seraphim Sequence by Nathan M. Farrugia
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe world is reeling in the aftermath of genocide.Former black operative Sophia is among the remnants of the Akhana, a once-strong organized resistance against the all-powerful world government known as the Fifth Column. Branded as the world’s most wanted terrorist, Sophia barely escaped her last encounter with the organization with her life...Categorized as:
assassins conspiracies political-intrigue action-adventure adult book cyberpunk dark -
![Infinity Born by Douglas E. Richards]()
Infinity Born by Douglas E. Richards
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsA breathtaking near-future thriller. From the NY Times bestselling author whose books have been downloaded over a million times.When DARPA's billion-dollar program to create Artificial Superintelligence is sabotaged, US operative Cameron Carr is tasked with finding the culprit. He's been on high-stakes missions before, but this time the stakes are nothing less than the future of humanity... -
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![The Matrix: The Shooting Script by Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski]()
The Matrix: The Shooting Script by Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIncludes detailed scene notes by Paul Oosterhouse, assistant to the Wachowskis throughout the making of the movie...Categorized as:
conspiracies political-intrigue action-adventure adult book cyberpunk dystopia fiction -
![Spy Night on Union Station by E.M. Foner]()
Spy Night on Union Station by E.M. Foner
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsSpy Night on Union Stationis is Book 4 of the EarthCent Ambassador series. The story picks up less than a year after the events of High Priest on Union Station, with Kelly coming to the conclusion that EarthCent needs an intelligence service. Of course, EarthCent has no institutional knowledge of what spies do, or how they work, so the new agency gets off to a slow start... -
![Wings of the Reaper by J.N. Chaney, Scott Moon]()
Wings of the Reaper by J.N. Chaney, Scott Moon
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe Archangels are coming for the last Reaper, and they're out for blood.Halek Cain and his crew jump into one slip tunnel after another to escape a psychopath with an armada of deadly warships. Every system is a trap; every encounter a potential battle.When Cain and his friends receive a distress call from The Bold Freedom, innocent lives will hang on their every decision...Categorized as:
assassins political-intrigue space-opera action-adventure adult aliens audiobook book -
![A Liaden Universe Constellation: Volume 2 by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller]()
A Liaden Universe Constellation: Volume 2 by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsBOOK 2 in The First Liaden Universe ® Collection. Seventeen short tales of the Liaden Universe® were brought together for the first time. Space opera and romance on a grand scale in a galaxy full of interstellar trading clans... -
![The 97th Step by Steve Perry]()
The 97th Step by Steve Perry
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsBorn on a desolate planet, Mwili dreamed of the stars. Ferret was a thief and a smuggler on exotic worlds. Pen was trained by master warriors, learning skills that would forge a legend. He was a man who lived three lives--the mentor and inspiration for The Man Who Never Missed. Reissue...Categorized as:
conspiracies political-intrigue space-opera action-adventure adult audiobook bisexuality book -
![System Collapse by Martha Wells]()
System Collapse by Martha Wells
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsThe million-copy, New York Times bestselling Murderbot series is back in another full-length novel adventure!Am I making it worse? I think I'm making it worse.Everyone's favorite lethal SecUnit is back.Following the events in Network Effect, the Barish-Estranza corporation has sent rescue ships to a newly-colonized planet in peril, as well as additional SecUnits... -
![The Desert of Glass by Michael C. Grumley]()
The Desert of Glass by Michael C. Grumley
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsOne of mankind's greatest secrets... has been hiding in plain sight for three thousand years.Half a century ago, an aberration was spotted by one of our earliest satellites, and summarily dismissed as a hardware malfunction. But it was no aberration. And no malfunction. It was an accidental glimpse of something extraordinary, and very old...Categorized as:
conspiracies political-intrigue action-adventure adult book fiction historical mystery -
![The Robert Sheckley Megapack: 15 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Robert Sheckley]()
The Robert Sheckley Megapack: 15 Classic Science Fiction Stories by Robert Sheckley
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe Robert Sheckley Megapack presents 14 short stories and 1 novel by the author Neil Gaiman called "probably the best short-story writer during the '50s to the mid-1960s working in any field... -
![Bolos: Their Finest Hour by Keith Laumer, David Weber]()
Bolos: Their Finest Hour by Keith Laumer, David Weber
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsScience fiction giant Keith Laumer along with New York Times bestsellers David Weber, Mercedes Lackey, and S.M. Stirling recount the exploits of Laumer’s dauntless, hard-fighting creations in this outstanding collection. It’s the legendary saga of the Bolos—artificially intelligent tanks with courage and moral sense often better than that of their human masters... -
![Titan's Fury by Rhett C. Bruno]()
Titan's Fury by Rhett C. Bruno
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIndependence comes at a high cost.When Malcolm Graves finds himself in the clutches of the Titanborn, his plan to take Kale Trass down hits a wall. With the only family he has left threatened, he’s forced back into the service of another employer, only this time it’s not a corporation giving the orders...Categorized as:
conspiracies political-intrigue space-opera action-adventure adult audiobook book colonization -
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![Tsunami Storm by D.F. Capps, David F. Capps]()
Tsunami Storm by D.F. Capps, David F. Capps
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratings*Bronze medal winner in the 2017 Reader's Favorite Book Awards for fiction - thriller - general. *The US has launched secret weapons of mass destruction on other countries. And awaits what might be cataclysmic retaliation…China is devastated by an 8.0M earthquake that leaves 70,000 people dead with hundreds of thousands injured and untold property destroyed...Categorized as:
conspiracies political-intrigue action-adventure adult book fiction mystery post-apocalyptic -
![Progeny by Dan Worth]()
Progeny by Dan Worth
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe Commonwealth stands on the brink. As war engulfs the worlds of man, the Shapers are poised to strike at the very heart of human civilisation. The men and women of the Commonwealth Navy now find themselves at the forefront of a desperate battle for the very survival of the species against an enemy whose weapons and technology far exceed their own... -
![No Going Back by Mark L. Van Name]()
No Going Back by Mark L. Van Name
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsJon and Lobo are back–and enemies on all sides are out to get them. Haunted by memories of children he could not save, Jon Moore becomes so increasingly self-destructive that even his best friend, the hyper-intelligent Predator-Class Assault Vehicle, Lobo, is worried...Categorized as:
assassins political-intrigue space-opera action-adventure adult audiobook book fiction -
![Exile Hunter by Preston Fleming]()
Exile Hunter by Preston Fleming
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“Pure energy in print form, whether the characters are being pursued or simply talking; Fleming has proven himself a craftsman.” KIRKUS REVIEWS“As with all of Preston Fleming's previous books, EXILE HUNTER weaves together the harsh realities of personal betrayal, physical torment, emotional pain, and a spiritual quest with astute intelligence.” BOOKPLEASURES...Categorized as:
conspiracies political-intrigue action-adventure adult alternate-history book crime dystopia -
![Silent Weapons by David Mack]()
Silent Weapons by David Mack
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe second book in a new trilogy by the national bestselling author of Star Trek: Destiny! Three years after the disastrous final Borg Invasion, a bitter cold war against the Typhon Pact has pushed Starfleet’s resources to the breaking point. Now the rise of a dangerous new technology threatens to destroy the Federation from within... -
![The Voyage of the Sable Keech by Neal Asher]()
The Voyage of the Sable Keech by Neal Asher
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSable Keech is a walking dead man, and the only one to have been resurrected by nanochanger. Did he succeed because he was infected by the Spatterjay virus, or because he came late to resurrection in a tank of seawater? An ancient hive mind, almost incomprehensible to the human race, has sent an agent to this uncertain world...Categorized as:
ai political-intrigue space-opera action-adventure adult audiobook book contemporary
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