Books like 'First Light'
Readers who enjoyed First Light by Jeffrey Cook & Sarah A. Symonds also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical sc-fi alternate history space steampunk industrial-era historical-fiction epistolary space-travel exploration
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The Relentless Moon by Mary Robinette Kowal
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsMary Robinette Kowal continues her award-winning Lady Astronaut series, which began with The Calculating Stars and The Fated Sky, with The Relentless Moon.The Earth is coming to the boiling point as the climate disaster of the Meteor strike becomes more and more clear, but the political situation is already overheated. Riots and sabotage plague the space program... -
![The Fated Sky by Mary Robinette Kowal]()
The Fated Sky by Mary Robinette Kowal
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsThe Fated Sky continued the grand sweep of alternate history begun in The Calculating Stars. It is 1961, and the International Aerospace Coalition has established a colony on the moon. Elma York, the noted Lady Astronaut, is working on rotation, flying shuttles on the moon and returning regularly to Earth.But humanity must get a foothold on Mars... -
![And Now for Something Completely Different by Jodi Taylor]()
And Now for Something Completely Different by Jodi Taylor
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsHere's a question for you. What's the most exciting thing ever found in a fire bucket? And don't say 'fire' because you'll be wrong...Categorized as:
historical-fiction industrial-era steampunk action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook book -
![Anathem by Neal Stephenson]()
Anathem by Neal Stephenson
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsFraa Erasmas is a young avout living in the Concent of Saunt Edhar, a sanctuary for mathematicians, scientists, and philosophers, protected from the corrupting influences of the outside "saecular" world by ancient stone, honored traditions, and complex rituals. Over the centuries, cities and governments have risen and fallen beyond the concent's walls... -
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![Iron Gray Sea by Taylor Anderson]()
Iron Gray Sea by Taylor Anderson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn Taylor Anderson’s acclaimed Destroyermen series, a parallel universe adds an extraordinary layer to the drama of World War II. Now, Lieutenant Commander Matthew Reddy, the crew of USS Walker, and their allies battle an ever-growing host of enemies across the globe in a desperate battle for freedom …War has engulfed the—other earth... -
![How Firm a Foundation by David Weber]()
How Firm a Foundation by David Weber
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe Charisian Empire, born in war, has always known it must fight for its very survival. What most of its subjects don't know even now, however, is how much more it's fighting for. Emperor Cayleb, Empress Sharleyan, Merlin Athrawes, and their innermost circle of most trusted advisers do know...Categorized as:
historical-fiction action-adventure adult ai alternate-history audiobook book colonization -
![Starclimber by Kenneth Oppel]()
Starclimber by Kenneth Oppel
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 21 ratings"Mr. Cruse, how high would you like to fly?" A smile soared across my face. "As high as I possibly can." Pilot-in-training Matt Cruse and Kate de Vries, expert on high-altitude life-forms, are invited aboard the Starclimber, a vessel that literally climbs its way into the cosmos. Before they even set foot aboard the ship, catastrophe strikes:Kate announces she is engaged—and not to Matt... -
![Pass of Fire by Taylor Anderson]()
Pass of Fire by Taylor Anderson
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAfter being transported to a strange alternate Earth, Matt Reddy and the crew of the USS Walker have learned desperate times call for desperate measures, in the return to the New York Times bestselling Destroyermen series.Time is running out for the Grand Human and Lemurian Alliance... -
![The Sword of Jupiter by Travis Starnes]()
The Sword of Jupiter by Travis Starnes
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsAn Uncertain Future in a New PastDuring the test flight of a prototype faster-than-light craft, Lt. Commander Ky is flung into an ancient past that never existed. Rome has fallen, defeated by the mighty Carthaginian Empire, its survivors chased off the continent and onto what had been the remote province of Britannia...Categorized as:
historical-fiction time-travel sci-fi alternate-history military audiobook ai fiction -
![The Dance of Time by Eric Flint, David Drake]()
The Dance of Time by Eric Flint, David Drake
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe Malwa and their evil have been driven back to their Indian heartland, but there they coil to strike again...Categorized as:
historical-fiction space-travel action-adventure adult alternate-history book fiction hard-sci-fi -
![Fortune's Stroke by Eric Flint, David Drake]()
Fortune's Stroke by Eric Flint, David Drake
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAide, a human soul embodied in a jewel, journeys back in time to join forces with Belisarius, the greatest general of the sixth century, to stop Link, an evil supercomputer that is using its vast powers to rewrite history to create the powerful, technologically advance Malwa Empire. Reprint...Categorized as:
historical-fiction action-adventure adult alternate-history book fiction historical military -
![Cast Under an Alien Sun by Olan Thorensen]()
Cast Under an Alien Sun by Olan Thorensen
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsWhat if you were thrown into a foreign society, never to see home again? What would you do and could you survive? A story science fiction in premise, adventure in execution. A cross-genre adventure with elements of science fiction, history, hard science, epic fantasy, time travel, romance, alien contact, and space colonization...Categorized as:
historical-fiction action-adventure adult ai aliens alternate-history audiobook book -
![The Nonborn King by Julian May]()
The Nonborn King by Julian May
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsOn Earth, six million B.C., two species of alien ruled, the graceful humanoid Tanu and their twisted brethren, the Firvulag. Then men from twenty-second century Earth arrived through a one-way time tunnel — and soon the aliens were locked in a battle to the death, for the humans had upset the precarious balance of power that existed between them...Categorized as:
historical-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult aliens alternate-history anthologies epic -
![The Adversary by Julian May]()
The Adversary by Julian May
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsPan edition paperback vg++ In stock shipped from our UK... -
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![Devil's Due by Taylor Anderson]()
Devil's Due by Taylor Anderson
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsNew York Times bestselling author Taylor Anderson continues the thrilling Destroyermen series of alternate history and military strategy, as the conflict is about to become terrifyingly personal... -
![Deadly Shores by Taylor Anderson]()
Deadly Shores by Taylor Anderson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsNational bestselling author Taylor Anderson’s explosive WWII alternate-history series continues as a do-or-die battle is waged that risks far more than anyone bargained for. The long-planned raid on the heart of the Grik Empire has grown more ambitious—and dangerously ill defined. Only Matthew Reddy, commander of the old destroyer USS Walker, seems focused on its original intent... -
![The Lady Astronaut of Mars by Mary Robinette Kowal]()
The Lady Astronaut of Mars by Mary Robinette Kowal
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsThirty years ago, Elma York led the expedition that paved the way to life on Mars. For years she's been longing to go back up there, to once more explore the stars. But there are few opportunities for an aging astronaut, even the famous Lady Astronaut of Mars. When her chance finally comes, it may be too late... -
![Blood in the Water by Taylor Anderson]()
Blood in the Water by Taylor Anderson
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsTaylor Anderson’s enthralling New York Times bestselling series of alternate history continues as game-changing revelations upend the Grand Alliance in a potentially cataclysmic war. Ever since the USS Walker came from another world war to defy the terrifying Grik and diabolical Dominion, Matt Reddy and his crew have given their all to protect the oppressed Lemurians... -
![The Tide of Victory by Eric Flint, David Drake]()
The Tide of Victory by Eric Flint, David Drake
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsArmed with lancers, breech-loading rifles, steamships, and galleys, General Belisarius, accompanied by his own ally from the future, ventures into the Malwa Empire, a sixth-century kingdom ruled by Link, a horrifying and evil entity from the future...Categorized as:
historical-fiction action-adventure adult alternate-history book fiction historical military -
![Destiny's Shield by Eric Flint, David Drake]()
Destiny's Shield by Eric Flint, David Drake
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsEric Flint and David Drake's alt-history epic devoted to real-life Byzantine butt-kicker Belisarius has reached part three--Destiny's Shield--and this installment finally busts loose with some serious head-to-head...Categorized as:
historical-fiction action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook book fiction historical -
![By Schism Rent Asunder by David Weber]()
By Schism Rent Asunder by David Weber
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe world has changed. The mercantile kingdom of Charis has prevailed over the alliance designed to exterminate it. Armed with better sailing vessels, better guns and better devices of all sorts, Charis faced the combined navies of the rest of the world at Darcos Sound and Armageddon Reef, and broke them...Categorized as:
historical-fiction action-adventure adult ai alternate-history apocalyptic audiobook book -
![River of Bones by Taylor Anderson]()
River of Bones by Taylor Anderson
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe crew of a WWII destroyer face their greatest challenge yet as they try to survive in a strange new world in the next thrilling book in the New York Times bestselling series.Commander Matt Reddy and his crew are afraid it may finally be the end of the USS Walker... -
![The Dawn of the Iron Dragon by Robert Kroese]()
The Dawn of the Iron Dragon by Robert Kroese
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA new beginning, 1300 years in the past... In medieval Europe, three explorers from the distant future begin an ambitious project: build a craft capable of reaching the stars. While their leader oversees the construction of a secret underground base in Iceland, the other two travel thousands of miles to negotiate with the rulers of Europe and recruit the most brilliant minds of the age...Categorized as:
historical-fiction action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook book europe fiction -
![On The Rocks by Peter Rhodan]()
On The Rocks by Peter Rhodan
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsCaptain Arturo Sanders was having a bad day. First the routine destruction of some ancient automatic defence batteries became a disaster when his ship’s screens failed and he had no choice to abandon ship. Then he had to rescue two left behind crew people which meant he missed the main shuttle evacuation leaving him and his two companions in a shuttle on their own at the rear... -
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![Forbidden Planet by Cheree Alsop]()
Forbidden Planet by Cheree Alsop
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhen Captain Nova Ardis acquires the services of a dangerous, tattooed gladiator, she knows she’s taking a risk—but she would do anything for family.Kove has survived most of his life in the gladiator arena and now, on the eve of winning his freedom, he is sold once again. At least being the captain’s bodyguard shouldn’t be too hard compared to the bloody life he’s lived...Categorized as:
industrial-era space-travel action-adventure adult alternate-history book fiction futuristic -
![The Many-Colored Land by Julian May]()
The Many-Colored Land by Julian May
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWhen a one-way time tunnel to Earth's distant past, specifically six million B.C., was discovered by folks on the Galactic Milieu, every misfit for light-years around hurried to pass through it. Each sought his own brand of happiness. But none could have guessed what awaited them. Not even in a million years... -
![1634 The Baltic War by Eric Flint, David Weber]()
1634 The Baltic War by Eric Flint, David Weber
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsThe Baltic War which began in the novel 1633 is still raging, and the time-lost Americans of Grantville - the West Virginia town hurled back into the seventeenth century by a mysterious cosmic accident - are caught in the middle of it... -
![The Defector by Chris Hadfield]()
The Defector by Chris Hadfield
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIsrael, late 1973. As the Yom Kippur War flares into life, a state-of-the-art Soviet MIG fighter is racing at breakneck speed over the arid scrublands below . . . and promptly disappears... -
![Starcross by Philip Reeve]()
Starcross by Philip Reeve
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsArt, Myrtle, and their mother accept the kind invitation of a holiday to an up-and-coming asteroid resort... -
![Mothstorm by Philip Reeve]()
Mothstorm by Philip Reeve
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA sinister cloud had appeared on the edge of the Solar System, and seemed to be moving closer. Rather than sit idly by, my family and I decided that we should investigate whatever monstrous force of darkness hid within... -
![Singer Distance by Ethan Chatagnier]()
Singer Distance by Ethan Chatagnier
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe odds of the planet next door hosting intelligent life are—that’s not luck. That’s a miracle. It means something.In December 1960, Crystal Singer, her boyfriend Rick, and three other MIT grad students take a cross-country road trip from Boston to Arizona to paint a message in the desert... -
![Writers of the Future Volume 30: The Best New Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year by Dave Wolverton, Orson Scott Card]()
Writers of the Future Volume 30: The Best New Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year by Dave Wolverton, Orson Scott Card
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsEmbark on Voyages of Imagination and Wonder. Discover the new visionaries of imagination. Experience the thrills, laughs, heartbreak and tears that can all be found in this fabulous new anthology. We’ve scoured the globe to find the most powerful new writers, and then paired them with the most gifted new illustrators to bring you L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Volume XXX...Categorized as:
exploration space-travel aliens alternate-history anthologies christian dark dark-fantasy -
![The Mouse on the Moon by Leonard Wibberley]()
The Mouse on the Moon by Leonard Wibberley
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe Duchy of Grand Fenwick, the world's smallest country, whose army of 20 longbow men defeated the United States in The Mouse that Roared is back again...Categorized as:
historical-fiction space-travel action-adventure adult alternate-history book classics comedy -
![Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus by Orson Scott Card]()
Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus by Orson Scott Card
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIn one of the most powerful and thought-provoking novels of his remarkable career, Orson Scott Card's Pastwatch interweaves a compelling portrait of Christopher Columbus with the story of a future scientist who believes she can alter human history from a tragedy of bloodshed and brutality to a world filled with hope and healing... -
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![The Apollo Murders by Chris Hadfield]()
The Apollo Murders by Chris Hadfield
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsAn exceptional debut thriller and “exciting journey” into the dark heart of the Cold War and the space race from New York Times bestselling author and astronaut Chris Hadfield (Andy Weir, author of The Martian and Project Hail Mary). 1973: a final, top-secret mission to the Moon. Three astronauts in a tiny spaceship, a quarter million miles from home. A quarter million miles from help... -
![1633 by Eric Flint, David Weber]()
1633 by Eric Flint, David Weber
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsAMERICAN FREEDOM AND JUSTICE VS. SEVENTEENTH CENTURY TYRANNY The new Confederated Principalities of Europe-an alliance between Gustavus,king of Sweden, and the West Virginia town, led by Mike Stearns, which was hurled back through time to the thirty years war - has big problems... -
![The Time Ships by Stephen Baxter]()
The Time Ships by Stephen Baxter
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThere is a secret passage through time...and it leads all the way to the end of Eternity. But the journey has a terrible cost. It alters not only the future but the "present" in which we live.A century after the publication of H. G... -
![Into the Storm by Taylor Anderson]()
Into the Storm by Taylor Anderson
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsPressed into service when World War II breaks out in the Pacific, the USS Walker---a Great-War vintage "four-stacker" destroyer---finds itself in full retreat from pursuit by Japanese battleships. Its captain, Lieutenant Commander Matthew Patrick Reddy, knows that he and his crew are in dire straits... -
![The Center Cannot Hold by Harry Turtledove]()
The Center Cannot Hold by Harry Turtledove
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAMERICAN EMPIRE: BOOK TWOIn this spectacular, thought-provoking epic of alternate history, Harry Turtledove has created an unparalleled vision of social upheaval, war, and cutthroat politics in a world very much like our own—but with dramatic differences...Categorized as:
historical-fiction action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook book fiction galactic-empire -
![Hell Hath No Fury by David Weber, Linda Evans]()
Hell Hath No Fury by David Weber, Linda Evans
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIt began with two men. They came from very different worlds—entirely different universes, in fact—one using sorcery and the other using mental powers and steam-age technology. They met in a virgin forest on a duplicate planet Earth. Neither side knows who shot first, but each blames the other, and it doesn't really matter, now, because war has begun...Categorized as:
industrial-era steampunk action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook book dragons -
![The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal]()
The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
Rated: 3.98 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsOn a cold spring night in 1952, a huge meteorite fell to earth and obliterated much of the east coast of the United States, including Washington D.C. The ensuing climate cataclysm will soon render the earth inhospitable for humanity, as the last such meteorite did for the dinosaurs... -
![The Enceladus Crisis by Michael J. Martinez]()
The Enceladus Crisis by Michael J. Martinez
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTwo dimensions collided on the rust-red deserts of Mars—and are destined to become entangled once more in this sequel to the critically acclaimed The Daedalus Incident.Lieutenant Commander Shaila Jain has been given the assignment of her dreams: the first manned mission to Saturn. But there’s competition and complications when she arrives aboard the survey ship Armstrong...Categorized as:
exploration historical-fiction industrial-era space-travel steampunk action-adventure adult aliens -
![Arabella The Traitor of Mars by David D. Levine]()
Arabella The Traitor of Mars by David D. Levine
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTaking up almost immediately after the great Battle of Venus, Arabella has finally returned home to Mars to settle in to life with her husband, the mysterious Captain Singh. The Regent of the United Kingdom sets his eyes on solidifying his rule in the colonies and dispatches a fleet to better cement his control over Mars... -
![The Best of Kim Stanley Robinson by Kim Stanley Robinson, Jonathan Strahan]()
The Best of Kim Stanley Robinson by Kim Stanley Robinson, Jonathan Strahan
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAdventurers, scientists, artists, workers, and visionaries — these are the men and women you will encounter in the short fiction of Kim Stanley Robinson... -
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![The Ninth Circle by R.M. Meluch]()
The Ninth Circle by R.M. Meluch
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFifth in the hard-hitting military science-fiction series. On the distant world of Zoe, an expedition finds DNA-based life. When alien invaders are also discovered, Glenn Hamilton calls on the U.S.S. Merrimack for help. But the Ninth Circle and the Palatine Empire have also found Zoe. Soon everyone will be on a collision course to determine the fate of this planet...Categorized as:
industrial-era steampunk action-adventure adult alternate-history book cyberpunk epic -
![Century Rain by Alastair Reynolds]()
Century Rain by Alastair Reynolds
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsThree hundred years from now, Earth has been rendered uninhabitable due to the technological catastrophe known as the Nanocaust. Archaeologist Verity Auger specializes in the exploration of its surviving landscape. Now, her expertise is required for a far greater purpose...Categorized as:
historical-fiction action-adventure adult alternate-history apocalyptic archaeology audiobook book -
![The Actual Star by Monica Byrne]()
The Actual Star by Monica Byrne
Rated: 3.98 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsDavid Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas meets Octavia Butler’s Earthseed series, as acclaimed author Monica Byrne (The Girl in the Road) spins a brilliant multigenerational saga spanning two thousand years, from the collapse of the ancient Maya to a far-future utopia on the brink of civil war...Categorized as:
historical-fiction action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook book colonization dystopia -
![How Few Remain by Harry Turtledove]()
How Few Remain by Harry Turtledove
Rated: 3.89 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom the master of alternate history comes an epic of the second Civil War. It was an epoch of glory and success, of disaster and despair...1881: A generation after the South won the Civil War, America writhed once more in the bloody throes of battle. Furious over the annexation of key Mexican territory, the United States declared total war against the Confederate States of America once again... -
![Tale of the Thunderbolt by E.E. Knight]()
Tale of the Thunderbolt by E.E. Knight
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAs the Resistance attempts to overthrow their vampiric alien masters, elite Cat force member David Valentine embarks on a terrifying journey in search of a long-lost weapon that will guarantee their victory-and the end of the Kurian Order's domination of Earth...Categorized as:
industrial-era steampunk action-adventure adult alternate-history apocalyptic audiobook book -
![The High Crusade by Poul Anderson]()
The High Crusade by Poul Anderson
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn the year of grace 1345, as Sir Roger Baron de Tourneville is gathering an army to join King Edward III in the war against France, a most astonishing event occurs: a huge silver ship descends through the sky and lands in a pasture beside the little village of Ansby in northeastern Lincolnshire...
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