Books like 'Ancestral Night'
Readers who enjoyed Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
sc-fi space action / adventure mystery military, war & conflict space-opera lgbtq aliens outlaws ai
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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...Categorized as:
aliens first-contact invasion lgbtq space-opera space-travel 21st-century action-adventure -
![Leviathan Falls by James S.A. Corey]()
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...Categorized as:
aliens first-contact invasion space-opera space-travel 21st-century action-adventure adult -
![Fields of Fire by J.N. Chaney, Terry Maggert]()
Fields of Fire by J.N. Chaney, Terry Maggert
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsVan's next mission has begun, and at the heart of it is the power to save lives.Meanwhile, a hungry galaxy looks to a brilliant young scientist for answers, making her the most wanted person in known space.After years of research, Adayluh Creel perfects a resource to feed sixteen races--or more, all with one golden plant capable of growing on the most hostile worlds... -
![Adverse Possession by Craig Martelle, Michael Anderle]()
Adverse Possession by Craig Martelle, Michael Anderle
Rated: 4.75 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA planet in dispute. Farmers vs miners, and no one knows the full story.The Federation sends Rivka and her team to resolve a case of settlers squatting on a remote planet when the owners finally came calling.Not what it seems. Three generations of settlers and more. A planet that isn’t as welcoming as it appears. Crops coming ripe. Miners ready to dig. Tempers flare as the sides face off... -
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![Rebellion by Joshua Dalzelle]()
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... -
![Judas Unchained by Peter F. Hamilton]()
Judas Unchained by Peter F. Hamilton
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsRobust, peaceful, and confident, the Commonwealth dispatched a ship to investigate the mystery of a disappearing star, only to inadvertently unleash a predatory alien species that turned on its liberators, striking hard, fast, and utterly without mercy. The Prime are the Commonwealth's worst nightmare... -
![Deception by Craig Martelle, Michael Anderle]()
Deception by Craig Martelle, Michael Anderle
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsLies & deceit leading to a domino of crimes.The Trans-Pacific Task Force is getting ready to deploy but they don’t have what they need. Someone’s been skimming. A contract won through mistruths. Incomplete payments limiting the army’s readiness.Colonel Marcie Walton is angry and calling anyone who will answer.Magistrate Rivka Anoa is on the job and thrown into the middle of two shooting wars... -
![Infinity Engine by Neal Asher]()
Infinity Engine by Neal Asher
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn the outskirts of space, and the far corners of the Polity, complex dealings are in play. Several forces continue to pursue the deadly and enigmatic Penny Royal, none more dangerous than the Brockle, a psychopathic forensics AI and criminal who has escaped the Polity’s confinements and is upgrading itself in anticipation of a deadly showdown, becoming ever more powerful and intelligent... -
![A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine]()
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... -
![Space Specter by Jenny Schwartz]()
Space Specter by Jenny Schwartz
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe Saloon Sector is the Federation’s official frontier, but beyond it lurks the Badstars. Bandits hide there. The Saloon Sector is Sheriff Max Smith’s territory. Since the revelation of his secret identity, life has changed for Max and Thelma. Their relationship is under increased pressure... -
![Space Team: The Time Titan of Tomorrow by Barry J. Hutchison]()
Space Team: The Time Titan of Tomorrow by Barry J. Hutchison
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsCal Carver's time is about to run out. He and his Space Team are broke. Forced to take low-paying gun-for-hire jobs just to keep the food replicator working, their prospects are not looking good. When they pick up a distress signal from a luxury space cruiser, they think their luck might be about to change. And it does. Sadly, not in the way they'd hoped... -
![Judgment of Mars by Glynn Stewart]()
Judgment of Mars by Glynn Stewart
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsA war fought in the shadowsA conspiracy shattered in fireA moment of weakness… When politics are played for blood. The destruction of the secret archive of the Royal Order of Keepers on Mars has left Damien Montgomery, Hand of the Mage-King, with his enemies defeated, his lover dead—and his questions unanswered... -
![Heaven's River by Dennis E. Taylor]()
Heaven's River by Dennis E. Taylor
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsCivil war looms in the Bobiverse in this brand-new, epic-length adventure by best seller Dennis E. Taylor.More than a hundred years ago, Bender set out for the stars and was never heard from again. There has been no trace of him despite numerous searches by his clone-mates. Now Bob is determined to organize an expedition to learn Bender’s fate—whatever the cost... -
![Bane of Worlds by Anthony James]()
Bane of Worlds by Anthony James
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFollowing his successful mission to recover the missing warship ESS Crimson, Captain John Duggan finds himself unredeemed in the eyes of his superiors. His duties resume and this time he’s given something easy - escort a cargo ship to a distant planet and bring it home safely. But war is never so predictable and a straightforward mission becomes something much more important... -
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![Winged Hussars by Mark Wandrey]()
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...Categorized as:
aliens first-contact invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Deep Black by Miles Cameron]()
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... -
![The War Ship: Rise of the Jain, Book Two by Neal Asher]()
The War Ship: Rise of the Jain, Book Two by Neal Asher
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsTheir nemesis lies in wait . . . Orlandine has destroyed the alien Jain super-soldier by deploying an actual black hole. And now that same weapon hoovers up clouds of lethal Jain technology, swarming within the deadly accretion disc’s event horizon. All seems just as she planned. Yet behind her back, forces incite rebellion on her home world, planning her assassination... -
![Salvation Lost by Peter F. Hamilton]()
Salvation Lost by Peter F. Hamilton
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsThe comparative utopia of twenty-third century Earth is about to go dreadfully awry when a seemingly benign alien race is abruptly revealed to be one of the worst threats humanity has ever faced. Driven by an intense religious extremism, the Olyix are determined to bring everyone to their version of god as they see it...Categorized as:
aliens first-contact invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Earth Below, Sky Above by John Scalzi]()
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..Categorized as:
aliens first-contact invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Orbus: The Final Book in the Spatterjay Trilogy by Neal Asher]()
Orbus: The Final Book in the Spatterjay Trilogy by Neal Asher
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsYet another storming performance from the prolific Asher of high-octane violence, exotic tech, and terrifying and truly alien aliens.”—Daily MailIn book third installment of the Spatterjay series, the Old Captain Orbus, now in charge of a cargo spaceship, flees from a violent and sadistic past. Little does he know, however, that Sniper, a lethal war drone, is a stowaway on his ship... -
![Mage-Provocateur by Glynn Stewart]()
Mage-Provocateur by Glynn Stewart
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsVengeance hunts them. Rebellion seeks them. Loyalty commands them. The shadows will fear them. Captain David Rice and Mage Maria Soprano have made their choice, signing up with the Martian Interstellar Security Agency and converting Red Falcon into a covert operations ship for the Protectorate... -
![Line War by Neal Asher]()
Line War by Neal Asher
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAsher is brilliant at conveying the vastness of space, the strangeness of alien life, and the sweep of planetary horizons.”—SFX MagazineFrom the mind of Neal Asher and his Polity universe comes Line War, which has Agent Cormac once again on the trail, investigating an attack of his AI masters... -
![The Altreian Enigma by Richard Phillips]()
The Altreian Enigma by Richard Phillips
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsWhen Mark and Heather Smythe saved Earth from the conquest-hungry Kasari Collective, they thought their work was done. But the world’s vast new government continued its quest to make extraterrestrial contact... -
![Salvage System by Kevin Steverson]()
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... -
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![A Pocket Full of Lies by Kirsten Beyer, Martin Frei]()
A Pocket Full of Lies by Kirsten Beyer, Martin Frei
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe Full Circle Fleet has resumed its unprecedented explorations of the Delta Quadrant and former Borg space. Commander Liam O'Donnell of the U.S.S. Demeter makes a promising first contact with the Nihydron—humanoid aliens that are collectors of history... -
![Reconnaissance in Force by Terry Mixon]()
Reconnaissance in Force by Terry Mixon
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhen going to war, it pays to know your enemy. Particularly when they can crush you like a bug.Princess Kelsey Bandar has one slim chance to steal the tech her people needs to survive. Only a bold strike deep into enemy space keeps the New Terran Empire alive.Success gives them a chance. Failure dooms them to death and worse.Kelsey and her friends once again risk everything for their people... -
![Cascade by Joshua James]()
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... -
![Méridien by S.H. Jucha]()
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]()
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...Categorized as:
aliens first-contact invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult audiobook -
![The Fractured Dark by Megan E. O'Keefe]()
The Fractured Dark by Megan E. O'Keefe
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsDying planets, dangerous conspiracies, and secret romance abound in the second installment of the Devoured Worlds trilogy by award-winning author Megan E. O'Keefe. Naira and Tarquin have escaped vicious counter-revolutionaries, misprinted monsters, and the pull of a dying planet... -
![Chasing the Shadows by Maria V. Snyder]()
Chasing the Shadows by Maria V. Snyder
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsYear 2522. Lyra Daniels is dead.Okay, so I only died for sixty-six seconds. But when I came back to life, I got a brand new name and a snazzy new uniform. Go me! Seriously, though, it's very important that Lyra Daniels stays dead, at least as far as my ex-friend Jarren, the murdering looter, knows.While dying is the scariest thing that's happened to me, it morphed my worming skills...Categorized as:
aliens first-contact invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure archaeology audiobook -
![Unidentified: A Science-Fiction Thriller by Douglas E. Richards, Dan Bittner]()
Unidentified: A Science-Fiction Thriller by Douglas E. Richards, Dan Bittner
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsUFOs are real. When Jason Ridley discovers their shocking agenda, his actions will either transform humanity...or destroy it entirely. Unidentified details the actual evidence that UFOs are here, while offering a mind-blowing fictional take on the reasons why. A riveting pause-resister packed with nonstop action, epic ideas, and astonishing twists... -
![War Factory by Neal Asher]()
War Factory by Neal Asher
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThorvald Spear, resurrected from his death over a hundred years earlier, continues to hunt Penny Royal, the rogue AI and dangerous war criminal on the run from Polity forces. Beyond the Graveyard, a lawless and deadly area in deep space, Spear follows the trail of several enemy Prador, the crab-like alien species with a violent history of conflict with humanity... -
![Driving the Deep by Suzanne Palmer]()
Driving the Deep by Suzanne Palmer
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFrom a Hugo Award-winning author comes the second book in this action-packed sci-fi caper, starring Fergus Ferguson, interstellar repo man and professional finder.As a professional finder, Fergus Ferguson is hired to locate missing objects and steal them back. But it is rarely so simple, especially after his latest job in Cernee... -
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![A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine]()
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 50 ratingsAmbassador Mahit Dzmare arrives in the center of the multi-system Teixcalaanli Empire only to discover that her predecessor, the previous ambassador from their small but fiercely independent mining Station, has died. But no one will admit that his death wasn't an accident—or that Mahit might be next to die, during a time of political instability in the highest echelons of the imperial court... -
![Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke]()
Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsAn all-time science fiction classic, Rendezvous with Rama is also one of Clarke's best novels--it won the Campbell, Hugo, Jupiter, and Nebula Awards. A huge, mysterious, cylindrical object appears in space, swooping in toward the sun. The citizens of the solar system send a ship to investigate before the enigmatic craft, called Rama, disappears...Categorized as:
aliens first-contact invasion space-opera space-travel 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![Oracle by Douglas E. Richards]()
Oracle by Douglas E. Richards
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsA breathtaking near-future thriller. From the NY Times bestselling author whose books have been downloaded over a million times. An interstellar war is racing toward an unsuspecting Earth. Can one young woman stop it before it's too late? LA detective Anna Abbott can see brief, cryptic visions of the future. She just doesn't know it yet. But others do...Categorized as:
aliens female-mc first-contact invasion space-opera action-adventure alpha-mc audiobook -
![Space Murder by N.L. Haverstock, Nikki Haverstock]()
Space Murder by N.L. Haverstock, Nikki Haverstock
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFor everything there is a season…Once the star student of her training class, Captain Liz Laika is now an outcast, a casualty of family scandal. Now stuck in the worst post in the Fleet, she should keep her head down. But when a Cerulean passenger is found decapitated, and Liz is framed for the murder, she has no choice but to fight for her life... -
![Blood Ties by K. Gorman]()
Blood Ties by K. Gorman
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTogether again, and ready to bring the system to its knees.Karin Makos has spent the last two months running from one thing or another—but all that's about to change. Her sister's back, and Nomiki's ready to grab their problems by the horns, throw them on their backs, and rip into them with her modified carbon steel blades...Categorized as:
space-opera romantic-love aliens female-mc invasion first-contact space-travel sci-fi -
![Salvage Fleet by Kevin Steverson]()
Salvage Fleet by Kevin Steverson
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsThey couldn’t afford a ship, much less the cost of registering one…and now they need an entire fleet! Harmon Tomeral, along with friends Clip, Zerith, and the artificial intelligence Jayneen, were heroes... -
![Orion Uncharted by J.N. Chaney, Jonathan Yanez]()
Orion Uncharted by J.N. Chaney, Jonathan Yanez
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe Orion has fallen.After barely escaping with their lives, the crew of the Orion has scattered across an unknown world. With a diminishing hope of returning home, they have no choice but to band together.But between the local wildlife, lack of supplies, a missing crew, and a strange, ominous door that can't be opened, Dean and his new friends will need everything at their disposal to survive...Categorized as:
aliens first-contact invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Mere Mortals by David Mack]()
Mere Mortals by David Mack
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsOn Earth, Federation President Nanietta Bacco gathers allies and adversaries to form a desperate last line of defense against an impending Borg invasion. In deep space, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Captain Ezri Dax join together to cut off the Collective's route to the Alpha Quadrant...Categorized as:
aliens first-contact invasion space-opera space-travel 21st-century action-adventure adult -
![Final Days: Escape by Nathan Hystad, Jasper T. Scott]()
Final Days: Escape by Nathan Hystad, Jasper T. Scott
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAndrew and Kendra have learned what's on the other side of the ridge, but it leaves them with more questions than answers. Their colony has turned into a dictatorship under the thumb of its delusional self-appointed leader, the Reverend, making their lives a living nightmare...Categorized as:
aliens first-contact invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult apocalyptic -
![Exo-Hunter by Jeremy Robinson]()
Exo-Hunter by Jeremy Robinson
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsNew York Times bestselling author, Jeremy Robinson, takes readers on a pulse-pounding journey to a dark and twisted future... and makes them laugh.THE YEAR IS 1989Callsign: Dark Horse and his Marine Rapid Reaction Force team have been sent to recover a strange artifact near Antarctica's Soviet-controlled Vostok Station...Categorized as:
aliens first-contact invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult audiobook -
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![Enigma Tales by Una McCormack]()
Enigma Tales by Una McCormack
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFrom the New York Times bestselling author of The Fall: The Crimson Shadow comes a compelling and suspenseful tale of politics and power set in the universe of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.Elim Garak has ascended to Castellan of the Cardassian Union..Categorized as:
aliens first-contact invasion space-opera 21st-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Terminal Uprising by Jim C. Hines]()
Terminal Uprising by Jim C. Hines
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIt’s been four months since Marion “Mops” Adamopoulos learned the truth. Four months since she and her team of hygiene and sanitation specialists stole the EMCS Pufferfish and stopped a bioterrorism attack against the Krakau homeworld. Four months since she set out to find proof of what really happened on Earth all those years ago...Categorized as:
ai aliens female-mc first-contact invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure -
![Chaos Vector by Megan E. O'Keefe]()
Chaos Vector by Megan E. O'Keefe
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsDazzling space battles, intergalactic politics, and rogue AI collide in the second book in this epic space opera by award-winning author Megan O'Keefe.Sanda and Tomas are fleeing for their lives after letting the most dangerous smartship in the universe run free... -
![Crimson Tempest by Anthony James]()
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... -
![Damnation by Jean Johnson]()
Damnation by Jean Johnson
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIt began with a terrible vision of the future. Compelled by her precognitive abilities, Ia must somehow save her home galaxy long after she’s gone...Categorized as:
aliens female-mc first-contact invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult -
![The Observers by John Scalzi]()
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...Categorized as:
aliens first-contact invasion space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult audiobook
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