Books like 'The Beginning'
Readers who enjoyed The Beginning by K.A. Applegate & Katherine Applegate also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
sc-fi action / adventure mystery space military, war & conflict aliens animals children drama invasion
-
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... -
![The Dark Forest by Liu Cixin, Eisso Post]()
The Dark Forest by Liu Cixin, Eisso Post
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 68 ratingsThis is the second novel in "Remembrance of Earth’s Past", the near-future trilogy written by the China's multiple-award-winning science fiction author, Cixin Liu. In The Dark Forest, Earth is reeling from the revelation of a coming alien invasion — four centuries in the future... -
![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... -
![Mountain of Mars by Glynn Stewart]()
Mountain of Mars by Glynn Stewart
Rated: 4.52 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe Mage-King of Mars is deadChaos rocks Olympus MonsA new monarch must rise – but she does not stand alone!As the celebration of the victory at Legatus cools, a shuttle accident claims the lives of the Mage-King of Mars and his heir. The Crown and the Mountain fall to the Mage-King’s daughter, seventeen-year-old Kiera Alexander... -
-
![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... -
![The Last Hunter by J.N. Chaney, Terry Mixon]()
The Last Hunter by J.N. Chaney, Terry Mixon
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsThose that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.Two centuries after the Confederation staved off an invasion by the robotic Locusts, Captain Jack Romanoff faces mandatory retirement from an ever-shrinking Navy. Actions speak louder than words. The Confederation doesn’t think the Locusts are coming back... -
![Alien Arcana by Glynn Stewart]()
Alien Arcana by Glynn Stewart
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsAn alien ruinA murdered archeologistAn ancient secret—and a conspiracy that will kill to keep it! When a scientist is murdered after finding signs of alien magic in an archeological dig, Mage Damien Montgomery, Hand of the Mage-King of Mars, is sent to investigate both the murder and the alien runes... -
![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... -
![Destiny's Cradle by Paul Crawford]()
Destiny's Cradle by Paul Crawford
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsTeenagers Ben Canterbury and Tessa Nyera are harvesting cotton on a warm afternoon when a hole opens up in a nearby meadow—like the doorway to another dimension. The hole disgorges a naked man, barely conscious and clutching a human leg bone, and then vanishes... -
![Thrawn: Treason by Timothy Zahn]()
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... -
![Voice of Mars by Glynn Stewart]()
Voice of Mars by Glynn Stewart
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsYOU CAN NEVER GO HOMEWhen accusations of piracy and mass murder are laid against his homeworld, Damien Montgomery is sent to resolve the crisis.As counter-accusations fly and an old flame re-enters his life, the newest Hand of the Mage-King of Mars finds himself in the midst of a bloody interstellar shadow war... -
![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... -
![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... -
![Order of the Centurion by Jason Anspach, Nick Cole]()
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... -
-
![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... -
![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.. -
![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... -
![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... -
![Stryker's War by Josh Hayes, Jason Anspach]()
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... -
![Chains of Duty by Anthony James]()
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]()
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... -
![Agents of Mars by Glynn Stewart]()
Agents of Mars by Glynn Stewart
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAn enemy hidden in the shadowsA crack in the armor of secrecyOne chance to find an answerCaptain David Rice and the crew of Red Falcon have spent two years infiltrating the arms smuggling underworld of the Protectorate of the Mage-King of Mars. When the co-opted rebellion on Ardennes reveals a supply chain of weapons intended to fight Mars, this makes them the perfect team to investigate... -
![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... -
![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... -
![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... -
![Ascension Saga: 7 - Destiny, Part 1 by Grace Goodwin]()
Ascension Saga: 7 - Destiny, Part 1 by Grace Goodwin
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsDestiny Jones is a princess with a bad attitude. She doesn’t play nice with others, she doesn’t dress up in pretty clothes, and she has absolutely zero interest in behaving like a lady. Especially when she’s so close to catching the people who tried to have her killed. Oh, and kidnapped her mother, queen of the planet Alera... -
![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... -
![Hard Luck Hank: Stank Delicious by Steven Campbell]()
Hard Luck Hank: Stank Delicious by Steven Campbell
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsBelvaille has cemented its place as the most important System in the galaxy and Hank is working as an official Factotum, negotiating deals between gangs and noblemen under the watchful eye of the Arch Minister. When his ever-capable butler, Cliston, is approached to become the general manager of a Super Class glocken team, Hank is hired not only as protection, but as a player... -
![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... -
![The Ellimist Chronicles by K.A. Applegate, Katherine Applegate]()
The Ellimist Chronicles by K.A. Applegate, Katherine Applegate
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsLibrarian's note: There is an Alternate Cover Edition for this edition of this book here.He is called the Ellimist. A being with the ability to alter space and time. A being with a power that will never be fully understood. He is the reason Elfangor came to Earth. He is the reason the Earth now has a fighting chance... -
![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... -
![The Gentle Art of Cracking Heads by John Scalzi]()
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... -
-
![Alone by Scott Sigler]()
Alone by Scott Sigler
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIn the final installment of an exhilarating sci-fi adventure trilogy in the vein of The Hunger Games, Divergent, and Red Rising, Scott Sigler’s unforgettable heroine, Em Savage, must come to grips once and for all with the perilous mysteries of her own existence.“We thought this place was our destiny—not our doom... -
![Legacy by Ken Lozito]()
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... -
![The Dog King by John Scalzi]()
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]()
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... -
![The Soldier by Neal Asher]()
The Soldier by Neal Asher
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn a far corner of space, on the very borders between humanity’s Polity worlds and the kingdom of the vicious crab-like prador, is an immediate threat to all sentient life: an accretion disc, a solar system designed by the long-dead Jain race and swarming with living technology powerful enough to destroy entire civilizations... -
![Renegade by Joel Shepherd]()
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... -
![The B-Team by John Scalzi]()
The B-Team by John Scalzi
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsThe opening episode of The Human Division, John Scalzi's new thirteen-episode novel in the world of his bestselling Old Man's War.Colonial Union Ambassador Ode Abumwe and her team are used to life on the lower end of the diplomatic ladder. But when a high-profile diplomat goes missing, Abumwe and her team are last minute replacements on a mission critical to the Colonial Unions future... -
![Confluence by S.K. Dunstall]()
Confluence by S.K. Dunstall
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsFrom the national bestselling author of Alliance, linesman Ean Lambert finds himself caught in a dangerous fight for political power... The lines. Mysterious yet familiar: the key to controlling every ship in the galaxy... -
![Into the Black by Evan Currie]()
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... -
![Genesis by Ken Lozito]()
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... -
-
![Skywave by K. Patrick Donoghue]()
Skywave by K. Patrick Donoghue
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsNo one knows what to make of the mysterious clicks.To Ajay Joshi, the amateur astronomer who discovered the strange sounds with his radio telescope, the clicks represent proof of aliens on Callisto, a moon of Jupiter, a theory dismissed as quackery by space agency radio experts... -
![Ends, Means, Laws and an Angry Ship by Lyn Gala]()
Ends, Means, Laws and an Angry Ship by Lyn Gala
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe new Rownt contracts have helped Command retake the rebel planets. And now refugees are fleeing toward the edges of space. Ex-Command officer Tyce Robinson has a price on his head. He and the crew of the Dragon have all broken laws, and they refuse to be condemned to an Earth prison... -
![Edge of War by Anthony J. Melchiorri]()
Edge of War by Anthony J. Melchiorri
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHumanity’s expansion into the stars has led to awe-inspiring discoveries—and terrifying new threats. An insidious alien race is waging an interstellar war, enslaving any civilization they encounter to carry out their galactic rampage. Now they have set their sights on mankind. Tag Brewer is a medical scientist. Not a ship’s captain... -
![Terra Stands Alone by Chris Kennedy]()
Terra Stands Alone by Chris Kennedy
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe Drakuls have found the Solar System. A merciless race, there is nothing left once the Drakuls have conquered a civilization except the bones of its dead. When the first Drakul exploratory ship emerged from the stargate, Earth's days became numbered... -
![Rebellion by Stephen Arseneault]()
Rebellion by Stephen Arseneault
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAn alternate cover edition can be found here.The fourth book in the exciting AMP series! An occupation of the Grid hasset in. The existence of Man lies in the balance... -
![Alpha Wave by Jonathan Maberry, Weston Ochse]()
Alpha Wave by Jonathan Maberry, Weston Ochse
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsCreated to defeat the invaders. Forgotten in victory. They will rise again...We were outnumbered, outfought. Mankind was about to fall to the alien Flock. Our only chance was a desperate gamble, transforming Tier One SpecOps agents into deadly super soldiers.In the end, we won the war, but we lost the peace...
Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.
