Books like 'Sputnik's Guide to Life on Earth'
Readers who enjoyed Sputnik's Guide to Life on Earth by Frank Cottrell Boyce also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary sc-fi action / adventure space comedy humor aliens family children dogs
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Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Rated: 4.53 of 5 stars · 80 ratingsA lone astronaut.An impossible mission.An ally he never imagined.Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and Earth itself will perish.Except that right now, he doesn't know that. He can't even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.All he knows is that he's been asleep for a very, very long time... -
![The Martian by Andy Weir]()
The Martian by Andy Weir
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 95 ratingsSix days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he’s sure he’ll be the first person to die there... -
![Artificial Condition by Martha Wells]()
Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 65 ratingsIt has a dark past – one in which a number of humans were killed. A past that caused it to christen itself “Murderbot”. But it has only vague memories of the massacre that spawned that title, and it wants to know more.Teaming up with a Research Transport vessel named ART (you don’t want to know what the “A” stands for), Murderbot heads to the mining facility where it went rogue... -
![The Segonian by Dianne Duvall]()
The Segonian by Dianne Duvall
Rated: 4.49 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsNew York Times bestselling author Dianne Duvall brings readers the second stand-alone novel in a thrilling new sci-fi romance series full of action, humor, and happily-ever-afters.Eliana's life has never been what one might term ordinary. At least, it hasn't been for a very long time... -
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![Between Worlds by J.L. Williams]()
Between Worlds by J.L. Williams
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsInspired by the likes of James Galloway's Subjugation and John Scalzi's Old Man's War, Between Worlds is a thrilling military sci-fi set in a strange new universe...Jason had thought about punching a Shil’vati... -
![Old Man's War by John Scalzi]()
Old Man's War by John Scalzi
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 50 ratingsJohn Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife's grave. Then he joined the army.The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce-- and alien races willing to fight us for them are common. So: we fight. To defend Earth, and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate... -
![The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams]()
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 66 ratingsSeconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of the The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out of work actor... -
![The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.]()
The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 67 ratingsThe Sirens of Titan is an outrageous romp through space, time, and morality. The richest, most depraved man on Earth, Malachi Constant, is offered a chance to take a space journey to distant worlds with a beautiful woman at his side. Of course there’ s a catch to the invitation–and a prophetic vision about the purpose of human life that only Vonnegut has the courage to tell... -
![Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers by Grant Naylor]()
Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers by Grant Naylor
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThe first lesson Lister learned about space travel was you should never try it. But Lister didn't have a choice. All he remembered was going on a birthday celebration pub crawl through London. When he came to his senses again, with nothing in his pockets but a passport in the name of Emily Berkenstein.So he did the only thing he could... -
![Death or Glory by Sandy Mitchell]()
Death or Glory by Sandy Mitchell
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsYet again, reluctant hero Commissar Cain is catapulted into glory in the fourth story of this tremendously popular series. Escaping from a disastrous space battle, the commissar and his malodorous sidekick Jurgen crash-land behind enemy lines. The only way out is to round up what few troops they can find, and fight their way back to the safety of the Imperial lines... -
![The Humans by Matt Haig]()
The Humans by Matt Haig
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 63 ratingsBody-snatching has never been so heartwarming . . .The Humans is a funny, compulsively readable novel about alien abduction, mathematics, and that most interesting subject of all: ourselves. Combine Douglas Adams’s irreverent take on life, the universe, and everything with a genuinely moving love story, and you have some idea of the humor, originality, and poignancy of Matt Haig’s latest novel...Categorized as:
aliens animals family humor magical-realism season-summer 21st-century action-adventure -
![All Systems Red by Martha Wells]()
All Systems Red by Martha Wells
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 84 ratings"As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure."In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety.But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern... -
![The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi]()
The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 47 ratingsThe first novel of a new space-opera sequence set in an all-new universe by the Hugo Award-winning, New York Times-bestselling author of Redshirts and Old Man's War... -
![Better than Life by Grant Naylor]()
Better than Life by Grant Naylor
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA wild and wacky SF series--based on the popular BBC-TV series--reminiscent of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Lister--who passed out drunk in London and awakened in a locker on a moon of Saturn--now finds himself trapped in a computer game that transports players to the perfect world of their imaginations--a game people are literally dying to play... -
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![Alien Tango by Gini Koch]()
Alien Tango by Gini Koch
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsFor Alien Super-Being Exterminator Katherine "Kitty" Katt, anti-alien conspiracies, threats from outer space, and a couple of killer alligators are all in a day's work. It's been five months since Kitty joined Centaurion Division, working with the aliens from Alpha Centauri. She and Jeff Martini have grown closer and life looks rosy... -
![Steel Beach by John Varley]()
Steel Beach by John Varley
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFleeing Earth after an alien invasion, the human race stands on the threshold of evolution, like a fish cast on artificial shores. Their new home is Luna, a moon colony blessed with creature comforts, prolonged lifespans, digital memories, and instant sex changes. But the people of Luna are bored, restless, and suicidal -- and so is the computer that monitors their existence.. -
![Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi]()
Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThe space-faring Yherajk have come to Earth to meet us and to begin humanity's first interstellar friendship. There's just one problem: They're hideously ugly and they smell like rotting fish. So getting humanity's trust is a challenge. The Yherajk need someone who can help them close the deal. Enter Thomas Stein, who knows something about closing deals... -
![Backwards by Rob Grant]()
Backwards by Rob Grant
Rated: 3.97 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsThis is the third adventure of the unlikely space heroes of the cult TV hit Red Dwarf – Lister, Rimmer, Kryten, Holly and the Cat – as they continue their epic journey through frontal-lobe-knotting realities. We join them just as Dave Lister has finally found his way back to planet Earth – which is good. What’s bad, however, is that time isn’t running in quite the right direction... -
![Aliens on Vacation by Clete Barrett Smith]()
Aliens on Vacation by Clete Barrett Smith
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsDavid, otherwise known as Scrub (don't ask), isn't happy about leaving Florida and his friends to summer with his grandmother in "Middle of Nowhere," Washington. When he arrives at her Intergalactic Bed & Breakfast, he isn't surprised by its 60s meets Star Wars decor, but he is surprised by the weird-looking guests... -
![Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce]()
Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce
Rated: 3.89 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsLiam is too big for his boots. And his football strip. And his school blazer. But being super-sized height-wise has its advantages: he's the only eleven-year-old to ever ride the G-force defying Cosmic rollercoaster - or be offered the chance to drive a Porsche. Long-legged Liam makes a giant leap for boy-kind by competing with a group of adults for the chance to go into space... -
![The Doomsday Brunette by John Zakour, Lawrence Ganem]()
The Doomsday Brunette by John Zakour, Lawrence Ganem
Rated: 3.97 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsThe hilarious sequel to The Plutonium Blonde. In the year 2057, the last freelance private investigator, partnered with an experimental A.I. named Harv, solves cases involving androids, future tech wizards, and all sorts of mayhem.. -
![Enslaved by Jaid Black]()
Enslaved by Jaid Black
Rated: 3.86 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsHis glowing blue eyes summoned the primitive weapon from her grasp. Shuddering with fear, she realized she had just lost the only thing standing between her freedom and becoming... Enslaved... -
![Night of the Living Trekkies by Kevin David Anderson, Sam Stall]()
Night of the Living Trekkies by Kevin David Anderson, Sam Stall
Rated: 3.91 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsJim Pike, the disillusioned manager of a hotel that is hosting a Star Trek convention, finds himself leading a ragtag crew of survivors as a strange virus turns the convention-goers into zombies.. -
![No Fear by Jaid Black]()
No Fear by Jaid Black
Rated: 3.91 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsMousy, modern day librarian Brynda Mitchell doesn’t lead a very exciting life…yet... -
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![The Salmon of Doubt by Douglas Adams]()
The Salmon of Doubt by Douglas Adams
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsDouglas Adams changed the face of science fiction with his cosmically comic novel The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and its classic sequels. Sadly for his countless admirers, he hitched his own ride to the great beyond much too soon... -
![Aliens Ate My Homework by Bruce Coville, William Dufris]()
Aliens Ate My Homework by Bruce Coville, William Dufris
Rated: 3.87 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsIT'S THE WEIRDEST ALIEN INVASION EVER! "I cannot tell a lie," says Rod Allbright. And it's the truth. Ask him a question and he's bound to give you an honest answer... -
![No Mercy by Jaid Black]()
No Mercy by Jaid Black
Rated: 3.79 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsGiselle McKenzie trembled inexplicably as the sound of a low growl reverberated throughout the threads of her consciousness. She knew it couldn't have emitted from her date, the man sitting across from her in the quaint restaurant. Yet every time he placed his hand over hers, she heard that eerie, primitive growl.. -
![Scourge the Heretic by Sandy Mitchell]()
Scourge the Heretic by Sandy Mitchell
Rated: 3.82 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsAn Inquisition novelWhen an Ordo Hereticus warband is sent to investigate an inter-planetary people-trafficking operation, they soon find something much more sinister than people being smuggled…READ IT BECAUSEThe author of the Ciaphas Cain novels turns his talents to an altogether darker tale, pitting the servants of the Inquisition against sinister forces... -
![Mothership by Martin Leicht, Isla Neal]()
Mothership by Martin Leicht, Isla Neal
Rated: 3.84 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsTeen pregnancy is never easy—especially not when extraterrestrials are involved. The first in a new trilogy.Elvie Nara was doing just fine in the year 2074. She had a great best friend, a dad she adored, and bright future working on the Ares Project on Mars. But then she had to get involved with sweet, gorgeous, dumb-as-a-brick Cole--and now she’s pregnant... -
![Learning to Swear in America by Katie Kennedy]()
Learning to Swear in America by Katie Kennedy
Rated: 3.75 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsBrimming with humor and one-of-a-kind characters, this end-of-the world novel will grab hold of Andrew Smith and Rainbow Rowell fans.An asteroid is hurtling toward Earth. A big, bad one. Yuri, a physicist prodigy from Russia, has been called to NASA as they calculate a plan to avoid disaster... -
![Redshirts by John Scalzi]()
Redshirts by John Scalzi
Rated: 3.81 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsEnsign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It’s a prestige posting, and Andrew is thrilled all the more to be assigned to the ship’s Xenobiology laboratory...Categorized as:
aliens humor 21st-century action-adventure alternate-history alternate-universe audiobook book -
![Accidental Abduction by Eve Langlais]()
Accidental Abduction by Eve Langlais
Rated: 3.78 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsalternate cover edition of ASIN B0051WQ97K Abducted by a space pirate, she fights the temptation to let him plunder her goods. A boyfriend's attempted murder leaves Megan floundering in the ocean. Sinking without hope, the bright light she sees in the night sky isn't her doorway to heaven, but rather the beginning of her accidental abduction by a space pirate... -
![Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott, Giorgio Manganelli]()
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott, Giorgio Manganelli
Rated: 3.81 of 5 stars · 53 ratingsThis masterpiece of science (and mathematical) fiction is a delightfully unique and highly entertaining satire that has charmed readers for more than 100 years. The work of English clergyman, educator and Shakespearean scholar Edwin A. Abbott (1838-1926), it describes the journeys of A. Square [sic – ed... -
![Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers by Harry Harrison]()
Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers by Harry Harrison
Rated: 3.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe wild, galaxy-hopping adventures of brash young scientists Jerry Courtenay and Chuck van Chider are at the core of this classic space opera. When the two college students develop a faster-than-light space drive in their homemade workshed, they decide to sneak it aboard their football team's airplane as a prank... -
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![Rabbit & Robot by Andrew Smith]()
Rabbit & Robot by Andrew Smith
Rated: 3.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsCager has been transported to the Tennessee, a giant lunar-cruise ship orbiting the moon that his dad owns, by Billy and Rowan to help him shake his Woz addiction. Meanwhile, Earth, in the midst of thirty simultaneous wars, burns to ash beneath them... -
![The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett, Stephen Baxter]()
The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett, Stephen Baxter
Rated: 3.79 of 5 stars · 50 ratingsNORMALLY, WHEN THERE WAS NOTHING TO DO, HE LISTENED TO THE SILENCE.The Silence was very faint here. Almost drowned out by the sounds of the mundane world. Did people in this polished building understand how noisy it was? The roar of air conditioners and computer fans, the susurration of many voices heard but not decipherable...Categorized as:
aliens humor 21st-century action-adventure alternate-history alternate-universe audiobook book -
![My Teacher Is an Alien by Bruce Coville]()
My Teacher Is an Alien by Bruce Coville
Rated: 3.71 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsSixth grade is just out of this world!Susan Simmons can tell that her new substitute teacher is really weird. But she doesn't know how weird until she catches him peeling off his face -- and realizes that "Mr. Smith" is really an alien! At first no one will believe her except Peter Thompson, the class brain. When Peter and Susan discover Mr... -
![The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu]()
The Lives of Tao by Wesley Chu
Rated: 3.74 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsWhen out-of-shape IT technician Roen woke up and started hearing voices in his head, he naturally assumed he was losing it. He wasn’t. He now has a passenger in his brain – an ancient alien life-form called Tao, whose race crash-landed on Earth before the first fish crawled out of the oceans... -
![Touched by an Alien by Gini Koch]()
Touched by an Alien by Gini Koch
Rated: 3.68 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsMarketing manager Katherine "Kitty" Katt had just finished a day on jury duty. When she stepped out of the Pueblo Caliente courthouse, all she was thinking about was the work she had to get caught up on. Then her attention was caught by a fight between a couple that looked like it was about to turn ugly... -
![Only You Can Save Mankind by Terry Pratchett]()
Only You Can Save Mankind by Terry Pratchett
Rated: 3.71 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIt's just a game . . . isn't it?The alien spaceship is in his sights. His finger is on the Fire button. Johnny Maxwell is about to set the new high score on the computer game Only You Can Save Mankind.Suddenly, a message appears:We wish to talk. We surrender... -
![Zylan Captive by Ravyn Wilde]()
Zylan Captive by Ravyn Wilde
Rated: 3.30 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsVanNyssa thought Alien Abductions were fiction. She discovered she was wrong when she woke one morning in a stranger’s bed, gold chains attached to certain…um-delicate parts of her body, on a planet ruled by a man now claiming to be her life-mate. Tar plans for her to be his quiet, un-assuming companion. Not! This earth-girl can never be called "easy... -
![The Long War by Terry Pratchett, Stephen Baxter]()
The Long War by Terry Pratchett, Stephen Baxter
Rated: 3.62 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsA generation after the events of The Long Earth, mankind has spread across the new worlds opened up by Stepping. Where Joshua and Lobsang once pioneered, now fleets of airships link the stepwise Americas with trade and culture. Mankind is shaping the Long Earth - but in turn the Long Earth is shaping mankind..Categorized as:
aliens humor 21st-century action-adventure ai alternate-history alternate-universe audiobook -
![Year Zero by Rob Reid]()
Year Zero by Rob Reid
Rated: 3.60 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsLow-level entertainment lawyer Nick Carter thinks it’s a prank, not an alien encounter, when a redheaded mullah and a curvaceous nun show up at his office. But Frampton and Carly are highly advanced (if bumbling) extraterrestrials. And boy, do they have news... -
![Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow]()
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow
Rated: 3.57 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsOn The Skids In The Transhuman FutureJules is a young man barely a century old. He's lived long enough to see the cure for death and the end of scarcity, to learn ten languages and compose three symphonies...and to realize his boyhood dream of taking up residence in Disney World.Disney World! The greatest artistic achievement of the long-ago twentieth century... -
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![Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente]()
Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente
Rated: 3.53 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsIN SPACE EVERYONE CAN HEAR YOU SINGA century ago, the Sentience Wars tore the galaxy apart and nearly ended the entire concept of intelligent space-faring life. In the aftermath, a curious tradition was invented-something to cheer up everyone who was left and bring the shattered worlds together in the spirit of peace, unity, and understanding... -
![How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu]()
How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu
Rated: 3.45 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsA story of a son searching for his father . . . through quantum space–time. Minor Universe 31 is a vast story-space on the outskirts of fiction, where paradox fluctuates like the stock market, lonely sexbots beckon failed protagonists, and time travel is serious business. Every day, people get into time machines and try to do the one thing they should never do: change the past...Categorized as:
family humor magical-realism 21st-century action-adventure adult ai alternate-history
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