Books like 'The Rapture Effect'
Readers who enjoyed The Rapture Effect by Jeffrey A. Carver also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
sc-fi hard sci-fi aliens dystopia space-opera first-contact cyberpunk
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Cold Eyes by Peter Cawdron
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsCOLD EYES is a FIRST CONTACT tribute to the 1974 science fiction classic, THE MOTE IN GOD'S EYE.The UN warship Magellan is twelve light-years from Earth, exploring a cold eye, a tidally-locked super-earth called Bee. At least two advanced, intelligent species evolved on the planet, but no one is waiting for them in orbit. Dali Patel has to figure out why... -
![School Days by Nathan Lowell]()
School Days by Nathan Lowell
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA New ShipA New CrewA Different Kind of MissionWhen Manchester Yards donates a new training vessel to the Merchant Officer Academy at Port Newmar, Alys Giggone recalls the Chernyakova.She wants Ishmael Wang and his crew to take a crew of cadets into the Deep Dark. They have to sort out the crews of two ships, figure out what lessons they need to teach, and who will get those lessons... -
![Visitor by C.J. Cherryh]()
Visitor by C.J. Cherryh
Rated: 4.48 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsThe seventeenth novel in Cherryh’s Foreigner space opera series, a groundbreaking tale of first contact and its consequences…The human and atevi inhabitants of Alpha Station, orbiting the world of the atevi, have picked up a signal from an alien kyo ship telling them that the ship is inbound toward Alpha... -
![Spinward Fringe Broadcast 15: Pursuit by Randolph Lalonde]()
Spinward Fringe Broadcast 15: Pursuit by Randolph Lalonde
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAlice Valent, Noah "Carnie" Lucas and the crew of the Clever Dream are delving into the galactic underworld in search of resistance groups and Mary Reed, an elusive leader amongst the rebels... -
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![Valuable Humans in Transit and Other Stories by qntm, Sam Hughes]()
Valuable Humans in Transit and Other Stories by qntm, Sam Hughes
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsqntm has been writing science fiction for most of this millennium. His works start from elegant, deep hypotheticals and wind entire universes around them, pushing science, technology, time and logic to breaking point and far beyond.This volume collects the highlights of his short fiction, including "The Difference", "I Don't Know, Timmy, Being God Is A Big Responsibility" and the acclaimed "Lena"... -
![The Long Voyage of the Little Fleet by Mackey Chandler]()
The Long Voyage of the Little Fleet by Mackey Chandler
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn the first book of this series "Family Law", Lee's parents and their business partner Gordon found a class A habitable planet. They thought their quest as explorers was over and they'd live a life of ease. But before they could return and register their claim Lee's parents died doing a survey of the surface... -
![Conspirator by C.J. Cherryh]()
Conspirator by C.J. Cherryh
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFirst in a brand-new "Foreigner" trilogy from Hugo Award winning author C. J. Cherryh. Cajeiri is the young son of the powerful leader of the Western Association-and he has become a target for forces bent on destroying his father's rule. For Cajeiri is the first "ateva" youth to have lived in a human environment...Categorized as:
aliens first-contact space-opera action-adventure adult audiobook book female-author -
![The Life of the Mind by John Scalzi]()
The Life of the Mind by John Scalzi
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsPart one of the four parts of the full-length novel, The End of All Things.A down-on-his-luck Colonial Union starship pilot finds himself pressed into serving a harsh master-in a mission against the CU. But his kidnappers may have underestimated his knowledge of the ship that they have, quite literally, bound him to piloting... -
![Xenophobia by Peter Cawdron]()
Xenophobia by Peter Cawdron
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsXenophobia is set in Malawi, Africa, with US soldiers acting as peacekeepers to stop a civil war erupting. When an alien spacecraft arrives in orbit, America is thrown into turmoil and US troops are withdrawn from hotspots around the globe to provide support at home. Malawi descends into chaos... -
![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... -
![The Technician by Neal Asher]()
The Technician by Neal Asher
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe Theocracy has been dead for 20 years, and the Polity rules on Masada. But the Tidy Squad consists of rebels who cannot accept the new order. Their hate for surviving theocrats is undiminished, and the iconic Jeremiah Tombs is at the top of their hitlist... -
![Polity Agent by Neal Asher]()
Polity Agent by Neal Asher
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom eight hundred years in the future, a runcible gate is opened into the Polity and those coming through it have been sent specially to take the alien maker back to its home civilization in the Small Magellanic cloud. Once these refugees are safely through, the gate itself is rapidly shut downbecause something alien is pursuing them. The gate is then dumped into a nearby sun... -
![Wherever Seeds May Fall by Peter Cawdron]()
Wherever Seeds May Fall by Peter Cawdron
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsAstronomers from around the world watch in awe as an extrasolar comet approaches Saturn, being drawn in by its immense gravity. When the comet grazes the planet rather than plunging beneath the clouds, speculation is rife... -
![Protector by C.J. Cherryh]()
Protector by C.J. Cherryh
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIt's coming up on Cajeiri's birthday. The boy has been promised he can have the young human children he knew from his voyage sent down from the space station for a two week stay. But there's far a darker business going on in the background--a major split compromising the Assassins' Guild, which furnishes security and law enforcement to the whole continent...Categorized as:
aliens first-contact space-opera action-adventure adult audiobook book female-author -
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![Peacemaker by C.J. Cherryh]()
Peacemaker by C.J. Cherryh
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsAt last—Cajeiri has his young guests from the starship, three young folk entranced by weather and trees and creatures with minds of their own. It’s all he dreamed of.. -
![The Last Dancer by Daniel Keys Moran]()
The Last Dancer by Daniel Keys Moran
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe Manhattan-based Unification government controls the earth, but rebellion brews in Occupied America as the American Revolution's tricentennial approaches... -
![The Long-Range War by Christopher G. Nuttall]()
The Long-Range War by Christopher G. Nuttall
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe gloves have finally come off ... The Tokomak, the unquestioned masters of the galaxy, have dispatched a massive fleet to crush the Solar Union - and the fledgling Galactic Alliance - before the human race and its alien allies can tear the galactic order asunder. Hundreds of thousands of starships under the command of an alien tactical genius, bent on exterminating the entire human race .. -
![Intruder by C.J. Cherryh]()
Intruder by C.J. Cherryh
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe civil war among the alien atevi has ended. Tabini-aiji, powerful ruler of the Western Association, along with Cajeiri his son and heir, and his human paidhi, Bren Cameron, have returned to the Bujavid, their seat of power.But factions that remain loyal to the opposition are still present, and the danger these rebels pose is far from over...Categorized as:
aliens first-contact space-opera action-adventure adult audiobook book female-author -
![Deep Black (Infinite Sky #1) by Samuel Best]()
Deep Black (Infinite Sky #1) by Samuel Best
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsTwo crews return to Titan. Who will survive?Titan. Sixth moon of Saturn. A deadly enigma harboring the greatest secret in the history of humankind.In the wake of the first mission, two companies with very different goals plot a return to that distant moon. Their ships are safer, their technology has improved…and they want answers... -
![The Artifact by Peter Cawdron]()
The Artifact by Peter Cawdron
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFive hundred miles from the Mediterranean, deep in the interior of Libya, lost in the heart of the Sahara itself, lies an oasis trapped in the past. With no surface water, Harat Zuwayyah barely supports any life at all. The scorching wind howls across the desert, driving the sand and threatening to bury the village. Professor Susan Taylor excavates an Egyptian tomb dated to prehistoric times... -
![Prelude to Extinction by Andreas Karpf]()
Prelude to Extinction by Andreas Karpf
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsEarth's first interstellar mission -- An alien colony in ruins -- Their fight for survival has only just begun.When Jack Harrison climbed down the short ladder from the airlock and stepped onto the debris covered soil, the ground crackled with the sound of dried leaves and twigs... -
![Diamond Mask by Julian May]()
Diamond Mask by Julian May
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe 21st century was drawing to a close, and metapsychic humankind was poised at last to achieve Unity to be admitted into the group mind of the already unified alien races of the Galactic Milieu. But a growing corps of rebels was plotting to keep the people of Earth forever separate in the name of human individuality...Categorized as:
aliens cyberpunk space-opera action-adventure adult anthologies female-author fiction -
![Invaders by Laurence E. Dahners]()
Invaders by Laurence E. Dahners
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 15 ratings“Invaders” is about events that occur several years after those in the novel “Disc.” GSI (Gettnor Space Industries) is beginning to investigate our solar system and mine the asteroids. Aircraft and automobile companies are beginning to switch over to thrusters from their more traditional products. New uses for thrusters are popping up in the healthcare and sports industries...Categorized as:
aliens first-contact space-opera action-adventure book disability fiction hard-sci-fi -
![Wizard by John Varley]()
Wizard by John Varley
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsISBN moved from less recent editionOne of the greatest science fiction epics ever written, John Varley's Titan, Wizard, and Demon comprise a groundbreaking trilogy that will live forever. Human explorers have entered the sprawling mind of Gaea. Now they must fight her will. For she is much too powerful...and definitely insane..Categorized as:
aliens cyberpunk dystopia first-contact space-opera action-adventure adult anthologies -
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![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 Color of Distance by Amy Thomson]()
The Color of Distance by Amy Thomson
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsJuna is the sole survivor of a team of surveyors marooned in the dense and isolated Tendu rain forest, an uninhabitable world for humans. Her only hope for survival is total transformation--and terrifying assimilation--into the amphibian Tendu species. Juna will learn more about her own human nature than ever before... -
![Resurgence by C.J. Cherryh]()
Resurgence by C.J. Cherryh
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe twentieth book in the beloved Foreigner saga returns to the trials of diplomat Bren Cameron, as he navigates the tenuous peace he has struck between human refugees and the alien atevi.Bren Cameron, diplomat in residence, usually represents the ruler of the atevi state... -
![The Big Book of Science Fiction by Ann VanderMeer, Jeff VanderMeer]()
The Big Book of Science Fiction by Ann VanderMeer, Jeff VanderMeer
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsQuite possibly the greatest science fiction collection of all time - past, present and future. What if life was neverending? What if you could change your body to adapt to an alien ecology? What if the pope were a robot? Spanning galaxies and millennia, this must-have anthology showcases classic contributions from H. G. Wells, Arthur C. Clarke, Octavia E... -
![Phenomena by Douglas Phillips]()
Phenomena by Douglas Phillips
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsPhenomena is a story of intrigue, psychological distress, and one scientist’s quest to untangle the mysteries of human consciousness…Amelia Charron is a neuroscientist researching brain disorders. She routinely uses astonishing mind-linking technology that allows her to enter the dream world of patients... -
![The Orphan in Near-Space by Laer Carroll]()
The Orphan in Near-Space by Laer Carroll
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsJane Kuznetsov, orphan of some cataclysmic stellar event a big fraction of a million years ago, or maybe several times that, is now a captain in the U.S. Air Force, the part informally called the Space Force. She is leading a crew of four friends and fellow Space Force officers doing research.She can travel routinely to the World Space Station to carry out that research and does so... -
![Revelation: Ascendancy: Book 1 by D. Ward Cornell]()
Revelation: Ascendancy: Book 1 by D. Ward Cornell
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFirst Contact, told from the alien's perspective. Newly edited and released. Michael Baker is a 35 year old, natural born, American citizen from Texas, a successful entrepreneur and amateur astronomer. The scientific community mocks him when he publishes the time and coordinates where a supernova will occur. When it occurs, people start wondering who Michael is... -
![But The Stars by Peter Cawdron]()
But The Stars by Peter Cawdron
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 11 ratings"But the stars that marked our starting fall away.We must go deeper into greater pain,for it is not permitted that we stay."–Dante Alighieri, Inferno, 1301 ADAt the start of the 22nd century, the starship Acheron is in orbit around WISE 5571 only, unbeknownst to the crew, the ship has been overrun by telepathic extraterrestrials... -
![Espero by S.H. Jucha]()
Espero by S.H. Jucha
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsTrouble infiltrated the Harakens’ capital city of Espero, in the form of New Terra criminal gangs who grew wealthy and powerful on the moons of Ganymede, hiding behind the cover of an ill-conceived mining charter. The gangs brought stims and addictive hallucinogenic drugs to Espero, distributing them to the young on the planet... -
![Dragon's Egg by Robert L. Forward]()
Dragon's Egg by Robert L. Forward
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 19 ratings"In science fiction there is only a handful of books that stretch the mind--and this is one of them."--Arthur C. Clarke In a moving story of sacrifice and triumph, human scientists establish a relationship with intelligent lifeforms--the cheela--living on Dragon's Egg, a neutron star where one Earth hour is equivalent to hundreds of their years... -
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![The Arachnid by Kishore Tipirneni]()
The Arachnid by Kishore Tipirneni
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsU.S. spy satellites over Asia make a disturbing discovery. An arachnid, an elephant-sized creature created by an alien race, is roaming a forest in North Korea. How did it get there? What is its purpose? Is it a weapon of some kind? When there’s complete radio silence from the North Koreans, and further satellite images show the area around the creature being evacuated, the U.S... -
![Inherit the Stars by James P. Hogan]()
Inherit the Stars by James P. Hogan
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsTHE MAN ON THE MOON WAS DEAD. They called him Charlie. He had big eyes, abundant body hair and fairly long nostrils. His skeletal body was found clad in a bright red spacesuit, hidden in a rocky grave. They didn't know who he was, how he got there, or what had killed him... -
![Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky]()
Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAn utterly gripping story of alien encounter and survival from Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of the Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning Children of Time.They looked into the darkness and the darkness looked back . . -
![Ships of the Line by Doug Drexler, Michael Okuda]()
Ships of the Line by Doug Drexler, Michael Okuda
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThey dared to risk it all in a skiff of reeds or leather, on a ship of wood or steel, knowing the only thing between them and certain death was their ship. To explore, to seek out what lay beyond the close and comfortable, every explorer had to embrace danger. And as they did so, what arose was a mystical bond, a passion for the ships that carried them... -
![Crystal Mentality by Max Harms]()
Crystal Mentality by Max Harms
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFleeing the humans whose love she craves, Face has hijacked an alien ship and headed for Mars. But the Martians, who colonized their desert planet to escape Earth's high-tech decadence, did not invite the soulless android... -
![Pariah by W. Michael Gear]()
Pariah by W. Michael Gear
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe third book in the thrilling Donovan series, a sci-fi action adventure set on a treacherous alien planet where corporate threats and dangerous creatures imperil the lives of the colonists.Corporate assassin Tamarland Benteen's last hope is the survey ship Vixen. With a load of scientists aboard under the supervision of Dr... -
![Early Years by Steven Campbell]()
Early Years by Steven Campbell
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsCollection of short stories featuring Hard Luck Hank and his early days on Belvaille... -
![Deep Navigation by Alastair Reynolds]()
Deep Navigation by Alastair Reynolds
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDeep Navigation is the 2010 Boskone Book by Boskone’s Guest of Honor Alastair Reynolds. It contains a broad spectrum of his work, from his first published story, "Nunivak Snowflakes," through "The Receivers" and "Monkey Suit," both published within the last year, plus an introduction by his friend, and former Boskone Guest, Stephen Baxter. It is well-known that the scope of Dr... -
![The Long Road Home by Christopher G. Nuttall]()
The Long Road Home by Christopher G. Nuttall
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIn the wake of the Solar Union’s stunning victory over the Tokomak - the masters of the galactic community - humanity has been invited to send a diplomatic mission to the Kingdom of Harmonious Order, one of the oldest and most significant races in known space. It is an opportunity that cannot be missed, a chance to forge ties with a powerful ally... -
![First Command by Scott Bartlett]()
First Command by Scott Bartlett
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsMarch 15th, Earth Year 2290 The day the aliens returned. The memories are still fresh. Of colonies burning. Of millions dying in agony. 50 years later, we’ve built up our strength. Using a wormhole, we colonized both sides of the galaxy. It was the worst mistake we could have made. Our enemy has returned and the wormhole has collapsed... -
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![The Deep Beyond: Cuckoo's Egg / Serpent's Reach (Union-Alliance Universe) by C.J. Cherryh]()
The Deep Beyond: Cuckoo's Egg / Serpent's Reach (Union-Alliance Universe) by C.J. Cherryh
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsTwo of Cherryh's stand-alone SF novels--including the Hugo Award finalist "Cuckoo's Egg"--are now available in this omnibus volume. Original.Cuckoo's EggThey named him Thorn. They told him he was of their people, although he was so different. He was ugly in their eyes, strange, sleek-skinned instead of furred, clawless, different... -
![Three Books of Known Space by Larry Niven]()
Three Books of Known Space by Larry Niven
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsLet three complete books in one take you on a dazzling journey into science fiction's most famous future history: Known Space!WORLD OF PTAVVSKzanol was a thrint from a distant galaxy. He had been trapped on Earth in a time-stasis field for two billion years. Now he was on the loose, and telepath Larry Greenberg knew everything he was thinking. Thrints lived to plunder and enslave lesser planets... -
![Migration by Julie E. Czerneda]()
Migration by Julie E. Czerneda
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsSenior co-administrator of the Norcoast Salmon Research Facility, Dr. Mackenzie Connor was a biologist who studied the spawning habits of salmon. Then, last season, just as she and Dr. Emily Mamani were starting their research, they were interrupted by the arrival of Brymn, the first Dhryn to set foot on Earth...Categorized as:
aliens cyberpunk space-opera action-adventure adult anthologies exploration female-author -
![The Gabble And Other Stories by Neal Asher]()
The Gabble And Other Stories by Neal Asher
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsMost of Neal Asher's stories are set in a galactic future-scape called 'The Polity', and with this collection of marvellously inventive and action-packed short stories, he takes us further into the manifold diversities of that amazing universe... -
![Regenesis by C.J. Cherryh]()
Regenesis by C.J. Cherryh
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsThe direct sequel to the Hugo Award- winning novel "Cyteen", "Regenesis" continues the story of Ariane Emory PR, the genetic clone of one of the greatest scientists humanity has ever produced, and of her search for the murderer of her progenitor -- the original Ariane Emory... -
![Little Noises by Hugh Howey]()
Little Noises by Hugh Howey
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFor centuries, men and women have manned lighthouses to ensure the safe passage of ships. It is a lonely job, and a thankless one for the most part. Until something goes wrong. Until a ship is in distress. In the 23rd century, this job has moved into outer space. A network of beacons allows ships to travel across the Milky Way at many times the speed of light...
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