Books like 'The Orphaned Worlds'
Readers who enjoyed The Orphaned Worlds by Michael Cobley also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
sc-fi space action / adventure space-opera aliens epic space-travel
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Rebellion by Ryk Brown
Rated: 4.51 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsPart 2: Episode 4 An old leader born anew… A legendary ship at his disposal… A desperate crisis born of chaos… Needed allies out of unforeseen events… Nathan Scott has finally returned to lead the new Karuzari in a rebellion against the Dusahn Empire. But first, he will need to secure a ship to accommodate those who have already joined their cause... -
![I Am Justice by Ryk Brown]()
I Am Justice by Ryk Brown
Rated: 4.53 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsPart 2: Episode 9 A chance to gain resources… A need to prepare a defense… A trap about to be sprung… An opportunity for justice… As his sister faces a critical moment, Captain Scott must chase his friends to regions he has yet to travel. Sometimes, you just have to take risks for those you care about. Sometimes, quite often... -
![Elvians by S.H. Jucha]()
Elvians by S.H. Jucha
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsTwo crises challenge the Omnians. Alex Racine’s fleet draws a first-contact conflict, which faces the Ollassa, a symbiotic flora race. The Omnian fleet sails from alliance space in an effort to interdict an alien ship that arrives at the Worlds of Lights, the Ollassa system. Soon after arriving, the alien ship deploys machines to scour asteroids for resources in the system’s far belt... -
![Secrets in the Stars by Mackey Chandler]()
Secrets in the Stars by Mackey Chandler
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhen Lee Anderson and her parents discovered a new world teeming with life, it was the dream of every explorer: they were rich beyond their imaginations. But tragedy struck when a herd of creatures overran their camp and killed her parents. The only other adult in her life had been their partner Gordon, who adopted her as parent. Which didn’t turn out to be easy, because he wasn’t human...Categorized as:
aliens space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult book coming-of-age exploration -
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![Delphi Diversion by Bob Blanton]()
Delphi Diversion by Bob Blanton
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsCatie is on her way back to Earth after having settled the Fazulan slaves when the wormhole her ship is traveling in collapses. They are diverted to another system where big chunks are flying around. They rescue a ship and find themselves in the middle of a series of mysteries... -
![Distant Horizon by J.N. Chaney, Terry Maggert]()
Distant Horizon by J.N. Chaney, Terry Maggert
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe Universe is a bloody mess. Time to put on your cleaning gloves.During a routine arrest, Van discovers a stolen spacecraft, its importance far greater than it first appears. Fast, sleek, and beautiful, the ship is a cultural relic from Linulla’s people, and returning their property will set off a chain of events that reveals a new adversary... -
![Balance by Ryk Brown]()
Balance by Ryk Brown
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsPart 2: Episode 5 An entire sector in turmoil... Neighbors who appear unconcerned... A favor asked of an old friend... Sacrifices made for the good of humanity... Before they can challenge the Dusahn and prevent them from expanding their empire further, the Karuzari must first gather much needed resources. But doing so could be more difficult than anticipated... -
![The Legend of ZERO: Forgotten by Sara King]()
The Legend of ZERO: Forgotten by Sara King
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIt's been 819 years since Congress abandoned humanity to a Stone Age fate on an Earth infested with man-eating monsters, and now the galactic government, in all its benevolence, has come back to force humanity back into citizen status in its great collective......Except this time, thanks to Prime Commander Dobbs, humanity has a surprise for our alien conquerors... -
![Ep.#3.3 - Liberty and Truth, Peace and Prosperity (The Frontiers Saga - Part 3: Fringe Worlds) by Ryk Brown]()
Ep.#3.3 - Liberty and Truth, Peace and Prosperity (The Frontiers Saga - Part 3: Fringe Worlds) by Ryk Brown
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsEpisode 3.3A new foe arises…An ugly truth emerges…A long lost friend returns…An iconic ship flies into battle…Captain Scott and the crew of the Aurora face the reality of a galaxy that is, in many ways, worse off than the one they left behind. But in doing so, they discover a new mission for the Aurora’s namesake, her captain, and her crew... -
![Junkyard Spaceship by Jamie McFarlane]()
Junkyard Spaceship by Jamie McFarlane
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsWhen aliens threaten his country, one grumpy old vet will take the fight to the stars.Albert Jenkins would like nothing more than to putter around his junkyard, selling parts and working on old cars. When an alien spacecraft is shot down by US Air Defense and crash lands on his newly rebuilt home, he’s dragged back into the fight of his life... -
![Prisoners of Darkness by Jason Anspach, Nick Cole]()
Prisoners of Darkness by Jason Anspach, Nick Cole
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsThe galaxy is spiraling into all-out war. The Battle of Tarrago was just the beginning. Following Goth Sullus's ruthless onslaughts against the Republic, a desperate House of Reason searches for scapegoats—and finds one, deserving or not, in Commander Ellek Owens. His sentence is cruel, unjust—and final. Unless Victory Squad has anything to say about it... -
![The Champion by Scott Sigler]()
The Champion by Scott Sigler
Rated: 4.54 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsTHE CHAMPION is the fifth book in the Galactic Football League series.Seven centuries in the future, the sport of American football has never been bigger, never been faster, never been more lethal. Trillions of fans from all over the galaxy watch six unique races battle in contests so violent that deaths are part of the stat sheet... -
![For the Triumph of Evil by Ryk Brown]()
For the Triumph of Evil by Ryk Brown
Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsPart 2: Episode 6 A leader recently reborn… Two men, who are one and the same… New abilities not yet fully understood… Yet there is still so much to learn… Captain Nathan Scott has less than a week to prepare, before he must face the greatest Gunyoki pilot on all of Rakuen. The future of the Karuzari, and the freedom of the entire quadrant depend on one thing: His victory... -
![All in Good Time by Mackey Chandler]()
All in Good Time by Mackey Chandler
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsLiving by bad neighbors is hard. Especially when there is a whole mob of them. Needing to do business with them makes it harder. Imagine nine billion noisy disrespectful neighbors who can’t keep their word and would be just as happy to see you dead... -
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![Empaths by S.H. Jucha]()
Empaths by S.H. Jucha
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsCaptain Jessie Cinders faces a hazardous choice. The murderer of the governor’s nephew stands before him. But, the frightened teenager, Aurelia Garmenti, doesn’t resemble the commandant’s description of the vicious, hardened killer his security forces seek.To complicate matters, Jessie’s mind has felt Aurelia’s mental powers... -
![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... -
![Ep.#3.11 - "The First Ranger" by Ryk Brown]()
Ep.#3.11 - "The First Ranger" by Ryk Brown
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsPart 3: Episode 11Sacrifices are made…Training is endured…Wrongs are righted…Heros are born…The Free Fleet’s plans are finally coming together. Now, there is a new force for good in the galaxy, and they’re known as ‘Rangers’."The First Ranger" is the 11th episode in Part 3 of the Frontiers Fringe Worlds...Categorized as:
space-opera space-travel sci-fi audiobook fiction action-adventure exploration space -
![Stowaway by Z.D. Dean]()
Stowaway by Z.D. Dean
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsLt Zade, on his last days of his last deployment to Afghanistan, still couldn’t find the excitement he so desperately needed. A chance encounter, on his last mission, sends him hurtling through space on the Unity exploration ship XES01. Surrounded by aliens, Zade must quickly learn to interact with the non-soldiers on the crew... -
![The Neutronium Alchemist 1: Consolidation by Peter F. Hamilton]()
The Neutronium Alchemist 1: Consolidation by Peter F. Hamilton
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsHumanity is in incredible peril. The minds of those long dead are taking over the bodies of the living, in increasingly alarming numbers. Joshua Calvert is desperately trying to recover a "doomsday weapon", an instrument that might blast the dead back into oblivion--but in the wrong hands, it could mean the end of the human race... -
![The Naked God 1: Flight by Peter F. Hamilton]()
The Naked God 1: Flight by Peter F. Hamilton
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsThis breathtaking climax to the acclaimed saga of "The Reality Dysfunction" and "The Neutronium Alchemist" finds the Confederation on the verge of collapse, as more and more star systems fall to the Possessed. An alien god may hold the solution to the crisis--if Joshua and Syrinx can discover it in time... -
![Slave Trade by Craig Martelle, Michael Anderle]()
Slave Trade by Craig Martelle, Michael Anderle
Rated: 4.64 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsNo respect for life. Or the law. It’s the trade. In sentience. Run by the Corranites, creatures that have always traded in intelligent alien life.Bought and sold. Nothing more than property.Rivka is having none of it. With an eye toward taking the entire supply line down, she launches into the greater galaxy. All the way to the heart of the Federation.It’s bigger than anyone knows... -
![The Deadliest of Intentions by Marc Stevens]()
The Deadliest of Intentions by Marc Stevens
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe Principal Investigator of the Chaalt people, has covertly enlisted the aid of Nathan Myers and the crew of the Legacy. They desperately need help gaining access to their secret Prule research station. The facility has gone dark, and the automated defenses activated... -
![Fall of the Core by Ryk Brown]()
Fall of the Core by Ryk Brown
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA freelance reporter struggling to get into the 'big time'...A rookie officer starting her career in public safety...A cargo ship captain trying to outlive a terminal illness that has no cure...A bounty hunter returning a long-hunted fugitive to Earth...A terrible plague that threatens to destroy the human race...The 25th century is not starting off very well... -
![Stardust by Edward W. Robertson]()
Stardust by Edward W. Robertson
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe invaders have arrived. The last battle for humanity is about to begin. STARDUST is the final book in the Rebel Stars series...Categorized as:
aliens space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult book colonization exploration -
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![Star Force: Ysalamir by Aer-ki Jyr]()
Star Force: Ysalamir by Aer-ki Jyr
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsV'kit'no'sat and Star Force must unite for a special project in order to find a better way to fight the Hadarak...Categorized as:
aliens space-opera space-travel action-adventure book exploration fiction galactic-empire -
![March Upcountry by David Weber, John Ringo]()
March Upcountry by David Weber, John Ringo
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsPrince Roger MacClintock is a spoiled young princeling hardly worth the space he takes up. Now he must become a man, or the entire galaxy will suffer arrested adolescence... -
![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... -
![Daylight by Cheree Alsop]()
Daylight by Cheree Alsop
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsLiora Day’s fate entwined with the crew the day she joined the SS Kratos. Fleeing the Coalition in their attempt to destroy the Omne Occasus before it falls into the wrong hands, the captain and crew band together to save not only their ship, but the fate of the Macrocosm against those who would use the machine for harm... -
![The Spaceship in the Stone (The Space Legacy #1) by Igor Nikolic]()
The Spaceship in the Stone (The Space Legacy #1) by Igor Nikolic
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWhat would you do if you found an ancient spaceship?Michael Freeman is a disabled veteran who had just been fired from his mind-numbing cubicle job, which allowed his opportunistic girlfriend to dump him. Now, he only wants to spend some time at his grandfather's mountain cabin so he can unwind, away from the drudgery of daily life and with a cold beer in his hands...Categorized as:
aliens space-opera space-travel action-adventure book fiction first-contact genetic-engineering -
![Mutineers' Moon by David Weber]()
Mutineers' Moon by David Weber
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsFor Lt. Commander Colin Maclntyre, it began as a routine training flight over the Moon. For Dahak, a self-aware Imperial battleship, it began millennia ago when that powerful artificial intelligence underwent a mutiny in the face of the enemy. The mutiny was never resolved--Dahak was forced to maroon not just the mutineers but the entire crew on prehistoric Earth...Categorized as:
aliens space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook book -
![Spinward Fringe Broadcast 2: Awakening by Randolph Lalonde]()
Spinward Fringe Broadcast 2: Awakening by Randolph Lalonde
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe crew of the Samson are caught up in the problems of their Captain as his past begins to catch up with him. Just as new allies start to fall in line old enemies come creeping out of the shadows, putting everyone at risk... -
![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... -
![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... -
![The Gap Into Madness: Chaos and Order by Stephen R. Donaldson]()
The Gap Into Madness: Chaos and Order by Stephen R. Donaldson
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsAs the planetoid Thanatos Minor explodes into atoms, a specially-fitted cruiser escapes the mass destruction and hurtles into space only a step ahead of hostile pursuit. On board Trumpet are a handful of bedraggled fugitives from an outlaw world, old enemies suddenly and violently thrown together in a desperate bid for survival... -
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![The Icarus Hunt by Timothy Zahn]()
The Icarus Hunt by Timothy Zahn
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsSmuggler Jordan McKell has partner Ixil, an alien whose two "ferrets" ride his shoulders and telepathically exchange simple messages. They take a job on the odd-shaped ship Icarus. But the ragtag crew was found at taverns, the secret cargo sealed tight, the employer missing, and a saboteur is aboard... -
![Tales of Known Space: The Universe of Larry Niven by Larry Niven, Rick Sternbach]()
Tales of Known Space: The Universe of Larry Niven by Larry Niven, Rick Sternbach
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsRanging from the 20th Century to the 31st, these interconnected stories trace Man's expansion and colonization throughout the galaxy...Becalmed in hellHowie's spaceship had a malfunction...but it might be only psychosomatic!Wait it outHe was trapped on Pluto...and all his assets were frozen!The borderland of SolForward possessed the ultimate weapon..Categorized as:
aliens space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult anthologies fiction hard-sci-fi -
![The Dreaming Void by Peter F. Hamilton]()
The Dreaming Void by Peter F. Hamilton
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsThe year is 3589, fifteen hundred years after Commonwealth forces barely staved off human extinction in a war against the alien Prime. Now an even greater danger has surfaced: a threat to the existence of the universe itself... -
![Space Rogues 2: Big Ship, Lots of Guns by John Wilker]()
Space Rogues 2: Big Ship, Lots of Guns by John Wilker
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsPreviously, on Space Rogues...Thanks to an intergalactic crime boss and all around horrible being, Xarrix, there's a price on the crews' heads, no good deed goes unpunished, as they say.What do you do to keep food on the table and fuel in the tank? Take jobs as privateers of course.This page-turning adventure kicks off with Zephyr answering a call from an old friend... -
![Star Force: Mak'to'ran (2) by Aer-ki Jyr]()
Star Force: Mak'to'ran (2) by Aer-ki Jyr
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsMak'to'ran travels to the Hjar'at with information regarding the altered Hadarak and the alliance of extremely advanced races that Star Force has amassed...only to find even more treachery amongst the very militant Stegosauruses... -
![Star Force: Mak'to'ran (3) by Aer-ki Jyr]()
Star Force: Mak'to'ran (3) by Aer-ki Jyr
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe fracturing of the V'kit'no'sat Empire has now come to fruition, but the full fledged civil war has not resulted...Categorized as:
aliens space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult book colonization exploration -
![Snow by Michelle M. Pillow]()
Snow by Michelle M. Pillow
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAlpha male alien comes to Earth to pick up a bride and instead meets a beautiful scientist whose job it is to capture him.NYT Bestselling Author, Michelle M. Pillow, is back with a brand new sci-fi alien romance adventure.Tushar (aka Snow Chaos) knows there is little chance of finding a wife on his ice-ball of a home planet. Few can survive the subzero temperatures...Categorized as:
aliens space-opera space-travel audiobook space action-adventure female-mc paranormal -
![Renegade Magic by Jennifer M. Eaton]()
Renegade Magic by Jennifer M. Eaton
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn outer space, there is no right or wrong...unless you get caught.Cal turns to a life of smuggling to escape a death sentence for a crime he didn't commit, and when a galactic law enforcer lands far too close, Cal’s crew kidnaps her in hopes they can prove his innocence.Hey, what could go wrong?Dania, a powerful mage enforcer, is on a mission to eliminate a human trafficking ring...Categorized as:
aliens space-opera space-travel sci-fi action-adventure royalty futuristic colonization -
![Artificial Evolution by Joseph R. Lallo]()
Artificial Evolution by Joseph R. Lallo
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsArtificial Evolution is the third book in the Big Sigma series, building upon the story and characters introduced by Bypass Gemini and Unstable Prototypes. Lex, Michella and Squee are once again joined by the mercenaries Silo and Garotte. Along the way they'll need plenty of help from mad engineer Karter Dee and his AI Ma... -
![The Day of Battle by Doug Dandridge]()
The Day of Battle by Doug Dandridge
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSean needs a victory, before Parliament returns a no confidence vote and leaves him a figurehead ruler. The Ca'cadasans are almost through with their conquest of Sector IV, and from the there, the heart of the Empire is exposed. The Ca'cadasans continue to roll over the New Terran Empire and the New Terran Republic...Categorized as:
aliens space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult book fiction genetic-engineering -
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![Wanderer - Extinction by Simon Goodson]()
Wanderer - Extinction by Simon Goodson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsJess and the Wanderer race to save the Universe from extinction. Will saving everything just mean handing it to the Taint? The destruction of the Universe has started and only Jess and the Wanderer have the slightest chance of stopping it, but that's only the start. Jess must also find a way to stop the all-consuming Taint once and for all... -
![Day's End by Cheree Alsop]()
Day's End by Cheree Alsop
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhen Liora Day and the Kratos crew destroyed half of the Omne Occasus, it turned not only her Damaclan father, but the entire Coalition, against them. The crew of the SS Kratos band together to destroy the rest of the galaxy imploder, but in doing so, they confront a new danger nobody foresaw... -
![Traitor by Edward W. Robertson]()
Traitor by Edward W. Robertson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFinnTech has allied with the aliens who once pushed humanity to the brink of extinction. No one knows their next move. In desperation, Rada and Webber fly to the Locker. A pirate station in Uranus orbit, its fleet may be the only thing capable of resisting the FinnTech forces. But as Rada fights to bring the Locker to her side, she discovers a new conspiracy... -
![The Face by Jack Vance]()
The Face by Jack Vance
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsKirth Gersen tracks Lens Larque across several worlds, most notably Aloysius, the desert world Dar Sai and the more temperate Methel. He eventually learns that Larque is a Darsh, born Husse Bugold. He had been deprived of an earlobe and made a rachepol or outcast from his clan for a crime considered "repulsive but not superlatively heinous... -
![Space Rogues by John Wilker]()
Space Rogues by John Wilker
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhat happens when your experimental spacecraft breaks down near Neptune? Dying alone in space is the likely answer, right?That's not how Wil Calder's story ends though; it's how it begins. Alien space outlaws rescue him and sell his pod for scrap. He's given a choice: join the crew or step out the airlock without his spacesuit... -
![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...
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