Books like 'The Power of Illusion'
Readers who enjoyed The Power of Illusion by Christopher Anvil also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
sc-fi mystery space action / adventure humor law-enforcement
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Spaced Out by Stuart Gibbs
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn this New York Times bestselling novel the moon base commander has gone missing and Dash Gibson is on the case. The second mind-boggling mystery of the Moon Base Alpha series from beloved author Stuart Gibbs.There’s nowhere to hide on the world’s first moon base. After all, it’s only the size of a soccer field... -
![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... -
![Waste of Space by Stuart Gibbs, Gibson Frazier]()
Waste of Space by Stuart Gibbs, Gibson Frazier
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsTensions are running high when multibillionaire Lars Sjoburg is poisoned and demands to go home and everyone is looking to Dash Gibson to solve the case, in this third and final book in the New York Times bestselling Moon Base Alpha series.Moon Base Alpha was supposed to be an exciting place to live, but Dash didn't expect for it to be this exciting...Categorized as:
humor law-enforcement action-adventure audiobook book children children-books espionage -
![Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells]()
Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 46 ratingsNo, I didn’t kill the dead human. If I had, I wouldn’t dump the body in the station mall... -
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![Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold]()
Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsForced to abandon his undercover role as leader of the Dendarii Mercenaries, Miles Vorkosigan persuades Emperor Gregor to appoint him Imperial Auditor so he can penetrate Barrayar’s intelligence and security operations (ImpSec)... -
![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... -
![Miles, Mutants, and Microbes by Lois McMaster Bujold]()
Miles, Mutants, and Microbes by Lois McMaster Bujold
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsContent: Falling free Labyrinth Diplomatic immunity Miles Vorkosigan/Naismith : his life and times.Two complete novels and a short novel in one large volume:Falling Free—The Nebula Award-winning novel. Leo Graf was just your typical efficient engineer: mind your own business and do the job... -
![Young Miles by Lois McMaster Bujold]()
Young Miles by Lois McMaster Bujold
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsThe Warrior's Apprentice 1The Mountains of Mourning 373The Vor Game 465Author's Afterword 829IT ISN'T EASY, BEING VOR...Being a Vor lord on the war-torn planet Barrayar wasn't easy. Being an officer in Barrayar's military wasn't easy...Categorized as:
humor 20th-century action-adventure anthologies audiobook coming-of-age female-author fiction -
![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... -
![Lab Rat One by Andrea K. Höst]()
Lab Rat One by Andrea K. Höst
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsPart 2 of the Touchstone trilogy:In the months since Cassandra Devlin walked off Earth onto another planet, she has grappled with everything from making blankets to helping psychics battle the memories of monsters. Not able to find a way home, she has instead gained friends and a purpose... -
![Alien Scourge by Michael Anderle]()
Alien Scourge by Michael Anderle
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsCharley and Angelina have a lot to deal with. Do they help their friend or turn him in for being an alien?In some situations, you don’t know how you will react until someone tries to kill you...And your alien friend keeps you safe.Angelina’s boyfriend believes she will come back with the right amount of coercion if he gets rid of her “friend...Categorized as:
humor law-enforcement action-adventure adult book colonization fiction galactic-empire -
![Wolf 359 by Gabriel Urbina, Zach Valenti]()
Wolf 359 by Gabriel Urbina, Zach Valenti
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsLife's not easy for Doug Eiffel, the communications officer for the U.S.S. Hephaestus Research Station, currently on Day 448 of its orbit around red dwarf star Wolf 359. He's stuck on a scientific survey mission of indeterminate length, 7.8 light years from Earth...Categorized as:
humor action-adventure aliens alternate-history audiobook book classics contemporary -
![Miles, Mystery, and Mayhem by Lois McMaster Bujold]()
Miles, Mystery, and Mayhem by Lois McMaster Bujold
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsContains: Cetaganda Ethan of Athos Labyrinth.Diplomat, soldier, spy - Lieutenant Lord Miles Naismith Vorkosigan of the Barrayarayan Empire, a.k.a. Admiral Naismith of the Dendarii Free Mercenaries, is a young man of many parts... -
![Space Case by Stuart Gibbs]()
Space Case by Stuart Gibbs
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsIt’s a murder mystery on the moon in this humorous and suspenseful space adventure from the author of Belly Up and Spy School that The New York Times Book Review called “a delightful and brilliantly constructed middle grade thriller...Categorized as:
humor law-enforcement action-adventure aliens audiobook book children children-books -
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![Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold]()
Cetaganda by Lois McMaster Bujold
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsThe latest installment in the adventures of Miles Vorkosigan. Miles and Cousin Ivan travel to Cetaganda to play the part of sprigs of nobility doing their diplomatic duty. But when the Empress of Cetaganda dies naturally, and her lifelong attendant dies unnaturally, Miles and Ivan finds themselves in the thick of it... -
![The Worldship Humility by R.R. Haywood]()
The Worldship Humility by R.R. Haywood
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe Worldship Humility... -
![The Mountains of Mourning by Lois McMaster Bujold]()
The Mountains of Mourning by Lois McMaster Bujold
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 30 ratings[A Miles Vorkosigan Story] Twenty year old Ensign Miles Vorkosigan plays detective in a murder case, and tests the balance of power as a member of the Barrayaran nobility. [Publisher's Note: The Mountains of Mourning was originally published as a stand-alone novella in the May 1989 issue of Analog... -
![Earth Bound by Michael Anderle]()
Earth Bound by Michael Anderle
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIt’s one stranded ex-lawman against a world full of homicidal psychopaths. Psychopaths who might, or might not, be human.Intergalactic lawman Terry Victor is betrayed by fellow officers and sent to a backwater planet on the interstellar arm of the universe.In short, he was sent to the planet called Earth.Fed up, he quits in a fit of disgust and seeks a peaceful retirement among the humans...Categorized as:
humor law-enforcement action-adventure adult book colonization fiction galactic-empire -
![The Detective by Scott Sigler, Matt Wallace]()
The Detective by Scott Sigler, Matt Wallace
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsTHE DETECTIVE is a bit of back story for Frederico Esteban Guissepe Gonzaga and his search for the family of Quentin Barnes.THE DETECTIVE takes place from roughly March 2683, to March 2684. Where applicable, the chapters are named to map to the action in THE ALL-PRO (Book III in the Galactic Football League series). The story actually begins, however, on unknown dates during Book II, THE STARTER...Categorized as:
law-enforcement action-adventure aliens audiobook book dystopia fiction galactic-empire -
![Komarr by Lois McMaster Bujold]()
Komarr by Lois McMaster Bujold
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsKomarr could be a garden with a thousand more years' work, or an uninhabitable wasteland if the terraforming fails. Now, the solar mirror vital to the terraforming of the conquered planet has been shattered by a ship hurtling off course. The Emperor of Barrayar sends his newest imperial auditor, Lord Miles Vorkosigan, to find out why... -
![The Worst Ship in the Fleet by Skyler Ramirez]()
The Worst Ship in the Fleet by Skyler Ramirez
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA Military Science Fiction Adventure!Brad Mendoza is an idiot. He knows it, and so does everyone else. A promising naval career down the drain just because he accidentally killed 504 civilians. So, it's time for him to give up and accept a dead-end command on Persephone, the worst ship in the fleet... -
![Doctor Who: Nothing O'Clock by Neil Gaiman]()
Doctor Who: Nothing O'Clock by Neil Gaiman
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThousands of years ago, Time Lords built a Prison for the Kin. They made it utterly impregnable and unreachable. As long as Time Lords existed, the Kin would be trapped forever and the universe would be safe. They had planned for everything… everything, that is, other than the Time War and the fall of Gallifrey... -
![Ravenor Returned by Dan Abnett]()
Ravenor Returned by Dan Abnett
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsFollowing the adventures of Imperial Inquisitor Ravenor and his warband of the dark and gothic future, this title is the second in 'Ravenor' series... -
![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... -
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![The Horror at Murden Cove by D.D. Black]()
The Horror at Murden Cove by D.D. Black
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA triple homicide. A blind witness. What is the sound of evil?Late one night, two young couples walked to a park in an affluent Bainbridge Island neighborhood to celebrate the sale of their tech startup. The next morning, three mutilated bodies were found.One witness was left alive. Blind from birth, she didn't see anything. But she heard everything... -
![Brekk by Alana Khan]()
Brekk by Alana Khan
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsBrekk waited a lifetime to find his fated mate. When Isabella discovers his monstrous secret, will Halloween fun turn into her worst nightmare?IsabellaI love living on Hallion, but I miss my favorite Earth holiday—Halloween... -
![Clan and Conviction by Tracy St. John]()
Clan and Conviction by Tracy St. John
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe drug Delir is sweeping the Kalquorian Empire, leaving madness and death in its wake. Investigator Dramok Gelan has already lost his enforcer partner in a deadly shootout because of the case. With no clues or suspects, he despairs of putting an end to the epidemic. Then a familiar face enters the picture: new partner and former lover Nobek Wynhod... -
![The Reporter by Scott Sigler, Mur Lafferty]()
The Reporter by Scott Sigler, Mur Lafferty
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe Reporter follows Yolanda Davenport, a reporter for Galaxy Sports Magazine, as she searches for the truth about Ju Tweedy's involvement with the murder of Grace McDermott - the incident that drove Ju to join the Ionath Krakens. The Reporter takes place between week three and week six of the 2684 Galactic Football League season, the season that encompasses The All-Pro...Categorized as:
law-enforcement action-adventure aliens audiobook book contemporary dystopia fiction -
![Obsidian Detective by Michael Anderle]()
Obsidian Detective by Michael Anderle
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsTwo Rebels whose Worlds Collide on a Planetary Level. On the fringes of human space, a murder will light a fuse and send two different people colliding together. She lives on Earth, where peace among the population is a given. He is on the fringe of society where authority is how much firepower you wield. She is from the powerful, the elite. He is with the military... -
![Dial D for Deadman by Barry J. Hutchison]()
Dial D for Deadman by Barry J. Hutchison
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe Space Team Universe just got a whole lot darker. In an alien city torn apart by crooked cops and ruthless criminals, private detective, Dan Deadman, specializes in cases unusual and bizarre... -
![Doctor Who: The Ruby's Curse by Alex Kingston, Jacqueline Rayner]()
Doctor Who: The Ruby's Curse by Alex Kingston, Jacqueline Rayner
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsShe's got ice in her heart and a kiss on her lips...1939, New York. Private Eye, Melody Malone, is hired to find a stolen ruby, the Eye of Horus. The ruby might hold the secret to the location of Cleopatra's tomb - but everyone who comes into contact with it dies. Can Melody escape the ruby's curse?1939, New York... -
![Crownchasers by Rebecca Coffindaffer]()
Crownchasers by Rebecca Coffindaffer
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA deadly competition for the throne will determine more than just the fate of the empire in this duology opener.Alyssa Farshot has spent her whole life trying to outrun her family legacy. Her mother sacrificed everything to bring peace to the quadrant, and her uncle has successfully ruled as emperor for decades... -
![A Gift of Time by Jerry Merritt]()
A Gift of Time by Jerry Merritt
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWhen Micajah Fenton discovers a crater in his front yard with a broken time glider in the bottom and a naked, virtual woman on his lawn, he delays his plans to kill himself. While helping repair the marooned time traveler’s glider, Cager realizes it can return him to his past to correct a mistake that had haunted him his entire life... -
![Demon by John Varley]()
Demon by John Varley
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsISBN moved from less recent editionThe satellite-sized alien Gaea has gone completely insane. She has transformed her love of old movies into monstrous realities. She is Marilyn Monroe. She is King Kong. And now she must be destroyed... -
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![Aliens Love Underpants by Claire Freedman]()
Aliens Love Underpants by Claire Freedman
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThis humorous tale describes how aliens, rather than visiting Earth to take over the planet, really visit to steal your pants... -
![The Borders of Infinity by Lois McMaster Bujold]()
The Borders of Infinity by Lois McMaster Bujold
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsOn a rescue mission gone wrong, Miles Vorkosigan is captured by the enemy Cetagandans and thrown into a dome-shaped prisoner of war camp that seems a literal Circle of Hell. Against impossible odds, Miles organizes thousands of angry and dispirited prisoners into military formation that may offer the only chance for escape...Categorized as:
humor law-enforcement 20th-century action-adventure adult anthologies audiobook classics -
![Winterfair Gifts by Lois McMaster Bujold]()
Winterfair Gifts by Lois McMaster Bujold
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsThis Hugo-nominated novella adds a delightful extra chapter to Bujold's Vorkosigan series, describing the wedding of Miles and Ekaterin and events leading up to it. In the festive season of Winterfair on the planet Barrayar, Lord Miles Vorkosigan is making elaborate preparations for his wedding... -
![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... -
![Eisenhorn: Xenos - Illustrated and Annotated Edition by Dan Abnett]()
Eisenhorn: Xenos - Illustrated and Annotated Edition by Dan Abnett
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsAn Illustrated Hardback Edition of Book 1 in the Eisenhorn SeriesInquisitor Eisenhorn faces a vast interstellar cabal and the dark power of daemons, all racing to recover an arcane text of abominable power – an ancient tome known as the Necroteuch.READ IT BECAUSEThe classic novel returns in a brand new hardback edition... -
![Tuf Voyaging by George R.R. Martin]()
Tuf Voyaging by George R.R. Martin
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsHonest space trader Haviland Tuf, the owner of the last seedship of Earth's Ecological Engineering Corps, comes to the aid of an emperiled colony struggling to cope with a variety of hostile monsters, an obsessed populace, and a dictator who unleashes plagues to get his own way... -
![Mission Inadvisable by J.S. Morin]()
Mission Inadvisable by J.S. Morin
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsPart-time heroes. Full-time outlaws. Carl Ramsey has done the unthinkable: he turned down a lucrative job. When the deed is too despicable even for outlaws like the Mobius crew, someone nasty had to be behind it. Carl and his friends decide to hunt down their potential employer and turn him over to the authorities... -
![Stowaway to Heaven by J.S. Morin]()
Stowaway to Heaven by J.S. Morin
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIf you can't beat 'em, hijack 'em. Push a man hard enough and long enough and he's going to push back. Carl Ramsey finally has a plan to deal with transgalactic megacorp Harmony Bay. With the aid of a new ace up his sleeve, the Mobius crew finally have a heist that can put an end to the company's harassment. They're going to steal the ship responsible for Harmony Bay's black ops... -
![The Dust of Kaku by Julia Huni]()
The Dust of Kaku by Julia Huni
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThey say you can never go home. But, you can clean it. Triana Moore, maintenance bot technician on Station Kelly-Kornienko, prefers life in orbit where the air is purified, the commute is short, and nature doesn’t get all over you. But when a minor infraction gets her sent to remedial training dirtside, she doesn’t complain... -
![The Ballad of Bad Jack by Anthony Ryan]()
The Ballad of Bad Jack by Anthony Ryan
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe Asteroid Belt, home to mining corporations and those who prefer to live beyond the heavily policed habitats of Earth orbit - the perfect hunting ground for Bad Jack, captain of the Dead Reckoning and the most feared pirate in the solar system... -
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![The Wraithbone Phoenix by Alec Worley]()
The Wraithbone Phoenix by Alec Worley
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA Baggit and Clodde NovelA ratling and an ogryn aren't the best-matched pair, but in the crime-ridden heart of Varangantua, anything goes – at least, when there's a big score to be had.READ IT BECAUSEThis is first full length novel featuring the characters Baggit and Clodde from the audio drama Dredge Runners. Follow the duo as they hunt for a treasure that could answer all of their problems... -
![House of Shards by Walter Jon Williams]()
House of Shards by Walter Jon Williams
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 7 ratingsDrake Maijstral, the most daring Allowed Burglar in the galaxy, is now setting his sights on the Eltdown Shard, a spectacular necklace embodying the flame of a dying star. Through the media vids, the audience watches him--in an intricate plot designed to both steal the necklace and foil his major rival... -
![The Vacuum of Space by Julia Huni]()
The Vacuum of Space by Julia Huni
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhen her maintenance bot found a body, Triana lost her lunch. Then she lost the body. How did she lose her memory? When a highly connected security agent interrupts her routine with stories of murder and missing bodies, Triana can’t ignore him; it’s cooperate or find a new job. A girl has to pay the rent, even on a crappy studio compartment... -
![Sweet Alien Savage by Sadie Carter]()
Sweet Alien Savage by Sadie Carter
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratings* The last thing Koran Al’a desires is a human mate. They are illogical, emotional and show no respect for tradition and rules. His mate will be rational, sensible and obedient. Mila has always lived in the shadow of her successful, beautiful, older sister. But that’s okay with her, she likes being in the background. That is, until the day that Koran walks into her life... -
![Alien Wanted by Julie K. Cohen]()
Alien Wanted by Julie K. Cohen
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsEscape Earth. Find an alien husband. Get dumped. Now what? EmilyEmily’s last husband returned her to the mail order bride agency because she’s defective. When the agency matches her to a second alien, he doesn’t show up to claim her. She has two choices: go to the local brothel to earn her keep or be sold off at random alien, a Zyanthan Warrior to be precise... -
![Paloma by Kristine Kathryn Rusch]()
Paloma by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAs a Retrieval Artist, Miles Flint helps the Disappeared, saving the lives of those oppressed under the Earth Alliance regime. He owes his livelihood, and his very sense of honor, to a woman known as Paloma. It was she who was responsible for setting him on this path—and now she has been murdered.Summoned by Paloma’s desperate call, Miles reaches her apartment too late...
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