Books like 'Making the Grade'
Readers who enjoyed Making the Grade by Christopher Booth also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
sc-fi space action / adventure litrpg male-mc space-opera virtual-reality first-contact cyberpunk
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By Darkness Forged by Nathan Lowell
Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsProfits. Coffee. Extortion.All in a day’s work.When Ishmael takes the Chernyakova back into Toe-Hold space, he finds a lot more than profit. A quick pass through the Telluride system reveals the answer to one question but leaves him docked without a cargo until the owner of Dark Knight Station makes him an offer he can’t refuse... -
Antecedents' Legacy by Daniel Schinhofen
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsZander Greaves grew up in Compton, California— violence, pain, and strife were his life for his first eighteen years. His personality was forged by his childhood, and he was determined to find a way to make his past work for him.As soon as he could, Zander decided to find work as a military contractor. The company he’d badgered for a job eventually hired him, earning him the nickname “Badger... -
Vapor Trails by Joshua Dalzelle
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsHe was a rogue element, disobeying orders and pursuing mission goals of his own. His Scout Team had been burned, disavowed by his chain of command and the owner of the stolen ship he was flying was after them to get it back. To make matters even more complicated, the man Jacob had stolen the ship from is an infamous outlaw and mercenary named Jason Burke… his father... -
In Ashes Born by Nathan Lowell
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsAn old friend. A new course.A deadly ship with a secret cargo.Ishmael Wang returns to Port Newmar but ghosts from his past have followed him. His old shipmate, Phillip Carstairs, offers him the opportunity to track down the man who killed his lover. The catch? He must take command of the Chernyakova, a ship that still stinks of death and haunts Ishmael's nightmares... -
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Message for the Dead by Jason Anspach, Nick Cole
Rated: 4.54 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsSurvive the Future. As Legion Commander Keller attempts to coax the Republic and Black Fleet into a winner-take-all battle at the heart of the Galactic Core, Wraith uncovers secrets from Tyrus Rechs’s past. Determined to liberate his crew from the clutches of a dormant fleet controlled by a hostile AI, the soldier-turned-rogue comes face to face with the galaxy’s greatest threat... -
Captain Caveman by Jerry Boyd
Rated: 4.59 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsBob and the crew are off to deliver a shipload of lost property to its rightful owners. What dangers, seen and unseen, will they find at this lost colony? Will there be new crew members, waiting to be found? Find out in Bob and Nikki’s latest adventure... -
Rising Force by Ken Lozito
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsEight months have passed since the Star Shroud barrier was engaged to protect the Earth, but it won’t last, and humanity is scrambling to build a fleet. Cut off from home, the crew of the Athena has taken refuge on the Boxan colony world, a last safe haven for the creators of the Star Shroud... -
Sword of the Legion by Jason Anspach, Nick Cole
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsChoose your legacy. Captain Chhun’s Dark Ops squad is reunited with Wraith, and they are entrusted with the task of denying Goth Sullus the shipyards he so eagerly desires. But when the mission doesn’t go as planned, Chhun and Wraith must find a way to stop the Black Fleet’s advance—even if it costs them their lives... -
Corsair Menace by Jamie McFarlane
Rated: 4.48 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsDeep in debt and stranded, a suicide mission may be this crew’s only hope… Liam Hoffen thought saving the world would cut him and his friends some slack. Instead, they’re bankrupt, shipwrecked, and fugitives on a backwater planet. So much for gratitude… But, after discovering an ancient Kroerak ship, Liam sees an opportunity to locate the home world of the vicious alien species... -
Countdown by Michael Atamanov
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsAt long last, an extraterrestrial civilization reached out and made the First Contact. However, no one on Earth took their communique for the genuine article. In a similar vein, very few people appreciated just how little time our new suzerains had promised to keep our planet safe.Regardless, the end of their message showed humankind how to access a mysterious game...Categorized as:
cyberpunk first-contact litrpg space-opera action-adventure adult aliens alternate-history -
Web of Worlds by Michael Atamanov
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsCeasefires have one big downside: they eventually come to an end. And when they do, once again game nodes are set ablaze, and platoons of Dark Faction soldiers threaten our customary world with destruction. The enemy has grown stronger and more numerous. To make matters worse, they also got their hands on even deadlier weaponry...Categorized as:
cyberpunk first-contact litrpg male-mc space-opera virtual-reality action-adventure adult -
Aces High by Michael Atamanov
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsTo be on a starship that’s just sustained serious damage in a space battle including losing its thrusters and find yourself in a totally different galaxy... You might think that would be cause for panic or, at the very least, despondency, right? Not at all! Gnat maintains optimism, gradually gets his space frigate back in working order and even finds upsides to what happened...Categorized as:
cyberpunk first-contact litrpg space-opera action-adventure adult aliens alternate-history -
Salvage by Jenny Schwartz
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSecrets can get a girl killed. Cherry Pendit knows to keep hers close. But what if it’s whispering to her? What if it’s warning her of danger on the galactic horizon, and only she can save her clan?To save the people she loves, Cherry will have to risk her life to rescue a man she’s never met.A hunted man, a man abandoned on a derelict space station, on the far side of a black hole...Categorized as:
space-opera cyberpunk first-contact sci-fi suspense action-adventure other-world aliens -
Lost: A Christmas Novella by Jenny Schwartz
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsMerry Christmas, son. Don’t come home. Stuck on Central Transit Station, Sergeant Ryan Dabrowski receives a Dear John letter from his family. The home he fought to protect doesn’t want him. He’s left too much of his body out among the stars. The aug-doctors patched him up better than new, but cyborg freaks aren’t welcome on Earth.“Don’t ruin your sister’s life... -
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Opening Moves by Cosimo Yap
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsThe Earth is changing. The alien invasion brought social upheaval, advanced technology, and an armada of peacekeeping robots. But Alan, a college student pursuing a now-useless degree, cares little about all of this. He has only one thing on his mind: the Game. A fully immersive virtual reality, the Game appears to be a major part of the invading civilization... -
Renegade Children by J.N. Chaney
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsPeople are dying. Shortly after Captain Jace Hughes and his team recover hundreds of surviving Eternal refugees, disaster strikes. A recently unearthed fauna dome, one of many biological arks on Earth, is destroyed and several people are killed. All proof points to the Eternals...Categorized as:
cyberpunk first-contact space-opera action-adventure adult audiobook book exploration -
Among Enemies by Evan Currie
Rated: 4.54 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsFor Sorilla Aida, the war has been ongoing. Peace was called, officially, but in the shadows her battles continued. The Alliance and SOLCOM are ready to call an end to it all now, but no one has yet been able to tell her why. Why the fighting began, why her allies, and enemies alike, died. Not even why it was over.She had to know, or at least she had to try to find out... -
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:
first-contact space-opera action-adventure adult aliens audiobook book female-author -
To Fire Called by Nathan Lowell
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA dead ship returns to the Deep Dark with a live crew.Captain Ishmael Wang finally gets the Chernyakova out of the yard and embarks on a voyage into the Toe-Holds where the Confederated Planets Joint Committee on Trade has no authority. Where the law is whatever you say it is as long as you can enforce it.Where he learns that some will do anything to hide their secrets and everybody has a secret... -
Impersonation by Sarah Noffke, Michael Anderle
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsKilling the bad guy just got a whole lot harder. Eddie and Julianna are perplexed when a major thief strikes a security corporation. They track down the thieves at a top-secret Federation facility. What they learn, only creates more problems. They’re dealing with shapeshifters. The Saverus race was thought to be a myth. It turns out they’ve only been hiding, taking on the identity of others... -
Shout of Honor by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsCommander Vepal is a Hero. He is also the Yxtrang ambassador to the greater universe. These two facts do not make Vepal's life easy. But they do make it interesting... -
Degrees of Separation by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsLife. Luck. Love. Lowport. Life, so the wags tell us, is what happens while we're making other plans. Luck. . .or, as some have it, chance. . .Luck is what makes Life interesting; introducing spicy bits of chaos – good, bad, and neutral. Without Luck, there is no savor – no adventure – in Life. Love. Ah, Love... -
Degeneration by Sarah Noffke, J.N. Chaney
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsKill the bad guys. Save the Galaxy. All in a hard day’s work. Eddie might be enhanced, but Ghost Squadron must expand if they’re going to keep the Federation safe from Felix Castile, a man hell bent on nothing less than the assassination of General Lance Reynolds. To stop him, Ghost Squadron will have to do the impossible----infiltrate the enemy’s stronghold... -
Recollection by Sarah Noffke, Michael Anderle
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsKilling the bad guy just got a whole lot harder. Knox is feeling the pressure to remember where he hid the Tangle Thief. The Saverus are also hunting for the device. It’s a race to find it first. Eddie and Julianna seek out a hypnotherapist to help Knox uncover the secrets his subconscious has buried, even though the therapist is on his own personal journey into the abyss... -
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Preservation by Sarah Noffke, Michael Anderle
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsKilling the bad guy just got a whole lot harder. While Ghost Squadron follows leads to find the Saverus, these shapeshifters are using their powers to repair the Tangle Thief. If they succeed, the galaxy is doomed. Meanwhile, Julianna’s dreams are about to come true. If they hunt down a terrorist’s group then they’ll have their guns. Shiny, upgraded weapons... -
Corruption by Sarah Noffke, Michael Anderle
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA new evil lurks in the darkness. After an explosion, the crew of a battlecruiser mysteriously disappears.Bailey and Lewis, complete strangers, find themselves suddenly onboard the damaged ship. Lewis hasn’t worked a case in years, not since the final one broke his spirit and his bank account. The last thing Bailey remembers is preparing to take down a fugitive on Onyx Station...Categorized as:
cyberpunk first-contact space-opera action-adventure aliens book exploration fiction -
Connection Unknown by Michael Chatfield
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsLuke Tavares has dreamed of joining the vast gaming guilds of the hypernet. After recently graduating high school, his parents have given him the same ultimatum as his siblings; he has one month to get a job to pay for his air, gravity, and water aboard the Dahlia.The freighter needs more hands, but Luke doesn’t want to be a trader-ship engineer...Categorized as:
first-contact litrpg space-opera virtual-reality action-adventure aliens book fiction -
Kill Team by Jason Anspach, Nick Cole
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsAlways make 'em pay. In the aftermath of the Battle of Kublar—and the destruction of the battleship Chiasm—Legion Dark Ops recruits Chhun, Wraith, and the survivors of Victory Company to form an elite Kill Team of legionnaires. Their secret mission is as clear as it is deadly: find and eliminate those responsible for the Kublar disaster... -
Pursuit of the Bold by Jamie McFarlane
Rated: 4.51 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA world-shattering invasion. A long-dead rumor. A death-defying risk to save humanity. If the Kroerak Empire had a soft spot, Liam Hoffen would have found it by now. After years of fighting the blasted bug invaders, he’s all but thrown in the towel. To make matters worse, intercepted enemy plans show the empire’s next attack could wipe them off the map... -
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.. -
Earth's Gambit by Cosimo Yap
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThe Earth has changed. War is now fought in an alien virtual reality—the Game—where many of the players are anything but human. Now part of the Black Rose guild, Alan heads to the Academy to level up and get stronger. He hopes to make allies and learn skills to win the battles to come... -
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 Run by Daniel Keys Moran
Rated: 4.53 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsFew of the telepaths survived the massacre by the United Nations Peaceforce. Seven years later, the last telepaths, Denice and Trent, are marked by the Peaceforce, and will die unless Trent can carry out his plan to avenge the deaths of his friends... -
External Threat by Michael Atamanov
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsThe countdown timer continues to tick, but Earth is still not ready to repel an invasion from space. Gnat is on his voyage with the Shiamiru, all the while trying to find backup for humanity among the great spacefaring races. After all, based on what he’s already seen, he knows not to count on the good sense of his own kind...Categorized as:
cyberpunk first-contact litrpg male-mc space-opera virtual-reality action-adventure adult -
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Bound By Law by Glynn Stewart, Terry Mixon
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAn uneasy peace broken by an old enemy An old ally owed debts and obligations A new mission to bring light into darkness In the aftermath of the destruction of the Cadre’s main base, there was a period of quiet in the Solar System. Now, however, pirate attacks are on the rise again... -
Sanctuary by Ivan Kal
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratings-NOTE- This book has been professionally re-edited as of March 23, 2016 A new start, six hundred light-years from Earth. Tomas Klein founder of Olympus had brought his people to a new world, freed them from constraints of Earth and its governments. But a new world brings new dangers. Tomas Klein will need to set aside past regrets and rise up to the challenge... -
The Dark Between by J.N. Chaney, Terry Maggert
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe Messenger must prepare for war. With the Archetype damaged, Dash and his crew will need more than a quick fix to prepare for what’s coming. A secret facility known only as the Forge lies in cold sleep, built by the Unseen for the greatest war in history. Dash has no idea what awaits him there, but he hopes to find some kind of advantage in the war that is to come...Categorized as:
cyberpunk first-contact space-opera action-adventure audiobook book exploration fiction -
Your Life Is Forfeit by Craig Martelle, Michael Anderle
Rated: 4.59 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsRed has a price on his head. Rivka is determined to find those who put it there. Criminals commit crimes. Career criminals do it in secret. They are good at hiding.Rivka’s latest case has her hunting fugitives. Red is on a mission to find them and make them pay for what they’ve done.Her search leads her through dark warrens of political intrigue and ecological disasters...Categorized as:
first-contact space-opera action-adventure aliens audiobook book fiction galactic-empire -
Oath of Vengeance by Glynn Stewart, Terry Mixon
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA mercenary with a secret past A pirate leader with a secret mission A clash that will shake planets Mercenary Captain Brad Madrid has spent years building the resources to go after the man who murdered his family. His new career has benefits—but also duties and responsibilities he cannot lightly brush aside... -
Contact Front by Rick Partlow
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsGo to war or go to jail.For small-time street hustler Cam Alvarez, the choice is simple. He has no family, no friends, no place in the world…nothing to lose. When his latest con results in the death of a cartel hitman, Cam opts to join the Marines and leave Earth to fight a vicious alien enemy... -
Losing Mars by Peter Cawdron
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsDisaster strikes in orbit around Mars. A Chinese spacecraft is disabled, stranded near Phobos. Well over a hundred million miles from Earth, their only hope for rescue comes from the American base on the edge of the Vallis Marineris on the surface of Mars... -
Boundless by Jack Campbell
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAdmiral John "Black Jack" Geary may have saved the Alliance only to destroy it, in this thrilling and eagerly awaited continuation of the New York Times bestselling series.Geary believed in the Alliance. Even when he uncovered overwhelming evidence that the highest echelons of the government and fleet command were involved in secret programs and prison camps, he believed it was worth saving... -
Game Changer by Michael Atamanov
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsOur galaxy is at war! Great alien races have just clashed in desperate combat and its aftershocks are echoing even in our backwater. The Geckho - protectors and overlords of planet Earth - join the global conflict too. Is it a good thing for humanity? Hard to say. On one hand, the Geckho are too busy to defend our planet which doesn’t sound too good...Categorized as:
cyberpunk first-contact litrpg male-mc space-opera virtual-reality action-adventure adult -
Starship Sakira by Bob Blanton
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWhat would you do if you found a spaceship? Would you call the government, would you pretend you never saw it, or would you keep it a secret? What would you do with it? Use it to gallivant around the galaxy, conquer Earth, get filthy rich, or try to improve life on Earth? Read along and find out how Marc tries to convert Earth into a spacefaring world capable of defending itself and of being...Categorized as:
first-contact litrpg space-opera action-adventure aliens audiobook book colonization -
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Resurrection by Tony Corden
Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsA simple error leaves Leah with a unique Neural Enhancement Chip and a rapidly evolving AI implanted in her brain. In ‘Nascent’, she evaded kidnapping by virtual slavers and helped shut down some operations of the virtual crime syndicate that uses mind-controlled players as slaves... -
Genesis by Rick Partlow
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsFirst contact gone wrong...It was every starship captain’s nightmare, and for Travis Miller, it was his own personal hell. He’d done everything by the book, but when the Tahni had attacked him and his crew, there was no choice but to return fire and destroy the first alien vessel humans had ever encountered... -
Precursor by C.J. Cherryh
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsNational best-selling author and winner of three Hugo Awards, C.J. Cherryh returns to the universe of her acclaimed Foreigner trilogy-with an epic tale of the survivors of a lost spacecraft stranded on a planet inhabited by a hostile, sentient race.The beginning of a second trilogy, Precursor follows a single human delegate living among aliens, who are just gaining access to space... -
Black Swarm by Ivan Kal
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe penultimate installment in the Rise of the Empire series! The war for the fate of the galaxy is underway. The Empire and its allies struggle to find a way to strike back at the Enlightened, who are employing raiding tactics to set the galaxy on fire. And with their new ability to travel through access points, the job of the galactic alliance is that much harder... -
Cause for War by Michael Atamanov
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe Army of Earth is being sent on its first tour of duty. Its fifty thousand proud and valiant troopers are the best of the best, full of hope for brilliant victories and spoils of war that can help Earth's humanity along in its development.There's just one little problem though...Categorized as:
cyberpunk first-contact litrpg action-adventure adult aliens alternate-history audiobook -
Embracing Oblivion by Toby Neighbors
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHumanity has a new enemy The threat is no longer in doubt Three questions remain: When will they come? How will they attack us? Can we survive? The Kroll are real, but very little is known about humanity’s strange new enemy...Categorized as:
first-contact space-opera action-adventure adult book fiction galactic-empire military
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