Books like 'The Fifth Quadrant'
Readers who enjoyed The Fifth Quadrant by C.J. Ryan also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
sc-fi space action / adventure mystery military, war & conflict space-opera pulp steamy military cyberpunk
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Fields of Fire by J.N. Chaney, Terry Maggert
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsVan's next mission has begun, and at the heart of it is the power to save lives.Meanwhile, a hungry galaxy looks to a brilliant young scientist for answers, making her the most wanted person in known space.After years of research, Adayluh Creel perfects a resource to feed sixteen races--or more, all with one golden plant capable of growing on the most hostile worlds... -
![Rebellion by Joshua Dalzelle]()
Rebellion by Joshua Dalzelle
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsThe quadrant is on the brink of all-out civil war, but almost nobody knows it. Now that he knows a malevolent AI that calls itself the Machine has seized much of the ConFed's military apparatus and even controls the Grand Adjudicators themselves, Jason Burke must decide if he risks picking a fight with such an overmatched enemy, or if he runs to hide and fight another day... -
![The Pandora Paradox by Joshua Dalzelle]()
The Pandora Paradox by Joshua Dalzelle
Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsIt started with a revolution nobody had even realized occurred…Its cruelty sparked a rebellion that everyone refused to admit existed…Now, the Machine—a terrifying and relentless enemy—reigns supreme in the galaxy, and the real fight is just beginning... -
![A Night Without Stars by Peter F. Hamilton]()
A Night Without Stars by Peter F. Hamilton
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsThe planet Bienvenido is in crisis. It has finally escaped the Void, emerging into regular space. But it's millions of light-years from Commonwealth assistance, and humans are battling the Fallers for control of their world... -
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![Boneshaker by Joshua Dalzelle]()
Boneshaker by Joshua Dalzelle
Rated: 4.53 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsMarine First Lieutenant Jacob Brown is bored.For months he's been sitting around on an alien planet, waiting for command to recall his scout team so they could rest and be re-outfitted. The team went through hell during their previous mission, losing both their commanding officer and their ship... -
![Judas Unchained by Peter F. Hamilton]()
Judas Unchained by Peter F. Hamilton
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsRobust, peaceful, and confident, the Commonwealth dispatched a ship to investigate the mystery of a disappearing star, only to inadvertently unleash a predatory alien species that turned on its liberators, striking hard, fast, and utterly without mercy. The Prime are the Commonwealth's worst nightmare... -
![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... -
![To Stand Defiant by Glynn Stewart]()
To Stand Defiant by Glynn Stewart
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsTrapped between warlordsThe choice is simple:Capitulation…or defiance!From the Solar System itself, Imperator James Calvin Walkingstick prepares the remaining fleets of the Commonwealth for a desperate and brutal campaign to retake their borders and unify humanity one more... -
![Vorkosigan's Game: The Vor Game \ Borders of Infinity by Lois McMaster Bujold]()
Vorkosigan's Game: The Vor Game \ Borders of Infinity by Lois McMaster Bujold
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsOmnibus of The Vor Game and the novella "Borders of Infinity"... -
![The Red Admiral by C.R. Daems]()
The Red Admiral by C.R. Daems
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAnna's success as the Eastar NIA station chief has catapulted her into the position of Director of NIA Stations. Anna is uncomfortable with the promotion and bored. She has a master chief secretary, a lieutenant aide-de-camp, and fifteen commanders and their staff to do the work. But she suspects not all of her commanders are happy with their new, very young admiral or are doing their jobs... -
![Hijackers by C.R. Daems]()
Hijackers by C.R. Daems
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAnna's nice comfortable world is in turmoil. Because of their success in destroying the foreign Raiders, Anna, Kris, and Adrian were promoted to full commander, and the project team was disbanded. Kris and Adrian were given NIA offices to manage on Stone Ring and Westar, and Anna is being pressured to move to Eastar to manage the NIA station... -
![Deep Black by Miles Cameron]()
Deep Black by Miles Cameron
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsMarca Nbaro had always dreamed of serving aboard the Greatships, with their vast cargo holds and a crew that could fill a city.They are the lifeblood of human-occupied space, transporting an unimaginable volume - and value - of goods from City, the greatest human orbital, all the way to Tradepoint at the other, to trade for xenoglas with an unknowable alien species... -
![The War Ship: Rise of the Jain, Book Two by Neal Asher]()
The War Ship: Rise of the Jain, Book Two by Neal Asher
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsTheir nemesis lies in wait . . . Orlandine has destroyed the alien Jain super-soldier by deploying an actual black hole. And now that same weapon hoovers up clouds of lethal Jain technology, swarming within the deadly accretion disc’s event horizon. All seems just as she planned. Yet behind her back, forces incite rebellion on her home world, planning her assassination... -
![The Enemy Within by Joshua Dalzelle]()
The Enemy Within by Joshua Dalzelle
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsThe quadrant is burning. Violent, deadly uprisings are breaking out, seemingly at random, all across the Confederation’s sphere of influence. The response by the powerful Confederation Fleet has been swift and decisive, but for every planet they restore order to, another erupts into chaos... -
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![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... -
![Auberon by James S.A. Corey]()
Auberon by James S.A. Corey
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsA novella set in the universe of James S. A. Corey’s NYT-bestselling Expanse series, Auberon explores a new and alien world and the age-old dangers that humanity has carried with it to the stars. Now a Prime Original series.Auberon is one of the first and most important colony worlds in humanity’s reach, and the new conquering faction has come to claim it... -
![Inversion Point by Jenn Burke, Kelly Jensen]()
Inversion Point by Jenn Burke, Kelly Jensen
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsZander and Felix's relationship has been to the brink and back: the Human-Stin War, imprisonment and an actual death/resurrection. Zander's death, to be specific, and the experience has left him…changed. The mysterious race known as the Guardians chose to revive him and appointed him as their emissary... -
![The Silent Fleet by J.N. Chaney, Terry Maggert]()
The Silent Fleet by J.N. Chaney, Terry Maggert
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsRecruit. Fight. Build. As Dash and his team begin expanding the Forge, they must focus on Dark Metal as the one thing that can give them an advantage in the coming war.Using drones and a map from an ancient library, Dash and Leira must seek out the source of a transmission coming from far away... -
![The Abyss Beyond Dreams by Peter F. Hamilton]()
The Abyss Beyond Dreams by Peter F. Hamilton
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsThe year is 3326. Nigel Sheldon, one of the founders of the Commonwealth, receives a visit from the Raiel—self-appointed guardians of the Void, the enigmatic construct at the core of the galaxy that threatens the existence of all that lives. The Raiel convince Nigel to participate in a desperate scheme to infiltrate the Void... -
![Cyborg Legacy by Lindsay Buroker]()
Cyborg Legacy by Lindsay Buroker
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 22 ratingsFormer Cyborg Corps soldier Jasim Antar was relieved to come out of the war alive and looked forward to switching to a less violent line of work. But nobody wants to hire a brawny cyborg to do anything that doesn’t involve brutalizing people on a daily basis... -
![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... -
![Raiders by C.R. Daems]()
Raiders by C.R. Daems
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAnna and her Naval Intelligence Agency, NIA, teammates have a new high-priority assignment: foreign raiders who are wreaking havoc within the United Alliance of Stars. They hit high value targets, have access to inside information, kill the security guards, and leave no witnesses. The NIA team soon discovers the raiders' system has been well thought out and has no weak links to exploit... -
![Ravenor by Dan Abnett]()
Ravenor by Dan Abnett
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsDan Abnett's action-packed novel leaps into the fray as genius psyker Gideon Ravenor and his trusted war-band of desperados hunt down the secretive enemies of mankind... -
![The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle]()
The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsIn 3016, the 2nd Empire of Man spans hundreds of star systems, thanks to faster-than-light Alderson Drive. Intelligent beings are finally found from the Mote, an isolated star in a thick dust cloud. The bottled-up ancient civilization, at least one million years old, are welcoming, kind, yet evasive, with a dark problem they have not solved in over a million years...Categorized as:
classics first-contact military space-opera 20th-century action-adventure adult aliens -
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![Méridien by S.H. Jucha]()
Méridien by S.H. Jucha
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe Méridiens are fleeing to their far colonies—and they have reason to run. Over the course of decades, they have lost hundreds of ships, billions of people, and seven Confederation colonies to an alien enemy: an advancing swarm of silver ships transported in the bowels of a gigantic, spherical vessel... -
![Discovery by Ken Lozito]()
Discovery by Ken Lozito
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsExploring New Earth should be a thrilling undertaking. Instead, the more the colonists learn about the planet, the more alarmed they become. Alien ruins hint at a species who fought great wars among themselves and disappeared centuries ago.When Connor Gates discovers a hidden bunker, he finds something he never expected... -
![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... -
![Unidentified: A Science-Fiction Thriller by Douglas E. Richards, Dan Bittner]()
Unidentified: A Science-Fiction Thriller by Douglas E. Richards, Dan Bittner
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsUFOs are real. When Jason Ridley discovers their shocking agenda, his actions will either transform humanity...or destroy it entirely. Unidentified details the actual evidence that UFOs are here, while offering a mind-blowing fictional take on the reasons why. A riveting pause-resister packed with nonstop action, epic ideas, and astonishing twists... -
![War Factory by Neal Asher]()
War Factory by Neal Asher
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThorvald Spear, resurrected from his death over a hundred years earlier, continues to hunt Penny Royal, the rogue AI and dangerous war criminal on the run from Polity forces. Beyond the Graveyard, a lawless and deadly area in deep space, Spear follows the trail of several enemy Prador, the crab-like alien species with a violent history of conflict with humanity... -
![Brass Man by Neal Asher]()
Brass Man by Neal Asher
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIan Cormac, a legendary Earth Central Security agent, the James Bond of a wealthy future, is hunting an interstellar dragon, little knowing that, far away, his competition has resurrected an horrific killing machine named "Mr. Crane" to assist in a similar hunt, ecompassing whole star systems. Mr... -
![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... -
![Hereticus by Dan Abnett]()
Hereticus by Dan Abnett
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsIn this concluding novel of Dan Abnett's sensational trilogy, a dark figure from the past returns to exact a cruel vengeance upon Inquisitor Gregor Eisenhorn... -
![Zero Day Threat by R.M. Olson]()
Zero Day Threat by R.M. Olson
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFour ex-convicts. One charismatic mastermind. And the most dangerous heist the System has ever seen.Jez is a damn good pilot, and she’s always worked alone. Until she got picked up for smuggling, that is.Now she’s lost her ship, lost her job, lost her reputation, and is on the run from the law... -
![Orion Uncharted by J.N. Chaney, Jonathan Yanez]()
Orion Uncharted by J.N. Chaney, Jonathan Yanez
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe Orion has fallen.After barely escaping with their lives, the crew of the Orion has scattered across an unknown world. With a diminishing hope of returning home, they have no choice but to band together.But between the local wildlife, lack of supplies, a missing crew, and a strange, ominous door that can't be opened, Dean and his new friends will need everything at their disposal to survive... -
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![The Bronze Skies by Catherine Asaro]()
The Bronze Skies by Catherine Asaro
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsMajor Bhaajan achieved the impossible. Born Undercity, the slums below the City of Cries on the planet Raylicon, she broke free to become a military officer with Imperial Space Command. Now retired from military duty, she works as a private investigator on retainer to the Majda Family.Hired by The Ruby Pharaoh herself, Major Bhaajan is tasked with finding a killer... -
![Mere Mortals by David Mack]()
Mere Mortals by David Mack
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsOn Earth, Federation President Nanietta Bacco gathers allies and adversaries to form a desperate last line of defense against an impending Borg invasion. In deep space, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Captain Ezri Dax join together to cut off the Collective's route to the Alpha Quadrant...Categorized as:
first-contact military space-opera 21st-century action-adventure adult aliens audiobook -
![Hail the Hero by Timothy Ellis]()
Hail the Hero by Timothy Ellis
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThis is an alternate cover edition for ASIN: B015AYA7CGAs the war comes to an end, Jonathon Hunter sees the good and bad sides to being considered the hero, but which is which? All he wants to do is go home, but home isn’t any closer than it was a month ago, and this time, he's going the long way around... -
![Enigma Tales by Una McCormack]()
Enigma Tales by Una McCormack
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFrom the New York Times bestselling author of The Fall: The Crimson Shadow comes a compelling and suspenseful tale of politics and power set in the universe of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.Elim Garak has ascended to Castellan of the Cardassian Union..Categorized as:
first-contact military space-opera 21st-century action-adventure adult aliens audiobook -
![Red Angel by C.R. Daems]()
Red Angel by C.R. Daems
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAnna nearly dies, along with all her family, at age four from the deadly Cacao virus. But she survives, thanks to a poisonous red-headed krait. The medical community is excited since there is no known cure for the virus, but Anna and her snake, Red, have a symbiotic relationship—containment, not cure. If she is ever separated from Red, she will die.Anna struggles through foster homes... -
![Victory's Price by Alexander Freed]()
Victory's Price by Alexander Freed
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIn the wake of Yrica Quell’s shocking decision—and one of the fiercest battles of their lives—the remnants of Alphabet Squadron seek answers and closure across a galaxy whose old war scars are threatening to reopen.Soran Keize has returned to the tip of Shadow Wing’s spear... -
![The Soldier by Neal Asher]()
The Soldier by Neal Asher
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn a far corner of space, on the very borders between humanity’s Polity worlds and the kingdom of the vicious crab-like prador, is an immediate threat to all sentient life: an accretion disc, a solar system designed by the long-dead Jain race and swarming with living technology powerful enough to destroy entire civilizations... -
![This Alien Shore by C.S. Friedman]()
This Alien Shore by C.S. Friedman
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsSheltered all her life in a corporate satellite in Earth's outer orbit, Jamisia must face the truth about her origins and her role in the power struggle between the Guerans who dominate intergalactic transportation and the rest of Earth's far-flung and genetically mutated colonies who are trying to break the Guera Guild's monopoly...Categorized as:
classics cyberpunk first-contact military space-opera action-adventure aliens audiobook -
![Alien by Alan Dean Foster]()
Alien by Alan Dean Foster
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsBased on the screenplay by Dan O'Bannon. The crew of the spaceship Nostromo wake from cryogenic sleep to distress signals from an unknown planet. One is attacked when they investigate a derelict alien craft. Safely on their way back to Sol, none foresee the real horror about to begin... -
![Into the Black by Evan Currie]()
Into the Black by Evan Currie
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsThis edition of Odyssey One has been completely edited and remastered to correct the typos and content issues that reviewers commented on in the original edition. Beyond the confines of our small world, far from the glow of our star, lies a galaxy and universe much larger and more varied than anyone on Earth can possibly imagine... -
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![A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge]()
A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsAlternate Cover Edition can be found here. A Fire upon the Deep is the big, breakout book that fulfills the promise of Vinge's career to date: a gripping tale of galactic war told on a cosmic scale... -
![The Honor of the Queen by David Weber]()
The Honor of the Queen by David Weber
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsIt's hard to give peace a chance when the other side regards war as a prelude to conquest. That's why Manticore needs allies against Haven, and planet Grayson is placed to make a good ally. But the Foreign Office overlooked a cultural difference when they sent Honor Harrington to carry the flag... -
![Genesis by Ken Lozito]()
Genesis by Ken Lozito
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsA mission gone wrong. Innocent lives have been lost. Escaping wrongful imprisonment wasn’t something Connor had in mind, but being put into stasis aboard Earth’s first interstellar colony ship was something he couldn’t have prepared for. For three hundred thousand colonists, the new colony brings the promise of a fresh start…a second chance... -
![Renegade Atlas by J.N. Chaney]()
Renegade Atlas by J.N. Chaney
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe search for Earth has begun.After barely escaping the Union's grasp, The Renegade Star is off to parts unknown. Every member of its crew is a wanted fugitive. None of them can ever return home.But all is not lost.Thanks to Lex, a strange girl with a remarkable gift, the path to Earth has been revealed...Categorized as:
cyberpunk first-contact military space-opera action-adventure adult anti-hero audiobook -
![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...
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