Books like 'The Final Dawn:'
Readers who enjoyed The Final Dawn: by T.W.M. Ashford also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
sc-fi hard sci-fi action / adventure space male-mc space-opera exploration colonization first-contact humor
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A Rock and a Hard Place by Ryk Brown, Jeffrey Kafer
Rated: 4.58 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsTwo worlds preparing their defenses . . . A ship struggling to get back in the fight . . . An enemy continuing its relentless attack . . . A former enemy that could hold the answer . . . With the fate of billions in his hands, Captain Scott is offered a way to save them all and end the bloodshed, but if it backfires, he could lose everything. Sometimes, there is no good choice... -
Into the Serpent's Lair by Ryk Brown
Rated: 4.76 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsEmpires at the brink of war…A galactic alliance on the horizon…Worlds on the verge of destruction…Comrades taking up arms against one another…Nathan Scott must use all his cunning to save not only his own world, but the worlds of his friends and his enemies. But to do so, he must make a deal with the devil, and risk everything on a fight no one believes he can win... -
A Grimm Sacrifice by Jeffery H. Haskell
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIn order to survive, Interceptor must change the rules.The Consortium is in real trouble. Caliphate Naval forces have stepped up their raids on the border planets and are taking people by the thousands. They can defend the wormhole, or they can defend their planets, not both...Categorized as:
space-opera colonization space-travel galactic-empire first-contact exploration sci-fi military -
We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 67 ratingsAlternate Cover Edition can be found here. Bob Johansson has just sold his software company and is looking forward to a life of leisure. There are places to go, books to read, and movies to watch. So it's a little unfair when he gets himself killed crossing the street...Categorized as:
colonization cyberpunk exploration first-contact humor space-opera space-travel 21st-century -
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Who Takes No Risk by Ryk Brown
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsPart 2: Episode 7 Old allies go dark… New worlds join the fight… A rescue from an enemy held world… A lone operative with a dangerous plan… The Karuzari finally have the support of an industrialized system, but they need time to build their forces. Unfortunately, time is the one thing they may not have...Categorized as:
exploration galactic-empire space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult audiobook book -
The Saints of Salvation by Peter F. Hamilton
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsHumanity is struggling to hold out against a hostile takeover by an alien race that claims to be on a religious mission to bring all sentient life to its God at the End of Time. But while things may look grim in the immediate aftermath of the attack, mankind is busy playing an even longer game than the aliens may have expected...Categorized as:
colonization exploration first-contact space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult aliens -
Starman's Saga: The Long, Strange Journey of Leif The Lucky by Colin Alexander
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn the year 2069, humanity’s last chance for peace is the first ever interstellar mission. A multi-national crew of the most talented scientists and pilots has been chosen based on their expertise and skill. The final spot aboard the craft is assigned as a prize in a global “BerthRight” lottery, and Leif Grettison is the “everyman volunteer” who won. However, Leif isn’t really an “everyman... -
Messinants by S.H. Jucha
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsPyre is a volatile planet. Its surface belches heat and noxious gases, forcing downsiders to inhabit domes. But Pyre’s instability isn’t limited to its geology. The colonists, who were marooned in the system hundreds of years ago, have endured a tumultuous history.Exploring Triton, Pyre’s third moon, spacers inadvertently activate an alien dome...Categorized as:
colonization exploration first-contact space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult aliens -
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:
exploration space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult aliens book coming-of-age -
Edge World by B.V. Larson
Rated: 4.48 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsA lonely planet circles a star on the very border of Province 921. Critical resources produced there are claimed by both the Mogwa and the Skay. War between the Galactic giants becomes more likely every day.James McGill and Legion Varus are deployed to protect Edge World, a planet that rotates at a walking pace. Each day is as long as a year back on Earth... -
Return of the Corinari by Ryk Brown
Rated: 4.61 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsPart 2: Episode 13 A host of new allies… A plethora of advanced technologies… A daring gamble to advance their forces… A chance to retake lost worlds once and for all… The Dusahn have been backed into a corner, barely able to hold the worlds of the Pentaurus cluster, let alone the entire sector. Forced to dig in, they may have to resort to drastic measures to save their fledgling empire... -
Rescue by Ryk Brown
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsA leader left behind... An Alliance falling apart... Friends stranded on an enemy-held world... A chance to rediscover long forgotten truths... The new threat will require an immediate response. But first, Jessica and the Ghatazhak must execute a daring rescue in order to secure their future. But to do so, they need the one man they have been trying to protect. The question is..Categorized as:
exploration galactic-empire space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult audiobook book -
Liberation by Ryk Brown
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsEpisode 10 Heartfelt reunions with friends… Desperate plans to gain advantage… Opportunities that cannot be ignored… Discovery of family once thought lost… The time has come for Captain Scott to fight for that which was taken… the very freedom of the world he was sworn to protect. “Liberation” is a 108,000 word novel, and is the 10th episode in The Frontiers Saga... -
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...Categorized as:
exploration first-contact space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult aliens book -
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Omnia by S.H. Jucha
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAlex Racine, who led an elite group of humans and SADEs (self-ware digital entities), left the newly discovered planet of Celus-5 under difficult circumstances. Few of the Harakens with Alex thought there was little he could do to bring peace to the embroiled planet...Categorized as:
exploration first-contact space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult aliens audiobook -
Celus-5 by S.H. Jucha
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFor the Sojourn’s initial mission, the Haraken explorer ship undertakes the investigation of Celus-5, a world identified by Willem, a SADE (self-aware digital entity), and his team of scientists, as the best prospect for a new colony.What should be a routine survey mission becomes a disaster. To the Harakens’ surprise, they discover, not one, but two alien species engaged in conflict...Categorized as:
exploration first-contact space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult aliens audiobook -
Green World by B.V. Larson
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsRebels build a secret base on Green World. Their plan is to attack Earth and retake all the planets the Humans have conquered.Hegemony starships gather to strike the Rebels first, but where is their base? As the fleets search, Earth warships trespass into Skay space igniting a fresh border conflict between rival Galactics... -
Escalation by Ryk Brown
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA cease-fire that has lasted seven years… Worlds half-destroyed that have been rebuilt anew… Friends and crewmates scattered light-years apart… New leaders that would be kings… The Jung threat has been renewed, in ways not imagined. It will take a new savior to inspire the masses, and once again lead those willing to fight against oppression... -
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...Categorized as:
colonization exploration first-contact space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult aliens -
Blood World by B.V. Larson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA dirty deal was struck. Humanity was allowed to keep three hundred rebellious worlds. In return, we declared war on a powerful enemy from beyond the frontier. A frantic build-up of forces has begun, but the task is hopeless. Seeking allies, Earth’s legions are sent to BLOOD WORLD. A planet on the fringe of known space, where the people only respect masters of combat... -
Plains of Utopia: Colony Six Mars (Colony Mars Series Book 6) by Gerald M. Kilby
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsXenon Hybrid, the Red Planet’s ceremonial head-of-state, has not been seen for many years after withdrawing to an isolated enclave in the far north where he steadily built up a following of citizens seeking out an alternative lifestyle. They bother no one, and no one bothers them...Categorized as:
colonization exploration space-travel action-adventure adult book fiction hard-sci-fi -
Explorer by C.J. Cherryh
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsIt has been nearly ten years since the starship Phoenix returned to Alpha, the station orbiting the world of the atevi, which had been abandoned following a rift between a faction of the station's inhabitants and the spacers' Pilot's Guild...Categorized as:
colonization exploration first-contact space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult aliens -
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.. -
TFS Fugitive by Tori L. Harris
Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsHaving successfully repelled the Resistance incursion into the Sol system, Terran Fleet Command must now deal with the far-flung worlds of the Sajeth Collective, which sponsored the attack. Task forces are dispatched to Damara and Lesheera to begin the first Human blockades of entire planets... -
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Rogue World by B.V. Larson
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsThe Galactics arrived with their Battle Fleet in 2052. Rather than being exterminated under a barrage of hell-burners, Earth joined a vast Empire that spanned the Milky Way. Today, Battle Fleet 921 is returning to Earth. It hasn’t been seen by human eyes since our blissful day of Annexation... -
New Canaan by M.D. Cooper
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsTanis Richards has spent half her life on the Intrepid, guiding the great colony ship, and its two million passengers, across hundreds of light-years. She has risked life, limb and those dearest to her to get this far. Now she’s within reach of her goal; the New Canaan System, and a normal, stable life. The kind she's only dreamed about...Categorized as:
colonization cyberpunk exploration galactic-empire space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult -
TFS Navajo by Tori L. Harris
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsOnly a few short months after Humanity’s first interstellar flights, the first shots have been fired in what will eventually become known as the Alliance Wars. Terran Fleet Command teeters on the edge of chaos in the aftermath of Chairwoman Crull’s removal from power, while in space, Earth’s defense falls squarely on the shoulders of Admiral Kevin Patterson... -
Battleship Indomitable by David VanDyke, B.V. Larson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFrom Hugo Award finalist David VanDyke and million-selling science-fiction legend B.V. Larson comes book two in the epic military space opera adventure saga!Commodore Straker's rebellion grows in strength--but his enemies are growing even faster... -
Earth Fleet by B.V. Larson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAt long last Earth has a handful of starships. Surrounded by Rebel Kher, Imperials and the mysterious Nomads, Humanity dares to assert our right to independence. The interstellar community reacts harshly. In the eyes of our neighbors, we’re upstarts, dangerous beings that don’t know our place. For the Kher, freedom can only be won through battle... -
Destiny Lost by M.D. Cooper
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsSera leads a simple life. A little smuggling, some drinking contests, and captaining her star freighter, Sabrina. But when she picks up a mysterious shipping container on Coburn Station, things begin to go wrong. She finds herself at odds with The Mark, a dangerous pirate organization that wants the cargo on her ship...Categorized as:
colonization cyberpunk galactic-empire space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult alpha-mc -
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...Categorized as:
colonization first-contact space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult aliens book -
The Quantum War by Derek Künsken
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe eagerly awaited third volume in the number one bestselling Quantum Evolution series. An all-new, ground-breaking, action-packed new science fiction adventure set in the universe of The Quantum Magician and The Quantum Garden...Categorized as:
space-opera exploration colonization first-contact sci-fi audiobook hard-sci-fi fiction -
TFS Theseus by Tori L. Harris
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratings“Welcome to the Pelaran Alliance …” With those simple words, the Guardian spacecraft openly revealed itself to Humanity, heralding a new chapter in its 500-year-long mission to cultivate our world... -
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...Categorized as:
exploration first-contact space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult aliens book -
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Home World by B.V. Larson
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThe Galactics arrived with their Battle Fleet in 2052. Rather than being exterminated under a barrage of hell-burners, Earth joined a vast Empire that spanned the Milky Way. When the Earth is invaded by a rival empire, James McGill’s legion must defend the Home World. The top brass has complex plans, but none of that matters much to McGill, who chooses his own unique path... -
Inhibitor Phase by Alastair Reynolds
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsMiguel de Ruyter is a man with a past.Fleeing the 'wolves' - the xenocidal alien machines known as Inhibitors - he has protected his family and community from attack for forty years, sheltering in the caves of an airless, battered world called Michaelmas. The slightest hint of human activity could draw the wolves to their home, to destroy everything ... utterly...Categorized as:
cyberpunk exploration space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult aliens audiobook -
Orion Fleet by B.V. Larson
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWhat enemy could be more terrifying than a soulless, alien machine? A year ago the Kher Empire was forced to retreat, but they were not beaten. In ORION FLEET they return with a new weapon. A huge ship driven by AI begins methodically grinding inhabited worlds to dust. This unstoppable enemy is without fear or remorse, and the Rebels begin a desperate battle just to slow its advance... -
1st to Fight by Rick Partlow
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsI retired from the USMC, and now I write about space marines. I never thought I’d actually become one. As a sci-fi author with a hit TV show, I have a few ideas about what alien invaders are supposed to look like. In my stories, they’re technologically advanced monsters, with tentacles, and no faces. Turns out I was right about the technology. And about how angry they’d be...Categorized as:
exploration first-contact galactic-empire humor space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult -
Demon Star by B.V. Larson, David VanDyke
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsThree stars, three worlds, three civilizations…one massive war. In a triple star system, not all planets are equal. When the DEMON STAR swings closest in her orbit, the Insectoids always invade. They raid the inner worlds with grim regularity, riding hordes of stealthed ships in ever growing waves. Their mission is to destroy all opposition—alien, human or otherwise... -
Unreconciled by W. Michael Gear
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsNow in paperback, the fourth book in the thrilling Donovan sci-fi series returns to a treacherous alien planet where corporate threats and dangerous creatures imperil the lives of the colonists.Where does one put a messianic cult of practicing cannibals? That becomes the question when Ashanti appears in Donovan's skies. She was designed for no more than four years in space. It's taken ten...Categorized as:
colonization exploration first-contact space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult audiobook -
Tanis Richards: Operative by M.D. Cooper
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSomeone just killed Tanis Richards and replaced her with an Infiltrator Chameleon.While finally getting some much-needed shore leave on Mars, Tanis gets a message from Harm Ellis with instructions to go to Ceres and hunt for a missing operative . . . except she never makes it.At least, that’s what she’d like her would-be killers to think... -
The Seasoning by Dennis Ingram
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSurprise. Adversity. Hope. Sixteen years have passed since the eight crew of the Starship Hope arrived in the Tau Ceti system and established a colony on the fifth planet from the star, a planet they named Serendipity. Their colony has thrived. Together with their children they have turned their habitat into a paradise and begun to terraform the planet...Categorized as:
colonization exploration space-travel action-adventure adult book fiction hard-sci-fi -
Surface Tension by Gerald M. Kilby
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA devastating dust storm. A colony on the edge of extinction. Only one person can save them. But first they need to start a revolution. In the midst of the most devastating dust storm in the history of Mars, the survival of the half million people who call it home is hanging in the balance...Categorized as:
colonization exploration space-travel action-adventure adult book fiction hard-sci-fi -
The Commander by C.J. Williams
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsLucas Blackburn had a peaceful job as an Airport Director in an out of the way community in central Nevada. He wanted to live quietly and let old scars heal. But then a spaceship landed. The lone occupant, a guy named Sam, gave Luke the keys and said it was up to him to stop a massive alien invasion that was on the way. Luke wanted to believe it was a hoax. The problem was, Sam had the proof... -
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Another World by Samuel Best
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsLeaving Earth is the easy part. Surviving the trip to a nearby spiral arm of our own galaxy is a journey like no other.Merritt Alder is done with Earth. The planet is polluted and overpopulated, and its people are hungry.Earth’s first colony, Galena, is a pioneer world 10,000 light years away. It has clean air, unpolluted water, and continents of arable land...Categorized as:
colonization exploration space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult alternate-history book -
Building Victoria by M.D. Cooper
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe Intrepid is drifting slowly between the stars. After near calamity at LHS 1565, the ship is headed for Kapteyn's Star to make repairs. There, the crew will need to spend decades building a temporary industrial base. Across the void, the Noctus prepare to leave Sirius for the same destination. Their plan is to colonize the system and forge a new lives for themselves ..Categorized as:
colonization cyberpunk exploration galactic-empire space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult -
Jezero City by Gerald M. Kilby
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAn alternative cover edition for this ASIN can be found here.When a colonist dies in tragic circumstances, just a few sols before a major terraforming experiment, Dr. Jann Malbec begins to suspect that all is not what it seems. Her fears begin to grow when every attempt she makes to investigate the death is thwarted by the ruling council on Mars...Categorized as:
colonization exploration space-travel action-adventure adult book fiction genetic-engineering -
Entropy by Gerald M. Kilby
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe science vessel, Hermes, has been urgently recalled from its mission to survey the moons of Saturn, just as First Officer Miranda Lee receives bad news from home—her mother is dying so she must leave the ship and return to Earth—for good...Categorized as:
colonization exploration space-opera space-travel action-adventure adult ai audiobook -
Rare Earth by Kurt Allan, Derek Shoales
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsA lost mining crew, 400 million miles from Earth. A retired miner journeys to find out why. “There’s something out there…” Waldo Packwood has had a rough time of things lately. He’s lost his job, his friends, and finally his family. At 50 years old, he’s living alone in a small apartment wondering what’s happened to his life... -
Alpha Fleet by B.V. Larson
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsThe Imperials have devised a cunning new method of destroying Rebel worlds. Captain Leo Blake is largely responsible for both our survival and our current predicament. He and his crew are infamous among the stars. As a result, when ships of an unknown configuration begin flowing out of swirling rifts above Earth, Blake is called upon again to deal with the problem...
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