Books like 'Countdown'
Readers who enjoyed Countdown by Ben Mikaelsen also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary sc-fi space action / adventure coming-of-age poc-mc friendship realistic children explorer
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Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Rated: 4.53 of 5 stars · 80 ratingsA lone astronaut.An impossible mission.An ally he never imagined.Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and Earth itself will perish.Except that right now, he doesn't know that. He can't even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.All he knows is that he's been asleep for a very, very long time... -
The Martian by Andy Weir
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 95 ratingsSix days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he’s sure he’ll be the first person to die there... -
Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 70 ratingsWelcome to Battleschool.Growing up is never easy. But try living on the mean streets as a child begging for food and fighting like a dog with ruthless gangs of starving kids who wouldn't hesitate to pound your skull into pulp for a scrap of apple. If Bean has learned anything on the streets, it's how to survive. And not with fists. He is way too small for that. But with brains...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age 20th-century action-adventure aliens audiobook bildungsroman boarding-school -
Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 65 ratingsIt has a dark past – one in which a number of humans were killed. A past that caused it to christen itself “Murderbot”. But it has only vague memories of the massacre that spawned that title, and it wants to know more.Teaming up with a Research Transport vessel named ART (you don’t want to know what the “A” stands for), Murderbot heads to the mining facility where it went rogue... -
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The Segonian by Dianne Duvall
Rated: 4.49 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsNew York Times bestselling author Dianne Duvall brings readers the second stand-alone novel in a thrilling new sci-fi romance series full of action, humor, and happily-ever-afters.Eliana's life has never been what one might term ordinary. At least, it hasn't been for a very long time... -
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... -
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 66 ratingsAndrew "Ender" Wiggin thinks he is playing computer simulated war games; he is, in fact, engaged in something far more desperate. The result of genetic experimentation, Ender may be the military genius Earth desperately needs in a war against an alien enemy seeking to destroy all human life...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age 20th-century action-adventure aliens audiobook bildungsroman book -
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 -
A Rover's Story by Jasmine Warga
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsNew York Times bestseller * Best Book of the Year from The Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, New York Public Library, Chicago Public Library The One and Only Ivan meets The Wild Robot in this unique and deeply moving middle grade novel about the journey of a fictional Mars rover, from the Newbery Honor–winning author of Other Words for Home... -
Smarter by Laurence E. Dahners
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsSmarter is a near future SciFi/Thriller whose young heroine Ell Donsaii we learned in "Quicker" has a nerve mutation that makes her an athletic phenomenon, so fast that no one can keep up with her... -
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 66 ratingsSeconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of the The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out of work actor... -
The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 62 ratingsWe were in the square, in the square where I'd run, holding her, carrying her, telling her to stay alive, stay alive till we got safe, till we got to Haven so I could save her - But there weren't no safety, no safety at all, there was just him and his men...Fleeing before a relentless army, Todd has carried a desperately wounded Viola right into the hands of their worst enemy, Mayor Prentiss...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age friendship action-adventure aliens apocalyptic audiobook book -
Imago by Octavia E. Butler
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe stunning conclusion to a postapocalyptic trilogy about an alien species merging with humans—from “one of science fiction’s finest writers” (TheNew York Times). Human and Oankali have been mating since the aliens first came to Earth to rescue the few survivors of an annihilating nuclear war...Categorized as:
coming-of-age poc-mc 20th-century action-adventure adult afrofuturism aliens apocalyptic -
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 74 ratingsFollow a motley crew on an exciting journey through space-and one adventurous young explorer who discovers the meaning of family in the far reaches of the universe-in this light-hearted debut space opera from a rising sci-fi star.Rosemary Harper doesn’t expect much when she joins the crew of the aging Wayfarer... -
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DNA by Laurence E. Dahners
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 20 ratings“DNA" is the thirteenth book in a series of near future SciFi/Thrillers. Their heroine Ell Donsaii has a nerve mutation that makes her a genius and provides her some astonishing athletic abilities.In “DNA,” Ell’s five-year-old son Zage has become interested in the effects of certain genes on obesity... -
The Search for Sam by Pittacus Lore
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsWhen a rogue Mogadorian meets up with a mysterious amnesiac in Santa Monica, he knows that there's more to this guy than meets the eye. In fact, he might just hold the key to everything.In I Am Number Four: The Lost Files #4, discover what has happened to one of the people with information crucial to the Garde coming together to fight to save Lorien—and Earth... -
Bioterror! by Laurence E. Dahners
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 16 ratings“Bioterror!" is the fourteenth book in a series of near future SciFi/Thrillers. Their heroine Ell Donsaii has a nerve mutation that makes her a genius and provides her some astonishing athletic abilities... -
Adulthood Rites by Octavia E. Butler
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIn this sequel to Dawn, Lilith Iyapo has given birth to what looks like a normal human boy named Akin. But Akin actually has five parents: a male and female human, a male and female Oankali, and a sexless Ooloi...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age poc-mc 20th-century action-adventure adult afrofuturism aliens -
The Dinosaur That Pooped a Planet! by Tom Fletcher, Dougie Poynter
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFrom Tom Fletcher and Dougie Poynter of McFly comes a supersonic space adventure filled with planets, poop, and pandemonium!One boy, one space rocket, one very hungry dinosaur: the ingredients for an explosive space adventure of epic poop-portions! But when Danny realizes he’s forgotten Dino’s lunch box, the very hungry dinosaur eats everything in sight, including their only way home: the... -
Impact! by Laurence E. Dahners
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 21 ratings“Impact" is the twelfth book in a series of near future SciFi/Thrillers whose heroine Ell Donsaii has a nerve mutation that makes her a genius and provides her some astonishing athletic abilities.In “Impact,” Ell’s been taken off the “Most Wanted” list and is resuming somewhat of a normal life. Her old friend Phil Zabrisk is on his way to Mars... -
Protector by Anna Hackett
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsFighting for love, honor, and freedom on the galaxy’s lawless outer rim… Cool and driven Madeline Cochran made a successful career for herself as civilian commander of a space station orbiting Jupiter…until the day it was attacked and she was abducted by alien slavers... -
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
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... -
E. T. - The Extra-Terrestrial by William Kotzwinkle
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsBased on the screenplay by Melissa Mathison.What do you do when you're lost, millions of miles from home, surrounded by frightening creatures?You do what the Old Botanist did when he was accidentally left behind on Earth. First you find a friend.. -
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Ascension Saga: 4 - Faith, Part 1 by Grace Goodwin
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFaith Jones is an Earth girl...and she's not. She's half Aleran. And not just any half - a royal half. Her mother is the queen, her sister is the heir, and her twin is determined to kill every alien on the planet if that's what it takes to find their kidnapped mother... -
Luna of Earth by Laura Jo Phillips
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThere are lots of great ways for a beautiful, wealthy, brilliant young woman to meet a suitable romantic partner. Through the Internet, Church, volunteer groups, or even singles bars. Or, you can do it the way Luna Meadows did--by rescuing an alien from his crashed intergalactic spaceship on the side of a remote mountain in the Rockies just ahead of a three day blizzard... -
Ascension Saga: 5 - Faith, Part 2 by Grace Goodwin
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThordin Jax always gets what he wants. He's rich. He's gorgeous. He's the heir to one of the most powerful families on the planet. But when his body comes alive at the sight of Faith Jones, it will take every ounce of seduction and skill he possesses to get into her bed. But there is a traitor under his roof. A very dangerous adversary. And his beautiful, mysterious new mate is hunting him.. -
Into the Light by Anna Carven
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsAbbey When your mate is a Kordolian General who's betrayed the most vicious Empire in the Universe, things tend to get a little heavy from time to time. For the last six months, Tarak's had to divide his time between Earth and space, dealing with various... problems. But he's home now, and he tells me he's not going anywhere... -
Alien Mate by Sadie Carter
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWith all the drama and trouble behind her, Zoey is looking forward to arriving on Zerconia and settling down into a normal life as Dex’s mate. Normal? What was she thinking? There is nothing normal about being mated to a sinfully sexy, often times arrogant and overprotective Zerconian warrior. But then normal is overrated, right? Trouble follows Zoey to Zerconia, threatening her very life... -
Viper's Defiant Mate by S.E. Smith
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsPrince Viper d’Rojah, a warrior from the Sarafin cat shifter species, is not happy when he is sent on a special mission by his older brother Vox, King of the Sarafin. The mission is to deliver important documents to the human authorities before kidnapping the sister and grandmother of Vox’s mate, Riley... -
Claimed by an Alien Warrior by Tiffany Roberts
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAn otherworldly warrior desperate to escape Earth. A curvy human female who’s his only hope—and his deepest desire.After losing her job, apartment, and boyfriend in one afternoon, Zoey doesn’t think things can get any worse. Then an uninvited passenger—green, four-armed, and sexy as sin—proves her wrong by dragging her into his frantic escape... -
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... -
Pursued by Evangeline Anderson
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsElise is fractured inside, stained by a past she refuses to remember.Merrick is scarred both inside and out, a half-breed with a brutal background, at home nowhere in the universe.Now they are tied together by an unstable bond which could kill them both.Their journey will take them to the lawless planet of Rageron—the wildest of all the Kindred worlds... -
Tracking Trisha by S.E. Smith
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsTrisha Grove enjoyed her job as a pilot for Boswell International but realizes something is still missing from her life – her family. She is ready to call it quits and head back home to Wyoming where her father lives. She never expected her last flight for Boswell would end with an unplanned trip out of this world... -
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Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers by Grant Naylor
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThe first lesson Lister learned about space travel was you should never try it. But Lister didn't have a choice. All he remembered was going on a birthday celebration pub crawl through London. When he came to his senses again, with nothing in his pockets but a passport in the name of Emily Berkenstein.So he did the only thing he could... -
Revealed by Evangeline Anderson
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsBook 5 in the Brides of the Kindred seriesThis book is a plus length novel--around 130,000 words longNadiah has the Sight—the ability to see into the future. But the one thing she can’t see is how she’s ever going to be free of the blood bond her parents forced her into when she was only six... -
Death or Glory by Sandy Mitchell
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsYet again, reluctant hero Commissar Cain is catapulted into glory in the fourth story of this tremendously popular series. Escaping from a disastrous space battle, the commissar and his malodorous sidekick Jurgen crash-land behind enemy lines. The only way out is to round up what few troops they can find, and fight their way back to the safety of the Imperial lines... -
Ambushing Ariel by S.E. Smith
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsAriel Hamm has always had a tender heart. Her love for her sister, Carmen, and her best friend, Trisha, has always been a priority in her life. But at twenty-eight, she is ready to start focusing on what she wants. After her fiancée unexpectedly ends their engagement, she is searching to redefine who she really is. A pilot for Boswell International, she knows flying is not her first love... -
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 71 ratingsA groundbreaking work of science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness tells the story of a lone human emissary to Winter, an alien world whose inhabitants can choose - and change - their gender. His goal is to facilitate Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization... -
Shadowed by Evangeline Anderson
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsReddix is a Kindred warrior with RTS—a debilitating disease that forces him to endure the emotions of others like a physical invasion every time he is around anyone. Nina is the girl he dreams of but can never have... -
Pegasus in Flight by Anne McCaffrey
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsAs director of the Jerhattan Parapsychic Center, telepath Rhyssa Owen coordinated the job assignments for psychically gifted Talents. And though she had her hands full dealing with the unreasonable demand for kinetics to work on the space platform that would be humankind's stepping-stone to the stars, she was always ready to welcome new Talents to the Center...Categorized as:
coming-of-age action-adventure audiobook book contemporary epic female-author female-mc -
Devoured by Evangeline Anderson
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsTess Hughes is on the run from her abusive ex-husband. The problem is, he’s a detective and there’s no place on Earth he can’t find her. Solution? Hide somewhere that’s not on Earth—the Kindred Mother Ship. That’s how she winds up posing as Pairing Puppet—one of the robotic mistresses that service the Unmated Males of the Kindred who need a little sexual stress release from time to time... -
Descended by Evangeline Anderson
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsCharlotte Walker is just an intern trying to get through her surgical rotation in one piece when her life takes an abrupt turn for the weird. A seven-foot tall patient with multicolored eyes and golden skin shows up in the ER asking for her. When he tells Charlotte she's supposed to be the Empress of the entire galaxy, she naturally thinks he's high or crazy or both.He's not... -
Ascension Saga: 3 - Trinity, Part 3 by Grace Goodwin
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAlthough Trinity grew up on Earth, she's Aleran. She's been chosen by the artificial intelligence that bestows special gifts upon those deemed worthy. She's been chosen to rule. To lead the planet and avoid the rising tides of war. Leo is hers. She feels the truth every time he touches her... -
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American Werewolf in Space by Alisha Sunderland
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsOn board this spaceship I’m only certain of two things:1. The movies lied to me.2. I’m about to mark an alien and take him like the beast I am. Look, I didn’t believe in aliens either — until I was abducted by them.Waking up on board a spacecraft among several other naked, terrified women prisoners mostly ruled out my government lab fears. Thank God... -
My Tiny Giant by Marina Simcoe
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDuring a mission on planet Tragul, I have the misfortune to get stranded with Lieutenant Agan Drankai, the most arrogant prick in the entire alien army of the country Ravie. I save his life during combat. But the big, tough Agan isn’t too pleased about having a “tiny” female as a mission partner... -
Hearts of Indesh by S.J. Sanders
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIf you want love, why not steal some hearts? Hearts of Indesh is a Mate Index Valentine's Day short story Nazzek Evatuuvar is Indivi, a dying species native to Indesh. After the planet's few remaining females had long since been stolen away by slavers two decades ago he never thought he would have a mate... -
Alien Lover by Sadie Carter
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsBeing newly mated to an arrogant, bossy alien can certainly be trying at times. Luckily for Zoey, Dex also happens to the sexiest thing on two legs she’s ever met. He’s loyal, protective and boy, the things that alien can do with his hands, his mouth, his tongue…well, you get the idea. They should have been on their way to Zerconia in blissful happiness, to celebrate their mating... -
To Catch A Warrior by C.L. Scholey
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsTitus, leader of the southern Zargonnii, has made it his mission to find a single female he was placed in charge of months earlier; a female he lost while trying to save her; a female he cannot find. His determination leads him to the extreme. The only place left to look is a planet within a sun. A planet full of ice and snow and emptiness, except for one little female, Zabbie... -
Enslaved by Evangeline Anderson
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsEnslaved is book number 14 in the Brides of the Kindred series. It is a plus-length novel of around 168,000 wordsAnything for you Mistress…Thrace S’ver is an unwilling slave. Drugged and bound, he is taken to the Flesh Bazaar and put up for sale to the highest bidder. But this is not the first time Thrace has been on the auction block—he has a past full of horrors he doesn’t intend to repeat...
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