Books like 'Life on Mars'
Readers who enjoyed Life on Mars by Tracy K. Smith also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary sc-fi space poc-mc outdoors black-mc
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The Dark Forest by Liu Cixin, Eisso Post
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 68 ratingsThis is the second novel in "Remembrance of Earth’s Past", the near-future trilogy written by the China's multiple-award-winning science fiction author, Cixin Liu. In The Dark Forest, Earth is reeling from the revelation of a coming alien invasion — four centuries in the future... -
![Death's End by Liu Cixin, Ken Liu]()
Death's End by Liu Cixin, Ken Liu
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 66 ratingsWith The Three-Body Problem, English-speaking readers got their first chance to experience the multiple-award-winning and bestselling Three-Body Trilogy by China's most beloved science fiction author, Cixin Liu. Three-Body was released to great acclaim including coverage in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal... -
![Exhalation by Ted Chiang]()
Exhalation by Ted Chiang
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsalternate cover for this ISBN can be found hereThe universe began as an enormous breath being held.From the acclaimed author of Stories of Your Life and Others — the basis for the Academy Award-nominated film Arrival — comes a ground-breaking new collection of short fiction: nine stunningly original, provocative, and poignant stories... -
![The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer]()
The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsTwo boys, alone in space.After the first settler on Titan trips her distress signal, neither remaining country on Earth can afford to scramble a rescue of its own, and so two sworn enemies are installed in the same spaceship.Ambrose wakes up on the Coordinated Endeavor, with no memory of a launch... -
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![The Segonian by Dianne Duvall]()
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... -
![Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang]()
Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 67 ratingsTed Chiang's first published story, "Tower of Babylon," won the Nebula Award in 1990. Subsequent stories have won the Asimov's SF Magazine reader poll, a second Nebula Award, the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, and the Sidewise Award for alternate history. He won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 1992. Story for story, he is the most honored young writer in modern SF...Categorized as:
poc-mc 20th-century 21st-century action-adventure adult aliens alternate-history anthologies -
![Imago by Octavia E. Butler]()
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:
poc-mc 20th-century action-adventure adult afrofuturism aliens apocalyptic audiobook -
![Adulthood Rites by Octavia E. Butler]()
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:
poc-mc 20th-century action-adventure adult afrofuturism aliens apocalyptic audiobook -
![Ascension Saga: 9 - Destiny, Part 3 by Grace Goodwin]()
Ascension Saga: 9 - Destiny, Part 3 by Grace Goodwin
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsDestiny is doing everything she can to find her mother and stop the evil traitors from taking over her planet. But explosions, murder plots and chaos are just the beginning. And now she has more on the line than ever before. Now, she's in love. And Nix isn't the sit-by-and-watch kind of guy. He's right there next to her, risking everything. For her... -
![Ascension Saga: 4 - Faith, Part 1 by Grace Goodwin]()
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]()
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]()
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.. -
![Ascension Saga: 6 - Faith, Part 3 by Grace Goodwin]()
Ascension Saga: 6 - Faith, Part 3 by Grace Goodwin
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe traitor within the Jax household has been found, and the repercussions are staggering, with Faith barely surviving and their mating destroyed. But Faith has always been unpredictable—just ask her sisters— and nothing will stop her from getting what she wants…and she wants Thor. Even if it kills her... -
![Ascension Saga: 7 - Destiny, Part 1 by Grace Goodwin]()
Ascension Saga: 7 - Destiny, Part 1 by Grace Goodwin
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsDestiny Jones is a princess with a bad attitude. She doesn’t play nice with others, she doesn’t dress up in pretty clothes, and she has absolutely zero interest in behaving like a lady. Especially when she’s so close to catching the people who tried to have her killed. Oh, and kidnapped her mother, queen of the planet Alera... -
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![Ascension Saga: 8 - Destiny, Part 2 by Grace Goodwin]()
Ascension Saga: 8 - Destiny, Part 2 by Grace Goodwin
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsDestiny has a problem—a six-foot-three, stubborn, gorgeous, deadly, sex-on-a-stick—kind of problem. While her brain might want to kick his ass across the galaxy, the rest of her wants to jump him like a bouncy house. Ardor or not, she’s hunting a killer. Nix is going all protective, alpha male, claiming she’s his mate just because she had a few mind-blowing moments in his bed... -
![Taken by Harmony Raines]()
Taken by Harmony Raines
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsChrissi always dreamed of being an astronaut, just like her dad, devoting her whole life to Operation Saviour, the human race’s last ditch attempt to find a new home. But days before her first launch, the project was cancelled, leaving her to pick up the pieces of her life. All thanks to the arrival of the Karal... -
![Viper's Defiant Mate by S.E. Smith]()
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... -
![Tracking Trisha by S.E. Smith]()
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... -
![Ambushing Ariel by S.E. Smith]()
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... -
![Jaguin's Love by S.E. Smith]()
Jaguin's Love by S.E. Smith
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsThe Dragon Lords of Valdier universe is vast but each book can stand alone! Jump in at any point in the series.USA Today Bestseller! A human woman recovering from extreme violence and an alien male finally given hope. In this steamy story of love and comfort, what will it take to break free of the past? Jaguin is one of the finest trackers on Valdier... -
![The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin]()
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... -
![Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie]()
Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 47 ratingsSeeking atonement for past crimes, Breq takes on a mission as captain of a troublesome new crew of Radchai soldiers, in the sequel to Ann Leckie's NYT bestselling, award-winning Ancillary Justice. A must read for fans of Ursula K. Le Guin and James S. A. Corey.Breq is a soldier who used to be a warship... -
![Ascension Saga: 3 - Trinity, Part 3 by Grace Goodwin]()
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... -
![The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin, Ken Liu]()
The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin, Ken Liu
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 47 ratingsThe Three-Body Problem is the first chance for English-speaking readers to experience the Hugo Award-winning phenomenon from China's most beloved science fiction author, Liu Cixin.Set against the backdrop of China's Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens...Categorized as:
poc-mc 21st-century action-adventure adult aliens alternate-history apocalyptic audiobook -
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![Pairing with the Protector by Evangeline Anderson]()
Pairing with the Protector by Evangeline Anderson
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA woman on a dangerous mission to a new world A warrior sworn to protect her, who fears to risk his heart Can Whitney and Rafe escape from the giant beings who have captured them? And will Whitney end up...Pairing With her Protector? Dr. Whitney Washington is a Xeno-zoologist living on the Kindred Mother Ship and she has a big problem--she has a crush on her bodyguard... -
![Enslaved by Evangeline Anderson]()
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... -
![See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng]()
See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 24 ratings"I haven't read anything that has moved me this much since Wonder." --Jennifer Niven, author of All the Bright Places A space-obsessed boy and his dog, Carl Sagan, take a journey toward family, love, hope, and awe in this funny and moving novel for fans of Counting by 7s, Walk Two Moons, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time... -
![Starfighter Command: Game 2 by Grace Goodwin]()
Starfighter Command: Game 2 by Grace Goodwin
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsI'm obsessed with the game.I spend so many hours playing that I dream about dangerous missions on other worlds...and my gorgeous, in-game training partner, Kassius. That is, until I win. I beat the Starfighter Training Academy... -
![Starfighter Command: Game 2 by Grace Goodwin]()
Starfighter Command: Game 2 by Grace Goodwin
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsI'm obsessed with the game.I spend so many hours playing that I dream about dangerous missions on other worlds...and my gorgeous, in-game training partner, Kassius. That is, until I win. I beat the Starfighter Training Academy... -
![Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki]()
Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsAn adventure set in California's San Gabriel Valley, with cursed violins, Faustian bargains, and queer alien courtship over fresh-made donuts.Shizuka Satomi made a deal with the devil: to escape damnation, she must entice seven other violin prodigies to trade their souls for success. She has already delivered six... -
![The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez]()
The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsA mysterious child lands in the care of a solitary woman, changing both of their lives forever in this captivating debut of connection across space and time."This is when your life begins."Nia Imani is a woman out of place and outside of time... -
![Found by Evangeline Anderson]()
Found by Evangeline Anderson
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsThis is a plus length novel--133,000 words.A warrior with a scarred heart who doesn’t know how to love. And the woman who must teach him how before it’s too late…The son of the evil AllFather, Xairn is filled with conflicting emotions. On one hand, he has finally gained his freedom and cut the ties that bound him to his race and the sadistic male who is his father... -
![The Telling by Ursula K. Le Guin]()
The Telling by Ursula K. Le Guin
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsOnce a culturally rich world, the planet Aka has been utterly transformed by technology. Records of the past have been destroyed, and citizens are strictly monitored. But an official observer from Earth named Sutty has learned of a group of outcasts who live in the wilderness. They still believe in the ancient ways and still practice its lost religion - the Telling... -
![China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F. McHugh]()
China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F. McHugh
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsWith this groundbreaking novel, Maureen F. McHugh established herself as one of the decade's best science fiction writers. In its pages, we enter a post-revolution America, moving from the hyper-urbanized eastern seaboard to the Arctic bleakness of Baffin Island; from the new Imperial City to an agricultural commune on Mars...Categorized as:
poc-mc 20th-century adult alternate-history book coming-of-age contemporary cyberpunk -
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![The Weight of the Stars by K. Ancrum]()
The Weight of the Stars by K. Ancrum
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsRyann Bird dreams of traveling across the stars. But a career in space isn’t an option for a girl who lives in a trailer park on the wrong side of town. So Ryann becomes her circumstances and settles for acting out and skipping school to hang out with her delinquent friends. One day she meets Alexandria: a furious loner who spurns Ryann’s offer of friendship... -
![Storm Surge by Naomi Lucas]()
Storm Surge by Naomi Lucas
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsBook two of Cyborg Shifters, same universe as the Stranded in the Stars series, every book is a standalone that only subtly builds off of the others.Everybody feared the man with the metal band over his mouth. Stryker was part of an elite group of Cyborgs genetically enhanced with inhuman DNA. He was known as the Creeper, the quiet, the man with half a face... -
![Invisible Planets: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation by Ken Liu, Chen Qiufan]()
Invisible Planets: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation by Ken Liu, Chen Qiufan
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsAward-winning translator and author Ken Liu presents a collection of short speculative fiction from China. Some stories have won awards; some have been included in various 'Year's Best' anthologies; some have been well reviewed by critics and readers; and some are simply Ken's personal favorites... -
![Green Rising by Lauren James]()
Green Rising by Lauren James
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSet in a near-future world on the brink of ecological catastrophe, Lauren James’ novel is a gripping, witty and romantic call to arms.Gabrielle is a climate-change activist who shoots to fame when she becomes the first teenager to display a supernatural ability to grow plants from her skin. Hester is the millionaire daughter of an oil tycoon and the face of the family business...Categorized as:
outdoors body-horror book contemporary disability dystopia enemies-to-lovers fiction -
![A Bride for the Alien Prince by Eva O'Hare]()
A Bride for the Alien Prince by Eva O'Hare
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsNow Available in ebook and paperback! Mars needs Black women! Well, not Mars exactly, but a planet called Rakesh. All of the female creatures on Rakesh died during a plague, and now the Rakesh males have no mates. If they don't find mates soon, their species will die. Finding mates won't be easy. Only Black females from Earth will do. This novel first appeared in serial form on Kindle Vella... -
![Bewilderment by Richard Powers]()
Bewilderment by Richard Powers
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsAstrobiologist Theo Byrne searches for life throughout the cosmos, invents planets every night for a bedtime story. He raises Robin, 9, after a car crash took their Aly. The family is strict vegetarians, Theo tells us each dish.Robin is bright, but full of anger that explodes in a flash. He suffers over animals tortured, killed to feed humans... -
![Ascension Saga: 1 - Trinity, Part 1 by Grace Goodwin]()
Ascension Saga: 1 - Trinity, Part 1 by Grace Goodwin
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsLeoron of Alera returns home from the Hive wars determined to protect the capital city—and last bastion of a vanished Queen's reign—from civil war. Loyal to the bone, Leo answers the call from Prime Nial and vows to protect at any cost three unknown females arriving from Earth... -
![An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon]()
An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsOdd-mannered, obsessive, withdrawn, Aster has little to offer folks in the way of rebuttal when they call her ogre and freak. She's used to the names; she only wishes there was more truth to them. If she were truly a monster, as they accuse, she'd be powerful enough to tear down the walls around her until nothing remained of her world, save for stories told around the cookfire... -
![The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson]()
The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson
Rated: 3.98 of 5 stars · 44 ratingsA multiverse-hopping outsider discovers a secret that threatens her home world and her fragile place in it--a stunning sci-fi debut that's both a cross-dimensional adventure and a powerful examination of identity, privilege, and belonging. CARA IS DEAD ON THREE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-FOUR WORLDS... -
![Zero Repeat Forever by Gabrielle S. Prendergast]()
Zero Repeat Forever by Gabrielle S. Prendergast
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsHe has no voice, or name, only a rank, Eighth. He doesn’t know the details of the mission, only the directives that hum in his mind. Dart the humans. Leave them where they fall. His job is to protect his Offside. Let her do the shooting... -
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![On the Edge of Gone by Corinne Duyvis]()
On the Edge of Gone by Corinne Duyvis
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsJanuary 29, 2035.That’s the day the comet is scheduled to hit—the big one. Denise and her mother and sister, Iris, have been assigned to a temporary shelter near their hometown of Amsterdam to wait out the blast, but Iris is nowhere to be found, and at the rate Denise’s drug-addicted mother is going, they’ll never reach the shelter in time...Categorized as:
poc-mc action-adventure apocalyptic audiobook bisexuality book coming-of-age contemporary -
![Pitch Dark by Courtney Alameda]()
Pitch Dark by Courtney Alameda
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsLost to time, Tuck Morgan and his crew have slept in stasis aboard the USS John Muir for centuries. Their ship harbors a chunk of Earth, which unbeknownst to them, is the last hope for the failing human race.Laura Cruz is a shipraider searching the galaxy for the history that was scattered to the stars... -
![Power by Harmony Raines]()
Power by Harmony Raines
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWhat the Hier Ruler wants, the Hier Ruler gets. And he wants Vanessa. Vanessa is an artist, stuck in the grey world Earth has become. Yet she doesn't yearn to leave, despite there being nothing left for her on her home planet. The chance to win the lottery, to go and live on Karal, a planet filled with life and colour, is not for her... -
![Callie's Catastrophe by Ruby Dixon]()
Callie's Catastrophe by Ruby Dixon
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsWhat's a bigger disaster than being stranded on an ice planet with a bunch of aliens, never to return home? Resonating to the biggest jerk of all those aliens, of course. I hate M'tok, and it seems to be mutual. He thinks I'm ugly and unpleasant, and doesn't understand why I don't just fling myself at him. In his eyes, resonance has decided, and that's that... -
![The Hidden Girl and Other Stories by Ken Liu]()
The Hidden Girl and Other Stories by Ken Liu
Rated: 3.89 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsoriginal cover of ISBN 9781982134037From award-winning author Ken Liu comes his much anticipated second volume of short stories.Ken Liu is one of the most lauded short story writers of our time. This collection includes a selection of his science fiction and fantasy stories from the last five years — sixteen of his best — plus a new novelette... -
![Prime Meridian by Silvia Moreno-Garcia]()
Prime Meridian by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsLove, life, dreams, and a world beyond reach.Amelia dreams of Mars. The Mars of the movies and the imagination, an endless bastion of opportunities for a colonist with some guts...
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