Books like 'Cherry Pickers'
Readers who enjoyed Cherry Pickers by Bonnie Milani also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
sc-fi action / adventure hard sci-fi aliens classics colonization first-contact space-opera dystopia humor
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Cold Eyes by Peter Cawdron
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsCOLD EYES is a FIRST CONTACT tribute to the 1974 science fiction classic, THE MOTE IN GOD'S EYE.The UN warship Magellan is twelve light-years from Earth, exploring a cold eye, a tidally-locked super-earth called Bee. At least two advanced, intelligent species evolved on the planet, but no one is waiting for them in orbit. Dali Patel has to figure out why... -
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... -
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... -
Fair Trade: An Alien Invasion Story by Mackey Chandler
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsMost of my writing is in a series people seem to enjoy but there is a constant small crowd who say: I'd really like your take on an alien invasion story. Well this is for them. The bulk of the aliens come to Earth stories assume their vast superiority, sometimes invincibility. Sometimes they suddenly appear on the white house lawn dictating terms... -
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The Complete Stories, Vol. 1 by Isaac Asimov
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsThe first volume consists of the stories previously collected in Earth Is Room Enough, Nine Tomorrows, and Nightfall and Other Stories (but not the commentary from Nightfall and Other Stories). Volume One contains the following 48 short stories:- The Dead Past- The Foundation of S. F...Categorized as:
classics dystopia humor space-opera 20th-century action-adventure anthologies fiction -
Destroyer by Joshua Dalzelle
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA relentless enemy… An old wolf's last hunt… The future of two species hanging in the balance… The Darshik war machine is flagging, but the war is far from over. Even as an exhausted Federation military tenses up for a counterattack after repelling the last Darshik invasion, reports are coming in of a new, more powerful class of ship that's striking deep into Terran space... -
Iron & Blood by Joshua Dalzelle
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe Black Fleet Saga continues… A human planet has been invaded. The enigmatic Darshik have landed troops on a frontier world and have begun subduing major cities even as their blockade repels all attempts by the fledgling United Terran Federation to mount a counteroffensive... -
Heaven's River by Dennis E. Taylor
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsCivil war looms in the Bobiverse in this brand-new, epic-length adventure by best seller Dennis E. Taylor.More than a hundred years ago, Bender set out for the stars and was never heard from again. There has been no trace of him despite numerous searches by his clone-mates. Now Bob is determined to organize an expedition to learn Bender’s fate—whatever the cost... -
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... -
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:
aliens first-contact space-opera action-adventure adult audiobook book female-author -
Xenophobia by Peter Cawdron
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsXenophobia is set in Malawi, Africa, with US soldiers acting as peacekeepers to stop a civil war erupting. When an alien spacecraft arrives in orbit, America is thrown into turmoil and US troops are withdrawn from hotspots around the globe to provide support at home. Malawi descends into chaos... -
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:
aliens colonization dystopia first-contact space-opera action-adventure adult audiobook -
Columbus Day by Craig Alanson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsWe were fighting on the wrong side, of a war we couldn't win. And that was the good news. The Ruhar hit us on Columbus Day. There we were, innocently drifting along the cosmos on our little blue marble, like the native Americans in 1492. Over the horizon come ships of a technologically advanced, aggressive culture, and BAM! There go the good old days, when humans only got killed by each other... -
Protector by C.J. Cherryh
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIt's coming up on Cajeiri's birthday. The boy has been promised he can have the young human children he knew from his voyage sent down from the space station for a two week stay. But there's far a darker business going on in the background--a major split compromising the Assassins' Guild, which furnishes security and law enforcement to the whole continent...Categorized as:
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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... -
Tracker by C.J. Cherryh
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsTracker is the sixteenth installment of CJ Cherryh's acclaimed Foreigner series.It’s been a year of upheaval, since Bren Cameron’s return from space—a year when he and the aiji-dowager, one of his most powerful atevi allies, returned home from their two-year interstellar mission to find the government overthrown and their world in chaos...Categorized as:
aliens colonization first-contact space-opera action-adventure adult audiobook bodyguard -
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.. -
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-Range War by Christopher G. Nuttall
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe gloves have finally come off ... The Tokomak, the unquestioned masters of the galaxy, have dispatched a massive fleet to crush the Solar Union - and the fledgling Galactic Alliance - before the human race and its alien allies can tear the galactic order asunder. Hundreds of thousands of starships under the command of an alien tactical genius, bent on exterminating the entire human race .. -
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...Categorized as:
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Intruder by C.J. Cherryh
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe civil war among the alien atevi has ended. Tabini-aiji, powerful ruler of the Western Association, along with Cajeiri his son and heir, and his human paidhi, Bren Cameron, have returned to the Bujavid, their seat of power.But factions that remain loyal to the opposition are still present, and the danger these rebels pose is far from over...Categorized as:
aliens first-contact space-opera action-adventure adult audiobook book female-author -
Foundation and Chaos by Greg Bear
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsA major science fiction author continues one of the most famous SF stories of all time... -
Unstable Prototypes by Joseph R. Lallo
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFollowing his last adventure, Trevor "Lex" Alexander's life has managed to return to normal. He's back to splitting his time between delivering packages and transporting passengers, along with the occasional foray into testing highly experimental equipment... -
Amplitude by Dean M. Cole
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsComplete the Dimension Space Trilogy Angela’s reset bought us a new chance, but with the event set to repeat itself, she and Vaughn must fight separate battles to save their comrades. In Houston, Director Randal McCree races against the clock as he frantically struggles to save a scrabbled together team...Categorized as:
aliens classics dystopia first-contact space-opera action-adventure adult apocalyptic -
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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... -
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... -
The Artifact by Peter Cawdron
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFive hundred miles from the Mediterranean, deep in the interior of Libya, lost in the heart of the Sahara itself, lies an oasis trapped in the past. With no surface water, Harat Zuwayyah barely supports any life at all. The scorching wind howls across the desert, driving the sand and threatening to bury the village. Professor Susan Taylor excavates an Egyptian tomb dated to prehistoric times... -
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:
aliens classics dystopia first-contact space-opera 20th-century action-adventure adult -
Into the Stars by James Rosone
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe stars are within mankind’s reach……But what awaits in the void may end humanity…Mars and the Moon have been colonized, piracy runs rampant in the asteroid belts, and a thriving society grows in the depths of space. Humanity prepares to embark upon its greatest journey—the colonization of Alpha Centauri... -
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... -
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...Categorized as:
aliens colonization dystopia first-contact space-opera action-adventure adult audiobook -
The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsIn the twenty-second century Earth obtains limitless, free energy from a source science little understands: an exchange between Earth and a parallel universe, using a process devised by the aliens. But even free energy has a price. The transference process itself will eventually lead to the destruction of the Earth's Sun--and of Earth itself...Categorized as:
aliens classics dystopia first-contact space-opera 20th-century action-adventure adult -
Invaders by Laurence E. Dahners
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 15 ratings“Invaders” is about events that occur several years after those in the novel “Disc.” GSI (Gettnor Space Industries) is beginning to investigate our solar system and mine the asteroids. Aircraft and automobile companies are beginning to switch over to thrusters from their more traditional products. New uses for thrusters are popping up in the healthcare and sports industries...Categorized as:
aliens first-contact space-opera action-adventure book disability fiction hard-sci-fi -
Invader by C.J. Cherryh
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsThe first book in C.J.Cherryh's eponymous series, Foreigner, begins an epic tale of the survivors of a lost spacecraft who crash-land on a planet inhabited by a hostile, sentient alien race...Categorized as:
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Emergence by C.J. Cherryh
Rated: 4.34 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsThe nineteenth book in C.J. Cherryh's beloved Foreigner space opera series begins a new era for diplomat Bren Cameron, as he navigates the tenuous peace he has struck between human refugees and the alien atevi.Alpha Station, orbiting the world of the atevi, has taken aboard five thousand human refugees from a destroyed station in a distant sector of space...Categorized as:
aliens colonization first-contact space-opera action-adventure adult audiobook bodyguard -
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... -
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 first-contact space-opera action-adventure adult audiobook book exploration -
Theft of Fire by Devon Eriksen
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAt the frozen edge of the solar system lies a hidden treasure which could spell their fortune or their destruction—but only if they survive each other first.Marcus Warnoc has a little problem... -
Alliance Space (Company Wars #2) by C.J. Cherryh
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsThis omnibus edition of two novels set in Cherryh's most renowned universe--the Union-Alliance Universe--marks the first time these books have been available in more than a decade. Includes "Merchanter's Luck" and "Forty Thousand in Gehenna...Categorized as:
colonization dystopia space-opera action-adventure adult audiobook book female-author -
The Color of Distance by Amy Thomson
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsJuna is the sole survivor of a team of surveyors marooned in the dense and isolated Tendu rain forest, an uninhabitable world for humans. Her only hope for survival is total transformation--and terrifying assimilation--into the amphibian Tendu species. Juna will learn more about her own human nature than ever before... -
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...Categorized as:
aliens colonization first-contact space-opera action-adventure adult book exploration -
Phenomena by Douglas Phillips
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsPhenomena is a story of intrigue, psychological distress, and one scientist’s quest to untangle the mysteries of human consciousness…Amelia Charron is a neuroscientist researching brain disorders. She routinely uses astonishing mind-linking technology that allows her to enter the dream world of patients... -
Fuzzies and Other People by H. Beam Piper
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsThe friendship between human Jack Holloway and the small, golden-furred creatures of the planet Zarathustra has a profound impact on both Holloway and the Fuzzies... -
But The Stars by Peter Cawdron
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 11 ratings"But the stars that marked our starting fall away.We must go deeper into greater pain,for it is not permitted that we stay."–Dante Alighieri, Inferno, 1301 ADAt the start of the 22nd century, the starship Acheron is in orbit around WISE 5571 only, unbeknownst to the crew, the ship has been overrun by telepathic extraterrestrials... -
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Espero by S.H. Jucha
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsTrouble infiltrated the Harakens’ capital city of Espero, in the form of New Terra criminal gangs who grew wealthy and powerful on the moons of Ganymede, hiding behind the cover of an ill-conceived mining charter. The gangs brought stims and addictive hallucinogenic drugs to Espero, distributing them to the young on the planet... -
Mission One (Titan Chronicles #1) by Samuel Best
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsFive months to Titan. Four brave crew members. One incredible mystery.Jeff Dolan always wanted to be an astronaut. After helping a private space company build a ship that can travel to Saturn's sixth moon in five months, he gets his chance.Shortly after launch, a devastating malfunction forces Jeff and the crew to make a choice: continue to Titan, or go back home...Categorized as:
aliens colonization first-contact space-opera action-adventure adult book exploration -
The Other Place by Nathan Hystad
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen a mysterious invisible barrier appears on a Montana ranch, no one knows what to think of it.Drake, a retired police detective, receives a call in the dead of night from an alien-obsessed podcaster. He hastily departs for Montana the following morning.The phenomenon continues all over the globe... -
Convergence by C.J. Cherryh
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsConvergence is the eighteenth book in C.J. Cherryh's beloved Foreigner space opera series.Convergence marks a new phase in the Foreigner Universe: knowledge about the dangerous situation in adjacent space rests only with Bren Cameron, the human diplomat to the alien court of the atevi, four starship captains, and the two chiefs of state—both the human and the atevi, who share the planet...Categorized as:
aliens colonization first-contact space-opera action-adventure adult animals audiobook -
The B-Team by John Scalzi
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsThe opening episode of The Human Division, John Scalzi's new thirteen-episode novel in the world of his bestselling Old Man's War.Colonial Union Ambassador Ode Abumwe and her team are used to life on the lower end of the diplomatic ladder. But when a high-profile diplomat goes missing, Abumwe and her team are last minute replacements on a mission critical to the Colonial Unions future...Categorized as:
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Dragon's Egg by Robert L. Forward
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 19 ratings"In science fiction there is only a handful of books that stretch the mind--and this is one of them."--Arthur C. Clarke In a moving story of sacrifice and triumph, human scientists establish a relationship with intelligent lifeforms--the cheela--living on Dragon's Egg, a neutron star where one Earth hour is equivalent to hundreds of their years...
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