Books like 'Runner'
Readers who enjoyed Runner by Alan Bao also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
sc-fi horror space grimdark supernatural violent-conflict dystopia galactic-empire space-fleet exploration
-
The Lion: Son of the Forest by Mike Brooks
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe Lion. Son of the Emperor, brother of demigods and Primarch of the Dark Angels. Awakened. Returned. And yet... lost.The Lion. Son of the Emperor, brother of demigods and primarch of the Dark Angels.Awakened. Returned. And yet lost...Categorized as:
dystopia military soldiers exploration space-fleet violent-conflict sci-fi audiobook -
Necropolis by Dan Abnett
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsOn the shattered world of Verghast,Gaunt and his Ghosts find themselvesembroiled within an ancient and deadly civilwar as a mighty hive-city is besieged by anunrelenting foe... -
Betrayer by Aaron Dembski-Bowden
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsThe Shadow Crusade has begun. While the Ultramarines reel from Kor Phaeron’s surprise attack on Calth, Lorgar and the rest of the Word Bearers strike deep into the realm of Ultramar. Their unlikely allies, Angron and the World Eaters, continue to ravage each new system they come across – upon the garrison planet of Armatura, this relentless savagery may finally prove to be their undoing...Categorized as:
military space-fleet violent-conflict 21st-century action-adventure adult audiobook book -
Only in Death by Dan Abnett
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsAs the crusade to liberate the Sabbat Worlds continues, Colonel-Commissar Gaunt leads the Tanith First-and-Only into an unforgiving new warzone - the fortress world of Jago...Categorized as:
military violent-conflict action-adventure adult book contemporary fiction grim-dark -
-
The First Heretic by Aaron Dembski-Bowden
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsAmidst the galaxy-wide war of the Great Crusade, the Emperor castigates the Word Bearers for their worship. Distraught at this judgement, Lorgar and his Legion seek another path while devastating world after world, venting their fury and fervour on the battlefield...Categorized as:
dystopia military violent-conflict 21st-century action-adventure adult audiobook book -
A Thousand Sons by Graham McNeill
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsCensured at the Council of Nikea for his flagrant use of sorcery, Magnus the Red and his Thousand Sons Legion retreat to their homeworld pf Prospero to continue their use of the arcane arts in secret...Categorized as:
military violent-conflict 21st-century action-adventure adult audiobook book fiction -
First and Only by Dan Abnett
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsIn the Chaos-infested Sabbat system, Imperial Commissar Gaunt must lead his men through as much in-fighting amongst rival regiments as against the forces of Chaos. For a thousand years, the Sabbat Worlds have been lost to the Imperium, claimed by the dread powers of Chaos. Now, a mighty crusade seeks to return the sector to Imperial rule...Categorized as:
dystopia military violent-conflict 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook book -
Malleus by Dan Abnett
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsIn the 41st Millenium, the enemies of mankind are legion, omnipresent and utterly deadly. While the warriors of the Imperium fight with firepower and faith, the Holy Inquisition hunts the shadows for the most terrible of foes – rogue psykers, xenos, and daemons. Inquisitor Eisenhorn must track down and defeat the forces who would destroy him or face the wrath of the Ordo Malleus... -
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... -
Horus Rising by Dan Abnett
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsAfter thousands of years of expansion and conquest, the imperium of man is at its height. His dream for humanity nearly accomplished, the emperor hands over the reins of power to his warmaster, Horus, and heads back to Terra...Categorized as:
dystopia military violent-conflict 21st-century action-adventure adult audiobook book -
Alpharius: Head of the Hydra by Mike Brooks
Rated: 4.51 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA Primarchs novelWho better to relate the tale of Alpharius than the primarch himself? As he tells of his deeds, bear one thing in mind: nothing can be trusted when it comes from serpent's mouth.READ IT BECAUSEI am Alpharius… and so are you.THE STORYLegends abound of the glorious – or infamous – deeds of the Emperor's sons...Categorized as:
aliens colonization dystopia exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion military -
The Lost and the Damned by Guy Haley
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWith the solar defences overcome through the devastating strength of the Traitor armada and the power of the warp, Horus launches his assault on the Throneworld in earnest. After withstanding a ferocious barrage of ordnance, an immense ground war commences outside the Palace with every inch gained paid for in the lives of billions. On the thirteenth day of Secundus, the bombardment of Terra began...Categorized as:
exploration military soldiers space-fleet violent-conflict action-adventure adult audiobook -
Eisenhorn: Xenos - Illustrated and Annotated Edition by Dan Abnett
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsAn Illustrated Hardback Edition of Book 1 in the Eisenhorn SeriesInquisitor Eisenhorn faces a vast interstellar cabal and the dark power of daemons, all racing to recover an arcane text of abominable power – an ancient tome known as the Necroteuch.READ IT BECAUSEThe classic novel returns in a brand new hardback edition...Categorized as:
aliens dystopia military violent-conflict 21st-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
The Traitor's Hand by Sandy Mitchell
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsCommissar Ciaphas Cain is a man who, despite his best attempts to avoid danger and live the easy life, is constantly thrust into fame and fortune. He will be a hero, whether he wants to be or not... -
-
Steel Tread by Andy Clark
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA Warhammer 40,000 NovelFollow in the footsteps of Hadeya Etsul as she is consolidated into a Cadian armoured regiment and put in command of a Leman Russ Demolisher, Steel Tread...Categorized as:
military soldiers colonization space-travel dystopia first-contact exploration supernatural -
Dark Intelligence by Neal Asher
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratings"Dark Intelligence is the first novel in the Transformation series, a no-holds-barred adventure set in Neal Asher's popular Polity universe.One man will transcend death to seek vengeance. One woman will transform herself to gain power. And no one will emerge unscathed . . .Thorvald Spear wakes in hospital, where he finds he's been brought back from the dead. What's more, he died in a human vs...Categorized as:
aliens dystopia first-contact invasion military space-fleet violent-conflict action-adventure -
Konrad Curze: The Night Haunter by Guy Haley
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsA Horus Heresy: Primarchs novelFew among the legendary primarchs are as feared as Konrad Curze, the Night Haunter. Even before his fall to darkness, he was a sinister legend, a remorseless killer. This is his story... -
Galaxy in Flames by Ben Counter
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsHaving recovered from his grievous injuries, Warmaster Horus leads the triumphant Imperial forces against the rebel world of Isstvan III. Though the rebels are swiftly crushed, Horus's treachery is finally revealed when the planet is razed by virus bombs and Space Marines turn on their battle-brothers in the most bitter struggle imaginable...Categorized as:
dystopia military supernatural violent-conflict 21st-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
False Gods by Graham McNeill
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsThe human Imperium stands at its height of glory - thousands of worlds have been brought to heel by the conquering armies of mankind...Categorized as:
dystopia military violent-conflict 21st-century action-adventure adult audiobook book -
Legion by Dan Abnett
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsA Great War is coming, and it will engulf the Imperium of Man. The Space Marines of the Alpha Legion, the last and most secretive of all the Astartes brotherhoods, arrive on a heathen world to support the Imperial Army in a pacification campaign against strange and uncanny forces...Categorized as:
dystopia military violent-conflict 21st-century action-adventure adult apocalyptic audiobook -
Rapture by Kameron Hurley
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsAfter years in exile, Nyxnissa so Dasheem is back in service to the bel dames, a sisterhood of elite government assassins tasked with eliminating deserters and traitors.The end of a centuries-long holy war has flooded the streets of Nasheen with unemployed - and unemployable - soldiers whose frustrations have brought the nation to the brink of civil war...Categorized as:
aliens dystopia galactic-empire violent-conflict action-adventure adult anti-hero apocalyptic -
Sons of the Selenar by Graham McNeill
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA Siege of Terra novellaThe Shattered Legions have come to Terra – but when the Kryptos delivers a message of doom, the crew of the Sisypheum are drawn into their most dangerous mission yet, deep beneath Luna, where their actions could alter the fate of the galaxy...Categorized as:
exploration military soldiers space-fleet violent-conflict 21st-century action-adventure adult -
Luther: First of the Fallen by Gav Thorpe
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA Horus Heresy novelHero. Villain. Protector. Destroyer. Loyal. Fallen. Luther embodies the duality at the heart of the Dark Angels – but what is his story? Prepare to find out…READ IT BECAUSEGet new insights into one of the key figures of the Horus Heresy, who shaped the destiny of the Dark Angels for ten millennia, in a new novel by the master of First Legion fiction, Gav Thorpe...Categorized as:
aliens colonization dystopia exploration first-contact galactic-empire invasion military -
The Flight of the Eisenstein by James Swallow
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsHaving witnessed the events on Istvaan III, Deathguard Captain Garro seizes a ship and heads to Terra to warn the Emperor of Horus's treachery. But the fleeing Eisenstein is damaged by enemy fire, and becomes stranded in the warp...Categorized as:
dystopia military supernatural violent-conflict 21st-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
-
Fulgrim by Graham McNeill
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsIt is the 31st millennium, and humanity is at the peak of its powers. As the Great Crusade, led by Warmaster Horus, continues to conquer the galaxy, Fulgrim, Primarch of the Emperor’s Children, leads his warriors into battle against a vile alien foe...Categorized as:
dystopia military violent-conflict 21st-century action-adventure adult audiobook book -
An Exchange of Hostages by Susan R. Matthews
Rated: 3.87 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA promising young surgeon, Andrej Koscuisko has come, with great reluctance, to study at a military orientation center adrift in black space. Against his will, he will train here to serve as a "Ship's Inquisitor" — a vocation that runs counter to his deepest moral convictions.During his tenure, Andrej will earn the devotion of his personal slave... -
The Gap into Conflict: The Real Story by Stephen R. Donaldson
Rated: 3.76 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsThe Real Story is a short but intense tale set in a future in which humans travel between the stars using "gap drives," controllable brain implants are punishable by death, and a private company called the United Mining Company runs law enforcement for all of known space... -
Tales of Heresy by Nick Kyme, Dan Abnett
Rated: 3.75 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsWhen Horus the Warmaster rebelled against the Emperor, the ensuing civil war nearly destroyed the Imperium. War raged across galaxy, pitting Astartes against their battle-brothers in a struggle where death was the only victor...Categorized as:
dystopia military violent-conflict 21st-century action-adventure adult anthologies audiobook -
Dead Space: Catalyst by B.K. Evenson, Brian Evenson
Rated: 3.63 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsTwo hundred and fifty years in the future, extinction threatens mankind. Tampering with dangerous technology from the Black Marker—an ancient alien artifact discovered on Earth eighty years earlier— Earthgov hopes to save humanity. But the Marker's influence reanimates corpses into grotesque rampaging nightmares... -
Fallen Angels by Mike Lee
Rated: 3.69 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsAs news of Horus’s treachery spreads, the Great Crusade grinds to a halt as the primarchs and their Legions decide where their loyalty lies – with the Emperor, or the rebel Warmaster Horus. In this sequel to Descent of Angels, the Dark Angels too face a time of testing, both in the stars, and on their home world, Caliban...Categorized as:
military violent-conflict 21st-century action-adventure adult audiobook book fiction -
Descent of Angels by Mitchel Scanlon
Rated: 3.51 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsThe next novel in the ground-breaking, bestselling series that tells the story of the Horus Heresy – the civil war that nearly tore the human Imperium apart, ten thousand years ago. This novel explores the early history of the Dark Angels Legion and their Primarch Lion El'Johnson...Categorized as:
dystopia military violent-conflict 21st-century action-adventure adult audiobook book
Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.