Books like 'Malak'
Readers who enjoyed Malak by Peter Watts & Nicholas Camm also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
sc-fi hard sci-fi military, war & conflict ai war
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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... -
![Judas Unchained by Peter F. Hamilton]()
Judas Unchained by Peter F. Hamilton
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsRobust, peaceful, and confident, the Commonwealth dispatched a ship to investigate the mystery of a disappearing star, only to inadvertently unleash a predatory alien species that turned on its liberators, striking hard, fast, and utterly without mercy. The Prime are the Commonwealth's worst nightmare... -
![A Hop, Skip and a Jump by Mackey Chandler]()
A Hop, Skip and a Jump by Mackey Chandler
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsLee has a lot going for her, tons of money, true friends who will stand by her, an unexpected bonus of extended life from advanced medial treatments, and a start at unraveling some of the pesky secrets in the stars. But there is so much to do to take advantage of all these opportunities that she's overwhelmed. Keeping all they've gained may not be easy... -
![Edge World by B.V. Larson]()
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... -
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![Destroyer by Joshua Dalzelle]()
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... -
![Surface Detail by Iain M. Banks]()
Surface Detail by Iain M. Banks
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsIt begins in the realm of the Real, where matter still matters.It begins with a murder.And it will not end until the Culture has gone to war with death itself.Lededje Y'breq is one of the Intagliated, her marked body bearing witness to a family shame, her life belonging to a man whose lust for power is without limit... -
![Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton]()
Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 46 ratingsThe year is 2380. The Intersolar Commonwealth, a sphere of stars some four hundred light-years in diameter, contains more than six hundred worlds, interconnected by a web of transport "tunnels" known as wormholes. At the farthest edge of the Commonwealth, astronomer Dudley Bose observes the impossible: Over one thousand light-years away, a star... vanishes. It does not go supernova... -
![In Fury Born by David Weber]()
In Fury Born by David Weber
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsImperial Intelligence couldn't find them, the Imperial Fleet couldn't catch them, and local defenses couldn't stop them. It seemed the planet-wrecking pirates were invincible. But they made a big mistake when they raided ex-commando leader Alicia DeVries' quiet home work, tortured and murdered her family, and then left her for dead... -
![Breakaway by Craig Alanson, R.C. Bray]()
Breakaway by Craig Alanson, R.C. Bray
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe Expeditionary Force saga continues with Breakaway, the eagerly awaited sequel to number-one Audible-ranked and New York Times best-selling Brushfire, from an epic sci-fi writer at the top of his game. Join the millions of listeners who have enjoyed R.C. Bray’s hilarious portrayal of Joe, Skippy, The Merry Band of Pirates and so many other unforgettable characters... -
![Liberation by Ryk Brown]()
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 Middle of Nowhere by Mackey Chandler]()
The Middle of Nowhere by Mackey Chandler
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsApril returns home from her trip down to Earth unhappy with what she accomplished. Papa-san Santos is finishing her rescue of the Lieutenants, Her traitorous brother is dead, and so many things are uncertain.The Chinese and North Americans both continue to give her and Home a hard time. But April, Jeff, and Heather are gathering allies and power... -
![SpecOps by Craig Alanson]()
SpecOps by Craig Alanson
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsThe sequel to 'Columbus Day'. Colonel Joe Bishop made a promise and he's going to keep it; taking the captured alien starship Flying Dutchman back out. He doesn't agree when the UN decides to send almost 70 elite Special Operations troops, hotshot pilots and scientists with him; the mission is a fool's errand he doesn't expect to ever return... -
![Haraken by S.H. Jucha]()
Haraken by S.H. Jucha
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsNine years of tranquility came to an abrupt end when a Méridien starship entered the Hellébore system, sounding a dire warning for Alex Racine, the Haraken president. Unwanted visitors had arrived again. But this time, they’re not alien; they’re human... -
![Escalation by Ryk Brown]()
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... -
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![Defiance by Joel Shepherd]()
Defiance by Joel Shepherd
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsThe UFS Phoenix is hunting for the long-lost drysine data-core. Within it lie the secrets to saving humanity from the resurgent deepynine machine-race. To recover it, Captain Erik Debogande must work together with the man who holds his sister hostage — the power-hungry parren leader Aristan. Aristan has sworn he will return Lisbeth Debogande once Phoenix grants him equal access to its prize... -
![Look to Windward by Iain M. Banks]()
Look to Windward by Iain M. Banks
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsThe Twin Novae battle had been one of the last of the Idiran war, one of the most horrific. Desperate to avert defeat, the Idirans had induced not one but two suns to explode, snuffing out worlds & biospheres teeming with sentient life. They were attacks of incredible proportion - gigadeathcrimes. But the war ended and life went on... -
![New Frontiers by Joshua Dalzelle]()
New Frontiers by Joshua Dalzelle
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe Black Fleet story continues... The Phage War had been a devastating conflict for the Terran Confederacy. Even with the destruction of their terrifying, implacable foe, humanity is still reeling. Political alliances are crumbling and their mighty fleet is in tatters. There is nothing to celebrate, even after such a complete victory.They soon learn that there are other stellar neighbors .. -
![Tactics of Mistake by Gordon R. Dickson]()
Tactics of Mistake by Gordon R. Dickson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIt's obvious that Cletus Graeme--limping, mild-mannered scholarly--doesn't belong on a battling field, but instead at a desk working on his fourth book on battle strategy and tactics. But Bakhalla has more battlefields than libraries, and Graeme sees his small force of Dorsai--soldiers of fortune--as the perfect opportunity to test his theories... -
![Rando Splicer by Joel Shepherd]()
Rando Splicer by Joel Shepherd
Rated: 4.46 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsSeparated from her ship, Major Trace Thakur is stranded on the reeh-occupied world of Rando. The native corbi have suffered beneath reeh tyranny for 800 years, and many have given up hope... -
![Columbus Day by Craig Alanson]()
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... -
![Rise of the Corinari by Ryk Brown]()
Rise of the Corinari by Ryk Brown
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA time to recover…A chance to make a new ally…A brief respite to repair and rearm…An opportunity for a people to regain their honor…For every civilization there comes a moment when a stand must be made against tyranny.The time has come for the Alliance to draw a line in the sand... -
![Dogs of War by Adrian Tchaikovsky]()
Dogs of War by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsMy name is Rex. I am a good dog. Rex is also seven foot tall at the shoulder, bulletproof, bristling with heavy caliber weaponry and his voice resonates with subsonics especially designed to instill fear. With Dragon, Honey and Bees, he's part of a Multiform Assault Pack operating in the lawless anarchy of Campeche, Mexico. A genetically engineered Bioform, he's a deadly weapon in a dirty war... -
![Line War by Neal Asher]()
Line War by Neal Asher
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAsher is brilliant at conveying the vastness of space, the strangeness of alien life, and the sweep of planetary horizons.”—SFX MagazineFrom the mind of Neal Asher and his Polity universe comes Line War, which has Agent Cormac once again on the trail, investigating an attack of his AI masters... -
![Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks]()
Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 47 ratingsThe man known as Cheradenine Zakalwe was one of Special Circumstances' foremost agents, changing the destiny of planets to suit the Culture through intrigue, dirty tricks and military action.The woman known as Diziet Sma had plucked him from obscurity and pushed him towards his present eminence, but despite all their dealings she did not know him as well as she thought... -
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![Head of the Dragon by Ryk Brown]()
Head of the Dragon by Ryk Brown
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsTime is running out…An ally has all but fallen…Resources are running low…The time for attack has come...The Alliance must strike deep into the heart of the empire.This time, the Aurora will be going home, or going to her grave.“Head of the Dragon” is a 133,000 word novel, and is the 6th episode in The Frontiers Saga... -
![The Expanse by Ryk Brown]()
The Expanse by Ryk Brown
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsEpisode 7A newly repaired ship…A willing and eager crew…A host of new technologies…A long anticipated return home…The crew of the UES Aurora finally has the chance to fulfill their mission, but first they must complete a long and dangerous journey across a thousand light years of unexplored space.“The Expanse” is a 104,000 word novel, and is the 7th episode in The Frontiers Saga... -
![The Complete Hammer's Slammers Volume 3 by David Drake]()
The Complete Hammer's Slammers Volume 3 by David Drake
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWith a veteran ’s eye for the harsh and gritty details of war, David Drake depicts a futuristic analog of Vietnam-era tank combat in his Hammer’s Slammers fiction. Upon this tactical foundation, Drake uses historical metaphor to provide a rich and detailed future-history that is both unique and strangely familiar... -
![Armor World by B.V. Larson]()
Armor World by B.V. Larson
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsIn a twist of fate that rocks the Galactic Empire, James McGill finds himself negotiating the future of a thousand inhabited worlds. An artificial object made of compressed stardust is barreling toward Earth. Is it an invasion ship? A doomsday weapon? Perhaps it’s the final response of Squanto, the Warlord of Rigel who McGill has repeatedly humiliated... -
![The Hot Gate by John Ringo]()
The Hot Gate by John Ringo
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsNew York Times Best-Selling Author.The Big Showdown with an Alien Empire, to Keep the Earth Free—and Maybe Free the Galaxy as Well. The fight to free the Earth from alien domination began in Live Free or Die, and continued in Citadel. Now Tyler Vernon, and his troops aboard the gigantic battle station Troy, face a desperate battle with the forces of galactic tyranny... -
![New Canaan by M.D. Cooper]()
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... -
![Excession by Iain M. Banks]()
Excession by Iain M. Banks
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsThe international sensation Iain M. Banks offers readers a deeply imaginative, wittily satirical tale, proving once again that he is "a talent to be reckoned with" ("Locus"). In Excession, the Culture's espionage and dirty tricks section orders Diplomat Byr Gen-Hofoen to steal the soul of a long-dead starship captain... -
![Endymion by Dan Simmons, Guy Abadia]()
Endymion by Dan Simmons, Guy Abadia
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 50 ratingsThe multiple-award-winning SF master returns to the universe that is his greatest success--the world of Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion--to tell a story of love and memory, triumph and terror in a novel even more magnificent than its predecessors.Two hundred and seventy-four years after the fall of the WorldWeb in Fall of Hyperion, Raoul Endymion is sent on a quest... -
![Croma Venture by Joel Shepherd]()
Croma Venture by Joel Shepherd
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsUpon the ancient drysine moon/city of Defiance, the UFS Phoenix is being rebuilt, but her crew cannot do so in peace. Parren factions jostle for control of not only Defiance, but of the drysine data-core that Phoenix won at such an awful price. But the parren do not lay sole claim to that ancient knowledge, and within the bowels of the machine-city, something long-dead is awakening... -
![Kantovan Vault by Joel Shepherd]()
Kantovan Vault by Joel Shepherd
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe UFS Phoenix is on a mission to find a lost data-core that may contain the secret to defeating the alo-deepynine alliance. But the means to find the data-core is hidden deep in tavalai space, in a highest-security vault where the tavalai's manipulative State Department keep all their most treacherous secrets. To recover it, Phoenix must pull off the most daring heist the Spiral has ever seen... -
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![Méridien by S.H. Jucha]()
Méridien by S.H. Jucha
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe Méridiens are fleeing to their far colonies—and they have reason to run. Over the course of decades, they have lost hundreds of ships, billions of people, and seven Confederation colonies to an alien enemy: an advancing swarm of silver ships transported in the bowels of a gigantic, spherical vessel... -
![The Human by Neal Asher]()
The Human by Neal Asher
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA warship is laying waste to the galaxy, making for unexpected allies in the face of incredible acts of war. This is the high-octane conclusion to Neal Asher's Rise of the Jain trilogy.An entire galaxy hangs in the balance.A Jain warship has risen from the depths of space, emerging with a deadly grudge and a wealth of ancient yet lethal technology... -
![Valkyrie Rising by Evan Currie]()
Valkyrie Rising by Evan Currie
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsTwo years after the initial invasion of Hayden's World, the newly reinforced Hayden Militia is in a state of stalemate with the remaining enemy forces but neither side is content to leave things at that.The alien alliance has dispatched their varsity to clean up the resistance on Hayden while the USF has officially activated Task Force V, the latest and most advanced combat ships built by humans... -
![War Factory by Neal Asher]()
War Factory by Neal Asher
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThorvald Spear, resurrected from his death over a hundred years earlier, continues to hunt Penny Royal, the rogue AI and dangerous war criminal on the run from Polity forces. Beyond the Graveyard, a lawless and deadly area in deep space, Spear follows the trail of several enemy Prador, the crab-like alien species with a violent history of conflict with humanity... -
![Qalea Drop by Joel Shepherd]()
Qalea Drop by Joel Shepherd
Rated: 4.47 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsThe UFS Phoenix embarks on a dangerous quest for the AI Ceephay Queen who rules at the heart of the Reeh Empire. For cover, Phoenix will use the enormous war being launched by the new rulers of the croma, Croma'Dokran, into reeh space... -
![Revenant Gun by Yoon Ha Lee]()
Revenant Gun by Yoon Ha Lee
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsMachineries Of Empire, the most exciting science fiction trilogy of the decade, reaches its astonishing conclusion!When Shuos Jedao wakes up for the first time, several things go wrong. His few memories tell him that he's a seventeen-year-old cadet--but his body belongs to a man decades older... -
![Against a Dark Background by Iain M. Banks]()
Against a Dark Background by Iain M. Banks
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsShe came from one of the more disreputable aristocratic families.Sharrow was once the leader of a personality-attuned combat team in one of the sporadic little commercial wars in the civilization based around the planet Golter... -
![There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury]()
There Will Come Soft Rains by Ray Bradbury
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsFirst published in Collier's, May 6, 1950.The story concerns a household in Allendale, California, in the aftermath of a nuclear war... -
![Redemption Ark by Alastair Reynolds]()
Redemption Ark by Alastair Reynolds
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsLate in the twenty-sixth century, the human race has advanced enough to accidentally trigger the Inhibitors - alien killing machines designed to detect intelligent life and destroy it. The only hope for humanity lies in the recovery of a secret cache of doomsday weapons -and a renegade named Clavain who is determined to find them... -
![Lines of Departure by Marko Kloos]()
Lines of Departure by Marko Kloos
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsVicious interstellar conflict with an indestructible alien species. Bloody civil war over the last habitable zones of the cosmos. Political unrest, militaristic police forces, dire threats to the Solar System…Humanity is on the ropes, and after years of fighting a two-front war with losing odds, so is North American Defense Corps officer Andrew Grayson... -
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![Winter World by A.G. Riddle]()
Winter World by A.G. Riddle
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsA new ice age... and a shocking discovery...will change humanity forever.In the near future, a new ice age has begun.Humanity stands on the brink of extinction.Desperate for answers, scientists send probes into the solar system to take readings. Near Mars, a probe spots a mysterious object drifting toward the Sun... -
![Matter by Iain M. Banks]()
Matter by Iain M. Banks
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsIn a world renowned within a galaxy full of wonders, a crime within a war. For one brother it means a desperate flight, and a search for the one - maybe two - people who could clear his name. For his brother it means a life lived under constant threat of treachery and murder. And for their sister, it means returning to a place she'd thought abandoned forever... -
![Demon Star by B.V. Larson, David VanDyke]()
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... -
![Citadel by John Ringo]()
Citadel by John Ringo
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsOf all the hosts of Eurotas the Troias were the most fell. For they were born of Winter.Between the Solar Array Pumped Laser and Troy, the two trillion ton nickel-iron battlestation created by eccentric billionaire Tyler Vernon, Earth has managed to recapture the Sol system from their Horvath conquerors and begin entering the galactic millieu... -
![Causes of Separation by Travis J.I. Corcoran]()
Causes of Separation by Travis J.I. Corcoran
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsEarth in 2064 is politically corrupt and in economic decline. The Long Depression has dragged on for 56 years, and the Bureau of Sustainable Research is hard at work making sure that no new technologies disrupt the planned economy... -
![Waves on Mars by D.R. Swan]()
Waves on Mars by D.R. Swan
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDooms Day, May 3, 2101, at 6:00 and twenty seconds. The alien artifact’s predicted collision with Earth by the planet-killing asteroid was fast approaching...
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