Books like 'Orbital'
Readers who enjoyed Orbital by Samantha Harvey also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary space sc-fi literary-fiction multi-pov exploration
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Tiamat's Wrath by James S.A. Corey
Rated: 4.57 of 5 stars · 48 ratingsThirteen hundred gates have opened to solar systems around the galaxy. But as humanity builds its interstellar empire in the alien ruins, the mysteries and threats grow deeper... -
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...Categorized as:
literary-fiction 21st-century action-adventure adult ai aliens alternate-history anthologies -
The Renegade Akseli Cyborg by Dianne Duvall
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsDive into the next thrilling novel in New York Times bestselling author Dianne Duvall’s fast-paced, humorous, and adventure-filled Aldebarian Alliance series.Too many years of hunting psychotic vampires night after night have left Rachel with a desperate need for change... -
Fated Blades by Ilona Andrews
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsAn uneasy alliance between warring families gets heated in this otherworldly novella from bestselling author Ilona Andrews.At first glance, the planet Rada seems like a lush paradise. But the ruling families, all boasting genetically enhanced abilities, are in constant competition for power―and none more so than the Adlers and the Baenas... -
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Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 68 ratingsSo far the Foundation was safe. But there was a hidden Second Foundation to protect the first. The Mule has yet to find it, but he was getting closer all the time. The men of the Foundation sought it, too, to escape from Mule's mind control. Only Arkady, a 14 year-old girl seemed to have the answer, or did she..Categorized as:
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I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 76 ratingsThey mustn't harm a human being, they must obey human orders, and they must protect their own existence...but only so long as that doesn't violate rules one and two. With these Three Laws of Robotics, humanity embarked on a bold new era of evolution that would open up enormous possibilities - and unforeseen risks...Categorized as:
literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure ai alternate-history anthologies audiobook children -
The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 67 ratingsFrom the brilliant and award-winning author Ursula K. Le Guin comes a classic tale of two planets torn apart by conflict and mistrust — and the man who risks everything to reunite them.A bleak moon settled by utopian anarchists, Anarres has long been isolated from other worlds, including its mother planet, Urras—a civilization of warring nations, great poverty, and immense wealth... -
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... -
Witch Of The Federation II by Michael Anderle
Rated: 4.48 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsThe World has a New Witch. The Federation Navy wants her. But she has to decide if she wants the Federation Navy.Stephanie Morgana comes from a long line of Morganas, much longer than she ever realized. The Artificial Intelligence which runs the Virtual World has decided that it needs to break a few rules in order to follow its prime directives... -
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...Categorized as:
exploration middle-grade sci-fi fiction audiobook children-books action-adventure space -
Escape From The Center Of The Earth by Greig Beck
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsEscape from the Center of the Earth is the final edition of the blockbusting Center Earth trilogy, closing with a mind-bending climax.'Help me, it’s Ally. Please help me.'A ghostly, sobbing voice is detected from the depths of Russia’s Kola super deep borehole – 9 miles down. A Russian team is dispatched in a desperate rescue mission to find the woman... -
Witch Of The Federation III by Michael Anderle
Rated: 4.54 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsStephanie Morgana has graduated to Protector of ALL Federation’s people. But can she get them to all respect her? She has to go to Dreth and find out. To pass a test, there is one more type of MU that she has to understand, without killing herself in the process... -
2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 74 ratingsOn the Moon, an enigma is uncovered.So great are the implications of this discovery that for the first time men are sent out deep into our solar system.But long before their destination is reached, things begin to go horribly, inexplicably wrong...One of the greatest-selling science fiction novels of our time, this classic book will grip you to the very end... -
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...Categorized as:
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Artifact Space by Miles Cameron
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsOut in the darkness of space, something is targeting the Greatships.With their vast cargo holds and a crew that could fill a city, the Greatships are the lifeblood of human occupied space, transporting an unimaginable volume - and value - of goods from City, the greatest human orbital, all the way to Tradepoint at the other, to trade for xenoglas with an unknowable alien species... -
Hard to Be a God by Arkady Strugatsky, Boris Strugatsky
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsThe novel follows Anton, an undercover operative from the future planet Earth, in his mission on an alien planet, that is populated by human beings, whose society has not advanced beyond the Middle Ages...Categorized as:
literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook book classics contemporary -
Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsAncillary Mercy is the stunning conclusion to the trilogy that began with Ancillary Justice, the only novel ever to win the Hugo, Nebula, and Arthur C. Clarke Awards.For a moment, things seemed to be under control for Breq, the soldier who used to be a warship... -
Witch Of The Federation IV by Michael Anderle
Rated: 4.59 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe Telorans have arrived, and people in the Federation are going to die. Vishlog is working to understand the Morgana group, and just what he has “volunteered” to be part of.Hopefully, he won't die before he learns. The Witch of the Federation has matured, and she has learned how to be a bit more aggressive. She chooses to use this new strength...to go on a date... -
Apprentice by Lexie Winston
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsLila is nobody special.She didn’t have a bad childhood despite growing up in foster homes, but there was just nothing particularly good about it either. With a boring job and only one close friend, you could say Lila is a little lost in her life.Not to mention, her romantic life is basically nonexistent. In fact, her alien erotica and her BOB are the most actions she’s seen in ages. Until now.. -
Juldo Made by Erin Raegan
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsVivian It’s been months since he’s been gone. Not a word from him. Not a single sign. He’s out there somewhere without a single memory of me. Without knowing about his child still growing inside me. And there’s no way for me to find him. He could be anywhere. On some distant planet or drifting in the vast black space of our universe... -
Doctor Galaxy by Jenny Schwartz
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsNew ER doctor Alexi Sur always intended to join an aid agency. She'd just expected to work among humans. But when the Pax Galactica Corps becomes her only option (don't ask - the debts aren't hers, but the family is. Much to her regret), Alexi finds herself traveling the galaxy and learning alien physiology and culture, all while becoming a reality TV star... -
When She's Fearless by Ruby Dixon
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsAfter being stolen from Earth, I learned that I could live each day in fear...or I could meet life head-on and unafraid. I chose the latter...Which is why, when I find a terrifyingly huge cat-alien male hip-deep in my favorite fishing spot, I don't run away in fear.I introduce myself.Is it reckless? Sure. But I've never met anyone quite like the feline Hrrrusek... -
One Giant Leap by Kay Simone
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsHouston we have so many problems...Curtis "Launchpad" Larkin's career as an astronaut has had its share of ups and downs.Alternately lauded as the single-handed savior of NASA and condemned as a reckless, hot-headed bully, Curt has been through the wringer of public opinion and come out on top... -
Tansy's Titan by S.E. Smith
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsTansy Bell, is the middle daughter of the three Bell sisters. She has always been a little different, even for a Bell. A chameleon, she can change her appearance and personality to blend in almost anywhere. She uses this talent to bring some of the worse criminals in the world to justice.Mak ‘Tag Krell Manok is the wild one of his four brothers... -
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Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThe once-utopian Chasm City -a doomed human settlement on an otherwise inhospitable planet- has been overrun by a virus known as the Melding Plague, capable of infecting any body, organic or computerized. Now, with the entire city corrupted -from the people to the very buildings they inhabit- only the most wretched sort of existence remains... -
Veronica's Dragon by Ruby Dixon
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsResonance. It’s a given on the ice planet, forced upon you by the parasitic symbiont called the ‘khui’. With resonance, a guy and a girl are paired up because they’ll make great babies. It’s a survival mechanism necessary for this sparsely-populated world we’re stranded on… and romantic, in a weird, alien way... -
Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsAn all-time science fiction classic, Rendezvous with Rama is also one of Clarke's best novels--it won the Campbell, Hugo, Jupiter, and Nebula Awards. A huge, mysterious, cylindrical object appears in space, swooping in toward the sun. The citizens of the solar system send a ship to investigate before the enigmatic craft, called Rama, disappears... -
The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 61 ratingsHere are stories of other worlds: of the rain-gutted forests of Venus and the deep canals of Mars; of the empty blackness of space and of planets that have no name. Here are stories, too, of Earth - new and unfamiliar in the glow of a wondrous future. And here- above all - is the story of The Illustrated man - tattooed by a witch with the most fantastic images ever seen on Earth..Categorized as:
literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure aliens anthologies audiobook classics contemporary -
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... -
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... -
Shadow Assassin by Erin Raegan
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsLondon Taken from my home. Imprisoned on an alien planet. Toyed with. Moved around like a pawn. Terrified. Angry. These are all things that sum up the last few days of my life. Confused. Curious. Anxious. Captivated. All the things that sum up the days that follow. I don’t know what’s going to happen from today to tomorrow. All I know for sure is that I hate him. He infuriates me... -
Pythen Blessing by Erin Raegan
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsLydiaMy life is unrecognizable. I live on an alien planet. I talk to aliens. They’re my friends, my protectors. There is no familiarity to home. The landscape is alien. The sky is alien. Everywhere I look reminds me that I am an impossible distance away from everything I’ve ever known. But I’m safe here. Safer here than I would be anywhere else... -
Barbarian's Redemption by Ruby Dixon
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsFor seasons, I have waited for her - my perfect mate. In a tribe full of happy couples, I am alone. But I am not content to remain this way. There are no eligible unmated females left, so I will do whatever it takes to bring females back to our tribe...even if it means doing something wrong. Even if it means I must purchase my mate on the intergalactic black market... -
The Rogue Prince by Michelle M. Pillow
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsShapeshifter RomanceCat-shifter Prince Reid is always looking for a good time, and no woman is safe when he turns on the charm. When the opportunity arises to go on an ambassador’s trip, he jumps at the chance–especially when that trip includes exotic destinations and available women... -
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The Bound Prince by Michelle M. Pillow
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsShapeshifter RomanceCat-shifter Prince Falke commands the Var armies, so it’s a little embarrassing when a beautiful female kidnaps him in his shifted form. Since no one knows where to send a rescue party, it’s up to him to use all his training and powers of seduction to find his way back home... -
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... -
Infinity's Embrace by Anna Carven
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsRescued from captivity by a group of rather intimidating Kordolians, Noa finds herself recovering at a strange facility in the middle of the desert. SynCorp's medical experiments have left her with an impossible ability she can't control, and nobody really seems to know how to help her. She's fragile and shattered, a mere shadow of her former self, and she has nowhere else to go... -
Saved by Venom by Lolita Lopez
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsTo escape her father's debt to a loan shark, Dizzy seeks refuge in the upcoming Grab. She’d rather belong to one of those terrifying sky warriors from the battleship Valiant than to the sleazy criminal who wants her as his plaything.The years of constant war haven’t been kind to highly decorated sniper Venom. Only the promise of earning a wife kept him going through deadly battles... -
Calling Major Tom by David M. Barnett, David Barnett
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsCalling Major Tom is a heartwarming, quirky and ultimately life-affirming story of friendship, family and forgiveness - and the world's most unlikely astronaut. A man who has given up on the world. A family who show him how to live.Forty-something Thomas is very happy to be on his own, far away from other people and their problems... -
Ynyr by M.K. Eidem
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsYnyr was a third male and while he was a fit and worthy Warrior, he had always known that no female would ever Join with him. His mother’s refusal to leave his manno had most looking down on his family. He knew Ull would be able to overcome this because he was a first male and would one day be a Lord... -
When She Belongs by Ruby Dixon
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsHe’s the biggest jerk in the galaxy.I can live with being stuck on the far end of space. I can live with having to spend weeks on an abandoned station in an asteroid belt. Sure, I don’t belong, but I’ve got my book and my eight-legged attack cat with me. I should be fine.I’m not fine.My alien host, Jerrok, is a jerk. He’s surly and unpleasant. He hasn’t bathed in years... -
Shards of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsThe Arthur C. Clarke award-winning author of Children of Time brings us an extraordinary new space opera about humanity on the brink of extinction, and how one man's discovery will save or destroy us all.The war is over. Its heroes forgotten. Until one chance discovery . . .Idris has neither aged nor slept since they remade him in the war... -
Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsThe astonishing sequel to Children of Time, the award-winning novel of humanity's battle for survival on a terraformed planet.Thousands of years ago, Earth's terraforming program took to the stars. On the world they called Nod, scientists discovered alien life - but it was their mission to overwrite it with the memory of Earth... -
Burning Chrome by William Gibson
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsTen tales, from the computer-enhanced hustlers of Johnny Mnemonic to the technofetishist blues of Burning Chrome...Categorized as:
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The Humans by Matt Haig
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 63 ratingsBody-snatching has never been so heartwarming . . .The Humans is a funny, compulsively readable novel about alien abduction, mathematics, and that most interesting subject of all: ourselves. Combine Douglas Adams’s irreverent take on life, the universe, and everything with a genuinely moving love story, and you have some idea of the humor, originality, and poignancy of Matt Haig’s latest novel... -
Raven's Return by Ruby Dixon
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsNo one ever comes back for me.I’ve always been on my own, and why should it be any different on an ice planet? So when I’m kidnapped by a feral outcast, I suspect I’d better learn to love raw fish and rough living.Then…U’dron comes to my rescue.He’s always understood me more than anyone else. He’s been my friend and my confidante. We’ve made music together... -
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...Categorized as:
literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure aliens audiobook book classics contemporary -
Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea by Sarah Pinsker
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsThe baker's dozen stories gathered here (including a new, previously unpublished story) turn readers into travelers to the past, the future, and explorers of the weirder points of the present...Categorized as:
literary-fiction adult anthologies apocalyptic audiobook contemporary dystopia female-author -
Bad Guy by Ruby Dixon
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsCrulden the Ruiner is the name of a fierce gladiator who’s broken the rules…and broken anyone that approaches.It’s *my* name.It’s a name that strikes fear into the hearts of all….all except the small human female who comes to clean my cell and glares at me the entire time.My new owners want things from me. They want me to play in their games. They want me to win battles for them... -
Dark Horse by Michelle Diener
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsSome secrets carry the weight of the world.Rose McKenzie may be far from Earth with no way back, but she's made a powerful ally--a fellow prisoner with whom she's formed a strong bond. Sazo's an artificial intelligence. He's saved her from captivity and torture, but he's also put her in the middle of a conflict, leaving Rose with her loyalties divided...
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