Books like 'Out of the Shadows'
Readers who enjoyed Out of the Shadows by Justina Ireland also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
sc-fi space action / adventure space-opera lgbtq aliens
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Captain Caveman by Jerry Boyd
12 ratingsBob and the crew are off to deliver a shipload of lost property to its rightful owners. What dangers, seen and unseen, will they find at this lost colony? Will there be new crew members, waiting to be found? Find out in Bob and Nikki’s latest adventure... -
She is the Principle: A Kurtherian Gambit Series by Michael Anderle
6 ratingsA teenage boy with a terminal condition, a group of school bullies, and an incognito Empress with a short temper…Kirian Larsen knows he won’t live to see adulthood. Dex and his gang only care that he’s a human living on “their” planet.Their determination to make his life harder bothers Kirian less than their efforts to do the same for their other victims... -
Slave Trade by Craig Martelle, Michael Anderle
8 ratingsNo respect for life. Or the law. It’s the trade. In sentience. Run by the Corranites, creatures that have always traded in intelligent alien life.Bought and sold. Nothing more than property.Rivka is having none of it. With an eye toward taking the entire supply line down, she launches into the greater galaxy. All the way to the heart of the Federation.It’s bigger than anyone knows... -
Carpe Diem by Sharon Lee, Steve Miller
14 ratingsOn the run from assassins, Val Con yos'Phelium and Miri Robertson are stranded on a distant planet and must learn to trust each other if they're going to survive - and learn to love each other if they're going to heal the dark wounds of their past... -
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A Stitch in Time by Andrew J. Robinson
14 ratingsThe enigmatic Garak—Cardassian-in-exile on space station Deep Space Nine—refers to himself as just a simple tailor, but everyone knows that there's more to him than that... -
Company by Hugh Howey
14 ratingsOut here on the edge of sector eight, I can be alone with my thoughts. Sometimes, this isn't a good thing... -
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The Wrath of Vajazzle by Barry J. Hutchison
15 ratingsSuicide Squad meets Galaxy Quest, in this fast-paced, laugh-out-loud novel from the author the Independent calls, "the new Terry Pratchett." After saving an alien race and its god from a sentient zombie virus, Cal Carver and the crew of the Dread Ship Shatner are feeling pretty pleased with themselves... -
Bounty by Hugh Howey
14 ratingsI live in a tin can out on the edge of sector eight. Not much is supposed to happen here. Ships are supposed to fly by at twenty times the speed of light. My beacon is supposed to keep them safe. Things don't always go like they're supposed to... -
Star Wars: The Rising Storm by Cavan Scott
18 ratingsThe heroes of the High Republic era return to face a shattered peace and a fearsome foe, following the dramatic events of Light of the Jedi.In the wake of the hyperspace disaster and the heroism of the Jedi, the Republic continues to grow, bringing more worlds together under a single unified banner... -
Tales of Known Space: The Universe of Larry Niven by Larry Niven, Rick Sternbach
19 ratingsRanging from the 20th Century to the 31st, these interconnected stories trace Man's expansion and colonization throughout the galaxy...Becalmed in hellHowie's spaceship had a malfunction...but it might be only psychosomatic!Wait it outHe was trapped on Pluto...and all his assets were frozen!The borderland of SolForward possessed the ultimate weapon..Categorized as:
aliens space-opera action-adventure adult anthologies fiction hard-sci-fi solar-system -
System Collapse by Martha Wells
5 ratingsThe million-copy, New York Times bestselling Murderbot series is back in another full-length novel adventure!Am I making it worse? I think I'm making it worse.Everyone's favorite lethal SecUnit is back.Following the events in Network Effect, the Barish-Estranza corporation has sent rescue ships to a newly-colonized planet in peril, as well as additional SecUnits... -
Shakedowners by Justin Woolley
6 ratingsSome starship captains explore strange new worlds, seeking out new life and new civilisations. Some lead missions of discovery through wormholes to the other side of the galaxy. Then there's Captain Iridius B. Franklin, someone who spent too long seeking out strange new bars and new alien cocktails... -
Victorious Dead by Marie Andreas
6 ratingsThe galaxy was in for a world of hurt—chaos unseen since the violent, sadistic Asarlaí ruled. For the first time in her life, Vas doesn’t know if she can fight hard enough to stop it.Vaslisha Tor Dain was a simple sort of mercenary starship captain. She fought hard, drank hard, and killed people when all else failed... -
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Krimson Run by Julia Huni, Craig Martelle
6 ratingsThe Federation will make you pay for your crimes, even the fake ones.Tony, a spy from a rival star system who is the scion of a galactic crime family. Quinn, falsely accused former military, betrayed by her husband. A conspiracy that intertwines their lives.Where did the government go wrong? When they separated Quinn from her kids... -
Artificial Evolution by Joseph R. Lallo
8 ratingsArtificial Evolution is the third book in the Big Sigma series, building upon the story and characters introduced by Bypass Gemini and Unstable Prototypes. Lex, Michella and Squee are once again joined by the mercenaries Silo and Garotte. Along the way they'll need plenty of help from mad engineer Karter Dee and his AI Ma... -
Thronebreakers by Rebecca Coffindaffer
8 ratingsPerfect for fans of Aurora Rising, The Hunger Games, and Three Dark Crowns, this electrifying duology closer is jam-packed with tension and thrills that will hook readers from its first page.Alyssa Farshot never wanted to rule the empire. But to honor her uncle’s dying wish, she participated in the crownchase, a race across the empire’s 1,001 planets to find the royal seal and win the throne... -
The City and The Ship by Anne McCaffrey, S.M. Stirling
14 ratingsTwo novels in one large volume, both set in the same universe as The Ship Who Sang: The City Who Fought: Simeon was bored with running the mining and processing station that made up his "body." Then the invaders came. If anyone was to survive, somehow he must transform his wargaming hobby into the real thing and become The City Who Fought... -
Unchained: a science fiction romance adventure by Ruby Lionsdrake
6 ratingsOne geeky neuroscientist sent to research the inmates of a prison asteroid. Two cyborg criminals determined to free the inmates. A forbidden romance among the stars. Dr. Skylar Russo, a woman known for her research skills rather than her people skills, wants nothing more than to forget that her fiancé left her at the altar... -
The Zanari Inheritance (Children of Zanar, #1) by Niall Teasdale
6 ratingsKaya Trevorny’s world came to an end in the student welfare office of Abertine University. The colony where she had grown up, her family, was gone, dead under circumstances the authorities seemed keen to hide. To find the truth, Kaya must team up with a mercenary and a rag-tag group of smugglers. And the truth is something which will change her life forever... -
Ghosts & Ashes by F.T. Lukens
6 ratingsThree months have passed since the events of The Star Host, and Ren is living aboard the Star Stream under the watchful eyes of the Phoenix Corps. Plagued by vivid nightmares that ravage the ship in his sleep, he struggles to prove he isn’t a threat and fears he has traded one captor for another... -
First Light Chronicles Freeground by Randolph Lalonde
6 ratingsThe first book in the First Light Chronicles Series. Large enough to support an entire civilization, one of the last free ports all alone in the dark, Freeground Station is about to come under siege... -
Losing Mars by Cidney Swanson
6 ratingsJessamyn has survived a terrifying crash but lost her ship, joining Pavel, Ethan, and others in the dissenter settlement of Yucca. Now, Chancellor Lucca Brezhnaya believes Jess is out to destroy the Terran government, and Lucca will stop at nothing to find Jess... -
Imperial Subversion by T.S. Paul
8 ratingsThe revolution is over and the corrupt government officials are in prison. A Secret Society called the Cabal has raise up it's head and has one goal, control of the Galaxy. Athena Lee and her family find themselves caught in the center of this new conflict when the Cabal tries to take over her planet. This secret group has subverted the military who believe if they can't have it no one can... -
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Insurrection by T.S. Paul
8 ratingsAthena Lee and her planet are still reeling from the revolution that swept their part of the galaxy. The Space station has new management and Athena's ship has left without her on board. The Empire ship Paney is still on patrol and is being threatened by the Bad Penny Pirate clan. Mutiny, piracy and general mayhem seem to follow her as she discovers that a secret plot threatens the known galaxy... -
Summoning Light by Jeanne Cavelos, J. Michael Straczynski
8 ratingsThe explosive space epic continues, as the techno-mages come face-to-face with the devastating evil of the Shadows . . . War against the Shadows is inevitable, and the ruling Circle has ordered the techno-mages into hiding. Many are unhappy with this decision--none more so than Galen, the only mage who has faced the Shadows and lived... -
Swallow the Sky: A Space Opera by Chris Mead
8 ratingsNEW EDITION - August 2015. Professionally edited and proofed..Swallow the Sky embodies the essence of classic science fiction: real science, adventure, high spirits, and above all, a sense of wonder.Galactic culture is still reverberating from the nanotech disaster that destroyed Earth... -
Wanderer: Origins by Simon Goodson
8 ratingsHunted by a powerful Imperial fleet, his friends infected by the Taint, Jess has only one place to turn — the homeworld of his amazing ship, the Wanderer.But his journey will reveal the origins of far more than just the Wanderer, and both the Empire and the Taint will be ready to pounce at any moment... -
Space Vengeance by Mark Wayne McGinnis
10 ratings"The crazy ride continues... and never lets up!" Captain Jason Reynolds is back! In the third installment of the Scrapyard Ship sci-fi adventure series, Space Vengeance, Jason, his family, and The Lilly's crew face the impending destruction of their internal nano-devices... -
Halo: Silentium: Book Three of the Forerunner Saga by Greg Bear
16 ratingsIn the last years of the Forerunner empire, chaos rules. The Flood—a horrifying shape-changing parasite—has arrived in force, aided by unexpected allies. Internal strife within the ecumene has desperately weakened Forerunner defenses.Too little, too late, the legal rate of Juridicals is only now investigating possible crimes by the Master Builder and others... -
Vacuum Diagrams by Stephen Baxter
16 ratings"And everywhere the Humans went, they found life..."This dazzling future history, winner of the 2000 Philip K. Dick Award, is the most ambitious and exciting since Asimov's classic Foundation saga. It tells the story of Humankind - all the way to the end of the Universe itself... -
The Return of Nathan Brazil by Jack L. Chalker
15 ratingsIn a desolate sector of space floats the Well World: the ancient Markovian supercomputer that first created and now maintains the Universe.While attempting to repel an insidious intergalactic invasion, Mankind resorts to a weapon of such awesome destructive power that it undermines the Well World's control of time and space and threatens the very existence of the Universe... -
Sentenced to Prism by Alan Dean Foster
14 ratingsThe company had a big problem, it was illegally exploiting a fabulously rich planet maned Prism, a world where even the tiniest creatures were living jewels. But somehow, all contact had been lost with the scientist of the survey team. The Company didn't want to draw attention to itself by sending in a rescue mission so they assigned Evan Orgell, a self-confident problem-solver, to investigate... -
Vigilant by James Alan Gardner
10 ratingsTwo species lived in peaceful coexistence on the planet Demoth until a deadly plague wiped out millions of the winged Ooloms while leaving humans untouched, helpless to do more than ease the suffering of their alien friends and neighbors. Faye Smallwood saw the horror firsthand, caring for the plague victims in her father's hospital. She was there when he discovered the cure that made him famous... -
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Revolutionary by T.S. Paul
8 ratingsAthena Lee had returned home to her planet of birth. She is home to visit the family she has not seen for over 16 years. Her ship the James Cook is there to repair damage caused by the O'Malley pirates. She finds that her once peaceful agrarian world is overrun with corruption and graft. Her own family is wrapped up in a daily power play for control of the planet and its resources...Categorized as:
lgbtq space-opera action-adventure book children-books fiction galactic-empire space -
Hope by Niall Teasdale
8 ratingsSince the end of the Herosian War, the galaxy has seen almost thirty years of peace and quiet... -
First Contact by D.L. Harrison
8 ratingsAlicia Jones is a genius, and a little odd. At just twenty three years of age, she is close to finishing her doctoral dissertation. But when she tests her latest theory in the lab to generate a strong EM field, it has very unanticipated results. Results that lead to faster than light travel, and first contact with another race... -
Gyrfalcon by Anna Butler
6 ratingsEarth’s last known colony, Albion, is fighting an alien enemy. In the first of the Taking Shield series, Shield Captain Bennet is dropped behind the lines to steal priceless intelligence. A dangerous job, and Bennet doesn’t need the distractions of changing relationships with his long-term partner, Joss, or with his father—or with Flynn, the new lover who will turn his world upside-down... -
Sky Raiders by Michelle Diener
6 ratingsFirst they flew their mysterious sky craft through the skies of Barit. Then they started attacking. Finally, they began to raid. Garek's one year of duty as a guard walking the walls of Garamundo was extended to two when the sky raiders appeared. Two long years away from home and his lover, Taya. When he finally returns, the town is empty... -
Heart Scarab by Anna Butler
6 ratingsIn Heart Scarab, set more than a year and a half after Gyrfalcon, Shield Captain Bennet’s company is on a planet in imminent danger of being overrun by the Maess. Telnos is an unpleasant little planet, inhabited by religious fanatics in the festering marshlands and unregistered miners running illegal solactinium mines up in the hills... -
Revolution's Shore by Kate Elliott, Alis A. Rasmussen
6 ratingsIn the second volume of the Highroad trilogy, plucky interstellar adventurer Lily Ransome sets out with a ragtag group to defeat a cruel empire bent on consuming the universeLilyaka Hae Ransome grew up on the colonized planet of Unruli... -
Man-Kzin Wars X: The Wunder War by Hal G.P. Colebatch, Larry Niven
6 ratingsThe first colonists from Earth named the planet Wunderland. Generations later, the felinoid alien invaders called Kzin came and turned it into a hell for humans... -
Steel Walls and Dirt Drops by Alan Black
6 ratingsThe new commander of the 1392nd Allied Protective Expeditionary Services is Hamisha Ann McPherson and this is her first command of anything larger than a squad. She is a larger-than-life combat veteran and a bonafide war hero. She knows combat. She also knows that combat is one thing and that command is a warthog of a different and dubious color... -
Skeen's Return by Jo Clayton
6 ratingsTrapped in an alternate dimension, the tough and self-confident Skeen confronts slavers, monsters, and alien assassins in a fast-paced space adventure... -
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The Rebel Files: Collected Intelligence of the Alliance by Daniel Wallace
6 ratingsThis top-secret cache reproduces highly sensitive intelligence that traces the Rebel Alliance from its formation through its tireless fight against the Empire and the First Order. From its earliest beginnings in covert opposition to Imperial operations, the Alliance could not leave its most sensitive information open to the risk of digital interception... -
Genesis Earth by Joe Vasicek
6 ratingsA BOY AND A GIRL ON A VOYAGE TO AN ALIEN STAR Michael Anderson never thought he would set foot on a world like Earth. He only studied planetology to satisfy his parents, two of humanity's most brilliant scientists. But when they open a wormhole to an alien planet—one emitting a signal that can only be a sign of intelligent life—he soon becomes caught up in the mission to explore it... -
Flotsam by R.J. Theodore
6 ratingsA fantastical steampunk first contact novel that ties together high magic, high technology, and bold characters to create a story you won’t soon forget. Captain Talis just wants to keep her airship crew from starving, and maybe scrape up enough cash for some badly needed repairs... -
Safe Passage by Rachel Ford
6 ratingsGo big or go home. For privateer Captain Magdalene Landon, it's all about going big. For Kay Ellis, it's about getting home. Together, they're about to architect the most daring heist in the galaxy. Kay knows too much. She knows it’s a matter of time before a Conglomerate hitman finds her. She’s desperate for safe passage back to Union space... -
Black Spire by Delilah S. Dawson
16 ratingsWalk the ancient streets, meet the colorful characters, and uncover the secret history of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the upcoming expansion to the Disney Parks experience!After devastating losses at the hands of the First Order, General Leia Organa has dispatched her agents across the galaxy in search of allies, sanctuary, and firepower—and her top spy, Vi Moradi, may have just found all three,... -
The Romulan Way by Diane Duane, Peter Morwood
15 ratingsThey are a race of warriors, a noble people to whom honor is all. They are cousin to the Vulcan, ally to the Klingon, and Starfleet's most feared and cunning adversary. They are the Romulans, and for eight years, Federation Agent Terise LoBrutto has hidden in their midst...
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