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Seeker

January 23, 2023 by Melanie

“Richards is an extraordinary writer,” (Dean Koontz) who can “keep you turning the pages all night long.” (Douglas Preston).

Seeker

 

A breathtaking near-future thriller. From the New York Times bestselling author whose books have sold over a million copies.

A small alien spacecraft with extraordinary secrets. And a mad scramble to get to it first.

When an interstellar probe lands in the heart of the Amazon Jungle, powerful nations around the world will stop at nothing to retrieve it. Because the unoccupied alien craft is sure to contain revolutionary technology. Technology that will allow the country that controls it to dominate the globe.

With the probe hidden within the densest rainforest on Earth, traditional military power is useless. So the US chooses to send in a single operative, a man who’s been enhanced to the limits of current technology. He’ll be greatly outnumbered, and with so much on the line, not even the closest of allies can be trusted.

But the true stakes are higher than anyone could possibly know. Because all is not what it seems.

And the alien spacecraft has plans of its own . . .

Seeker is a fast-paced, roller-coaster ride of a thriller. One that explores actual human enhancements being worked on today, along with mind-blowing concepts that readers will be pondering long after they’ve read the last page.

“Richards is an extraordinary writer,” (Dean Koontz) who can “keep you turning the pages all night long.” (Douglas Preston)

“Richards is a worthy successor to Michael Crichton.” (SF Book dot com)

 

About the Author

Douglas E. Richards is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of WIRED and more than a dozen other novels (see list below). His books have been translated into eight languages and published by major publishers in numerous foreign countries, and have garnered over 40,000 Amazon reviews (60% five-star and 24% four-star).

Richards loves hearing from readers, and always replies, so feel free to write to him at douglaserichards1@gmail.com, and address him as “Doug”. You can also Friend Richards on Facebook at Douglas E. Richards Author, or visit his website at douglaserichards.com (where you can sign up to be notified of new releases).

A former biotech executive, Richards earned a BS in microbiology from the Ohio State University, a master’s degree in genetic engineering from the University of Wisconsin–where he engineered mutant viruses now named after him–and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

In recognition of his work, Richards was selected to be a “special guest” at San Diego Comic-Con International, along with such icons as Stan Lee and Ray Bradbury. His essays have been featured in National Geographic, the BBC, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Earth & Sky, Today’s Parent, and many others.

The author has two grown children and lives in San Diego, California, with his wife and dog.

Near Future Science Fiction Thrillers by Douglas E. Richards

WIRED (Wired 1)
AMPED (Wired 2)

MIND’S EYE (Nick Hall 1)
BRAINWEB (Nick Hall 2)
MINDWAR (Nick Hall 3)

SPLIT SECOND (Split Second 1)
TIME FRAME (Split Second 2)

THE ENIGMA CUBE (Alien Artifact 1)
A PIVOT IN TIME (Alien Artifact 2)

Standalone novels

QUANTUM LENS
GAME CHANGER
INFINITY BORN
SEEKER
VERACITY
ORACLE
THE IMMORTALITY CODE

Kids Science Fiction Thrillers (9 and up, enjoyed by kids and adults alike)

TRAPPED (Prometheus Project 1)
CAPTURED (Prometheus Project 2)
STRANDED (Prometheus Project 3)

OUT OF THIS WORLD
THE DEVIL’S SWORD

Filed Under: Fantasy, Featured, Hard SciFi

The Martian

December 1, 2022 by Melanie

“As the two-hundred thirty-fourth reader to review THE MARTIAN by Andy Weir, I have no illusion that I can add anything substantive to the plaudits already heaped on this intelligent work of space sci-fi. Simply put, it’s a nail-biter that’ll trim your finger nail plates down even with the nail beds.”


The Martian: A Novel

Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars.

Now, he’s sure he’ll be the first person to die there.

After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive.

Chances are, though, he won’t have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old “human error” are much more likely to kill him first.

But Mark isn’t ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

 

 

Filed Under: Best Sellers, Featured, Hard SciFi

The Lost Colony

November 13, 2022 by Melanie

A great finale to this section of the series. I have really enjoyed reading this one following a long break after finishing Book 3. There are lots of potential story lines left for Vaughn to pursue so looking forward to the next mission of Capt Maddox – Huge

The Lost Colony
(Lost Starship Series Book 4) 

 

We fought the invading New Men to a standstill and defeated the alien Destroyer sent to obliterate Earth.

The worst should be over, but it’s not.

Perfect android replicas are impersonating high-level officials so trust is failing. Worse, the New Men have found allies with an impenetrable stealth technology.

This time, however, Earth is going on the offensive. Admiral Fletcher is headed to “C” Quadrant with a Grand Fleet. He’s to liberate the captured planets and find the enemy homeworld. What he isn’t supposed to do is die.

The only one who can save humanity has been grounded. Captain Maddox is under suspicion because he’s half New Man. But he’s not going to stop. He’s found something unbelievable. Now, he needs Starship Victory—an ancient, alien spacecraft—the AI Galyan, Meta, Sergeant Riker and the others to help him tear the greatest secret of all from the enemy.

Maddox and his crew must succeed or humanity will drown in a sea of human extinction.

THE LOST COLONY is the fourth book in the LOST STARSHIP SERIES.

 

 

About the Author

You can visit Vaughn at www.vaughnheppner.com

I was born in Canada and remember as a small boy crawling in my snow-fort. I closed my eyes, and when I tried to open them, they were frozen shut. I didn’t panic, but wiped away the ice crystals, unglued my eyes and kept on building my tunnel. Those were great days! I moved to Central California before seventh grade and couldn’t believe I lived in a land where oranges grew on trees and you could pick grapes from the vine.

I used to wonder what I wanted to do with my life, what kind of work specifically. I was miserable not knowing and bordering on desperate. Then one day a friend gave me his typewriter. I began working on a novel. A different person told me it was much easier on a computer, so I bought one and began getting up at 4:30 A.M. each morning before work, writing for three hours. My eyes were unglued once again as the pang of misery left my gut. I knew exactly what I wanted to do: write. So now that’s what I do, I write, and write, and write, and I love it.

Filed Under: Best Sellers, Featured, Hard SciFi

Steel World

October 23, 2022 by Melanie

If you like black humour this the one for you James McGill star of this epic,is one of most enjoyable and interesting characters i have read in a long time .When Amazon sent me there recommend list I clicked on book 12 i bought and started to read it and realised I read the previous books,but I read them years ago so back to book one because I enjoyed them so much.Another good thing about Amazon they tell you that you have bought them before with a date. – Amazon Review

Steel World
(Undying Mercenaries Series Book 1)

 

In the twentieth century Earth sent probes, transmissions and welcoming messages to the stars. Unfortunately, someone noticed.

The Galactics arrived with their battle fleet in 2052. Rather than being exterminated under a barrage of hell-burners, Earth joined their vast Empire. Swearing allegiance to our distant alien overlords wasn’t the only requirement for survival. We also had to have something of value to trade, something that neighboring planets would pay their hard-earned credits to buy. As most of the local worlds were too civilized to have a proper army, the only valuable service Earth could provide came in the form of soldiers…someone had to do their dirty work for them, their fighting and dying.

I, James McGill, was born in 2099 on the fringe of the galaxy. When Hegemony Financial denied my loan applications, I was kicked out of the university and I turned to the stars. My first campaign involved the invasion of a mineral-rich planet called Cancri-9, better known as Steel World. The attack didn’t go well, and now Earth has entered a grim struggle for survival.

Humanity’s mercenary legions go to war in STEEL WORLD, bestselling author B. V. Larson’s latest science fiction novel.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Best Sellers, Featured, Hard SciFi

Upgrade: A Novel

October 17, 2022 by Melanie Leave a Comment

I got through this one quickly as it is a page turner, and it is very much a book of our times, dealing with the themes that have become important in the real world today. However, whilst it is well worth reading, compared to Blake’s earlier novels, this one seems to lack the depth and complexity, and even pure inventiveness that I have come to expect from him. Hence four stars not five, and whilst excellent, not superb. Hoping for more next time. – Amazon Review

Upgrade: A Novel 

 

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “If Michael Crichton had written a superhero novel, it would look a lot like Upgrade.”—The New York Times Book Review

“You don’t so much sympathize with the main character as live inside his skin.”—DIANA GABALDON, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Outlander series

“Mysterious, fascinating, and deeply moving—exploring the very nature of what it means to be human.”—ALEX MICHAELIDES, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient and The Maiden

The mind-blowing new thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Dark Matter and Recursion—currently in development as a motion picture at Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners

“You are the next step in human evolution.”

At first, Logan Ramsay isn’t sure if anything’s different. He just feels a little . . . sharper. Better able to concentrate. Better at multitasking. Reading a bit faster, memorizing better, needing less sleep.

But before long, he can’t deny it: Something’s happening to his brain. To his body. He’s starting to see the world, and those around him—even those he loves most—in whole new ways.

The truth is, Logan’s genome has been hacked. And there’s a reason he’s been targeted for this upgrade. A reason that goes back decades to the darkest part of his past, and a horrific family legacy.

Worse still, what’s happening to him is just the first step in a much larger plan, one that will inflict the same changes on humanity at large—at a terrifying cost.

Because of his new abilities, Logan’s the one person in the world capable of stopping what’s been set in motion. But to have a chance at winning this war, he’ll have to become something other than himself. Maybe even something other than human.

And even as he’s fighting, he can’t help wondering: what if humanity’s only hope for a future really does lie in engineering our own evolution?

Intimate in scale yet epic in scope, Upgrade is an intricately plotted, lightning-fast tale that charts one man’s thrilling transformation, even as it asks us to ponder the limits of our humanity—and our boundless potential.

 

 

Filed Under: Best Sellers, Featured, Hard SciFi

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