After going through Amazon’s list of top science fiction books, I pulled the top five involving interplanetary travel that may be of interest to readers. I am not endorsing these (nor would I in some clear cases), but rather pointing them out if you left for the beach and forgot to bring a book or two. It’s a good idea to have a backup book, and I also recommend you start at the beginning of each series just to make life easier.
- The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu (1 of 4 in the series)
Set against the backdrop of China’s Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion. The result is a science fiction masterpiece of enormous scope and vision.
- Light Bringer: A Red Rising Novel by Pierce Brown (6 of 7 in the series)
The Reaper is a legend, more myth than man: the savior of worlds, the leader of the Rising, the breaker of chains.
But the Reaper is also Darrow, born of the red soil of Mars: a husband, a father, a friend.
Marooned far from home after a devastating defeat on the battlefields of Mercury, Darrow longs to return to his wife and sovereign, Virginia, to defend Mars from its bloodthirsty would-be conqueror Lysander.
Lysander longs to destroy the Rising and restore the supremacy of Gold, and will raze the worlds to realize his ambitions.
The worlds once needed the Reaper. But now they need Darrow, and Darrow needs the people he loves—Virginia, Cassius, Sevro—in order to defend the Republic.
So begins Darrow’s long voyage home, an interplanetary adventure where old friends will reunite, new alliances will be forged, and rivals will clash on the battlefield.
Because Eo’s dream is still alive—and after the dark age will come a new age: of light, of victory, of hope.
- Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon ( 1 of 21 in the series)
You’d think being abducted by aliens would be the worst thing that could happen to me. And you’d be wrong. Because now, the aliens are having ship trouble, and they’ve left their cargo of human women – including me – on an ice planet. And the only native inhabitant I’ve met? He’s big, horned, blue, and really, really has a thing for me…
- Backyard Starship: Constant Sorrow by J.N. Chaney and Terry Maggert (15 of 16 in the series)
Humans have been in the stars far longer than Van originally thought, and they’ve been busy.
But not every visitor to or from Earth has good intentions, and the Peacemakers are faced with an uncomfortable reality. The Earth is about to meet aliens. Some of the aliens are bringing goods to trade. And among those items—are weapons.
When a secret cabal of humans who want to exploit the Earth is revealed, Van has to decide how and where to fight this threat. Along the way, he reveals a secret history that began in the Great War—and ends with mass chaos on his home planet.
Van won’t let that happen—at least not without a fight, and to hold back the gears of war, he’s going to need a lot of help. With Torina at his side, the crew faces a decision that will change the future of the stars themselves, and challenge the Guild, the Earth, and the Equal Grasp as the universe gets smaller with each contact between humans and aliens.
How can Van manage the clash, save earth, and deliver peace?
If he can, what will it cost him?
- Defiance of the Fall 10: A LitRPG Adventure by TheFirstDefier and JF Brink (10 of 11 in the series)
A storm of fate is gathering, and Zac finds himself at its center.
Having escaped the Orom’s prison, Zac has finally returned to Earth. Much has changed during his years off-world, with war brewing in the Zecia Sector. Struggle is the System’s mandate, where the strong thrive, and the weak suffer.
Zac and the Atwood Empire are racing against time to accumulate the power needed to survive. With danger comes opportunity, and all clues point toward the chaotic Million Gates Territory. That’s where the invaders are hiding, and that’s where Ogras is trapped. But first, Zac needs a spaceship.
Meanwhile, ancient forces from the depths of the Multiverse stir, their gazes pointed toward the desolate frontier.
Our Awesome Universe 