Kindle Unlimited is a service that can theoretically provide you with limitless numbers of books for the price of one normal release every month. This is a tremendous blessing for those of us who are fast readers. I pretty much have read every single Red Sonja comic ever written thanks to Dynamite Entertainment putting almost all their comics on the service.
However, what we here at Before We Go want most is good Kindle Unlimited books. As such, here is a recommendation of a bunch of entertaining ones that I’ve enjoyed and can say rise above the dross.
If you wish to see previous recommendations, go here:
As an indie author on Kindle (Space Academy Dropouts, I was a Teenage Weredeer, Esoterrorism), here are some of my favorites:
1. Against All Odds by Jeffrey Haskell
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Against All Odds is a great military science fiction novel set in a politically complex world where various human-based powers compete for control of an important trading region. Jacob Grimm is exiled to an assignment where he’s expected to cause an international incident after being unfairly blamed for the death of children during an enemy attack.
Haskell has an excellent grasp of world-building as well as characterization, making his protagonists likable and his antagonists deeply hateable. The plot moves at a brisk pace and the action is quite good. Some individuals may view the setting as a bit too Call of Duty in Space (the enemy being the Caliphate and the Russian-styled Iron Empire) but I just took it in good fun.
2. Backyard Spaceship by J.N. Chaney and Terry Maggert
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I really enjoyed this story about a former Army Intelligence officer finding out that his grandfather was a space policeman and left him his starship. It’s an interesting, mostly episodic, story that works well as a bit of escapism in a rough time. I liked the characters, his AI crew, and the Mass Effect-like set up.
Backyard Spaceship doesn’t take it’s worldbuilding too seriously but is a light, easy read that most fans of science fiction will enjoy. I especially like how our bounty-hunting protagonist has to worry about fuel as well as other expenditures.
3. Starship for Sale by M.R. Forbes
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Starship for Sale is a story in the vein of the Explorers and The Last Starfighter. A young teenager finds out he’s dying of cancer when he receives a weird text that leads him to a starship for sale. Soon, he and his best friend are travelling across the universe with a price on their heads and no idea how to deal with their situation. This is a really fun book and great for an afternoon’s read. It is both silly and poignant in equal respects.
4. Columbus Day (Expeditionary Force #1) by Craig Alanson
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Expeditionary Force starts a bit slow but has rapidly become one of my favorite series. The adventures of Sergeant Joe Bishop and the all-powerful AI Skippy the Magnificent is a fascinating story that I enjoyed from beginning to end. Columbus Day is a bit rough around the edges, at least until Skippy shows up but has a lot of fantastic worldbuilding.
Humanity survived First Contact with a seemingly hostile race only to ally with another one. Unfortunately, it turns out that they allied with the wrong one. Now it may be too late to save humanity but our insane tactics and weird new ally say otherwise.
5. Deicide (Agents of MORTAL #1) by Michael Gibson
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I’m a huge fan of Michael Gibsons books and Agents of Mortal may well be my favorite. America has put all of its gods, fairies, and other supernatural beings in Alaska. This has resulted in it becoming a thriving land of weirdness with overwhelmed human police officers. It’s a silly and bizarre idea but one that I very much enjoyed. Sort of like if you combined Brooklyn 911 and Percy Jackson.
