Books like Stealing Coal — picked by fans

No, this isn't the title of a B-movie—it's the fun, sexy, and surprisingly sweet start of a series with wonderful world-building and likable characters.

This book is about how a group of human women abducted by evil aliens crash-land on a planet full of hunky, endearing aliens and the adventures they share.

I loved how the aliens cherished and celebrated the women in this story instead of reviling their humanity, as I've seen in other sci-fi stories. The spicy scenes are hot, and the heroine is a natural leader who doesn't passively wait around to be rescued.

This is a dual-POV story, and the alien hero's confusion over human quirks is quite funny. Escapism at its best!

Reading this book was a no-brainer for me. First – it has Maul in it. Actually, that’s enough of a reason. Who doesn’t love Maul? 

As far as I’m concerned he’s the ultimate bad guy. You don’t mess with him, he kicks serious ass, and he looks wow! My kind of hero/anti-hero. Dark, brooding, commanding, and can stop a conversation with just one look.

He’s the type of anti-hero you can’t help but root for and this book didn’t let me (or Maul) down. Imprisoned in hell, he has to complete his mission while staying alive against seemingly insurmountable odds. Plenty of deep stares, lots of kicking-ass, and a great plot that kept me up early into the morning.

I read this book a few years ago and again recently. I still love it. The whole series in fact. The main character, Grant Justice is instantly captivating. I have to admit his name is pretty great too! Like all my favourite heroes, Grant is a man who can look after himself. In fact, he can look after the whole planet. He’s that kick-ass. Loads of action, a bit of romance, and a lot of Grant. I think I’ll have to go and read it again…

I read this because it mentioned space pirates. Who doesn’t love space pirates? It’s also got a kick-ass heroine and an equally kick-ass hero. Both characters have a history and aren’t particularly fond of each other. Then she’s tasked with shipping the wronged hero back to Earth on her pirate ship, but someone doesn’t want him to stand trial. Being stuck together on her ship together makes for some interesting situations. Three guesses how that goes. 

My writing career began with children's books. Although my latest book is for adults, I still love to read and learn from these books because: (1) they tell me that kids still love to read a good book, and (2) it let's me know what children are interested in reading these days. It keeps me current and up to date.

This is a great book that follows a cyborg—a being with both human and bio-mechatronic parts—discussing all sorts of things with Rodrick, a scientist at Cybertechnology Inc.

The cyborg starts asking questions that it shouldn't really be asking, demanding it carries out its own improvements. The Senator for the AI oversight committee asks Rodrick questions about the cyborg gaining knowledge and becoming 'self-aware'. Rodrick senses that something is changing within the company and is concerned.

The Department of Defence comes into the story so you… show more.

I gravitate toward authors who can mix drama and humor, which is something I strive for in my books, and Kage Baker is one of the best. Known for her wildly inventive and unpredictable plots and sardonic sense of humor, she creates characters the reader really cares about, something else I hope to achieve. The all-seeing, all-knowing Company is headed by the mysterious Dr. Zeus, who has created cyborgs to go back in time to save treasure for clients who will pay big bucks for a lost Van Gogh or missing Hemmingway manuscript. But the cyborgs aren’t heartless robots, and my favorite character, Literature Preserver Lewis, is in love with the Botonist Mendoza, who, of course, loves another. I was totally charmed by Lewis and his unending optimism.

What makes The Good, the Bad, and the Cyborg unforgettable is the genre mash-up and the story’s poignancy.

It combines two disparate genres--western historical fiction and futuristic sci-fi romance. Mars is being colonized. Tasked with providing law and order are cyborg rangers riding their sentient robotic horses. While cyborgs play critical roles in the settling of Mars, they are considered less than human and are denied the same rights as regular citizens. When they meet their human heroine and fall in love they rediscover their humanity.

So well written and crafted, this story leaves a lasting impression on the reader.

Agent G is like James Bond with cyborgs. It’s an action-driven spy thriller with cyberpunk elements that become stronger in the later books of the series. I love James Bond, the older movies in particular, and I love cyberpunk, so this book grabbed me from the first page. Although it’s more of a technothriller than a classic cyberpunk story I still recommend this book because I think it’s such an interesting and fun read. Definitely worth checking out if you like stories about high-tech spies saving the world!

Between the high-stakes worldbuilding, Earth on the brink of war with Luna while battling a global pandemic, and Marissa Meyer’s fresh sci-fi take on magic, the story drew me in and wouldn’t let me go.

I’m not ashamed to say I devoured this in one sitting. I was fascinated by the lunar people’s ability to use their “gifts” to manipulate bioelectricity, casting glamours and bewitching their victim’s minds. It added yet another layer of tension to the story.

The seamless fusion of dystopia, sci-fi, and elements from classic fairytales creates a powerhouse narrative that centers around Cinder, a cyborg mechanic whose fate is inexplicably twined with the prince’s in a race to find a cure and prevent the impending war.

I’m a 70s kid so the Six Million Dollar Man was a staple of TV viewing but Deathlok, a cyborg created from dying/dead soldier Luther Manning, chilled and thrilled me in equal measures. The idea of waking up in the remains of your shattered body with cold metal taking the place of most flesh and a computer talking in your head: your consciousness, a voice forever trapped in a dead but unable-to-die body was something that struck deep. ‘Alert: human personality reasserting itself. Repress immediately before…’