Aurora Rising – Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff (2019)
The first book in The Aurora Cycle series, Aurora Rising is a fast-paced space opera following a squad of misfit cadets from Aurora Academy who find themselves entangled in a galaxy-spanning conspiracy. When hotshot pilot Tyler Jones rescues Aurora Jie-Lin O’Malley—a girl who’s been in cryo-sleep for two centuries and now harbors universe-altering powers—his rag-tag crew (including a sarcastic diplomat, a warrior with a heart of gold, and a tech genius with attitude) must outrun intergalactic law, ancient alien tech, and their own demons. Kaufman and Kristoff blend snarky dialogue, high-stakes action, and a dash of romance in this Guardians of the Galaxy-meets-Firefly adventure.
If You Loved This, Try:
- Illuminae (Kaufman & Kristoff, 2015) – The authors’ earlier, groundbreaking epistolary sci-fi thriller.
- Skyward (Brandon Sanderson, 2018) – Another underdog-pilot story with cosmic stakes and humor.
- Contagion (Erin Bowman, 2017) – A crew investigates a deadly outbreak on a distant planet.
