Best of
Alternate-History
2018
In Plain Sight
Dan Willis - 2018
With the police and New York’s Council of Sorcerers desperate to find the culprit, Alex becomes a suspect himself, thanks to his ties to the priest who ran the soup kitchen.Now Alex has his book of spells, a pack of matches and four days to find out where the plague came from, or that authorities will hang the crime squarely on him.
The 2020 Commission Report on the North Korean Nuclear Attacks Against the U.S.: A Speculative Novel
Jeffrey Lewis - 2018
If fear of nuclear war is going to keep you up at night, at least it can be a page-turner.”—
New Scientist
America lost 1.4 million citizens in the North Korean attacks of March 2020. This is the final, authorized report of the government commission charged with investigating the calamity. “The skies over the Korean Peninsula on March 21, 2020, were clear and blue.” So begins this sobering report on the findings of the Commission on the Nuclear Attacks against the United States, established by law by Congress and President Donald J. Trump to investigate the horrific events of the next three days. An independent, bipartisan panel led by nuclear expert Jeffrey Lewis, the commission was charged with finding and reporting the relevant facts, investigating how the nuclear war began, and determining whether our government was adequately prepared for combating a nuclear adversary and safeguarding U.S. citizens. Did President Trump and his advisers understand North Korean views about nuclear weapons? Did they appreciate the dangers of provoking the country’s ruler with social media posts and military exercises? Did the tragic milestones of that fateful month—North Korea's accidental shoot-down of Air Busan flight 411, the retaliatory strike by South Korea, and the tweet that triggered vastly more carnage—inevitably lead to war? Or did America’s leaders have the opportunity to avert the greatest calamity in the history of our nation? Answering these questions will not bring back the lives lost in March 2020. It will not rebuild New York, Washington, or the other cities reduced to rubble. But at the very least, it might prevent a tragedy of this magnitude from occurring again. It is this hope, more than any other, that inspired The 2020 Commission Report.
The Black God's Drums
P. Djèlí Clark - 2018
Instead, she wants to soar, and her sights are set on securing passage aboard the smuggler airship Midnight Robber. Her ticket: earning Captain Ann-Marie’s trust using a secret about a kidnapped Haitian scientist and a mysterious weapon he calls The Black God’s Drums.But Creeper keeps another secret close to heart--Oya, the African orisha of the wind and storms, who speaks inside her head and grants her divine powers. And Oya has her own priorities concerning Creeper and Ann-Marie…
Red Ice
William C. Dietz - 2018
Dietz, the New York Times bestselling author of the America Rising novels, comes RED ICE. A military thriller so believable the story could be ripped from tomorrow’s headlines. World War III is a month old. After attacking, and sinking the Destroyer USS Stacy Heath, the Chinese invade Tibet, and India counterattacks. Rather than allow the Chinese to seize control of the subcontinent the U.S. sends 20,000 U.S. soldiers and marines in to join the fight. The Russians use the opportunity to invade Ukraine, which leaves NATO with no choice but to respond. A full fledged ground war begins. American forces are spread thin, and the decision is made to evacuate all personnel from Afghanistan. Troops have already begun to pull out, when Air Force JTAC (Joint Terminal Attack Controller) Dan Falco, receives orders to kill a ruthless Taliban leader named Noor Mohammad Hashemi. But it won’t be easy. Falco must enter enemy territory with a guide who may, or may not be a member of the Taliban, take up a position above an enemy held town, and call in a targeted air strike on a man standing in the middle of a populated area. Meanwhile 7,000 miles to north, the Russians are holding a training exercise called RED ICE. Except that it isn’t a training exercise and, if American forces fail to stop the enemy, the Russians will land on American soil. An accomplishment that would be a tremendous blow to American morale, and would suck much needed resources away from the conflicts in Europe and Asia. Army Air Force and even Coast Guard personnel will do their best to push the Russians back. But will their best be good enough? For more about William C. Dietz and his fiction please visit williamcdietz.com. You can find him on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/williamcdietz and you can follow him on Twitter: William C. Dietz @wcdietz
The Dream of the Iron Dragon
Robert Kroese - 2018
In the 23rd century, humanity has been hunted to the verge of extinction by an alien race. When an exploratory ship accidentally travels back in time to Viking age Scandinavia, the human race is given a second chance. Pursued by the power-hungry King Harald, the four surviving crew members join a ragtag band of Vikings as they pillage their way across Europe. It will take all their ingenuity, courage and technical know-how just to survive. But survival is only the beginning. To save humanity, they must somehow return to the stars. Thus begins a decades-long effort to teach the Vikings to build a craft capable of reaching space—a ship that will come to be known as the Iron Dragon.
The Calculating Stars
Mary Robinette Kowal - 2018
The ensuing climate cataclysm will soon render the earth inhospitable for humanity, as the last such meteorite did for the dinosaurs. This looming threat calls for a radically accelerated effort to colonize space, and requires a much larger share of humanity to take part in the process.Elma York’s experience as a WASP pilot and mathematician earns her a place in the International Aerospace Coalition’s attempts to put man on the moon, as a calculator. But with so many skilled and experienced women pilots and scientists involved with the program, it doesn’t take long before Elma begins to wonder why they can’t go into space, too.Elma’s drive to become the first Lady Astronaut is so strong that even the most dearly held conventions of society may not stand a chance against her.
Robledo Mountain
P.C. Allen - 2018
Driving down the road in the Mesilla Valley of southern New Mexico, sandwiched in the few hundred yards between the Robledo Mountains to the West and the Rio Grande to the East, Paul loses consciousness while returning home from a gun show. An hour later, he regains consciousness finding himself swept away on the tides of time. Is he really in the past? Is he dreaming? Is he in the midst of a psychotic episode? So begins his journey of discovery. Along the way, he battles Apache, Comanche, and Navajo warriors, fights bushwackers, discovers his roots, mines gold, finds love and friendship, and makes powerful enemies, all while establishing a home in the Mesilla Valley on the banks of the Rio Grande.
Mecha Samurai Empire
Peter Tieryas - 2018
Foremost among them, Makoto Fujimoto grew up in California, but with a difference--his California is part of the United States of Japan. After Germany and Japan won WWII, the United States fell under their control. Growing up in this world, Mac plays portical games, haphazardly studies for the Imperial Exam, and dreams of becoming a mecha pilot. Only problem: Mac's grades are terrible. His only hope is to pass the military exam and get into the prestigious mecha pilot training program at Berkeley Military Academy. When his friend Hideki's plan to game the test goes horribly wrong, Mac washes out of the military exam too. Perhaps he can achieve his dream by becoming a civilian pilot. But with tensions rising between Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany and rumors of collaborators and traitors abounding, Mac will have to stay alive long enough first...
The Aegis of Merlin Omnibus Vol 1
James E. Wisher - 2018
At least until the final day of school arrives and with it the annual wizard’s test. When Conryu passes the test, no one can believe it since everyone knows boys can’t do magic. Suddenly thrust into a world of magic and danger, Conryu must figure out how to use his news powers and quickly. He soon finds himself n the run from a mad religious cult and hunted by a group of wizards that view a man wielding magic as the worst abomination imaginable. When his home city is taken hostage by the sinister Lady Raven, Conryu is the only one that can save the day. Can Conryu master his magic before it’s too late? This Volume contains the first four novels of the Aegis of Merlin Urban Fantasy Series: The Impossible Wizard, The Awakening, The Chimera Jar, and The Raven’s Shadow.
The Apple-Tree Throne
Premee Mohamed - 2018
Bright new aqua-plants are generating electricity for the streetlights; news can be easily had on the radio-viz; and in Gundisalvus' Land, the war is over and the soldiers are beginning to trickle home. Amongst these is Lt. Benjamin Braddock, survivor of the massacre that ended the war, and begrudgingly ready to return to a world that, well, doesn't seem to need him any more than it did in peacetime. His friends have homes and families to return to, while he's got nothing but his discharge papers and a couple of unwanted medals. Oh, and one new thing: the furious ghost of his commanding officer. Fortunately, since the officer's family is so vehemently adamant that Braddock join their rich and carefree fold, he doesn't have much time to fret about being haunted. But the secrets of the war are about to catch up to them all. "A steaming heap of self-indulgent drivel" - the author
The Demons of Paris
Eric Flint - 2018
Demons, imps, and spirits, evil and benign, spill into the universe from the netherworld. In Paris, a series of grisly murders that couldn't possibly be performed by a human, no matter how depraved, leads the Grand Chatelet and his men to try and raise a demon of their own to learn how to combat the creature that is terrorizing the city. Unfortunately—or perhaps fortunately—the demon who is summoned brings with him a van from the Paris of the twenty-first century. The van contains a modern day drama teacher, her son, and eight precocious high school students—along with all of their electronic devices. Soon, their laptops, tablets and cell-phones become possessed by imps and spirits of the netherworld, some of whom are brilliant and all of whom are insatiably curious. Soon it's a race to see which pack of outsiders can create the most turmoil in the late Middle Ages—monstrous demons or precocious teenagers who soon have their own allies and followers among the ranks of demonkind. And King Charles V had already been in trouble! Piled onto his own poor health, a suspicious and contentious church, France's always-quarrelsome nobility—worst of all, his unscrupulous and ambitious brother, Philip the Bold—the king now has both demons and people from the future to contend with. He does have one asset—and not a small one. He can place his trusted Constable of France, Bertrand du Guesclin, in charge of the rambunctious teenagers from the future and their ever-growing legion of demons. And Bertrand has a great asset of his own—his wife Tiphaine de Raguenel, perhaps the best astrologer in all of France and, for sure and certain, not a woman to take seriously the prattling nonsense of youngsters skeptical of her lore and knowledge.
The Clockwork Witch
Michelle D. Sonnier - 2018
Though she descends from a long line of gifted witches she has earned the moniker of a "brown bud" showing no sign of magical talent. When it truly seems her lot can grow no worse, she discovers an unnatural affinity for...of all things...technomancy. Not only are the mysteries of the mechanical world open to her, but her new-found ability allows her to manipulate them, making her the first ever clockwork witch and anathema to the nature of the witching world.How will she come to grips with her new power when she must question if she will survive the judgement of her family and her peers? Or, more daunting yet…The Trials?
The Reich Without Hitler: Volume 1: The Falcons of Malta
Scott Palter - 2018
It starts as our recognizable World War Two and proceeds in different directions to create something new and unique. In the Falcons of Malta, we take the war to Malta, the start of a major campaign in the Middle Sea. The book covers both the high-level strategy and one company of the Nibelungen Legion, a new service formed after Hitler’s death. Our merry band of freebooters will reveal the picaresque adventures that war can be. We even get a wartime Romeo and Juliet. Strap into your glider and come along for the ride.
Jerry the Squirrel: Volume One
Shawn P.B. Robinson - 2018
Jerry is also an inventor. The problem is that Jerry's inventions rarely work out the way he wants them to. Join Jerry the Squirrel on his fun and whacky adventures in the world of Arestana as he deals with annoying neighbors, out of control slippers and a tyrannical Squirrel-boss whose only leadership quality is his amazing hat. This collection of ten stories is perfect for some fun reading as a family, as bedtime stories, or just to sit back and enjoy a good read! #bewarethechicken
Trumpocalypse: The End-Times President, a Battle Against the Globalist Elite, and the Countdown to Armageddon
Paul McGuire - 2018
But is the media telling us the truth?No, say internationally-recognized prophecy expert and Fox News and History Channel commentator Paul McGuire and Pulitzer Prize-nominated investigative journalist Troy Anderson. America's most insidious enemies are not hostile nations; they are elite globalists-the "Establishment" that is making the "1 percent" even richer while working- and middle-class people watch their incomes and net worth's flatline or plummet.The authors fearlessly expose the globalist elite's secret plan for humanity and campaign of mass deception. Using documentation gleaned from years of journalistic investigation and extensive interviews with over fifty of the world's most respected geopolitical, economic and military affairs experts, faith leaders, and biblical scholars, McGuire and Anderson unmask these elites as members of secret societies with deep occult connections who have gained control of America's dominant institutions-government, education, entertainment, international banking, and even the media.Trumpocalypse explores the enigmatic prophecies and "biblical codes" involving Trump, and asks whether God raised up President Trump as a fearless leader to guide America and the free world through a series of major crises as the biblical end-time narrative unfolds, as many people with prophetic gifts are predicting, and shows why everyday Americans and evangelicals have rallied around Trump as their last hope of saving America and averting the horrors of the Apocalypse. It further reveals why Trump and millions of "deplorables" are fighting to stop the hidden agenda of the Establishment, and how the perplexing chaos enveloping the planet could paradoxically signal the beginning of the great end-times awakening that millions are praying for.Here is an invitation to join the anti-Establishment surge-what evangelist Franklin Graham calls "the Christian revolution"-and discover how to fulfill your own destiny in the run-up to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
Oney: My Escape From Slavery
Diana Rubino - 2018
With freedom secured, the general has been persuaded to accept a second term as president of the new nation. But in his heart he wants to go back to being a farmer. And being a farmer means he has slaves. Leading a nation is a demanding and often lonely business and Lady Washington is unable to persuade her husband to give up his public ‘duty’. At least she has help. Oney Judge is her ‘personal servant’ – and soon-to-be confidante. Oney is a ‘quadroon’ – three parts white and one part black. So, unlike the white people who so recently gained their independence from the Mother Country, Oney is not free. She is Lady Washington’s inherited property, though the word ‘slave’ is never spoken. Oney works in “the big house” at Mount Vernon, sewing dresses and serving tea. Lady Washington treats her as well as her own grandchildren. But though she is often mistaken as a Washington relative by visitors, Oney remains in bondage. In the spring of 1796, Lady Washington tells Oney that she will make her granddaughter Eliza a nice wedding gift. Oney soon discovers this does not mean sewing a negligee or a quilt for a gift. No, it means that she will be the gift. This is the day that Oney decides to escape – to put her forced bondage behind her and make her bid for freedom. On May 21, 1796, Oney walks straight past the Washingtons and out the front door. Although they make several attempts to capture her, she lives the rest of her life in freedom. Diana Rubino’s Oney: My Escape From Slavery is a painstakingly re-imagined account of a true and painful story told generations on. At its heart is the paradox of liberty – for an individual, for a race, for a nation. In a modern world where cultures and histories collide, it is a timely reminder of perspectives on ‘slavery’ and ‘freedom’ that we may have become blind to. It is a big, strong, uplifting book with a soul. Diana Rubino specialises in historical romance, sometimes with a touch of the paranormal, her favourite areas being Medieval and Renaissance England and all American history. A longtime member of Romance Writers of America, the Richard III Society, and the Aaron Burr Association, she recently completed a romantic thriller about Alexander Hamilton and biographical novels about Eliza Jumel Burr and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s wife Sophia. Piper G Huguley is a two-time Golden Heart® finalist and is the author of Migrations of the Heart, a three-book series of historical romances set in the early 20th century featuring African American characters. Huguley is also the author of the Home to Milford College series. Her new series Born to Win Men starts with A Champion’s Heart, which was named by Sarah MacLean of The Washington Post as a best romance novel selection for December 2016.
Letters From Gronow
David Carrico - 2018
P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allen Poe in the libraries and book collections of Grantville, he launches a magazine for the purpose of publishing translations of their stories.Der Schwarze Kater—The Black Tomcat—begins attracting attention immediately. From his very first reading of the first issue of the magazine, a young bookkeeper named Philip Fröhlich develops a passion to write those kinds of stories. And so begins the quest of every author—to satisfy the requirements of an editor and make that first elusive sale.As have millions of aspiring authors, Philip discovers it's not as easy as it looks. Time after time his submissions receive a rejection letter from Gronow. But Philip stubbornly keeps submitting, along the way discovering things about himself and the people around him that he never would have learned any other way.
ASSASSIN 13
Tom Reppert - 2018
While she's attempting to escape in a space shuttle from his trap, she hurtles through a time displacement anomaly and lands in the glam of 1927 Hollywood. Lauren finds herself working for one of Hollywood's top actresses, Pauline Windsor, who is dating mafia member Benny Sorrentino. He is caught up in a gangland war with the Colombini brothers for the city's profitable bootlegging and gambling rings. Even as she clings to the revenge for her mother’s death and somehow fixing her broken shuttle to return for the information, Lauren's relationship with the people she meets, stunt pilot Remy Garnett, Pauline, and Pauline's children, all begin to change the hard surface of her heart. When Pauline's relationship with Sorrentino draws her and her family into the gangland war, Lauren must decide whether to use her 22nd century talents and technology in their defense or abandon them to slip back into her time and get the information she needs to avenge her mother.Preorder on Amazon today, or grab a FREE kindle copy March 16-20!
Armed In Her Fashion
Kate Heartfield - 2018
At night, revenants crawl over the walls and bring plague and grief to this city of widows.Margriet de Vos learns she's a widow herself when her good-for-nothing husband comes home dead from the war. He didn't come back for her. The revenant who was her husband pulls a secret treasure of coins and weapons from under his floorboards and goes back through the mouth of the beast called Hell.Margriet killed her first soldier when she was 11. She's buried six of her seven children. She'll do anything for her daughter, even if it means raiding Hell itself to get her inheritance back.Margriet's daughter is haunted by a dead husband of her own, and blessed, or cursed, with an enchanted distaff that allows her to control the revenants and see the future. Together with a transgender man-at-arms who has unfinished business with the Chatelaine, a traumatized widow with a giant waterpowered forgehammer at her disposal, and a wealthy alderman's wife who escapes Bruges with her children, Margriet and Beatrix forge a raiding party like Hell has never seen.
Legion Of The Undead: Ruin And Rebirth
Michael Whitehead - 2018
The undead have destroyed everything in their path. The greatest city in the world is nothing more than a wasteland. Men gather in the furthest corners of the empire, preparing for their final stand. The last army of Rome, the last fighting force of mankind. Across the empire, a group of desperate friends carry with them one last hope. They must travel to the heart of the undead. They must be willing to sacrifice. They must be ready to give everything they have in order to save Rome and each other. Out of ruin there may be rebirth.
Jurassic Jail (Time Wars Book 1)
William Alan Webb - 2018
Future America is dangerous and bankrupt. The interstate highways are littered with the rusted hulks of ambushed cars and trucks, and only Mad Max would dare travel the back roads. When an arms race with Russia and China to develop time travel for military purposes achieves success, the body count skyrockets as both patriot and enemy try to hijack the new technology. Like the Manhattan Project and Operation Overtime before it, such a project attracts the best and the brightest as well as the worst and the psychotic. But not everyone has given up on the rule of law. In Tennessee, Fayette County D.A. Pete Dance wants to prosecute the murder of a man whose fossilized remains turn up after a series of devastating earthquakes. The problem is that the victim is still alive. When the violence starts, it doesn’t stop until the final whirlwind of teeth and claws and lasers. The first spinoff series from William Alan Webb’s immensely popular series The Last Brigade is described by one critic as “…Spectre agents chasing Fast and Furious through Jurassic World,” while another reviewer added “…with a heavy dose of Harry Bosch for good measure.” “After the heart-pounding finale, you won’t see the shocking ending coming. Guaranteed to keep you awake at night.”
Chicago 1871: A science fiction thriller
James E. Merl - 2018
His first shift, he and his crew respond to a late-night house fire, and after John and his partner make entry into the house, something goes wrong.When John wakes up the next morning, he’s in a hospital surrounded by a group of men claiming to have rescued him off the porch of a burning house. But their story goes much deeper than that, they also claim that he’s in Chicago and the year is 1871.John is reluctant to give any personal information until he figures things out. When asked, he figures it would be safer just to say he doesn't remember which leads the doctor to quickly diagnose him with a condition called amnesia. Not wanting John to wander the streets with nowhere to go, the crew of Engine Company 8 take him in. As he bonds with the crew and learns an outdated way of fighting fires without modern equipment, he meets Lindsay, the girl of his dreams.One morning while lying in bed, John realizes that if its September of 1871, then in a matter of days Chicago will be facing a slew of fires that will lead to one of the greatest disasters in American history.John knows if he tries warning the men about the fires and that he’s actually from the future, they’d laugh him right out the door. So, John begins making predictions. In one instance, after rescuing a man from a burning warehouse, John performs CPR. The firefighters are stunned as they watched John breathe life back into a dead man, and claim to the others to have witnessed John perform a miracle.About the AuthorI was born in San Bernardino, California and grew up in Long Beach, south of Los Angeles. most of my teen years I spent on the beach surfing and playing baseball. At an early age, I was influenced by the hit TV show “Emergency,” and my goals were set at becoming a firefighter. With lots of hard work, my dreams became a reality in the early 1980s. Although the medical side was never my intention, the more I worked around it, the more appealing it became. In the mid-80s I took the leap and went to medic school.By this time, I had fought major fires throughout California and surrounding states, and in the late 1980s, I was part of a strike-team sent to Yellowstone National Park to help fight the largest fire in the park's history. As a firefighter, I moved through the ranks of Engineer, Captain, and Training Officer.In the mid-1990s, I was involved in an accident that ended my career. I have always enjoyed telling stories and writing, but never had the time. Now, the opportunity was there. My interest has always been in mystery, thrillers, and suspense. Growing up my favorite shows were “Twilight Zone,” “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” “Night Gallery” and the “Outer Limits.” I got motivated, and for the past five years I researched and wrote while my wife Patricia helped with editing.Excerpt from Chicago 1871As I struggled to catch my breath, Nicholas walked up. “You okay?”“This can’t be real,” I said, my breath stuttering as if I’d been crying. The mountains and cars I expected to see weren’t there. Instead, I saw horses pulling wagons, wooden sidewalks, and buildings constructed of wood and brick that lined the streets in both directions. Behind the buildings across the street were more buildings that went on for miles until they formed a skyline against what looked like the ocean.I put my palms on the window and took a deep breath. I felt like Alan Grant when he first saw the dinosaurs in the movie Jurassic Park. Glued to the window, I couldn’t look away.
Grantville Gazette VIII (Ring of Fire - Gazette editions Book 8)
Eric Flint - 2018
The eigth anthology of tales set in Eric Flint’s phenomenal Ring of Fire universe—all selected and edited by Flint. The most popular alternate history series of all continues. When an inexplicable cosmic disturbance hurls your town from twentieth century West Virginia back to seventeenth century Europe—and into the middle of the Thirty Years War—you'd better be adaptable to survive. And the natives of that time period, faced with American technology and politics, need to be equally adaptable. Here’s a generous helping of more stories of Grantville, the American town lost in time, and its impact on the people and societies of a tumultuous age. Edited by Eric Flint and Walt Boyes, the editor of the Grantville Gazette magazine from which the best selections are made, these are stories that fill in the pieces of the Ring of Fire series begun with Flint’s novel 1632. The setting has become a political, economic, social and cultural puzzle as supporting characters we meet in the novels get their own lives, loves and life-changing stories. The future and democracy have arrived with a bang—an historical explosion with a multitude of unforeseen consequences. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). About Eric Flint’s Ring of Fire series: “[Eric] Flint's1632 universe seems to be inspiring a whole new crop of gifted alternate historians.”—Booklist “[Eric Flint] can entertain and edify in equal, and major, measure.”—Publishers Weekly Eric Flint is a modern master of alternate history fiction, with three million books in print. He’s the author/creator of the multiple New York Times best-selling Ring of Fire series starting with first novel 1632. With David Drake he has written six popular novels in the “Belisarius” alternate Roman history series, and with David Weber collaborated on 1633 and 1634: The Baltic War and latest Honorverse series entry Cauldron of Ghosts. Flint's latest Ring of Fire novel is 1636: The Ottoman Onslaught. Flint was for many years a labor union activist. He lives near Chicago, Illinois.
Pirates of the Electromagnetic Waves
Fenton Wood - 2018
It all starts in the mountain town of Porterville. Twelve-year-old Philo starts a pirate radio station with his friends, and learns that the world is a stranger place than he ever imagined. The Ancient Marauder, the Bright and Terrible Birds, the Mishipeshu, and other creatures of myth and legend populate this enchanting mixture of science and fantasy. YANKEE REPUBLIC is an old-school adventure series with traditional values and down-to-earth heroes. Escape from the pessimism and propaganda of modern fiction, and take a journey through a mythic America that might have been.
Interregnum
Robert Conroy - 2018
While Washington DC was demolished and is currently uninhabitable due to radiation levels, a settlement in the eastern part of Ohio tries to keep the U.S. government alive, with a revived military, senators, and other survivors. A businessman named Jack Moran is brought to the settlement and asked to be the interim President. Everyone in this settlement must work hard to build a new Capitol and hold the nation together, rather than letting the country disintegrate into local satrapies. Several miles away, a brutal, dangerous community has emerged, which enslaves or kills survivors they find, and inevitably leads to war against the Capitol. This novel by the late Robert Conroy, well known for his popular alternate history novels, was recently discovered by his family. While the world has so far avoided a nuclear war, there is no certainty that it won’t happen.
The Dragons of Dunkirk
Damon Alan - 2018
WWII is just starting. The Germans are rolling through France and the British are planning to evacuate from Dunkirk. A few of the French Generals are already in Paris considering the quickest and least dangerous path to surrender.Then it all changes.The Germans open up a gate to Aerth over Rotterdam and it doesn't go as they plan. Aerth's armies, under guidance of the human wizard Hagirr, march into our world to take it from us.Soon the war as we know it is over, and the Germans and the Allies are scrambling for solutions to this new problem. A truce is called between the Axis and Allied powers, but nobody told our dead. The dead of WWI rise up to fight on the side of Aerth, and all any living soldier on either side can ask for is to make it to tomorrow.If you love WWII and Fantasy, you'll love this mashup. It's unlike anything else out there right now.Expect more in the coming months as the Worlds at War Series progresses through the technological development of WWII, the political treachery of the Nazis, and the resolve of a free people to stay free regardless of what enemy seeks to oppress them.
The Austrian Painter: What if Germany won the Great War?
William Stroock - 2018
In 1964 the German Empire is the most powerful nation in Europe.As Germany commemorates the 50th anniversary of the victorious Great War, a Berlin based Austrian painter recalls his role in the war and his life afterwards.
Untimely Losses: The third novel in the Yesterdays War series
Gerald Hall - 2018
The new post-Nazi German leaders have agreed to a second Armistice after their victory over the Soviet Union. There is an uneasy peace now with the major combatants now struggling with massive wartime debts and the need to rebuild their battered economies. But the war in the Pacific continues. Only now, the Japanese are the ones using weapons of mass destruction in a desperate attempt to stave off defeat at the hands of the Allies. China, Australia and England have finally been joined by America in a final push to end the threat of the Japanese imperialists. Harold Cavill has continued to try to influence the course of history to avoid the causes of humanity’s final apocalyptic war from his previous timeline. But, as with all of man’s plans, there are always complications. Some of Harold's complications live right inside of his own home.
It was a Small Affair
Ken Hart - 2018
Just before Santa Anna's arrival, the Texians retreated to the relative safety of the San Antonio de Valero Catholic Mission and the siege of the Alamo began. For twelve days, Santa Anna fired a continual cannon bombardment and attacked with a flurry of cavalry and infantry charges, all designed to keep the Alamo defenders stressfully awake. Late on March 5, the bombardment stopped, and the fatigued Alamo defenders fell into a deep sleep. The siege ended in the early hours of March 6 when Santa Anna committed over 2400 infantry and cavalry to attack the walls of the Alamo. By sunrise, all one 188 Alamo defenders had been brutally slaughtered to the last man. This is how history recorded the battle, but is this how it really happened? On February 23, 2010, an Army infantry squad, carrying ammunition to a training exercise is swept into a time rift. The rift takes them to the Alamo, thirteen days before it fell.
A Scar of Avarice
Mark Hayes - 2018
Esqwith’s Passing Place, where everyone has a story to tell..Hannibal Smyth Esquire, formally of ‘She whom is seldom amused’ Royal Air Navy, rogue, thief, scoundrel, unwilling agent of The Ministry, and on occasion hero, but only if he can't find a way to avoid it, drops into the Passing Place with a story on his lips.Richard the resident Piano Player in Esqwiths improbable bar, listens on and wonders, just how did Hannibal get that scar?But only because the cat told him to ask…So What follows is a tale of avarice, of strange things in the mountain temples of Nepal, airships, clockwork queens, Russian pirates, Fung-Fu monks, the sexual politics of pork scratchings, of high adventure and low doings.’A Scar of Avarice’ is a cross over novella, set in both the steampunk present of Hannibal Smyth, and the universe of Passing Place: Location Relative.Praise of Passing Place"...swimming in a rich sea of worlds...""...creepily beautiful...""...keep's you drawn into the web of the story..."
Chuck Dixon's Avalon #1: The Street Rules
Chuck Dixon - 2018
And the presence of the superhumans known around the city as "specials" hasn't necessarily made life for the average citizen any better, since the local vigilantes are as apt to demand payment for their protection as they are to provide their services for free. The crime-fighting duo of King Ace and Fazer are true heroes, not vigilantes, as Fazer explains the difference to a reporter interviewing him for the city paper. A hero doesn't expect thanks or payment, he helps people because it is the right thing to do. And a hero doesn't kill anyone, ever. All he and the big guy are trying to do is make everyday life better for everyone walking through their streets, living in their city. But even heroes face temptation. Chuck Dixon is the most prolific comic book writer in history. Set in the world of Alt★Hero, CHUCK DIXON'S AVALON #1: THE STREET RULES is the legend's newest creation.
Alt-Hero #1: Crackdown
Vox Day - 2018
After all, they're providing her with a killer apartment in Brussels, a new outfit, and even a flashy new name, in addition to paying her an awful lot of money... and it's even tax-free! But is there a catch? And how is a group of superhumans based in Europe going to go about establishing global justice anyway? Alt★Hero is the first in an exciting new line of superhero comics from Arkhaven Comics.
Chuck Dixon's Avalon #2: Rulebreaker
Chuck Dixon - 2018
But agents of the UN Superhuman Protection Council are interfering with his investigation, even as they claim that they can help him clean up Avalon City. Should he believe them? More importantly, can he trust them? Meanwhile, King Ace has dealt with his partner-in-crimefighting Fazer's little slip-up with regards to the unwritten Hero's Code, but that doesn't keep them from going after the notorious crime boss, Nicodemus Vukovich, together. The problem, King Ace discovers, is that there is a lot of temptation to be found in a wealthy crime lord's uptown apartment. Perhaps too much temptation for anyone.... Chuck Dixon is the most prolific comic book writer in history. Set in the world of Alt★Hero, CHUCK DIXON'S AVALON #2: RULEBREAKER is the legend's newest creation.
Tales of the Winter Wolf Omnibus
R.J. Blain - 2018
In order to prove herself and escape her father’s chokehold on her life, she’s determined to get on the fast track towards an independent life. However, she never anticipated how meeting Richard Murphy would change her life… Tales of the Winter Wolf follows the adventures of Nicole and Richard. These short stories and novellas contain spoilers for Witch & Wolf #2, Winter Wolf. This omnibus contains the following stories: Volume One Hunted The Scent of Guilt Firecracker Glitter Volume Two Charmed Crash and Burn Wild Wolf Volume Three The Silvered Wolf The Games Wolves Play Volume Four Tangles Witch Striking a Deal In Hot Water Breaking Point Volume Five The Power of a Word Bonds The Value of a Life Shattered
Bonnie and Clyde: Dam Nation (Book 2)
Clark Hays - 2018
But the New Deal is rekindling hope, with federally funded infrastructure projects, like Hoover Dam, putting people back to work. Set to harness the mighty Colorado River for electricity and irrigation, the dam is an engineering marvel and symbol of American can-do spirit.So, why is someone trying to blow it up?When an informant on the construction site is murdered, Bonnie and Clyde--spared from their gruesome deaths and forced into a covert life working for the government--are given their second assignment: stop the bomb and protect the thousands of laborers and families in the company town. It's their most dangerous mission yet: working for a living.Can the notorious lovers put aside their criminal ways long enough to find out who wants to extinguish the American dream, and hopefully reclaim a shred of redemption along the way?The thrilling story cuts back and forth between the modern era where a reporter interviews the now-elderly Bonnie Parker, and the dangerous 1930s undercover exploits of Bonnie and Clyde, as they are thrust into a fight to defend the working class against corporate greed.Dam Nation continues the explosive "what-if" series about two unlikely heroes fighting to defend the working class during America's Great Depression, a historical thriller with unsettling contemporary parallels.Resurrection Road is the first book in the Bonnie and Clyde series.Dam Nation is the second book in the Bonnie and Clyde series.
Hail! Hail!
Harry Turtledove - 2018
Fresh from Duck Soup (1933), Julius, Leonard, Arthur and Herbert Marx - or as the world knows them, Groucho, Chico, Harpo and Zeppo - are transported by a freak electrical storm to Nacogdoches, Texas in the year 1826. Landing in the midst of the Fredonian Rebellion (the first attempt by settlers in Texas to secede from Mexico) and into the company of the only other Jewish person in town, they are in deep dreck. Falling in with Stephen F. Austin and inadvertently filling his head with knowledge of what is to come, our heroes risk tampering with the future of Texas, and perhaps the entire U.S.A., in their quest to return to their own time. Will they find their way back? Or will they be doomed to live out their lives without indoor plumbing?
American Hippo
Sarah Gailey - 2018
Now readers have the chance to own both novellas in American Hippo, a single, beautiful volume.Years ago, in an America that never was, the United States government introduced herds of hippos to the marshlands of Louisiana to be bred and slaughtered as an alternative meat source. This plan failed to take into account some key facts about hippos: they are savage, they are fast, and their jaws can snap a man in two.By the 1890s, the vast bayou that was once America's greatest waterway belongs to feral hippos, and Winslow Houndstooth has been contracted to take it back. To do so, he will gather a crew of the damnedest cons, outlaws, and assassins to ever ride a hippo. American Hippo is the story of their fortunes, their failures, and his revenge.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
The Trial of Santa Anna: A short story
Drew McGunn - 2018
In a world in which the Alamo never fell, Texas has just won their second war with Mexico. Losing a war is bad, getting captured is worse. Being forced to defend a dictator is worse yet. The Trial of Santa Anna is a short story of approximately 10,000 words, set between the end of book 4, Down Mexico Way and Book 5.
My Soul to Keep (My Soul to Keep, #1)
Lynette M. Burrows - 2018
It is 1961 and America’s a theocracy controlled by the Fellowship and its tyrannical council of eleven men. Miranda Clarke’s family is part of the ruling elite, rich and powerful, with plans for Miranda’s life.Haunted by lurid nightmares, Miranda wants nothing more than to stay out of the public eye. Her power-hungry mother has different plans. She forces Miranda into an engagement to an up-and-coming Fellowship member and schemes to get Miranda’s father elected President of the United States.To escape the arranged marriage and the repressive Fellowship, Miranda makes a break for freedom. But her accidental discovery of a dead man lands her in prison. She not only must escape prison and outwit her mother’s ruthless ambitions but avoid the deadly Azrael, the Fellowship’s enforcers who Take unbelievers.
Seven-Point Star
G.S. Taylor - 2018
Now she has to steal it back.Born into a France crushed under the German heel, Raina raised herself in the slums of Paris and swore revenge. Now the very people who destroyed her country offer her riches and repentance, while their enemies promise her revenge and a way out. All she has to do is go to the flying city of mages and magnates at the heart of Germany and steal a device that is rumoured to unlock powers divine.Industry, sorcery, and conspiracy intertwine as Raina comes to realise that the very artefact she is now after has been calling her all her life.
The Queen of Clocks and Other Steampunk Tales
Crysta K. Coburn - 2018
Royal balls, magical creatures, love at first sight... We are taken to a fantasy world where anything is possible. The Queen of Clocks and Other Steampunk Tales brings together the magic of fairytale and the allure of cogs and gears. Within these pages, find dancing automatons, industrial age fairies, a mermaid with wind-up legs, heroes of the steam age, and more. Drawing from classic tales of the Brothers Grimm, Carlo Collodi, Charles Perrault, Hans Christian Andersen, and Homer, these original interpretations are sure to delight fans of steampunk and fairytales alike.
The Song My Enemies Sing
James Reich - 2018
Ray Spector’s search for meaning leads him to a teenage Black Panther named Eli Jones, the missionary Philipé Olmos, sometime television star Richard Parish, and Ingrid Auer, who dreams of becoming a terrorist. Under the shimmering Grid drawn by the swarm satellites encircling the planet, with fading memories of an apocalyptic California, the Australian outback, and the jungles of Mexico, their obsessions form strange patterns, dangerous relationships, and alliances across time and species. Science fiction legend Barry N. Malzberg, the first recipient of the John W. Campbell Award, describes James Reich’s fifth novel “as a history of science fiction form, origin and development, and merciless in its refusal to pander to the easier implications of its material.” In the lineage of Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles, William Burroughs’ Nova trilogy, J.G. Ballard and Philip K. Dick, these distant episodes will possess you.
Darkest Hour: Tin Can Tommies Book 1
Mark C. Jones - 2018
With his country’s invasion imminent, Prime Minister Winston Churchill reactivates a decades old weapons project, enlisting Jack to lead a team of rusty mechanical warriors – four veterans of the Great War nicknamed the Tin Can Tommies. Aided by sassy American scientist Cammy Sullivan, Jack, Billy and the Tommies must venture into battle once again on an audacious mission deep behind enemy lines. But with dissention in the ranks, a traitor in their midst and Jack’s nemesis hot on his heels, the odds are stacked against them. Whatever happens the Tommies will be in the thick of it, but with time running out, Jack will find himself locked in a deadly struggle for survival as he battles against not only his own demons, but an enemy whose diabolical plan for world domination threatens the freedom of mankind itself… Echoing the great British war films of the seventies, DARKEST HOUR is the first in a series of gripping wartime adventures featuring Jack Stone and Tin Can Tommies; with explosive action, twists, thrills and characters readers will love, it’s retro military sci-fi with a pulp comic WW2 twist. TIN CAN TOMMIES – BRITANNIA’S JUST WAIVED THE RULES!
The Red Führer
Paul Hynes - 2018
As an individual filled with hate, he was a natural convert to the extremist movements spreading around Europe at the beginning of the twentieth century and his warped ability to harness the desperation of millions of dispossessed Germans enabled his regime to slaughter countless victims. The Nazi movement that he founded was, and is, universally regarded as a dark reflection of the nature of mankind. But what if this monster had chosen a different path? In The Red Fuhrer, Paul Hynes paints a picture of a struggling artist in Vienna; a man already desperately angry at the world around him but not yet having found a political home until a chance encounter and strange fortunes create a very different man: one who embraces Communism rather than Fascism. In this engaging and thought provoking read Hynes depicts a political transformation from hunger in Vienna to the battlefields of the First World War, to the revolutionary street fights in post-war Germany, as Adolf Hitler and several other characters begin to reshape history into a more chaotic form. One that is ripe for revolution.
Roma Nova Box Set 2: AURELIA, INSURRECTIO, RETALIO
Alison Morton - 2018
Whether as Praetorian soldier, spy, diplomat or imperial councillor, Aurelia must keep him at bay personally and professionally. But Caius stalks her, intent on destroying her personal strength which stands between him and ultimate power in Roma Nova. And if her unorthodox lover or her child can be used against her, he will not hesitate. A thousand pages of courage, passion and resistance in three books with over 100 five-star reviews on Amazon between them. AURELIA “What if the Roman Empire hadn't fallen? Alison Morton handles this intriguing premise with her customary panache in AURELIA.” - Ruth Downie Retrained as an undercover agent in the late 1960s, ex-Praetorian officer Aurelia Mitela is sent to Berlin to investigate silver smuggling, but barely escapes a near-lethal trap. When Aurelia is closing in on her lifelong nemesis, Caius Tellus, he strikes at her most vulnerable point – her young daughter. INSURRECTIO “INSURRECTIO - a taut, fast-paced thriller and I enjoyed it enormously. Rome, guns and rebellion. Darkly gripping stuff.” – Conn Iggulden Roma Nova in the early 1980s. Imperial councillor Aurelia is frustrated by a ruler is afraid to rule, old laws choking reform and a nationalist movement surging under a charismatic leader who wants to destroy Aurelia on his way to power. Horrified when her daughter is brutally attacked in a riot, Aurelia rallies resistance to the growing fear and instability. But is it too late to save Roma Nova from meltdown and herself from death at the hand of her lifelong enemy? RETALIO “A classic tale of resistance and resilience – the only regret is when the action stops.” – Douglas Jackson Recovering from a near fatal shooting, Aurelia chafes at her enforced exile. Her duty and passion fire her determination to take back her homeland and liberate its people despite her lover Miklós's desire to protect her. Will she ever see her beloved Roma Nova again? Plus a bonus ‘Silvia’s Story’ which follows RETALIO Roman fiction brought up to the 20th century, these stories guarantee noble ideals, passionate love, desperate choices, sacrifice, constant twists and turns and snappy dialogue with a dash of humour in a timeline not so different from our own...
One Stormy Day in New Providence
E. Jade Lomax - 2018
Half are there under their proper names. Only one is there to do the job they were hired for. The punchline is friendship.The selfsame cast could also be described as five liars and one truth-teller; four on-the-clock employees and two interlopers; or a thief, three people trying to solve the same conspiracy from different angles, an ex-boyfriend, and a woman who desperately deserves a nap.They are a single mom (and grandma!), a PhD candidate, the victim of a coercion campaign, a veritable genius with debilitating attention and anxiety disorders, a man trying very hard not to be in love, and a young woman who packs her girlfriend PB&J’s every day because it’s the only thing she can reliably make edible.When a magical storm falls over the city– a storm that freezes not the flesh from your bones, but fries the circuits in your brain– our crew of technicians and tricksters must set out to fix all that’s gone wrong.
Against a Rising Tide: The Powers Book 3
Alma T.C. Boykin - 2018
The battles rage on. Five years after the end of the World War, men, Half-Dragons and True-Dragons labor to repair the damage. The English and French insist on punishing the nations of the Habsburg Confederation and Germany, while nationalists and Communists threaten to tear the alliance and the Houses apart from within. As chaos swirls and tensions rise, István Eszterházy and Archduke Rudolph von Habsburg struggle to preserve order, and to preserve both Houses and Powers. Worse, an old enemy from the war stalks István, intent on revenge. But true danger lurks to the east. The forces that destroyed Galicia threaten to devour all of the Powers and Houses, killing the very soil of the land as they do. As another war rages, István and Rudolph must hide the secret of the Powers from forces more terrible than the Mongols and ottomans combined.
The Vanishing Kind
Lavie Tidhar - 2018
But when she turns up dead, Gunther is accused of the crime...Moving through the dark streets of London, pursued by the enigmatic Everly of the British Gestapo, Gunther is in way over his head. London after the Nazi occupation is a place haunted by shadows, and everyone he meets is lying to him. As Gunther gets drawn into a deadly web of conspiracy, illicit drug dealing, prostitution and blackmail, the only question is: can he stay alive long enough to find answers?A new alternate history noir masterpiece from the multiple award winning author of A Man Lies Dreaming and Unholy Land!
Defying Conventions
Joseph W. Knowles - 2018
Among those figures is a member of the Virginia Senate whose daughter captures the young man's heart. Fortuitous circumstances take Camden to Philadelphia where he begins to uncover the pieces of a conspiracy bent on sabotaging the constitutional convention and sowing the seeds for the destruction of the fledgling nation.Just how fragile was the political situation that yielded the United States Constitution? How easily might have the Philadelphia Convention have been derailed? What could that have meant for the future of America? This short novel of alternate history follows the story of a young man just entering adult life as he asks himself those and other questions and tries his best to find the answers.
Teal of the Institute: A Maya World Story
Chris Harte - 2018
Set in the East. Teal lives in an Institute with other sisters. No new children have been born pure. No new candidates who are "considered." She leaves the mountain refuge and makes her way to the settlement on the plains. Her skills as a Eugenie healer are in demand. She becomes an important player in the power struggles of the region. Her goal, to rescue her Institute and retain the knowledge and practice of the sisters leads her into many adventures. The country is riven by wars. Alliances form and break. Maya trees are scattered throughout the world. Their powers are embraced by the major Zara and Bodhist religions. When an animal dies, if they are placed close to a Maya tree then a 'fruit' or pod grows from the tree. For humans, this pod is a red ball, the size of a cricket ball. The pod holds all the memories of the dead person.
Shadow of Montreux: A brief history of the Fascist International
Pablo Portillo - 2018
The victory of communism was not permanent, but the defeat of fascism was. In this thoughtful work, Pablo Portillo imagines a 20th century in which fascism, never quite destroyed by the catastrophes of its own making in the mid-20th century, lasts longer and maintains a veneer of respectability akin to that enjoyed by communism to this day. A powerful work of alternate history examining the legacy of ideologies, 'Shadow of Montreux' charts the history of the 'Fascist International'.
Daughters of Elysium
Adam J. Ellison - 2018
Election night in a united European Union, live from the European Broadcasting Corporation.