Book picks similar to
This Strange Engine by Philip Ligon
sci-fi
fantasy
steampunk
science-fiction
Not So Dead
Charles Levin - 2017
What could go wrong? Clever and ruthless terrorists want it at any cost. A high-stakes cat and mouse game ensues with apocalyptic danger at every turn. Follow Sam Sunborn as he teams up with a real Einstein to give birth to an invention that could change the lives of everyone on the planet forever. Sam wants to help people through his invention, but lands up having to defend it and his family from the Leopard, a driven and demented terrorist, whose mission is to rein chaos and destruction on the Western World. Using the latest technology and a battle of wills and wits, Sunborn and the Leopard engage in an epic global clash. What disasters befall the innocent in the Leopard’s wake? Can Michelle Hadar, a lowly grad student, and Rich Little, a talented Homeland Agent, possibly come to the rescue? Mysteries and surprises abound in this fast-paced thriller. Charlie's 20 year background in tech, degree in philosophy and love of fast-paced thrillers are the brew that created NOT SO DEAD. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, Amy, and has two sons, too far away in California.
The Cloud Warrior Saga: Books 1-3
D.K. Holmberg - 2015
Get the first three books along with a bonus novella in this collection. Chased by Fire (book 1) An ancient artifact that must be found... Terrifying creatures from dark and dangerous Incendin... And long-forgotten elementals again unleashed on the world. As an earth senser, Tan is tasked with helping guide the king’s servant through the dangerous mountain passes in search for the artifact before Incendin can reach it first. But after losing his father to the war, Tan wants nothing to do with the king’s demands. When everything he knows is lost, he is forced to risk himself to save the one person who can find the artifact, a beautiful girl who has lost as much as Tan. In doing so, power the world hasn’t seen in nearly a thousand years is awoken, and a warrior long thought dead returns to claim the artifact for himself. Bound by Fire (book 2) The powerful draasin – elemental creatures of fire not seen for a thousand years – have returned. Not all are convinced they should have been freed. As Tan struggles to learn earth shaping, he discovers dangerous fire shapers from Incendin have come to Ethea. When the city is attacked by the draasin, Tan must use his connection with them to learn why. Doing so leads him from the city and forces him to once more face the terrible shapers of Incendin, but this time bound to the draasin for help. If he fails, much more than his life is at stake, for Incendin has stolen the artifact and plans to use its power for unknown destruction. Changed by Fire (book 3) The archivists are defeated, but their plan was already set in place. A new lisincend has emerged, more dangerous than before. Incendin still possesses the powerful artifact. And a spirit shaping placed on the king must be released. Tan has potential to be a warrior shaper—one who can shape all the elements—but shaping doesn’t work for him the same as with other shapers. While he struggles to control his new magic, his friends work to free the king from the spirit shaping. When this fails, a search for another who can help leads Tan to use an uncontrolled shaping, changing him into the one thing he fears the most. Before he can save the kingdoms, he must save himself. Doing so takes him away from everyone—and everything—he knows. With his both friends and the draasin in danger, can Tan master his abilities in time to stop a decades old plan?
Concealment
Rose Edmunds - 2015
But beneath the successful façade, Amy has secrets she’d rather her bully-boy boss Ed didn’t discover—like her troubled past and the little voice she hears in her head… When a junior colleague is murdered, Amy’s fragile equilibrium is shattered. She suspects a client’s fraud links Ed to the killing, but is her paranoia working overtime? As Ed tries to discredit her, Amy fears for her job, her sanity and her life. But she’s a tough professional, not a quitter, and somehow she must find a way to fight back...
Perception
Lee Strauss - 2012
Zoe’s carefree life takes a traumatic turn when her brother Liam is murdered.The only one who can help her find out what happened is Noah Brody, the last guy on earth she should trust. Noah Brody is a natural who lives on the outside. He leads protests against the GAPs and detests the widening chasm they’ve created between those who have and those who don’t. He doesn’t like girls like Zoe and he has good reason not to like her specifically. He's not sure why he's agreed to help her, but what he finds out when he does, will change his life forever.PERCEPTION is a near-future mystery that can be read alone.
Tethers
Jack Croxall - 2013
The journal soon draws them into a covert and sinister conspiracy, a conspiracy centred around an otherworldly artefact with the power to change everything …Karl and Esther have spent almost every day of their thirteen years in the quiet market town of Shraye. Stifled by their rural surroundings and frustrated by their unfulfilled ambitions, they find the allure of the journal’s mysterious pages impossible to ignore. The book seems to be beckoning them away from Shraye, away from their homes and towards the coast where an unsolved disappearance has set a dark chain of events in motion.The voyage Karl and Esther soon find themselves undertaking is one of desperate importance and true peril. It will change the way they see the world, and each other, forever.Tethers is the first book of the Tethers trilogy.
The First Private
Pablo Andrés Wunderlich Padilla
I was born under the banner of war. I'm ready to enlist, sign the contract to serve for ten years under the ally ranks. We're done, me and my friends are. We must leave this shit-hole country conquered by the totalitarians. I was born here. Now I'm ready to leave it behind. We're going to war.The world is being conquered by the Megachine, a totalitarian regime commanding more than a billion drones. They are strong. Undefeated. Unrivaled. They have wiped out the ally drone force and now they are moving in for the final blow. First they took Europe, then Asia. With the help of the Chavistas, they conquered Latin America. The world is about to fall. I have to--need to serve--to fight for whatever freedom is left!
The Brand of the Warlock
Robert Kroese - 2019
Some say he has the power to summon demons. Others say he is the only one who can vanquish them. His name is Konrad, and he has a secret....The Brand of the Warlock is the first book in the fast-paced sword & sorcery series The Counterfeit Sorcerer. The series follows Konrad as he battles ogres, demons, wraiths and necromancers who threaten the land of Orszag. There are five books in the series.
Clean Kill
C.E. Nelson - 2016
It was the chance of a lifetime for the band, touring with Prince, and a friend of a friend had a decked out tour bus they could use. Things couldn't be better - except for the body in the bus. A very clean body.Don Trask, Lead Agent for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, finds it odd that someone would go to the trouble to bleach a body. It was strange. And things were about to become even more strange when additional bodies in Minneapolis and along the north shore of Lake Superior begin to appear. All very clean.Don and his twin brother Dave, Sheriff of Lake County Minnesota, must now quickly stop the murderer before word gets out that a serial killer may be roaming the state - and another body is bleached.
Readers of John Sanford, Jeffrey Deaver, Michael Connelly, William Kent Krueger and like authors will enjoy this fast-paced thriller. Scroll up to order now.
What readers are saying:"There's several suspects and then a twist at the end you never figured on. This was a good enjoyable read." - PWA"Good Read! I liked the characters and the fast-paced gameplay." - Lynda Hanson"Good Read. Would recommend this book to anyone who likes this genre." - Martha Allen
Nefertiti's Heart
A.W. Exley - 2013
Permanently.1861. Cara has a simple mission in London - finalise her father's estate and sell off his damned collection of priceless artifacts. Her plan goes awry when a killer stalks the nobility, searching for an ancient Egyptian relic rumoured to hold the key to immortality.Nathaniel Trent, known as the villainous viscount, is relentless in his desire to lay his hands on both Cara and the priceless artifacts. His icy exterior and fiery touch stirs Cara's demons, or could he lay them to rest?Self-preservation fuels Cara's search for the gem known as Nefertiti's Heart. In a society where everyone wears a mask to hide their true intent, she needs to figure out who to trust, before she sacrifices her own heart and life.
Jackie Cupid's First Love and It's Written In The Stars
Mary Leo - 2017
. . Jackie Cupid! Jackie Cupid’s First Love: When Eros, the god of Love, appears to Jackie Cupid and transforms her into a real life Cupid with magical love powers and an outstanding bombshell body, Jackie is keen to take on the challenge. “Look out, baby, there’s a new Cupid in town!” There’s just one catch. Jackie’s first couple is a test. The potential soul mates are estranged best friends who must fall madly in love with each other by Christmas morning or Jackie will lose all her powers, along with her outstanding bombshell body. Samantha Bowers, the local preacher’s daughter, and Luke Rutherford, an out of town businessman, haven’t spoken in over a year. Getting these two together is a series of star struck misadventures. Jackie has to learn how deep to prick someone with her tiny magical stars (arrows are way too gauche) so they can become delirious with desire . . . just not too delirious. More importantly, Jackie must learn when to poke them or that person might fall for anyone but their intended lover. The clock is ticking. Christmas is fast approaching. Will Jackie Cupid turn these two misbegotten lovers around in time to keep her powers? Or will her magic become a stardust memory? It’s Written In The Stars: Billionaire, Antonio Milani has come to London for the annual book fair and to retrieve his first edition, signed copy of Oliver Twist, from a woman who not only played him in his bed, but pretended to be a talented new author his publishing house was courting. Margot James has spent the better part of her adult life raising two children in a small town and writing stories in her personal journals. Now that her kids are grown, Margot takes a leap of faith and travels to London to visit her best friend, Jackie Cupid. When her friend takes a hike and leaves her with Antonio Milani, the delicious looking billionaire, Margot wants nothing more than to fly back home. But Jackie has used her magical stars on these two and the attraction, heat, and a pending book contract get in the way of Margot’s departure. Will Cupid’s magic be enough to keep these two lovers together, despite the odds, or will best-friend guilt get in the way of their destiny?
The Traveller's Stone (The Haven Series, #1)
S.J. Howland - 2019
Howland has created a wondrous fantasy world, inhabited by the creatures of myth and fairytale. Any fan of J.K. Rowling, C.S. Lewis or Philip Pullman will immediately feel at home in this fantastical place." - LoveReading
Xander King does not believe in fairytales. He prefers rational explanations, keeping his head down and trying to avoid the inevitable comparisons with his genius mother. The last thing he expects is to have his life turned upside down by terrifying shadows and an encounter with a mysterious stone tablet, challenging his entire view of reality and catapulting him into the parallel world of Haven.Faced with extraordinary creatures, ancient secrets and a heritage he does not understand, Xander is drawn into the struggle to protect the border between his own reality and Haven, and prevent disaster overcoming them both. But, as darkness spreads, he must confront new questions. Where does he belong, and is anything in Haven really as it seems?
Discover the mesmerising world of Haven and the truths long-hidden in the ancient stories in this gripping fantasy adventure.
Gone
Christine Kersey - 2013
Not only is her family missing, but another family is living in her house and claims to have lived there for weeks. As Morgan desperately works to figure out what has happened, she finds society has become obsessed with weight in a way she has never seen before. The more she searches for answers, the more she begins to wonder if she has somehow ended up in another world—a world she doesn't want to be a part of. Can she survive in this world until she can get home?Gone does not contain any profanity or sexual content and is appropriate for all ages.
Yesterday's Thief
Al Macy - 2016
Although he reads only the conscious thoughts of the people he interviews, it usually gives him enough of an edge to overcome his inexperience as a PI. But mind reading is hell on relationships. Trusting comes hard when you know what people are really thinking. The case of his life lands in his lap when a beautiful woman materializes during a televised baseball game. She floats in midair, then drops to the ground, comatose. Beckman is at her bedside when she wakes up. From the moment she opens her eyes, she has him under her spell. He vows to figure out where—or when—she came from, even if it kills him. The stakes increase when she disappears without a trace. Worse, she holds the key to a worldwide energy catastrophe. If Beckman can’t find her and unlock her secrets, economies will collapse, and the world will spiral down into chaos.
Goblin
Gerhard Gehrke - 2019
His sister is abducted and the sage vanishes.Forced to leave the ashes of his home behind, he must abandon the only place he has ever known and venture into the land of humans and monsters.Saving his sister will mean uncovering what the raiders were after.For some things are worth more than gold, and goblins, as it turns out, have secrets of their own.A fast-paced dark fantasy series. Grab a copy and join the adventure!
Finding Miss Write
Gena Webb - 2018
Sure, her life's in danger, but she's also caught the attention of handsome detective, Roger Graf, so that kind of evens things out. As Carla nears the end of her novel, it's up to Roger to catch the killer, or it might be the end of Carla's life story as well.