Book picks similar to
This Strange Engine by Philip Ligon
sci-fi
fantasy
science-fiction
steampunk
The Rithmatist
Brandon Sanderson - 2013
Rithmatists have the power to infuse life into two-dimensional figures known as Chalklings. Rithmatists are humanity’s only defense against the Wild Chalklings. Having nearly overrun the territory of Nebrask, the Wild Chalklings now threaten all of the American Isles.As the son of a lowly chalkmaker at Armedius Academy, Joel can only watch as Rithmatist students learn the magical art that he would do anything to practice. Then students start disappearing—kidnapped from their rooms at night, leaving trails of blood. Assigned to help the professor who is investigating the crimes, Joel and his friend Melody find themselves on the trail of an unexpected discovery—one that will change Rithmatics—and their world—forever.
Crystal Rain
Tobias S. Buckell - 2006
Looking for a new world to call their own, they brought with them a rich mélange of cultures, religions, and dialects from a far-off planet called Earth. Mighty were the old-fathers, with the power to shape the world to their liking—but that was many generations ago, and what was once known has long been lost. Steamboats and gas-filled blimps now traverse the planet, where people once looked up to see great silver cities in the sky.Like his world, John deBrun has forgotten more than he remembers. Twenty-seven years ago, he washed up onto the shore of Nanagada with no memory of his past. Although he has made a new life for himself among the peaceful islanders, his soul remains haunted by unanswered questions about his own identity.These mysteries take on new urgency when the fearsome Azteca storm over the Wicked High Mountains in search of fresh blood and hearts to feed their cruel, inhuman gods. Nanagada's only hope lies in a mythical artifact, the Ma Wi Jung, said to be hidden somewhere in the frozen north. And only John deBrun knows the device's secrets, even if he can't remember why or how!Crystal Rain is the much-anticipated debut novel by one of science fiction's newest and most promising talents.
Winter Fae
Melissa Turner Lee - 2012
But life outside has made her sick. When she returns to the land of fae with her son, she discovers things are not as they should be. Will she find the healing she so desperately seeks for herself and invalid son? Or will she be received with the coldness of winter?
The Aeronaut's Windlass
Jim Butcher - 2015
Within their halls, aristocratic houses have ruled for generations, developing scientific marvels, fostering trade alliances, and building fleets of airships to keep the peace.Captain Grimm commands the merchant ship, Predator. Fiercely loyal to Spire Albion, he has taken their side in the cold war with Spire Aurora, disrupting the enemy’s shipping lines by attacking their cargo vessels. But when the Predator is severely damaged in combat, leaving captain and crew grounded, Grimm is offered a proposition from the Spirearch of Albion—to join a team of agents on a vital mission in exchange for fully restoring Predator to its fighting glory.And even as Grimm undertakes this dangerous task, he will learn that the conflict between the Spires is merely a premonition of things to come. Humanity’s ancient enemy, silent for more than ten thousand years, has begun to stir once more. And death will follow in its wake…
Retribution Falls
Chris Wooding - 2009
An inveterate womaniser and rogue, he and his gang make a living on the wrong side of the law, avoiding the heavily armed flying frigates of the Coalition Navy. With their trio of ragged fighter craft, they run contraband, rob airships and generally make a nuisance of themselves. So a hot tip on a cargo freighter loaded with valuables seems like a great prospect for an easy heist and a fast buck. Until the heist goes wrong, and the freighter explodes. Suddenly Frey isn't just a nuisance anymore - he's public enemy number one, with the Coalition Navy on his tail and contractors hired to take him down. But Frey knows something they don't. That freighter was rigged to blow, and Frey has been framed to take the fall. If he wants to prove it, he's going to have to catch the real culprit. He must face liars and lovers, dogfights and gunfights, Dukes and daemons. It's going to take all his criminal talents to prove he's not the criminal they think he is ...
The Guard
N.L. Westaway - 2020
Thumbing back through the pages again, slower this time, I found it. It was about an inch thickness in… Mom’s handwriting… pages of it.When a woman linked to the supernatural, discovers her adoptive mother’s journal holds a cryptic mystery, she and her closest friends race to uncover a secret matriarchal society safeguarded by mystical unseen forces. What if Cancer wasn’t just an illness or evil sickness that took our loved ones? What if it’s something bigger—a sacrifice or choice to keep humanity safe—to keep the balance?Ottawa, the capital of Canada, is considered the 3rd cleanest city in the world and rated the 2nd highest quality of living of any big city in the Americas, but unless you’re Canadian you probably wouldn’t know any of that stuff. And it’s all very nice and well, but boring as hell.... That’s what four unsuspecting girlfriends thought, until their good friend Lynn Westlake came home to visit, and they found themselves in the biggest mystery and adventure of their normal boring lives.The Guard is the first book in the N. L. Westaway urban fantasy/paranormal mystery trilogy. If you appreciate brilliant urban fantasy or paranormal mysteries involving everyday people, you’ll love this entertaining three-part trilogy. Note; it is recommended that you read the books in order as the mystery is in three parts, and not individual stories per book.
Children of Avalon
S.E. Wright - 2016
On Earth a four year old Kyah was found in an abandoned house with no memory of who she was or how she got there. But all that changes twenty-one years later when she is shoved through a shimmering door into a realm of fantasy that she thought only existed as stories. Handed a mission by ancient powers, she must figure out how to defeat those intent on bringing the darkness into the light. In the realm of Avalon, Kyah finds strange and legendary new friends along with new found powers. These powers will help her and her new friends fight the darkness and save a town and its children. If she survives the encounter with the darkness she will be set on another path to find out who and what she is. This action-packed fantasy blurs the lines with science fiction twisting legendary heroes and mythical stories into a whole new multiverse.
Critical Failures
Robert Bevan - 2012
The next minute, they're in a horse-drawn cart surrounded by soldiers pointing crossbows at them. Tim now has the voice and physique of a prepubescent girl. Dave finds that while he lost a foot or two in height, he somehow acquired a suit of armor and a badass beard. Julian's ears have grown ridiculously long and pointy. And Cooper... well Cooper has gotten himself a set of tusks, a pair of clawed hands, and a bad case of the shits. He also finds that he's carrying a bag with a human head in it - a head that he had chopped off when they were still just playing a game.Shit just got real, and if they want to survive, these four friends are going to have to tap into some baser instincts they didn't even know existed in their fast-food and pizza delivery world.It's fight, flight, or try to convince the people who are trying to kill them that they don't really exist.Meanwhile, a sadistic game master sits back in the real world eating their fried chicken.
A.L.I.V.E.
R.D. Brady - 2016
But since the early twentieth century, the frequency of those reports has increased dramatically.In response, the United States government has been looking for a way to combat the alien threat they see looming on the horizon. Their most promising prospect is the A.L.I.V.E. (Alien Life In Vitro Experiment) Project.Working from Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Dr. Maeve Leander has been in charge of Alvie, the first subject from the A.L.I.V.E. Project, for the last three years. But she's been part of the project much longer--ever since she was a child and her mother ran the project.As a new agency takes over the A.L.I.V.E. Projects, though, Maeve learns that Alvie wasn't the only subject created. Caught in the middle of a giant war game, Maeve ends up in a race for her life. It's not just humans, though, she's on the run from. And it's not just herself she's trying to save.But as the violence increases and the chances for survival decrease, she realizes one terrifying truth: despite its name, the real goal of the A.L.I.V.E. project is to make sure no one gets out alive.
Now, Then, and Everywhen
Rysa Walker - 2020
But which one broke the timeline?In 2136 Madison Grace uncovers a key to the origins of CHRONOS, a time-travel agency with ties to her family’s mysterious past. Just as she is starting to jump through history, she returns to her timeline to find millions of lives erased—and only the people inside her house realize anything has changed.In 2304 CHRONOS historian Tyson Reyes is assigned to observe the crucial events that played out in America’s civil rights movement. But a massive time shift occurs while he’s in 1965, and suddenly the history he sees isn’t the history he knows.As Madi’s and Tyson’s journeys collide, they must prevent the past from being erased forever. But strange forces are at work. Are Madi and Tyson in control or merely pawns in someone else’s game?
First Justice
John Etzil - 2019
His first chance to get it could be his last… Jack Lamburt is out for blood. After a brutal terrorist murdered his pregnant wife, he’s sworn not to allow another innocent soul to suffer a similar fate. So how can he say no when an old flame in the CIA recruits him for a covert mission to stop an extremist plot to butcher thousands? Flying under the radar, the pair sets course for a Cuban hot zone and Lamburt’s first taste of battle. But the deeper they get into their black-ops assignment, the more he suspects their simple hit may be part of a shadowy conspiracy… with deadly consequences. Can Lamburt walk the path of vengeance without coming home in a body bag? First Justice is the fast-paced prequel to the Jack Lamburt Vigilante Justice thriller series. If you like gritty heroes, savage action, and moral dilemmas, then you’ll love John Etzil’s gripping novel.
Something Strange and Deadly
Susan Dennard - 2012
. . .Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about.Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she's just read in the newspaper:The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor . . . from her brother.Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she'll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including the maddeningly stubborn yet handsome Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.
Witching World: Books 1-3
Lucia Ashta - 2021
If you enjoy non-stop adventure, a new kind of magic, empowered heroines, moody sorcerers, mythical creatures with attitude, and castles with personality, you'll love this collection of the first three full-length novels of The Witching World series. This collection includes: Magic Awakens A girl with dormant powers. A sorcerer with a mysterious past. A forbidden path in magic. Clara’s parents have her life all planned out for her. It’s the 1800s and she’s a daughter of the aristocracy. Her duty is to marry the man her parents choose for her, hold her tongue, and practice needlepoint. Clara has no intention to marry into a life of misery. But she isn’t looking for a life of magic either. Magic is dangerous. Her parents have worked hard to keep her from it. But magic is coming for Clara, whether she likes it or not. When her powers awaken, she can choose the safe path and pretend it isn’t happening. Or she can claim her power and face all the dangers it comes with, including the dark stranger with a secret past. The Five-Petal Knot A prodigy pygmy owl. A possessive firedrake. A booby-trapped castle. Gargoyles come to life. Who said magic would be ordinary? No one can access magic like Clara does, but her powers are unpredictable and dangerous. She has to learn how to control them. When she falls into one of the castle’s many traps before she can, becoming a prisoner of the merworld, there’s only one person who can save her. And he’s already fighting for his life. But that’s not the worst of their problems. An immortal count, with a heart fueled by darkness, intends to claim the souls of everyone within Irele Castle. The castle and all its creatures come alive to defend it, but will it be enough to defeat the count’s army of gruesome creatures and save Clara before it’s too late? The Merqueen A prodigy pygmy owl. A possessive firedrake. A booby-trapped castle. Gargoyles come to life. Who said magic would be ordinary? No one can access magic like Clara does, but her powers are unpredictable and dangerous. She has to learn how to control them. When she falls into one of the castle’s many traps before she can, becoming a prisoner of the merworld, there’s only one person who can save her. And he’s already fighting for his life. But that’s not the worst of their problems. An immortal count, with a heart fueled by darkness, intends to claim the souls of everyone within Irele Castle. The castle and all its creatures come alive to defend it, but will it be enough to defeat the count’s army of gruesome creatures and save Clara before it’s too late?
Out of the Shadows
Dana Fraedrich - 2016
No more deadly creatures or magic to keep the people subjugated in fear. The world today is rife with opportunities for progress. The technologies of the Old World can be rediscovered and built upon, cities are maintained, people have the freedom to forge their own paths, and order is kept by the Enforcers. The light of the Dawn Age has burst forth in a brilliant blaze, illuminating the possibilities of the future. Happy New Year! D1 of the Air Y1 of the New Age Springhaven Newsheet Homeless, orphaned, living in secret as a thief Lenore Crowley just wants to survive, but the city of Springhaven has no sympathy for cases such as hers. She chose her path, and the consequences are hers alone. Being caught would mean certain death; her odds of survival are beginning to look bleak. When she meets the Allens, she s offered a new life. In a world where debts and oaths carry very real weight, however, this second chance comes at a price. Lives entangle, and Lenore soon find that her secrets aren t so secret. Someone is looking for her, someone who knows who she really is. One wrong move and everything around her might fall.
Trapped
Randolph Lalonde - 2016
Some time later, mankind is slowly regaining control, destroying artificial intelligences by any means but leaving a chaotic, lawless galaxy behind as a result. Aspen has found a new home with the crew of the Cool Angel, a mercenary ship, unaware that she will soon be back in the hands of her old masters and will have to fight for her freedom all over again. From the author of the best selling Spinward Fringe series, this new novella promises adventure, drama and space with swagger!