Book picks similar to
White Sands, Red Steel by Keith C. Blackmore
fantasy
audiobooks
grimdark
fiction
Udo the Digger
Joshua Gayou - 2020
IT MIGHT NOT BE A WORLD AT ALL. . .Udo's biggest problem isn't being a digger (that's low class), or staying drunk (that's damn expensive), or avoiding the Dwergaz (they're monsters), or even pissing off the supposed Gods.It's that this reality. . .well, it isn't what he thought.And now, he can't even afford to drink because his so-called friend Nicz is cutting into his business, digging up tin, iron, and copper. So Udo forms a new plan: clay. After all, clay jars are used to store everything: meat, herbs, and his personal favorite, ale.But in his hunt for clay, Udo drills too far, is captured by the Dwergaz, and brought to the goddess Ing - or what he believes is a goddess. As Udo digs deeper into his world, and not just by digging holes, what he discovers is far beyond mountains and gods and monsters.There may be other worlds beyond his. Worlds surrounding other stars. In fact, his own home may not be a world at all.'UDO THE DIGGER' bends the tropes of science fiction and fantasy into a wild adventure that will amuse and surprise even veterans of both genres. It's perfect for fans of Arthur C. Clarke's 'Rama', Zero Dawn', 'Aurora', and 'Book of the Long Sun'.RUNNING TIME ➜ 14hrs. and 29mins.©2019 Aethon Books (P)2020 Audible, Inc.
Mercy for Hire Mission Pack 1: Missions 1-4
J.S. Morin - 2018
Any bounty hunter worth the title knows three rules:Collect half the money up front.Never get emotionally attached.Don’t ask nosy questions.But with a heart of gold and her companion Kubu by her side, Esper sets out to make the galaxy a better place, preferably making enough money to pay for the fuel to get from one job to the next. But just because she’s not cut out to be ruthless doesn’t mean the galaxy is going to eat her alive.After all, Esper is also a wizard.Mission 1: Wayward SaintA runaway teen needs protection and Esper takes the job. But a simple rescue and recovery turns ugly when Esper finds herself in the middle of a custody battle with a vicious pirate who’s hired a bounty hunter of his own.Mission 2: Behind Blue SkiesOn the run from troubles of her own, Esper tries to lie low on a suspiciously Utopian colony planet. Unable to keep out of other people’s troubles, Esper gets a terrifying look into justice on a world where truth is a matter of who you know.Mission 3: House of the Orion SunEsper’s mission to protect the galaxy’s most vulnerable takes a turn for the seedy when she tracks a trafficking victim. How long can she hold out when her morals are tested at every turn?Mission 4: Break the ChainEsper’s own dark past catches up with her when bounty-hunting wizards corner her. Esper has faced down the galaxy’s worst criminals. Now, she’s going to be forced to stand up to one of the galaxy’s most esteemed institutions—Convocation of Arcane Practitioners.
You See the Monster - A Modern Horror Novel
Luke Smitherd - 2021
The part of him that knows the deep, dark truth behind fairy stories and myths..."Guy is about to finish writing his breakthrough online article. He overheard the story by chance in a pub and it's guaranteed to go viral - all he needs to do is persuade the World's Unluckiest Man to talk to him. His best friend Larry's quest for killer clickbait material has led him to a recently-appeared shanty town in Glasgow, where he finds some kind of urban voodoo cult. Ex-cop Sam has already come face to face with the terrifying force behind both these phenomena, but he's been trying to put it out of his mind.When Larry is killed in inexplicably gruesome circumstances, Guy knows he's also a target. The evidence of malevolent power is suddenly proliferating - but why now? Together, Sam and Guy enter a shadow world of ancient monsters and modern curses, in a battle to figure out the rules of the game and bring them to the light before it's far too late.From the bestselling author of the Stone Man series, You See The Monster is for fans of contemporary horror kindle books at their most darkly inventive: a chilling, high-concept fable for our times.PRAISE FOR LUKE SMITHERD'S WRITING: "... a novel that intrigues, enthralls, horrifies, thrills, and hits the reader with an emotional resonance as only the best stories can." - Ain't It Cool News.com "... strong characterization, moral quandaries, mystery, and a whole lot of tense moments. Reading the final sentence was truly a bittersweet moment." - SFsignal.com, Hugo award-winning website"I couldn't help myself and read this is one sitting" - simon211175, Amazon Vine Voice
Paradigm 2045: Trinity's Children
Robert W. Ross - 2020
His personal SETI project detected an extraterrestrial signal directed at Earth. Unfortunately, Dr. Howard’s long hoped for communication contained a message of dire warning rather than greeting. In 1945 humanity had become a species of galactic interest, and was given one-hundred years to address the issue.Now in 2045, only months remain before humanity’s grace period expires and the world mourns the passing of a titan. Damien Howard lies dead. Only his security officer, Misha Sokolov and artificially intelligent agent, Coleman are aware of Earth’s impending deadline.Meanwhile, in Nairobi, Kenya, Charlotte Omandi prepares to address luminaries gathered for her keynote presentation at the Omandi Institute. Her life changes forever when Damien Howard reaches out to her from beyond the grave. She is the first born of Howard’s Children, nine genetically enhanced humans who hold the key to Earth’s salvation.Charlotte must assemble a crew capable of demonstrating both faster-than-light travel and the wisdom required to join a galactic community. As humanity’s leaders become aware of the impending threat, massive forces attempt to impede Omandi and her nascent crew. Despite Damien’s gifts of wealth, technology, and genetic superiority, his children face daunting challenges as they race against an armageddon clock set to strike on July 16, 2045. By that day, humanity will either shift its paradigm or perish.
The Black Hawks
David Wragg - 2019
Bound by oath to a dead-end job in the service of a lazy step-uncle, Chel no longer dreams of glory – he dreams of going home.When invaders throw the kingdom into turmoil, Chel finds opportunity in the chaos: if he escorts a stranded prince to safety, Chel will be released from his oath.All he has to do is drag the brat from one side of the country to the other, through war and wilderness, chased all the way by ruthless assassins.With killers on your trail, you need killers watching your back. You need the Black Hawk Company – mercenaries, fighters without equal, a squabbling, scrapping pack of rogues.Prepare to join the Black Hawks.
Infernal
Mark de Jager - 2016
Stratus wakes in an unfamiliar place, with nothing but the knowledge that he is not human, with no memories of his past but possessing great strength, a powerful sorcery and the burning instinct to survive at any cost.Embarking on a journey of self-discovery, he sets out across a landscape torn apart by the ten year war between the Kingdoms of Krandin and Penullin, now reaching new levels of savagery as a dark magic drives the world to the brink of destruction.As his personality grows with each step he slowly uncovers the truth of what he has become and the unquenchable thirst for vengeance that has led him there.A bold new voice in fantasy and a revolutionary new character.
A Stranger in the Citadel
Tobias S. Buckell - 2021
Buckell.“You shall not suffer a librarian to live.”Growing up in Ninetha, Lilith has known this law all her life. The city’s every need is provided for by a god-machine called the cornucopia, which can produce food, clothing, anything in response to a thought. The gods provided this bounty on one condition: that humanity give up reading and writing. Then, a librarian, an actual seeker of forbidden written knowledge, walks through the gates of the citadel, his very presence unraveling the life Lilith has known. She learns her father, the Lord Musketeer himself, has been harboring a secret - one that turns Ninetha against Lilith’s family. Forced to flee, forced to throw in her lot with the librarian, Lilith uncovers even greater secrets - about the lie her life has been, and about the very nature of their world.
The Beginning After the End: Publisher's Pack #3-4
TurtleMe - 2020
Beckoning Fates (book 3):Was I taking this life for granted? Having this amount of power at my age had made me lose some of the sense of rationality I’d had in my former life. No longer a king, no longer tied down by rules and politics, I’d become careless. In this world, my potential was boundless.Though Arthur Leywin would like nothing more than to pursue his studies at the esteemed Xyrus Academy, where he hopes to push his already potent magical abilities to new plateaus and perhaps discover something more about his reincarnation into this world, he finds the politics of the school’s halls even more challenging to navigate than those of the council chambers he once inhabited as King Grey. Arthur faces inept professors, jealous classmates, and an overeager director while fending off the affection of an old friend and the aggression of an old enemy. Then a routine class trip into a low-level dungeon turns out to be anything but, and Arthur discovers something that will change his life forever.Horizon's Edge (book 4):In my past life I hadn’t had anyone I would have given my life to protect. I had that now, but I didn’t have the strength to protect them - not against what was about to come.In another life, Arthur Leywin was a king and no stranger to war. He was not ready, however, to find himself at the heart of a conflict that will reshape his entire new world. Despite his abilities, it seems as if the danger only increases with every discovery he makes. His oldest friend succumbs to a power that may destroy her, a power Arthur gave her. His most constant foe accepts a dark gift to challenge Arthur’s strength, an act that threatens all of Xyrus Academy. How can he keep his family safe if his very presence is the thing that draws danger to them? Can he dispel the specters of war before it is too late?©2016 TurtleMe (P)2020 Podium Publishing
A Little Hatred
Joe Abercrombie - 2019
But old scores run deep as ever.On the blood-soaked borders of Angland, Leo dan Brock struggles to win fame on the battlefield, and defeat the marauding armies of Stour Nightfall. He hopes for help from the crown. But King Jezal's son, the feckless Prince Orso, is a man who specializes in disappointments.Savine dan Glokta - socialite, investor, and daughter of the most feared man in the Union - plans to claw her way to the top of the slag-heap of society by any means necessary. But the slums boil over with a rage that all the money in the world cannot control.The age of the machine dawns, but the age of magic refuses to die. With the help of the mad hillwoman Isern-i-Phail, Rikke struggles to control the blessing, or the curse, of the Long Eye. Glimpsing the future is one thing, but with the guiding hand of the First of the Magi still pulling the strings, changing it will be quite another...
Galilee
Clive Barker - 1998
But it is a family with dark, terrible secrets. For the Gearys are a family at war. Their adversaries are the Barbarossas, a clan whose timeless origins lie in myth, whose mystical influence is felt in intense, sensual exchanges of flesh and soul. Now their battle is about to escalate.When Galilee, prodigal prince of the Barbarossa clan, meets Rachel, the young bride of the Gearys' own scion Mitchell, they fall in love, consumed by a passion that unleashes long-simmering hatred. Old insanities arise, old adulteries are uncovered, and a seemingly invincible family will begin to wither, exposing its unholy roots...
Mr. Mann: The afterlife and times of the Devil's Acquisitor ad Infinitum
John Byron - 2014
I work for the Devil, or The Prince of Lies, as you people are so fond of calling him. Yes. You read that last line correctly. I am employed by the Powers of Evil as Acquisitor Ad Infinitum. Catchy, huh? To put it in simpler terms, I am a broker of sorts. You know, the guy who finds out what it is that you want the most. I make it readily available to you for a price. I think we all know just how costly that one thing that you think you need so much can be. Which is why I urge all of my clients to choose wisely.
Poison
Shae Ford - 2014
However, it is available from Audible in audiobook format, narrated by Derek Perkins.Years before the Whispering War, there was a girl named Olivia. Her family murdered, her home destroyed -- a darkness she can't control. Olivia has never quite fit in amongst the lords and ladies of the seas... but things are about to get worse. Forced into the service of a powerful enemy, she must use her gifts to kill. The darkness grows fiercer with every step; each murder drags her closer to edge of villainy. Only one force in the Kingdom might have the power to save her, but she knows it's too late. Olivia has already fallen to the darkness -- into the jaws of a monster she calls The Poison.
You Die When You Die
Angus Watson - 2017
. .You can't change your fate - so throw yourself into battle, because you'll either win or wake up drinking mead in the halls of your ancestors. That's what Finn's tribe believe.But when their settlement is massacred by a hostile tribe and Finn and several friends, companions and rivals make their escape across a brutal, unfamiliar landscape, Finn will fight harder than he's ever fought in his life. He wants to live - even if he only lives long enough to tell Thyri Treelegs how he feels about her.The David Gemmell Award nominated author of Age of Iron returns with You Die When You Die - in which a mismatched group of refugees battle animals and monsters, determined assassins, depraved tribes, an unforgiving land and each other as they cross a continent to fulfill a prophecy.