Book picks similar to
Dark Journey by Irfan Orga


turkey
fiction
amour
wishlist-will-borrow-or-buy

Strange Gods: A Novel About Faith, Murder, Sin, and Redemption


Peter J. Daly - 2016
    Somebody is killing cardinals. But what is going on and why? With the latest death, the Vatican is forced to act. The Church pulls Nate Condon, a young New York attorney, into the investigation. As the history of the crimes unfolds, we are drawn inside the magnificent city of Rome, her ancient secrets, and the most privileged inner sanctums of the Catholic hierarchy.In the midst of Nate’s investigation, more tragedy befalls the Church: The pope dies, a Vatican cardinal commits suicide, and the Mafia murders Nate’s primary contact, a self-loathing gay monsignor who is knee-deep in scandal. Soon after, an American cardinal, determined to change the corruption deep within the Church, is elected as the new pope. Will he be able to narrow the divide that is destroying everything he holds dear, or will the schism that separates the Church win out?Strange Gods is written by two priests with firsthand knowledge of the degree to which the Church will go to cover up financial corruption, abuse of power, sexual scandal, and evil. With an eye on the holiness and grace of ordinary people who keep the Church alive and want to change her future, Strange Gods promises to be an engaging and thought-provoking read.

Sons of Africa


Jeffrey Whittam - 2011
    Settler wagons in their hundreds left the safety of the Cape Colony; generations on, their descendents are still fighting to keep a land they love...... "For that smallest of moments the two men stared at each other. Between them flew a hundred years, a thousand reasons. Ancient prophecies, the creak of wagons over rough ground and a woman's yearning for infinite horizons, the strengthening of one man's belief and the imminent death of another."From Rhodesia's final years, the clock turns back to the windswept, dusty streets of Kimberley’s infamous diamond fields. For Catherine Goddard and her son, Mathew, their decision to cross the Limpopo as part of a settler wagon train is one borne of desperation and a boy's need to be reunited with his father. For three months their ox-drawn trek wagon stands as their only defence against the African wilderness and the bloodlust of Lobengula Khumalo’s warring impis.Throughout the passage of a hundred years, three racially divided families are fatefully drawn together. Dynasties are shaped and smashed by kings, warrior chiefs and the indomitable lust for power and wealth by men like Cecil Rhodes and the perpetrators of Zimbabwe’s chaotic new order.From the latter part of the nineteenth century, Sons of Africa runs inexorably to the demise of Rhodesia’s white minority rule and the emergence of the new Zimbabwe.

The Witness / Exclusive


Sandra Brown - 1999
    While an ambitious reporter pursues an Exclusive story into the White House on a trail of lies and intrigue.

Nuclear War Club: Seven high school students in detention, who don't know, or like each other, get a pop test in survival


Colt Triarii - 2015
    They realize this was not another earthquake, but a Nuclear Attack. David knew they would have to work together to escape from the rubble, then shelter for 14 days to survive the fallout. If, as he feared, their parents were dead, then they should trek east,hopefully staying together.They would have to adapt, improvise, and overcome. They rescued a 4 year old orphan and realized how much they had learned from their parents. They became the Nuclear War Club. David had been the starting quarterback on his football team in Alabama.He had just transferred to this California High School as a Senior, when his Dad was reassigned to an Air Force Base. David organized the human chain to escape from the rubble. The clock was ticking, they would have to find, or make, a shelter from the fallout within 30 minutes or die from the radiation. David looked over the other 6 detention survivors and was disappointed at this soft, pampered, self centered, dysfunctional group. But you go to nuclear war with the survivors you have, he thought, as he explained what had happened and his plan. He invited them to follow as he began to hike to where his truck and camping equipment had been. Zeke's stomach churned, and he struggled to control his panic as he viewed the nuclear debris as far as the eye could see. What had happened to LeShawn and Monique? Were they trapped in rubble, crying for their big brother to come? His Mom was a drug addict, he was all his preschool brother and sister had. He would rescue them,or die trying. But he was miles away from home-the football boosters arranged for special transportation to get the heavily recruited, All State football running back, to this wealthy school everyday. He would stay with this group, they were his ticket, until he found a way to rescue LeShawn and Monique. Karen had grown up on a ranch where her father was hired to care for the horses. She was tough from working with the horses, self sufficient,and was instinctively wary of how David had just naturally assumed command. Karen had just transferred to this school under redistricting, and she didn't know any of them well.But the school, and the entire City were totally destroyed, there was no other option. Karen grabbed her backpack, stuck a knife from what was left of the underground school kitchen in her hiking boots, concealed it with her sock, then followed. Liu was a first generation Vietnamese immigrant who excelled at school. She had been utterly humiliated and shamed that she had even been sent to detention. Liu had carefully noticed how David had organized their evacuation and got everyone out. David was a natural leader, and he seemed to know a lot about Nuclear War. She would stay with this group until her Dad found her. Jorge was going to be an architect and was dual enrolled in engineering classes at the Community College. His leg had been broken when the ceiling collapsed, David and Karen had helped set his splint. He was all in, hobbling behind. Karen loathed Ashley Kensington, and wondered if the cheerleaders required DNA test confirmation that you had blond hair, blue eyes, long legs, and no brain to be the cheerleader captain. Ashley considered staying at what was left of the school. Surely her wealthy parents would send the maid or someone to get her. But David sounded like he knew all about Nuclear attacks when he told her that was stupid, and she was terrified of being left behind, alone. Doron was a genius who was also popular as the creator of the encrypted "geek.peek" homework school website.

Grumby


Andy Kessler - 2010
    In this comic novel a band of hacker-geeks load state-of-the-art artificial intelligence, including working eyes, ears, spy software, and a smart mouth, into a bunch of old Furby dolls, re-christened Grumbies, network them together, sell millions, become rich and famous and make enemies/allies of Mossad, the CIA, Google, Microsoft, IRS, Goldman Sachs, the guys from Google, and Steve Jobs.

The Oracle of Stamboul


Michael David Lukas - 2011
    "They had read the signs, they said: a sea of horses, a conference of birds, the North Star in alignment with the moon. It was a prophecy that their last king had given on his deathwatch." But joy is mixed with tragedy, for Eleonora's mother dies soon after the birth. Raised by her doting father, Yakob, a carpet merchant, and her stern, resentful stepmother, Ruxandra, Eleonora spends her early years daydreaming and doing housework—until the moment she teaches herself to read, and her father recognizes that she is an extraordinarily gifted child, a prodigy. When Yakob sets off by boat for Stamboul on business, eight-year-old Eleonora, unable to bear the separation, stows away in one of his trunks. On the shores of the Bosporus, in the house of her father's business partner, Moncef Bey, a new life awaits. Books, backgammon, beautiful dresses and shoes, markets swarming with color and life—the imperial capital overflows with elegance, and mystery. For in the narrow streets of Stamboul—a city at the crossroads of the world—intrigue and gossip are currency, and people are not always what they seem. Eleonora's tutor, an American minister and educator, may be a spy. The kindly though elusive Moncef Bey has a past history of secret societies and political maneuvering. And what is to be made of the eccentric, charming Sultan Abdulhamid II himself, beleaguered by friend and foe alike as his unwieldy, multiethnic empire crumbles? The Oracle of Stamboul is a marvelously evocative, magical historical novel that will transport readers to another time and place—romantic, exotic, yet remarkably similar to our own.

A Secret Splendor & Above and Beyond


Erin St. Claire - 1986
    But she has another sona child she gave up at birth for reasons beyond her control. Arden is convinced that finding him will ease her overwhelming heartache. But after she arrives in the tropical paradise of Hawaii, where her son now lives, Arden starts to doubt her decision to contact him. Because she knows that finding him could resurrect all the half-truths, secrets and unspeakable lies that surrounded his birth. Above and Beyond When Sergeant Richard Stroud dies tragically while stationed overseas, he leaves behind his wife, Kyla, and their newborn son. Now Richard's best friend, Trevor Rule, has returned home from military duty carrying with him the box of letters Kyla sent her husband. Reading her gentle, passionate words, Trevor fell in love with his best friend's widow. Now he needs to convince Kyla that they have the right to be happy, to move past the pain of Richard's death. But Trevor is harboring a secret, one with the power to destroy the love he is trying so hard to protect. "

Darkness


Ratnakar Matkari - 2019
    An elderly woman who knows that death is close, but learns how to cheat it... A child with a dangerous friend who happens to be invisible... A ghost who can't stop reliving his suicide over and over again... People you'll wish you never have to meet, and stories you'll never forget. Skilfully translated into English for the very first time, these chilling tales from master storyteller Ratnakar Matkari are bound to keep readers of all ages up at night. With every page you turn, you'll be looking over your shoulder to make sure no one's there. Look again. Maybe there is!

Augusta Locke: A Novel


William Haywood Henderson - 2006
    Of his most recent novel, "The Rest of the Earth," Annie Proulx remarked that "Henderson writes some of the most evocative and transcendently beautiful prose in contemporary American literature." Set primarily in Wyoming, Henderson's new novel is the chronicle of six generations of a family, viewed through the lens of one woman's very long life. Augusta "Gussie" Locke is born in Minnesota in 1903. As a teenager she moves west with her mother to Colorado and then runs away from home. A one-night stand with a traveling soldier leaves her pregnant, and with her daughter, Anne, she eventually finds a life in Wyoming running supplies to oil and mineral crews in the Great Basin Divide. Through the years, Gussie keeps moving, abandoning people and places, being abandoned herself; Anne runs away just as her mother had, never to be seen again. Settling in the Wind River Range, Augusta, alone again, builds a new life until, years later, her grandson and great-granddaughter seek to discover the woman behind the family myth. Spanning the twentieth century, Augusta's extraordinary trials and tribulations play out themes of love and loss, redemption and reconciliation. Redolent with myth, humor, strange landscapes, and stark reality, "Augusta Locke" is an indelible portrait of a woman who through great spirit and toughness of character blazes her own trail.

On a Someday


Roxanne Henke - 2009
    Claire Westin has spent her adult life being a wife, mother, and college professor. The last thing she expects as she nears retirement status is to have a whole new career open before her. Her husband, Jim, has spent his life growing his chain of grocery stores. He has a grand plan to restore an old Dodge Charger...someday when he retires. Someday soon, he hopes. If his son Drew would only agree to take over the family business. Drew, however, has plans of his own. And Claire is busy climbing the ladder of her new career. She can't bear the thought that she might have to say "no" to the exciting new opportunities she's pursuing and simply sit around and watch her husband tinker on an old car. What happens when plans collide? When dreams don't materialize? How do you know when your work is done? Or is it ever? On a Someday asks the big questions of life...and tries to answer them. ..".A CBA novelist to watch." -Publishers Weekly

The Dead Priest of Sedona


Charles Williamson - 2015
    The caller, KEVIN RIKER, reports that a man has been killed up on the plateau above the West Fork of Oak Creek Canyon. Kevin leads the two lawmen on the trail through the West Fork Canyon. The trail is busy with hikers enjoying the autumn colors that are at their peak on November first. After several miles of hiking, a wade through the cold creek water, and a steep climb to the canyon rim, the group rests. Kevin explains that he had lost the normal trail when he found a strange circular grove of ponderosa pines where he discovered the gruesome body.

尘埃落定


阿来 - 1998
    New edition of the 2000 winner of the prestigious Mao Dun Literature Prize. This is a saga of the disabled son between the Tibetan Kangba Tusi (head of the clan) and a Han woman, who, despite of his appearance, possesses a special gift of prescience and premonition. In Simplified Chinese. Distributed by Tsai Fong Books, Inc.

Love, Life And Dream On


Animesh Verma - 2009
    It's a story about the most explored life aspect named friendship which trapped four strange souls for life in the serenity of Delhi University (UD.U.) campus. Aniket falls victim to equally notorious life facet called love and very strangely that too, at first sight; and what follows is a restless journey of getting his love on board. Set against the backdrop of D.U. And IIT Bombay, the story reveals the dream of today's youth, their callowness, sec, love and not to forget the resolve for two critical life aspects; love & friendship. The journey took them across carousel of tough times linked to the chain of complex situations which ultimately pushed them to the brink of exploring their identity. Among this chaos and a DEADLY incident, can they realize their dreams!!! Can we live for a dream of our friends? Is love all about giving and taking nothing? Is it right to destroy oneself in love? Will these friendship win the battle of life and dream? Can we ever forget for our first love? Are the youth truly the new face of contemporary India? What will happen when dream meets fate, fate meets friendship and love cast its magic on everyone?

Хамамът Балкания


Vladislav Bajac - 2008
    It is extremely important, that is true, but the way Vladislav Bajac performs his little literary alchemy trick by turning a grand, totalizing narrative into something personal, and thus giving it credibility, zest and liveliness, is truly amazing. The Ottoman empire and its subjects in Southeastern Europe, East and West, Sokollu Mehmed Pasha and Koca Mimar Sinan, destruction and creation, are the crucial elements of this meticulously organized story. One of the two lines of the story starts with an unprecedent human drama of young men born and raised in one faith and nation who are forcefully taken to serve in the other; the line of the plot that takes place in the contemporary world, with Orhan Pamuk, Allen Ginsberg and Juan Octavio Prenz among others, is seemingly independent but strongly connected to the historical one. In a story of a friendship, of unique soul-searching and redemption, we are offered a picture of the world that gently warns us to be careful, patient and wise when forming opinions both of the things we know well, and of those that reached us through history.Hamam Balkania received the Balkanika Award for the best novel in the Balkans for 2007/2008, the "Isidora Sekulić" Award for the best book in 2008 and the "Hit Liber" Award for the bestselling book in the same year. At the moment it is being translated into ten languages.

White Plains


David Hicks - 2017
    But in the aftermath of 9/11, Flynn leaves his wife and children, resigns his teaching position and heads west, only to get lost in his guilt and in the mountains of Colorado. When he ends up stuck overnight in a snow drift during a blizzard on the Continental Divide, he realizes he needs to remake himself into the kind of man his children need him to be. With wit and insight, David Hicks turns a compassionate but unblinking eye on what it means to be human—to be lost while putting yourself back together again, to be cowardly while being brave, to fail and fail again on the way to something that might be success.With wit and insight, David Hicks turns a compassionate but unblinking eye on what it means to be human—to be lost while putting yourself back together again, to be cowardly while being brave, to fail and fail again on the way to something that might be success.