Book picks similar to
Bitter Sky by Tim Stretton


spfbo7
self-published
military-fantasy
steampunk

Heir to the Darkmage


Lisa Cassidy - 2021
    Danger thrills her. But magic always has a price.Twenty years have passed since the Darkmage was destroyed and the war between mages ended. For Lira Astor, the single living heir to the Darkmage, escaping her name is impossible. People still fear what is long dead, and they see in her the rise of another dangerous mage with deadly ambition. Desperate to claw her way free of her grandfather’s shadow, to make her own name amongst the world of mages, Lira is willing to do whatever it takes. Even if that means joining the secretive rebel group looking to restore his vision.Survival is a lesson Lira learned early and often, yet when she is abducted and held prisoner in a deadly game of cat and mouse, she finds herself facing a nemesis she may be no match for. Forced to band together with unlikely allies who challenge everything she believes about what it means to be a mage, she will have to rely on every bit of ruthlessness she possesses.Because the war may only just be beginning……and Lira Astor intends to come out on top.

Abomination


V.A. Lewis - 2021
    She accepts, only to find that this world treats magic users the same way hers did— by hunting them down for heresy.She will be hunted by the Church, shunned by her peers, having to fight both people and monsters to survive. When faced with inquisitors, slavers, terrorists, and more, Melas will have no choice but to overcome them to seize her own destiny, or fail and run from it all.

Defiant


Aaron Hodges - 2021
    But when his mother is caught up in the slaughter of a fledgeling resistance group, Rydian’s entire family is thrown into infamy. His fellow humans brand him traitor, while the Alfur hail his mother a hero. Desperate to clear his name, Rydian must delve into his mother’s past, and the secrets she sought to uncover. Secrets about the Alfur, about their alien technology—and the mysterious Light that powers their world.

Berserker


Dimitrios Gkirgkiris - 2020
    Now its Yggdrasil ◆ TequilaMockingbirdI used to work as a web developer before reading this book. Now I'm holding a greataxe hunting Mastodons ◆ LeeroyJI read this book to my yorkie, Milo. He now has 3 heads and goes by Cerberus ◆ i$ellPotatoesAlex is a game developer though he'd much rather stream RPG classics or spend time with Louie. That's his adorable corgi.He also hates people. Not in a homicidal way but rather in an extremely-antisocial one.Unless you hurt Louie.In such an instant, Alex is pulled in the Apocosmos, where our whole world is just a blip in a colorful tapestry of million others.A multiverse ruled by a strict system.Where Norse, Greek, and Celtic pantheons clash.Where dwarves craft, dragons hoard, and vampires don't glitter.A world that is as cruel as epic.Alex wants none of that though. He just wants to earn an early retirement somewhere in Spain.There's money to be made in the Apocosmos.Alex will take advantage of the market just like he did in his MMORPG days, in what seems like an error-proof plan.But it's a zero-sum game and some would do anything to eliminate competition.

Kane's Fate: Weretiger Legend of Meloria Academy


Logan Jacobs - 2021
    Growing up, I feared I was going to be the only non-magical person in my family.Then I finally activated, but I didn’t turn into a charmer like my parents or brother.I turned a white tiger shifter.Unexpected, but at least I would be able to attend Meloria Academy, the magical institution my entire family graduated from.Then I learned that not only am I the only white tiger shifter in centuries, but there’s also a prophecy about me saving the entire world, and a combination of my magic and destiny has made me… appealing to every single woman at school, and they can’t seem to keep their hands off me.It’s going to be a crazy first semester.

Last Sword in the West


Ryan Kirk - 2021
    He dreams of finding a quiet place, far beyond the ever-expanding reach of civilization, where he can sheath his sword for good.But he can't look the other way when he passes through a town caught in a duel between two powerful organizations. The graveyard outside of town is full, and innocents hide in their homes, hoping to survive the coming battle.Before long, Tomas is caught within the web of the escalating conflict, a lone swordsman standing against two violent forces that seek to control the town and the unnatural power it contains. He quickly appears destined to join countless others in their unmarked graves.But Tomas has a secret, too. And it would be a mistake to underestimate him.His war isn't over yet.

College of Shadows


Mark Wells - 2021
    The hallowed halls of Cambridge seem impossibly huge and far beyond the Mansfield of his youth. But Nick has much more than fitting in to fear when he's attacked by a creature straight out of his worst nightmares…Emotionally scarred by the sudden death of her parents, Annabel buries her feelings deep in her studies. But after barely surviving a freak accident, the shy girl begins to fear she's cursed. And when her new friends nearly fall prey to a monstrous beast that shouldn't exist, she's terrified that her bad luck could bring their demise.As Nick and Annabel plan to trap the creature, they stumble upon a long-held Cambridge secret. And the otherworldly truth is less pass-fail than do-or-die.Can Nick and Annabel banish the beast before freshers’ week becomes their last?

The Academy Journals First Trilogy Box Set: Books 1-3 of the Academy Journals


Garrett Robinson - 2016
     At the age of six, Ebon Drayden discovered he was an alchemist—a wizard who can transform matter with a simple touch. But his father forbade him to use his magic, and kept him from attending the Academy where he could learn to use it. Just before his seventeenth birthday, Ebon’s aunt enrolls him in the Academy against his father's wishes. Now at last he has the chance to use the magic he has so desperately yearned to control. But his family's dark name plagues him. His very presence terrifies the other students. Teachers regard him with suspicion. And before long, he is drawn into a scheme that spans all the nine kingdoms of Underrealm. THE ALCHEMIST'S TOUCH (Book 1) Distrusted by his fellow students and spurned by his instructor, Ebon is drawn into one of his family's shadowy schemes. It begins innocently enough—a package delivered to a tavern in the dead of night—but soon even his own kin suspect him of playing both sides against the middle. His only allies are two other outcasts within the citadel. With their help, he hopes to uncover the truth of the conspiracy—but his family's cruel bodyguard may not have Ebon's best interests at heart. THE MINDMAGE’S WRATH (Book 2) The High King’s Seat reels from a devastating attack. Those within the Academy attempt to resume their studies, all the while haunted by the empty chairs of those who died in the fighting. But the Academy is not yet safe. A murder shocks students and instructors alike to the core. And while the faculty hunt for the culprit, Ebon senses another fatal conspiracy brewing in the very bowels of the citadel. Someone has been stealing artifacts of immeasurable power, and only Ebon and his friends have any hope of stopping them. THE FIREMAGE’S VENGEANCE (Book 3) The Academy killer has escaped, and now holds the Dean’s son captive. Ebon and his friends want to save the boy—but their danger is even more personal, for the killer desires revenge against them. As the Dean grows increasingly suspicious of Ebon himself in the kidnapping, and the recent murders, he must play a deadly game of cat and mouse. For if anyone discovers the secret that Theren is forced to hide, it will mean a slow death under the knives of Mystics for Ebon and all his friends… Grab your box set now and save 40% off buying the individual books!

One Nation Under Gods


Reeshi Ray - 2018
    When the smoke cleared the United States was a memory, conquered by a race unlike the world had ever seen. They are the Specials—a godlike race gifted with powers so cataclysmic that the human survivors of the war had no choice but to surrender to their invincible overlords. But Houston Holt doesn't surrender. A war veteran turned underworld fixer, Houston spends his nights evading the regime's secret police, building his criminal empire brick by brick in his relentless quest to escape the human slums. But one night, Houston steals a truck from the wrong people and sets off a chain reaction of mayhem that engulfs the empire. Because the truck contains a shocking secret—a secret of such fabled power that the Specials will unleash their most savage killers to hunt it down. Enter a world of immortals, assassins, and rogues in One Nation Under Gods—an epic adventure that combines the best of science fiction, superhero lore, and fantasy into a non-stop thrill ride.

The Blade of Voxia


Whiskey Flowers - 2019
    The Voxians had just lost a brutal war to a superior foe, the Kingdom of Saucia. The Saucians crushed the Voxians with their superior magic and took anything of value from the defeated kingdom. Due to trickery and traitorous activity, one of those items of value was Cason himself, one of the only heroes on the Voxian side informally known as the Blade of Voxia. Cason along with any other handsome young man or woman was taken as war trophies and married off to Saucians who had proven themselves in battle. The Saucians practiced a different type of marriage than what he was used to, the strongest member was allowed to take more than one spouse. The person he was married off to not only had three other husbands but may have been directly responsible for his parents' death. Join Cason as he attempts to get his revenge on the Saucians and the traitors they corrupted and prove magic, no matter how strong is a match for the Blade of Voxia.

Quantum Cultivation


J.C. Kang - 2021
    His kind serve as a benchmark for XHumans to measure how far they’ve progressed, and a reminder of what homo sapiens once was.His life changes when eight-hundred-year-old Ryu crosses over from the World of Rivers and Lakes, looking for a lost temple; and Aya, a beautiful hacker whose Sensory Interface perceives the EtherCloud as Feudal Japan, learns that XHumans aren’t as perfect as they thought.They’ve edited out the genes which allow for Cultivation.That will give Ken a chance to surpass them. And maybe use mythical martial skills to save the world from an oppressive government, spirit beasts, and alien invaders.A Cultivation system based on Daoist Five Elements and Eight Trigram Theories, written by an Acupuncturist/Wing Chun Sifu.WARNING: This story contains graphic scenes describing the Daoist methods of Dual Cultivation, but no harem elements. Suggested audience 18+.

Monster Girls


Edward Lang - 2020
    Now he gets to meet them in the flesh.The only problem is, this new world is ruled by an evil empire called the Imperium that wants to destroy all monster girls.Now all those gorgeous, sexually deprived women need Scott’s help to survive.To defeat the Imperium, he’ll have to retake this new world, kingdom by kingdom…And monster girl by monster girl.This book contains some light Gamelit/LitRPG elements, profanity, violence, and sexual situations.

The Swordsman of Fae


A.L. Issett - 2016
    During an attack, 16 y/o Josh left for dead by his frightened brother and is taken by the goblins and experimented on. Josh is reforged as Crux, a warrior without equal capable of feats even human mages cannot perform. No one has seen a warrior like Crux who in the upcoming war will show all how dangerous he can be.

The Swordsman of Tanosa: A Short Tale of the Middle Sea


Duncan M. Hamilton - 2014
    5,000 words (16 pages).For Bafion, there is no farther to fall. Once a banneret, officer, and gentleman, he is none of those things now. He is a swordsman who has slipped through the cracks of society and is eking out an existence as a thug for hire.Bafion is presented with the opportunity to reclaim some of what was lost to him, but to do so will mean facing part of his past that he would rather forget.The Swordsman of Tanosa is a swashbuckling fantasy short story set in the same world as the Society of the Sword trilogy.

The Executioner's Right


D.K. Holmberg - 2021
    Or so Finn thought before apprenticed to one.Poverty-stricken Finn Jagger would give anything to heal his ailing mother. With his father imprisoned, Finn has joined a thieving crew to earn the money he needs to save her. When the latest heist turns to disaster and lands him on death row, Finn’s future seems to be tied up with a noose.Until the king’s executioner claims him as an apprentice.Finn soon learns an Executioner has far more power and greater responsibility than he’d ever realized. As inquisitor and detective, he must find the truth behind each sentence he carries out. It’s a challenging job, but one that Finn is surprisingly good at.When the crew decides Finn could be the key to completing an impossible heist that threatens the kingdom, he’s forced to choose between his new job and his old friends.And making the wrong choice could cost him everything.