Book picks similar to
The Old Soul by Joseph Wurtenbaugh


short-stories
fiction
ebooks
sci-fi-fantasy

Fracture Me


Tahereh Mafi - 2013
    He's reeling from his breakup with Juliette, scared for his best friend's life, and as concerned as ever for his brother James's safety. And just as Adam begins to wonder if this life is really for him, the alarms sound. It's time for war.On the battlefield, it seems like the odds are in their favor—but taking down Warner, Adam's newly discovered half brother, won't be that easy. The Reestablishment can't tolerate a rebellion, and they'll do anything to crush the resistance... including killing everyone Adam has ever cared about.Fracture Me sets the stage for Ignite Me, the explosive finale in Tahereh Mafi's epic dystopian series. Set during and soon after the final moments of Unravel Me, Fracture Me is told from Adam's perspective.

Precipice


John Jackson Miller - 2009
    It is an offense punishable by death-and a fate to which Commander Yaru Korsin will not succumb. But on a crucial run to deliver troops and precious crystals to a combat hotspot in the Sith's war against the Republic, Korsin and the crew of the mining ship Omen are ambushed by a Jedi starfighter. And when the Sith craft crash-lands, torn and crippled, on a desolate alien planet, the hard-bitten captain finds himself at odds with desperate survivors on the brink of mutiny-and his own vengeful half brother, who's bent on seizing command. No matter the cost, Korsin vows that it will not be his blood and bones left behind on this unknown world. For the way of the Sith leaves little room for compromise-and none at all for mercy.

Einstein's Dreams


Alan Lightman - 1992
    As the defiant but sensitive young genius is creating his theory of relativity, a new conception of time, he imagines many possible worlds. In one, time is circular, so that people are fated to repeat triumphs and failures over and over. In another, there is a place where time stands still, visited by lovers and parents clinging to their children. In another, time is a nightingale, sometimes trapped by a bell jar.Now translated into thirty languages, Einstein’s Dreams has inspired playwrights, dancers, musicians, and painters all over the world. In poetic vignettes, it explores the connections between science and art, the process of creativity, and ultimately the fragility of human existence.

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.

Uncanny Collateral


Brian McClellan - 2019
    He’s even worked for the Tooth Fairy on occasion. Based out of Cleveland, Ohio, Alek is the best in the game. As a literal slave to his job, he doesn’t have a choice. When Death comes looking for someone to track down a thief, Alek is flung into a mess of vengeful undead, supernatural bureaucracy, and a fledgling imp war. As the consequences of failure become dire, he has few leads, and the clock is ticking. Only with the help of his friend Maggie—an ancient djinn with a complex past—can he hope to recover the stolen property, save the world, and just maybe wring a favor out of the Great Constant himself. It’s a hell of a job, but somebody’s got to do it . . .

The Wandering Earth


Liu Cixin - 2000
    I was born at the end of the Reining Age, just as the Earth’s rotation was coming to a final halt.The Sun is about to unleash a helium flash, threatening to swallow all terrestrial planets in the solar system. On Earth, the Unity Government has erected Earth Engines. With them it plans to propel our planet out of the solar system, setting it on a journey into outer space in search of a new sun. The Earth begins its centuries-long, wandering travels through outer space.Just as we began our journey, my grandfather passed away, his burnt body ravaged by infection. In his final moments, he repeated over and over, “Oh, Earth, my wandering Earth...”China Galaxy Science Fiction Award of Year 2000.

The Chronicles of Riddick: Ghosts of Furya


Angela B. Macala-Guajardo - 2013
    Drawn by dark rumors, Waters is determined to root out the truth; any and all knowledge is vital against the inevitable day the Necromongers reach Earth.

Splits


Chuck Grossart - 2015
    The doors had opened, and something was coming through. Once the initial shock and confusion wore off, and those in charge realized what was happening, mankind seemed to coalesce like never before. National boundaries no longer mattered. Religion, race, color and creed seemed to pass away in a flash. Old enemies put their differences aside. The only thing that did matter was survival. As a species. Now, Kyle is on a mission to save what’s left of our world. Or die trying.

The Ways We End: Six Tales of Doom


Ann Christy - 2019
    Those two little words can mean so much. But how will things end...and will it hurt? That’s what we really want to know. Delve into the darkness and join us at the end of the world. From a blighted sky to an invasion from beyond, from untethered time to one person driven beyond the edge of sanity, from a child’s game to an unseen apocalypse...it’s all imagined here, and imagined darkly. Inside The Ways We End is a combination of new stories and previously published anthology tales, now re-imagined without word limits, including Cottage of Hunger, The Mergens, The Mountains of Five, The Bridge, Rock or Shell, and A Mother So Beautiful.

Hugh Howey Lives


Daniel Arthur Smith - 2015
    With the exception of a few human ‘Author’ titles printed in the small basement and back room Libraries, all stories are created by the Artificial Intelligence of the Archive. Most believe the ‘Authors’ are only brands to lure people into spending their credits on print. One woman believes that one of them, author Hugh Howey, is real, and still alive. Her Librarian feeds her belief that Hugh Howey is still sailing around the world, uploading his work to the Archive. Convinced she has found clues in his stories as to where he now resides, she and her girlfriend sail to an island, where she believes Hugh Howey lives.* * * * *

Interstellar Wars - Pike Chronicles Box Set Books 1-5: Sol Shall Rise, Book 1 - Prevail, Book 2 - Ronin, Book 3 - Ghost Fleet, Book 4 - Interstellar War, Book 5


G.P. Hudson - 2018
    1,000+ pages of military science fiction action adventure. Book 1: Sol Shall Rise The Sol System was conquered and humans lived as slaves for 500 long years. Now, after years of brutal warfare, humanity has been liberated. Liberation, however, comes at a cost, and the Sol System has become nothing more than a puppet state for a vast galactic empire. For Jon Pike, a war hero who has lost everything, there is no substitute for freedom. He blames the aliens for humanity’s troubles, especially the one living inside him. But when he is sent on a top secret mission into unexplored regions of the galaxy he discovers that humanity’s troubles are just getting started. Can he find freedom for himself and humanity? Book 2: Prevail A battle weary Captain fighting for redemption. An impossible search for a scattered crew. Marines pushed beyond their limits. A heinous alien race bent on annihilation. When all is lost, a brave few dare to hope, and continue to fight for freedom. Do they struggle in vain? Or will they prevail? Book 3: Ronin A tenuous alliance. A brazen power play. A looming alien threat. A planet's future held in the balance. In a galaxy where danger waits at every turn, will former enemies be doomed by their past? Or can they fight together in the name of freedom? Book 4: Ghost Fleet A planet surrounded. A homeland in peril. A fleet outgunned. A prophecy to fulfill. With half the galaxy on the brink, can a fledgling alliance offer hope? Or is it doomed to perish in the pyres of war? Book 5: Interstellar War A homeland in ashes. A merciless ancient enemy. A vicious new foe. A galaxy convulsing with war. With humanity on the brink of annihilation, only one option remains, Interstellar War. Can Jon Pike achieve victory, and revenge, for himself and humanity? Find out in Interstellar War, Book 5 of The Pike Chronicles. As a matter of principle, all my books are DRM free. The Pike Chronicles is an epic space opera adventure with space fleet and space marine battles, galactic empires, and alien invasions. For fans of John Ringo, David Weber, Jon Scalzi, David Drake, Joe Haldeman, Vaughn Heppner, B.V. Lasrson, Jay Allan, M.R. Forbes, Ken Lozito, Isaac Hooke, Nick Webb, Richard Fox, Marko Kloos, Evan Currie, Robert A. Heinlen, Isaac Asimov, Orson Scott Card, and Ryk Brown.

Born From Fire


Holly Lisle - 2014
     Author's note: This story was previously published as ENTER THE DEATH CIRCUS. EPISODE 1: When love is crime, who will save the guilty? After falling in love and fathering a child, a young criminal refuses to voluntarily throw himself into a lake of fire to gain his community's forgiveness. So he's sentenced to death and sold to the owner of a spaceship that buys criminals like him. But the ship and its crew are not quite what they appear to be.

Steel Scars


Victoria Aveyard - 2016
    As she travels the land recruiting black market traders, smugglers, and extremists for her first attempt at an attack on the capital, she stumbles upon a connection that may prove to be the key to the entire operation—Mare Barrow.

The Great Train Journey


Ruskin Bond - 2018
    Suddenly, with a shrill whistle and great burst of steam, a green and black engine came snorting out of the blackness... “A dragon!” I shouted. “There’s a dragon coming out of its cave!”’The charm of travelling by a train as it speeds its way out of a tunnel or a jungle and passes through nondescript villages and towns is unmatched. There also exists a joyful curiosity in unfolding the mysterious lives and destinations of its passengers.Ruskin Bond has been writing tales about the hinterland for decades, but this is the first time his stories revolving around trains and railway stations of small-town India have been brought together in a single collection. Classics such as ‘The Eyes Have It’ and ‘The Night Train at Deoli’ rub shoulders with tales of big cats taking refuge in railway tunnels and strangers who strike up a friendship while waiting at a platform.So, hop on and allow one of India’s greatest storytellers to steer you through The Great Train Journey!

What's He Doing in There?


Fritz Leiber - 1957
    It was the Professor's Wife, always a perceptive hostess, came to her husband's rescue by saying, "Top of the stairs, end of the hall, last door."Oddly enough, it was the start of a puzzling and all but unspeakable misadventure. As it were.