Book picks similar to
Legion of the Undead by Michael Whitehead


horror
historical-fiction
alternate-history
sci-fi

Boneshaker


Cherie Priest - 2009
    Anxious to compete, Russian prospectors commissioned inventor Leviticus Blue to create a great machine that could mine through Alaska’s ice. Thus was Dr. Blue’s Incredible Bone-Shaking Drill Engine born.But on its first test run the Boneshaker went terribly awry, destroying several blocks of downtown Seattle and unearthing a subterranean vein of blight gas that turned anyone who breathed it into the living dead.Now it is sixteen years later, and a wall has been built to enclose the devastated and toxic city. Just beyond it lives Blue’s widow, Briar Wilkes. Life is hard with a ruined reputation and a teenaged boy to support, but she and Ezekiel are managing. Until Ezekiel undertakes a secret crusade to rewrite history.His quest will take him under the wall and into a city teeming with ravenous undead, air pirates, criminal overlords, and heavily armed refugees. And only Briar can bring him out alive.

Resistant 0.5


Perrin Briar - 2017
    Disturbing news footage floods the cable news channels. People are running scared, terrified. Frightened. Dana is oblivious. She’s in her final meeting with Miss Jenkins, her caseworker. Dana’s juvie record is an inch thick, a catalogue of misdemeanors. She’s destined to spend her life behind bars. Stressed out and looking for some much-needed distraction, Max turns up at her boyfriend’s apartment. But something is wrong. Darren is not alone. He’s in bed with another girl. Eating her, and not in a good way. He attacks Dana with savage violence. She puts him down, but not before his blood-stained teeth tear into her arm. This is the first part in a brand-new dystopian post-apocalyptic series, a tour-de-force in thrills and excitement. Resistant 0.5. Download Now FREE.

Lost Legio IX


Marc Alan Edelheit - 2017
     One of history’s greatest mysteries, the Ninth Imperial Legion guarding Rome’s northernmost frontier in Britannia disappeared around the year 122 AD. This is their story. Badly outnumbered, facing certain destruction, and cut off from supply, the Imperial Roman Ninth Legion Hispana is in a desperate position. Surrounded by the hostile Celtic army, Senior Centurion Lucious Grackus Lisidus Karus must lead his men to safety after unexpectedly finding himself thrust into command of the legion. Then the unthinkable happens. Karus and the Ninth are transported to a strange place, far away from the Britannia they knew. The legion’s deliverance from danger at first appears to be a blessing from the gods, but slowly they begin to uncover the secrets of this new land, a world that is slowly being overrun by a terrible evil. A young woman is discovered in a dungeon, where she has been abandoned and left to starve. Inextricably linked with Karus’ own destiny, she may be the key to salvation, or worse, the instrument of destruction for the Ninth. Cast adrift in a terrible war, Karus must find his way through the mysteries of this unfamiliar world, one that is filled with true magic, strange alien races, evil gods, and dragons. More importantly, Karus must discover his destiny, and complete a desperate task set for him by a god of Rome. Should he fail, it will mean certain destruction for the Ninth, the triumph of evil, and the rise of a new order. Lost Legio IX is the first book in this exciting series. ‘For these I set no bounds in space or time; but have given empire without end.’ —Jupiter, Virgil’s Aeneid.

Colossus


Colin Falconer - 2014
    Alexander the Great has survived every effort to kill him. Restless, ruthless, he wonders which world to conquer next. He has a powerful new weapon—the war elephants he brought back from India. He also has a conquest in mind—the fabulous empire of Carthage. As Alexander plots, a war elephant named Colossus violently lashes out against the soldiers who are tormenting him, and only one trainer has the courage to calm the massive beast. When Alexander notices the young man’s bravery, Gajendra begins a meteoric climb through the ranks of the Macedonian army, protected by the fierce but devoted Colossus.As captain of the elephants, Gajendra is deeply loyal to Alexander, the great General who plucked him from obscurity. But as he sees how luxury and power have corrupted his champion, he faces a terrible choice: Just as Gajendra glimpses the ultimate prize, he realizes that in order to become the heir to Alexander's throne and gain all he’s dreamed of, he must betray everything he loves...Colossus is an epic tale of immense evil, pitiless gods and burning cities, of dwarves, priestesses and kings, and of the profound friendship between animal and master. It is the story of two men—one with boundless ambition, and one who reaches for undreamed-of power, all set against the warp of history as Alexander's army approaches the gates of Rome.

Dread Nation


Justina Ireland - 2018
    In this new nation, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Reeducation Act require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead. But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It’s a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane. After all, not even being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman could save her from society’s expectations.But that’s not a life Jane wants. Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston’s School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesn’t pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose. But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies. And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems.

The Doomsday Vault


Steven Harper - 2011
    At 21, her age and her unladylike interest in automatons have sealed her fate as an undesirable marriage prospect. But a devastating plague sends Alice off in a direction beyond the pale—towards a clandestine organization, mad inventors, life-altering secrets, and into the arms of an intrepid fiddle-playing airship pilot.

Clay Legionary


J. Clifton Slater - 2017
    A prodigy is a talented youth. Put them together and people die. Welcome to the world of 271 B.C. Going further than historical fiction, the Clay Warrior Stories are adventure books that make you want to grab a gladius and join the fight. Set in the years before the First Punic War, they follow the exploits of a young, hot-headed swordsman. From a lad on his father’s farm, to a Legion training camp, to the Capital of the Republic, Alerio Sisera learns that sharp steel and quick reflexes aren’t always a Legionary’s best assets. Clay Legionary is the 1st book in the Clay Warrior Stories series Other books by author J. Clifton Slater Clay Warrior Stories series: Clay Legionary Spilled Blood Bloody Water Reluctant Siege Brutal Diplomacy Fortune Reigns Fatal Obligation Call Sign Warlock series: Op File Revenge Op File Treason Op File Sanction Galactic Council Realm series: On Station On Duty On Guard On Point Short Story: Serpent Circles

Legions of the Forest


Mark L. Richards - 2014
    Varus, a lawyer and former governor of Syria, has frighteningly little experience as a military leader. He is resolved to prove himself as one, nevertheless. He believes the Germanic people to be conquered. He is wrong.His ranks are filled with seasoned veterans and novices alike, the latter of which includes Lucius, a young man whose conscription into the Roman imperial legions represents only the first step in his epic, and terrifying, destiny.Valerius Maximus, a young Roman tribune, enters the legions of the Rhine as well—only to find that the danger he anticipated from abroad actually lies within his own ranks. The vicious politics of the officer corps prove to be more treacherous.Meanwhile, German nobleman Arminius lies in wait, preparing for the inevitable appearance of the Roman legions and growing in his determination to liberate his people from Rome’s rule at any cost.The fates of these men soon converge in a bloody battle that will decide the course of their countries…and their lives. The Germanic foes spring a monstrous ambush in a driving rain storm. The future of Western civilization turns in the blink of an eye.

Raising Stony Mayhall


Daryl Gregory - 2011
    Wrapped in the woman’s arms is a baby, stone-cold, not breathing, and without a pulse. But then his eyes open and look up at Wanda — and he begins to move.The family hides the child — whom they name Stony — rather than turn him over to authorities that would destroy him. Against all scientific reason, the undead boy begins to grow. For years his adoptive mother and sisters manage to keep his existence a secret — until one terrifying night when Stony is forced to run and he learns that he is not the only living dead boy left in the world.

By the Blood of Heroes


Joseph Nassise - 2012
    Romero’s Dawn of the Dead, set it on the blood-and-gore-soaked European battlefields of World War One, and you get By the Blood of Heroes, a wildly imaginative alternate history zombie novel by acclaimed urban fantasy author Joseph Nassise. When the German high command employs a terrible new chemical weapon that reanimates the dead, Allied forces must take on the Kaiser’s zombie army in order to rescue a downed American flying ace in the first book of Nassise’s The Great Undead War saga. By the Blood of Heroes is a deliciously gruesome adventure that horror and alternate history lovers, steampunk aficionados, and fans of such zombie-centric offerings as TV’s The Walking Dead, popular literature’s World War Z, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and Zombie Haiku, and the Resident Evil video game and film series will eagerly devour.

Deck Z: The Titanic: Unsinkable. Undead.


Chris Pauls - 2012
    . . with the walking dead. This fast-paced thriller reimagines the historical events of the fateful Titanic voyage through the lens of zombie mayhem. Captain Edward Smith and his inner circle desperately try to contain a weaponized zombie virus smuggled on board with the 2,200 passengers sailing to New York. Faced with an exploding population of lumbering, flesh-hungry undead, Smith's team is forced into bloody hand-to-hand combat down the narrow halls of the huge steamer. In its few short days at sea, the majestic Titanic turns into a Victorian bloodbath, steaming at top speed toward a cold, blue iceberg. A creepy, tense page-turner, Deck Z will thrill zombie fans and Titanic buffs alike.

Interregnum


S.J.A. Turney - 2009
    The Empire must rise A historical fantasy tale of valour, honour, and determination against all odds For twenty years civil war has torn the Empire apart; the Imperial line extinguished after the mad Emperor Quintus was burned in his palace, betrayed by his greatest general and oldest friend, Kiva Caerdin. Against a background of war, decay and violence, men who once served in the proud Imperial army now fight as hands for hire, little but fodder for greedy lords fighting over the remnants of more glorious times. Kiva’s memories of the Empire are reignited when fighting alongside a fearsome mercenary unit, the Grey Company. Forced to face a dark and shameful past, he struggles to put his life back together. To achieve redemption, he and his men must defeat an ancient, cunning and bitter rival. Only then can the Empire be unified and become reborn… Set in a hugely imaginative and atmospheric world inspired by Roman history, Interregnum is the first novel in S.J.A. Turney’s epic Tales of the Empire series, and is perfect for readers of Conn Iggulden, Bernard Cornwell and Simon Scarrow.

The Last of the Romans


Derek Birks - 2019
     Northern Italy. Dux Ambrosius Aurelianus has served the Roman Empire with distinction. His bucellarii, a small band of irregular soldiers, have helped to bring a fragile peace to the beleaguered empire in the west. But, with the empire now at peace, his master, Flavius Aetius, decides to chain up his dogs of war. Ambrosius and his men are left to idle away their days in a rural backwater, but Ambrosius’ boredom is brutally swept aside when old rivals seize the opportunity to destroy him. Pursued as a traitor by the imperial guard, Ambrosius takes his loyal band, along with other dissident soldiers and a Saxon girl, Inga, into the mountains. Since nowhere is safe, Ambrosius travels north, across the crumbling ruins of the empire, to his estranged family in Gaul. But there too, he finds nothing but conflict, for his home town is now besieged by a small army of rebellious Franks. Freedom and peace seem a world away. Whatever course the soldier takes, Ambrosius and his bucellarii will need to muster all their strength and skill to survive. At the twilight of the empire, they may be the Last of the Romans… Recommended for fans of Ben Kane, Anthony Riches and Conn Iggulden. 'Fast-paced and action-packed.' Richard Foreman, author of Spies of Rome Derek Birks is a former history teacher. He is also the author of Rebels & Brothers, a series of historical novels set during The Wars of the Roses.

Awakening


Jeff Olah - 2016
    Ethan Runner was hungover, pissed off and once again late for work. He didn't care about anything or anyone, but that was about to change; it had to.Six days ago there were reports of a mysterious illness. People were actually attacking and devouring one another. The world was told not to worry, that there wasn't a reason to panic, that these were isolated events.This morning the human race found out that this was a lie.The infection took hold quickly and destroyed everything in its path. Millions perished every hour. Was this nature's way of thinning the herd, or was this something much more disturbing?The Last Outbreak follows Ethan Runner, a clinically depressed armored truck driver, as he and a small group of strangers fight through impossible situations to free themselves and one another from this hell.AWAKENING is the story of their survival.Hold on... this is only the beginning.

The Iron Duke


Meljean Brook - 2010
    Now Rhys Trahaearn has built a merchant empire on the power - and fear - of his name. And when a dead body is dropped from an airship onto his doorstep, bringing Detective Inspector Mina Wentworth into his dangerous world, he intends to make her his next possession.But when Mina uncovers the victim's identity, she stumbles upon a conspiracy that threatens the lives of everyone in England. To save them, Mina and Rhys must race across zombie-infested wastelands and treacherous oceans-and Mina discovers the danger is not only to her countrymen, as she finds herself tempted to give up everything to the Iron Duke.