Book picks similar to
Empire of Steam: The Collected Stories by Rod Gillies


anthologies-and-short-story-collect
genre-syfi-fan-horr
goodreads
historical

The Eagle and the Tiger


Tim Davis - 2015
    The deceptive, crooked path that led him to today began a few months back. Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, nineteen-year old Fleming was a professional baseball pitcher with the Chicago White Sox. His successful first year in the minor leagues was waylaid when he received his draft notice. Through a series of misadventures, he ended up enlisting for four years in an elite unit called the A.S.A. or Army Security Agency; the army’s equivalent to the N.S.A. or the National Security Agency. Once in the army, Fleming learned that the recruiter had manipulated him with a host of untruths. Then, to his dismay, he learned that the army had lost his orders and he was placed in an infantry unit. Once in Vietnam, Platoon Sergeant, Levine questioned Fleming and dragged out of him the sad story of how he had enlisted for four years and ended up in an infantry unit. He became the butt of the platoon’s jokes and underwent vicious ribbing by the other platoon members. That day, the platoon was ordered back to their base camp: L.Z. English. Before leaving, they endured a mortar attack and then a ground probe. Fleming’s foxhole mate was critically wounded. Fleming did everything he could to save the man but his wounds were too severe and he died in Fleming’s arms. Repulsed by the ordeal, Fleming was left wondering if he could endure a whole year of this. Twelve-year old Van Phan Duc and his two friends twelve-year old Hoi Anh Vanh and Dan Tri Quang lived happily in their village until the day a N.V.A. invaded and forced them to join their struggle and fight the invading Americans. They were then assigned to a Viet Cong unit where they met Sergeant Chi, the man who would train them to be soldiers for the revolution and lead them into battle. Three American soldiers had been captured. Chi ordered the three boys to participate in brutally torturing the Americans. Dan embraced the torture and it turned him into a brutal fighting machine, much to Chi’s satisfaction. On the other hand, Hoi was repulsed by the events and a part of him died that day. He performed the torture but it wasn’t to Chi’s satisfaction. Van, a devout Buddhist, was also repulsed. He realized that life, as a soldier was three hundred and sixty degrees opposite of Buddha’s spiritual path. The 173rd’s area of operations was the Central Highlands. The 173rd’s home base was in and around the town of Bong Son, but they patrolled all over the province of Binh Dinh. For the next few months, Fleming and Van’s units met on numerous occasions. The first time they engaged each other in combat was in a simple ambush that lasted only two minutes. Both men were left repulsed by the carnage that could take place in only two minutes. Right after the ambush, Fleming’s company was deployed in a battalion-sized operation located in the Dak To mountain range. It was an area where numerous North Vietnamese soldiers infiltrated into South Vietnam from neighboring Cambodia and Laos. Fleming’s company was dropped into an area far from Dak To and the men were forced to march (hump) to their final destination. During the trek, they had to carve their way through impenetrable jungle and cross leach infested rivers to reach their destination, all the while suffering under Vietnam’s oppressive heat. Van’s Viet Cong unit was sent to the Dak To mountain range to do battle with Fleming and his company. Months passed with Van and Fleming’s units constantly meeting. Both men had similar personalities. Both men overcame their initial shock at war’s brutality and became highly competent soldiers who bravely fought the enemy. Both men were ultimately made into squad leaders. Both men continued to hate the war, yet were entrapped in the insanity that was war. They both recognized what war was—a brutally insane series of events where lives were lost and where dreams died.

The Bloody North


Tony Healey - 2014
    But first he'll have to make it across the bloody north and that is easier said than done when there's a price on your head . . . For fans of gritty, action-packed fantasy in the vein of George R. R. Martin and Joe Abercrombie. Bestselling independent author Tony Healey presents The Fallen Crown series, a hard-hitting sword & sorcery epic that will blow you away and leave you gagging for the next installment!

The Fledglings


Max Hennessy - 2020
    Face to face. One machine against another.It was shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. Martin Falconer and his friend, Frank, were anxious to ‘get into the scrap’ as soon as possible, their youth blinding them to the real danger of it all.Geoffrey, Martin’s elder brother, knew that it wasn’t a game. He had fought in the trenches, been wounded and had seen friends die.For Geoffrey the R.F.C. offered an opportunity to escape the mud and horror of the Front, while for Martin and Frank it was the chance to be in at the start of a totally different kind of fighting. They were to be pioneers.A scintillating, full-throttle thriller of the First World War, perfect for fans of W. E. Johns, Derek Robinson and Geoffrey Wellum.

The Singularity Conspiracy Omnibus: The Complete Trilogy


Nicholas Erik - 2014
     Kurt Desmond and Cassie Atwood are private investigators in the sleepy oceanside slum of Seaside Heights, CA. That is, until a stranger comes to town with an offer too good to refuse. But everything in this life comes with strings, and the pair soon find themselves embroiled in a 10,000 year old conspiracy that will reveal the origin of modern civilization. If they survive that long...

The Hazards of War


Jonathan Paul Isaacs - 2015
    Hitler's war machine has decimated the Allies and the people of Europe must now learn the terror of living under the Third Reich.For Gabrielle Conti, a young French girl working at her family's winery, such news seemed incredibly distant and abstract. Surely these events wouldn't impact her simple life in the French countryside?That was before the body of an SS officer was found in the basement.When her family becomes the subject of a brutal murder investigation, Gabrielle must match wits with SS Captain Hans Tiedemann, a veteran of the Russian Front who is hell-bent on singling out the killer. Gabrielle bets that if she can fool Tiedemann into thinking he is making progress, she just might buy enough time for her family to escape.But that will be no easy task. For as the Germans gather their clues, Gabrielle starts to learn more about her family's true involvement in the war--and saving them could spell the end of the French Resistance.

Echoes of Apollo


George Thompson - 2015
    But when the retrofitted Atlantis fails high above Kennedy Space Center, Commander Jack Harden’s future is quickly derailed. As military satellites fall from the sky and America’s electronic infrastructure is threatened by a mysterious electromagnetic “storm,” a young president is suddenly forced to restart the covert rocket program he had cancelled not long after taking office. NASA may be grounded, but the reluctant ex-shuttle commander and his two unlikely copilots soon find themselves on a collision course with the moon, all in a last ditch attempt to destroy China’s secret weapon—the Assassin’s Mace.

Volinette's Song


Martin Hengst - 2011
    No one would expect her to risk losing it all to try and become a mage, but when the School of Sorcery opens for the Trial of Admission, that’s exactly what she does.If only she’d known that winning a place in the Academy of Arcane Arts and Sciences would be the least of her problems. Now she finds herself accused of murder, tormented by her fellow students, and implicated in the theft of a mystical artifact that could bring about the end of the world.And that’s just the first semester!

Alpha Centauri: First Landing (T-Space: Alpha Centauri Book 1)


Alastair Mayer - 2016
    A multinational expedition is launched to land on and explore these worlds, but political intrigue and natural disasters threaten the mission . . . and what they find may threaten Earth itself.

Mercenary


Paul Bennett - 2010
    HE’S AN EX-MERCENARY WHO WANTS TO SEE JUSTICE DONE. WHATEVER IT TAKES . . . AND THAT USUALLY INVOLVES BREAKING A FEW THINGS.Johnny Silver's brother, Carlo, the head of an investment bank, disappears along with ten million euros.DON’T MESS WITH HIS FAMILY.Johnny, an ex-mercenary on the run, is persuaded to come out of hiding to track him down. The trail leads Johnny into the world of gambling, prostitution, drugs, and human-trafficking to a crime that shocks the core of a man who thought he’d seen everything.Sometimes even the most cynical man discovers something that shakes him.Perfect for fans of Mark Dawson, Frederick Forsyth, David Baldacci, J.B. Turner, and Rob Sinclair.WITH A PLOT THAT TWISTS AND TURNS AS IT MOVES AT A DAZZLING PACE, MERCENARY IS A STORY NOT TO BE MISSED.

Sundog Comanche


Ash Lingam - 2017
    His father, Maxwell Creek provided him with his namesake of the town, Ridge. At thirteen taken on to work in the general store of a retired western gunfighter and lawman, Ridge Creek learned the tricks of his future trade. At sixteen he rides off on the trail to Austin to join the Texas Rangers. The rest is history. The whole story of Captain Ridge Creek. The year was 1848, and the young Ranger was posted in Laredo, Texas. This is the story of his battles with Iron Jacket and Lopez the Outlaw among other tales of this man the Comanche call 'With Dead Eyes'. Captain Creek’s first five years in the Texas Rangers. This is the dawn of his younger years.

The Western Front (The Western Front, Book 1, Part 1)


Archer Garrett - 2012
    The tentacles of darkness have inevitably traveled across the Atlantic and are now tightening their grip on the American republic.Now, faced with a collapsing economy, a failing currency and a society that is swiftly casting its humanity aside, the United States stands at the precipice of a bedlam and malevolence not witnessed since the fall of Rome.The story follows several characters who strive to navigate the chaos, including:Jake, his wife and brother are forced to flee the maelstrom of violence as it spills from the distant cities and into their small town enclave.A Texas State Guardsmen deep behind enemy lines on South Padre Island, stands with his compatriots against a wave of unspeakable atrocities committed by a ruthless cartel alliance committed to seizing the spoils of the American southwest.An outlaw and his Catahoula cur companion, learn to survive and even thrive in their river swamp domain as they seek a redoubt from the troubles that plague the world around them.Meanwhile, a radical revolutionary intent on plunging the wounded nation into revolution, stokes the flames of hatred and destruction.This version contains the complete Novel (Parts 1-3).80,000 WordsTry Part 1 for Free: amazon.com/dp/B008ELAZJ8Show Less

Sprouting Wings


Henry Faulkner - 2014
    From working with new equipment to working with the US Navys diverse populationand strong egosfew punches are pulled as Alan finds himself riding the forefront of technology.

The Sunbird / River God / The Seventh Scroll (Boxed Set)


Wilbur Smith - 1998
    Beneath the red cliffs of Botswanaland a magnificent unknown civilization has remained buried for millennia. But the magic of uncovering a lost culture is harshly interrupted by the violence of terrorists, love, intrigue and the breathtaking secrets of centuries.

The Seafaring Women of the Vera B


Susan Page Davis - 2016
    Only one old man, Gypsy Deak, sticks by her, but Gypsy alone can’t raise a crew from the depleted population. In desperation, Alice turns to the only source of plentiful workers: the women of Melbourne. In a bold move, she and Gypsy empty a brothel, promising the escaped women a new life. Her all-woman (save one) crew put their backs and hearts into the voyage, but Alice finds training her sailors much harder than she expected. Her faith is tested to the limit. With a cargo to sell, angry brothel and tavern owners in pursuit, pirates to evade, and a mysterious stowaway, will the seafaring women of the Vera B. survive to tell the tale of this daring adventure?

Mako (The Mako Saga #1)


Ian J. Malone - 2013
    All of that changes, though, when Lee leads a team of old friends to virtual glory as the first-ever group to beat Mako Assault, a revolutionary new game that has emerged from nowhere to take the Internet by storm. As a reward for their achievement, the group is flown to meet the game’s mysterious designer and assist in developing the follow-on game Mako 2.0. But what they find when they get there is more than they’d expected…much more. Mako’s intent was never to entertain its players. It was to train them.An epic sci-fi thrill-ride of action, suspense, laughter, and romance, Mako is the story of five ordinary people who will have to rise to the challenge of extraordinary events, driven only by their faith in each other. If they can’t, the game will become very real to more than just themselves—the Earth itself may ultimately be at stake.