Book picks similar to
Dollywagglers by Frances Kay


women-authors
dark-fantasy
dystopia
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God's War


Kameron Hurley - 2011
    But when a dubious government deal with an alien emissary goes awry, her name is at the top of the list for a covert recovery.While the centuries-long war rages on only one thing is certain: the world’s best chance for peace rests in the hands of its most ruthless killers. . .

Through a Mother's Tears: The tragic true story of a mother who lost one daughter to a brutal murderer and another to a broken heart


Cathy Broomfield - 2020
    Cathy's worst fears had been realised...Through a Mother’s Tears is the poignant and heartbreaking story of how Cathy lost not only Kirsty, her youngest daughter, but Kirsty’s big sister Hayley, who died of heartbreak when the agony of her baby sister’s loss became too much to bear.

The Maze Runner: by James Dashner | Summary & Analysis (The Maze Runner Series, Book 1)


Book*Sense - 2014
    Award-winning author James Dashner’s The Maze Runner shows the influences of the author’s broad reading. It relates the story of the amnesiac Thomas as he is forced into the near-bucolic setting of the Glade, learns to navigate it and the labyrinthine Maze surrounding it and leads the people of the Glade from their bounded world into a broader outside world. It also presents a perspective on adolescence well worth discussing which this Analysis covers every detail that you would otherwise miss. The Maze Runner has features that recommend it for both adolescent readers and those who teach them which this Summary & Analysis helps to decipher increasing your understanding of the book more than ever. The former will find the dialogue and action engaging without neglect of character development. The latter will find a text that manages to play with the tropes of Golding’s Lord of the Flies (which Dashner reports as a direct influence on the book), offering a way to introduce that text and a venue for discussion of it. They present opportunities for readers to engage with underlying assumptions and attitudes, offering the chance for readers to understand themselves, the culture in which they live and the culture in which the writer writes which this Analysis covers. Each is a chance to better understand the world, and The Maze Runner does well to make such chances available. The book is well worth reading, both for its intended audience of young adults (inside and outside the classroom) and for a more general reading public. This Analysis of The Maze Runner fills the gap, making you understand more while enhancing your reading experience.

Jillybean's First Adventure


Peter Meredith - 2018
    These side adventures occurred randomly throughout the first 10 book series. If you have not read the 10 original novels, you will be confused!When the apocalypse hits and nearly wipes out humanity, the survivors band together in little knots, fighting desperately to stay alive. All except one forgotten child. Six-year-old Jillybean has been alone for months with “monsters” prowling endlessly around her house, looking to eat her as they did Mrs. Polarski from up the street. A big bunch of them ate the old lady down to the bone and left nothing but chunks of scalp with long strands of bloody, brown hair attached, and also an elbow. They left her elbow behind and Jillybean could never understand why. That elbow haunted her, as did Mrs. Polarski’s screams. When the monsters first came there had been many screams. All night there would be horrible, scary screams, and they had been simply awful, but the silence was worse. The heavy silence went on and on until Jillybean couldn’t take it any longer…and that was when her stuffed zebra began to talk to her. From then on, things got better. She even left her house. This is the story of a mentally shattered little girl finding the courage to live when so many millions of adults had died pissing their pants and choking on their own blood as they screamed.

On the Matter of the Red Hand


J.M. Guillen - 2012
    No, Thom has a problem- a problem that may get him killed.Or worse.Tonight, it is raining. Thom stands in the shadows as strange visions run through his head like molten silver- visions that show dark injustices, hidden behind strange inexplicable symbols.It's enough to make a man want a drink.Thom is on duty, however. These visions have brought him to the door of a madman- Santiago Il Ladren. Santiago is a monster, rumored to have his enemies tortured to death- that is, the ones that don't simply vanish.It is possible that Santiago will have Thom killed, just for asking the wrong questions.Soon, the mystery takes a sharp turn. There is a missing girl- and it happens that Santiago is her brother. Each is another step down a twisted road that leads to forbidden alchemies and experiments in horror, hidden in plain sight. Every move Thom takes leads him further into strange shadows, until finally he is confronted with truths that he never wanted to face.Some nights, it's just not worth the trouble it takes to stay out of the taverns.

Times What They Are


D.L. Barnhart - 2015
    Panicked millions gridlock roads as Ray Bramlett escapes New York, barely ahead of a radioactive cloud. A thousand miles west, Karla Becker stares in horror at the televised images—sure the aftermath will bring worse. While Karla hunkers down at home, trusting her preparations, Ray seeks safety among his Tennessee friends. Each of their strategies buys time, but as social order collapses around them, both plans go awry. Now, survival means confronting a world teeming with sudden death and learning that no sanctuary remains safe forever.

The Broken Earth Trilogy: The Fifth Season / The Obelisk Gate / The Stone Sky


N.K. Jemisin - 2015
    K. Jemisin's incredible NYT bestselling and three-time Hugo award-winning Broken Earth Trilogy.This complete collection would be a great gift for any occasion and includes The Fifth Season, The Obelisk Gate, and The Stone Sky.This is the way the world ends for the last time... A season of endings has begun. It starts with the great red rift across the heart of the world's sole continent, spewing ash that blots out the sun. It starts with death, with a murdered son and a missing daughter. It starts with betrayal, and long dormant wounds rising up to fester. This is the Stillness, a land long familiar with catastrophe, where the power of the earth is wielded as a weapon. And where there is no mercy.

The Unbelievable Mr. Brownstone Omnibus 4


Michael Anderle - 2020
    Brownstone books 19 - 22 (The BBQ years)(including Road Trip: BBQ and a Brawl, BBQ Delivered with Attitude, BBQ With a Side of No Apologies, BBQ and STFU)Road Trip: BBQ and a Brawl:Barbecue is life. Everything else is just details...AGAIN!Things are going a little too well for Brownstone as he sticks around the house, and Shay is getting agitated. Can a bounty hunter be happy when he has nothing to do?James goes on a road trip expecting to just eat some barbeque. Unfortunately, trouble is waiting when he arrives. The bounty hunter likes to keep things simple, but those who are working to beat up the Oriceran BBQ pitmaster's new place didn't account for him arriving.Will those attacking give up? Is stupid contagious?Instead of a simple BBQ road trip, now he is embroiled in helping a fellow BBQ lover he followed on TV as he helps bring the BROWNSTONE BEAT DOWN.BBQ Delivered with Attitude:Can't a man just enjoy a bit of BBQ without getting into a fight?Apparently not.One day, James comes home and finds his pregnant wife with drawn gun, a ready knife, and an unknown assailant in their living room. The problem is, the person in the living room is hoping the Granite Ghost will help her retrieve some valuable cargo that has gotten...lost.Now, James has to decide if he will allow an annoying female to persuade him to go on another road trip. Even if the road trip takes him to Texas, a state known for its brisket.Will those who want the artifacts find out he is involved?Fortunately, there are a lot of BBQ places between Los Angeles and Texas. It just so happens Brownstone gets a chance to stop at a few.BBQ With a Side of No Apologies:It’s hard to live a quiet life when you’ve left a trail of beatdowns and men in walls, but sometimes that’s the only way to achieve peace.James isn’t happy when the head of a Mafia family comes into his restaurant and demands his help. The reputation of James Brownstone is supposed to keep peace in the L.A. underworld, but a few new arrivals didn’t get the memo.Sometimes you don’t preserve the peace by preparing for war. You go straight to war.All James’ local trouble might be annoying, but there’s a shining light in the distance: a respected filmmaker wants to film a barbecue documentary with James at the center.A documentary BBQ road trip up the West Coast is just what James needs to relax, but the filmmaker seems more interested in capturing him beating down magical criminals than his thoughts on brisket.At the same time, dark forces from beyond Earth are on the move, and they don’t care about barbecue.James thought he had settled certain problems at the Battle of L.A., but sometimes a personal demonstration is necessary for someone to learn their lesson.BBQ and STFU:There is one thing you do not do… go after Brownstone’s family.Powerful entities on Oriceran listen to prophecy and fear a threat to their home world.That isn’t the only threat they should worry about.Whispy Doom is forever trying to get James to upgrade, perhaps for the last time?What will happen when beings who believe themselves to be invincible do the unthinkable?Now, there are Brownstones on two worlds, and one young son growing up.And amongst it all, you have Shay Brownstone as well. There

A World Torn Down: A Novel of Survival After the Apocalypse


Rebecca Fernfield - 2019
     Cassie Morgan watched the world die from the comfort of her penthouse suite. She never expected her life of privilege to come to an end but, with all food gone, she has to face the survivors in the city alone. Sometimes, when the SHTF, you have to kick off your strappy sandals, let your fake tan fade, your Brazilian grow out, and become the woman you were meant to be. Rick Carter is the last of his unit to survive. To stay alive he must escape the disease infested city and head north to his prepper friend's self-sufficient farm. The last thing he needs is to rescue a woman with zero survival skills. When the apocalypse arrives, most will die, some will survive, whilst others will thrive. With most of the city dead, and no sign of rescue, Cassie and Rick have to rely on their own ingenuity to deal with the end of the world. Working together wasn’t what either had planned, but these are desperate times. Does Rick have what it takes to get them to the farm? Can Cassie rise to the challenge of survival? Will Rick have the stomach to help when he discovers Cassie's secret? 'A World Torn Down' is an epic tale of the apocalypse with a fresh take on TEOTWAWKI. Read today! Previously published as six books: 'The Road to Ruin', 'The Savage Road', 'The Outcast's Journey', 'The Path to Despair', 'The Route to Justice', and 'The Road to Redemption'. What readers say: The series gave me a very Walking Dead comic feel. I loved it, and the characters were all very well written. The detail that went into all the characters was brilliant. It was fast paced and kept you interested right to the the last sentence. I loved the strong female characters, Cassie being my absolute favourite, I love how she just gets things done and doesn't let the male characters walk over her. This series kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time I was reading. I would have to stop to go to work, and all I could think of was the book and getting back to finding out what would happen next.

Agents of Dreamland


Caitlín R. Kiernan - 2017
    Later that day he meets a woman in a diner to exchange information about an event that happened a week earlier for which neither has an explanation, but which haunts the Signalman.In a ranch house near the shore of the Salton Sea a cult leader gathers up the weak and susceptible—the Children of the Next Level—and offers them something to believe in and a chance for transcendence. The future is coming and they will help to usher it in.A day after the events at the ranch house which disturbed the Signalman so deeply that he and his government sought out help from ‘other’ sources, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory abruptly loses contact with NASA’s interplanetary probe New Horizons. Something out beyond the orbit of Pluto has made contact.And a woman floating outside of time looks to the future and the past for answers to what can save humanity.

Goddess King


Noah Layton - 2018
    Gain powers. Unleash Goddesses. The locket that James got for his crush was supposed to be a present - but after opening it he accidentally unleashed a pair of ancient gods, reigniting a battle that has been centuries in the making. Now he's taken on their powers, and the only way to stop a terrible evil from laying waste to humanity is to team up with an ancient consortium of goddesses who have two things on their mind; stopping evil and satisfying James. Luckily for James, he's got time for both. Warning: This story involves violence, monsters, an enchanted axe, two goddesses that the main character gladly satisfies, cross-dimensional travel, roof-jumping, embarrassment, library shelves toppling like dominos, and security guards generally having a bad time.

The Emaneska Series Bundle – Epic Fantasy Box Set


Ben Galley - 2014
    Read all 4 books of this Norse-inspired epic fantasy series back to back, and follow the saga of the powerful yet troubled battle-mage, Farden, as he embarks on a brutal journey to protect his wild and frozen world. Welcome to Emaneska.———PRAISE FOR THE EMANESKA SERIES“★★★★★. Galley's imagination is a truly beautiful thing. The plot here is rich and intricate, and the characters are a delight... I believe Mr Galley may well be one to watch.”– Fantasy Bytes"If you love fantasy, action, intrigue, magic and all that goes with it then you need to read these books.”– The Book Geek“★★★★★. Galley is not yet as good an author as Gemmell but the thing that I find exciting is that I honestly think that he could be.”– Fantasy Book Review"There are certain twists that will surprise the reader by genuinely coming out of the left field.”– Fantasy Book Critic———ABOUT THE SERIESThe Emaneska Series follows the Written Mage Farden as he battles to save war-torn Emaneska from ancient demons set on vengeance. Unimaginable monsters, betrayal, and his own deep flaws stand in Farden's way, but with the help of the lost gods and a stubborn fire that refuses to die, Farden will fight save Emaneska from its dark fate. The question is: will he succeed?The Emaneska Series Box Set contains:- The Written (#1 Amazon Bestseller)- Pale Kings- Dead Stars - Part One- Dead Stars - Part TwoPacked with magic, dragons, mystery and brutal battles across a vast world, The Emaneska Series is an epic fantasy saga not to be missed. With almost 1000 ★★★★★ reviews across stores, The Emaneska Series box set is a hard-hitting dose of heroic fantasy and sword and sorcery that is perfect for fans of George R. R. Martin, Joe Abercrombie, David Gemmell, or Robin Hobb.———ABOUT THE STORYA spellbook has gone missing from the libraries of Arfell – an extremely powerful summoning manual from the time of dark elves and demons. Five scholars are dead, the magick council is running out of time and options, and the Arka is once again on the brink of war with the Siren dragon-riders. It falls to Farden the Written Mage to keep the world from falling into abject chaos. Entangled in a web of lies and politics, Farden must recover the spellbook before an ancient enemy rises, even if it means fighting his way across frozen Emaneska and back.In his quest for answers, Farden will unearth a secret that not only threatens the foundations of his being, but endangers the survival of all Emaneska. Magic, death, and the deepest of betrayals await.Welcome to Emaneska.———MORE BOOKS BY BEN GALLEY (Available in ebook, paperback and audio)Emaneska Series– Pale Kings– Dead Stars - Part One– Dead Stars - Part Two– No FairytaleScarlet Star Trilogy– Bloodrush– Bloodmoon– BloodrushChasing Graves Trilogy– Chasing Graves– Grim Solace– Breaking ChaosStandalones– The Heart of Stone– Shards

The Burning Tree: Book 2: Rebirth


Christopher Artinian - 2021
    

The Wraith's Story


Natalie K. French - 2015
     THIS BOOK CONTAINS ADULT CONTENT DANGEROUS BEAUTY... This first novella in an exciting new series will take you to a future unlike anything you’ve ever seen. The world of BRIGAND is as beautiful as it is cruel - a landscape of sharp edges and sharper characters. Sometimes it's funny, sometimes harsh, always sexy, it's a world filled with people who play power games that span multiple planets and the life of a scut can be bought for a few ounces of fresh water. Genetically modified and cybernetically augmented before she even left the womb, Subject 11 was to be one of the Mandate of St. Nicolo's most potent tools of statecraft. With her contract bid out to one of the great families of Marajo Lift, she would become a crucial wheel within the many thousands of wheels that formed the Mandate's legendary engine of intrigue. But 11 had other plans... NOTE: The cover illustration for this novella has been changed to more accurately reflect the main character. DO NOT buy it if you have already purchased The Wraith's Story. ~22,000 words

The Last Dogs


Joe Siple - 2020