Book picks similar to
Aenigma by Erus Ludus
first-reads
fantasy
historical
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Ashoka: Lion of Maurya
Ashok K. Banker - 2016
Their target—the entire imperial family.The prince makes it his mission to root out the assassins with the help of the Chandikas—the female military order instituted by Samrat Chandragupta Maurya. But when his own lover, a Chandika, confesses a terrible secret, he realizes that the threat lies within his own family!Meanwhile, the palace is not without its own intrigues. Queen Khorasan and her mother are playing their own game of thrones. Dowager Queen Apama is secretly working for her father, Seleucus Nicator, who still has ambitions of invading the sub-continent. King Bindusara’s harsh methods are turning the marbled floors of the imperial palace awash with blood. Will Prince Ashoka be able to save his family —and Mauryavansh—before it’s too late?India’s epic storyteller turns his masterful hand to the life of ancient India’s greatest ruler, Ashoka in a thrilling trilogy packed with non-stop action, adventure, battles and lusty no-holds-barred storytelling.
Startoucher
C.J. Odle - 2018
One species is found to be an extreme danger to itself and others – Humanity. Evidence for the continuation of the species hangs by a thread. Jake Connolly, talented up and coming LA lawyer, has a hidden psychic side long suppressed. When a series of intense visionary experiences threaten to derail his life, he is dragged unwillingly towards mysterious events deep in the Mojave Desert. What he discovers there changes him forever, and will affect the lives of everyone on the planet.As the world watches its destiny unfold, humanity is forced to fight for its survival in a Galactic court and justify its existence to far superior beings.A mystical, innovative, and intelligent novel that asks the biggest questions of all.Where are we from…where are we going...how much have we truly evolved?…Librarian's note: See alternate cover edition of ASIN B079QTKPML here.
Holy War
Mike Bond - 2014
Neill, a war correspondent on a secret mission for Britain’s MI6 intelligence agency, is trying to find Mohammed, a Hezbollah terrorist leader who may be willing to stop the slaughter and destruction. André, a French commando, is also looking for Mohammed, to kill him in revenge for the death of his brother, blown up with over 400 US Marines and French paratroopers by Hezbollah. For Rosa, a remorseless and passionate Palestinian guerrilla, Mohammed is one of the few hopes left for her people, and she will give her life to protect him. And for lovely Anne-Marie, André is the only one who can rescue her from Hell. Based on Bond’s own experiences in Lebanon, Syria and the Middle East, Holy War has been praised for its portrayal of battle and its journalistic and political realism, and for its evocative descriptions of men and women caught in a deadly crossfire. “Bond does it again – A gripping tale of passion, hostage-taking and war, set against a war-ravaged Beirut.” − Evening News “A marvelous book – impossible to put down.” − London Broadcasting “Master of the existential thriller - BBC “A profound tale of war…Literally impossible to stop reading.” − British Armed Forces Broadcasting “A supercharged thriller. . A story to chill and haunt you.” − Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Translight
Doug Farren - 2009
But before Earth can benefit from the advanced technologies offered by the other cultures, it must form a united world government. Old habits are hard to break and it doesn't take long before things begin to unravel.Jay Kauffman, mathematical genius and creator of the stardrive, believed his invention would free mankind. Instead, it has made war inevitable.Translight is the first book of the Galactic Alliance series. It is a hard military science fiction space opera that has been compared to E.E. 'Doc' Smith's famous Lensmen and Skylark series.
The Travis Club
Mark Louis Rybczyk - 2013
His books receive little notice until he unearths a 100 year old mystery that the powerful had hoped would never have been uncovered. How far will the city's power brokers go to silence Taylor and his band of friend known as The Travis Club? Intrigue and romance bring this mystery alive in a one of a kind city, San Antonio.
The Outer Rims
Clint Morey - 2013
But expansion means contact with new worlds and species—and with them, new challenges.As a young boy, Matthew Wallace experienced this as the child of missionaries on the planet Altair, living a rugged existence on the undeveloped world. Undeveloped, but not uninhabited. For Altair was home to a proud race of warriors—the Ananke.The same warriors Matthew watched as they murdered his parents.Now he is the Marshal of the place he swore he’d never return to, his hatred for the Ananke only tempered by his desperation to treat his wife’s terrible illness. For located on Altair is a clinic performing medical miracles, curing men and women of terminal diseases that even the most advanced technologies can’t touch. And yet, nothing is without its price, and as Matthew learns more about the world where he’s now charged with keeping the peace, he slowly realizes he’s going to have to decide what is more important: The life of his wife…or the lives of an entire species.A sci-fi thriller that calls to mind the grand masters of the genre, The Outer Rims explores the morality of doing whatever is necessary and the question of whether humanity and sentience are one in the same.
The City Where We Once Lived
Eric BarnesEric Barnes - 2018
Aside from the scavengers steadily stripping the empty city to its bones, only a few thousand people remain, content to live quietly among the crumbling metropolis. Many, like the narrator, are there to try to escape the demons of their past. He spends his time observing and recording the decay around him, attempting to bury memories of what he has lost. But it eventually becomes clear that things are unraveling elsewhere as well, as strangers, violent and desperate alike, begin to appear in the North End, spreading word of social and political deterioration in the South End and beyond. Faced with a growing disruption to his isolated life, the narrator discovers within himself a surprising need to resist losing the home he has created in this empty place. He and the rest of the citizens of the North End must choose whether to face outsiders as invaders or welcome them as neighbors. The City Where We Once Lived is a haunting novel of the near future that combines a prescient look at how climate change and industrial flight will shape our world with a deeply personal story of one man running from his past. With glowing prose, Eric Barnes brings into sharp focus questions of how we come to call a place home and what is our capacity for violence when that home becomes threatened.
The Organ Takers (The McBride Trilogy #1)
Richard Van Anderson - 2014
Down but not out, he perseveres and is given a second chance to establish a career in surgery. But, as McBride stands on the threshold of a new life, the malignant underside of his fellow man intervenes. Under the threat of violence, David is forced to perform illegal organ harvests in a makeshift operating room hidden in a dilapidated meatpacking warehouse in lower Manhattan. Unable to resolve the excruciating moral dilemma faced each time he invades the body of an unwilling victim, David McBride fights to free himself from the situation and in the process, loses everything. When he finally loses the last shred of his humanity, he seeks revenge with surgical precision ... and instrumentation.
Chronicles: The Library of Illumination
C.A. Pack - 2014
What makes this library even more unusual are the two teenagers chosen to oversee its operation. Johanna Charette and Jackson Roth must use their wits to deal with the sometimes humorous, sometimes dangerous situations that arise when enchanted books spring to life. As the teens learn about the library, themselves, and each other, their fates become intertwined, and when they stumble upon a scheme by someone in a distant realm to take control of all knowledge in the universe, Johanna and Jackson are forced to put their lives on the line to battle an ancient foe.
The Ugly Princess: The Legend of the Winnowwood
Henderson Smith - 2014
I mean staggeringly beautiful, men falling at your feet with hopeless adoration as they gaze upon you dumbfounded. That beautiful. I could become that beautiful if I chose, but only with a steep price. Would you pay the price? Does that call to your heart? It doesn’t call to mine. Yes, when I look at the girl in the mirror, I see a young woman of average height and slight build. I see her lovely emerald green eyes and I see her coarse, orange hair poking out in all directions like some unnatural haystack. I see the forty-seven warts that line her face, which accompany one large lump and two small boils. You’d probably think that I would be more than eager to trade for the great gift of beauty because I know some, if not all of you, would call me hideous. But I don’t think of myself as ugly. I think of myself as powerful, strong and fierce – for I have magical powers – powers that amaze and terrify me at times. And today is the most important day of my life, because today my mother will say the words over me and seal my fate. For I, Olive, am the last of the Winnowwood and this is my story. Based on the award winning screenplay of the same name, The Ugly Princess will take you on an amazing adventure filled with twists, turns and an ending that will take your breath away because it is also a love story of the most unusual, magical kind. “In the tradition of The Princess Bride (with somewhat less whimsy) and The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, Smith’s debut is a fairy tale in a new world…. The twists along this charming road make for an enchanting journey.” -- Kirkus Reviews --
Cleopatra's Shadows
Emily Holleman - 2015
Before Caesar and the carpet, before Antony and Actium, before Octavian and the asp, there was Arsinoe. Abandoned by her beloved Cleopatra and an indifferent father, young Arsinoe must fight for her survival in the bloodthirsty royal court when her half-sister Berenice seizes Egypt's throne. Even as the quick-witted girl wins Berenice's favor, a new specter haunts her days-dark dreams that have a habit of coming true. To survive, she escapes the palace for the war-torn streets of Alexandria. Meanwhile, Berenice confronts her own demons as she fights to maintain power. When their deposed father Ptolemy marches on the city with a Roman army, both daughters must decide where their allegiances truly lie, and Arsinoe grapples with the truth, that the only way to survive her dynasty is to rule it.
Forsaken
J.D. Barker - 2014
Barker's Forsaken is a remarkable debut, a gripping tale of suspense in the tradition of Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and John Saul. Truly the birth of a new master in the genre.“J.D. Barker is a one-of-a-kind writer and that’s a rare and special thing. Stephen King comes to mind and Lee Child, John Sandford. All one-of-a-kinds. Don’t miss anything J.D. writes.” James Patterson #1 International Bestselling Author Bram Stoker Award Nominee - Superior Achievement in a First Novel “Barker’s ambitious debut is aimed squarely at fans of classic horror. Witches, spells, miniature demons, and personal doubt give plenty to latch on to… the plot moves at a brisk pace… a promising start to a planned series.” - Editorial Review, Publisher’s Weekly "A talented writer with a delightfully devious mind!" Jeffery Deaver #1 International Bestselling Author After reading Forsaken, I completely understand why Stephen King would grant this author permission to reference his world from Needful Things. Barker is that good. You do not want to miss this book! - The Haven Herald "Incredibly written, supremely creepy. I don't say this lightly: J.D. Barker is a force to be reckoned with." Tosca Lee NY Times Bestselling Author When horror author Thad McAlister began his latest novel, a tale rooted in the witch trials of centuries past, the words flowed effortlessly. The story poured forth, filling page after page with the most frightening character ever to crawl from his imagination. It was his greatest work, one that would guarantee him a position among the legends of the craft. But was it really fiction? He inadvertently opened a door, one that would soon jeopardize the lives of his family. She wants to come back. At home, his wife struggles to keep their family alive. Secretly wondering if she caused it all…a deal she made long ago. A deal with the Forsaken.
The DIRTY, LAZY, KETO Dirt Cheap Cookbook: 100 Easy Recipes to Save Money Time!
Stephanie Laska - 2020
100 easy recipes—under $10 to make—with less than 10 net carbs per serving! The keto diet shouldn’t be complicated, boring, or expensive! The DIRTY, LAZY, KETO Dirt Cheap Cookbook by USA Today bestselling author Stephanie Laska makes keto “doable” for everyone. You don’t have to break the bank to go keto with The DIRTY, LAZY, KETO Dirt Cheap Cookbook. Stephanie Laska lost 140 pounds by solving the problem of not having enough money or time to eat healthy. In The DIRTY, LAZY, KETO Dirt Cheap Cookbook, she shares 100 budget-savvy “dirty, lazy,” keto recipes the whole family will love—all containing ten grams of net carbs or less and costing less than $10 to make the whole recipe! These recipes are built around common ingredients (you can pronounce and will use over and again—no waste) found in your local supermarket; nothing pretentious or expensive is required. DIRTY, LAZY, KETO recipes are stress-free but without skimping on taste. You’ll also find tips to stretch that bottom dollar plus strategies to reboot leftovers but in DISGUISE along with signature entertaining and relatable stories from your best girlfriend, Stephanie. Lose weight while enjoying familiar comfort food favorites—all under ten net carbs per serving!
Invasion (The War of 1812 Epics #3)
A.J. MacKenzie - 2019
May 1813. Under covering fire from their navy on Lake Ontario, U.S. troops storm ashore at Niagara. Captain John MacLea and his reformed company of militia fight desperately but they and the other defenders are overwhelmed and forced to retreat.The American force is mightier than it has ever been, spearheaded by Colonel Peter Beauregard, a ruthless spy-master, and James Boydell, a Canadian captain, former friend of MacLea's, and traitor to his country.As the invading army closes in, and with no time left, the hope of an entire army, and all of its men, rests on the shoulders of the most unexpected of people. Failure is not an option. They must succeed, or face total defeat.
A brutal, moving action-adventure thriller, steeped in intricate historical research, perfect for fans of Adrian Goldsworthy, Bernard Cornwell and Simon Scarrow.
The Virus
Janelle Diller - 2015
Abdulaziz al-Sherhi. In a nation rich in imagination, this name requires none at all. In the weeks that follow, the epidemic fears crescendo into a national roar. People panic about dying from this horrific terrorist incited disease and clamor for a vaccination. The federal government lurches along, hurriedly creating more vaccines to meet the demand.Maggie Ride, a weary road warrior for a high tech company, submits to the shot only to realize this is no ordinary immunization. Her husband, Eddy, posts his suspicions about this deeply sinister government requirement to his web site. NNow he’s a target.And Maggie is the bait.The technology is real. Washington is corrupt. It’s only a matter of time before this isn’t just an intriguing idea for a political thriller.