Book picks similar to
Speculum by Darryl Sollerh


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The Timeless Trilogy Boxed Set, #1-3


Holly Hook - 2015
    The mystery of where—or rather when—Julia comes from kept me glued to the page. Once that’s revealed, it’s game on to try and change her fate. I’m impressed with any author that can take on something as complicated as time travel and have it make sense in the end. Holly Hook did so wonderfully."--Amazon Reviewer Seventeen year old Julia just learned that she's in the wrong time. With no memory of where she's from, she must escape the Timeless, a group bent on sending her back home. But home is danger, says mysterious Simon, the hot new guy at school. Home is death. Julia must grow closer to Simon to unravel the truth about where she's from--but doing may be her end. The story continues and concludes in 11:39 and 1500, the second and third books of the Timeless Trilogy.

Glory Main


Henry V. O'Neil - 2012
    Both sides battle for control of habitable planets across the galaxy—often at any cost.Lieutenant Jander Mortas is fresh out of officer training and new to the war zone, but eager to prove himself. There's just one problem: disaster strikes while he's traveling to his first assignment. He wakes to find himself marooned on what appears to be a deserted planet, with only three other survivors: a psychoanalyst, a conscientious objector, and a bitter veteran of a brutal slave-scout detachment. As the group struggles to reach safety on a nearby base, Glory Main, they discover a Sim colony—which could mean their salvation, or their demise.Thrown together, they must fight the harsh elements, an ever-present enemy, and possibly each other.

The Scent of Metal


Sabrina Chase - 2013
    Computer scientist Lea Santorin can’t wait to figure out the alien technology. Instead, she wakes it up … and it continues its long-interrupted journey across the galaxy, taking Lea and Kepler with it..And something strange also wakes in Lea. She hears voices no one else can, and sees things the mission command prefers hidden. Why bring so many soldiers along with the scientists? Who concealed the structure, and when?Who waits at the final destination...and will they survive the meeting?

1-2-3 Magic Teen: Communicate, Connect, and Guide Your Teen to Adulthood


Thomas W. Phelan - 2016
    In 1-2-3 Magic Teen, internationally renowned parenting expert Thomas W. Phelan explains how to better understand your teenager, which problems are not worth fighting over, and why your child's behavior likely matches the definition of a normal adolescent. With helpful, straightforward advice backed up by research and parent-tested strategies, 1-2-3 Magic Teen will help you establish a calmer, more respectful home and family life and show you how to guide your teenager into healthy, functional young adulthood. In this book, you'll find tools and advice tailored for the challenges of a teen lifestyle, including: Forgetting to do chores Absence in family outings Drop in grades Missed curfews Parties and drinking Work responsibilities

Deadlock Rebels: An AFK Book (Overwatch)


Lyndsay Ely - 2021
    Are you with us? Enter the next original YA novel for Overwatch, the worldwide gaming sensation from Blizzard Entertainment!In the years after the Omnic Crisis, the American Southwest is ruled by vultures looking to profit off the chaos. The West is ripe for the taking, and Elizabeth Caledonia Ashe intends to write her name across it.When Ashe is arrested yet again on the morning of her high school graduation, her aloof, old-money parents decide to disinherit her from the family fortune. To steal back what's rightfully hers, Ashe teams up with her omnic butler, B.O.B., and local ruffian Jesse McCree for a series of heists, catapulting the trio into a game of fast money and dangerous alliances. Along the way, Ashe discovers that family isn't just about blood. It's about the people who've got your back when your back's against the wall.Full of high-octane chases and action-packed stand-offs, the second novel for Overwatch explores the founding of the Deadlock Gang and the origins of fan-favorite heroes Ashe and McCree. Don't miss this incredible, original story straight from the Overwatch game team and critically acclaimed author Lyndsay Ely.

Shield of Drani


Melonie Purcell - 2016
    Two psychic talents are required to mine it. Three species seeking control. Taymar is telekinetic, violent and deadly. She is also the first of her kind to be telepathic as well, making her an intolerable threat to the ruling species of her home planet. They want to control her. To tame her. She just wants to be free. A cruel twist of fate has Nevvis tasked with managing Taymar when he is supposed to be managing a planet on the verge of war. But, she is hard to ignore and impossible to forget. When the Shreet invaders attack, Taymar jumps at the chance to escape. Nevvis would love nothing better than to let her go, but he can’t. If he is to save their home from the Shreet, he must twist her into a weapon and somehow convince her to help save a planet that has only ever tried to destroy her.

The Fight for Immortality


Peter Arthur - 2013
    Supremely powerful forces plan and carry out the infiltration and take over of Earth, butwhat are their motives? What horror, if any, lies behind their philanthropic actions? And why does high school misfit Jack Cousins mistrust them when all the evidence points to their goodness? When his girlfriend is tricked into leaving Earth Jack must act. What hell must he endure to find the truth? What hell must he face to find himself? Read the "The Fight For Immortality" and find out.

Finders Keepers: The Definitive Edition


Russ Colchamiro - 2010
    When a jar containing the Universe's DNA falls from Eternity, bumbling backpackers Jason and Theo find their loyalties--and sanity!--put to the test. Unaware that a motley crew from another realm is chasing them across the globe to retrieve that radioactive vessel, these intrepid new friends are forced to contend with passion, responsibility, and their own mortality--and the fate of the Solar System, which hangs in the balance. Traversing Europe, New Zealand, and the backbone of Eternity, Finders Keepers: The Definitive Edition ultimately asks one simple question: Is the life you're living the life you actually want . . . or does the Universe have more to offer than you can possibly imagine?IMPORTANT NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: The Definitive Edition of Finders Keepers has undergone significant changes from the original version. Consider the original as the Raw & Uncensored version (rated 'R')--which is no longer available-- while this new updated and revised Definitive Edition is 'PG-13'. Goodreads will not allow the two version to be listed separately, so please keep in mind that older reviews do not necessarily reflect the updated narrative, characters, language, and tone of the Definitive Edition.For more on why I wrote the Definitive Edition, and how it differs from the original, check out my blog here: https://russcolchamiro.com/2018/11/bo...

The Outcast Ones


Maya Shepherd - 2012
    The last surviving humans are barricaded inside safety zones to protect themselves from the radiation.They can only stay alive if they follow strict rules. No one has property of their own, and no one can make their own choices: the Legion Commanders take every decision away from people. This world has no room for emotion. People only live in order to function, so they have numbers instead of names. D518 is one of them. Born into this destroyed world, she's never known any other life than this - completely defined and controlled. But this changes in an instant when she is kidnapped by opponents of the government, and she discovers that everything she believed in is a lie.

The First Pillar


Roy Huff - 2013
    With all the worries about his first year in college, he was not prepared for what would happen next. His way of life was flipped upside down when he mysteriously crossed into another dimension, into the beautiful land of Everville. His excitement was abruptly halted when he discovered that there was a darkness forged against both the natural world, which he knew well, and the new land which he discovered, Everville. He must devise a plan to save both worlds while joining forces with the race of Fron and The Keepers, whom both harbor hidden secrets he must learn in order to gain power over the evil that dwells in The Other In Between. With a race against time to save both worlds, his short time at Easton Falls did not quite prepare him for the evil, dark forces he must fight in order to conquer The Other In Between.

Echo's Revenge


Sean Austin - 2011
    Reggie can’t wait to test himself against the game’s new and improved monster: ECHO-7. To Reggie, ECHO’S Revenge is more than just a game; it’s his way to escape the harsh reality at home.But there’s a glitch in the new release of ECHO-7. The game developers release a live version of the monster into the real world and now a 35-foot tall extreme predator clad in impenetrable armor with the power to shape-shift and turn invisible is hunting down every elite gamer who ever defeated it in previous versions. One by one, elite ECHO gamers are disappearing. And now, ECHO-7 is after Reggie.Reggie fears that the monster will also go after his younger brother Jeremy who’s been steadily racking up plenty of monster-kill points himself. Determined to keep him safe, Reggie hatches a plot to destroy the monster and save fellow gamers. But can he figure out how to use his gaming instincts in the real world? And, can Claire help Reggie understand who he really is, so he can reach the next level?Echo’s Revenge delivers non-stop, adrenaline-pumping action with a hero who is learning that it takes action to bridge the gap between fantasy and the real world—and that family loyalty is sometimes the trickiest game of all.

A World Without Angels


Jamie Campbell - 2013
    One Girl. One Chance. Demons are winning the war between good and evil as they continue to kill guardian angels. The ripple effect is causing humans the world over to descend into a war of their own without their heavenly protectors. One of the last angels falls to earth in an attempt to gather the remaining few humans so they can unite in the final battle. What he didn’t expect to find was the intriguing girl who helps and captivates him while solving the ancient riddle that can save both worlds. Finding a forbidden love in a hopeless place, they put everything on the line as they hold on to their faith in each other. They must find the courage to continue their quest while the world crumbles around them.

Remember the Starfighter (The Endervar War, #1)


Michael Kan - 2015
    The enemy is consuming all intelligent life throughout the galaxy. And to stop them, the stars may have to die.Enter Julian Nverson, a disgraced pilot reactivated to fight in a conflict humanity lost long ago. He joins the remnants of mankind, in the midst of another invasion, another exodus, when billions of lives have already been swept away.Perhaps the end is inevitable. But Julian won't be alone in his fight. Forces that were formerly dead, forgotten or trapped will converge together, all in the hopes of freeing the galaxy once and for all.

Philomena


Mark Guiney - 2013
    But now that the Imperium Titus has taken over, every ship sails on the edge of a knife. Young airman Cyprian Fields isn't one to turn away from danger. During his service as the deckmaster of an old freighter named Philomena, the arrival of mysterious young physician Basil Black and alluring stowaway Veronica Stromm turn the intrepid boy officer's world upside-down. Suddenly, Cyprian and Philomena's ragtag crew are thrown into a wonderful and perilous adventure that will take them to the furthest reaches of air, land, and sea. In the midst of whispering Silverspoons and murderous admirals, printing presses and aetherolabes, fleets and fortresses, Cyprian, Veronica, and Basil must decide whether they will face down the might of the Imperium or allow the doom descending on Cor Nova to overwhelm them all.

Eyes Ever to the Sky


Katie French - 2013
    Frightened and alone, with no memory of who he is, he stumbles upon a grisly murder scene and is fatally shot. He wakes, only to find he can heal himself. He has superpowers, and he’s going to need them.Desperate and bleeding, Hugh stumbles upon fifteen-year-old Cece, who’s got enough troubles of her own. Between caring for her bipolar mother and trying not to get evicted from her run-down trailer, Cece may be the only person struggling as much as Hugh. Drawn to Hugh, Cece finds a love she’s never known. But when the real killer—a man-hunting beast—chooses another victim, Hugh and Cece realize they must unlock the clues to their past if they have any chance at a future.