Book picks similar to
Tempus by R.J. Batla


fantasy
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The Nobody People


Bob Proehl - 2019
    But when others with incredible, otherworldly gifts reveal themselves to the world, Avi realizes that her oddness is something more—that she is something more. With this, he has a terrifying revelation: Emmeline is now entering a society where her unique abilities unfairly mark her as a potential threat. And even though he is her father, Avi cannot keep her safe forever.Emmeline soon meets others just like her: Carrie Norris, a teenage girl who can turn invisible . . . but just wants to be seen. Fahima Deeb, a woman with an uncanny knack for machinery . . . but it’s her Muslim faith that makes the U.S. government suspicious of her.They are the nobody people—ordinary individuals with extraordinary gifts who want one only thing: to live as equals in an America that is gripped by fear and hatred. But the government is passing discriminatory laws. Violent mobs are taking to the streets. And one of their own—an angry young man seething with self-loathing—has used his power in an act of mass violence that has put a new target on the community. The nobody people must now stand together and fight for their future, or risk falling apart.The first book of a timely two-part series, The Nobody People is a powerful novel of love and hope in the face of bigotry that uses a world touched by the fantastic to explore our current reality. It is a story of family and community. It is a story of continuing to fight for one another, no matter the odds. It is the story of us.

Born of Metal


A.L. Knorr - 2019
    Can Ibby embrace her destiny as Inconquo guardian before an ages-old demon is unleashed on London? Ibby’s parents gave up everything for a chance at a better life. So, after a terrible accident leaves her alone in London, Ibby works her internship at the British Museum and goes to her classes to make them proud.But when Ibby finds a strange artifact and encounters a mysterious professor in the bowels of the museum, she learns that her lineage means bigger responsibilities than good grades. Training in the secrecy of a ghostly underground tube station defunct since 1933, her waking powers means Ibby must face the wrath of a titan with a vendetta against her kind...and she has to do it alone. If you love strong female characters and millennia old secrets, you’ll love the origin story of Ibukun Bashir, metal elemental. Welcome to the world of the Inconquo.

Wings of the Wicked


Charlene A. WilsonMaddie Wade - 2019
    Where you might just end up rooting for the bad guy…If you like demonic games, angelic interventions, and thrilling temptations, you'll love this urban fantasy and paranormal romance collection of twisted proportions in Wings of the Wicked. Including Stories From... USA Today bestselling author Charlene A. WilsonUSA Today bestselling authors Dariel Raye & Muffy WilsonCarolyn ReillyKim CarmichaelJ.R. ThornLynda Kaye FrazierLexi C. FossRavenna TateMaddie WadeUSA Today bestselling author LaVerne ThompsonUSA Today bestselling author Shereen VedamColleen S MyersDitter KellenRS McCoyK.B. Ladnier & Amara KentErin LeeErica Gerald MasonZachary Paul ChopchinskiDrea ShaneNichole Riley & N.K. StackhouseAmy CissellLeona BushmanBetty ShrefflerKhardine GrayNew York Times bestselling author Rebecca Hamilton

A Psalm for the Wild-Built


Becky Chambers - 2021
    The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how.They're going to need to ask it a lot.Becky Chambers's new series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter?

Clara


Suzanna J. Linton - 2013
    Those who know about her just think of her as the dull mute girl who may be a little soft in the head, not knowing that she carries within herself a precious gift: the ability to see the future. This is a gift she keeps secret, though, for fear of persecution.However, a vision prompts her to prevent a murder, shoving her not only into the intrigues and gilded life of the nobility, but also into a civil war brewing in her country. As events unfold, and she is drawn deeper into the conflict, she meets an old friend, makes a new one, and begins to unearth secrets better left buried. Driven to learn the truth about the war, and about her friends, Clara embarks on a journey that takes her from her beloved mountains to the very Capital itself, Bertrand, where she is confronted by an evil both ancient and twisted. The only problem is, her own anger and prejudices are the catalysts her enemy needs to complete its plans. If she is not careful, not only will the entire nation be lost, but her own soul as well.

Age of Myth


Michael J. Sullivan - 2016
    But when a god falls to a human blade, the balance of power between humans and those they thought were gods changes forever.Now only a few stand between humankind and annihilation: Raithe, reluctant to embrace his destiny as the God Killer; Suri, a young seer burdened by signs of impending doom; and Persephone, who must overcome personal tragedy to lead her people. The Age of Myth is over. The time of rebellion has begun.

Praetorian Rising


J. McSpadden - 2019
     Camille Scipio awakens one morning remembering nothing of her life. The sword and bow feel like old friends as she eases into the safety and comfort of Sierra Village. Able to gut a squirrel in two seconds and hunt in the forest past curfew, she’s devastated when a mysterious beast attacks the village and mortally wounds the family she’s grown to love. The family she failed to protect. Now, fleeing for her life, and hunted by the tyrannical High King of Aspera, Camille finds herself at a crossroad. Led by genetically superior assassins known as Praetorians, Camille struggles to understand her role in the new reality she’s forced into. As horrific memories threaten to consume her, Camille must make a choice: join the Rogue Rebellion or seek revenge against those who wronged her. Can she defeat the demons within and fight for freedom? Or will she slip into the darkness of her past? PRAISE FOR PRAETORIAN RISING: "Best fantasy ride of the year, I was hooked at chapter 1... the action scenes were so vivid you felt like you were there... I truly give it all the stars, and I Highly Recommend!" Kay J, Goodreads "[P]raetorian Rising is full of rich detail and twists and turns that kept me engrossed until the last... has elements of The Hunger Games, Tolkien, Star Wars, Divergent and The Shannara Chronicles- but is wholly it's own." Rebecca E, Goodreads "Wow! Wow! Wow! Praetorian Rising exceeded all expectations... a beautiful mix of adventure, love, and self-discovery. I read the book in like two days! I couldn’t put it down!" Cybernerd719, Goodreads

Shadows and Gold


Elizabeth Hunter - 2014
    Misleading wind vampires. And a fortune in forgotten gold. Traveling to the most remote region of China certainly wasn’t what Ben Vecchio had in mind for his summer vacation, but when Tenzin suggested a quick trip, he could hardly turn down a chance to keep her out of trouble and practice the Mandarin he still struggled with in class. Of course, Tenzin might not have been clear about everything travel entailed.Driving a truck full of rotting vegetables and twenty million in gold from Kashgar to Shanghai was only the start. If Ben can keep the treasure away from grasping immortals, the reward will be more than worth the effort. But when has travel with a five-thousand-year-old wind vampire ever been simple?“What’s on the agenda for tonight?”“I thought we’d go into Shanghai. Eat some fish. See the lights.”“Okay.”“Then maybe lure a traitor into the open before he steals my gold.”Ben paused, thought, then gave her a nod. “Sure, sounds like fun.”At least he was practicing his Chinese. Right?SHADOWS AND GOLD is a prequel novella in the Elemental Legacy series.

Wolf's Bane


Kelley Armstrong - 2018
    When Kate and Logan Danvers are targeted by a pack of Australian werewolves, they aren’t nearly as concerned your average sixteen-year-olds might be. The twins are werewolves themselves, children of the American Pack Alpha and her enforcer mate. For Kate and Logan, the threat is an opportunity to prove they’re full members of the Pack. Their parents see it a little differently and ship them off to a supernatural teen leadership conference while the adults handle the Australians.Level-headed Logan is disappointed at the lost adventure but looks forward to making new contacts in the supernatural world. Hot-tempered Kate is furious at being kept out of battle and anticipates a torturous week of team-building exercises. They’re both wrong.Instead, the twins find themselves thrust into a situation that’s quickly devolving into anarchy. What seems like teen hormones in overdrive becomes something much more dangerous, even deadly. Add in a strange magic-warded cabin in the woods and a local history rife with curses and macabre legends, and it becomes clear this was a really, really bad place to build a camp for teenage supernaturals.

The Strange Bird: A Borne Story


Jeff VanderMeer - 2017
    But now the lab in which she was created is under siege and the scientists have turned on their animal creations. Flying through tunnels, dodging bullets, and changing her colors and patterning to avoid capture, the Strange Bird manages to escape.But she cannot just soar in peace above the earth. The sky itself is full of wildlife that rejects her as one of their own, and also full of technology—satellites and drones and other detritus of the human civilization below that has all but destroyed itself. And the farther she flies, the deeper she finds herself in the orbit of the Company, a collapsed biotech firm that has populated the world with experiments both failed and successful that have outlived the corporation itself: a pack of networked foxes, a giant predatory bear. But of the many creatures she encounters with whom she bears some kind of kinship, it is the humans—all of them now simply scrambling to survive—who are the most insidious, who still see her as simply something to possess, to capture, to trade, to exploit. Never to understand, never to welcome home.With The Strange Bird, Jeff VanderMeer has done more than add another layer, a new chapter, to his celebrated novel Borne. He has created a whole new perspective on the world inhabited by Rachel and Wick, the Magician, Mord, and Borne—a view from above, of course, but also a view from deep inside the mind of a new kind of creature who will fight and suffer and live for the tenuous future of this world.

A Rarer Gift Than Gold: Adventure for Art Lovers


Lucy Branch - 2015
    Abigail Argent is a skilled craftsman working in the world of sculpture. Her particular talent lies in seeing the beauty in a plain piece of metal and being able to draw it out. When she comes across a book that links her craft with the ancient myth of alchemy, she's intrigued. Digging deeper, she discovers that some types of research can be dangerous. Delving into one of Italy's oldest secret societies, curiosity comes at a price that no-one should have to pay. If you like a conspiracy theory that walks the line between myth and science, you'll love A Rarer Gift Than Gold. A Rarer Gift Than Gold takes everything you think you know about alchemy and turns it on its head Treat yourself to A Rarer Gift Than Gold as featured on Radio 4, BBC World Service & Timeout Magazine Interview with the Author Will you share a little about your book?  It’s a conspiracy theory about alchemy.  Set in the art and craft world, it’s low fantasy with high stakes. Readers who enjoy the Da Vinci Code should like it.   Will you share how you came up with the idea for this book?    I am a sculptural restorer specialising in metals. I wanted to convey my love of metals and the idea came to me when a historian friend was doing some research and calling up some pretty rare volumes. He got a warning to stay away from the material he was looking at. I wondered why anyone would be so protective of something so dry and academic. I wondered what motivation they could possibly have and what might happen if he ignored the warning. I built this book around this event.   Who or what was your inspiration for this book?   Every day, I work with historic objects and one of the questions I always ask myself when restoring them is ‘what is missing from this object. What can I not see?’ and ‘why might evidence have been lost?’ It has made me very interested in what’s absent from history and why.  This story is about how history can be manipulated by the removal of physical evidence for personal gain.   It is said that authors write themselves into their characters. Is there any part of you in your characters and what they would be?   The only part of the lead character that is like me is her love of metals. That we share.   Have you been influenced by the writing style of other authors?   I adore and devour books, but trying to imitate someone else would just be too hard. Your own voice has to be authentic otherwise I think you come off as a hack.    Do you have plans to write another book?   Girl in A Golden Cage will be out at the end of 2016 – it’s another book in The Gold Gift Series

The Last Conversation


Paul Tremblay - 2019
    All you have is the disconnected voice of an attentive caretaker. Dr. Kuhn is there to help you—physically, emotionally, and psychologically. She’ll help you remember everything. She’ll make sure you reclaim your lost identity. Now answer one question: Are you sure you want to?Paul Tremblay’s The Last Conversationis part of Forward, a collection of six stories of the near and far future from out-of-this-world authors. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single thought-provoking sitting.

Canto Bight


Saladin Ahmed - 2017
    This collection of four short stories will focus on creatures from the glamorous casino world of Canto Bight, described as the galactic version of Monaco.

How the Marquis Got His Coat Back


Neil Gaiman - 2015
    The coat. It was elegant. It was beautiful. It was so close that he could have reached out and touched it.And it was unquestionably his.

When We Were Birds


Ayanna Lloyd Banwo - 2022
    You were never the smartest child, but even you should know that when a dead woman offers you a cigarette, the polite thing to do would be to take it. Especially when that dead woman is your mother.The St. Bernard women have lived in Morne Marie, the house on top of a hill outside Port Angeles, for generations. Built from the ashes of a plantation that enslaved their ancestors, it has come to shelter a lineage that is bonded by much more than blood. One woman in each generation of St. Bernards is responsible for the passage of the city's souls into the afterlife. But Yejide's relationship with her mother, Petronella, has always been contorted by anger and neglect, which Petronella stubbornly carries to her death bed, leaving Yejide unprepared to fulfill her destiny.Raised in the countryside by a devout Rastafarian mother, Darwin has always abided by the religious commandment not to interact with death. He has never been to a funeral, much less seen a dead body. But when his ailing mother can no longer work and the only job he can find is grave digging, he must betray the life she built for him in order to provide for them both. Newly shorn of his dreadlocks and his past and determined to prove himself, Darwin finds himself adrift in a city electric with possibility and danger.Yejide and Darwin will meet inside the gates of Fidelis, Port Angeles's largest and oldest cemetery, where the dead lie uneasy in their graves and a reckoning with fate beckons them both. A masterwork of lush imagination and immersive lyricism, When We Were Birds is a spellbinding novel about inheritance, loss, and love's seismic power to heal.