Book picks similar to
The Z Radiant by Jessica Reisman
science-fiction
suspense
coming-of-age
straight-fantasy
The Park Service
Ryan Winfield - 2012
That's what fifteen-year-old Aubrey VanHouten learns when he stumbles onto a post-apocalyptic paradise where the few remaining humans live on the run from deadly drones controlled by a mysterious Park Service. Torn between loyalty to his new best friend and trusting the girl of his dreams, Aubrey must learn to survive in a world he never dreamed existed while searching for answers to why everything he was taught is a lie. Beautifully written with challenging moral dilemmas and heart-melting friendships, The Park Service trilogy is an epic coming-of-age-story that will inspire and delight readers young and old.
The Sisters Mederos
Patrice Sarath - 2018
Now the family is disgraced, impoverished, and humbled by the powerful Merchants Guild. Daughters Yvienne and Tesara Mederos are determined to uncover who was behind their family's downfall and get revenge. But Tesara has a secret - could it have been her wild magic that caused the storm that destroyed the family's merchant fleet? The sisters' schemes quickly get out of hand - gambling is one thing, but robbing people is another...Together the sisters must trust each another to keep their secrets and save their family.File Under: Fantasy [ A Family’s Honour | The Fleet That Was Lost | Pistols in the Dark | An Ace at Cards ]
The Mist-Torn Witches
Barb Hendee - 2013
the story of two sisters who will discover they have far more power than they ever envisioned...In a small village in the nation of Droevinka, orphaned sisters Céline and Amelie Fawe scrape out a living selling herbal medicines in their apothecary shop. Céline earns additional money by posing as a seer and pretending to read people’s futures.But they exist in a land of great noble houses, all vying for power, and when the sisters refuse the orders of a warlord prince, they must flee and are forced to depend on the warlord prince’s brother, Anton, for a temporary haven.A series of bizarre deaths of pretty young girls are plaguing the village surrounding Prince Anton’s castle. He offers Céline and Amelie permanent protection if they can use their "skills" to find the killer.With little choice, the sisters enter a world unknown to them — of fine gowns and banquets and advances from powerful men. Their survival depends on catching a murderer who appears to walk through walls and vanish without a trace — and the danger around them seems to grow with each passing night.
Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction from Africa and the African Diaspora
Zelda KnightRafeeat Aliyu - 2020
An old god rises up each fall to test his subjects. Once an old woman’s pet, a robot sent to mine an asteroid faces an existential crisis. A magician and his son time-travel to Ngoni country and try to change the course of history. A dead child returns to haunt his grieving mother with terrifying consequences. Candace, an ambitious middle manager, is handed a project that will force her to confront the ethical ramifications of her company’s latest project—the monetization of human memory. Osupa, a newborn village in pre-colonial Yorubaland populated by refugees of war, is recovering after a great storm when a young man and woman are struck by lightning, causing three priests to divine the coming intrusion of a titanic object from beyond the sky.A magician teams up with a disgruntled civil servant to find his missing wand. A taboo error in a black market trade brings a man face-to-face with his deceased father—literally. The death of a King sets off a chain of events that ensnare a trickster, an insane killing machine, and a princess, threatening to upend their post-apocalyptic world. Africa is caught in the tug-of-war between two warring Chinas, and for Ibrahim torn between the lashings of his soul and the pain of the world around him, what will emerge? When the Goddess of Vengeance locates the souls of her stolen believers, she comes to a midwestern town with a terrible past, seeking the darkest reparations. In a post-apocalyptic world devastated by nuclear war, survivors gather in Ife-Iyoku, the spiritual capital of the ancient Oyo Empire, where they are altered in fantastic ways by its magic and power.
Life As We Knew It
Susan Beth Pfeffer - 2006
How should her family prepare for the future when worldwide tsunamis wipe out the coasts, earthquakes rock the continents, and volcanic ash blocks out the sun? As summer turns to Arctic winter, Miranda, her two brothers, and their mother retreat to the unexpected safe haven of their sunroom, where they subsist on stockpiled food and limited water in the warmth of a wood-burning stove.Told in journal entries, this is the heart-pounding story of Miranda’s struggle to hold on to the most important resource of all--hope--in an increasingly desperate and unfamiliar world.
The Anomaly
Michael Rutger - 2018
And, for once, he may have actually found what he seeks. Then the trip takes a nasty turn, and the cave begins turning against them in mysterious ways.Nolan's story becomes one of survival against seemingly impossible odds. The only way out is to answer a series of intriguing questions: What is this strange cave? How has it remained hidden for so long? And what secret does it conceal that made its last visitors attempt to seal it forever?
The 5th Wave
Rick Yancey - 2013
After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.Now, it's the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth's last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie's only hope for rescuing her brother-or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.
The Sardonyx Net
Elizabeth A. Lynn - 1981
There could be crueler masters than Rhani Yago, the beautiful and powerful aristocrat. Dana forges a dangerous bond with his master--and discovers that on a world where drugged criminals are used as slaves, rebellion may be the highest form of love.
After the Ending
Lindsey Sparks (Fairleigh) - 2013
They may have survived the apocalypse, but the Virus changed them... Grad student Dani O'Connor won't let a cross-country move end her closest friendship. But when a mysterious virus consumes the world and Dani, herself, falls violently ill, she fears she'll never see her loved ones again. After her fever finally breaks, she barely recognizes the devastated world around her. Everyone is dead. Dani is all alone. Or so she thinks... As a bartender, Zoe is used to dealing with hotheads and dirtbags, but nothing could have prepared her for the twisted thoughts of her fellow survivors. Her family is gone, and anyone left alive in the world is either sick, crazy, or changed...like her. As her newfound super senses gain strength, Zoe must learn to control them before she loses herself to madness completely. Perilous terrain spans the distance between them, and deranged survivors lurk in dark corners everywhere. Can Dani and Zoe overcome deadly attacks and unseen dangers in order to find each other? Or will they lose their way--and their lives--along the journey? After The Ending is the first book in the evocative, superpowered post-apocalyptic adventure, The Ending Series. If you like unbreakable friendships, gritty dystopian settings, and a touch of romance, then you'll love Lindsey Pogue and Lindsey Fairleigh's heart-wrenching tale. Buy After The Ending to embark on a supernatural survival story today! THE ENDING SERIES After The Ending Into The Fire Out Of The Ashes Before The Dawn The Ending Beginnings: A Collection of Stories World Before: A Collection of Stories
Gladly Beyond
Nichole Van - 2016
Two strangers helplessly drawn to each other. A love story two hundred years in the making. Claire Raythorn arrives in Florence, Italy, shattered, alone, and anxious to rebuild her life—preferably one without men. But she soon finds herself hunted and haunted— literally—when a mysterious stalker dressed like Mr. Darcy from BBC central casting appears in her photos. And only her photos. Who is this man? And what does his ghostly presence mean? Dante D’Angelo simply wants to safeguard his brothers, despite the family curse that hounds his vision. But then Claire Raythorn walks into his life, untouched somehow by his curse. Soon, everything Dante thought he knew about himself starts to unravel, dragging Claire down with him. Set against the lush backdrop of Florence, Italy—both past and present—Claire and Dante fight for a future together. But, first, they must uncover their shared past . . .
Wayward Stance
Ashley Amy - 2020
I didn’t get to stop and smell the roses. I didn’t get to indulge in a normal life. Why, you ask? Because I’m Vivian Adair. The only snake shifter known to our kind. I’ve been trained my whole life that my importance rested on my abilities. That I would help tip the scales to make this world a better place. As an assassin in training, I did more missions than most active killers. I took out the bad apples that fell too far from the tree. It became my sole purpose. So, what happens when I find out my cause might not be what I thought it was? The people closest to me, weren’t who I thought they were? I guess we’ll find out, one secret at a time.
Polaris Rising
Jessie Mihalik - 2019
As the fifth of six children, Ada von Hasenberg has no authority; her only value to her High House is as a pawn in a political marriage. When her father arranges for her to wed a noble from House Rockhurst, a man she neither wants nor loves, Ada seizes control of her own destiny. The spirited princess flees before the betrothal ceremony and disappears among the stars.Ada eluded her father’s forces for two years, but now her luck has run out. To ensure she cannot escape again, the fiery princess is thrown into a prison cell with Marcus Loch. Known as the Devil of Fornax Zero, Loch is rumored to have killed his entire chain of command during the Fornax Rebellion, and the Consortium wants his head.When the ship returning them to Earth is attacked by a battle cruiser from rival House Rockhurst, Ada realizes that if her jilted fiancé captures her, she’ll become a political prisoner and a liability to her House. Her only hope is to strike a deal with the dangerous fugitive: a fortune if he helps her escape.But when you make a deal with an irresistibly attractive Devil, you may lose more than you bargained for . . .
Latin@ Rising: An Anthology of Latin@ Science Fiction and Fantasy
Matthew David Goodwin - 2017
The book gives an overview to the field of Latino/a speculative, showing the great variety of stories being told by Latino/a writers. Fifty years ago the Latin American "Boom" introduced magical realism to the world; Latin@ Rising is the literature that has risen from the explosion that gave us García Márquez, Jorge Amado, Carlos Fuentes and others. The 21st century writers and artists of Latin@ Rising help us to imagine a Latino/a past, present, and future which have not been whitewashed by mainstream perspectives. Contrary to the popular perception, Latino/a Literature is not just magical realism and social realist protest literature—it also contains much speculative fiction. By showing the actual breadth of genres being used by Latino/a authors, Latin@ Rising will help extend the boundaries of the Latino/a literature canon. Latin@ Rising demonstrates the value of speculative fiction for the Latino/a community: it gives Latinos/as a vital means for imagining a past and a future in which they play a pivotal role, and it constitutes a narrative of the effects of technology on the Latino/a community. The book shows how the richness of the speculative genres provide U.S. Latinos/as with a unique medium to discuss issues of colonialism, migration, and the experience of being bicultural. The 23 authors and artists included in this anthology come from all over the U.S. and from eight different national traditions. They include well-known creators like Kathleen Alcalá, Ana Castillo, Junot Diaz, Giannina Braschi and others; they also include new voices, well worth hearing.All Authors Included: Kathleen AlcaláPablo BresciaPedro ZagittSabrina VourvouliasDaína ChavianoADÁLAna CastilloErnest HoganJunot DíazRichie NarvaezEdmundo Paz-SoldánSteve CastroAlex HernandezCarmen Maria MachadoGiannina BraschiCarlos HernandezAlejandra SanchezDaniel José OlderCarl MarcumMarcos Santiago Gonzalez
Earthcore
Scott Sigler - 2001
A billion-dollar find, it waits for any company that can drill a world's record, three-mile-deep mine shaft. EarthCore is the company with the technology, the resources and the guts to go after the mother lode. Young executive Connell Kirkland is the company's driving force, pushing himself and those around him to uncover the massive treasure.But at three miles below the surface, where the rocks are so hot they burn bare skin, something has been waiting for centuries. Waiting ...and guarding. Kirkland and EarthCore are about to find out first-hand why this treasure has never been unearthed.
The Beautiful Land
Alan Averill - 2011
A great gig—until information he brought back gave Axon the means to maximize profits by changing the past, present, and future of this world. If Axon succeeds, Tak will lose Samira Moheb, the woman he has loved since high school—because her future will cease to exist. A veteran of the Iraq War suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, Samira can barely function in her everyday life, much less deal with Tak’s ravings of multiple realities. The only way to save her is for Tak to use the time travel device he “borrowed” to transport them both to an alternate timeline. But what neither Tak nor Axon knows is that the actual inventor of the device is searching for a timeline called the Beautiful Land—and he intends to destroy every other possible present and future to find it. The switch is thrown, and reality begins to warp—horribly. And Tak realizes that to save Sam, he must save the entire world…