Book picks similar to
Absent Friends by Max Gladstone


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Garrett On The Case - Contains Angry Lead Skies; Whispering Nickel Idols - Book Club Edition


Glen Cook - 2005
    If you're cute and female, look me up, my address is in wizard-run TunFaire, where the paranormal plays daily. Look at my partner. Someone stuck a knife in him centuries ago, and hes been sedentary ever since. Dead, but not dumb, if you get my drift. And there's all these supernatural races clogging the streets-elves, trolls, pixies, ogres, dwarves, and some of the strangest are among my friends. Even they bring trouble, and when trouble comes knocking, don't open the door.You think Id learn. Maybe that's why I got roped into the case in Angry Lead Skies. My bulky friend Playmate talked me into protecting Kip Prose, an annoying kid touched by brilliance and a bit of paranormal ability, whom he claimed was being threatened by skinny gray creatures with bulgy black eyes. According to Kip, the attackers weren't after him at all-just trying to get to his friends Lastyr and Noodiss. But before I could get him to explain who they were, Kip was abducted, and the chase began....In Whispering Nickel Idols, trouble came from two sources: a streetwise priestess and her bucket of kittens, part of the ancient prophecy of the cult of A-Lat (curse this god-plagued city!). And a message from Harvester Temisk, mouthpiece of Chodo Contague, kingpin of kingpins, who slumbered in coma-land while his beautiful, psychotic daughter ran the Outfit. Temisk believed someone was deliberately keeping the Boss helpless and wanted me to snoop around. Then Chodo up and vanished. Add to that a mysterious plague of burning deaths and the fact that suddenly everyone was trying to kill me, I had plenty to figure out....

Fables: Compendium Two


Bill Willingham - 2009
    This collection takes on a life of its own, ending with the story “The Dark Ages”–taking place post-war–but if the Fables knew the consequences, they might not have gone to war at all. Collects Fables #42-81 and Peter & Max: A Fables Novel HC.

Double the 007: Casino Royale and Live and Let Die


Ian Fleming - 2012
    They are easier to fight for than principles'In Casino Royale, the first of Fleming's 007 adventures, a game of cards is James Bond's only chance to bring down the desperate SMERSH agent Le Chiffre. But Bond soon discovers that there is far more at stake than money.Live and Let Die'You start to die the moment you are born'Live and Let Die, Ian Fleming's second 007 novel, takes Bond from Harlem to Jamaica in a frenzied hunt for the deadly gangster Mr Big and his macabre network of associates.

Razor: Becoming a Hero


Wilkie Martin - 2019
    he decides to die, not by his own hand, but in heroically helping the vulnerable. Since the peaceful Cotswold countryside offers limited opportunities for heroism, despite the presence of some weird and dangerous inhabitants, he ventures further afield. To his annoyance, new and unlikely friends mysteriously appear everywhere he goes, foiling his plans and sending him back to square one. Will he succeed or will he come to terms with his grief first? Was his wife as blame free and perfect as he thought or will lurking suspicions of infidelity be proved right? 'It was ironic that having nothing left to lose except his life, his life had become interesting again.'

Merlin Dreams In The Mondream Wood


Charles de Lint - 1992
    collected in Spiritwalk

Necropolis PD


Nathan Sumsion - 2019
    But three months ago, he ran through the wrong door and found himself trapped in the city of Meridian – a literal necropolis, concealed from the modern world, made up of forgotten places and populated entirely by the dead. As the only living, breathing resident, Jake has struggled to scrape out an existence while waiting for the Necropolis Police Department to decide his fate, and it’s not looking good. But when an unusual string of crimes hits the city, Jake’s overseer and tormentor, NPD Detective Marsh offers him a deal: Jake’s life in exchange for helping them solve the worst series of crimes in the necropolis’ history. Someone, or some thing is killing the dead, and if Jake can’t figure out who’s responsible, he could be next. Necropolis PD is a hidden world fantasy that combines mystery, horror, magic, and more than a little humor. This book is perfect for the living and recently-departed alike.

Black Chamber


S.M. Stirling - 2018
    The Great War rages overseas, and the whole of Europe, Africa, and western Asia is falling to the Central Powers. To win a war that must be won, Teddy Roosevelt, once again the American president, turns to his top secret Black Chamber organization--and its cunning and deadly spy, Luz O'Malley Aróstegui. On a transatlantic airship voyage, Luz poses as an anti-American Mexican revolutionary to get close--very close--to a German agent code-named Imperial Sword. She'll need every skill at her disposal to get him to trust her and lead her deep into enemy territory. In the mountains of Saxony, concealed from allied eyes, the German Reich's plans for keeping the U.S. from entering the conflict are revealed: the deployment of a new diabolical weapon upon the shores of America...

George R. R. Martin: Short Stories, Volume 1


George R.R. Martin - 2003
    Martin was born September 20, 1948 in Bayonne, New Jersey. He began writing very young, selling monster stories to other neighborhood children for pennies, dramatic readings included. Later he became a comic book fan and collector in high school, and began to write fiction for comic fanzines (amateur fan magazines). Martin's first professional sale was made in 1970 at age 21: "The Hero," sold to Galaxy, published in February, 1971 issue. Other sales followed. Moving on to Hollywood, Martin signed on as a story editor for Twilight Zone at CBS Television in 1986. In 1987 Martin became an Executive Story Consultant for Beauty and the Beast at CBS. In 1988 he became a Producer for Beauty and the Beast, then in 1989 moved up to Co-Supervising Producer. He was Executive Producer for Doorways, a pilot which he wrote for Columbia Pictures Television, which was filmed during 1992-93. Martin's present home is Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is a member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (he was South-Central Regional Director 1977-1979, and Vice President 1996-1998), and of Writers' Guild of America, West. Volume 1 of "George R. R. Martin: Short Stories" contains the Hugo, Locus Poll and Nebula Award? Winning "Sandkings," and more excellent short science fiction and fantasy.

Tom Clancy: The Sum Of All Fears, Debt Of Honor, Patriot Games


Tom Clancy
    

Tooth and Nail


Domino Finn - 2020
    Don't let anyone tell you different.My name is Shyla Crowe, and I'm in hock to a demon I never met. My father started me off early, robbing magical antiquities from rich bastards. Thieving was the family business, and business was humming.Until my father got himself dragged to the pits of Hell. Now the only thing staving off his eternal torment is a monthly cash delivery to my new devil employer.Fortunately, not all hellions are evil, and thanks to an old family grimoire, I have the power to summon them. So I'm flush with enemies, sure, but I also have a few friends, like a furry know-it-all gremlin and my staunch gargoyle familiar.Summoning, like thieving, is about tools, technique, and team, and I've got them in spades. So it's only a matter of time until I work my father free.It's a good plan until the discovery of an ancient relic uncovers a sinister plot, rigged from the start. Turns out, I'm not fighting for my freedom... I'm fighting for my destiny.

Sanction


William Hunter - 2017
    With his cover blown, Garrett is on the run from an assassin desperate to erase his tracks, and authorities who believe he is responsible for the murder. Banastre Montjoy, a burned-out head of section at the Secret Intelligence Service, is in a race himself to discover if the scholar's death is linked to a bombing of the London Underground a year earlier. Montjoy's nemesis, the power-hungry and scheming Berwyn Rees, seeks to drum his rival out of MI6, while maneuvering to become deputy chief.With time running out, SOG operators are sent in by the CIA to locate and extract Garrett. As Laurent, MI5, and Scotland Yard close in on their target, Montjoy uncovers a devastating secret, one that someone inside the British government has sought to keep buried since World War II.

The Serpentwar Saga: The Complete 4-Book Collection


Raymond E. Feist - 2013
    Feist. This bundle includes the complete Serpentwar Saga.The bundle includes: Shadow of a Dark Queen (1), Rise of a Merchant Prince (2), Rage of a Demon King (3), and Shards of a Broken Crown (4).Return to the world of Midkemia…Ancient powers are readying themselves for a devastating confrontation, and a dark queen has raised a standard and is gathering armies of unmatched might.Into this battleground of good and evil a band of desperate men are forced whose only hope for survival is to face this ancient power and discover its true nature. Their quest is at best dangerous and at worst suicidal.Among them are some unlikely heroes – Erik, a bastard heir denied his birthright, and his friend Roo, an irrepressible scoundrel with a penchant for thievery are accompanied by the mysterious Miranda upon whom all must wager their lives. She appears to be an ally but also possess a hidden agenda and may prove to be a more deadly foe when the final confrontation is at hand…This ebook bundle contains Shadow of a Dark Queen (1), Rise of a Merchant Prince (2), Rage of a Demon King (3), and Shards of a Broken Crown (4).

The Icarus Agenda. Part 1 of 2


Robert Ludlum
    At the State Department in Washington, a freshman congressman who knows the Arab world makes a secret offer that may be the last remaining hope. So begins Evan Kendrick's odyssey. He works alone in a nightmare world of violence. His only condition is anonymity, his only wish, to finish the job and return to private life. But for Kendrick, Masqat is only the beginning. He is marked for things beyond his understanding.

Stake


Kevin J. Anderson - 2020
    And Simon Helsing believes he was put on this Earth to do the job. He is on a single-minded crusade to hunt down vampires and kill them in their lairs. But what if vampires aren’t real? The only thing that Detective Todd Carrow believes is that the bodies turning up in Colorado Springs are the work of a lunatic. Are they strange and sadistic gang murders? Or does someone actually believe in the existence of vampires? Lexi Tarada wants to believe. As a teenager, she had an experience she still can’t explain. Now, her website sifts through the bizarre phenomena and the crazy conspiracy theories to find out what is - or might be - real. Who should Lexi believe? The detective on the case of the sadistic murders...or the guy who drives stakes through the hearts of the victims? As Lexi gets drawn deeper into Helsing’s bizarre world, and Carrow follows an increasingly baffling set of clues, fact blends into fiction, and the line blurs between what is imagined and what is real. And that may be exactly what the vampires want.

Sleepy Hollow: Children of the Revolution


Keith R.A. DeCandido - 2014
     It’s a cold day in January, and Ichabod visits Patriots Park for a moment of peace. Instead, he receives a disturbing vision from his wife, Katrina, in which she delivers a cryptic but urgent message: he must retrieve the Congressional Cross that he was awarded by the Second Continental Congress for bravery in action. There’s just one problem: Ichabod was killed before he ever received the medal, and he is unsure where it might be. Together Ichabod and Abbie set out to uncover the mystery of the cross and its connection to George Washington and his secret war against the demon hordes. They soon learn that a coven of witches is also seeking the cross in order to resurrect their leader, Serilda, who was burned at the stake during the Revolutionary War. Now they must locate the cross before the coven can bring back Serilda to exact her fatal revenge on Sleepy Hollow.