Book picks similar to
Old Ugly Face by Talbot Mundy


gran-ann-s-shelf
historical-adventure
thrillers
fantasy

Cyberstrike: London


James Barrington - 2020
    7/7/2005: Ben Morgan, a cybersecurity specialist with the Metropolitan police, starts another day at work. It will be the last normal day he ever has.The Present: In Hong Kong, a crime overlord is offered a deal by shadowy agents from Beijing: his life for a new kind of operation in London. Morgan, now a part of an off the books cyber-terrorism prevention unit, must do everything to stop its spread.This is a new kind of war: different goals, tactics, rules, stakes. And Morgan is caught right in the centre... A pulse-pounding thriller rooted in reality, perfect for fans of Frederick Forsyth, Andy McNab and James Deegan.

666 (31 Horrifying Tales From The Dead Book 4)


Drac Von Stoller - 2013
    It was Halloween and Samantha`s contractions were unbearable so her husband rushed his pregnant wife to the hospital to deliver their new bundle of joy. Mike told the doctor and nurse to take great care of his wife. The doctor and nurse reassured Mike they would take very good care of her and not to worry. Mike waited patiently in the waiting room as the doctor and nurse delivered their beautiful baby. After a few hours the baby finally arrived and the doctor entered the waiting room and told Mike to come in the room and see his new baby. Mike entered and his wife was all smiles and said "Honey, it`s a boy!" "I think he looks like a Johnny. What do you think?" asked his wife. "Johnny sounds fine to me," replied Mike. Mike was so excited and held his baby boy in his arms as tears rolled down his cheeks and said "Darling, I think he likes me." Mike stayed the night in his wife's room with their new baby, but as they were both sleeping, an unforeseen force came in their room that was about to change their lives forever, when they both woke in the morning. Morning came, and Samantha was discharged from the hospital, and time for their new baby to be raised in their new home. It wasn't until after little Johnny turned 6 years of age that things around the Delany Estate turned deadly. The first sign that Johnny had the mark of the beast was June 6. It was the 6th month, 6th day, and Johnny was 6. All the numbers represented 666.

Sea Raptor: A Deep Sea Thriller


John J. Rust - 2014
    Army Ranger, until an unfortunate incident forced him out of the service. He is soon hired by the Foundation for Undocumented Biological Investigation and given a new mission, to search for cryptids, creatures whose existence has not been proven by mainstream science. Teaming up with the daring and beautiful wildlife photographer Karen Thatcher, they must stop a sea monster's deadly rampage along the Jersey Shore. But that's not the only danger Rastun faces. A group of murderous animal smugglers also want the creature. Rastun must utilize every skill learned from years of fighting, otherwise, his first mission for the FUBI might very well be his last.

Three Bladed Doom


Robert E. Howard - 1977
    Howard. He also wrote a short version, and L. Sprague de Camp rewrote this story as "The Flame Knife" (a Conan story). This is the REH original, starring El Borak.

Blood on the Blade


Griff Hosker - 2018
    Their world is thrown upside down when the King of Norway colludes with their jarl to take over their home. They flee to the land north of Mercia. Hoping for a life free from the tyranny of a king they have to fight Danes and Saxons. When King Harald of Norway sends ships to destroy them then the Clan of the Fox is forced to flee to the newly discovered land of ice and fire. They travel beyond sight of land into an uncharted ocean to face a future which is uncertain. Their only certainty lies that their navigator, Erik. He is their only chance to find a new home.

Kalvan Kingmaker


John F. Carr - 2000
    Beam Piper's groundbreaking parallel world's SF novel, Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen, and the sequel, Great Kings' War by John F. Carr and Roland Green. The Paratime Police patrol an infinity of alternate earths. Their prime directive is to protect the Paratime Secret thereby keeping this infinity of worlds from mixing and destroying each other, or from learning the parasitical Home Time Line is secretly looting their resources.When Penn. State Policeman Calvin Morrison is accidentally dropped off from a cross-time conveyer onto Styphon's House Subsector, he threatens both the Paratime Secret and leadership of the gunpowder theocracy, who owe their power to their secret knowledge of the "fireseed" formula. In just a few weeks, by the use of his knowledge of military strategy, Kalvan saves the small princedom of Hostigos from an invasion orchestrated by Styphon's House.Kalvan Kingmaker opens right after Kalvan's decisive victory over the Holy Host of Styphon. With Great King Kaiphranos of Hos-Harphax in mourning over his eldest son's death, the time is ripe for the Army of Hostigos to invade Harphax and topple the Iron Throne. At the holy city of Balph, the Inner Circle is reeling. Archpriest Roxthar, a rare true believer in Styphon, is conducting a full-blown inquisition of Styphon's corrupt upper priesthood. Once his reformation is complete, Roxthar's next job will to rebuild the Holy Host and defeat and destroy the Usurper Kalvan.Meanwhile, there is a great migration of nomads across the Sea of Grass; they are the wild card. As the nomads pour across the Great Middle River, pushing the clans and tribes that live there into the Great Kingdoms, the big question soon becomes: Will Styphon's House be buried by the human wave, or will they use the nomads in their war to the death with Kalvan and Hos-Hostigos?

The Last Vampire Complete Series Omnibus: The Girl Behind The Wall, The Girl in The Back Row, The Girl With a Secret, The Girl in Plain Sight, The Girl Unleashed...


Judith Berens - 2020
    That is, until she’s accidentally woken up by a father and daughter on a vacation.Cars? Cell phones? What’s an Instagram? How can Craig and Alexis explain the world? No one said educating a teenage vampire would be easy. The Girl in The Back Row: High school means classes, making friends, hanging out, cutting classes… and keeping your fangs to yourself. Watch out world, this teen’s bite is worse than her bark. Welcome to public school Vampire teen. Keep an eye out for the ones who would rather put you back in a box, but this time forever.Vicki is getting a crash course in teenage life, if she can just keep her true nature hidden.Fortunately, she wants to make new friends more than mayhem. Too bad others aren’t going to make that so easy. The Girl With A Secret: Vickie’s a 400-year-old teenage vampire in a suburban public school. Combine that with vampire strength and speed, mix in typical teenage impulse control and trouble follows. Her new dad, Craig and adopted sister, Alexis are having trouble helping Vickie keep her identity under wraps – especially as classmates realize there’s something different about her. Is time running out? Reports of a Last Vampire are getting back to the centuries old Circle. Dedicated to hunting down vampires, they are getting closer to tracking her down. The GIrl In Plain Sight: New semester. New classes. New challenges. Can a 400-year-old teenage vampire learn to control her powers enough to manage the halls of public school? And not bite anyone of course… Vickie is making friends with a new girl, someone Alexis doesn’t trust. Alexis is starting a romance with Will, and Vickie smells trouble. Are the girls worried about the wrong things or can they help each other out? The Girl Unleashed: No matter the century, being a teenage vampire is hard when there’s no one around to teach you how to be cool, date and lift a car out of the way without getting caught. Vickie has grown into a rockstar vampire with her powers, but she can still cause harm. Not a good way to stay hidden when everyone has the number to TMZ and a camera in their pocket. Selfie with the teenage vampire anyone? Social media can bite worse than a vampire’s fangs. The Girl Revealed: Even though she’s a 400-year-old teenager, Vickie still hasn’t grasped the dangers of modern technology. Everyone has a cellphone and can catch anything on video… It’s only a matter of time before our favorite hero with fangs ends up on everyone’s small screen.

The Dream Stitcher


Deborah Gaal - 2018
     Hard times are forcing Maude Fields to take in her estranged mother, Bea, whose secrets date to World War II. Bea arrives with a hand-embroidered recreation of La Tapisserie de la Reine Mathilde, the iconic 11th century Bayeux Tapestry. The replica contains clues to the identity of Maude’s father and the mythical Dream Stitcher, Goldye, a Jewish freedom fighter who helped launch the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. With the help of her pregnant daughter Rosie, Maude is determined to unravel decades of family deception to learn the truth about her parentage. With Poland on the brink of invasion by Nazi Germany, Goldye discovers—with the guidance of imaginary friend Queen Mathilda—that she can embroider dreams that come true. She becomes an apprentice at Kaminski Fine Fabrics, where she gains a reputation for creating wedding dresses for Aryan brides that bring their dreams to reality. She becomes known as the Dream Stitcher. Goldye meets and falls in love with Lev, a freedom fighter who wants to unite Jews and Poles to fight the Germans. Goldye sews images to help him. And she creates a powerful symbol for the resistance of the common people: a stitched hummingbird that spreads hope. Goldye leaves the ghetto to live with her sewing mentor, Jan Kaminski, who gains identity papers for Goldye as his Aryan niece. A Nazi commandant takes Jan and Goldye on a dangerous trip to France to decipher the symbols in The Bayeux Tapestry. The Nazis hope images in the Bayeux will reinforce Germany’s right to world domination. In California, Maude’s quest for the truth leads to family she didn’t know she had, and perhaps, love.

Blood of Kings


Andrew James - 2013
    But there is treachery afoot, and Cyrus's life is in danger. When Darius, dispossessed prince of the Royal House of Parsa, tries to save the King of Kings, he is arrested and falsely condemned for treason.In a fast paced tale of love, betrayal, war and revenge, Blood of Kings sweeps the reader up on an epic journey from the mud brick cities of Ancient Persia to the burning heart of Pharaoh's Egypt.Packed full of dramatic and authentic battle scenes, it recreates the sweat, blood and fear of ancient warfare, as Persia smashes Egypt's army and brings the reign of the Pharaohs to a violent end.But it is also a book that will delight Herodotus fans, bringing the ancient Greek historian's characters to life like never before, as it follows the doomed 'lost army of Cambyses' into the Libyan Desert, marching towards a fate that would baffle archaeologists for millennia to come.

Rex Electi


W.P. Kimball - 2016
    He soon learns that every aspect of his life so far, including the staged deaths of his parents, has been arranged by the Senate Tribunal in an attempt to mold him into the perfect leader. Now there are only thirty candidates, including Caius, left competing to be the Emperor's heir. Success in a series of Trials will reunite him with his family and make him the most powerful man in the world, but failure will lead to a life of isolation and imprisonment hidden in the eaves of the palace. As Caius enters the trials, it becomes apparent that the tests themselves are not the problem: it is the twenty nine other candidates willing to do whatever it takes to win, including maim or kill their top competitors. Can Caius navigate the pitfalls of imperial politics and cutthroat competition, all while performing well enough to succeed in the trials fair and square?

LongWalkers: The Return of the Nephilim


Stephen Quayle - 2008
    Worse, a secret society operating outside the law is intent on bringing the monsters back to life and restoring the creatures as rulers of mankind.Joshua and his ex-girlfriend soon find themselves pitted against vicious assassins, Russian Spetsnaz troops, and cold-blooded giants hungry for human flesh as they journey around the planet in their efforts to stop the secret society.But that’s only the start of their nightmare: Those reviving the army of giants have gained control of ancient stargates enabling an invasion of the seats of power around the globe including the Kremlin and White House. It's a massive power play that leaves the fate of the human race hanging in the balance.This fast-paced, spellbinding novel is a page-turner, with entertaining plot twists and surprises.“Adventure and mayhem, told with style!”“The characters showed personality and the book had imagination. I felt like I was watching a movie. The story line was great…. If you enjoy Stargate type movies I believe you'll like this book.”

Apocalypse Online


Robyn Wideman - 2021
    They just have to survive, level up and find other survivors.Jake is no gamer. But when he finds out aliens have arrived, he'll do anything to protect his little sister Sam.Will they be able to grow strong enough for the second wave or will they become alien plant food?APOCALYPSE ONLINE is a litrpg/gamelit post-apocalypse fantasy series filled with action, adventure, aliens and snarky AIs.If you are a fan of System Apocalypse, Defiance of the Fall, or the Sun Shadow series, you'll love Apocalypse Online!

A Marley the Witch Cozy Mystery Collection: Books 1-3


Amorette Anderson - 2020
    Marley Greene is an amateur witch who just wants everyone to get along.With her new retreat center up and running, she hopes to spread magic and healing to all who enter.What she doesn’t bargain for is how much trouble can go along with deep healing!Between mixing up mudbaths and arranging crystal grids, Marley finds herself trying to solve a mystery or two.After all, dead bodies are hardly good for business.Can Marley and her witch sisters keep everything under control?This paranormal cozy mystery boxset includes the first three Marley the Witch Mysteries.Book #1: The Strongman’s SpellBook #2: The Artist’s AlchemyBook #3: King Midas’ Magic

30 Pieces of Silver


Carolyn McCray - 2010
    John the Baptist's bones inscribed in ancient Greek. A dark secret carried from the foot of the crucifixion. Can science solve the world's greatest mystery?

Forged in Honor


Leonard B. Scott - 1995
    A secret government mission will require the intimate knowledge of the exotic country that only Hawkins can provide. He has a special bond with the Shan, the proud and independent mountain tribe of northern Burma, having trained as a warrior with his friend Stephen, the son of a Shan warlord, becoming a Horseman of the Shan hill people, and earning the coveted warriors' silver bracelet, forged in honor, that he still wears.Now Hawkins is called again to serve his country, to save his Shan friend, and to help the brave people he has never forgotten in their fight against a corrupt government and a ruthless heroin syndicate. It's a big job, but Hawkins and his men are up to it--and not above using frontier justice to teach the despots a thing or two, the old-fashioned way. . . ."GRITTY. . . ENGROSSING. . .A fast-paced military thriller. . . [that] combines today's headlines with a believable story . . . Highly recommended."--Military and BRAVO/Veterans Outlook Magazines