Book picks similar to
Platoon F: Pentalogy by John P. Logsdon
sci-fi
science-fiction
scifi
free-reads
Christmas on the Anvil
Michael Penmore - 2021
Everyone but the spaceship’s grumpy XO/navigator. When mysterious Christmas-themed things start happening, can the jaded second-in-command debunk the myth, or will she start to believe in the magic of Santa and the sleigh?
Warning: Filled to bursting with humour and Christmas songs you know and love to hate.
Get into the spirit of Christmas with the Anvil’s crew in this light-hearted seasonal romp from the author of the Jane Poole Genesis.
Ephialtes
Gavin E. Parker - 2015
The nation breathes a sigh of relief, and looks forward to the resumption of elections.Across the solar system, the leading industrialist in the USAN’s small colony on Mars is thinking about independence. When the Martian population votes in favour, Mars secedes from the union.It seems to be a fait accompli until it’s suggested that a massive dropship carrying spacecraft, Ephialtes, built to patrol the Earth, could be refitted for interplanetary spaceflight. Maybe the USAN could use its military might to persuade the colonists to reconsider.With an enormous instrument war of heading toward them, the Martians resolve to defend their independence. Limited resources force them to rely on wit and ingenuity as they prepare their defences. Can they prevail against the mighty Ephialtes?Political intrigue, heart-pounding action and page-turning drama abound in this gripping opening to the Ephialtes Trilogy.
The Darkslayer Omnibus
Craig Halloran - 2015
It features an eye-popping artwork gallery of the villain's and heroes. Fans Tolkiens epic heroes, the likes of R.A. Salvatore's-Drizzt Do' Urden, Frizt Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, David Gemmell's Druss the Legend, Raymond E. Feist's Pug the Wizard, and Robert E. Howard's Conan, delight in The Darkslayer series ... perhaps you will as well.Bish is the land of constant strife and turmoil created by Trinos, a bored immortal.The rise and fall of the blazing suns make the days long and the people disagreeable. Its barren Outlands are as comforting as a bed of thorns as there is little sanctuary to be found in the sweltering forests or the dank caves below the ground. Its caviling cities are overrun with death, greed and corruption, but few complain. It is a place where tempers flare and alliances last as long as a tankard of ale. It is a place where the women are as beautiful as they are scarred and deranged. A place where good doesn't thrive, it endures. It is the land of fight or die.Enter Venir the incorrigible, a fierce warrior, who has been secretly keeping the underling forces at bay for years. He is the Darkslayer, a man possessed by a mantle of power he cannot let go. Enter Melegal the resilient, a crafty rogue, and Venir's reluctant shadow. Enter the underlings, a purely evil race of sadistic killers bent on the destruction of mankind. Enter the humans, a greedy, self-absorbed race of shameless survivors. Enter the orcs, halfling's, dwarves, ogres and other races, some good, some bad, all caught in the maelstrom of treachery and seduction.How will they survive to fight another day? Only Bish knows.This Omnibus contains books 1 thru 6 of The Darkslayer Series 1.Wrath of the Royals (Book 1)Blades in the Night (Book 2)Underling Revenge (Book 3)Danger and the Druid (Book 4)Outrage in the Outlands (Book 5)Chaos at the Castle (Book 6)For more news and anecdotes you can follow him at:Facebook: The Darkslayer Report by CraigTwitter: Craig Halloranthedarkslayer.comOr drop him a line anytime at: craig@thedarkslayer.comAmazon Best Sellers Rank: (Paid in Kindle Store)Top 5: Thrillers & Suspense/Supernatural/Werewolves & Shifters/VampiresTop 10: Dark FantasyTop 10: Coming of AgeTop 15: Sword & SorceryTop 50: Epic FantasyTop 100: Genre FictionAmazon Best Sellers Rank: (Free in Kindle Store)#1 Epic Fantasy#1 Sword & Sorcery#1 Coming of Age#1 Urban#1 Horror#1 Dark Fantasy#1 Genetic Engineering#1 Thrillers/Supernatural/Werewolves & Shifters and VampiresOver 2000 reviews1000+ 5-Star Reviews
Machine of Death: A Collection of Stories About People Who Know How They Will Die
Ryan NorthArryn Diaz - 2010
It didn't give you the date and it didn't give you specifics. It just spat out a sliver of paper upon which were printed, in careful block letters, the words DROWNED or CANCER or OLD AGE or CHOKED ON A HANDFUL OF POPCORN. It let people know how they were going to die." Machine of Death tells thirty-four different stories about people who know how they will die. Prepare to have your tears jerked, your spine tingled, your funny bone tickled, your mind blown, your pulse quickened, or your heart warmed. Or better yet, simply prepare to be surprised. Because even when people do have perfect knowledge of the future, there's no telling exactly how things will turn out. Featuring stories by: * Randall Munroe* Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw* Tom Francis* Camille Alexa* Erin McKean* James L. Sutter* Douglas J. Lane* and many others.Featuring illustrations by: * Kate Beaton* Kazu Kibuishi* Aaron Diaz* Jeffrey Brown* Scott C.* Roger Langridge* Karl Kerschl* Cameron Stewart* and many others
Hal Spacejock
Simon Haynes - 2001
Unfortunately, this results in no customers, no cargo jobs and no hope of paying off the huge loan on his precious ship.When a debt collector kicks in his airlock and threatens his life, Hal grabs the nearest job and blasts off without reading the fine print. Can he deliver the freight and pay off his debt, or is this Hal’s last cargo run?
Shadow
Nicholas Woode-Smith - 2016
On it is Galis City, a sea of shanties ruled by gangs and violence.James is the Shadow of Galis, a master thief and skilled killer. Through cunning and near inhuman agility, James has become a living legend among the criminals that rule Galis.But not even the blood-thirsty gangs of Galis can stop the invasions of the alien Xank Empire. James realises he cannot stop the horde alone and embraces the defenders of humanity – the Trooper Order.But despite all his skill, can a master criminal be a good soldier?
Refusing Excalibur
Zachary Jones - 2016
Victor Selan fought one of those empires and lost. Abandoned after the defeat of his homeworld, Victor is rescued by the Old Man, an enigmatic figure in possession of the a fully operational First Civilization starship. A starship that the Old Man wants Victor to command. All he has to do in return is agree to reunify the Galaxy.
A Faded Star
Michael Freeport - 2016
The crew of their newest flagship, the Rampart encounters an alien scout who is being chased by a dangerous foe. The encounter shakes the beliefs held by the people of Lashmere. With the aid of the mysteries of the origin tablet, they discover the true origins of their colony. These may be the last humans in the universe. Can they survive against their ancient enemy? Their only choice is to embrace an unknown past and fight with everything they have.
Smallworld
Dominic Green - 2010
Green's agile imagination constantly wrong-foots the reader. A delight." -Peter Ingham, The Telegraph "The work of a talented writer having lots of very smart fun" -- S F Winser, Booksquawk.com Smallworld is like nothing you've ever read before... truly innovative space opera from Hugo-nominated Brit SF writer Dominic Green. Mount Ararat isn't your average extrasolar agrarian colony. A world the size of an asteroid yet having Earth-standard gravity, Mount Ararat plays host to a strangely confident family whose children are protected by the Devil, a mechanical killing machine, from such passers-by as Mr von Trapp (an escapee from a penal colony), the Made (manufactured humans being hunted by the State), and the super-rich clients of a gravitational health spa established at Mount Ararat's South Pole. But it soon transpires that the Devil is harbouring an ancient and deadly secret. Enjoyed Smallworld? Its sequel Littlestar hugely expands on the universe established in the first book, with a story arc that follows troopers Beguiled-of-the-Serpent and Only-Begotten as they become embroiled in the second star-spanning war against the Made. Find out more about the Smallworld and Littlestar universe in our 3D publisher room at: http://inkflash.com/Fingerpress
Uncommon Purpose
P.J. Strebor - 2015
The Telford family’s independent trading vessel, the Belinda is captured by Pruessen slavers and the crew forced into a life of brutal servitude. Their desperate bid for freedom succeeds but a tragic price is paid. Years pass and Nathan Telford, fighting the nightmares of his past and yearning for revenge, joins the Athenian Navy. His first posting is aboard the warship Truculent, patrolling the northern quarantine zone beyond which lurks the Empire. Answering a distress call from a beleaguered freighter, the routine mission becomes a desperate fight for survival. The Pruessans are once again testing the defenses of the Republic and this time they have technology far in advance of the last war. It is left to Nathan, three untried middies and a disgruntled petty officer to try and avert a looming disaster. With their high tech weapons rendered useless and facing overwhelming odds, Nathan risks everything on a brave, hastily conceived gamble. ........................................................................................................................
This Other Eden
Ben Elton - 1993
SEMI DETACHED.If the end of the world is nigh, then surely it's only sensible to make alternative arrangements. Certainly the Earth has its points, but what most people need is something smaller and more manageable. Of course there are those who say that's planetary treason, but who cares what the weirdos and terrorists think? Not Nathan. All he cares is that his movie gets made and that there's somebody left to see it.In marketing terms the end of the world will be very big. Anyone trying to save it should remember that.
Wolves, Cats & Bears, Oh My!
Jacqueline SweetKit Fawkes - 2016
Wolves, Cats & Bears, Oh My!A Ten Book Shifter And Paranormal Romance Collection to make you growl with satisfaction!Featuring:Midnight Feast by Jacqueline SweetHunted By The Alphas by Lily ThornA Mate In Yellowstone by Christy RiversBurning Bright by Julia LeijonHer Rogue Bear by Clara CodyHuntress by Allison TellerBear Cruise by Ginger BlakeHer Incubus Knight by Bliss DevlinTiger Eye by Kit FawkesHowl For Me by Artemis WolffeSink your teeth into ten hot paranormal tales, by authors you know and love, plus hot new authors to discover.
Doing Time
Jodi Taylor - 2019
Chaos ensued as people sought to take advantage. Because there will always be nutters who want to change history...And so the Time Police were formed. Internationally sanctioned thugs whose task it was to keep the timeline straight by any and all means possible. And they succeeded. The Time Wars are over. The Time Police won. But who will win the peace?Doing Time follows three hapless new Time Police recruits - Jane, Luke and Matthew - as they try to navigate their first year on the beat. It's all going to be fine. Obviously.
The Rapture of the Nerds
Cory Doctorow - 2012
For the most part, they are happy with their lot, living in a preserve at the bottom of a gravity well. Those who are unhappy have emigrated, joining one or another of the swarming densethinker clades that fog the inner solar system with a dust of molecular machinery so thick that it obscures the sun.The splintery metaconsciousness of the solar-system has largely sworn off its pre-post-human cousins dirtside, but its minds sometimes wander...and when that happens, it casually spams Earth's networks with plans for cataclysmically disruptive technologies that emulsify whole industries, cultures, and spiritual systems. A sane species would ignore these get-evolved-quick schemes, but there's always someone who'll take a bite from the forbidden apple.So until the overminds bore of stirring Earth's anthill, there's Tech Jury Service: random humans, selected arbitrarily, charged with assessing dozens of new inventions and ruling on whether to let them loose. Young Huw, a technophobic, misanthropic Welshman, has been selected for the latest jury, a task he does his best to perform despite an itchy technovirus, the apathy of the proletariat, and a couple of truly awful moments on bathroom floors.
The Intern (The Forbidden World Book 1)
Garry Ocean - 2017
Due to an accident and his own blunder, Nick Sobolev, an intern of the Space Courier Service, ends up on a mysterious planet tucked away in deep space. The planet is named Terrius and resembles Earth. At the site of his starship wreck, Nick meets local hunters. He follows them to the Forest and the City, hoping to find a way to communicate with Earth and to find out why the planet at the level of development of a feudal society is equipped with structures and devices capable of shooting down interstellar vehicles. The events unfold quickly and are full of unexpected turns. Nick finds himself deeply immersed in solving ancient secrets of the local civilization. To save his new friends, he has to participate in the brutal Ritual reminiscent of Earth’s ancient gladiator fights. This does not go unnoticed. Nick’s participation attracts attention of many powerful locals, all of whom have their own plans for the stranger they believe to have come from the wild steppe. Some want to kill him; others see in him the messiah from an ancient prophecy. The Forbidden World book series is written in sci-fi/fantasy fusion, a genre gaining more and more popularity. In the books of this series, the readers will find a whole new world – planet Terrius with its wondrous flora and surprising wild fauna. Its rich social life is full of legends, myths, its own games of thrones, and stories of individuals who are either endowed with a mysterious Gift or cast a powerful wicked Spell by someone unknown.