Book picks similar to
To Die A Stranger by Jilly Paddock


made-me-think
sci-fi_space-opera
sci-fi_space
scifi-fantasy

Tampa Bait


Edgar Winner - 2012
    Because if you do, you may find out what happens when a former cop with a gun and nothing to lose decides to push back

Home for the Holidays: Short Story


Eden Summers - 2019
     Now he's back for the holidays and thinks he can pick up where they left off. Not if she can help it. He broke her heart once. She can't let his cocky smirk weaken her defenses again. That is, until he tempts her with a Christmas gift she has no ability to deny. AUTHOR NOTE: This book was previously released as Down and Dusty - Brooke via Harlequin Escape. It has since been rewritten and revised.

The Krone Experiment


J. Craig Wheeler - 1986
    Damage to a Russian aircraft carrier leads to a breakdown in the detente with the United States. Star wars erupt as the two countries invoke space-based weapons in a deadly face off in orbit. Robert Issacs, Deputy Director of Scientific Intelligence for the CIA, and his top aide, Dr. Patricia Danielson, connect the carrier damage with a mysterious seismic signal. Thwarted by internal CIA politics, they put their careers at risk to engage in an unauthorized consultation with Jason, the secret group of physicists who consult for the government. Astrophysicist Alex Runyan advances a fantastic theory that triggers a race for the truth before the conflict with Russia can spin out of control. The quest leads to the New Mexico laboratory of Paul Krone. The true danger dwarfs that posed by the international crisis. Bonus links to historical background material are provided at the end of the book. The Krone saga continues in the sequel, Krone Ascending, also available for Kindle.

Melody: A First Contact Techno-Thriller


David Hoffer - 2020
    But when his daughter obsesses over a star in the night sky, he fears that his genetic legacy may have burdened her with the same illness. His sanity is then shattered when he loses his child and the military abducts him claiming that she recorded a song broadcast from another world. A voice inside Stephen’s head convinces him that he can bring his daughter back to life. What he discovers instead is a stunning truth about himself, his child’s destiny, and fate of the entire human race....Melody is a riveting and thought-provoking science fiction novel. If you like first contact scenarios and action-filled stories, then you’ll love David Hoffer’s otherworldly adventure.

CHIMERAS


E.E. Giorgi - 2014
    When a series of apparently unrelated murders reel him into the depths of genetic research, Track feels more than a call to duty. Children are dying, children who, like himself, could have been healthy, and yet something, at some point, went terribly wrong. For Track, saving the innocent becomes a quest for redemption. The only way he can come to terms with his dark past is to understand his true nature.

Planet of the Damned


Harry Harrison - 1962
    Brion Brandd used this gift to win the Twenties, an annual physical and mental competition among the best and smartest people on Anvhar. But scarcely able to enjoy his victory, Brandd is swept off to the hellish planet Dis where he must use his heightened sense of empathy to help avert a global nuclear holocaust by negotiating with the blockading fleet, traversing the Disan underworld, and cracking the mystery of the savagely ruthless magter.

Greener Grass


Michael J. Sullivan - 2012
    HE WANTED TO SEE THE FUTURE. HE NEVER CONSIDERED WHAT THE FUTURE WANTED.Confronted with suffering a painful death from cancer, Dan Sturges, a retired Ford’s engineer, foregoes treatments to try an idea of his own. After reading a theoretical article in Scientific American on time displacement, Dan builds a time machine in his garage. With nothing to lose but a few months of pain, Dan pins his hopes on a future where cancer might have been cured, or at least a quicker death by electrocution. How could he have known that what happens after he presses the button is more shocking than the eighteen car batteries he connected himself to?Greener Grass is a science fiction short story of 5,600 words by Michael J. Sullivan, author of the fantasy series The Riyria Revelations and the Riyria Chronicles.

The City of Towers


Keith Baker - 2005
     Author Keith Baker's proposal for the exciting world of Eberron was chosen from 11,000 submissions, and he is the co-author of the Eberron Campaign Setting, the RPG product that launched the setting. The Eberron world will continue to grow through new roleplaying game products, novels, miniatures, and electronic games. AUTHOR BIO: Keith Baker is a freelance writer and game designer. In 2003 his proposal for the world of Eberron was selected as the winner in the Wizards of the Coast fantasy setting search.

Wizard of the Pigeons: The 35th Anniversary Illustrated Edition


Megan Lindholm - 1986
    Subtle magic seeps through the cracks in the paving stones of the sprawling metropolis. But only the inhabitants who possess special gifts are open to the city's consciousness; finding portents in the graffiti, reading messages in the rubbish or listening to warnings in the skipping-rope chants of children.Wizard is bound to Seattle and her magic. His gift is the Knowing -- a powerful enchantment allowing him to know the truth of things; to hear the life-stories of ancient mummies locked behind glass cabinets, to receive true fortunes from the carnival machines, to reveal to ordinary people the answers to their troubles and to safeguard the city's equilibrium. The magic has its price; Wizard must never have more than a dollar in his pocket, must remain celibate, and he must feed and protect the pigeons.But a threat to Seattle has begun to emerge in the portents. A malevolent force born of Wizard's forgotten past has returned to prey upon his power and taunt him with images of his obscure history; and he is the only wizard in Seattle who can face the evil and save the city, his friends and himself.

Letters In Cardboard Boxes


Abby Slovin - 2011
    Their letters once traversed the East River to help Parker escape the loneliness of a childhood without her globe-trekking parents and communicate during her turbulent teenage years. Now, nearly a decade later, Parker begins to rediscover this letter writing tradition, as well as the family’s untold stories and, unexpectedly, letters from her grandmother’s own youth that paint a very different portrait of the woman who raised her.Letters carries us through the universally-shared experience of loss and the process of coping with life’s unexpected twists and turns. Through unusual and bold characters, the story moves through some of its heavier themes with honesty and humor.

Rod Serling's Night Gallery 2


Rod Serling - 1972
    Tinged with a taste of terror!"Collector's Items:" A lot of people want to get Augie Kolodney, the fattest, toughest racketeer in America; but no one wants to get and keep him the way Dr. Glendon, connoisseur of precious "one-of-a-kinds," does..."The Messiah on Mott Street:" As his grandfather lies dying, a little boy searches the ghetto for a miracle maker and finds a black mailman who is the true Messiah - or the Angel of Death..."The Different Ones:" Poor Victor, born helpless and deformed, tormented by children and adults alike... until he finds peace on a horror-filled planet."Lindemann's Catch:" The hardest fishing captain out of Boston ran his ship and his men with an iron hand; right up until the day he netted a monster..."Suggestion:" Harvey Hemple always wanted to be the life of the party - until he became the death of it...Tune in to more great tales of terror on Rod Serling's Night Gallery!

Battle at the River


Paul J. Bennett - 2017
    A skilled tactician. Only one can be victorious.The Norland raiders are at it again. When the Baron of Bodden splits their defensive forces, Sergeant Gerald Matheson thinks that today is a day like any other, but then something is different. At the last moment, Gerald recognizes the warning signs, but they are outnumbered, outmaneuvered, and out of luck. How can they win this unbeatable battle?Battle at the River is a stand-alone short story set in the World of Merceria that incorporates characters from the Heir to the Crown Series. If you like intense battle scenes and unexpected plot twists, then you will love Paul J Bennett's tale of a soldier who thinks outside the box.

Degrees of Delusion


Lindsay Buroker - 2013
    Fortis must choose between betraying his captain and comrades or firing on the very men he once dreamed of joining.

King Henry Short Pack One (The King Henry Tapes)


Richard Raley - 2015
    Please understand that it contains no ‘new’ material, but instead combines the already published works of “Little King Henry”, “Conquering Hero”, “Friendship is Madness”, “Second Take”, “Griefing”, and “Meet the Bonnies.” The only reason you should purchase King Henry Short Pack One is because you're new to the series, you want this ease-of-use formatting, or because you’re a horrible, horrible, no-good long-time fan and have yet to purchase the shorts separately, in which case lucky you! King Henry Short Pack One is 50% off the price of buying the shorts separately! Now, this preface will be enough to forestall any reviews claiming the author is a horrible, double-dipping %@&!, right? LITTLE KING HENRY Ceinwyn Dale has been all over the world as the Head of Recruiting for the Institution of Elements, finding the brightest mancers along the way. But how exactly did she find out about her most troubling recruit just days before the new school year? How did she find out about King Henry Price? CONQUERING HERO December evaluations are here at the Asylum and for Ultra Class '09 it's the first chance to see where they stand among their peers. FRIENDSHIP IS MADNESS Together, King Henry Price, geomancer, and Tyson Bonnie, electromancer, have created artifacts of amazing magical power. They've watched each other's back while battling the Coyote Nation with flashy lightning bolts and . . . geomancer stuff. They might even admit . . . yeah, they're kind of friends now. But not so long ago they met for the first time . . . and it's all Ceinwyn Dale's fault. SECOND TAKE Most would say that for a fifteen-year-old just starting his second year at the Institution of Elements, Heinrich von Welf has the perfect life. First in his year, from a wealthy and influential family, his future prospects in career and in the heart are unmatched. But he made one rather large mistake in his life: he made King Henry Price his rival. When Heinrich's younger sister Victoria joins him at school as a new student, King Henry is ready and waiting to make Heinrich's life one of constant terror about what the Foul Mouth is planning next. GRIEFING King Henry Price has just endured a horrible loss in his life. He returns to the Asylum adrift, unsure how to process the situation. But one thing is a constant: he's the Foul Mouth, he won't be grieving, he'll be GRIEFING, and it will be up to Ultra Class '09 to bear the brunt of the onslaught MEET THE BONNIES Tyson Bonnie made a mistake. A small mistake, yes, but still a grievous error that will cost him his sanity. His mistake wasn't agreeing to spy on King Henry Price. His mistake wasn't becoming friends with King Henry Price. His mistake wasn't even becoming business partners with King Henry Price. Tyson Bonnie's mistake was accidentally asking King Henry Price to meet his family. What was he thinking!?!? These stories are set in the world of THE KING HENRY TAPES: Book 1 - "The Foul Mouth and the Fanged Lady" (released) Book 2 - "The Foul Mouth and the Cat Killing Coyotes" (released) Book 3 - "The Foul Mouth and the Troubled Boomworm" (released) Book 4 - "The Foul Mouth and the Headless Hunny" (released) Book 5 - "The Foul Mouth and the Mancy Martial Artist" (released) Book 6 - "The Foul Mouth and the Artificial Court" (forthcoming)

Sullivan's War: The Omnibus Edition


Michael K. Rose - 2012
    When he's assigned to the case, Agent Frank Allen soon discovers that the man responsible, Rick Sullivan, is not yet finished killing. But Allen will also discover that Rick Sullivan is not the man he appears to be, and the war he's fighting, a war to rid his home planet of its oppressive government, is not his only battle. As Allen pursues Sullivan across the known galaxy, he begins to question his own beliefs and loyalties. Will Allen be able to stop Rick Sullivan before he kills again? Does he really want to? As their lives become increasingly intertwined, both men realize they must face truths about themselves that neither of them are prepared for. And some of those truths will have consequences that neither of them could have ever imagined.