Book picks similar to
Past the Last Island- Revised Edition: A Misfits and Heroes Adventure by Kathleen Rollins
ancient-world
really-long-reads
history
asia
Viking
Tony Bakkejord - 2017
Onboard one of the ships is a terrified Ulv. The youngest of the crew - he is not a Viking, not a warrior, not a fighter. Despised by most of the hird he has to prove himself worthy as a raider. His honor and his life is at stake, as he faces a battle with enemies on both sides.Standing on the pier, Marcus watches in horror as the Viking ships appear. This time he is old enough to fight. To stand, side by side with the other men against the mighty foe. The scourge of the North. At least, he hopes he can slow the Northmen down so that his little sister, Julia, can get away.In a twist of fate, both teenage boys ends up hiding in a cellar. From that moment, their destiny is intertwined in a relationship spanning from friends to enemies, from thrall and master to weapon brothers, and from friendship to hate.Follow Ulv, Marcus, Julia and the whole band of Viking misfits as they change the course of history. In the epic story of ‘Two Kings’ you will meet real historical figures like Ragnar Lothbrok and Charles the Bald. You will bear witness to the occupation of Dublin and the siege of Paris. You will visit Hedeby and Rouen, and take part in battles, sieges and duels.
Thicker Than Water
Michael McDonnell - 2012
This peaceful life is upended when death comes to town. And not just any death. O'Hara's career is on the line as the corpse of a US Senator is found. The Senator, while searching for his ancestors, has uncovered an old, still burning hatred from the time of the Great Famine. Dermot needs all the help he can get to solve the crime but as he starts to unravel the mystery it becomes clear that those around him are not what they seem. This first book in the series introduces us to Dermot, his long suffering wife Jo and his disreputable friends in the local bar.
A Shaper's Promise
Karen MacRae - 2018
They might be Musicians or Artists, gifted with the Elements, like Stone, Light or Air, learn a language in minutes or have Speed, Strength or a million other possibilities. They’re not mutants. They’re not aliens. They’re just extraordinarily talented.One of the rarest gifts is Reading the auras that surround every living thing: understanding the patterns of light that reveal a person’s thoughts and feelings, their very being. The rarest gift of all, though, is the ability to not just Read an aura but manipulate it, control it or even destroy it… to Shape it. It’s no wonder ancient lawmakers decreed Aura Shapers be wiped out or that Shaping is still punishable by death.A Shaper’s Promise begins with Anna. She’s just eighteen and possibly the first Aura Shaper born in The Kingdom in centuries. Her Healer mother's always warned her to never let anyone know what she is, but she's determined to head to Ionantis to try to join the Quorum of Gifted. Fate seems to think she should follow a different path and she soon finds herself embroiled in events beyond her wildest dreams. For there is evil heading towards The Kingdom and Anna's gift might be the only weapon that can save them."An entertaining and exciting tale from a convincing and attractive fantasy world”“The finale is crashingly epic. I read it at the speed of sound. People! This is an excellent read!”“Absolutely loved this book. Cost me some sleepless nights cause I couldn’t drag myself away from it!""The whole concept of this magical world is enchanting. Would thoroughly recommend and can’t wait for the next instalment!!”“The first in a trilogy, that draws you in to a wonderful world of fantasy. Great characters, well thought through plot, page turning.”The Aura Shaper Series is dedicated to the author's friend, Ann Clark, who passed away much too early after a lifetime dedicated to healing others.Please note that Karen MacRae is a British author who writes in British English.
A Single Swallow
Ling Zhang - 2017
After their deaths, each year on the anniversary of the broadcast, their souls would return to the Chinese village of their younger days. It’s where they had fought—and survived—a war that shook the world and changed their own lives in unimaginable ways. Now, seventy years later, the pledge is being fulfilled by American missionary Pastor Billy, brash gunner’s mate Ian Ferguson, and local soldier Liu Zhaohu.All that’s missing is Ah Yan—also known as Swallow—the girl each man loved, each in his own profound way.As they unravel their personal stories of the war, and of the woman who touched them so deeply during that unforgiving time, the story of Ah Yan’s life begins to take shape, woven into view by their memories. A woman who had suffered unspeakable atrocities, and yet found the grace and dignity to survive, she’d been the one to bring them together. And it is her spark of humanity, still burning brightly, that gives these ghosts of the past the courage to look back on everything they endured and remember the woman they lost.
The Player Blackout
Lucas Flint - 2019
With over one billion active players and counting, gamers can become brave Heroes or cunning Villains, their every choice determining their Alignment. Everyone wants to play this game and almost everyone does. Except for 25-year-old police officer Nyle Maxwell, who can't log out. Killed in a car accident on his first day on the job, Nyle gets his mind uploaded to Capes Online to save his life. But the one way mind-to-game upload process means Nyle can never return to his physical body in the real world. Nor is he allowed to contact his friends and family outside the game or else he risks deletion by the secretive government organization that put him in the game in the first place. Things get even worse when a villain known as Dark Kosmos takes over Capes Online not long after Nyle's arrival. Trapping all of the players in the game and cutting off all contact with the real world, Dark Kosmos targets Nyle for death. Now Nyle must become a true superhero and save his fellow players from Dark Kosmos while adjusting to his new digital life. All of which would be much easier if he didn't have a hyperactive sidekick overly fond of puns or if he even wanted to be here in the first place.
The Bowman Boys (The Sultan Saga Book 1)
D.W. Ulsterman - 2018
It’s the forgetting that’s hard.”
The year is 1923 and Prohibition is the law of the land.
Levi Bowman and his four sons struggle to survive and thrive in the remote woods and mountains outpost of Sultan, Washington. It is a time and place governed by the gun and the fist where family comes first, rules are meant to be broken, and enemies put down.“The Bowman Boys is D.W. Ulsterman at his best. Lots of action, mystery, crackling dialogue, and a touch of romance while also having plenty to say about the importance of family, living by a code, and defending what’s yours.” -MobelyReviews--------------D.W. Ulsterman is the USA Today-recommended author of the bestselling family drama, The Irish Cowboy, and a Kindle Scout winner for the San Juan Islands Mystery series.
Druid's Daughter (The Old World Trilogy #1)
Jocelyn A. Fox - 2018
The old ways are slowly fading, but she still believes in the Tuathe De, the Sidhe, even though many scoff at the ancient legends as children's stories. When she finds a wounded man in the forest just before Beltane, Gwyneth must choose between an ordinary life in her village or a chance to train as a daughter of the Blood as the veil thins between the mortal world and the Fae world...
A Blade's Beginning
Lisa Blackwood - 2018
But if she doesn’t reach him in time, an assassin in the service of the Queen of the Underworld will steal away her only chance to save him. Author’s Note: A Blade’s Beginning is a short story that is part of the Ishtar’s Legacy universe. It ties together events from Ishtar’s Blade and Blade’s Honor. I’ve decided to publish it separately from book 2 in the series because of the sixteen-year span of time between books. And many readers say they don’t like prologues. If prologues aren’t your thing, skip this story and just wait for Blade’s Honor, coming soon! Also, if you haven’t read book one, Ishtar’s Blade, you’ll want to double back and read that one first. Blade’s Honor is coming soon!
Apprenticed to Anubis
Kathrin Brückmann - 2014
In a bar brawl, he accidentally kills the vizier's eldest son. For punishment, the king renders an unusual verdict: life in the service of the dead at the weryt, the walled-off embalming compound.At the same time, young ladies at the pharaoh's court drop dead without obvious cause. When the corpses are brought to the weryt, Hori, now trained in embalming and organ removal, discovers the girls were murdered. Only he can't leave the place without turning his life sentence into a death sentence—or can he? An adventurous investigation unfolds.
Where Eagles Dare Not Perch
Peter Bridgford - 2018
While home on his unit’s month-long furlough, he murders the man he believes has stolen his beloved. In doing so, he sets into motion three intensely dark journeys—his own as a soldier returning to a brutal and hopeless war; his sweetheart’s as she seeks absolution; and the brother of the murdered man, whose quest for revenge propels him into the most violent of worlds. When the three find each other amid the chaos and brutality of the Battle of the Wilderness, they’re faced with figuring out if they are tempered enough from their own redemptive ordeals to face whatever uncertain future awaits them after the bloody fighting is over.
Nefertiti's Heart
A.W. Exley - 2013
Permanently.1861. Cara has a simple mission in London - finalise her father's estate and sell off his damned collection of priceless artifacts. Her plan goes awry when a killer stalks the nobility, searching for an ancient Egyptian relic rumoured to hold the key to immortality.Nathaniel Trent, known as the villainous viscount, is relentless in his desire to lay his hands on both Cara and the priceless artifacts. His icy exterior and fiery touch stirs Cara's demons, or could he lay them to rest?Self-preservation fuels Cara's search for the gem known as Nefertiti's Heart. In a society where everyone wears a mask to hide their true intent, she needs to figure out who to trust, before she sacrifices her own heart and life.
Reiver
David Pilling - 2016
The March lands between England and Scotland are a place of terror, where outlaw bands and broken men rob, pillage and murder in open defiance of the law. Here, deadly blood-feud is a way of life. Families of robbers, known as Border Reivers, live via blackmail and terrorism. No man sleeps safe in his bed, and the sound of hoofbeats on the tops is a herald of death. Richie Reade, known as Richie O’the Bow, finds himself dragged into this dark and bloody world. One night his village is raided by a gang of Armstrongs, the most dreaded of the reiver families. After he slays two of the gang, Richie is declared a dead man walking: the Armstrongs and their allies will not rest until they have his head. Betrayed by the law, Richie is forced to flee into the wilderness. He and his fellow outlaws begin to forge a reputation as Richie’s Bairns, killing the Armstrongs wherever they find them. Meanwhile the Border is threatened by war. The rebellious northern earls plan to depose the Protestant Queen of England, Elizabeth I, and replace her with the Catholic Mary Stewart. Many of the reiver families rise to join the rebellion, and the earls march south under the Banner of the Five Wounds. Civil war threatens to break out in England, even as fresh murder and conspiracy raise havoc in Scotland. With the north in turmoil, and the Border in a state of bloody flux, Richie and his outlaws do what they can to survive. As his fame grows, Richie finds himself drawn inexorably into the war for England’s soul. When the final battle looms, above the rushing waters of the Hell Beck, he must choose his fate. Reiver is the latest novella by David Pilling, author of the Caesar’s Sword trilogy, Leader of Battles, The White Hawk and Soldier of Fortune.
Sidewinder (The Halcyon Files, #1)
Daniel Foster - 2015
or maybe it was worth everything. Maybe it was worth enough to commit murder. Pictures don't lie, even when they accuse a loving, devoted husband of murder. Thomas was a brilliant detective, but his last case was never solved because it ended with his disappearance. The reason now seems clear, but Kate won't believe it. She can't. And she'll prove his innocence, no matter what the cost. Corruption and deceit cloud her way, but in the middle of it, she finds the most unlikely person - a homeless boy who clings to her like the child she and Thomas never had. Perhaps she and the boy can survive the truth together. Maybe they can mend the tatters of one another's hearts.
Calling Crow
Paul Clayton
Calling Crow is haunted by his recurring dream of the Destroyer who will one day lay waste to his village. Then Spanish colonial slavers from the island of Hispaniola arrive on the shores of the Southeast, lands that have been home to the Muskogee people for generations. Calling Crow and another brave are taken and bound into slavery. Life in the gold pits and slave camps is humiliating and brutal, but Calling Crow refuses to let them break his spirit. Aided by a kindly priest, Calling Crow vows to learn the language and ways of an overwhelmingly powerful enemy in order to eventually save his own people. But first he must regain his own freedom.