Book picks similar to
Ring of Fire by Robert Ford


adventure
biblio
dark-fantasy
horror

Krampus: The Yule Lord


Brom - 2012
    You have sung your last ho, ho, ho, for I am coming for your head. . . . I am coming to take back what is mine, to take back Yuletide . . .—from KrampusThe author and artist of The Child Thief returns with a modern fabulist tale of Krampus, the Lord of Yule and the dark enemy of Santa ClausOne Christmas Eve in a small hollow in Boone County, West Virginia, struggling songwriter Jesse Walker witnesses a strange spectacle: seven devilish figures chasing a man in a red suit toward a sleigh and eight reindeer. When the reindeer leap skyward, taking the sleigh, devil men, and Santa into the clouds, screams follow. Moments later, a large sack plummets back to earth, a magical sack that thrusts the down-on-his-luck singer into the clutches of the terrifying Yule Lord, Krampus. But the lines between good and evil become blurred as Jesse's new master reveals many dark secrets about the cherry-cheeked Santa Claus, including how half a millennium ago the jolly old saint imprisoned Krampus and usurped his magic.Now Santa's time is running short, for the Yule Lord is determined to have his retribution and reclaim Yuletide. If Jesse can survive this ancient feud, he might have the chance to redeem himself in his family's eyes, to save his own broken dreams, . . . and to help bring the magic of Yule to the impoverished folk of Boone County.

Six Days with the Dead


Stephen Charlick - 2013
    The group of survivors at the Lanherne Convent in Cornwall, did what they could to make the best of life in this brutal world and compared to many their lives were easy. But when Charlie, an ex-soldier, arrives home with a distraught stranger telling of murderous raiders, they know things are about to change. Leaving the safety of the Convent to warn the other nearby outposts, Charlie, Liz and Imran soon learn it’s not only the Dead they have to worry about and before long the very stones of Lanherne are awash with spilt blood and stolen lives.

The Last Wish


Andrzej Sapkowski - 1993
    Yet he is no ordinary murderer: his targets are the multifarious monsters and vile fiends that ravage the land and attack the innocent. But not everything monstrous-looking is evil and not everything fair is good... and in every fairy tale there is a grain of truth.Librarian's Note: Alternate cover edition of ASIN B0010SIPT4

The Last Valkyrie


Jeremy Robinson - 2017
    Shifted to the equator, the continent, now known as Antarktos, has thawed and bloomed. Endless ice has given way to lush tropical jungles, and all the people now living here are protected and led by Solomon Ull Vincent, the Last Hunter and King of Antarktos. My father.I've been told that all the creatures of Antarktos, exotic and untamed, howled at the moment of my birth. If that wasn't intimidating enough, I've also been told that I was born to be a hunter, that the blood coursing through my veins destined me to fight mankind's most ancient enemy--the Nephilim, half-human, half-demon monsters determined to exterminate humanity.My older sister, Aquila, thinks it all sounds glorious, but I don't want it. Any of it. I prefer charcoals and a drawing pad to my Norse hammer. So I choose to ignore the stories. My heritage terrifies me. But when Aquila is kidnapped and dragged to the underworld to be broken and corrupted, our guardian, Zuh, is severely wounded and my father isn't there to save them--I'm the only one who can.From the monster-filled caves beneath Antarktos to the halls of Valhalla, I must embrace my heritage, face the fears that hold me hostage and save my sister before she kills our father. To save my family, and Antarktos, I must become a hunter, or perhaps something more...My name is Norah Kainda Vincent, the Last Valkyrie. This is how my story begins.International bestselling author, Jeremy Robinson, is joined by his youngest co-author ever, Tori Paquette, as they delve into the dark and mysterious world of Antarktos, hailed as the "new continent of terror," by New York Times bestselling author James Rollins. Praised by action-adventure and thriller greats such as Steve Berry, Jeff Long, Steve Alten, Stel Pavlou and Scott Sigler, the Antarktos Saga continues in The Last Valkyrie, uncovering dark secrets, sinister evils and the true strength of a young woman.

There and NEVER, EVER BACK AGAIN: A Dark Lord's Diary: (A Memoir and Manifesto For Villains and Monsters)


Jeff Mach - 2019
     The Dwarves: Doomed hammer-swinging dwellers of the underground. The Armies of Man: No one tells a better tale, or causes a more rapid extinction. The White Wizard: Embodiment of all that is good and right; just ask him. ....and The Chosen One: Victim--sorry, meant to say "Hero"--of a glorious prophecy. The Chosen One is destined to bring down the Dark Lord, if not killed first. In which case, The White Wizard will have to find a replacement. Again. Behold! A (relatively) epic narration of world-changing events, told from the point of view of the Dark Lord. 'Tis a story of shattering destiny, drinking, arcane secrets, drinking, and battles worth of the Sagas. Well, not the Sagas of Men, but the Orcs have probably got something to say about it. Let's get going; it's time to steal the Sun. "There and NEVER, EVER BACK AGAIN" is the first novel by Jeff Mach, playwright, event creator, and certified Dark Lord.

Trust No One


Gregg Andrew Hurwitz - 2008
    But all of that shatters when, in the middle of the night, a SWAT team bursts into his apartment, grabs him and drags him to a waiting helicopter. A terrorist-- someone Nick has never heard of--has seized control of a nuclear reactor, threatening to blow it up. And the only person he'll talk to is Nick, promising to tell Nick the truth behind the events that shattered his life twenty years ago. At seventeen years old, Nick Horrigan made a deadly mistake--one that cost his stepfather his life, endangered his mother, and sent him into hiding for years. Now, what Nick discovers in that nuclear plant leaves him with only two choices--to start running again, or to fight and finally uncover the secrets that have held him hostage all these years. As Nick peels back layer after layer of lies and deception, buffeted between the buried horrors of the past and the deadly intrigues of the present, he finds his own life--and the lives of nearly everyone he loves--at risk. And the only thing guiding him through this deadly labyrinth are his stepfather's dying words: TRUST NO ONE. Acclaimed for years by both critics and his peers as one of the finest thriller writers today, Gregg Hurwitz has lived up to all the accolades and expectations with "Trust No One," an electrifying and compelling novel that will be remembered for years to come.

The Fall


Robert J. Duperre - 2010
    It takes the form of a deadly virus, one that causes violent insanity in the living and the recently departed to rise and walk. It spreads around the globe, throwing the world into chaos and war.As it progresses, those in the States who find themselves far away from the epicenter watch it unfold with unbelieving eyes. From Washington D.C. to Dover, New Hampshire, regular people are hurled into an existence outside their control, left to deal with catastrophic situations that they are unprepared to handle. Life becomes a nightmare, and that nightmare is spreading.First time author Robert J. Duperre presents this scenario with The Fall: The Rift Book I, the first of a four-part series. In this book, he throws his characters into a gambit; when the alternatives are life or death, self-preservation or the protection of others, what path will they choose? Is there a darkness that resides in everyone, from every walk of life, that is screaming for release? When society falls apart and we are left to our own devices, will we make the right decisions, or let the tide take us where it may? There is horror, there is death, there are the walking dead, and all around are choices.The novel is illustrated by Jesse David Young, whose drawings capture the intense feel of the events happening within. There are twenty illustrations in all, as well as the cover art he provided. These add to the reading experience and help to throw you, the reader, head-first into the world they have created.