Book picks similar to
Halfskin by Tony Bertauski


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Fire Country


David Estes - 2013
    Due to toxic air, life expectancies are so low the only way the tribe can survive is by forcing women to procreate when they turn sixteen and every three years thereafter. It is their duty as Bearers.Fifteen-year-old Siena is a Youngling, soon to be a Bearer, when she starts hearing rumors of another tribe of all women, called the Wild Ones. They are known to kidnap Youngling girls before the Call, the ceremony in which Bearers are given a husband with whom to bear children with. As the desert sands run out on her life's hourglass, Siena must uncover the truth about the Wild Ones while untangling the web of lies and deceit her father has masterfully spun.

The Others


Ian C.P. Irvine - 2014
    Who are 'the Others'? Why are an increasing number of people throughout the world developing the ability to see and speak with the dead? Why have a farmers' guild from Iowa secretly enlisted the help of Scottish reporter Peter Nicolson? If they are correct, is the world stumbling blindly into a disaster that could threaten the survival of the human race? And what is contained within the missing 'GM File' that threatens to destroy some of the world's most powerful companies? To what lengths will these companies go to prevent Peter Nicolson uncovering the truth and publishing it to the world? Will Peter Nicolson meet Maciek, his nemesis and erstwhile saviour? And if he does, who will survive?

One Word Kill


Mark Lawrence - 2019
    And it isn’t even the strangest thing to happen to him that week.Nick and his Dungeons & Dragons-playing friends are used to living in their imaginations. But when a new girl, Mia, joins the group and reality becomes weirder than the fantasy world they visit in their weekly games, none of them are prepared for what comes next. A strange—yet curiously familiar—man is following Nick, with abilities that just shouldn’t exist. And this man bears a cryptic message: Mia’s in grave danger, though she doesn’t know it yet. She needs Nick’s help—now.He finds himself in a race against time to unravel an impossible mystery and save the girl. And all that stands in his way is a probably terminal disease, a knife-wielding maniac and the laws of physics.Challenge accepted.

The Dragon Maker


Elizabeth Baxter - 2013
    He is an artist, the last of his kind, and he is trying to save the world. He is the Dragon Maker.This is a 3000 word fantasy short story. Other books by Elizabeth BaxterSummer Storm, an epic fantasy novella (Book 1 of The Wrath of the Northmen epic fantasy series)Everwinter, an epic fantasy novel (Book 2 of The Wrath of the Northmen epic fantasy series)The Last Priestess, an epic fantasy novel (Book 1 of The Songmaker epic fantasy series)Circle Spinner and Other Tales, an anthology of fantasy and science fiction short stories

The Immortals


S.M. Schmitz - 2015
    But something is different in Baton Rouge. The rules are being broken and they're powerless against some of the greatest forces Hell can assemble. If they can't stop these demons from manipulating every rule of this war, then Heaven may lose the only battle that's ever really mattered.

Stormwielder


Aaron Hodges - 2021
    Horrified by the devastation he had unleashed, Eric fled his village, and has spent the last two years wandering the wilderness alone. Now, desperate to end his isolation, he seeks a new life in the town of Oaksville. But the power of the Gods is fading, and in their absence, dark things have come creeping back to the Three Nations. Civilisation is no longer the safe haven he once knew, and Eric will soon learn he is not the only one with power…

Haunting Refrain


Ellis Vidler - 2002
    . . Photographer Kate McGuire hopes for a little fun in her life when she joins a parapsychology experiment--visions of murder aren’t part of the plan. Then her eccentric friend Venice, a complication all by herself, leaks the story to a reporter, and Kate’s life turns upside down. The police don’t take her seriously, but the murderer does. Kate’s distrust of the press causes her to clash with the one person who can help her—the skeptical reporter who got her into trouble in the first place. Now it’s up to Kate to find the killer before anyone else dies.Haunting Refrain is the first book in the McGuire Women psychic series; each book features a different member of the family. Author's Note: This is a reprint of the book published by Silver Dagger Mysteries. Same book, new cover. Cover art by Anne Cain.About the authorEllis Vidler and her husband live in the green and beautiful South Carolina Piedmont, where assorted creatures wander by for a meal. They are devoted servants of a sweet shelter dog, often featured on Facebook. She’s always been a sucker for fur and feathers. From early childhood she’s told stories (not quite how her mother put it) and collected strays. Ellis started as a graphics artist, moved into editing, and then writing. She also taught fiction writing. Her website is http://www.ellisvidler.com.

Warrior Mage


Lindsay Buroker - 2015
    That choice doomed the family she left behind to a life of disgrace.Yanko White Fox doesn’t remember his mother, but as the only gifted child in the family, he is expected to erase the mark she left on them all. With an affinity for earth magic and communicating with animals, he’s not the most natural candidate to become a warrior mage, but it’s the only sure route back into the Great Chief’s good graces. He has resigned himself to training for that destiny, whether it matches his passions or not.Long before he’s ready for his first battle, insurrection comes to his distant corner of the empire. Rebels take over the salt mine his family manages and slay the only relative who ever supported Yanko. On the heels of the tragedy, a courier brings a message from the Great Chief’s son. Whether he is prepared or not, Yanko must undertake a quest, one that could save millions of lives… or fail utterly, leaving him dead, his family forgotten, and his people the victims of starvation and endless war.

Sector C


Phoenix Sullivan - 2011
    Patients in every demographic in the Great Plains area, from toddlers to healthy adults to the elderly, are succumbing to rapid deterioration – and death. Veterinarian Donna Bailey, meanwhile, is dealing with an outbreak of her own. It looks like mad cow disease. But to be affecting so many species? Impossible. Whatever it is, it’s spreading. Fast. As state and federal agencies race to contain the growing threats, Mike and Donna’s searches for Patient Zero intersect at a big-game compound in a remote corner of North Dakota. There they find their answer buried in a secret thought extinct for 10,000 years. A secret entrepreneur Walt Thurman will kill to protect. But even if Mike and Donna can escape the compound with the secret of Sector C, it may already be too late. Because after today, extinct no longer means forever. ___________________ Ripped from today’s research and tomorrow’s headlines, SECTOR C is a near-future medical mystery / ecothriller fans of Michael Crichton and Daniel Kalla are sure to enjoy.

Stone of Fire


J.F. Penn - 2011
    Morgan Sierra, an Oxford University psychologist with a deadly past, doesn’t know the answer to that question — and doesn’t care. All she knows is that her sister and niece have been abducted, held hostage for the stone pendants that Morgan and her sister wear: two of twelve relics once owned by the original Apostles.Forged in fire and wind, drowned in the blood of martyrs, the twelve Pentecost stones have been kept secret for two thousand years. But now the Keepers of the stones are being murdered, and the relics stolen by Thanatos, a shadowy group dedicated to remaking the world into a living Hell. The authorities are clueless; the world lies helpless. And Thanatos grows more powerful with each stone they take. Enter Jake Timber — agent of ARKANE, the British agency tasked with investigating the supernatural. Jake knows some of the secrets Morgan needs to save her family, but can’t stop Thanatos without her help. Only together can they stop Thanatos before the stones are captured, before Morgan’s family is murdered, and before the world is changed forever.From flooded ruins in Italy, to religious sites in Israel, to the far reaches of Iran and Tunisia, Morgan and Jake must race across the world to find the stones before Thanatos gathers the relics and uses their power to turn Earth into a living Hell.But every step they take brings Morgan and Jake closer to the end. To the knife edge between salvation and madness. To the moment when Morgan will have to decide whether she will save her family… or save the world.Time is running out. Thanatos draws near. And the day of Pentecost is at hand.Stone of Fire is the first book in the ARKANE series by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author J.F. Penn.

The Butterfly Code


Sue Wyshynski - 2015
    I am a genetically modified human. PAINFUL SECRETS. STARTLING TRUTHS.UNDENIABLE LOVE.All it took was a chance meeting--one tingling glance across a darkened street to change my life.I'd been searching for my two best friends in the crowded Zenith Club, which was a really bad idea because I'm totally claustrophobic. I burst outside, and that's when I came face-to-face with the incredibly gorgeous Hunter Cayman. Dark-haired, tall, and leaning against an insane sports car, my pulse went haywire. Maybe things weren't so bad after all. The young doctor had his long muscular arms crossed over his leather jacket clad chest, and all his six-foot something would make any girl's knees turn weak. But then, if what Ella said was true, Hunter was the kind of guy who left behind a trail of broken hearts. And heartache was the last thing I needed right now.Yet there's something strange, something almost superhuman about Hunter. It's more than that infuriatingly knowing grin. I'm trying to stop thinking about him, and I get the feeling he's avoiding me, too. Yet Deep Cove is a tiny town and every time we run into each other the tension literally crackles, sparking around us. It just figures that when suddenly I'm in danger, he's there to save me.In truth, I should be dead. By all the logic in this world, I should be shattered to pieces. How fast was I going on that ATV when I smashed into those iron gates? Ninety? A hundred? And the men who were chasing me, where did they go?Somehow I'm whole.Maybe better than whole. There's no one I can talk to, not even my best friend, Gage. Gage hates Hunter. He wants Hunter's laboratory to be shut down. He thinks Hunter's a monster. And yet, if that's true, if Hunter's a monster...than what am I? I'm not sure what terrifies me more, the metamorphosis taking place inside me, or the intensely powerful connection with a guy whose heart and soul has become linked with mine.

Sub-Human


David Simpson - 2012
    Craig Emilson is sent to take out a powerful artificial intelligence. Unexpectedly, he becomes the greatest hope for humanity. He must choose between saving mankind or saving himself as he faces impossible odds and an army of super soldiers on a mission to destroy him. "Sub-Human" is the first book in a new series of page turners that will keep you guessing until the very end. A mix between action thriller and science fiction, this novel will have you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. First in a new series!

Dead Drop: A Lawson Vampire Bonus Story


Jon F. Merz - 2011
    A cynical, wise-cracking vampire charged with protecting the Balance between vampires and humans, he is part cop, part spy, and part commando—a James Bond with fangs. Lawson mixes shrewd cunning with unmatched lethality to get his job done. He tries his best to dismantle conspiracies, dispatch bad guys, and live long enough to get home.This time, Lawson has been given an easy assignment, a "dead drop." That is until an old enemy returns.

Southern Bound


Stuart Jaffe - 2012
    One in which a simple research job can turn deadly.

The Crystal Bridge


Charlie Pulsipher - 2011
    His first trip almost killed him. Now he spends hours inside his Egg, a glowing sphere only he can see, where he glimpses wonder and adventure, but is afraid to travel again. Aren has the ultimate gift of empathy, seeing into the memories of others and experiencing them as though they were her own. When she turns her ability toward Kaden, it fails to open his memories to her, seeing in their place a golden shell with impossible images flashing along the interior. Aren reaches out to one of these images, plunging Kaden and herself into a world full of unknown danger on the edge of war. James, a research geneticist for Omegaphil Pharmaceuticals, recreates extinct species with the help of an AI simulation program and the nano nueral transmitters in his head. But, to find all the genetic codes he needs, his altered brain will do anything and go anywhere to find the answers. Meanwhile, deep within the emptiness between universes, an ancient creature awakes. With inhuman patience it has waited millennia to be freed from its prison and the existence of both worlds is threatened if it can find a way out.