Book picks similar to
Simple by Dena Nicotra
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The Gods of War
Graham Brown - 2014
Pollution, war and overpopulation have darkened the skies, photosynthesis is failing and most of the Earth’s twenty billion souls face starvation and death. The only hope for survival lays with the fertile fields of Mars, where a thirty year terraforming effort is turning vast swaths of the red planet to green. But to the leaders of the Cartel, a conglomeration of the world’s most powerful families, using Mars to feed the overpopulated masses of the Earth is a waste of resources. They have another plan—take Mars for themselves and leave the Earth to self-destruct on its own. The only thing standing in their way is the idealistic President Jackson Collins, head of the United World Government and unquestioned leader of the World Military Forces, who believes that humanity must rise or fall as one. As the tide of war rises, the James Collins, the President’s son, a lifelong soldier and a weary veteran of his father’s military campaigns returns from the field disillusioned and doubtful as to whether humanity is even worth saving. Though he wants nothing more than to walk away, James soon finds himself drawn into the swirling vortex of battle and caught in the titanic struggle that will decide the fate of two worlds.
The Eternal: Awakening
Dhayaa Anbajagane - 2017
I didn’t mean to look for things I wasn’t supposed to. I didn’t mean for death to come after me. I really didn’t. But it still happened. I’m Zoran and my name is the only thing I remember about myself; not why I woke up in a forest, not why I taste blood in my mouth, and certainly not why I see weird screens in front of me. Ever since I first woke, all I wanted to do was find out who I really was. But what I didn’t expect, was for my search to spark something that was never meant to happen. It has started now. I can see it. Cities will burn and towers will fall. Chaos will descend the heavens and ravage the earth. The darkness is coming, and the world will tremble in its wake.
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?
So this is the End
Alexandra Franzen - 2018
One more chance to tell your family how much you love them. One more chance to say goodbye to friends, listen to your favorite song, throw an epic party, feel the grass beneath your feet, or watch the sunset. How would you spend your time?So This Is The End follows Nora Hamilton as she navigates her final 24 hours. She’s determined to do something meaningful and make every moment count.Enter: Renzo. Ren, for short. Strong, compassionate, unfairly attractive, with a face that makes Nora’s stomach explode into stars. Their connection is immediate, with white-hot intensity. Nora is wracked with bittersweet joy and confusion as she realizes, “I’ve finally met the love of my life… on the last day of my life.”Should she tell Ren the truth about her condition—tell him she doesn’t have much time left? How will he react? Is it unethical to allow yourself to fall in love with someone when there’s no possibility of a future together? Or is love a precious gift, no matter how long it lasts, even if it’s just for one day?What happens next is a story about taking chances, making your own rules, and the power of living like there’s no tomorrow.A moving romantic drama: Early readers call So This Is The End "a breath of fresh air," "moving and beautiful," "an amazing wake-up call," a book you'll be "unable to put down," with a story that makes you "fall in love the instant you start reading."
Genesis
Miranda Nading - 2015
Max Dumerick has spent his life doing the dirty work of the highest bidder. When his last job awakens his reluctant conscience, he finds himself teaming up with an unlikely duo to try to stop a would-be god. When Melanie Edwards realizes she is being hunted, her desire to protect her family forces her to make hard choices… ones that will lead her into the belly of the beast. Abandoned by the woman he loves and left with nothing but infrequent, cryptic messages, Ryan Edwards stumbles across evidence of the coming apocalypse... and must make a choice between warning the world and protecting his daughter.
Soldiers of Avarice: A Sword and Sorcery Novel
Stephen L. Nowland - 2011
Aiden Wainwright wants to become strong to protect his homeland. After a chance encounter with a mysterious and powerful relic, he gives up everything to study the arcane arts. But the small taste of power is not enough, and Aiden’s obsessive search for answers leads him on a journey that he never expected. A dire plot that threatens the lives of thousands… The town of Brackford could hold the answers Aiden is seeking, but his arrival could not have come at a more dangerous time. Forced into a battle for survival, Aiden must marshal his limited resources and ally himself with the desperate locals to discover the dark truth behind the town’s misfortune. He never imagined that he would uncover a greater conspiracy that could destroy his home, the Kingdom of Aielund. A quest for magic, and the search for truth, Soldiers of Avarice is an epic fantasy journey that will capture your imagination. Download now to begin your journey through a land where magical relics are hidden, dragons guard the skies, and the struggle for power knows no loyalty.
Trapped in the Stars
Lynn Red - 2016
The leader of the Alliance’s military, the ancient and ambitious Admiral Kotma, has it out for her. On top of that, she’s started wondering what the point of all these years of loneliness has been. All that goes out the window in one split-second. As she cruises near the edge of alliance space a torpedo rocks her ship—the first in a while—and instead of fighting back, her entire crew shuts down. Explosions rip through the hull, and suddenly, instead of being in charge of a star ship crew, Liz is hanging on to life by her fingertips, and is apparently, the only one. A deep, commanding voice crackles through the busted communicator of her ship. Whoever’s at the other end insists he’s going to get her out of the wreck, and from what Liz can hear, he isn’t going to take no for an answer. Like she has any choice. Between being sucked dry by the vacuum of space and being taken by someone she doesn’t know? Liz’ll take her chances. Lakshin Sang is the heir to an empire he doesn’t want. The only life he’s ever known has been one among the stars. As the stalwart, cocky, and obnoxiously sexy captain of the Lakshin Empire’s flagship, he’s spent his life exploring the fringes of the universe. But now that he’s got Liz on board, he’s starting to wonder if there isn’t more to life than adventure…and he can’t stop staring at her, no matter how hard he tries. This star-faring novel of love, loss, adventure and romance asks—can love bloom in the most unlikely place, between the most unlikely pair? Will Liz and Sang survive two armies, and a terrible darkness pursuing them, or will they be TRAPPED IN THE STARS?
It's Okay About It: Lessons from a Remarkable Five-Year-Old About Living Life Wide Open
Lauren Casper - 2017
Those are lessons he shares, often unknowingly, with his mom, Lauren Casper.For Lauren, living with Mareto is a lot like playing the telephone game. He blurts out little phrases that have their origin in something he saw or heard, but by the time they make their way through his mind and back out of his mouth, they’ve transformed—often into beautiful truths about living a simple, authentic, love- and joy-filled life.From “it’s okay about it,” a simple reminder that even when life is painful or difficult, things will be okay because God promises never to leave or forsake his children, to “you’re making me feelings,” which teaches the importance of leaning into one’s emotions and, in doing so, sharing a piece of oneself with loved ones—Mareto’s simple yet profound wisdom is a reminder to embrace the broken beauty of life, to believe in a God bigger than human comprehension, and to love others even when it doesn’t make sense.For all those looking to recapture the faith, simplicity, wonder, hope, courage, and joy of life, It’s Okay About It provides a guide to look inward and live outward, to discover the most wide open and beautiful life possible.
Still Falling
Martin Wilsey - 2015
When the Ventura and its crew enter orbit for a scheduled planet survey, the ship activates an automated defense system protecting the planet. Although the Ventura is destroyed in the attack, Barcus alone survives the harrowing fall to the remote planet surface. He struggles to remain alive and sane, and to discover why everyone he knew and loved on the Ventura was deliberately murdered. Swinging between despair and fury, Barcus discovers that for every answer he obtains, there are more questions raised. Barcus is assisted by the Emergency Module, Em, his most useful tool. It is an Artificial Intelligence system contained in an all-terrain vehicle specifically designed to help him survive. Barcus soon finds himself in the middle of a planetary genocide of the local native population. He is unable to stand passively by as more people die, even if they are long lost colonists who fear "The Man From Earth" like children fear the monster under their bed. Will Barcus ever find his way home? Will he find out who is responsible? Will his rage just burn this world down? Or will he find his soul in the eyes of a starving, frightened woman?
Beneath Burning Sands
P.R. Adams - 2017
He couldn’t have been more wrong.Frontierza’s work on advanced hibernation technology for sleeper colony ships wasn’t sexy, but what mattered to Reggie was that he would have an extremely visible role leading the first team to test the technology in a month-long cryogenic sleep. The proposition was simple. Succeed and humanity had a real chance of finding a new home before Earth’s ecosystem completely collapsed. Fail and … you don’t wake up. For someone who lived on the edge, the upside outweighed the risk.But the world Reggie wakes to is nothing like he expected.
Alpha Test
David Pendleton - 2018
Using a new technology known as Immersive Virtual Reality or IVR you could truly experience the game as if you were in it. For someone who has been confined to a wheelchair all of his life, the promise was impossible to ignore but only a few would be invited to take part in the Alpha test of the new game. Devon decided he would be one of those few To ensure he would be chosen he took the most unlikely combination of skills specializing primarily as a craftsman and secondarily as a healer. The best race for these skill trees is a Gnome but that further weakens his ability to fight and survive. Still, it is only the Alpha test and once in he can change it when they move to Closed Beta. What could go wrong? Soon he finds out just how weak his choices seem to the developers who figure he will die a lot and always be a Nobody. Name chosen Gnobody sets out to take on Angromoria and it is everything he could hope for until it becomes the only thing he may ever know.
Dawn of Destiny
Lee Stephen - 2006
Some men go to war to escape. For Scott Remington, war is entirely different. It is a belief. It is a calling. It is a destiny. Leaving everything behind-his fiancée, his future, his life-he embarks on a mission of faith into a battle he can barely understand. This is his story. This is his war. This is only the beginning.
First of My Kind
Marc Stevens - 2017
Nathan will tell you in his own words about the life and death struggles he encounters on his journey. He will tell you about the humor, peril and pain of his galactic education. Even with the help of an eccentric A.I. and the most unlikely of allies, he still finds it easy to lose his humanity to the horrors and injustice of a galaxy no one could have possibly imagined.
Platoon F: Pentalogy
John P. Logsdon - 2014
His only out is to undergo a complete physical makeover, get a rank and name change, and agree to take over a new platoon in the Segnal Space Marine Corps (SSMC). Mission 2: Angry Robots A group of antiquated robots have decided that they've had enough of being treated like second-class citizens. Working together, they take over the sewage plant on Segnal Prime and start pumping the sludge back up into the buildings. Mission 3: The SSMC Voyeur A space probe that was sent out 500 years ago has returned...sort of. It's actually a copy of the original model of The SSMC Voyeur, which begs the question: What happened to the original craft? The crew of The SSMC Reluctant is dispatched to learn about the originating planet that sent this cloned vehicle. And, if Rear Admiral Conster gets his way, they're also to blow the entire planet that it came from to smithereens. Mission 4: Earthlings After their last mission, the Segnal Space Marine Corps (SSMC) saw the value of the GONE Drive. The ability to move through space in a blink of an eye would be highly appealing to any military body, but specifically to Rear Admiral Parfait who has a bit of a thing for military bodies. Parfait sets a mission in place where The SSMC Reluctant must go to one of the planets that they briefly landed on during their last mission: Earth. Parfait sees the opportunity to...probe another society of human-like creatures and possibly build relations with them. Furthermore, and much to Captain Don Harr's chagrin, Parfait has put in for a title change to Senior Diplomat so that he can join the crew! Mission 5: Synthetic DNA After a close call in the year 2440 at the planet called "Earth," the crew of The SSMC Reluctant makes a quick escape back to their home of Segnal. However, Geezer didn't have time to set the clock on the GONE Drive to return them back to their own era, and things have changed greatly in the Segnal System over the past 500 years. The system is ruled by Synthetic Lifeforms now, and they find humans and standard robots an affront to their intellectual capacity. From their perspective, only Synthetic Lifeforms should be allowed to live.