Book picks similar to
Into the Porcelain Pillow: 101 Tales from the Records of the Taiping Era by Li Fang
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short-stories
fantasy
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The Death Clock
J. Rock - 2010
She started seeing them when she got on the bus that morning. She didn't know what they meant...until she saw them run out...
I am a home to butterflies
J. Alchem - 2018
It will then be about them only. It will be all about the one they loved like thunder, about the one they struggled hard to keep, about the one who had left them in the middle of their 'forever', about their world shattering into pieces, about them gluing together every piece, and about them falling in love one more time.And if you still think it is about you and me, you haven't loved someone like thunder, yet.
A Roald Dahl Selection
Roald Dahl - 1980
Includes:Man from the South, Lamb to the Slaughter, The Landlady, The champion of the World, Galloping Foxley, Mrs Bixby and the Colonel's Coat, The Ratcatcher and The Hitchhiker.
Blood & Sawdust
Jason S. Ridler - 2012
But nothing prepared him for Milkwood: a fat, ugly bastard who could take a beating like a government mule, but never, ever won. So when Malcolm risks his life to discover Milkwood's secret, he convinces the fighter to stop being a punching bag and to go for broke in the local tournament. Only problem? A beautiful woman called Lash who needs Milkwood for her own purposes, and a fouler creature on her heels known only as Dizzy Colt. But for Malcolm and Milkwood? Hell, it’s just another day of Blood and SawdustPRAISE FOR BLOOD AND SAWDUST!"With wicked, playful prose that blends the best of pulp with the supernatural, Jason Ridler’s Blood and Sawdust creates an unholy, hell-raising hybrid, the kind of tale Christopher Moore and Jim Thompson might swap after a long night of drinking, trying to one-up one another with acerbic absurdity." Joe Clifford, Author of CHOICE CUTS and JUNKIE LOVEPRAISE FOR THE WORK OF JASON RIDLER!"An exciting new writer." Lucius Shepard, multiple-award-winning author of HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN PRAYER. “Jason Ridler is kind of like a bull rider who’s tossed a saddle on a Tiger tank, and he’s riding that bucking sucker for all he’s worth, because, hey, no one told him that he couldn’t do it, did they? So here he is, the Man in the Barbed-Wire Straitjacket." Norman Partridge, Award Winning Author of DARK HARVEST. "Jason Ridler’s work is intense and taut, with incredible characters and plots that keep your mind buzzing long after you’ve reached the final page." Trent Zelazny, author of TOO LATE TO CALL TEXAS, and FRACTAL DESPONDENCY. ABOUT THE AUTHORJason S. Ridler is the author of BLOOD AND SAWDUST, the Spar Battersea thrillers (DEATH MATCH, CON JOB and DICE ROLL), the short story collection KNOCKOUTS, and has published over fifty stories in such magazines and anthologies as Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Brain Harvest, Chilling Tales, and more. His popular non-fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld, Dark Scribe, and the Internet Review of Science Fiction. A former punk rock musician and cemetery groundskeeper, Mr. Ridler holds a Ph.D. in War Studies from the Royal Military College of Canada. Visit him at twitter at http://twitter.com/JayRidler, Facebook ,http://www.facebook.com/Ridlerville, or his writing blog, Ridlerville, atwww.jsridler.com
Double Take
E. Kelly - 2012
Those words drove Caleb Knight from his bed and across town well before sunrise. Find my sister. She isn't answering her phone. There were many reasons a woman like Grace didn't answer her phone before dawn. He could only imagine the look on her face when he dragged her from her bed. With a shake of his head, Caleb stepped out of the car. Then he heard her scream.
The Pandora Directive
Aaron Conners - 1995
The official story was that the Roswell crash was a balloon. But the real story is that Project Bluebook became Project Blueprint and helped start WWIII. Tex Murphy has never been good at staying out of trouble . . . and this time he's in for lots of trouble
'50sVille
Paul Ibbetson - 2014
In this strange place, only a select few people ever leave the city limits and even then, they leave reluctantly. This is what fifteen and a half year old Benjamin Granault faces as, through a string of amazing events, he finds himself living in a town where he can never talk about modern technology or current events, a place where being an outsider can cost a person his life and being part of the community may very well cost more. Follow the adventures of Benjamin Granault in ‘50sVille, the strangest town Indiana has ever been unaware of.
The Forgotten Girl
Heather Chapman - 2018
Her only hope of surviving is to travel to America, a land of freedom and opportunity, and reunite with her brother in Baltimore. There she'll find new challenges, and perhaps, if she can put her painful past behind her, a new chance for love and lasting happiness.
Fragile and Distant Suns: A Poul Anderson Collection
Poul Anderson - 2010
A collection of science fiction stories written by acclaimed author Poul Anderson.Poul Anderson is best known for sci-fi adventure stories in which larger-than-life characters succeed gleefully or fail heroically. Anderson's also famous for writing 'Call Me Joe' (not included in this volume) which featured the premise of a paralyzed man whose mind is remotely controlling an alien body. This same theme also appears in James Cameron's 2009 movie "Avatar" – similar enough that some reviewers are calling for Anderson to receive some form of credit.Included in this volume:Story One: Duel on SyrtisBold and ruthless, he was famed throughout the System as a big-game hunter. From the firedrakes of Mercury to the ice-crawlers of Pluto, he'd slain them all. But his trophy-room lacked one item; and now Riordan swore he'd bag the forbidden game that roamed the red deserts ... a Martian!Story Two: SecurityIn a world where Security is all-important, nothing can ever be secure. A mountain-climbing vacation may wind up in deep Space. Or loyalty may prove to be high treason. But it has its rewards...Story Three: The Valor of Cappen VarraWe have said that there are many and strange shadows, memories surviving from dim pasts, in this fantastic universe of ours...Story Four: Industrial RevolutionEver think how deadly a thing it is if a machine has amnesia—or how easily it can be arranged…Story Five: The Sensitive ManOne man stood between a power-hungry cabal and world mastery--but a man of unusual talents...These are the original and unabridged versions of these classic science fiction treasures. A must-have for fans of classic sci-fi!
The Ice Maiden (Detective Inspector Jack Gilbert)
Michael Saunders - 2018
Simply waiting for a bus why should Anne ever dream of dying? He was an opportunist driven by lust, needing to climax while looking into her eyes as she died. Found two months later she will be like all the others - frozen in time. Hunting the killer down is Detective Inspector Jack Gilbert, a dinosaur of the old school, a fish out of water in the swinging sixties, but with a reputation second to none. What is Jack’s sad secret? What does the future hold for him? Read the ICE MAIDEN and there’s a link at the end allowing you to download for FREE, number one in the Jack Gilbert Series – THE CHOCOLATE KILLER. For you, chocolate will never taste the same again!
The Afterlife Coach
Susan E. Paul - 2017
For Claire Anderson, this crosses the line. To make matters worse, they’re on the lam and can’t be returned to sender until In Between, the afterlife way station, can arrange transportation to pick them up. In the meantime, Claire tries to contain this motley crew, hoping to stave off an international incident. How do they manage to walk among us? Will Claire succeed in repatriating them? And at what cost? The Afterlife Coach is a humorous tale of second chances, self-awareness and, for those among us who make bad choices, demonstrates just how hard it is to die happily ever after.
The Velvet Glove
Harry Harrison - 1956
In fact, all over the country it was bad for robots, especially one trying to get a job without all his parts working.
Diablo III: Morbed
Micky Neilson - 2014
Joining together with a wizard, a druid, a necromancer, and a crusader, Morbed has arrived at a remote island to track down an elusive vagabond andreclaim valuable items pilfered from the city of Westmarch.But there is something loose on the island, something that has killed and is very close to killing again. In order to leave the island alive, Morbed will be forced to confront not only the terrifying creature that stalks the forests, but the darkest corners of his own spirit as well.
The Ellie O'Conner Suspense Series: Books 1-4
Jack Hardin - 2019
But when news of a horrifying murder shocks her sleepy fishing community, she’s compelled by a deep sense of justice to help track down the killer. And when an old friend offers her a chance to do it from behind a badge, she goes all in. Ellie’s investigation gets off to a rapid start, leading her into a hidden underworld of drugs, murder, and lies, where she quickly discovers that some of the locals may not have the cleanest of hands. Meanwhile, as deep pain continues to linger from the recent death of her father and a gaping hole left by a previous mission gone terribly wrong, Ellie discovers that it’s not so easy to outrun your past.
SHALLOW BREEZE
When a plane loaded with illegal drugs crashes into an iconic pier, the locals begin to wonder if any other secrets are about to fall out of the sky. After going to Tampa to search out a possible link between Hawkwing Enterprises and the dead body of a young boy, Ellie suddenly becomes entangled with an elusive drug lord and the former Navy SEAL working with him. On Pine Island, a local and beloved business owner is blackmailed into moving cargo that goes against everything he believes in, bringing his world crashing down around him as he begins to live a sinister lie.
BITTER TIDE
When local Matlacha artist Jean Oglesby confides to Ellie that her son may be in some trouble, Ellie steps in to help and is sent down a winding trail that leads her into deep and unexpected waters. A Category 4 hurricane has Pine Island in its crosshairs, and as the winds whip the mainland, it forces Ellie to make a choice: flee for safety or stay and hunt down the weapons smugglers that have kidnapped and tortured an innocent man. And when a friend from the past suddenly appears with unexpected news, she begins to wonder if the truth is even out there and if she will be forced to finally bend the rules.
VACANT SHORE
Ellie has encountered setback after setback, and this time is no different. When a former adversary comes back for revenge, Ellie discovers the crosshairs cover more than she ever could have imagined and locks her into a deadly battle that has already claimed far too many innocent lives. As she gets ever closer to unmasking the lies running rampant over her community, Ellie finds corruption at the highest levels of government, forcing her to reexamine everything she knew to be true. In this nail-biting conclusion to an investigation that began in Broken Stern, Ellie’s pursuit of justice takes her to the very threshold of death’s door, and what she finds leading up to it is nothing short of terrifying.