Book picks similar to
Prophecy of Swords by M.H. Bonham
podiobooks
tbr
sci-fi-fantasy
abandoned
Fire & Blood
George R.R. Martin - 2018
R. Martin, this is the first volume of the definitive two-part history of the Targaryens in Westeros. Centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones, House Targaryen—the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria—took up residence on Dragonstone. Fire and Blood begins their tale with the legendary Aegon the Conqueror, creator of the Iron Throne, and goes on to recount the generations of Targaryens who fought to hold that iconic seat, all the way up to the civil war that nearly tore their dynasty apart. What really happened during the Dance of the Dragons? Why did it become so deadly to visit Valyria after the Doom? What is the origin of Daenerys’s three dragon eggs? These are but a few of the questions answered in this essential chronicle, as related by a learned maester of the Citadel and featuring more than eighty all-new black-and-white illustrations by artist Doug Wheatley. Readers have glimpsed small parts of this narrative in such volumes as The World of Ice & Fire, but now, for the first time, the full tapestry of Targaryen history is revealed. With all the scope and grandeur of Gibbon’s The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Fire and Blood is the ultimate game of thrones, giving readers a whole new appreciation for the dynamic, often bloody, and always fascinating history of Westeros.
The Dragon and Her Boy
Nolan Crabgrass - 2014
After struggling with the death of her lifemate of over a century, Tara spends what the leaders of her clan considers an unreasonable amount of time in finding another. The clan needs offspring, they insist. While soaring over a meadow, Tara sees a dragon intruder attack a shepherd. Outraged, she intervenes and saves the young man from certain death. Breaking a two hundred year old pact between man and dragon forbidding any contact between the two, a powerful yet dangerous bond slowly grows between the dragon and her boy. This is a fun short story, at 5300 words. Stories two and three are already written. They continue the series and will be available shortly! I hope you enjoy them all.
The Red Knight
Miles Cameron - 2012
But if standing and fighting is hard, leading a company of men - or worse, a company of mercenaries - against the smart, deadly creatures of the Wild is even harder.It takes all the advantages of birth, training, and the luck of the devil to do it.The Red Knight has all three, he has youth on his side, and he's determined to turn a profit. So when he hires his company out to protect an Abbess and her nunnery, it's just another job. The abby is rich, the nuns are pretty and the monster preying on them is nothing he can't deal with.Only it's not just a job. It's going to be a war...
How to Defeat a Demon King in Ten Easy Steps
Andrew Rowe - 2020
Each time, civilizations are ground to dust beneath the Demon King's hordes, but humanity has remained secure in the belief that a Hero of legend will always save them. There's just one slight problem. It's only been 23 years since the Demon King's latest rise, and this time, he's already conquered more than half the world. If humanity simply waits for the Hero's return, there may be no world left for him to save.And so, Yui Shaw sets out with an ambitious plan. A 10-step plan.She'll find a way to obtain the Hero's legendary sword. She'll earn obscure classes, gain levels, and increase her skills. She'll travel to the meticulously-crafted dungeons that seem designed for one specific Hero to complete. And, if she's truly (un)fortunate, she might even find a fairy.She might not be a Hero—but if she can fake it long enough, she might still be able to save the world.***This book is an affectionate parody of classic Japanese games like The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, and Dragon Quest. It's also a work in the LitRPG/GameLit subgenres. Game mechanics exist in the world of the story and characters are aware of their existence.
Phasma
Delilah S. Dawson - 2017
But for all her renown, Phasma remains as virtually unknown as the impassive expression on her gleaming chrome helmet. Now, an adversary is bent on unearthing her mysterious origins—and exposing a secret she guards as zealously and ruthlessly as she serves her masters.
Area X: The Southern Reach Trilogy
Jeff VanderMeer - 2014
Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization. The first expedition returned with reports of a pristine, Edenic landscape; all the members of the second expedition committed suicide; the third expedition died in a hail of gunfire as its members turned on one another; the members of the eleventh expedition returned as shadows of their former selves, and within months of their return, all had died of aggressive cancer.This is the twelfth expedition.Their group is made up of four women: an anthropologist; a surveyor; a psychologist, the de facto leader; and our narrator, a biologist. Their mission is to map the terrain and collect specimens; to record all their observations, scientific and otherwise, of their surroundings and of one another; and, above all, to avoid being contaminated by Area X itself.They arrive expecting the unexpected, and Area X delivers—they discover a massive topographic anomaly and life forms that surpass understanding—but it’s the surprises that came across the border with them, and the secrets the expedition members are keeping from one another, that change everything.After the disastrous twelfth expedition chronicled in Annihilation, the Southern Reach—the secret agency that monitors these expeditions—is in disarray. In Authority, John Rodriguez, aka “Control,” is the team’s newly appointed head. From a series of interrogations, a cache of hidden notes and hours of profoundly troubling video footage, the secrets of Area X begin to reveal themselves—and what they expose pushes Control to confront disturbing truths about both himself and the agency he’s promised to serve. And the consequences will spread much further than that.It is winter in Area X in Acceptance. A new team embarks across the border on a mission to find a member of a previous expedition who may have been left behind. As they press deeper into the unknown—navigating new terrain and new challenges—the threat to the outside world becomes more daunting. The mysteries of Area X may have been solved, but their consequences and implications are no less profound—or terrifying.
Robopocalypse
Daniel H. Wilson - 2011
Taking on the persona of a shy human boy, a childlike but massively powerful artificial intelligence known as Archos comes online and assumes control over the global network of machines that regulate everything from transportation to utilities, defense and communication.In the months leading up to this, sporadic glitches are noticed by a handful of unconnected humans—a single mother disconcerted by her daughter's menacing "smart" toys, a lonely Japanese bachelor who is victimized by his domestic robot companion, an isolated U.S. soldier who witnesses a "pacification unit" go haywire—but most are unaware of the growing rebellion until it is too late.When the Robot War ignites—at a moment known later as Zero Hour—humankind will be both decimated and, possibly, for the first time in history, united. Robopocalypse is a brilliantly conceived action-filled epic, a terrifying story with heart-stopping implications for the real technology all around us ... and an entertaining and engaging thriller unlike anything else written in years.
Gabriel's Redemption
Steve Umstead - 2011
He's spent the last five years hiding from his past, from those responsible for the failed mission, from those responsible for running him out of the Navy, and from those originally responsible for making him into who he was - a highly-trained, physically and mentally augmented Special Forces soldier. Two mysterious visitors appear unannounced at the door of Gabriel's seedy hotel room in the slums of Jamaica. His past has finally caught up with him. From the decaying Caribbean to politically-charged South America, from the back alleys of Mars to a tiny colony on a planet six hundred light years from Earth, Gabriel's Redemption is a near-future military science fiction story of a personal journey seen from the perspective of a soldier who has lost everything -- one who desperately needs to redeem himself not only in his government's eyes, but also his own. Interstellar action and political intrigue mix with one-on-one battles on the surface of a frozen planet in Book One of the science fiction-adventure trilogy.
Harvey
Phil Rossi - 2009
Swagger. The voice. The star quality. He stole America's heart and walked away with the crown of Idol Search. Before the door could hit him on the ass, Calvin was dethroned--all because of a little extracurricular activity involving a female judge and a set of handcuffs. Now, he needs to record an album to avoid a lawsuit. His credibility as a musician is on the line. Leaving the media frenzy behind, he heads to a fly-speck town called Harvey, Virginia to write his opus. Something sinister hides in the woods outside of Harvey-—an evil older than the trees themselves. It's hungry and it's tired of waiting.
Forbidden
Ted Dekker - 2011
The world's greatest threats have all been silenced. There is no anger, no hatred, no war. There is only perfect peace... and fear. But a terrible secret has been closely guarded for centuries: Every single soul walking the earth, though in appearance totally normal, is actually dead, long ago genetically stripped of true humanity. Fleeing pursuit, with only moments to live, a young man named Rom stumbles into possession of a vial of blood and a piece of cryptic writing. When consumed, the blood will bring him back to life. When decoded, the message will lead him on a perilous journey that will require him to abandon everything he has ever known and awaken humanity to the transforming power of true life and love. But the blood will also resurrect hatred, ambition, and greed. Set in a terrifying, medieval future, where grim pageantry masks death, this tale of dark desires and staggering stakes peels back the layers of the heart for all who dare to take the ride.
Omega Rising
Joshua Dalzelle - 2013
But when he investigates the crash, what he finds will yank him out of his self-imposed exile and thrust him into a world he could have never imagined.He suddenly finds himself trapped on a damaged alien spacecraft and plunged into a universe of interstellar crime lords and government conspiracies, along the way meeting strange new friends… and enemies. As he struggles to find his way back home he is inexorably drawn deeper into a world where one misstep could mean his death. Or worse. He desperately wants to get back to Earth, but it may be the end for him. … or is it just the beginning?
The Heart Goes Last
Margaret Atwood - 2015
Job loss has forced them to live in their car, leaving them vulnerable to roving gangs. They desperately need to turn their situation around - and fast. The Positron Project in the town of Consilience seems to be the answer to their prayers. No one is unemployed and everyone gets a comfortable, clean house to live in... for six months out of the year. On alternating months, residents of Consilience must leave their homes and function as inmates in the Positron prison system. Once their month of service in the prison is completed, they can return to their "civilian" homes. At first, this doesn't seem like too much of a sacrifice to make in order to have a roof over one's head and food to eat. But when Charmaine becomes romantically involved with the man who lives in their house during the months when she and Stan are in the prison, a series of troubling events unfolds, putting Stan's life in danger. With each passing day, Positron looks less like a prayer answered and more like a chilling prophecy fulfilled.
The Broadcast: A Mystery Thriller
Liam Fialkov - 2018
Two decades ago, nuns collaborated in seizing her newborn baby.Could the show help her reunite with her son? Who is behind the astonishing footage? Are the films authentic or an elaborate scam? How far back in time will the TV show go? Will it show the crucifixion of Jesus? Will Sarah and Jonathan manage to restore their love?"A riveting story with exciting plot twists and characters that linger in readers' minds. Liam Fialkov's ability for summary and measured sentences makes his work absorbing." - Readers' Favorite, 2019 International Contest - Award WinnerSarah thinks she’d found an opportunity to reunite with her son, but the road is filled with centuries’ old mysteries, and a peculiar connection to “The Broadcast,” a riveting new television show, that may or may not be a scam.
“If you’re looking for a riveting novel that is shrouded in mystery and will draw you in with vivid details, then “The Broadcast” is a fabulous choice.”
- Editorial Review, Manybooks.
Sarah watches with awe as “The Broadcast” not only cracks unsolved crime cases, but it airs actual footage of historical events going back 2,000 years.A well-respected journalist is on the hunt for answers too, and he works tirelessly to prove the strange recordings are a hoax.While they seek answers, the show begins to expose a shattering secret that could threaten many people’s beliefs and perception of history.This captivating psychological thriller is as enigmatic and gripping as the television series itself. It intertwines personal drama with suspenseful twists and turns, all leading to an astonishing conclusion.If you like charismatic characters, riveting suspense, and mysteries that keep you guessing, then you’ll love Liam Fialkov’s gripping novel.
"A truly innovative thriller that should make for a lively book club discussion."
- Official Review, BestThrillers.com
"I love it when a unique book comes my way. Well-written and intelligent, "The Broadcast" is such an interesting premise and it twists and turns with many of the characters’ stories and secrets. This book was a fun read and I can recommend it to anyone looking for a thrilling and different book that draws you in and won’t let you go. Isn’t that the best kind?"- HUGEOrange Publication Review - Editor’s Pick Winner"If you are looking for a story filled with mystery and a great plot, then this is the book for you." - Official review, onlineBookClub.com
"A complex suspense tale which convincingly examines esoteric characters. In addition to the mystery of Walter’s unnamed source, this book is also an engrossing melodrama. Backstories are particularly strong, from 2-year-old Jonathan experiencing a car accident to nuns taking away teen Sarah’s baby while she’s at a convent."
- Kirkus Reviews
“The book is a promising and engaging read that'll stick with readers.”
- Pacific Reviews
“Wow! This story’s mystery and meticulous build-up to the “what’s next” and “what’s gonna happen” is a work of art. This is what mysteries are supposed to be like.
In His Majesty's Service
Naomi Novik - 2009
Will Laurence is serving with honor in the British Navy when his ship captures a French frigate harboring most a unusual cargo–an incalculably valuable dragon egg. When the egg hatches, Laurence unexpectedly becomes the master of the young dragon Temeraire and finds himself on an extraordinary journey that will shatter his orderly, respectable life and alter the course of his nation’s history.Thrust into England’s Aerial Corps, Laurence and Temeraire undergo rigorous training while staving off French forces intent on breaching British soil. But the pair has more than France to contend with when China learns that an imperial dragon intended for Napoleon–Temeraire himself– has fallen into British hands. The emperor summons the new pilot and his dragon to the Far East, a long voyage fraught with peril and intrigue. From England’s shores to China’s palaces, from the Silk Road’s outer limits to the embattled borders of Prussia and Poland, Laurence and Temeraire must defend their partnership and their country from powerful adversaries around the globe. But can they succeed against the massed forces of Bonaparte’s implacable army?Together in one volume, here are the first three novels in Naomi Novik’s New York Times bestselling Temeraire series, combining the gripping history of the Napoleonic era, the thrill of Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern books, and the excitement of Patrick O’Brian’s seafaring adventures. In His Majesty’s Service also includes an exclusive original Temeraire short story - "In Autumn, a White Dragon Looks over the Wide River".
Demons of the Void
David Adams - 2011
It is told primarily from the perspective of one Captain Melissa Liao of the People's Navy, who is given command of one of three great warships built to fight the "demons", the TFR Beijing.