Book picks similar to
Chimera #3 (of 4) by Ron Marz


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science-fiction

Big Sky Wedding


Delilah Devlin - 2019
    Real Adventures... Sky Reynolds knows that he and Jamie Burke are perfect for each other. Both prior-military, they met while they were stationed in the desert, and fate brought them back together in the Montana mountains. They love working together, love everything about the new life they share, however, for some reason Jamie's been dragging her feet regarding wedding plans. After a particularly stressful time, they take a break. Sky heads out on a mission in the Gulf with the Brotherhood Protectors, and Jamie's chasing a dangerous felon through the woods with her tracking dog, Tessa. Sky and Jamie have time to think about what's really important, and when Sky returns and joins her on the trail, he has a plan to give Jamie the wedding of her dreams.

Up, Simba! Up, Simba!


David Foster Wallace - 2000
    They wanted to know why McCain appealed so much to so many Americans, and particularly why he appealed to the "Young Voters" of America who generally show nothing but apathy. The "Director's Cut" (three times longer than the RS article) is an incisive, funny, thoughtful piece about life on "Bullshit One" -- the nickname for the press bus that followed McCain's Straight Talk Express. This piece becomes ever more relevant, as we discuss what we know, don't know, and don't want to know about the way our political campaigns work.

Noah's Love


Linzi Baxter - 2018
    Noah Steele hasn't had many lucky days since he lost half his unit--and his leg--in an Afghanistan ambush. He's got his hands full repairing the dilapidated Montana Gold spread, but when he learns human traffickers are operating right at the ranch's border, he can't refuse one last mission for the CIA. A tiny, blonde pixie asking for a job is a distraction he can't afford. But one glimpse at the desperation in her sharp blue eyes, the defiance in every curve of her luscious body, he finds himself not refusing twice in one day. Never a good sign. A brother she's desperate to rescue... Matilda Marlow knows zilch about ranching, but she's spent her last dime to track her wayward brother to the cult compound adjacent to this ranch. No matter what, she has to prove herself to this tall, taciturn cowboy who, for all his intimidating size, sets her heart fluttering. When Noah finds Matilda trying to hide her misery, he can't resist taking her in his arms--where her secrets spill out and change Noah's mission. He hopes the new information will crack the case, save her brother, keep his stubborn little ranch hand safe--and maybe, if he's lucky, make their temporary arrangement permanent.

We Dare


Eric Thomson - 2019
    The Marines of Ghost Squadron are humanity’s foremost black ops specialists who strike without warning and vanish without a trace.  They will do whatever is necessary to protect humanity anywhere in the known galaxy.  With the Commonwealth increasingly unstable thanks to venal politicians, greedy financiers, and power-hungry revolutionaries, they don’t lack for missions.When an undercover Constabulary officer vanishes after uncovering a massive cartel-run human trafficking operation, the Commonwealth’s interstellar police force calls for help from Naval Intelligence.  Because the cartel’s operations could upend the delicate political balance between the older core worlds and the more recently colonized outer star systems, Ghost Squadron gets the job.  Its mission: find the missing Constabulary officer and choke off the growing slave trade bedeviling humanity’s perilous galactic frontier.Ghost Squadron’s commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Zachary Thomas Decker, spent the last ten years as a Naval Intelligence agent.  His job was thwarting plots and terminating the Commonwealth’s internal enemies alongside his partner, a trained assassin.  Now, with several hundred of the deadliest Marines ever fielded at his back, Zack Decker will change the course of history and usher in a new era. Humanity's interstellar empire ended in "Ashes of Empire."  Witness its birth a thousand years earlier in Eric Thomson's new series "Ghost Squadron."

In Every Clime and Place


Patrick LeClerc - 2014
    Always Faithful. The motto of the United States Marine Corps. Words to live by. On the ragged edges of civilization, Corporal Michael Collins has lived those words, taking on riots and evacuations, rebels and terrorists. Asteroid belt patrol is just another deployment. Ninety nine percent boredom, one percent terror. But soon the platoon of Marines find themselves entangled in the threads of a conspiracy of corporate greed, government corruption, piracy, and a band of war criminals. As the fire team leader struggles with tensions in the close knit unit, Collins and his fellow Marines find themselves outnumbered in a pitched battle to stop a corrupt land grab that seems right out of the Old West, but on a new, wider, more unforgiving frontier. And now he must confront the harsh demands of being “always faithful.” Semper Fi. Words to live by. Words to die by. Time to earn that combat pay, Marines. Welcome to the Suck. And remember, you volunteered for this. Patrick LeClerc has crafted a tense, military action adventure on the edge of civilization: Earth’s mining colonies in the asteroid belt. “In Every Clime and Place” combines the spirit of classic s/f of Heinlein’s “Starship Troopers” or David Drake’s “Hammer’s Slammers” with the isolated, small unit grunt’s eye view intimacy of George MacDonald Fraser’s “Quartered Safe Out Here.” "In Every Clime and Place” is a frontier land grab; a tale of government corruption and corporate piracy, and a near future Marine science fiction story, told with gritty authenticity, gallows humor and raw emotion, evoking the closeness and isolation of a small unit deployed to the distant edge of a bleak and dangerous frontier. BOOK REVIEW Set some 60 years in the future, this impressive, fast-paced novel is as much ‘Semper fi’ as it is sci-fi. The convincing story centers on the hard-hitting law and order role of the USMC in dealing with organized commercial pirates causing mayhem on planet Mars. The plot’s development is cleverly stage-managed by the author (a former US Marine) From the very first page, authenticity is the dominant hallmark of this exciting and very readable book. Don’t expect to read this novel a chapter at a time, last thing at night and then drop off to sleep. I found it impossible to put down. This book demanded and held my attention. The very believable characters live off the pages. They, their gritty Service dialogues and the battle scenes are all USMC through and through. Long before that iconic US Marine legend, Chesty Puller, was mentioned in the story, I was sold on this book’s authenticity and the author’s credibility. I thoroughly recommend it as an absorbing, exciting read. It has, too, the makings of a great film. -Mike Williams, Royal Marine, SBS, Author of The Tremayne Trilogy

The Irish Brigade: A Fallen Empire Novel


J.F. Holmes - 2020
    

Duty, Honor, Planet: The Complete Trilogy


Rick Partlow - 2014
    Join Fleet Intelligence officers Jason McKay and Shannon Stark as they and their special operations team as they confront a ruthless, enigmatic enemy that threatens the very survival of the human Republic. As the story continues through the three books, they begin to wonder if the biggest threat to their interstellar civilization comes from without...or within.

P.N. Elrod Lunch Time Reading Omnibus


P.N. Elrod - 2011
    Elrod's picked 15 of her favorite short works for this multi-genre collection spanning 15 years of publication.Also included is a never before published VAMPIRE FILES story, featuring her urban fantasy vampire PI, Jack Fleming!Each story has been polished afresh for this anthology, with pages of new material added.More information -- and previews of the stories! -- may be found at her website vampwriter-dot-com.Titles:1. A Night at the (Horse) Opera (Vampire Files, Fleming)2. The Breath of Bast (Vampire Files), Ecsott)3. Bossman (Original mystery, no vamps)4. Slaughter (Vampire Files, Fleming & Gordy)5. The Devil's Mark (Original historical vampire)6. You'll Catch Your Death (Vampire Files)7. Izzy's Shoe-In (Historical mystery introducing Izzy DeLeon, fearless girl reporter)8. The Quick Way Down (Vampire Files, Fleming and Gordy)9. The Scottish Ploy (Original romance/mystery)10. Grave-Robbed (Vampire Files, Fleming)11. The Company You Keep (Vampire Files, Gabriel Kroun)12. Death in Dover (Jonathan Barrett before he got vamped, historical mystery)13. Drawing Dead (ALL NEW VAMPIRE FILES, Fleming)14. King of Shreds and Patches (Hamlet from a different point of view, mystery)15. Fugitive (Science fiction/space opera)16. BONUS STORY! The Wind Breathes Cold (Quincey Morris: Vampire)

Vampire Diaries Collection: 8 Titles in 6 Books


L.J. Smith
    Time Bestselling Author In New YorkVampire Diaries Story 8 Titles in 6 BooksTitles in This SetThe Awakening + The Struggle, The Fury + The Reunion, Nightfall, Shadow Souls, The Return: Midnight, Phantom.

Buckles, Boots & Mistletoe


Maggie Shayne - 2015
    Even more exciting, each of these stories will spin off into a series of its own. Maggie Shayne’s CHRISTMAS BLUESA true believer returns the music to a lonesome drifter’s soul.Miranda’s Shayne’s FINDING CHRISTMASA small-town coffee shop owner melts a humbug hero’s wounded heart.River Shayne’s A HERO FOR HANNAHCan a woman in grave danger learn to trust one more time?Jessica Lewis’s THE SOLDIER’S CHRISTMAS BABYA lonely serviceman comes home for a holiday he’ll never forget.Grab a cup of eggnog, curl up near the tree, and fall in love with the holidays all over again!

The Privateer


William Zellmann - 2012
    The slaves stole an ore carrier and escaped, and after failing at trade, desperation and hatred drove them to piracy. John was a hugely successful pirate, until forced to confront the horrors committed by his men. He grabs a ship and a bag of gems, and runs away, determined to regain his self-respect. Pursued by his former colleagues, he flees across man-settled space. Along the way, he learns that his ship is much more than a simple yacht, deals with a stowaway girl, almost accidentally buys an orbital scrap yard, finds himself responsible for a beautiful young woman, fights off a pirate attack, falls in love, makes a friend, and learns that his refuge has been invaded by another planet. John, now Cale, and his friends plan to use derelicts from his scrap yard to free his sanctuary planet. But can a bunch of resurrected hulks really defeat a planetary fleet? And just what IS a Privateer, anyway?

Hard Drop


Will van der Vaart - 2013
    Their objective is classified, marked only by coordinates leading them into a deserted city at the heart of the fighting. From the beginning, everything possible goes wrong. A missile strike rocks the carrier mid-launch, and only a fraction of the unit reaches the surface alive.Outmanned, outgunned, and scattered, with a hard deadline to orbital bombardment looming, it is up to Drop Commander Tyco Hale to rally his troops and reach their objective. But what they find, hidden deep in the tunneled passages under the city, will change everything about what he fights for and what he believes in. With the unit in tatters and loyalties divided, the choice he makes in the dark will seal all of their fates - and much more besides.

Superman #1


George Pérez - 2011
    The new adventures of Superman begin here! What is The Man of Steel’s startling new status quo? How does it affect Lois Lane and the Daily Planet? There’s no time for answers now, because Superman must stop a monstrous threat to Metropolis—one that he is somehow the cause of!

Whiskey Creek, Vol. 2: Home to Whiskey Creek / Take Me Home for Christmas / Come Home to Me


Brenda Novak - 2015
    But popular and successful Noah Rackham is shocked when Adelaide won't have anything to do with him. He has no idea that his very presence reminds her of something she'd rather forget. He only knows that he's finally met a woman he could love. TAKE ME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS Everyone in Whiskey Creek remembers Sophia DeBussi as the town's Mean Girl. Especially Ted Dixon, whose love she once scorned. But Sophia has paid the price—the man she did marry was rich and powerful but abusive. When he goes missing, she learns that he died running from an FBI probe of his investment firm, leaving her penniless and forced to face all the townspeople he cheated. Desperate for work, she accepts a job as housekeeper for Ted, now a successful writer. He refuses to get emotionally involved, but will the holidays bring them another chance at happiness? COME HOME TO ME When Presley Christensen returns to Whiskey Creek with her little boy, she has completely changed her life. Now she's back in the small town that was the closest thing to “home” she ever knew. There's just one catch. Aaron Amos still lives in Whiskey Creek, and no matter how hard she's tried, Presley hasn't been able to get over him. She's come too far to backslide now. And there's a secret she's been guarding—a secret she'll do anything to protect.

Cadets


Edward Miller - 2013
    But when news comes of an alien invasion of Earth--the first in human history--they are thrown together on a deadly, unauthorized mission to face an unknown enemy. What they find is beyond their wildest expectations. A discovery that changes everything they thought they knew...about their hostile adversaries--and mankind. With a trail of riddles and mysteries, epic space battles and journeys to the far corners of Earth, this "Star Trek meets Indiana Jones" Sci-Fi Adventure from Author Edward Miller should appeal to fans of Sci-Fi Space Operas and Young Adult Science Fiction. Edward Miller's debut novel with co-author J.B. Manas, The Kronos Interference, was named to Kirkus reviews best of 2012 and received a Starred Review from Kirkus, which called it "Impressively original" and a "Tour De Force."