Book picks similar to
Homage to Luxenben: Adventures on a Utopian Planet by Dan Hurwitz
scifi-fantasy
fiction
first-reads-wins
firstreads
The Chronicles of Engella Rhys
Paul Ian Cross - 2018
The first few chapters are available as 'The Chronicles of Engella Rhys (Preview).'
Would you sacrifice your future to save your past?
Engella Rhys is alone, adrift and on the run. Pursued by a secret agency, known only as the Hunters, she must stay ahead to stay alive. As she travels through space-time using dangerously experimental technology, she only has one wish: to be reunited with her lost parents. After a close shave with a Hunter on the streets of New Shanghai, Engella escapes to find herself on a deserted beach. When she meets a kind stranger, who offers her food and shelter, Engella feels safe and protected for the first time in years. But who is this woman? And why did their paths cross at the most convenient of times? Engella soon discovers their lives are intertwined in more ways than she could ever imagine.
The Girl Who Ate Kalamazoo
Darrin Doyle - 2010
Doyle has a flare for writing about family dysfunction with a twist. With a unique blend of realism and fantasy, The Girl Who Ate Kalamazoo is the moving story of the hauntingly beautiful Audrey Mapes, who began her illustrious "career" by downing crayons by the carton only to graduate to eating an entire city one bite at a time. With vivid, acerbic wit, Doyle details the life of the world's most gifted "eatist" through the eyes of Audrey's sister, McKenna. Through her eyes, we see the real tragedy of the Mapes story is not the destruction of a city, but rather, the quiet disintegration of a family who just didn't quite know how to love.
The Village Idiots: Part1 - Inheritance
Sara Alexi - 2017
Older, slightly more wayward and most definitely not wiser, Takis has spent his years taking Spiros under his wing, whilst taking advantage of his younger friends naivety.When the duo, who often scrape by in life to make a living, discover they are heirs to an estate, they mistakenly believe that their ship has come in!As they discover their inheritance is not all as it seems, Takis begins to plot their way out, dragging poor Spiros with him. As one escapade spirals in to another, Takis is easily lured by the money signs while Spiros finds his eyes are being opened to a wider world. Amidst the ouzo and the scheming, this charming and comical tale will leave you eagerly awaiting the next instalment!
La má del rei
George R.R. Martin - 1986
When the cyborg arrives, she senses a worthy and dangerous opponent--one that's been dead for 800 years...
Shetland
Jack Spain - 2014
In the end they burned the people. Karen was only nine when it started. Five years later she is watching the smoke rise from her parent's cremation with her younger brother and sister. She needs to find them somewhere safe. It won't be easy. Food is scarce. Militias round up the survivors to take them to death camps. Helicopters and drones patrol the sky on search and destroy missions. Rebels roam the countryside pillaging from the innocent for the supposed greater good, and vile opportunists prey on the weakest of the survivors. She has to get them off the mainland to a place the Loop hasn't touched. She knows where to go. It's a five hundred mile journey. It seems impossible. She doesn't know if they can make it. She calls it Shetland.
When Hope Calls
David Lui - 2017
They don't know who she is. They don't know where she is or her destination. All they have is a phone connection. Every clue draws them closer to her rescue...or pushes them to frustration. Within the next twelve hours, they must each make daring sacrifices and be tested to their limit.The clock is ticking, the odds are against them...will they be able find Mya?
The Rocking R Ranch
Tim Washburn - 2020
. . THE LEGEND BEGINS When the Ridgeway family staked their claim on more than 40,000 acres of land in northwest Texas, they knew they had their work cut out for them. Located on a sharp bend of the treacherous Red River, their new home—the Rocking R Ranch—was just a stone’s throw away from Indian territory. It was as lawless and wild as the West itself, crawling with unsavory characters, cattle rustlers, horse thieves, outlaws, robbers, and worse. But still, the Ridgeways were determined to make the Rocking R a success—and a home—for their four remarkable children: Percy, Eli, Abigail, and Rachel. This is their story. Together, the Ridgeways could endure anything. Floods, tornadoes, Commanche raids in the dead of night. But when one of their own is kidnapped . . . that’s when all hell breaks loose. This is their story. The story of the American West.
Family Wars Episode I: The Forced Dinner, Starring Dark Zader: Star Wars Parody, Kid's Books, Books For Kids, Children, Sci-fi, Parody Books, Teen Books, Fiction Books for Teens, Humorous Books)
Tyler Shaw - 2015
Dark Zader was one of the most powerful men in the galaxy, but when he threw his emperor down a shaft, he found himself without a job. Living with his kids and down on his luck, he finds that he only has one solution, beg for his old job back from the very emperor he thought he'd killed. Read as this family of rebel scum scrambles to prepare a dinner fit for an emperor in the most ridiculous culinary experience ever. Double the excitement. Triple the laughs. Paintbrush illustrations. This is... Family Wars Episode I: The Forced Dinner
Is This Me?
Tricia Copeland - 2015
What she does have a problem with is what she would have least expected, a guy. Smart and sexy, Doug is focused on school responsibilities and post-graduation plans. Their paths intersect and Amanda must accept his help or risk losing her scholarship. Determined to maintain appearances, Amanda begins to lie to family and friends. The ease at which she repeatedly deceives those closest becomes disturbing and leaves her questioning: “Is this me?” Can Amanda find her way out of her contrived world?
The Last Bush Pilots
Eric Auxier - 2012
But Mother Nature--and a beautiful Native Alaskan--stand in their way. Southeast Alaska Seaplanes, Juneau. Retired airline captain, Chief Pilot Dusty Tucker pilots a renegade band of flying misfits. Meet legendary bush pilot Jake "Crash" Whitakker, equally adept at landing planes and ladies--and "crashin' 'em" as well; prankster pilot Ralph Olaphsen, who once set an extinct volcano ablaze on April Fool's Day; and no-nonsense Check Airman Holly Innes, trying to cut a respectable niche in the notoriously macho bush pilot world--while escaping a dangerous past.Amid Alaska's volatile skies, DC and Allen face escalating challenges in and out of the cockpit. As the two cheechackos, or greenhorns, learn the ropes, they are also roped into Crash and Ralph's hare-brained scheme, Operation Dirty Harry. Under the suspicious nose of Draconian FAA Inspector Frederick Bruner, the pilots hatch a plot to hijack and rescue a planeload of orphaned bear cubs. Moreover, mischievous Tlingit Indian Tonya Hunter, as wild and unpredictable as the land in which she lives, plays the two lovestruck cheechackos against each other.But the true villain of the story is Mother Nature herself. Alaska's notoriously fickle weather and rugged terrain take on a life of its own.Can the two cheechackos survive Her relentless onslaught and launch their fledgeling airline careers?"Airline Captain, popular blogger and author Eric Auxier brings his former Alaska bush flying experience to life in his second novel, "The Last Bush Pilots." The award-winning "Code Name: Dodger" is his first. "Eric Auxier is the next Tom Clancy of Aviation." --Tawni Waters, Author, "Beauty of the Broken;" "Siren Song;" Grand Prize Recipient, Top Travel Writers 2010 "I flew through The Last Bush Pilots in one sitting, keeping my seatbelt securely fastened. A fast-paced tale, thoroughly enjoyed."--John Wegg, Editor Airways Magazine"Eric paints pictures with words that are every bit as beautiful and moving as anything ever drawn or photographed. " --Aviationguy.com
Nickel Fictions: 50 Exceedingly Brief Stories
Bob Thurber - 2011
If you enjoy small 'bite-size' stories, or are a fan of micro-fiction and flash fiction, you'll appreciate these sharply written, miniature creations from a "masterful wordsmith."
Murder Worth a Thousand Words (The Sisters, Texas Mystery Series, Book 12)
Becki Willis - 2021
The Mortal Religion
Marc Horn - 2012
Undo what she is. Brainwash her.And when the brutal conditioning's over she'll treat people like him as her equal and teach others to do the same.That's the plan.But when she starts to take a liking to him, emotion gets in the way. Lust. Weakness.He's never been wanted before.No one will sympathise with him if he takes advantage of her.Somehow he has to fight the consuming urges and stay focused.Or no one will follow the revolutionary new religion he's created, a religion that will change and unite us all.*E-thriller headlining Thriller of the Month April 2013**Featured on 42 Books to Read for Towel Day*A dark, disturbing and thought-provoking psychological thriller that explores the effects of social exclusion, THE MORTAL RELIGION takes you deep inside the soul of self-discovery, desperation, and obsession. Unique and perceptive, it will grab you from the first page and not let you go until the last.
The Book of Andy
Timothy Browne - 2021
We compare our life with the snapshots of happy faces posted on social media and feel terrible about our situation—often hopeless. What if we can live our lives, not defined by the trappings of this world, but by discovering contentment in the simple things and in what we are given?In this modern-day Book of Job, Andy sits at the bottom of life’s pecking order. Working as a honey-dipper (a septic truck driver) and living in a single-wide trailer in small-town Montana, Andy longs for love and a better life. His only solace is found on the wild side of the river amongst the ponderosa and bull trout.But when Andy is granted all that he desires, the peace he once found in his simple existence, and the serenity of dipping a dry fly into the Blackfoot River evaporates. A family secret that seems like a cruel betrayal emerges as a great blessing in disguise.The Book of Andy is for everyone who feels that life has beat them down…for anyone who prays for a breakthrough. Fans of Walter Mitty, A River Runs Through It, and Forrest Gump will enjoy this humorous family saga of finding faith, love, and contentment.
The Crying Bird
E.J. Stillings - 2017
Now, she’s a middle-aged millionaire, grieving the loss of her family. The only living relative she has left is her smothering younger sister. May’s sanity is already threatened when tensions rise, so she sets out to find solitude in Florida. However, life has other plans for her. Animal encounters, unlikely friendships, sisterly squabbles and hilarious scenarios take May on an unforgettable journey from the depths of grief to a new life. But, will she embrace it?