Book picks similar to
End of the Beginning by Jon Snyder


sci-fi
brian
standalone
ones-i-probably-won-t-find-anywhere

Talon the Slayer


A.A. Warren - 2019
    But when he makes his final kill, he discovers it was all a lie... Soon he’ll be sold to a new owner, and his blood will forever be registered as a slave to intergalactic scans.A mysterious alien sorceress named Salena holds the key not only to his freedom, but to his past. Amnesia, a byproduct of a life-pod malfunction, has stolen Talon's memories. But Salena has access to dark energy magic, a starship, and a ragtag mercenary crew that might just be skilled enough to make Talon a free man.When an ancient warlord devastates the galaxy with a weapon of terrifying power, Salena’s mission takes Talon into the most dangerous battle he’s ever faced. It will take the secrets locked in Talon’s memories—as well as his trusty plasma axe—to stop the dark forces that threaten the galaxy…Space fantasy fans will love this action-packed series. Featuring epic space battles, alien magic, and a warrior hero with a plasma axe...

The Color Out Of Space, The Dreams In The Witch House


H.P. Lovecraft - 2016
    Behind everything crouched the brooding, festering horror of the ancient town, and of the moldy, unhallowed garret gable where he wrote and studied and wrestled with figures and formulae when he was not tossing on the meager iron bed. His ears were growing sensitive to a preternatural and intolerable degree, and he had long ago stopped the cheap mantel clock whose ticking had come to seem like a thunder of artillery. At night the subtle stirring of the black city outside, the sinister scurrying of rats in the wormy partitions, and the creaking of hidden timbers in the centuried house, were enough to give him a sense of strident pandemonium. The darkness always teemed with unexplained sound—and yet he sometimes shook with fear lest the noises he heard should subside and allow him to hear certain other fainter noises which he suspected were lurking behind them.

The Days That Remain


Wayne Wightman - 2014
    Forests and cities have burned, rainfall is erratic, and shortages occur everywhere. Then it gets worse. In just one day, Allen's life turns upside down and everyone and everything is taken away from him, except for his dog. In his trek across an abandoned America to a place of refuge, he meets murderers and heroes, travels through empty cities and blackened forests, and crosses paths with the shadowy 404 group. In a world without the restraints of society, where people can be what they want to be, he meets the vicious, the peculiar, and the strangely beautiful--and his life changes. The Days That Remain is about surviving in a world too new to have an instruction book, where instant decisions can have life or death consequences. It is about the world we may leave to our children. 112,000 words. About Wayne Wightman's Fiction: John Brunner, the legend himself: “Wayne Wightman is agreeable company, both in person and via the printed page. As to the former, I’m afraid you will have to wait the chance to make his acquaintance…. As to the latter, however, now’s your chance.” Orson Scott Card, Hugo and Nebula winner: “[Wayne Wightman is] …one of the names I[‘ve] learned to look for…. He…is a romantic whose stories confess his belief that individuals can be larger than life, that their decisions can change the world around them.” Best Story of the Year 2011 awarded to Wayne Wightman's “Brutal Interlude” by Orson Scott Card's online magazine The Intergalactic Medicine Show. Richard Paul Russo, Philip K. Dick Award winner: “One of Wightman’s great strengths is his willingness to go to the edge. He pulls no punches, whether the story is serious or violent or manic. You can count on him to take you places other writers shy away from.” Lewis Shiner, writer par excellence and editor: “Wayne Wightman… has produced an impressive series of connected stories… full of manic energy, rich in colors and emotions.” Ed Ferman, editor of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction: “He writes top quality sf and fantasy, humor and horror, and he never forgets to tell a compelling tale.”

Galaxy's Edge: The First Trilogy


Jason Anspach - 2018
    When all hell breaks loose, they find themselves stranded, betrayed, and fighting for their lives… and the life of the man next to them. Galactic Outlaws An adventurous tale of bots, blasters, and bounty hunters. At the edge of the galaxy, a former Victory Company operator vies with a notorious bounty hunter to track down an enigmatic killer set on galactic conquest. Kill Team The curtain is pulled back to reveal the shadowy dealings of the Legion’s Dark Ops special forces and the Republic’s Nether Ops spy agency. Ruthless players weave their way through a seedy world of terrorism, rebellion, and murder. For audiobooks, see the Galaxy’s Edge series page: audible.com/series?asin=B079YXK1GL

The Magelands Epic (Books 5-8) An epic fantasy series


Christopher Mitchell - 2020
    

Keepers


Laura Kreitzer - 2012
    He’s engaged to the Illuminator’s sister Jenna, has a Fallen Angel bodyguard, and plans on adopting the cutest five year old anyone’s ever seen. If that isn’t enough to keep anyone busy, now Joseph’s home is under attack by reporters and protestors. After a frightening incident that leaves his house in ashes, he decides he’s had enough. Joseph’s ready to begin his life, but he can’t until the threat of the Empyrean Guard is neutralized. It’s war.

Shapeless


Glenn Bullion - 2017
    Boy must put his best face forward. Brady Jones doesn’t know where he came from. He knows nothing about his family. He doesn’t know what he is, or how it’s possible to do the amazing things he can do. He does know loneliness and survival, both from a life in the foster care system. He knows that he’s comfortable being alone on a Friday night. Despite the fact they’re so very different, he’d like to get to know Lily Ferguson better. Maybe even call her a friend. Brady knows he’s a shapeshifter. He can change his body to look like nearly anything he can imagine. An object, an animal, even other people. What he doesn’t know is how far the powers-that-be in the world will go to meet him, control him. He’s about to find out.

Nimbus


B.J. Keeton - 2013
    NIMBUS is steampunk for people who don't know they like steampunk, as well as being steampunk for people who already love steampunk!--Seedy corporations and airship factions, demons and rogues, zealots and thieves…Nimbus is an epic tale of power, greed, and corruption.Jude Finley is a new recruit aboard the Gangly Dirigible, an airship that extracts water from rainclouds. While working aboard the ship, Jude and his friends uncover a secret which may or may not help them against a growing uprising that could spell doom for everyone on the planet. Meanwhile, Demetrius Rucca, the wheelchair-bound son of a prominent religious leader, begins recruiting followers for his own subversive cause. As allegiances are sworn to him and his followers grow, he begins to discover the new powers that lie within him. This power could be the salvation Demetrius is looking for–or it could be the destruction of the known world.

Ghost Galaxy Omnibus


Sarah Noffke - 2020
    Save the galaxy. All in a hard day's work. Get both the Completed Omnibus of Ghost Squadron and Precious Galaxy series in one GIANT omnibus for a stellar price!Ghost Galaxy encompasses the two Age of Expansion series co-written by Sarah Noffke and Michael Anderle!Ghost Squadron's 7 book set:After 10 years of wandering the outer rim of the galaxy, Eddie Teach is a man without a purpose. He was one of the toughest pilots in the Federation, but now he's just a regular guy, getting into bar fights and making a difference wherever he can. It's not the same as flying a ship and saving colonies, but it'll have to do.That is, until General Lance Reynolds tracks Eddie down and offers him a job. There are bad people out there, plotting terrible things, killing innocent people, and destroying entire colonies.Someone has to stop them.Experience this exciting military sci-fi saga and the latest addition to the expanded Kurtherian Gambit universe. If you're a fan of Mass Effect, Firefly, or Star Wars, you'll love this riveting new space opera.Precious Galaxy completed 4 book set:A new evil lurks in the darknessAfter an explosion, the crew of a battlecruiser mysteriously disappears.CorruptionAfter an explosion, the crew of a battlecruiser mysteriously disappears.Bailey and Lewis, complete strangers, find themselves suddenly onboard the damaged ship. Lewis hasn’t worked a case in years, not since the final one broke his spirit and his bank account. The last thing Bailey remembers is preparing to take down a fugitive on Onyx Station.Mysteries are harder to solve when there’s no evidence left behind.Bailey and Lewis don’t know how they got onboard Ricky Bobby or why. However, they quickly learn that whatever was responsible for the explosion and disappearance of the crew is still on the ship.Monsters are real and what this one can do changes everything.The new team bands together to discover what happened and how to fight the monster lurking in the bottom of the battlecruiser. The stakes have never been higher No matter the cost, no matter the sacrifice, one thing is certain.The Federation cannot be allowed to fall.Note: If cursing is a problem, then this might not be for you.

Planetfall: A Story of the Dark


J.A. Sutherland - 2016
    Scion of a wealthy family on New London, he can have almost anything he wants. But what he wants more than anything is the freedom to make his own way and build his own legacy to pass down to his children. Together with his wife, Lynelle, he sells everything to buy shares in colonial company and settle the newly discovered world of Dalthus IV.Planetfall is a prequel to the Alexis Carew series, which starts with Into the Dark. If you’re new to the series, I suggest starting with Into the Dark, rather than Planetfall, as this story was written more for someone who’s already a fan of the series and is interested in more background on some of the characters and customs.Also, Planetfall is available free to subscribers to my mailing list … so there’s that. J.A. Sutherland

All Valley Tournament: A Supernatural Monster Hunt (Hunters for Hire Book 3)


Jonathan Yanez - 2021
    

The Obsidian Chronicles, Book One: Ender Rain (The Unofficial Minecraft Adventure Short Stories)


Mark Mulle - 2014
    When his friend, Austin, a crafter, joins him for the first time in search of the vast amounts of ore and treasure in the Underground, a climactic series of events is set into motion. There is something below the Underground though, and Austin is sure that the world’s strongest materials are there for the taking. But so too are some of the world’s most dangerous creatures, legendary items, and magical secrets. Cave-ins, explosive detonations, massive spiders, and the undead—these are all common problems for Vincent and his team of miners and crafters. Join them as they strategically battle new threats, enchant their gear with new power, and explore caves flowing with lava and teeming with darkness incarnate. Author's Note: This short story is for your reading pleasure. The characters in this "Minecraft Adventure Series" such as Steve, Endermen, Herobrine or Obsidian...etc are based on the Minecraft Game. Minecraft Adventure Series *Book 2* http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K7ZT7WA/ *Book 3* http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K804RL0/

Oliver's Wishes


Cory Gaffner - 2018
     Last week I had an IQ so low that I sometimes forgot how to get home, and could barely stumble through sentences. This week I am the owner of the most advanced space station in the known universe and I wield powers that can alter reality itself. If I have the energy that my power is dependent upon... You see I get more energy every day, it's a set amount. I can stockpile it or burn it all up on one giant "upgrade" as I like to call it. This power comes from one of the wishes I made, yes, on a magical genie's lamp. I know that sounds crazy. So what do a Viking woman from 800AD, a U.S. Army combat veteran, and a fat gaming nerd have in common? Well, they're my team, and if I can save up enough energy I can use my new power to give them superpowers of their own. That's the plan at least. The problem with my plan is that I have some shadow organization looking for me. They'll kill me, my family, my friends, and everyone I have ever loved to get the lamp. What do they want? As far as I can tell they want to rewrite our universe into some kind of communist paradise where freewill comes second to safety and the government. I have to find some way to keep the lamp from the organization going after it that involves more than just hiding up in my space station. I refuse to be a hermit coward. I also have an ingrained need to help people, and now I have the power to do that. I have more resources at my disposal than any law enforcement agency on earth, and a team of people willing to help me. I want to be a hero, but I have no idea what I'm doing. Did I mention I was a barely functioning idiot last week? Content Warning: This book contains foul language, mild gore, and fictional politics.

The Super Olympian: Mystic Warrior (Shapechanger Tales)


Laer Carroll - 2012
    But Olympic gold medalist Sasha Canaro hides that side of herself. Publicly she is merely a high-paid fashion model and occasional consultant to police, who call her The Bloodhound. Then she meets a billionaire industrialist who may be another immortal shapechanger. Or something even stranger. And the woman has a job for Sasha.

Cursed: Water Sorceress


D.L. Harrison - 2020
    At least, not until she vacationed in Chicago and ran into a Sorcerer of Air who sets her free.Her world is about to be turned upside down. Witches, dark covens, vampires, sorcerers, and good and evil are all coming for her, ready or not. She’s going to need a little help, if she’s going to survive it all.Note: This is the first book of a trilogy. No major cliffhangers but expect a few unresolved plot threads. This story is told in the first person, from Danielle’s point of view.