Book picks similar to
Grantville Gazette IX by Eric Flint


science-fiction
anthology
ring-of-fire
historical-fiction

North Reich


Robert Conroy - 2012
    From Conroy's introduction: North Reich tells what might have happened if Hitler had not so foolishly declared war on the United States.  FDR certainly understood that Germany was the greatest threat, but might have been helpless to do anything about it.  War between the United States and Germany was still considered inevitable, but not in December of 1941.  North Reich is the story of the war that was going to come sooner or later.  However, in this instance, the fighting takes place not in Europe but in North America.

One of Us


Craig DiLouie - 2018
    He loves his friends, even if the teachers are terrified of them. They're members of the rising plague generation. Each bearing their own extreme genetic mutation.The people in the nearby town hate Enoch, but he doesn't know why. He's never harmed anyone. Works hard and doesn't make trouble. He believes one day he'll be a respected man.But hatred dies hard. The tension between Enoch's world and those of the "normal" townspeople is ready to burst. And when a body is found, it may be the spark that ignites a horrifying revolution.

Velocity


B.V. Larson - 2010
    V. Larson! This 60,000 word book is an Anthology of short stories. Most are Science Fiction mixed with Horror. Others might be called Dark Fantasy... Many have been published previously in various magazines.The Barrier – What does it take to go faster than light?Symptoms of Godhood – How far can you modify a body and still call the results human?Discharged – A long war and an even longer stay in an automated hospital.Teeth at Bedtime – Technology follows us everywhere.The Insect Requirement – Great sacrifices are required for Earth’s early colonists.Blind Eyes – If we can design our own children, how far will we go?TA96 – Do our genes belong to us?Zundra’s Movies – A future where video is created with the mind, and insanity is fun to watch.Pinball – A young man builds his own watchdog.Love Aboard the Kamadeva – A love triangle between two desperate souls and a digital mirage.Starplay – A window into the universe becomes a door.The One-Way Gang – Leaving Earth is easy, but you can never come back.Rusted Metal – What has spent the last century in the basement?Lunar Lotto – Death comes instantly to outlaws in vacuum.The Rollers – Crime has been mostly eliminated by removing all forms of cash... Mostly.

Arcadia


Iain Pears - 2015
    He finds an unlikely confidante in Rosie, an inquisitive young neighbor who, while chasing after Lytten's cat one day, stumbles through a doorway in his cellar and into a stunning and unfamiliar bucolic landscape—remarkably like the fantasy world Lytten is writing about. There she meets a young boy named Jay who is about to embark on a journey that will change both their lives. Elsewhere, in a distopian society where progress is controlled by a corrupt ruling elite, the brilliant scientist Angela Meerson has discovered the potential of a powerful new machine. When the authorities come knocking, she will make an important decision—one that will reverberate through all these different lives and worlds.

Steampunk (Steampunk, #1)


Jeff VanderMeerJoseph E. Lake - 2008
    Blaylock"The Giving Mouth" by Ian R. MacLeod "A Sun in the Attic" by Mary Gentle "The God-Clown is Near" by Jay Lake"The Steam Man of the Prairie and the Dark Rider Get Down: A Dime Novel" by Joe R. Lansdale"The Selene Gardening Society" by Molly Brown"Seventy-Two Letters" by Ted Chiang"The Martian Agent, A Planetary Romance" by Michael Chabon"Victoria" by Paul Di Filippo"Reflected Light" by Rachel E. Pollock"Minutes of the Last Meeting" by Stepan Chapman"Excerpt from the Third and Last Volume of Tribes of the Pacific Coast" by Neal Stephenson"The Steam-Driven Time Machine: A Pop Culture Survey" by Rick Klaw"The Essential Sequential Steampunk: A Modest Survey of the Genre within the Comic Book Medium" by Bill Baker

The Best Alternate History Stories of the 20th Century


Harry TurtledoveKim Stanley Robinson - 2001
    . . Science fiction’s most illustrious and visionary authors hold forth the ultimate alternate history collection. Here you’ll experience mind-bending tales that challenge your views of the past, present, and future, including:• "The Lucky Strike": When The Lucky Strike is chosen over The Enola Gay to drop the first atomic bomb, fate takes an unexpected turn in Kim Stanley Robinson’s gripping tale.• "Bring the Jubilee": Ward Moore’s novella masterpiece offers a rebel victory at Gettysburg which changes the course of the Civil War . . . and all of American history.• "Through Road No Wither": After Hitler’s victory in World War II, two Nazi officers confront their destiny in Greg Bear’s apocalyptic vision of the future.• "All the Myriad Ways": Murder or suicide, Ambrose Harmon’s death leads the police down an infinite number of pathways in Larry Niven’s brilliant and defining tale of alternatives and consequences.• "Mozart in Mirrorshades": Bruce Sterling and Lewis Shiner explore a terrifying era as the future crashes into the past–with disastrous results.. . . as well as works by Poul Anderson • Gregory Benford • Jack L. Chalker • Nicholas A. DiChario • Brad Linaweaver • William Sanders • Susan Shwartz • Allen Steele • and Harry Turtledove himself!The definitive collection: fourteen seminal alternate history tales drawing readers into a universe of dramatic possibility and endless wonder.

Purgatory's Shore


Taylor Anderson - 2021
    A disparate group of young American soldiers are bound to join General Winfield Scott's campaign against Santa Anna at Veracruz during the Mexican-American War. They never arrive.Or rather . . . they arrive somewhere else.The untried, idealistic soldiers are mostly replacements, really; a handful of infantry, artillery, dragoons, and a few mounted riflemen with no unified command. And they've been shipwrecked on a terrible, different Earth full of monsters and unimaginable enemies.Major Lewis Cayce, late of the 3rd US "Flying" Artillery, must unite these men to face their fears and myriad threats, armed with little more than flintlock muskets, a few pieces of artillery, and a worldview that spiritually and culturally rebels against virtually everything they encounter. It will take extraordinary leadership and a cadre of equally extraordinary men and women to mold frightened troops into an effective force, make friends with other peoples the evil Holy Dominion would eradicate, and reshape their "manifest destiny" into a cause they can all believe in and fight for.For only together will they have any hope of survival.

Jezebel: Harlot Queen of Israel (Chronicles of the Watchers Book 1)


Brian Godawa - 2019
    A Clash of Titans. Ancient Israel thought she was bringing unity, progress and change. She brought Baal, the storm god of Canaan.870 B.C. Israel. Beautiful Jezebel of Tyre marries King Ahab of Israel to bring peace in a time of war.But when Jezebel builds a temple of Baal in the heart of Israel, the “mad prophet” Elijah challenges her to a duel of deities.In the supernatural realm, spiritual warfare breaks out as the demonic Canaanite Watchers led by Baal battle to take the land back from the Archangels who protect the Remnant of Israel.And so begins the war of gods and men.Join the battle in this heart-racing epic story of supernatural conflict, action and love based on the Bible and ancient historical research by a respected Christian author. Spin-off Series to Chronicles of the Nephilim What if the pagan gods of the nations were fallen angelic Watchers from God’s throne? Jezebel: Harlot Queen of Israel is part of the series Chronicles of the Watchers that charts the influence of spiritual warfare on human history, just like Chronicles of the Nephilim and Chronicles of the Apocalypse .

Disperse: The Cesmial Accords: A LitRPG Gamelit Adventure


Kevin Sinclair - 2021
    Unhealthy for Lyewax, at least.It’s not every day that violent earthquakes cause a rare and potent energy to leak from the planet's core. One that immediately kills over half the world's population while gifting the survivors with incredible powers.That energy is Cesmial. One of the most highly sought-after resources in the universe. Its sudden appearance has attracted attention.Enter the monsters. Huge, fearsome creatures with one purpose. Remove the Earth’s current occupants, so the Cesmial can be harvested.Humanity is on the back foot. They need heroes. They need leaders. They need Lyewax Vix. But he has more problems than you can poke a stick at. Embroiled in a game of cat and mouse with an unknowable enemy. Trapped in a loop of someone else’s making. If he can survive, then perhaps humanity has a chance too.

The Empire of Time


David Wingrove - 2014
    There is only the war.Otto Behr is a German agent, fighting his Russian counterparts across three millennia, manipulating history for moments in time that can change everything.Only the remnants of two great nations stand and for Otto, the war is life itself; the last hope for his people.But in a world where realities shift and memory is never constant, can one man’s destiny be the deciding factor in a war between the empires of time?

Ultimatum: The Proving Grounds


Wade Adrian - 2016
    Toby has been waiting for years to finally get his chance to see the game, but after server problems and issues with the download he only has a few minutes to do so before real life calls. And nothing seems to go right. His first glimpses of the world leave him confused, and it turns out he isn’t alone. Someone has broken into the server and changed things to suit themselves. Everyone has only one character, one life, and an impossible goal: make it to the end in a week. Everyone is mortal, and everyone is a killer. It’s open season on other players. The man who usurped the world chose Toby to be the champion of this cause, despite his lack of knowledge of game… or perhaps because of it. He is given a terrible weapon, the only one capable of setting things right. Yet he is just as mortal as everyone else. Or worse, as his character remains in the world even if he logs out. But with the future of their hard work on the line, the developers are not about to sit out of this fight. Their game, their reputation, and their very company are on the line. With Toby’s help they take up the challenge and fight to reclaim their world.

No Proper Lady


Isabel Cooper - 2011
    Demonic beasts are hot on his heels until the beautiful stranger unsheathes several knives strapped to her skin-tight trousers and kills them. As he stares at her fierce, heart-stopping face, Simon knows he's in a hell of a lot of trouble...Joan is from a time where demons run rampant and humanity is fighting for its existence. To prevent this terrible future, she is sent back to Victorian England to kill the magician responsible for unleashing the dark forces. But Joan is a soldier more used to sparring than dancing. To get close to her target, she'll need Simon to teach her how to fit into polite society. Joan doesn't mind practicing proper flirtation on Simon, but she can't allow herself to be distracted by his gentle hands or devilish smile--the very future depends on it.

The Highlander's Keep (Searching for a Highlander Book 2)


Bess McBride - 2017
    Just as she is packing her bags to leave, her long-time boyfriend ends their relationship, claiming that her love for him lacks passion and romance. Cynthia, the daughter of an absentee irresponsible archaeologist father, wants a steady reliable relationship devoid of drama. No sooner does Cyn set foot onto the foggy tidal sea stack of the Morrison stronghold than she falls headlong into a deep hole, all that remains of the keep that served as a lookout tower from rival feuding clans. A metal object slows her fall, the hilt of a medieval dagger. Cyn finds she has fallen not only in space, but in time, when she awakens in a world of rugged Highland Scotsmen who stand ready at all times to fight for their home, their women and children, their very lives. Steady and reliable they may be, but they are fiercely passionate about everything they hold dear. Cyn finds a sympathetic companion in Ann Borodell, the time traveling wife of the laird. But it is the wild ginger mane and compelling blue eyes of the brooding Highland warrior that capture her reluctant heart. Searching for a Highlander series Book 1 - The Highlander's Stronghold Book 2 - The Highlander's Keep Book 3 - The Highlander's Home (coming 2018)

Imhotep


Jerry Dubs - 2010
     Stumbling in the dark of an unfinished tomb beneath the sands of Saqqara, American tourist Tim Hope unknowingly passes through a time portal that leads to ancient Egypt — a time before the Sphinx, before the great pyramids of Giza, and long before the loss of his beloved Addy. When he discovers that two other Americans preceded him through the time portal, Tim immerses himself in the ancient world to search for them. As he becomes more comfortable with the simpler, more immediate land, he finds himself irresistibly attracted to the delicate Meryt, a wbt-priestess for the god Re. Learning that a seven-year famine has led to a plot to overthrow King Djoser, Tim discovers that his fate, the lives of the two Americans and the future of Egypt rest in the hands of the legendary Imhotep, master architect of the Step Pyramid, renowned physician and intimate adviser to King Djoser. Downloaded by more than 100,000 readers, “Imhotep" is the first book in an acclaimed four-book series about the ancient Egyptian architect Imhotep. The second book in the series is "The Buried Pyramid." The third book is "The Forest of Myrrh." The fourth book is "The Field of Reeds."

Steam Legion


Evan Currie - 2012
    Dyna of Sparta would not allow it, on her life and her ancestors she so swore.An Epic adventure set during the Early Roman Empire's era of expansion and unrest. Steam Legion develops from a real historical crossroads and explodes out in a new direction, derailing our history centuries before the first railroads were invented.When the revolts against the Empire reach the city of Alexandria, a small cadre of Legionnaires find themselves thrust into a revolution not of religion but of technology. Watch as Dyna of Sparta, Heron of Alexandria, and those who stand with them forge a new path to the future. Epic military action mixed with sparkling and memorable characters brings Legion to life, while forgotten technologies of our own distant past provide hope in an uncertain world.Watch and learn as Dyna of Sparta steps out of the Ivory Tower of the Library and into the sandals of her ancestors, blade in hand, to defend that which had become her life.