1) "Empire of the Gods" by David Stag
Linus is taken prisoner from earth by a barbaric civilization rampaging through our galaxy. He is to be sold into slavery, spending his life toiling in the factories or front lines. Or he may be killed at any time for the amusement of his captors. This evil Empire is ruled by invincible tyrants with limitless abilities. They have powers to make any wish come true just by thinking of it. And the depravity of the rules filters down to every level of society. This empire has vast armies with advanced technology far beyond that of any of the conquered planets. Linus is not a superhero. He is an ordinary person with no special weapons or fighting skills. His journey through this society is a revelation about ourselves and our culture. It's a study of power, who has it and how they got it. This novel is about 157,000 words (about twice the size of the average sci-fi book). It is not intended for children or teenagers, but will be entertaining to thinking adults.
2) "Blackbirds and Sparrows" Jolyon Grace
In the far off land of the Continent; a land which stretches from the cold ice fields of Snowfeld through the beautiful land of Rhianna to the swamps and deserts of Great Zabhia; life is born, it serves out its time and then it surrenders to the void. But life doesn’t meander randomly along with the waves of time – destiny plays its hand steering the ship at every twist and turn. Prophecies rise from the dust, some wither away unheeded but others shape nations. The funny thing about Prophecies though – is it can basically be all down to interpretation…
Jrack was a down to earth sort of guy – nothing much phased him. Prophecies, the arts, the mysteries; politics, war and peace – Jrack just took what life threw at him – and life had dealt him some cruel blows in its time. Jrack was a survivor. At 15 his family was butchered, he survived but was captured and taken as a slave to the diamond mines. Many died during the ordeal but he survived and escaped when he was 18. He joined the army and went to war but survived whatever military campaigns he was thrust into. What did not destroy him made him stronger. Life had shaped him into a formidable warrior…
Jrack was fates trump card and one day when he was least expecting it he was summoned to do his duty. Jrack was a Blackbird, one of the King’s elite guards, sworn to protect the King with his life. The King was in exile but it was soon time to return to his rightful throne – after all – it WAS Prophesised! Jrack and his companions were about to undertake a remarkable journey that was to take them through love and loyalty, honour and betrayal, the real and the unreal.
This fantasy heroic trilogy depicts this amazing journey, the first book – Blackbirds and Sparrows – describes the return to the homeland of Rhianna where the seeds of destiny are all sown…
Jrack’s escape from the diamond mines is a key trigger event in the path of the Prophecy, and is the incident that started the course of events that moulded Jrack into the warrior that he has become.
The exiled King of Rhianna has now been invited down to Great Zabhia for a secret meeting with a leading politician who wishes to seize power in Western Great Zabhia. The known heads of revolutionary groups in Western Great Zabhia and the heads of the power families in Eastern Great Zabhia were also invited. He knew that the meeting was probably a ruse to flush him out of his sanctuary in Snowfeld, but he had to take the chance to build allies who may assist with his bid to return to power in Rhianna and it is up to Jrack to get him there safely.
3) "The Messenger" by Pamela DuMond
Sixteen-year-old Madeline's meant to fall in love with Samuel in every lifetime. But she meets him for the first time when she accidentally time travels into the past--hundreds years before she's even born.
Their relationship is forbidden--Samuel's half Native, Madeline's white. Every rendezvous they share must be secret. Each moment they spend together tempts the odds that they'll be discovered and brutally punished. But their love is fated--they musk risk all.
Danger intensifies when Madeline learns she's in the past not only to fall in love, but also to claim her birth right as a Messenger--a soul who can slip through time's fabric at will. She can bring messages that change one life or even save many.
Deadly Hunters, dark-souled time travelers, crave Madeline's powers and seek to seduce or kill her. Can Madeline find her way back to the future in time to save herself and Samuel?
4) "Jackboot Britain" by Daniel S. Fletcher
The Alternate History - What if Hitler beat the Brits? JACKBOOT BRITAIN is a new novel set in an alternate 1940 in which Nazi Germany was victorious over the British Empire. Jackboot Britain is a nightmare world; the book tells a harrowing tale of militarisation, dehumanisation, prejudice, power and war, as it follows the trials and tribulations of a range of characters from various walks of life, as they struggle to exist in a Europe - and occupied UK - ruled by the Germany of Adolf Hitler. From a platoon of captured British troops held as prisoners of war, to Major Jochen Wolf and the conflicted, and conflicting men of the SS in whose care they are placed; to the band of auxiliary partisans in the underground British resistance, anti-fascist veterans of the Spanish Civil War; to Naomi, a young, female Jewish teacher in Leeds and her clever, quirky male friend; Maisie a London shopgirl and Hans, an unwilling German soldier drafted to the Wehrmacht; Bill Wilson; ageing, monosyllabic alcoholic in a Bloomsbury pub; a humanist-libertarian journalist of renown; four young conscripts to the German Wehrmacht occupation force; Charlie, a disabled cockney street kid; the men of the SS Einsatzgruppen (action groups), whose 'police' work in occupied countries was a euphemism for murder and suppression; to the SS leaders themselves and their machinations for power and internecine intrigues, including "The Blond Beast", one of the 20th century's most notorious villains in SS and Police General Reinhard 'The Hangman' Heydrich himself... The tapestry of their lives is woven through the powerful tale of a dystopian world that could have been... Every aspect of ugliness and suppression associated with the barbarism of Nazi policy - from the genocidal aggression of the Security Police and SD in occupied territories to the devilish work in the shadows of the Gestapo secret police; the dehumanisation of entire races and those otherwise 'unsuitable' deemed 'life unworthy of life'; the institutionalisation of scientific racism, the glorification of war and military conquest and its effects on a generation raised under its influence; the persecutions, the lust for power; the awful internment system of the concentration camps and the savage lethality of German policy in every sphere of life is explored in this wide-ranging alternate history novel; a book that harkens to the hellish years of German atrocities across continental Europe, by showing the terrifying possibilities of what could have been in a Nazi-occupied Britain... Jackboot Britain depicts the grim realities of a Nazi Britain and Hitler's Europe through the lives and deaths, triumphs, setbacks and tragedies of this diverse range of characters, all of whom are caught up in the carnage and chaos of war in this story of love and loss, hope and fear, prejudice, cruelty and power. Each tale runs its course through a nightmare that seems unimaginable to the modern British sensibility, but that at one, disquieting moment in modern history, threatened to engulf the world whole. As each character manoeuvres in the dark shadow of National Socialism and its jackbooted armies, we see each story unfold as they near their own powerful conclusions, each trapped by the malevolent force that brought unparalleled suffering and chaos to the world. Jackboot Britain, by Daniel S. Fletcher (2011) - a debut novel.
5) "The Immortality Game" by Ted Cross
6) "Gardens of the Moon" by Steven Erikson
The Malazan Empire simmers with discontent, bled dry by interminable warfare, bitter infighting and bloody confrontations. Even the imperial legions, long inured to the bloodshed, yearn for some respite. Yet Empress Laseen's rule remains absolute, enforced by her dread Claw assassins.
For Sergeant Whiskeyjack and his squad of Bridgeburners, and for Tattersail, surviving cadre mage of the Second Legion, the aftermath of the siege of Pale should have been a time to mourn the many dead. But Darujhistan, last of the Free Cities of Genabackis, yet holds out. It is to this ancient citadel that Laseen turns her predatory gaze.
However, it would appear that the Empire is not alone in this great game. Sinister, shadowbound forces are gathering as the gods themselves prepare to play their hand . . .
7) "Time Killer" by Todd M. Thiede
In the small city of Rockton, Illinois, someone is tired of waiting. He’s tired of standing in line at the grocery store and tired of waiting at the drive-through line. Now he’s doing something about it.
The first murder rocks the city. The entire Bjornson family—except the father, Stephen—has been brutally murdered, and the killer has left a message behind, written in the victim’s blood: Don’t Waste People’s Time. It’s a grizzly start for two young detectives who’ve just become partners. But Max Larkin and Jesse Fairlane put their personal distaste for each other aside and start concentrating on how to find the killer from striking again.
As they investigate the scene of the crime and interview Stephen at the hospital, the clues slowly begin to add up. Could this be a deranged killer who struck ten years ago and has now returned to the area? Before they can answer that question, another murder is reported, and Max and Jesse suddenly realize they have a serial killer on the loose.
But as they get closer to the truth, a past memory begins to haunt Max, one that might lead to a break in the case—or the end of his career.
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