Ryanb's bookshelf: all en-US Mon, 23 Sep 2024 17:08:23 -0700 60 Ryanb's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Altered Starscape 26001236
2162. Thirty-eight years after first contact, Lord Commander Grayson St. Clair leads theTellus Ad Astraon an unprecedented expedition to the Galactic Core, carrying more than a million scientists, diplomats, soldiers, and AIs. Despite his reservations about their alien hosts, St. Clair is deeply committed to his people—especially after they're sucked into a black hole and spat out four billion years in the future.

Civilizations have risen and fallen. The Andromeda Galaxy is drifting into the Milky Way. And Earth is most certainly a distant memory. All that matters now is survival. But as the ship's Marines search for allies amid ancient ruins and strange new planetary structures, St. Clair must wrap his mind around an enemy capable of harnessing a weapon of incomprehensible space itself.]]> 384 Ian Douglas 0062379216 Ryanb 0 to-read 3.76 2015 Altered Starscape
author: Ian Douglas
name: Ryanb
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2015
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/09/23
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Thieves' World: First Blood (Thieves' World, #1-2)]]> 113111 Lynn Abbey
Poul Anderson
Marion Zimmer Bradley
John Brunner
David Drake
Philip Jose Farmer
Joe Haldeman
Janet Morris
Andrew J. Offutt
A. E.van Vogt]]> 460 Lynn Abbey 031287488X Ryanb 5 3.96 Thieves' World: First Blood (Thieves' World, #1-2)
author: Lynn Abbey
name: Ryanb
average rating: 3.96
book published:
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
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]]> <![CDATA[World After (Penryn & the End of Days, #2)]]> 12983100 Angelfall, the survivors of the angel apocalypse begin to scrape back together what's left of the modern world.

When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken.

Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.

Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?]]> 438 Susan Ee Ryanb 4 4.24 2013 World After (Penryn & the End of Days, #2)
author: Susan Ee
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2013
rating: 4
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date added: 2024/08/07
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]]> <![CDATA[Dragon's Trail (The Outworlders, #1)]]> 31306673 "I didn't come here to sell my soul. I came here to buy it back."

Once dubbed “The Deadliest Man Alive,� Jarrod Torrealday is a former Olympic saber hopeful and medieval weapons expert banned from competition for killing another fencer in a duel. He now scrapes by as a stuntman and technical consultant for low-budget fantasy films.

A young sorcerer from another world offers Jarrod the gig of a adviser to the war council for a magical realm teetering on the edge of collapse, with a foreign army massing just beyond its borders.

Swept into a treacherous and deadly world of intrigue and conspiracy, Jarrod soon learns that the enemy mastermind is also from Earth, and has laid the foundations for a new kind of war.

Seamlessly blending hard science with sword and sorcery, Dragon’s Trail is an international bestseller that’s being hailed as the pioneering work of a new the Fantasy Technothriller.

---

"Malik’s debut novel sparkles with a fresh take on some traditional epic fantasy tropes . . . showcasing Jarrod as James Bond in tarnished armor. Detailed descriptions of equipment and tactics don’t distract from the plot; rather, they add a layer of depth and dimension that carries the tale to the next level. This is a highly enjoyable story for fans of self-aware epic fantasy."
- Publishers Weekly

"Fantasy with a twist . . . executed with verve and intelligence."
"[Dragon's Trail] features immersive detail and hold-your-breath battle scenes."
- The BookLife Prize

"A book to savor and soak in all the details."
-- San Francisco Review of Books]]> 384 Joseph Malik 0997887508 Ryanb 0 to-read 4.12 2016 Dragon's Trail (The Outworlders, #1)
author: Joseph Malik
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2016
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/23
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[The Engines of God (The Academy, #1)]]> 337048 422 Jack McDevitt 0441002846 Ryanb 4 3.84 1994 The Engines of God (The Academy, #1)
author: Jack McDevitt
name: Ryanb
average rating: 3.84
book published: 1994
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/04/12
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]]> <![CDATA[Wind and Truth (The Stormlight Archive, #5)]]> 203578847 The long-awaited explosive climax to the first arc of the #1 New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive―the iconic epic fantasy masterpiece that has sold more than 10 million copies, from acclaimed bestselling author Brandon Sanderson.

Dalinar Kholin challenged the evil god Odium to a contest of champions with the future of Roshar on the line. The Knights Radiant have only ten days to prepare―and the sudden ascension of the crafty and ruthless Taravangian to take Odium’s place has thrown everything into disarray.

Desperate fighting continues simultaneously worldwide―Adolin in Azimir, Sigzil and Venli at the Shattered Plains, and Jasnah at Thaylen City. The former assassin, Szeth, must cleanse his homeland of Shinovar from the dark influence of the Unmade. He is accompanied by Kaladin, who faces a new battle helping Szeth fight his own demons . . . and who must do the same for the insane Herald of the Almighty, Ishar.

At the same time, Shallan, Renarin, and Rlain work to unravel the mystery behind the Unmade Ba-Ado-Mishram and her involvement in the enslavement of the singer race and in the ancient Knights Radiants killing their spren. And Dalinar and Navani seek an edge against Odium’s champion that can be found only in the Spiritual Realm, where memory and possibility combine in chaos. The fate of the entire Cosmere hangs in the balance.]]> 1344 Brandon Sanderson 1250319188 Ryanb 0 to-read 4.35 2024 Wind and Truth (The Stormlight Archive, #5)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/04/05
shelves: to-read
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]]> The Sunlit Man 60531420 From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson―creator of The Stormlight Archive, the Mistborn Saga, and countless bestselling works of science fiction and fantasy―comes this standalone novel showing a rare glimpse of a future Cosmere universe.

Running. Putting distance between himself and the relentless Night Brigade has been Nomad’s strategy for years. Staying one or two steps ahead of his pursuers by skipping through the Cosmere from one world to the next.

But now, his powers too depleted to escape, Nomad finds himself trapped on Canticle, a planet that will kill anyone who doesn’t keep moving. Fleeing the fires of a sunrise that melts the very stones, he is instantly caught up in the struggle between a heartless tyrant and the brave rebels who defy him.

Failure means a quick death, incinerated by the sun� or a lifetime as a mindless slave. Tormented by the consequences of his past, Nomad must fight not only for his survival―but also for his very soul.]]> 447 Brandon Sanderson 1938570391 Ryanb 0 to-read 4.28 2023 The Sunlit Man
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/04/05
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]]> <![CDATA[Dawnshard (The Stormlight Archive, #3.5)]]> 54511226
When a ghost ship is discovered, its crew presumed dead after trying to reach the storm-shrouded island Akina, Navani Kholin must send an expedition to make sure the island hasn't fallen into enemy hands. Knights Radiant who fly too near find their Stormlight suddenly drained, so the voyage must be by sea.

Shipowner Rysn Ftori lost the use of her legs but gained the companionship of Chiri-Chiri, a Stormlight-ingesting winged larkin, a species once thought extinct. Now Rysn's pet is ill, and any hope for Chiri-Chiri’s recovery can be found only at the ancestral home of the larkin: Akinah. With the help of Lopen, the formerly one-armed Windrunner, Rysn must accept Navani's quest and sail into the perilous storm from which no one has returned alive. If the crew cannot uncover the secrets of the hidden island city before the wrath of its ancient guardians falls upon them, the fate of Roshar and the entire Cosmere hangs in the balance.]]> 171 Brandon Sanderson 193857026X Ryanb 0 4.39 2020 Dawnshard (The Stormlight Archive, #3.5)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2020
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/04/05
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]]> <![CDATA[Liz Tells Frank: The Skip It/Watch It Guides]]> 18761322
Liz has been weeding out the least successful installments of good shows for two years now, and for this collection she's created original guides for some of television's most iconic series, including "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Battlestar Galactica," "Doctor Who," "The West Wing" and "The X-Files."

Want to witness the dawn of great serialized sci-fi? This guide will get you through the rough early years of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine." Want to avoid the one season of "Friday Night Lights" that's unwatchable? Not only will you find out which one it is, you'll also find out what you're missing by skipping it. Love great sitcoms, but want to avoid the awkward early episodes? You'll dodge some bullets from the first seasons of "Parks and Recreation" and "New Girl."

Featuring contributions by Whitney Bishop and Andreanna Ditton, as well as a foreword by "Farscape" executive producer Richard Manning, "Liz Tells Frank: The Skip It/Watch It Guides" is a fun, irreverent and occasionally highly subjective look at the great shows of the past two decades. Because you should waste your time with good TV, not bad.]]> 174 Liz Shannon Miller 1940070031 Ryanb 4 3.32 2013 Liz Tells Frank: The Skip It/Watch It Guides
author: Liz Shannon Miller
name: Ryanb
average rating: 3.32
book published: 2013
rating: 4
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date added: 2024/02/06
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]]> <![CDATA[The Narrow Road Between Desires (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #0.6)]]> 157265081
From dawn to midnight over the course of a single day, follow the Kingkiller Chronicle's most charming fae as he schemes and sneaks, dancing into trouble and back out again with uncanny grace.

The Narrow Road Between Desires is Bast's story. In it he traces the old ways of making and breaking, following his heart even when doing so goes against his better judgement.

After all, what good is caution if it keeps him from danger and delight?]]> 240 Patrick Rothfuss 0756419182 Ryanb 0 to-read 4.01 2023 The Narrow Road Between Desires (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #0.6)
author: Patrick Rothfuss
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/10/29
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]]> <![CDATA[Deadhouse Gates (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #2)]]> 55401
Set in a brilliantly realized world ravaged by dark, uncontrollable magic, Deadhouse Gates is a novel of war, intrigue and betrayal confirms Steven Eirkson as a storyteller of breathtaking skill, imagination and originality--a new master of epic fantasy.]]> 604 Steven Erikson 0765310023 Ryanb 5 4.27 2000 Deadhouse Gates (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #2)
author: Steven Erikson
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2000
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/07/22
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]]> <![CDATA[Earth Unleashed (Earthrise #12)]]> 45865113 458 Daniel Arenson Ryanb 4 4.33 2019 Earth Unleashed (Earthrise #12)
author: Daniel Arenson
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2019
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2023/05/21
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]]> Earth Aflame (Earthrise #11) 44901297 437 Daniel Arenson Ryanb 4 4.28 2019 Earth Aflame (Earthrise #11)
author: Daniel Arenson
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2019
rating: 4
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date added: 2023/05/21
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]]> <![CDATA[Earth Machines (Earthrise #10)]]> 43597702
They fly our starships. Mine our asteroids. Connect us to one another. They serve us without question.

But what if the machines rebelled?

We call it the Singularity. The day the machines wake up. A day that can destroy humanity.

Marco and Addy are heroes, veterans of the Alien Wars. Today they are civilians, married, and peacefully raising a family.

That peace will soon shatter.

For years, Marco and Addy fought aliens, terrors from deep space. But how can they fight Earth's machines, an enemy humanity itself created?]]> 428 Daniel Arenson Ryanb 4 4.32 2019 Earth Machines (Earthrise #10)
author: Daniel Arenson
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2019
rating: 4
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date added: 2023/05/21
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]]> River of Souls 43697833 17 Robert Jordan Ryanb 4 3.79 2013 River of Souls
author: Robert Jordan
name: Ryanb
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2013
rating: 4
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date added: 2022/11/20
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]]> A Fire Within the Ways 50026435
All,

Today, I have the opportunity to share with you something extra special. As some of you know, during the revision process of A Memory of Light, two lengthy sections ended up on the cutting room floor. The first, which we titled River of Souls, was included in the first Unfettered Anthology. The second, I assumed, would never see the light of day.

However, Grim Oak press (and Shawn Speakman, who runs it) has continued the Unfettered anthologies—the income of which is used to help pay medical fees for authors and artists in need. I thought the arrival of the third anthology would be a great chance to use this other deleted scene. (Which involves Perrin traveling into the Ways.) Harriet has graciously agreed to let it be published, so I’m thrilled to be able to announce its inclusion in the anthology.

I’ve long been fond of this sequence, and it was quite difficult to cut from the book. (In the anthology itself, I’ll explain why we eventually decided that the sequence needed to go.) I do have to warn you that-unlike River of Souls, which we consider canon to events in the Wheel of Time—this as-of-yet untitled sequence is NOT canon. You’ll want to read it in the same way you’d watch an unfinished, alternate film scene that ended up not being used.

Still, I think it’s an exciting and interesting chunk of writing. It’s quite big, as long as a novella, and it addresses one of the big unanswered questions we left hanging at the end of the Wheel of Time. So I think you’re in for a treat.

Look for Unfettered Three March 19th, 2019.

Brandon]]> 91 Robert Jordan Ryanb 4 3.92 2019 A Fire Within the Ways
author: Robert Jordan
name: Ryanb
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2019
rating: 4
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date added: 2022/11/20
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]]> The Complete Wheel of Time 22429484 11095 Robert Jordan 0765376865 Ryanb 5 4.62 2014 The Complete Wheel of Time
author: Robert Jordan
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.62
book published: 2014
rating: 5
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date added: 2022/11/20
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]]> <![CDATA[Stars Beyond (Stars Uncharted, #2)]]> 43878803 The crew of Another Road are back, closer than ever to the biggest score in the galaxy. . . if they can stay a step ahead of the Justice Department agents and Company men tracking them.

An engineer with a fondness for weapons. A captain with no memory. An obsessive genemodder who loves to tinker. Meet the crew of Another Road.

Josune, Roystan, and Nika have escaped the company thugs trying to kill them. They've gotten a new spaceship to replace The Road (after it was blown up underneath them). And their new ship is armed to the teeth with dangerous weapons, courtesy of Josune. All that's left to do before they head out to find the legendary lode of transurides is to restore Roystan's memory. To do that, they need to collect the genemod machine Nika has ordered.

But first, they have to shake off the Justice Department agent and the Companies tracking them.

It should be easy. They've done it before. What could possibly go wrong?]]> 406 S.K. Dunstall 0399587640 Ryanb 0 to-read 3.99 2020 Stars Beyond (Stars Uncharted, #2)
author: S.K. Dunstall
name: Ryanb
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2020
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/10/12
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Angel City (The Angelus Trilogy #2)]]> 16158511
Though Katherine and Harper have been prevented from remembering each other , baby Max has unwittingly stirred the interest of vengeful spirits—and only a worldwide (and cosmic) effort to save his life will bring Harper and Katherine together again.
Meanwhile, from the shadows steps a defrocked priest named Astruc, whose face looks as if it has been clawed by some terrible beast and who hides his eyes behind blue lenses. He and his brilliant young ward, Goose, have discovered something unfathomable in the Catacombs under Paris, something that will confirm that “the time of the prophecy� is at hand....

Electrifying from its explosive first scene to its unexpected and shocking conclusion, Angel City reunites the unforgettable characters from The Watchers to reveal more of the earthly—and otherworldy—mysteries of the Angelus trilogy.]]> 528 Jon Steele 0399158758 Ryanb 4 4.06 2012 Angel City (The Angelus Trilogy #2)
author: Jon Steele
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/10/09
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]]> <![CDATA[Wyrd Sisters (Discworld, #6; Witches, #2)]]> 34504
Granny Weatherwax was the most highly-regarded of the leaders they didn't have.

But even she found that meddling in royal politics was a lot more difficult than certain playwrights would have you believe...]]> 265 Terry Pratchett 0061020664 Ryanb 4 4.15 1988 Wyrd Sisters (Discworld, #6; Witches, #2)
author: Terry Pratchett
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1988
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/08/30
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]]> <![CDATA[Stars Uncharted (Stars Uncharted, #1)]]> 36644837 In this rip-roaring space opera, a ragtag band of explorers are out to make the biggest score in the galaxy.
On this space jump, no one is who they seem . . .
Captain Hammond Roystan is a simple cargo runner who has stumbled across the find of a the Hassim, a disabled exploration ship—and its valuable record of unexplored worlds.
His junior engineer, Josune Arriola, said her last assignment was in the uncharted rim. But she is decked out in high-level bioware that belies her humble backstory.
A renowned body-modification artist, Nika Rik Terri has run afoul of clients who will not take no for an answer. She has to flee off-world, and she is dragging along a rookie modder, who seems all too experienced in weapons and war . . .
Together this mismatched crew will end up on one ship, hurtling through the lawless reaches of deep space with Roystan at the helm. Trailed by nefarious company men, they will race to find the most famous lost world of all—and riches beyond their wildest dreams . . .]]> 412 S.K. Dunstall 0399587632 Ryanb 0 to-read 3.98 2018 Stars Uncharted (Stars Uncharted, #1)
author: S.K. Dunstall
name: Ryanb
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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date added: 2022/08/24
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[The Watchers (The Angelus Trilogy, #1)]]> 13159052 574 Jon Steele 039915874X Ryanb 5 The mystery in this story is captivating. The history in this story is fascinating.

The intrigue of this story is complex and amazing. The character histories and experiences in this story broke my heart.

The tragedy in this story made me wish that I could weep.

Read this book.
]]> 3.66 2012 The Watchers (The Angelus Trilogy, #1)
author: Jon Steele
name: Ryanb
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2022/07/31
date added: 2022/08/01
shelves:
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The mystery in this story is captivating. The history in this story is fascinating.

The intrigue of this story is complex and amazing. The character histories and experiences in this story broke my heart.

The tragedy in this story made me wish that I could weep.

Read this book.

]]> <![CDATA[Bright Light (Star Carrier, #8)]]> 38754198
There’s no more time . . .

There’s always more time . . .

Trevor Gray has been stripped of his command of the starship America, and is unsure what to do with his life. Having dedicated so much of himself to the service, he knew following the super-AI Konstantin’s advice could have severe consequences. He just never thought he would be out of the fight.

Because that’s what Earth is a fight against a sinister alien force that is so technologically advanced, there seems little hope. And that’s why he had disobeyed his orders in the first to figure out a way to stop them. But now he’s beached.

Which is just what Konstantin wanted.

For the super-AI has a connect Gray with the Pan-Europeans, and set him on a course to the remote star Deneb. There, he is to make contact with a mysterious alien civilization using the new artificial intelligence Bright Light, and maybe—if they can make it in time—prevent humanity from being wiped from the universe.]]> 389 Ian Douglas 0062369024 Ryanb 4 to-read 4.12 2018 Bright Light (Star Carrier, #8)
author: Ian Douglas
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/07/24
shelves: to-read
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]]> Dark Mind (Star Carrier #7) 31307647 Bestselling Author Ian Douglas continues his Star Carrier saga as humanity unites against an ancient artificial consciousness powerful enough to exterminate every species it encounters

2425. The civil war between the United States of North America and the Pan-European Confederation is over. But before a new era of peace on Earth can begin, humankind must martial its interstellar forces as one fleet to engage in a war against an alien entity in Omega Centauri. Without provocation, it destroyed a Confederation science facility inhabited by 12,000 people, and it must be neutralized before it sets its sights on Earth.

Admiral Trevor “Sandy� Gray of the USNA star carrier America has his own mission. The enigmatic AI known as Konstantin has convinced him that humanity’s only chance for survival is technology found in a distant star system. Now, Gray must disobey orders as well as locate and create a weapon capable of defeating a living sphere the size of a small planet…]]> 389 Ian Douglas 0062368990 Ryanb 4 4.15 2017 Dark Mind (Star Carrier #7)
author: Ian Douglas
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2017
rating: 4
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date added: 2022/07/24
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]]> Three Slices 25339018
A Prelude to War by Kevin Hearne
After an old friend is murdered in retaliation for his mercenary strikes against the oldest vampires in the world, Atticus O'Sullivan must solicit the aid of another old friend in Ethiopia if he's going to have a chance of finishing a war he never wanted. Meanwhile, Granuaile MacTiernan starts a private war of her own against Loki, the lord of lies, and if it brings Ragnarok early—so be it.

Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys by Delilah S. Dawson
The number one rule of the circus? Don't kill your volunteers, even accidentally. That's how young magician Criminy Stain ends up on the run in a forest, where he meets a beautiful woman holding a bucket of blood. But is Merissa the answer to his prayers-- or the orchestrator of his ruin?

Interlude: Swallow by Chuck Wendig
Miriam Black is back. Miriam is tired of her curse and finally believes she knows how to be rid of her ability to see when and how other people die. She follows a lead to the mountains of Colorado, where she believes she sees signs of a serial killer she thought she already killed. (Set between THE CORMORANT and THUNDERBIRD.)]]> 166 Kevin Hearne Ryanb 4 3.92 2015 Three Slices
author: Kevin Hearne
name: Ryanb
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/07/11
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]]> <![CDATA[Besieged (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #9)]]> 32714413 The ancient gods are alive and well in the modern world in this hilarious, action-packed collection of original short stories featuring Atticus O'Sullivan, the two-thousand-year-old Irishman from Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles.

- In ancient Egypt, Atticus agrees to raid a secret chamber underneath the library of Alexandria, dodging deadly traps, only to learn that on-site security includes two members of the Egyptian pantheon.
- At a Kansas carnival, fun and games turns to murder and mayhem, thanks to soul-snatching demons and flesh-craving ghouls luring visitors into an all-too-real house of horrors.
- Verily, in olde England, striking up a friendship with William Shakespeare lands both Atticus and the Bard in boiling hot water with a trio of infamous witches.
- During the Gold Rush, the avatar of greed himself turns the streets of San Francisco red with blood and upsets the elemental Sequoia. Atticus may have to fight fire with fire if he's going to restore balance.

More, you say? Indeed there is--including bogeymen, vampire hordes, wrathful wraiths, and even a journey to the realm of the dead. Prepare to be besieged with nine tantalizing tales--not to be missed, never to be forgotten.]]> 235 Kevin Hearne 0399181733 Ryanb 4 4.17 2017 Besieged (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #9)
author: Kevin Hearne
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2022/07/11
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]]> Outlaw (Rebel Stars, #1) 23154202
All that is about to change.

Mazzy Webber is a lowly janitor on a third-rate cargo ship. Deeply in debt, when his captain decides to turn pirate, he leaps at the chance.

A modern Robin Hood—minus the part where he gives back to the poor—Webber lays down a few ground rules. No attacking manned ships, and no stealing from anyone who can't afford it. Within months, he and the crew are out of debt. Their next target will make them rich.

But the attack goes all wrong. The target's cargo could be the death of them—or it could be the key to reaching the stars.

~

From the author of the bestselling BREAKERS novels, OUTLAW is the first book in a new series of piracy, conspiracy, and space's deadliest janitor.]]> 312 Edward W. Robertson Ryanb 3 to-read 3.90 2014 Outlaw (Rebel Stars, #1)
author: Edward W. Robertson
name: Ryanb
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2022/03/24
shelves: to-read
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]]> Avengers Assemble, Volume 1 10128625 AVENGERS MOVIE PREMIERES SUMMER 2012 COLLECTING: Avengers (1998) #1-11, Annual 1998; Iron Man (1998) #7;Captain America (1998) #8; Quicksilver #10]]> 408 Kurt Busiek 0785144986 Ryanb 5 3.86 2004 Avengers Assemble, Volume 1
author: Kurt Busiek
name: Ryanb
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2022/02/22
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]]> <![CDATA[The Magician's Land (The Magicians, #3)]]> 19103097 The stunning conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Magicians trilogy

Quentin Coldwater has lost everything. He has been cast out of Fillory, the secret magical land of his childhood dreams that he once ruled. Everything he had fought so hard for, not to mention his closest friends, is sealed away in a land Quentin may never again visit. With nothing left to lose he returns to where his story began, the Brakebills Preparatory College of Magic. But he can’t hide from his past, and it’s not long before it comes looking for him. Meanwhile, the magical barriers that keep Fillory safe are failing, and barbarians from the north have invaded. Eliot and Janet, the rulers of Fillory, embark on a final quest to save their beloved world, only to discover a situation far more complex—and far more dire—than anyone had envisioned.

Along with Plum, a brilliant young magician with a dark secret of her own, Quentin sets out on a crooked path through a magical demimonde of gray magic and desperate characters. His new life takes him back to old haunts, like Antarctica and the Neitherlands, and old friends he thought were lost forever. He uncovers buried secrets and hidden evils and ultimately the key to a sorcerous masterwork, a spell that could create a magical utopia. But all roads lead back to Fillory, where Quentin must face his fears and put things right or die trying.

The Magician’s Land is an intricate and fantastical thriller, and an epic of love and redemption that brings the Magicians trilogy to a magnificent conclusion, confirming it as one of the great achievements in modern fantasy. It’s the story of a boy becoming a man, an apprentice becoming a master, and a broken land finally becoming whole.]]> 402 Lev Grossman Ryanb 5 4.14 2014 The Magician's Land (The Magicians, #3)
author: Lev Grossman
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2014
rating: 5
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date added: 2022/02/21
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]]> <![CDATA[The Magician King (The Magicians, #2)]]> 10079321
Accompanied by his oldest friend, Julia, Quentin sets off—only to somehow wind up back in the real world and not in Fillory, as they’d hoped. As they struggle to find their way back to their lost kingdom, they rely on Julia’s illicitly learned sorcery to fight a sinister threat in a world unlike the fantasy novels of their youth.]]> 432 Lev Grossman 043402080X Ryanb 5 3.91 2011 The Magician King (The Magicians, #2)
author: Lev Grossman
name: Ryanb
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2011
rating: 5
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date added: 2022/02/21
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]]> <![CDATA[The Magicians (The Magicians, #1)]]> 6101718
Quentin Coldwater is brilliant but miserable. A senior in high school, he’s still secretly preoccupied with a series of fantasy novels he read as a child, set in a magical land called Fillory. Imagine his surprise when he finds himself unexpectedly admitted to a very secret, very exclusive college of magic in upstate New York, where he receives a thorough and rigorous education in the craft of modern sorcery.

He also discovers all the other things people learn in college: friendship, love, sex, booze, and boredom. Something is missing, though. Magic doesn’t bring Quentin the happiness and adventure he dreamed it would. After graduation he and his friends make a stunning discovery: Fillory is real. But the land of Quentin’s fantasies turns out to be much darker and more dangerous than he could have imagined. His childhood dream becomes a nightmare with a shocking truth at its heart.

At once psychologically piercing and magnificently absorbing, The Magicians boldly moves into uncharted literary territory, imagining magic as practiced by real people, with their capricious desires and volatile emotions. Lev Grossman creates an utterly original world in which good and evil aren’t black and white, love and sex aren’t simple or innocent, and power comes at a terrible price.]]> 402 Lev Grossman 0670020559 Ryanb 5 3.53 2009 The Magicians (The Magicians, #1)
author: Lev Grossman
name: Ryanb
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2009
rating: 5
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date added: 2022/02/21
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]]> <![CDATA[Inheritance (The Inheritance Cycle, #4)]]> 7664041 Eragon... It ends with Inheritance.

Not so very long ago, Eragon � Shadeslayer, Dragon Rider � was nothing more than a poor farm boy, and his dragon, Saphira, only a blue stone in the forest. Now the fate of an entire civilization rests on their shoulders.

Long months of training and battle have brought victories and hope, but they have also brought heartbreaking loss. And still, the real battle lies ahead: they must confront Galbatorix. When they do, they will have to be strong enough to defeat him. And if they cannot, no one can. There will be no second chance.

The Rider and his dragon have come further than anyone dared to hope. But can they topple the evil king and restore justice to Alagaësia? And if so, at what cost?

This is the spellbinding conclusion to Christopher Paolini's worldwide bestselling Inheritance cycle.

]]> 849 Christopher Paolini 0375856110 Ryanb 4 4.14 2011 Inheritance (The Inheritance Cycle, #4)
author: Christopher Paolini
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2011
rating: 4
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date added: 2022/01/25
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]]> <![CDATA[Eldest (The Inheritance Cycle, #2)]]> 45978
Darkness falls…despair abounds…evil reigns�

Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have just saved the rebel state from destruction by the mighty forces of King Galbatorix, cruel ruler of the Empire. Now Eragon must travel to Ellesmera, land of the elves, for further training in the skills of the Dragon Rider: magic and swordsmanship. Soon he is on the journey of a lifetime, his eyes open to awe-inspring new places and people, his days filled with fresh adventure. But chaos and betrayal plague him at every turn, and nothing is what it seems. Before long, Eragon doesn't know whom he can trust.

Meanwhile, his cousin Roran must fight a new battle–one that might put Eragon in even graver danger.

Will the king's dark hand strangle all resistance? Eragon may not escape with even his life. . . .]]> 704 Christopher Paolini 0375840400 Ryanb 4 4.04 2005 Eldest (The Inheritance Cycle, #2)
author: Christopher Paolini
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2005
rating: 4
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]]> <![CDATA[Brisingr (The Inheritance Cycle #3)]]> 2248573
It's been only months since Eragon first uttered "brisingr", an ancient language term for fire. Since then, he's not only learned to create magic with words � he's been challenged to his very core. Following the colossal battle against the Empires warriors on the Burning Plains, Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have narrowly escaped with their lives. Still, there is more adventure at hand for the Rider and his dragon, as Eragon finds himself bound by a tangle of promises he may not be able to keep.

First is Eragon's oath to his cousin, Roran: to help rescue Roran's beloved from King Galbatorix's clutches. But Eragon owes his loyalty to others, too. The Varden are in desperate need of his talents and strength � as are the elves and dwarves. When unrest claims the rebels and danger strikes from every corner, Eragon must make choices � choices that will take him across the Empire and beyond, choices that may lead to unimagined sacrifice.

Eragon is the greatest hope to rid the land of tyranny. Can this once simple farm boy unite the rebel forces and defeat the king?

]]> 748 Christopher Paolini 0375826726 Ryanb 4 4.10 2008 Brisingr (The Inheritance Cycle #3)
author: Christopher Paolini
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2008
rating: 4
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date added: 2022/01/25
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]]> Stargods (Star Carrier #9) 53566509 The last installment in the Star Carrier series, where first contact, space opera, and military adventure combine, from New York Times bestselling author Ian Douglas!

Will this be the end?

Or a new beginning�

Having battled aliens to prove humanity’s worth as a star-faring species, Admiral Trevor Gray has a new mission: follow the directives of the super-AI Konstantin and lead the star carrier America on a mission through time and space to determine if humanity can truly transcend into Singularity� and avoid the pitfalls that have plagued so many of the aliens Earth has encountered since it gained faster-than-light travel.

But there are those out there who don’t want an answer, who wish to maintain their own power with the status quo. Beyond the dangers of star travel, Gray must contend with politicians looking to end the influence of artificial intelligence on human decisions, a secret fleet out to destroy him, hostile aliens, and the vast, uncharted space full of clues but short on answers.

A species must evolve to survive into the future. But that species must have a vision of the future. Gray hopes to find that vision for humanity�800,000 years in the past.]]> 380 Ian Douglas Ryanb 0 to-read 4.21 2020 Stargods (Star Carrier #9)
author: Ian Douglas
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2022/01/16
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Queen of Fire (Raven's Shadow, #3)]]> 18405221 In the thrilling conclusion to the "deftly and originally executed" (Booklist) New York Times bestselling trilogy, Vaelin Al Sorna must help his Queen reclaim her Realm. Only his enemy has a dangerous new collaborator, one with powers darker than Vaelin has ever encountered...

"The Ally is there, but only ever as a shadow, unexplained catastrophe or murder committed at the behest of a dark vengeful spirit. Sorting truth from myth is often a fruitless task."

After fighting back from the brink of death, Queen Lyrna is determined to repel the invading Volarian army and regain the independence of the Unified Realm. Except, to accomplish her goals, she must do more than rally her loyal supporters. She must align herself with forces she once found repugnant—those who possess the strange and varied gifts of the Dark—and take the war to her enemy's doorstep.

Victory rests on the shoulders of Vaelin Al Sorna, now named Battle Lord of the...]]> 643 Anthony Ryan 1101612983 Ryanb 4 3.70 2015 Queen of Fire (Raven's Shadow, #3)
author: Anthony Ryan
name: Ryanb
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2015
rating: 4
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date added: 2022/01/10
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]]> <![CDATA[Tower Lord (Raven's Shadow, #2)]]> 18138189
Vaelin Al Sorna, warrior of the Sixth Order, called Darkblade, called Hope Killer. The greatest warrior of his day, and witness to the greatest defeat of his nation: King Janus’s vision of a Greater Unified Realm drowned in the blood of brave men fighting for a cause Vaelin alone knows was forged from a lie. Sick at heart, he comes home, determined to kill no more.

Named Tower Lord of the Northern Reaches by King Janus’s grateful heir, he can perhaps find peace in a colder, more remote land far from the intrigues of a troubled Realm. But those gifted with the blood-song are never destined to live a quiet life. Many died in King Janus’s wars, but many survived, and Vaelin is a target, not just for those seeking revenge but for those who know what he can do.

The Faith has been sundered, and many have no doubt who their leader should be. The new King is weak, but his sister is strong. The blood-song is powerful, rich in warning and guidance in times of trouble, but is only a fraction of the power available to others who understand more of its mysteries. Something moves against the Realm, something that commands mighty forces, and Vaelin will find to his great regret that when faced with annihilation, even the most reluctant hand must eventually draw a sword.]]> 608 Anthony Ryan 0425265625 Ryanb 5 4.14 2014 Tower Lord (Raven's Shadow, #2)
author: Anthony Ryan
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2014
rating: 5
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date added: 2022/01/10
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]]> <![CDATA[The Lord Collector (Raven's Shadow, #1.5)]]> 25789335 Anthony Ryan Ryanb 4 3.76 2015 The Lord Collector (Raven's Shadow, #1.5)
author: Anthony Ryan
name: Ryanb
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2015
rating: 4
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date added: 2022/01/10
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]]> <![CDATA[Blood Song (Raven's Shadow, #1)]]> 13569581 “The Sixth Order wields the sword of justice and smites the enemies of the Faith and the Realm.�

Vaelin Al Sorna was only a child of ten when his father left him at the iron gate of the Sixth Order. The Brothers of the Sixth Order are devoted to battle, and Vaelin will be trained and hardened to the austere, celibate, and dangerous life of a Warrior of the Faith. He has no family now save the Order.

Vaelin’s father was Battle Lord to King Janus, ruler of the unified realm. Vaelin’s rage at being deprived of his birthright and dropped at the doorstep of the Sixth Order like a foundling knows no bounds. He cherishes the memory of his mother, and what he will come to learn of her at the Order will confound him. His father, too, has motives that Vaelin will come to understand. But one truth overpowers all the rest: Vaelin Al Sorna is destined for a future he has yet to comprehend. A future that will alter not only the realm, but the world.]]> 591 Anthony Ryan 1466085665 Ryanb 5 4.42 2011 Blood Song (Raven's Shadow, #1)
author: Anthony Ryan
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2011
rating: 5
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]]> <![CDATA[The Lady of Crows (Raven's Shadow, #0.5)]]> 33656533 Anthony Ryan Ryanb 4 3.84 2017 The Lady of Crows (Raven's Shadow, #0.5)
author: Anthony Ryan
name: Ryanb
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2017
rating: 4
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date added: 2022/01/10
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]]> <![CDATA[First Dangle and Other Stories (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #8.7, 9.1-9.2)]]> 46201412
"The Naughtiest Cherub" takes place directly before the events of Scourged, book 9.

"The Waters" is narrated by Granuaile and takes place after the events of Scourged.

"Friendly Emily" is a piece of science fiction that appeared in Fireside magazine.]]> 76 Kevin Hearne Ryanb 3 4.29 2019 First Dangle and Other Stories (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #8.7, 9.1-9.2)
author: Kevin Hearne
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2019
rating: 3
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date added: 2021/12/28
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]]> Unfettered (Unfettered, #1) 15832300
In Shawn Speakman’s case, it was both.

Lacking health insurance and diagnosed with Hogdkin’s lymphoma in 2011, Shawn quickly accrued a massive medical debt that he did not have the ability to pay. That’s when New York Times best-selling author Terry Brooks offered to donate a short story Shawn could sell toward alleviating those bills—and suggested Shawn ask the same of his other friends.

Unfettered is the result, an anthology built to relieve that debt, featuring short stories by some of the best fantasy writers in the genre.

Every story in this volume is new and, like the title suggests, the writers were free to write whatever they wished. Authors contributing are
-Walker and the Shade of Allanon by Terry Brooks (a Shannara tale)
-Imaginary Friends by Terry Brooks (a precursor to the Word/Void trilogy)
-How Old Holly Came To Be by Patrick Rothfuss (a Four Corners tale)
-River of Souls by Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson (a Wheel of Time tale)
-The Old Scale Game by Tad Williams
-Martyr of the Roses by Jacqueline Carey (a precursor to the Kushiel series)
-Dogs by Daniel Abraham
-Mudboy by Peter V. Brett (a Demon Cycle tale)
-Nocturne by Robert V. S. Redick
-The Sound of Broken Absolutes by Peter Orullian (a Vault of Heaven tale)
-The Coach with Big Teeth by R.A. Salvatore
-Keeper of Memory by Todd Lockwood (a Summer Dragon tale)
-Game of Chance by Carrie Vaughn
-The Lasting Doubts of Joaquin Lopez by Blake Charlton
-The Chapel Perilous by Kevin Hearne (an Iron Druid tale)
-Select Mode by Mark Lawrence (a Broken Empire tale)
-All the Girls Love Michael Stein by David Anthony Durham
-Strange Rain by Jennifer Bosworth (a Struck epilogue tale)
-Unbowed by Eldon Thompson (a Legend of Asahiel tale)
-In Favour with Their Stars by Naomi Novik (a Temeraire tale)
-The Jester by Michael J. Sullivan (a Riyria Chronicles tale)
-The Duel by Lev Grossman (a Magicians tale)
-The Unfettered Knight by Shawn Speakman (an Annwn Cycle tale)
and artist Todd Lockwood, who donated artwork as well as a story.

With the help of stalwart friends and these wonderful short stories, Shawn has taken the gravest of life hardships and created something magical. Unfettered is not only a fantastic anthology in its own right but it’s a testament to the generosity found in the science fiction and fantasy community—proof that humanity can give beyond itself when the need arises.

After all, isn’t that the driving narrative in fantasy literature?]]> 574 Shawn Speakman Ryanb 4 3.81 2013 Unfettered (Unfettered, #1)
author: Shawn Speakman
name: Ryanb
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2013
rating: 4
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date added: 2021/12/28
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]]> <![CDATA[Scourged (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #10)]]> 16280691 Kevin Hearne creates the ultimate Atticus O’Sullivan adventure in the grand finale of the New York Times bestselling Iron Druid Chronicles: an epic battle royale against the Norse gods of Asgard.

Unchained from fate, the Norse gods Loki and Hel are ready to unleash Ragnarok, a.k.a. the Apocalypse, upon the earth. They’ve made allies on the darker side of many pantheons, and there’s a globe-spanning battle brewing that ancient Druid Atticus O’Sullivan will be hard-pressed to survive, much less win.

Granuaile MacTiernan must join immortals Sun Wukong and Erlang Shen in a fight against the Yama Kings in Taiwan, but she discovers that the stakes are much higher than she thought.

Meanwhile, Archdruid Owen Kennedy must put out both literal and metaphorical fires from Bavaria to Peru to keep the world safe for his apprentices and the future of Druidry.

And Atticus recruits the aid of a tyromancer, an Indian witch, and a trickster god in hopes that they’ll give him just enough leverage to both save Gaia and see another sunrise. There is a hound named Oberon who deserves a snack, after all.]]> 268 Kevin Hearne 034554854X Ryanb 5 3.94 2018 Scourged (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #10)
author: Kevin Hearne
name: Ryanb
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2018
rating: 5
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date added: 2021/12/28
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]]> <![CDATA[The Squirrel on the Train (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #8.4)]]> 36452674
Alongside his faithful Druid, Oberon and the other loyal hounds navigate by nose through Portland to find a bear-shifter friend with intel, delicious clues at the victim’s home, and more squirrels. Always more squirrels!

But will our hungry band of heroes be able to identify the culprit before someone else is murdered? Will there be mystery meat in gravy as a reward or tragedy in store for the world’s (or at least the Pacific Northwest’s) greatest dog detective?]]> 92 Kevin Hearne 1596068485 Ryanb 4 4.39 2017 The Squirrel on the Train (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #8.4)
author: Kevin Hearne
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2017
rating: 4
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date added: 2021/12/28
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]]> <![CDATA[Staked (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #8)]]> 16280689
As always, Atticus wouldn't mind a little backup. But his allies have problems of their own. Ill-tempered archdruid Owen Kennedy is having a wee bit of troll turns out when you stiff a troll, it's not water under the bridge. Meanwhile, Granuaile is desperate to free herself of the Norse god Loki's mark and elude his powers of divination - a quest that will bring her face to face with several Slavic nightmares.

As Atticus globetrots to stop his nemesis Theophilus, the journey leads to Rome. What better place to end an immortal than the Eternal City? But poetic justice won't come without a In order to defeat Theophilus, Atticus may have to lose an old friend.]]> 310 Kevin Hearne 0345548515 Ryanb 5 4.23 2016 Staked (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #8)
author: Kevin Hearne
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2016
rating: 5
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date added: 2021/12/28
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]]> <![CDATA[Shattered (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #7)]]> 16280678 Acclaimed author Kevin Hearne makes his hardcover debut with the new novel in his epic urban fantasy series starring the unforgettable Atticus O’Sullivan.

For nearly two thousand years, only one Druid has walked the Earth—Atticus O’Sullivan, the Iron Druid, whose sharp wit and sharp sword have kept him alive as he’s been pursued by a pantheon of hostile deities. Now he’s got company.

Atticus’s apprentice Granuaile is at last a full Druid herself. What’s more, Atticus has defrosted an archdruid long ago frozen in time, a father figure (of sorts) who now goes by the modern equivalent of his old Irish name: Owen Kennedy.

And Owen has some catching up to do.

Atticus takes pleasure in the role reversal, as the student is now the teacher. Between busting Atticus’s chops and trying to fathom a cell phone, Owen must also learn English. For Atticus, the jury’s still out on whether the wily old coot will be an asset in the epic battle with Norse god Loki—or merely a pain in the arse.

But Atticus isn’t the only one with daddy issues. Granuaile faces a great challenge: to exorcise a sorcerer’s spirit that is possessing her father in India. Even with the help of the witch Laksha, Granuaile may be facing a crushing defeat.

As the trio of Druids deals with pestilence-spreading demons, bacon-loving yeti, fierce flying foxes, and frenzied Fae, they’re hoping that this time, three’s a charm.]]> 352 Kevin Hearne 0345548485 Ryanb 5 4.27 2014 Shattered (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #7)
author: Kevin Hearne
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2014
rating: 5
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date added: 2021/12/28
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]]> <![CDATA[Hunted (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #6)]]> 16071748
Crashing the pantheon marathon is the Norse god Loki. Killing Atticus is the only loose end he needs to tie up before unleashing Ragnarok—AKA the Apocalypse. Atticus and Granuaile have to outfox the Olympians and contain the god of mischief if they want to go on living—and still have a world to live in.

Also contains the novella "Two Ravens and One Crow" (#4.5).]]> 384 Kevin Hearne 0345533631 Ryanb 5 4.29 2013 Hunted (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #6)
author: Kevin Hearne
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2013
rating: 5
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date added: 2021/12/28
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]]> <![CDATA[Trapped (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #5)]]> 13536649
Having no other choice, Atticus, his trusted Irish wolfhound, Oberon, and Granuaile travel to the base of Mount Olympus, where the Roman god Bacchus is anxious to take his sworn revenge—but he’ll have to get in line behind an ancient vampire, a band of dark elves, and an old god of mischief, who all seem to have KILL THE DRUID at the top of their to-do lists.]]> 290 Kevin Hearne 034553364X Ryanb 5 4.27 2012 Trapped (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #5)
author: Kevin Hearne
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2012
rating: 5
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date added: 2021/12/28
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]]> <![CDATA[The Chapel Perilous (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #4.5)]]> 20637206 Unfettered anthology edited by Shawn Speakman, now offered singly with cover art by Galen Dara.

Ancient Druid Atticus O’Sullivan has had plenty of adventures during his long life, and in “The Chapel Perilous� he shares one of them with his apprentice, Granuaile. He lays out the true story of the quest for the Holy Grail, in which he was personally involved—and the events of which are quite different from the Christian tale most people know today.

While on an errand for Ogma to recover the Dagda’s Cauldron, Atticus confronts evil at a mysterious chapel, takes the first steps to becoming the Iron Druid, and learns the shocking truth about goblin fashion choices.

He was, of course, in terrible peril.]]> 33 Kevin Hearne 0991423801 Ryanb 5 4.17 2014 The Chapel Perilous (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #4.5)
author: Kevin Hearne
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2014
rating: 5
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date added: 2021/12/28
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]]> <![CDATA[Tricked (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #4)]]> 12700306
But the mischievous Coyote is not above a little sleight of paw, and Atticus soon finds that he’s been duped into battling bloodthirsty desert shapeshifters called skinwalkers. Just when the Druid thinks he’s got a handle on all the duplicity, betrayal comes from an unlikely source. If Atticus survives this time, he vows he won’t be fooled again. Famous last words.]]> 341 Kevin Hearne 0345533623 Ryanb 5 4.25 2012 Tricked (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #4)
author: Kevin Hearne
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2012
rating: 5
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date added: 2021/12/28
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]]> <![CDATA[A Test of Mettle (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #3.5)]]> 13145815 10 Kevin Hearne Ryanb 4 3.98 2011 A Test of Mettle (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #3.5)
author: Kevin Hearne
name: Ryanb
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2011
rating: 4
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date added: 2021/12/28
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]]> <![CDATA[Hammered (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #3)]]> 9595620
One survival strategy has worked for Atticus for more than two thousand years: stay away from the guy with the lightning bolts. But things are heating up in Atticus’s home base of Tempe, Arizona. There’s a vampire turf war brewing, and Russian demon hunters who call themselves the Hammers of God are running rampant. Despite multiple warnings and portents of dire consequences, Atticus and Leif journey to the Norse plain of Asgard, where they team up with a werewolf, a sorcerer, and an army of frost giants for an epic showdown against vicious Valkyries, angry gods, and the hammer-wielding Thunder Thug himself.]]> 312 Kevin Hearne 0345522486 Ryanb 5 4.21 2011 Hammered (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #3)
author: Kevin Hearne
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2021/12/28
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]]> <![CDATA[Hexed (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #2)]]> 9595650
Atticus O’Sullivan has had cause to mistrust witches in his storied past, but he’s willing to live and let live with the Sisters of the Three Auroras, a legendary local coven, even going so far as to sign a non-aggression treaty with them. But that treaty is tested immediately when a deadly new coven sweeps into town seeking to take over, along with some Bacchants from Las Vegas and a fallen angel who’s decided to snack on high school students like they were trail mix.

It’s more than Atticus can handle alone and he must enlist the trickster Coyote, the headhopping abilities of the witch Laksha Kulesekaran, and his neighbor’s illegal arsenal if he wants to keep the city safe from diabolical takeover. He must also exchange favors with his vampire attorney, Leif Helgarson, in a deal that might prove to be the worst of his long life—for Leif doesn’t want to be paid by the hour.

To defeat the mortal hexes of this new coven and keep his apprentice—and his city—safe, Atticus must think fast, make promises, keep his sword handy, and hope he’ll survive to fight another day.]]> 296 Kevin Hearne 0345522494 Ryanb 5 4.22 2011 Hexed (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #2)
author: Kevin Hearne
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2011
rating: 5
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date added: 2021/12/28
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]]> <![CDATA[Hounded (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #1)]]> 9533378
Unfortunately, a very angry Celtic god wants that sword, and he’s hounded Atticus for centuries. Now the determined deity has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power—plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, his vampire and werewolf team of attorneys, a bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good old-fashioned luck of the Irish—to kick some Celtic arse and deliver himself from evil.]]> 304 Kevin Hearne 0345522478 Ryanb 5 4.09 2011 Hounded (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #1)
author: Kevin Hearne
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2021/12/28
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]]> <![CDATA[The Alpha Enigma (Team Psi, #1)]]> 52840106 A thrilling new science fiction mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of the Donovan novels

Dr. Timothy Ryan, head of the military psychiatric unit at Grantham Barracks, is meeting a new patient, a woman known as Prisoner Alpha. As she is being transferred, they are attacked by assassins, barely escaping with their lives. One shooter vanishes, leaving behind a dead companion unlike anyone Ryan has ever seen.

But even more baffling is the puzzle of Alpha herself. She speaks in a strange tongue, and doodles in bars, dots, and little pictures like nothing Ryan has ever seen. Is she some sort of savant, or the most cunning spy he's ever met?

Meanwhile, in Egypt, archaeologist Reid Farmer uncovers an 18th-Dynasty tomb that shouldn't exist, filled with Mayan epigraphy, mathematics, and materials that didn't exist 3,000 years ago. As a result of this discovery, Reid and forensic anthropologist Kilgore France--along with the sarcophagus they have found--are snatched away to a hidden lab to solve the enigma of a man lost in time.

As dark forces gather, Alpha makes an impossible escape from Grantham. Ryan quickly becomes the prime suspect in her disappearance, but with a team of unique allies, sets out to prove his innocence. Together, they must find Alpha and save Ryan before it is too late.]]> 452 W. Michael Gear 0756414466 Ryanb 4 3.57 2020 The Alpha Enigma (Team Psi, #1)
author: W. Michael Gear
name: Ryanb
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2020
rating: 4
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date added: 2021/12/02
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]]> The Dig 26129387
Despite being exploited as a child and tormented by the unpleasant experiences imprinted on him from the various items he's "read," Matt agrees to travel from New York to the forests of Kenya. There, threatened by unknown enemies, and helped by a beautiful but prickly ally who begins to understand his strange ability, his mind journeys back in geological time to make a discovery so shocking that it forces us to rewrite all human history.]]> 378 Michael Siemsen 1940757088 Ryanb 4 3.64 2010 The Dig
author: Michael Siemsen
name: Ryanb
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2010
rating: 4
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date added: 2021/11/30
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]]> <![CDATA[The Synchronicity War Part 3: scifi actino and adventure]]> 21408897 389 Dietmar Arthur Wehr 0991897862 Ryanb 4 4.01 2014 The Synchronicity War Part 3: scifi actino and adventure
author: Dietmar Arthur Wehr
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2014
rating: 4
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date added: 2021/09/01
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]]> <![CDATA[The Synchronicity War Part 4: scifi action and adventure]]> 22599270 331 Dietmar Arthur Wehr 0991897870 Ryanb 4 4.06 2014 The Synchronicity War Part 4: scifi action and adventure
author: Dietmar Arthur Wehr
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2014
rating: 4
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]]> The Synchronicity War Part 2 19035950


Naturally the attack took place during his sleep cycle. He woke up to the blaring of the ship’s Battle Stations siren with Tanaka’s excited voice calling him via his implant.


“Bridge to Commander! They’re here, Sir! Repeat…they’re here…� Shiloh shook himself awake and started to get up.


“I’m awake, Sumi. What’s happening?� He was glad he decided to sleep in his uniform for just this kind of emergency.


“Jump detection contacts! Lots of them!� When he was sure that she wasn’t going to say more, he said.


“From what bearing?�


“ALL of them! They’re coming at us from 360 degrees and all three axes!� The near panic in her voice shocked him. By this time, he was running down the corridor to the Bridge. She was already vacating the Command Station chair when he entered the Bridge. Before she could relinquish command, he said in a loud voice.


“The XO still has the Con. XO, take the Helm station; I’ll look after the fighters!� She looked at him with wide eyes but nodded and stepped over to the Helm Station. As he got himself strapped into his chair, he quickly switched com channels to the open channel with the Nimitz Base.


“Nimitz, this is Shiloh! Order your recons to active scanning!� Without waiting for a reply, he switched to the fighter com channel. By prior arrangement, DeChastelaine had agreed to let Shiloh take tactical command of her fighters too. “CAG to fighters! Launch your recons and go active! Light’em up! We need to see their vectors and speeds! If you have a viable intercept solution, take the shot!� By now he was strapped in and had time to actually look at the tactical display. Tanaka was right. Red triangles indicating jump emergence points were all around the planet as well as above and below it. There was something about this strategy that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Concentration of force was a key tactical concept that should theoretically be valid to any species. There was strength in numbers and it minimized communication lags. So why was this alien fleet…this alien, A.I.-controlled fleet behaving this way? They must know that they risked being picked off one at a time. He didn’t have an answer to his question and…no vision either.


“Task Force Leader on Tac 4, Sir!� yelled the com tech. Shiloh switched over to that com channel and said.


“Shiloh here. Go ahead Task Force Leader!� As he spoke he searched the display to find the four combat frigates. They were following standard doctrine and were in close formation orbiting the Nimitz Base moon.


“Victor! Get your fighters into action!� Shiloh suppressed his surge of anger. Task Force Leader Sobrist and he were both Senior Commanders. The deployment order from HQ on Sol had placed all ships in the Avalon system under the authority of Sobrist BUT it also made it clear that when Shiloh was wearing his Commander Autonomous Group hat, he had sole discretion on how to use those fighters. Not only was Sobrist’s urging that Shiloh get the fighters into action a completely unnecessary stating of the obvious but it was also a distraction that Shiloh as the CAG didn’t need right now.


“I’ve already issued orders to them to…� he stopped talking as the tactical display was updated with the first results of the recon drones� active scans. They had all the incoming enemy ships on radar now and he was stunned by their speeds. 27,552 kilometers per second!]]> 317 Dietmar Arthur Wehr 0991897854 Ryanb 4 4.04 2013 The Synchronicity War Part 2
author: Dietmar Arthur Wehr
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2013
rating: 4
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]]> <![CDATA[The Synchronicity War Part 1 (The Synchronicity War, #1)]]> 20348955
With the Senior Brass convinced that he's a tactical genius, he's given more and more responsibility and is terrified by the belief that Humanity's Fate rests on his shoulders. Can he solve the mystery of his precognitive visions before the Human Race plunges into the abyss of total extermination? This is Volume 1 of a military SF series about desperate space battles and the men, women and Artificial Intelligences, who fight and die in them.]]> 286 Dietmar Arthur Wehr 0991897846 Ryanb 4 3.82 2013 The Synchronicity War Part 1 (The Synchronicity War, #1)
author: Dietmar Arthur Wehr
name: Ryanb
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2013
rating: 4
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date added: 2021/09/01
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]]> <![CDATA[Battle Ground (The Dresden Files, #17)]]> 23106013
But this time it’s different. A being more powerful and dangerous on an order of magnitude beyond what the world has seen in a millennium is coming. And she’s bringing an army. The Last Titan has declared war on the city of Chicago, and has come to subjugate humanity, obliterating any who stand in her way.

Harry’s mission is simple but impossible: Save the city by killing a Titan. And the attempt will change Harry’s life, Chicago, and the mortal world forever.]]> 418 Jim Butcher 0593199308 Ryanb 4 to-read 4.35 2020 Battle Ground (The Dresden Files, #17)
author: Jim Butcher
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2020
rating: 4
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date added: 2021/09/01
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]]> <![CDATA[Queen of Storms (The Firemane Saga, #2)]]> 51930485 Dark and powerful forces threaten the world of Garn once more in this second novel in legendary New York Times bestselling author Raymond E. Feist’s epic fantasy series, the Firemane Saga.

Hatushaly and his young wife Hava have arrived in the prosperous trading town of Beran’s Hill to restore and reopen the fire-damaged Inn of the Three Stars. They are also preparing for the popular midsummer festival, where their friends Declan and Gwen will be wed.

But Hatu and Hava are not the ordinary loving couple they appear to be. They are assassins from the mysterious island of Coaltachin, home to the powerful and lethal Nocusara, the fearsome “Hidden Warriors.� Posing as innkeepers, they are awaiting instructions from their masters in the Kingdom of Night.

Hatu conceals an even more dangerous secret. He is the last remaining member of the legendary Firemanes, the ruling family of Ithrace. Known as the Kingdom of Flames, Ithrace was one of the five greatest realms of Tembria, ruled by Hatu’s father, Stervern Langene, until he and his people were betrayed. His heir, Hatu—then a baby—was hidden among the Nocusara, who raised him to become a deadly spy.

Hatu works hard to hide his true identity from all who would seek to use or to destroy him, as fate has other plans for the noble warrior. Unexpected calamity forces him to make choices he could not have dreamed awaited him.

A series of horrific events shatters the peace of Beran’s Hill, bringing death and devastation and unleashing monstrous forces. Once more, the Greater Realms of Tembria are threatened—and nothing will ever be the same again.]]> 437 Raymond E. Feist 0062315811 Ryanb 0 to-read 4.07 2020 Queen of Storms (The Firemane Saga, #2)
author: Raymond E. Feist
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2020
rating: 0
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date added: 2021/07/20
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]]> <![CDATA[Douglas Adams' Starship Titanic]]> 15317208
An Earthling would see the ship as something really really big, but rather less provincial onlookers would recognise it as the design of Leovinus, the galaxy's most renowned architect. Before the launch, Leovinus is having one last little look round and begins to find that things just aren't right; poor workmanship, cybersystems out of control, robots walking into doors. How could this have happened? The Starship Titanic is THE SHIP THAT CANNOT POSSIBLY GO WRONG...

While the galaxy's media looks on the following morning, hugely, magnificently, the fabulous ship eases away from the construction dock, picks up speed, sways a little, wobbles a bit, veers wildly and, just before it can do untold damage to everything around it, appears to undergo SMEF (Spontaneous Massive Existence Failure). In just ten seconds, the whole, stupendous enterprise is over. And our story has just begun...]]> Terry Jones 0609500457 Ryanb 4 3.73 1997 Douglas Adams' Starship Titanic
author: Terry Jones
name: Ryanb
average rating: 3.73
book published: 1997
rating: 4
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date added: 2020/10/17
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]]> <![CDATA[Ready Player Two (Ready Player One, #2)]]> 26082916 An unexpected quest. Two worlds at stake. Are you ready?

Days after winning Oasis founder James Halliday's contest, Wade Watts makes a discovery that changes everything.

Hidden within Halliday's vaults, waiting for his heir to find, lies a technological advancement that will once again change the world and make the Oasis a thousand times more wondrous—and addictive—than even Wade dreamed possible.

With it comes a new riddle, and a new quest—a last Easter egg from Halliday, hinting at a mysterious prize.

And an unexpected, impossibly powerful, and dangerous new rival awaits, one who'll kill millions to get what he wants.

Wade's life and the future of the Oasis are again at stake, but this time the fate of humanity also hangs in the balance.

Lovingly nostalgic and wildly original as only Ernest Cline could conceive it, Ready Player Two takes us on another imaginative, fun, action-packed adventure through his beloved virtual universe, and jolts us thrillingly into the future once again.]]> 370 Ernest Cline 1524761338 Ryanb 0 to-read 3.39 2020 Ready Player Two (Ready Player One, #2)
author: Ernest Cline
name: Ryanb
average rating: 3.39
book published: 2020
rating: 0
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]]> <![CDATA[A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5)]]> 10664113 Alternate cover edition of ASIN B004XISI4A

In the aftermath of a colossal battle, the future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance—beset by newly emerging threats from every direction. In the east, Daenerys Targaryen, the last scion of House Targaryen, rules with her three dragons as queen of a city built on dust and death. But Daenerys has thousands of enemies, and many have set out to find her. As they gather, one young man embarks upon his own quest for the queen, with an entirely different goal in mind.

Fleeing from Westeros with a price on his head, Tyrion Lannister, too, is making his way to Daenerys. But his newest allies in this quest are not the rag-tag band they seem, and at their heart lies one who could undo Daenerys’s claim to Westeros forever.

Meanwhile, to the north lies the mammoth Wall of ice and stone—a structure only as strong as those guarding it. There, Jon Snow, 998th Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, will face his greatest challenge. For he has powerful foes not only within the Watch but also beyond, in the land of the creatures of ice.

From all corners, bitter conflicts reignite, intimate betrayals are perpetrated, and a grand cast of outlaws and priests, soldiers and skinchangers, nobles and slaves, will face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Some will fail, others will grow in the strength of darkness. But in a time of rising restlessness, the tides of destiny and politics will lead inevitably to the greatest dance of all.]]> 1125 George R.R. Martin Ryanb 5 4.33 2011 A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, #5)
author: George R.R. Martin
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2011
rating: 5
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]]> <![CDATA[A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2)]]> 10572
It is a tale in which brother plots against brother and the dead rise to walk in the night. Here a princess masquerades as an orphan boy; a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress; and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside. Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, victory may go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel...and the coldest hearts. For when kings clash, the whole land trembles.

Here is the second volume in George R.R. Martin magnificent cycle of novels that includes A Game of Thrones and A Storm of Swords. As a whole, this series comprises a genuine masterpiece of modern fantasy, bringing together the best the genre has to offer. Magic, mystery, intrigue, romance, and adventure fill these pages and transport us to a world unlike any we have ever experienced. Already hailed as a classic, George R.R. Martin stunning series is destined to stand as one of the great achievements of imaginative fiction.]]> 1009 George R.R. Martin 0553381695 Ryanb 5 4.42 1998 A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, #2)
author: George R.R. Martin
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.42
book published: 1998
rating: 5
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]]> <![CDATA[A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, #4)]]> 13497 Crows will fight over a dead man's flesh, and kill each other for his eyes.

Bloodthirsty, treacherous and cunning, the Lannisters are in power on the Iron Throne in the name of the boy-king Tommen. The war in the Seven Kingdoms has burned itself out, but in its bitter aftermath new conflicts spark to life.

The Martells of Dorne and the Starks of Winterfell seek vengeance for their dead. Euron Crow's Eye, as black a pirate as ever raised a sail, returns from the smoking ruins of Valyria to claim the Iron Isles. From the icy north, where Others threaten the Wall, apprentice Maester Samwell Tarly brings a mysterious babe in arms to the Citadel.

Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, victory will go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel and the coldest hearts.]]> 1060 George R.R. Martin 055358202X Ryanb 5 4.16 2005 A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, #4)
author: George R.R. Martin
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2005
rating: 5
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]]> <![CDATA[A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3)]]> 62291 An alternate cover for this ISBN can be found here

Here is the third volume in George R.R. Martin's magnificent cycle of novels that includes A Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings. Together, this series comprises a genuine masterpiece of modern fantasy, destined to stand as one of the great achievements of imaginative fiction.

Of the five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavor, and still the wars rage as alliances are made and broken. Joffrey sits on the Iron Throne, the uneasy ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. His most bitter rival, Lord Stannis, stands defeated and disgraced, victim of the sorceress who holds him in her thrall. Young Robb still rules the North from the fortress of Riverrun. Meanwhile, making her way across a blood-drenched continent is the exiled queen, Daenerys, mistress of the only three dragons still left in the world. And as opposing forces manoeuver for the final showdown, an army of barbaric wildlings arrives from the outermost limits of civilization, accompanied by a horde of mythical Others—a supernatural army of the living dead whose animated corpses are unstoppable. As the future of the land hangs in the balance, no one will rest until the Seven Kingdoms have exploded in a veritable storm of swords...]]> 1177 George R.R. Martin 055357342X Ryanb 5 4.54 2000 A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, #3)
author: George R.R. Martin
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.54
book published: 2000
rating: 5
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]]> UMO 40851494
The manned mission is led by Lieutenant Colonel Avery Lockett. He is joined by flight engineer, Captain Nick Reed, and mission specialist, Dr. Christine Baker. Together they embark on a dangerous journey aboard the spaceship Cetus Prime - dangerous because they know what awaits them around Mars. UMO’s, or unidentified magnetic objects.

UMO’s are believed to be an electromagnetic life form feeding on ions caught between Earth’s magnetosphere and ionosphere. The elusive creatures appear as nothing more than small bright lights, but they are capable of supersonic speeds and non-ballistic motion. Space exploration authorities have, at various times, provided benign explanations for these bright lights; melting frost shed by spacecraft caught in sunlight, solar wind particles or flaming meteors bouncing off the Earth’s atmosphere, to name a few. Anything but an alien life form.

Disavowed for decades, the UMO’s had been viewed as harmless, amoeba-like blobs that existed only around Earth, as none had ever been observed by deep space probes to other planets in the solar system. But that perception changed with the final photographs snapped by one of the doomed Mars probes. The pictures showed a swarm of UMO’s descending upon the probe in the moments before communication was lost. Instrument readings from the same probe showed huge spikes in electromagnetic radiation in its last transmission.

No one knows for sure what happened to the Mars probes, but authorities speculate the UMO’s destroyed them. Now, Avery, Nick and Christine must travel sixty-five million miles to Mars and gather evidence to confirm what destroyed the probes without attracting a swarm of the lethal creatures. For if a swarm of the UMO’s appears, Cetus Prime is ill-prepared for fight and too slow to escape.

UMO, a novella, is the first installment of The Rorschach Explorer Missions, a new sci-fi thriller series from mystery-thriller author K. Patrick Donoghue. UMO is also the prequel to the full-length novel, Skywave, which is targeted for release in late November 2018. The Prologue from Skywave is included as a free bonus chapter in UMO.]]> 79 K. Patrick Donoghue 0999761447 Ryanb 0 to-read 4.04 UMO
author: K. Patrick Donoghue
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.04
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]]> <![CDATA[Magwave (The Rorschach Explorer Missions #2)]]> 46034380
Fresh off their historic discoveries on the Jupiter moon Callisto, the crew of the Rorschach Explorer and their colleagues in Mission Control should have known better. Space is not a lifeless vacuum.

Dark and forbidding, it is a jungle where the rules of survival are no different than those on Earth: Keep your head on a swivel. Trust nothing you think you know. Kill or be killed.

Icy and vast, it is an ocean where the divide between life and death is often more dependent on forging alliances than individual prowess. There is always something bigger, faster, smarter and hungrier than you.

Spartan and unforgiving, it is a desert where the daily struggle for existence requires constant ingenuity and adaptation. Oases are few and far between and there is no respite from danger.

But the crew was lulled by an easy start to Rorschach’s maiden voyage and they let their guard down. And sure as the Sun rises, savage predators emerged from the darkness.

Magwave, book two of the Rorschach Explorer Missions series, continues the story first hatched in the series� novella prequel, UMO, and further explored in book one in the series, Skywave.
]]> 445 K. Patrick Donoghue 0999761455 Ryanb 0 to-read 4.26 Magwave (The Rorschach Explorer Missions #2)
author: K. Patrick Donoghue
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.26
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]]> <![CDATA[Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds (Legion, #1-3)]]> 39332065 A story in three life-shattering acts.

Includes the never-before-published Legion: Lies of the Beholder.

Stephen Leeds is perfectly sane. It’s his hallucinations who are mad.

A genius of unrivaled aptitude, Stephen can learn any new skill, vocation, or art in a matter of hours. However, to contain all of this, his mind creates hallucinatory people—Stephen calls them aspects—to hold and manifest the information. Wherever he goes, he is joined by a team of imaginary experts to give advice, interpretation, and explanation. He uses them to solve problems. . .for a price.

His brain is getting a little crowded and the aspects have a tendency of taking on lives of their own. When a company hires him to recover stolen property—a camera that can allegedly take pictures of the past—Stephen finds himself in an adventure crossing oceans and fighting terrorists. What he discovers may upend the foundation of three major world religions—and, perhaps, give him a vital clue into the true nature of his aspects.

Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds includes the novellas Legion and Legion: Skin Deep, published together for the first time, as well as a brand-new, shocking finale to Stephen Leeds' story, Lies of the Beholder.]]> 352 Brandon Sanderson 1250297796 Ryanb 4 4.14 2018 Legion: The Many Lives of Stephen Leeds (Legion, #1-3)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2018
rating: 4
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date added: 2020/07/12
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]]> <![CDATA[Oathbringer (The Stormlight Archive, #3)]]> 34002132 Oathbringer, the third volume of the New York Times bestselling Stormlight Archive, humanity faces a new Desolation with the return of the Voidbringers, a foe with numbers as great as their thirst for vengeance.

Dalinar Kholin's Alethi armies won a fleeting victory at a terrible cost: The enemy Parshendi summoned the violent Everstorm, which now sweeps the world with destruction, and in its passing awakens the once peaceful and subservient parshmen to the horror of their millennia-long enslavement by humans. While on a desperate flight to warn his family of the threat, Kaladin Stormblessed must come to grips with the fact that the newly kindled anger of the parshmen may be wholly justified.

Nestled in the mountains high above the storms, in the tower city of Urithiru, Shallan Davar investigates the wonders of the ancient stronghold of the Knights Radiant and unearths dark secrets lurking in its depths. And Dalinar realizes that his holy mission to unite his homeland of Alethkar was too narrow in scope. Unless all the nations of Roshar can put aside Dalinar's blood-soaked past and stand together--and unless Dalinar himself can confront that past--even the restoration of the Knights Radiant will not prevent the end of civilization.]]> 1248 Brandon Sanderson Ryanb 5 4.60 2017 Oathbringer (The Stormlight Archive, #3)
author: Brandon Sanderson
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.60
book published: 2017
rating: 5
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]]> <![CDATA[Blood of Heroes (The Ember War Saga, #3)]]> 28113595 The planet Takeni needs a miracle to survive a Xaros invasion. They’ve got the Breitenfeld.
The Xaros, a galaxy wide scourge of murderous drones, have their sites set on a peaceful planet. Against the odds, and the orders of his superiors, Captain Isaac Valdar sends his ship to the planet's defense. The battle against the onslaught can’t be won, and escape with the world's civilians demands a terrible price.

Pressed by an alien fleet and a horrifying foe on the planet’s surface, the Breitenfeld must risk everything for a chance at victory.

Blood of Heroes is the latest installment in this epic military sci-fi series. The Ember War saga continues!]]> 218 Richard Fox Ryanb 3 4.22 2015 Blood of Heroes (The Ember War Saga, #3)
author: Richard Fox
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2015
rating: 3
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date added: 2020/02/27
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]]> <![CDATA[Malice (The Faithful and the Fallen, #1)]]> 15750692
Young Corban watches enviously as boys become warriors under King Brenin’s rule, learning the art of war. He yearns to wield his sword and spear to protect his king’s realm. But that day will come all too soon. Only when he loses those he loves will he learn the true price of courage.

The Banished Lands has a violent past where armies of men and giants clashed shields in battle, the earth running dark with their heartsblood. Although the giant-clans were broken in ages past, their ruined fortresses still scar the land. But now giants stir anew, the very stones weep blood and there are sightings of giant wyrms. Those who can still read the signs see a threat far greater than the ancient wars. Sorrow will darken the world, as angels and demons make it their battlefield. Then there will be a war to end all wars.

High King Aquilus summons his fellow kings to council, seeking an alliance in this time of need. Some are skeptical, fighting their own border skirmishes against pirates and giants. But prophesy indicates darkness and light will demand two champions, the Black Sun and the Bright Star. They would be wise to seek out both, for if the Black Sun gains ascendancy, mankind’s hopes and dreams will fall to dust.]]> 672 John Gwynne 0230758452 Ryanb 0 to-read 4.15 2012 Malice (The Faithful and the Fallen, #1)
author: John Gwynne
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2012
rating: 0
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date added: 2019/11/21
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]]> <![CDATA[The Forever, Part 3, Books 5-6]]> 42115543
As the last hope to combat the indomitable threat, an impossible alliance must be forged between old friends and bitter enemies. Every civilization realizes that defeat is so certain that only such a cooperation might stop the Nightmare. Humans are gifted the fantastic technologies to walk among the stars to help in the fight. To be so close to a magical era for humanity yet so likely to perish is a crushing weight. Can Jon pull one more miracle out of his hat?

Jon has met and won many insurmountable challenges. But he faces one he never expected and seems unable to master. All the fighting, all the death, and all the suffering are changing him. He's growing darker and less human with each passing crisis. Will he become the emotionless machine he is housed in?

The dark forces of The Berrillians are relentless. Having lost the technological war to The Alliance, they revert to guerrilla tactics. They threaten to terrorize the galaxy into submission. It's a game they are very good at. With no relief in sight, humanity turns once again to a weary Jon Ryan for answers. He develops a plan, but if it succeeds it's brutality threatens to push him over the edge. Jon must answer the question as to whether survival is worth his soul?]]> 535 Craig Robertson 0999774298 Ryanb 0 to-read 4.32 The Forever, Part 3, Books 5-6
author: Craig Robertson
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.32
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]]> <![CDATA[The Forever, Part 2, Books 3-4]]> 41452288 492 Craig Robertson 0999774271 Ryanb 0 to-read 4.32 The Forever, Part 2, Books 3-4
author: Craig Robertson
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average rating: 4.32
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]]> The Forever,Part 1, Books 1-2 40865514
This brilliant first installment of The Forever pairs the best selling The Forever Life and The Forever Enemy. The book is designed to accompany the audiobook version published by Podium Publishing and performed by the outstanding actor Scott Aiello.]]> 618 Craig Robertson 0999774239 Ryanb 0 to-read 4.08 The Forever,Part 1, Books 1-2
author: Craig Robertson
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.08
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]]> <![CDATA[Octavia Gone (Alex Benedict, #8)]]> 42201389 After being lost in space for eleven years, Gabe finally makes his triumphant return to reunite with Alex and Chase and retrieve a possibly alien artifact—which may lead them to solve the greatest archaeological mystery of their careers, in the eighth installment of the Alex Benedict series.

After his return from space, Gabe is trying to find a new life for himself after being presumed dead—just as Alex and Chase are trying to relearn how to live and work without him. But when a seemingly alien artifact goes missing from Gabe’s old collection, it grants the group a chance to dive into solving the mystery of its origins as a team, once again.

When a lead on the artifact is tied to a dead pilot’s sole unrecorded trip, another clue seems to lead to one of the greatest lingering mysteries of the age: the infamous disappearance of a team of scientists aboard a space station orbiting a black hole—the Amelia Earhart of their time. With any luck, Alex, Chase, and Gabe may be on the trail of the greatest archaeological discovery of their careers�

In Octavia Gone, Nebula Award winner McDevitt, who Stephen King has called “the logical heir to Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke,� has created another terrific science fiction mystery in his beloved Alex Benedict series.]]> 375 Jack McDevitt 1481497979 Ryanb 0 to-read 3.68 2019 Octavia Gone (Alex Benedict, #8)
author: Jack McDevitt
name: Ryanb
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2019
rating: 0
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date added: 2019/09/29
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]]> Armada 16278318
But hey, there’s nothing wrong with a little escapism, right? After all, Zack tells himself, he knows the difference between fantasy and reality. He knows that here in the real world, aimless teenage gamers with anger issues don’t get chosen to save the universe.

And then he sees the flying saucer.

Even stranger, the alien ship he’s staring at is straight out of the videogame he plays every night, a hugely popular online flight simulator called Armada—in which gamers just happen to be protecting the earth from alien invaders.

No, Zack hasn’t lost his mind. As impossible as it seems, what he’s seeing is all too real. And his skills—as well as those of millions of gamers across the world—are going to be needed to save the earth from what’s about to befall it.

It’s Zack’s chance, at last, to play the hero. But even through the terror and exhilaration, he can’t help thinking back to all those science-fiction stories he grew up with, and wondering: Doesn’t something about this scenario seem a little…familiar?

At once gleefully embracing and brilliantly subverting science-fiction conventions as only Ernest Cline could, Armada is a rollicking, surprising thriller, a classic coming of age adventure, and an alien invasion tale like nothing you’ve ever read before—one whose every page is infused with the pop-culture savvy that has helped make Ready Player One a phenomenon.]]> 355 Ernest Cline 0804137250 Ryanb 4 3.54 2015 Armada
author: Ernest Cline
name: Ryanb
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2015
rating: 4
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date added: 2019/07/03
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]]> <![CDATA[Coming Home (Alex Benedict, #7)]]> 21944107
Antiquities dealer Alex Benedict and his pilot, Chase Kolpath, have gone to Earth to learn the truth. But the trail seems to have gone cold, so they head back home to be present when the Capella, the interstellar transport that vanished eleven years earlier in a time/space warp, is expected to reappear. With a window of only a few hours, rescuing it is of the utmost importance. Twenty-six hundred passengers—including Alex’s uncle, Gabriel Benedict, the man who raised him—are on board.

Alex now finds his attention divided between finding the artifacts and anticipating the rescue of the Capella. But time won’t allow him to do both. As the deadline for the Capella’s reappearance draws near, Alex fears that the puzzle of the artifacts will be lost yet again. But Alex Benedict never forgets and never gives up—and another day will soon come around...]]> 386 Jack McDevitt 0698146506 Ryanb 4 3.87 2014 Coming Home (Alex Benedict, #7)
author: Jack McDevitt
name: Ryanb
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2014
rating: 4
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date added: 2019/06/23
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]]> Firebird (Alex Benedict, #6) 11099135 A new Alex Benedict novel from "a master of describing otherworldly grandeur." (Denver Post)

Forty-one years ago the renowned physicist Chris Robin vanished. Before his disappearance, his fringe science theories about the existence of endless alternate universes had earned him both admirers and enemies.

Alex Benedict and Chase Kolpath discover that Robin had several interstellar yachts flown far outside the planetary system where they too vanished. And following Robin's trail into the unknown puts Benedict and Kolpath in danger...

]]> 375 Jack McDevitt 0441020739 Ryanb 4 4.03 2011 Firebird (Alex Benedict, #6)
author: Jack McDevitt
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2011
rating: 4
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date added: 2019/06/23
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]]> <![CDATA[Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1)]]> 9969571 Librarian's note: An alternate cover edition can be found here

IN THE YEAR 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them.

But when Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.]]> 480 Ernest Cline 030788743X Ryanb 5 4.21 2011 Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1)
author: Ernest Cline
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2011
rating: 5
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date added: 2019/06/10
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]]> War Eternal, Books 1-3 34030281 3 books. 1000+ pages. Over 100,000 unbundled copies sold.

Book 1: Starship Eternal

A lost starship...
A dire warning from futures past...
A desperate search for salvation�

Captain Mitchell “Ares� Williams is a Space Marine and the hero of the Battle for Liberty, whose Shot Heard ‘Round the Universe saved the planet from a nearly unstoppable war machine. He’s handsome, charismatic, and the perfect poster boy to help the military drive enlistment. Pulled from the war and thrown into the spotlight, he’s as efficient at charming the media as he was at shooting down enemy starfighters.

After an assassination attempt leaves Mitchell critically wounded, he begins to suffer from strange hallucinations that carry a chilling and oddly familiar warning:

They are coming. Find the Goliath or humankind will be destroyed.

Convinced that the visions are a side-effect of his injuries, he tries to ignore them, only to learn that he may not be as crazy as he thinks. The enemy is real and closer than he imagined, and they’ll do whatever it takes to prevent him from rediscovering the centuries lost starship.

Narrowly escaping capture, out of time and out of air, Mitchell lands at the mercy of the Riggers - a ragtag crew of former commandos who patrol the lawless outer reaches of the galaxy. Guided by a captain with a reputation for cold-blooded murder, they’re dangerous, immoral, and possibly insane.

They may also be humanity’s last hope for survival in a war that has raged beyond eternity.


Book 2: The End of Liberty

An ancient starship discovered�
An eternal enemy revealed�
An impossible mission to save humankind�

The Goliath has been discovered, the first of its secrets revealed. Now the race is on for Captain Mitchell Williams and his crew to return to Liberty and recover Origin’s lost memories before the enemy can complete their violent conquest.

It's a mission with a near-zero chance of success. A mission that only the Riggers would be crazy enough to accept, and skilled enough to survive. A mission that will test the limits of Mitchell’s mind, body, and soul, and force him to make an impossible choice that could cost the lives of millions.

This is war, and if he can’t win a battle for a single planet, how can he possibly change the outcome of a conflict that has raged beyond eternity?


Book 3: The Knife’s Edge

A mission failed...
A civilization on the edge of collapse...
A dangerous alliance to save it�

Colonel Mitchell “Ares� Williams has never been one to accept failure. While the outcome on Liberty is a crushing setback to his and the Rigger’s chances of salvaging the war, there’s no time to waste on regret. After all, the mission wasn’t a total loss, delivering an unexpected asset in the wake of their defeat:

Liun Tio, a.k.a the Knife, a notorious warlord and enemy of the Alliance, whose deep-seated mistrust of artificial intelligence and control over what may be the largest free fleet in the galaxy have made him the most important man alive.

If humanity is going to have a chance to survive the Tetron onslaught, Ares and the Knife will need to find a way to work together.]]> 1061 M.R. Forbes Ryanb 4 4.34 2017 War Eternal, Books 1-3
author: M.R. Forbes
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2017
rating: 4
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date added: 2019/06/10
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]]> <![CDATA[The Edge of Infinity (War Eternal, #7)]]> 33397533 SERIES FINALE! A new beginning� A final battle for the fate of humankind� A future on the edge of infinity... Colonel Mitchell “Ares� Williams has been through it all, the story of his life an eternity in the making. He’s brought the starship Goliath back home in a shrewd maneuver that could turn the tide of a war that he has fought beyond forever, restoring those that were lost and giving him a second chance to change the fate of humankind. A chance to destroy the Tetron for good. But as Mitchell soon discovers, the more things have stayed the same, the more they’ve changed, and he isn’t the only one who’s been waiting for this time to come... The Edge of Infinity is the seventh and final book in the science-fiction War Eternal series. ------------------------ 1. Starship Eternal 2. The End of Liberty 3. The Knife's Edge 4. Point of Origin 5. Forever Until Tomorrow 6. Eternal Return 7. The Edge of Infinity]]> 324 M.R. Forbes Ryanb 4 4.37 The Edge of Infinity (War Eternal, #7)
author: M.R. Forbes
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.37
book published:
rating: 4
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date added: 2019/06/10
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]]> <![CDATA[Eternal Return (War Eternal, #6)]]> 32467928 A memory recovered... A weapon forged... A showdown an eternity in the making... Colonel Mitchell “Ares� Williams has won battles before. So while the recovery of the eternal engine and the emergence of a powerful new ally have given him hope that he can save humanity from enslavement and annihilation, he knows the war against the Tetron is far from over, and victory far from assured. When a mission gone sideways finds the Riggers cut off and the enemy closing in, Mitchell has no choice but to forget about strategy and improvise, risking everything in a last-ditch effort to bring the starship, Goliath, back where it belongs. Because if he doesn’t, there won’t be any battles left to win.]]> 320 M.R. Forbes Ryanb 4 4.27 Eternal Return (War Eternal, #6)
author: M.R. Forbes
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.27
book published:
rating: 4
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date added: 2019/06/10
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]]> <![CDATA[Forever Until Tomorrow (War Eternal, #5)]]> 30522206 A war lost.�..
A civilization in ruins...

A spark of hope among the wreckage...

The war is over. The war has just begun. Major Katherine Asher of the newly founded United Earth Alliance knows nothing about the apocalyptic war of a past future. She’s scheduled to pilot the newly christened Dove, Earth’s first starship, in her maiden voyage. But when a terrorist attack leaves her wounded and hearing voices, she quickly finds herself caught up in the eternal struggle and fighting to stop a future that has no place for humankind.

At the same time, a man in St. Louis decides to leave the psychiatric hospital he’s called home for the last twenty years, since the fateful night an alien starship fell to Earth…]]> 344 M.R. Forbes Ryanb 4 4.18 2016 Forever Until Tomorrow (War Eternal, #5)
author: M.R. Forbes
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2016
rating: 4
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date added: 2019/06/10
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]]> <![CDATA[Firefly: Generations (Firefly, #3)]]> 44058959 Winner of the 2021 Dragon Award for Best Media Tie-in NovelA new era of Firefly canon in the fourth original novel tie-in of the much-missed Firefly series from creator Joss Whedon.A mysterious star map On an Outer Rim moon, Captain Malcolm Reynolds ends a card game the lucky winner of an old map covered in mysterious symbols. The former owner insists it’s worthless; back on Serenity, River Tam is able to interpret it.An ancient legend River claims the map points the way to one of the legendary generation ships that brought humans from Earth- That-Was to the ’Verse. The salvage potential alone is staggering.A drifting relic As the crew approach the aged floating ship, they find it isn’t quite as dead as it first seemed. The closer they get, the more agitated River becomes. She claims something is waiting on board, something powerful, and very angry...]]> 222 Tim Lebbon Ryanb 0 to-read 4.14 2020 Firefly: Generations (Firefly, #3)
author: Tim Lebbon
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2020
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2019/05/03
shelves: to-read
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]]> Echo (Alex Benedict, #5) 8400986
Eccentric Sunset Tuttle spent his life searching in vain for forms of alien life. Thirty years after his death, a stone tablet inscribed with cryptic, indecipherable symbols is found in the possession of Tuttle's onetime lover, and antiquities dealer Alex Benedict is anxious to discover what secret the tablet holds. It could be proof that Tuttle had found what he was looking for. To find out, Benedict and his assistant embark on their own voyage of discovery-one that will lead them directly into the path of a very determined assassin who doesn't want those secrets revealed.]]> 371 Jack McDevitt 0441019242 Ryanb 4 3.87 2010 Echo (Alex Benedict, #5)
author: Jack McDevitt
name: Ryanb
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2010
rating: 4
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date added: 2019/04/29
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]]> <![CDATA[The Devil's Eye (Alex Benedict, #4)]]> 3076046 Nebula Award winner Jack McDevitt is "the logical heir to Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke" (Stephen King).

Interstellar antiquities dealer Alex Benedict receives a cryptic message asking for help from celebrated writer Vicki Greene, who has been mind-wiped. She has no memory of her past life, or of her plea for assistance. But she has transferred an enormous sum of money to Alex, also without explanation. The answers to this mystery lie on the most remote of human worlds, where Alex will uncover a secret connected to a decades-old political upheaval, a secret that somebody desperately wants hidden, though the price of that silence is unimaginable…]]> 368 Jack McDevitt 0441016359 Ryanb 4 3.96 2008 The Devil's Eye (Alex Benedict, #4)
author: Jack McDevitt
name: Ryanb
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2008
rating: 4
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date added: 2019/04/29
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]]> <![CDATA[The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul (Dirk Gently, #2)]]> 357 307 Douglas Adams 0671742515 Ryanb 5 4.05 1988 The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul (Dirk Gently, #2)
author: Douglas Adams
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1988
rating: 5
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date added: 2019/01/17
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]]> <![CDATA[Mostly Harmless (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #5)]]> 569429
“Hitchhiker fans rejoice! . . . [Here’s] more of the same zany nonsensical mayhem.”� The New York Times Book Review

It’s easy to get disheartened when your planet has been blown up and the woman you love has vanished due to a misunderstanding about space/time. However, instead of being disheartened, Arthur Dent makes the terrible mistake of starting to enjoy life a bit—and immediately all hell breaks loose.

Hell takes a number of there’s the standard Ford Prefect version, in the shape of an all-new edition of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and a totally unexpected manifestation in the form of a teenage girl who startles Arthur Dent by being his daughter when he didn’t even know he had one.

Can Arthur save the Earth from total multidimensional obliteration? Can he save the Guide from a hostile alien takeover? Can he save his daughter, Random, from herself? Of course not. He never works out exactly what is going on. Will you?

“Douglas Adams is a terrific satirist. . . . He is anything but harmless.”� The Washington Post Book World]]> 288 Douglas Adams 0345379330 Ryanb 4 3.99 1992 Mostly Harmless (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #5)
author: Douglas Adams
name: Ryanb
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1992
rating: 4
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date added: 2019/01/17
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]]> <![CDATA[Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, #1)]]> 365
Apparently not much; until Dirk Gently, self-styled private investigator, sets out to prove the fundamental interconnectedness of all things by solving a mysterious murder, assisting a mysterious professor, unravelling a mysterious mystery, and eating a lot of pizza � not to mention saving the entire human race from extinction along the way (at no extra charge).

To find out more, read this book (better still, buy it, then read it) � or contact Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. ‘A thumping good detective-ghost-horror-whodunnit-time travel-romantic-musical-comedy epic.� The author]]> 306 Douglas Adams Ryanb 5 3.98 1987 Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Dirk Gently, #1)
author: Douglas Adams
name: Ryanb
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1987
rating: 5
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date added: 2019/01/17
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]]> <![CDATA[So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #4)]]> 6091075
God only knows what it all means. And fortunately, He left behind a Final Message of explanation. But since it's light-years away from Earth, on a star surrounded by souvenir booths, finding out what it is will mean hitching a ride to the far reaches of space aboard a UFO with a giant robot. But what else is new?]]> 225 Douglas Adams 0307497909 Ryanb 5 4.14 1984 So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #4)
author: Douglas Adams
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.14
book published: 1984
rating: 5
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date added: 2019/01/17
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]]> <![CDATA[Life, the Universe and Everything (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #3)]]> 8694
“Wild satire . . . The feckless protagonist, Arthur Dent, is reminiscent of Vonnegut heroes.”� Chicago Tribune

The unhappy inhabitants of planet Krikkit are sick of looking at the night sky above their heads—so they plan to destroy it. The universe, that is. Now only five individuals stand between the killer robots of Krikkit and their goal of total annihilation.

They are Arthur Dent, a mild-mannered space and time traveler who tries to learn how to fly by throwing himself at the ground and missing; Ford Prefect, his best friend, who decides to go insane to see if he likes it; Slartibartfast, the indomitable vice president of the Campaign for Real Time, who travels in a ship powered by irrational behavior; Zaphod Beeblebrox, the two-headed, three-armed ex-president of the galaxy; and Trillian, the sexy space cadet who is torn between a persistent Thunder God and a very depressed Beeblebrox.

How will it all end? Will it end? Only this stalwart crew knows as they try to avert “universal� Armageddon and save life as we know it—and don’t know it!

“Adams is one of those rare an author who, one senses, has as much fun writing as one has reading.”� Arizona Daily Star]]> 224 Douglas Adams 0345418905 Ryanb 5 4.20 1982 Life, the Universe and Everything (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #3)
author: Douglas Adams
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.20
book published: 1982
rating: 5
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date added: 2019/01/17
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]]> <![CDATA[The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #2)]]> 8695 alternate edition for ISBN 0345418921/9780345418920

Facing annihilation at the hands of the warlike Vogons is a curious time to have a cosmically displaced Arthur Dent and his curious comrades in arms as they hurtle through space powered by pure improbability - and desperately in search of a place to eat. Among Arthur's motley shipmates are Ford Prefect, a long-time friend and contributor to the The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy; Zaphod Beeblebrox, the three-armed, two-headed ex-president of the galaxy; Tricia McMilan, a fellow Earth refuge who's gone native (her name is Trillian now); and Marvin, who suffers nothing and no one gladly.

Source: douglasadams.com]]> 250 Douglas Adams Ryanb 5 4.22 1980 The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #2)
author: Douglas Adams
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1980
rating: 5
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date added: 2019/01/17
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]]> <![CDATA[Skywave (The Rorschach Explorer Missions, #1)]]> 42367031
To Ajay Joshi, the amateur astronomer who discovered the strange sounds with his radio telescope, the clicks represent proof of aliens on Callisto, a moon of Jupiter, a theory dismissed as quackery by space agency radio experts. They contend the clicks are nothing more than terrestrial interference, so-called skywaves, or similar electromagnetic interference emanating from Jupiter or Callisto.

To Dr. Kiera Walsh, an aerospace engineer introduced to Ajay and his findings, the consistent, repetitive pattern of the clicks points to the possibility of a lost Martian probe caught in Callisto’s orbit. She shares this view with her employer, billionaire and space exploration privateer, Augustus Amato, and is surprised to learn Amato disagrees with her conclusion. He believes the clicks herald something more ominous orbiting Callisto.

Compelled to learn the true source of the clicks, Amato launches a fleet of experimental probes to investigate the Jovian moon. A mission that produces a string of startling discoveries, revelations that shake the space exploration establishment to its core and spark a controversial race to preserve the discoveries before they are destroyed or suppressed.

Skywave, the first book in the riveting new sci-fi thriller series from mystery-thriller author K. Patrick Donoghue, leads readers on an epic journey that challenges conventional views of ancient aliens, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence and humankind’s place in the universe.]]> 504 K. Patrick Donoghue Ryanb 0 to-read 4.32 2018 Skywave (The Rorschach Explorer Missions, #1)
author: K. Patrick Donoghue
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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date added: 2018/12/26
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Endeavour (The Sleeping Gods, #1)]]> 22701594 ‘Where are they?�
In 2118, the first daring mission to another star, Tau Ceti, twelve light years away is launched. Tom Hites and Harry Cosgrove command the Starship Endeavour on an epic journey to solve the Fermi Paradox. From the first, nearly disastrous steps on a distant world, their quest takes them further than they ever imagined. Out amidst the mysterious long abandoned worlds and ancient relics they discover, some strange, some wonderful and some deadly, that question they seek to answer becomes:
‘Where are they now?�
]]> 328 Ralph Kern Ryanb 4 3.74 2013 Endeavour (The Sleeping Gods, #1)
author: Ralph Kern
name: Ryanb
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2013
rating: 4
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date added: 2018/12/10
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]]> <![CDATA[Persepolis Rising (The Expanse, #7)]]> 33357930
AN OLD ENEMY RETURNS

In the thousand-sun network of humanity's expansion, new colony worlds are struggling to find their way. Every new planet lives on a knife edge between collapse and wonder, and the crew of the aging gunship Rocinante have their hands more than full keeping the fragile peace.

In the vast space between Earth and Jupiter, the inner planets and belt have formed a tentative and uncertain alliance still haunted by a history of wars and prejudices. On the lost colony world of Laconia, a hidden enemy has a new vision for all of humanity and the power to enforce it.

New technologies clash with old as the history of human conflict returns to its ancient patterns of war and subjugation. But human nature is not the only enemy, and the forces being unleashed have their own price. A price that will change the shape of humanity -- and of the Rocinante -- unexpectedly and forever...]]> 549 James S.A. Corey 0316332836 Ryanb 4 4.37 2017 Persepolis Rising (The Expanse, #7)
author: James S.A. Corey
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2017
rating: 4
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date added: 2018/12/04
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]]> Blindsided (Frozen Sky #3) 30550481 RETURN TO THE FROZEN SKY

Beneath the ice, Vonnie tries to rescue an ESA biologist who was kidnapped by the sunfish.

In space, the People's Supreme Society of China moves against the ESA, launching thousands of drones and hunter-killers as Vonnie uncovers a secret of ancient power.

Conflict above. Conflict below.]]> 300 Jeff Carlson 0996082360 Ryanb 4 4.14 Blindsided (Frozen Sky #3)
author: Jeff Carlson
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.14
book published:
rating: 4
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date added: 2018/11/28
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]]> <![CDATA[Stiger's Tigers (Chronicles of an Imperial Legionary Officer, #1)]]> 25214432
A nobleman from an infamous family, imperial legionary officer, fighter and a right proper bastard of a man� Captain Ben Stiger finds himself reassigned from a crack legion to the rebellion simmering in the South. Placed in command of a truly terrible company, the 85th Imperial Foot, he is unknowingly sent on a suicide mission to resupply an isolated outpost, the garrison of Vrell. Along the way he must rebuild his new company, gain the respect of the men he leads, survive an assassination attempt, fight bandits, rebels, and an agent of an evil god. His companions on this journey of discovery and adventure are one of the few remaining elven rangers and a paladin on a quest for the High Father.

The battle to save the empire and the world begins here in the first book of this exciting new series!
]]> 315 Marc Alan Edelheit Ryanb 4 4.31 2015 Stiger's Tigers (Chronicles of an Imperial Legionary Officer, #1)
author: Marc Alan Edelheit
name: Ryanb
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2015
rating: 4
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date added: 2018/11/28
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]]>