Books Tagged With what - topic - politics

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Summary: “It was certainly hot and dry, but he hadn’t expected Hell to be particularly sunny.” Ben Davies is no stranger to the strange, but his life just got a whole lot weirder. He’s always battled between doing the morally right, sensible thing and impulse—but this time, his good intentions have landed him in hot water. Trapped in the Land of Nod with Alex’s Dreamtime alter-ego, Ben needs to find a way to get back to Wales—his Wales. With a psychotic psychopomp as their Virgil to guide them on an RV road trip through hell, Ben and Alex get to see America in all its star-spangled glory. It’ll take a transatlantic transdimensional meeting in the middle for these two to keep calm and carry on in their pursuit of happiness. Back in the fairy village, tensions are running at an all-time high. Will y Pentreff Cudd start the new year in an all-out civil war? Or set aside their differences to find peace and goodwill? Join dragons, fairies and transdimensional puppies in Green Hills and Whippoorwills—the thought-provoking sixth book in the Green Hills Series by Celyn Kendrick!

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Summary: “IMMORTALITY BYTES: Digital Minds Don’t Get Hungry” by Daniel Lawrence Abrams won “Best Science Fiction: Cyberpunk” in the 7th Annual American Fiction Awards (2024), won “Best Humor/Satire” in the Story Trade Awards (a Reedsy "Best Writing Competition), and the book made the 3rd cut/shortlisted and is still in contention to win Chanticleer's Cygnus Award for Best Science Fiction (2025). Tagline: “Living forever... it's almost worth dying for.” Genre: Sci-Fi/Humor/Political Thriller The Hook: Strives to be a satirical, progressive antidote to Ayn Rand’s ATLAS SHRUGGED. One-line Story Pitch: “When an idealistic hacker’s ex-girlfriend nears inventing digital immortality, an indicted tycoon compels him to steal it.” Back Cover Blurb: “Yay, free money and a life of leisure! Except… only if you never have children. Sure, a cute little version of you (but not yet so screwed up) sounds fun. But with AI robots taking more jobs, who can reject that “bargain” hoping to afford kids someday? Stu Reigns does. He’s an idealistic AI programmer and part-time influencer. His demisexual ex-girlfriend, Roxy Zhang, nears perfecting electronic immortality. Add in billionaire banking rascals, and there’s no more certainty — not even “Death & Taxes.” An old-money Southerner is buying Roxy’s company. This infuriates a sick, rival oligarch — who is about to be rightfully convicted of epic fraud. To escape to this digital eternal life, he compels Stu to steal it. You’ll never guess all the twists, but maybe the reader peering over your shoulder will.” LINKS to accolades and 5-star reviews for "IMMORTALITY BYTES: Digital Minds Don't Get Hungry" by Daniel Lawrence Abrams : - https://www.americanbookfest.com/2024afapressrelease.html - https://2024.storytradeawards.com/ - https://www.chantireviews.com/2024/09/03/the-2024-cygnus-awards-semi-finalists-for-science-fiction/ - https://readerviewsarchives.wordpress.com/2024/09/02/immortality-bytes-abrams-2/ - https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/immortality-bytes - https://sanfranciscobookreview.com/product/immortality-bytes-digital-minds-dont-get-hungry/ BOOK TRAILER: https://vimeo.com/1005688225  

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Summary: Gavin Booker, a school librarian at Cooper Road Elementary, Raleigh, Northern Carolina, leads an orderly, normal life. Work, jogging, friends from work, his son every other weekend. Gavin is also a secret. He is a hybrid, or part-fairy, and in the Columbian Empire, hybrids are under an automatic death sentence. Magic is illegal. So is loving another man, another capital crime. Fairies are locked away in ghettoes, magical beasts, such as gryphons, unicorns, and pegasi are kept in zoos. The others, the tree and water spirits, the talking beasts, fauns, and the rest, are in hiding. This is the world in which Gavin grew up. He survived, thanks to his mother. He can never forget he is different: ministers preach against people like him constantly; hating the other is a part of every school’s curriculum.   But now, things are changing fast, and apparently, for the worst. Earthquakes, volcanoes, killer storms are all frequent occurrences. The medicine Gavin takes to suppress his body’s glowing, isn’t working. The spells cast by his doctor, a witch, are losing their power. If anyone finds out what Gavin is, he is dead. Under threat, the Empire always goes after its marginalized people. Can Gavin survive the coming catastrophe? Will he ever recover from losing the boys he loved? Can he find the fairy man who has haunted his dreams all his life before it is too late? Can his scarred heart ever heal?

Word Count: Click here to reveal91000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: The government wants them dead. They want to know why. And if they want answers, the crew will have to pull what may be their most dangerous job yet. Long before signing on with the Ungovernable, back in his university days, ex-convict and one-time-student Lev stumbled onto a secret, a secret that ended in his professor and mentor disappearing, never to be heard from again. Now he and the rest of the crew are going back to university—but this time they’re breaking in, and they’re bent on sabotage. They need to find out what the government thinks they know, and why they’re all supposed to be dead. But the deeper they dig, the darker the secrets they find, and soon they realize that it’s not just them that the government is after. What’s happening in the labs and the storage rooms of the university might just destroy the entire system as they know it. Insider Threat is the fourth book in R.M. Olson’s science fiction space opera series The Ungovernable. With a crazy, close-knit crew, plenty of humour, and loads of action, Firefly meets Ocean’s Eleven in this fast-paced, kick-ass, wickedly fun series.

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Summary:

“Is blood thicker than water?”

The answer seems obvious until a half-millennium-old blood feud ignited between twin brothers of a 16th century Scottish Reiver clan revisits violence generation to generation, pursuing their descendants from island to island and finally onto a new continent ,where the familiar proverb is ultimately pitted against this fluid tale of guilt, blood, water, and time.

Rich with magical realism, Is Blood Thicker taps millennia-old folklore to spin a modern fable of love, pain, and family wisdom consumed by a lived code:

‘Drink, Pray, Fight, Feck’ … and a fox.

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Summary: Morgorth and Aishe must contend with a deadly threat that could spell disaster for their world. Payshthas were the first of the Mother’s intelligent children. It is rare for true friendship to form between them and another species—which makes Morgorth’s bond with Enfernlo unique. And it is due to their friendship that Morgorth doesn’t hesitate to answer Enfernlo’s plea for help. A thief has stolen something vital from Enfernlo’s colony—a stone of power. Their hunt for the stone leads them to a war torn kingdom, and Aishe can hardly stomach what he sees. The devastation urges him to assist however he can, no matter the risk. Meanwhile, Morgorth is faced with reminders of the monster he used to be, and contemplates how far he’s come, and yet how far he still has to go. And when his estranged mentor joins them on their search, Morgorth is forced to confront his resentment and sense of betrayal, and use Master Ulezander as a tool to save the payshthas. Forced into a deadly quest where trust is in short supply, and faced with challengers for the stone, Morgorth must put his faith in those he loves and in himself... and become a champion not just of the Mother but for Karishian itself.

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Summary: This time, the universe puts the cat in catastrophe. Plucked from her home on Earth and ending up aboard a strange spaceship in an even stranger universe, Lem and the misfit crew of the Teapot have more than enough trouble on their hands… and then they receive an urgent last-minute call to save a race of cat-people from certain destruction. Stuck with a disaster-platypus of a project manager and an entire race of people seemingly determined to thwart their own rescue, the Teapot’s crew face the impossible job of herding cats and helping evacuate the planet before it’s blown to smithereens. Can Lem and the gang avert disaster and save this race of infuriating cat-people? Perfect for fans of wacky and imaginative sci-fi stories, this satirical space opera is a ridiculous adventure that will delight readers of John Scalzi’s take on Fuzzy Nation or TJ Berry’s Space Unicorn Blues.

Word Count: Click here to reveal80000 (Click here to hide)

Summary: While on shore leave in an orbital city, Connor Duffy meets a mysterious Gelt woman who entices him into a night of passion. But she has more than pleasure on her mind. Her name is Shrian, and she has discovered an alien device that can transport a ship across light-years instantly. And she wants him to have it. There's a catch. Under Realm law, she's in bondage to a Gelt trader whose family Duffy knows very well. He will have to free her, then convince the Compact to give Shrian political asylum. But it doesn't end there. While taking the device out for its first use in the field, Duffy and Shrian encounter the aliens who created it. They want it back. And they're not above killing to make their point. Duffy and Shrian must figure out a way to give the aliens what they want. Because while they're missing in action, the Compact of Humanity is tearing itself apart.

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Summary: To escape an arranged marriage, the king needs a fake fiancé. Stat. King Bastien’s father locked him into an ironclad betrothal contract with Lady Helena Rey when the two of them were only seven years old. Bas and Helena have never been friends—and not only because she marked their first meeting by dropping a frog down his shirt. He’s been unsuccessfully petitioning Parliament to annul the damn contract ever since he took the throne nine years ago. But with the deadline for officially confirming the engagement rapidly approaching, Bas is getting desperate. Enter commoner Nico Pereira, manager of the Royal Crest Vineyards, who nurses a secret crush on the king. He’s at the New Palace to unveil a  wine that’s the first joint venture between North and South Abarra. No problem, right? Except Nico has a secret: He has a superpower. Not a very strong superpower, but because powers are a privilege reserved for Royals, it still puts him at risk for arrest and prosecution. Nico can usually mask his limited foresight gift under the guise of being an incredibly efficient administrator. But when King Bastien asks him to be his fake fiancé? Well. Nico never saw that coming. Nothing if not loyal, Nico accepts the faux-posal, although close proximity to Bastien makes him more than a little… uncomfortable, and the increased scrutiny of government officials threatens to expose his illegal ability. Good thing this engagement is temporary, because being the king’s ex will be a lot less onerous than prison or exile. Or, if the attacks from a shadowy conspiracy continue, with being dead. King’s Ex is a 52,000-word M/M superhero rom-com featuring a fake engagement, class differences, improbably pristine clothing, dueling secrets, a guaranteed HEA, and a kitten.

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Summary: A fresh start, a queer social liberal dream, and a planet that wants to kill you. Carving out a life on Mars is no easy feat. With Earth in the throes of a devastating pandemic, autistic scientist Devon and her fellow colonists are faced with the momentous task of establishing a new society – one that learns from the past and prioritises sustainability over short-term gain. Noble aspirations are easier said than done, though – especially when the entire planet wants to kill you. Grappling with the realities of human nature and with their batteries slowly dying, the colony’s 150 women and 10 men must overcome their differences to create a lasting community. But things aren’t always what they seem and maybe the colonists aren’t as alone as they thought… Perfect for fans of Mary Robinette Kowal’s ‘Lady Astronaut’ series and the writing styles of Robert J. Sawyer and Becky Chambers. This thought-provoking sci-fi novel blends classic science fiction ideas with neurodiverse and LGBTQIA+ themes.

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Summary: What if you base your life on a lie? In the planet Tatrax in the Dainne system, Cooper Hadley has made It to the top in his underground world—he’s the Security Chief of the Tunnel Corps as well as a Patrician, the most privileged class in the Kingdom. But when politics force him to marry, he needs a bride. The perfect candidate is Wye Botero—his one-time best friend. But Wye's a Drone, a member of the lowest class, and she has hated privileged Cooper for ten long years, ever since he threatened to have her recycled. Permanently. Wye is hiding a terrible secret about where her loyalties really lie. If she ends up in a fake marriage with the SecChief, what will happen when he finds out who she really works for? As the physical attraction between them grows, the two slowly learn to trust—but will it be too late? After all, the supernova is coming.

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Summary: RETURN TO THE MEAN STREETS OF AUTUMN Valerius Bakhoum is dead and buried. Too bad he’s still flat broke and behind on the rent. Unsure what to do with himself—and of who he is—Valerius resumes his career as a detective by taking up the oldest case in his files: where do the children go? Throughout his own youth on the streets of Autumn, last of the Great Flying Cities, Valerius knew his fellow runaways disappeared from back alleys and other hiding places more than anyone realized. Street kids even had a myth to explain it: the Gotchas, who steal urchins away in the night. With nothing but time on his hands, Valerius dives in head-first to settle the question once and for all and runs smack into a more pressing mystery: who killed one of Valerius’ former lovers? And do they know Valerius is still alive? Stalk the shadows of Autumn’s hidden places by Valerius Bakhoum’s side as he shines a light on secrets both sacred and profane, ones with shockingly personal connections to who he was—and who he might become. New Life in Autumn is the sequel to the Manly Wade Wellman Award-winning A Fall in Autumn.

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Summary: Lida was their last chance for an uncolonized planet. But a world-spanning fungus had colonized it first. Agetha and her husband have spent their whole lives in the fleet’s zero-G. Now all is turmoil as the fleet lands, discovering they are surrounded by a single fungal biomass spanning the entire planet. To build a new home, the fleet must confront a dangerous organism, and Agetha must decide if she can raise a family in this inhospitable landscape. Jane Brighton holds tenuous command over the colony and its administrators. She and the other gene-modded leaders emerged from their four-hundred-year suspended animation to find a crew much different from the one that departed Old Earth. Jane must direct the colony’s fragile growth and defend it against being overrun by the fast-growing biomass. But there is something none of the colonists know. The massive organism that spans the planet is not simply a fungal mass, nor even a chimerical combination of species that once roamed the planet. The biomass has desires and goals, and one is to know these strange beings carving out a home in its midst. Download today to read of the colony’s fate in Of Mycelium and Men! Genres: Space Opera / Science Fiction / Colonization / Alien Contact / LGBT / Non Binary / Trans Market: Adult

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Summary: In the 23rd century, spaceships just don’t go missing. FBI agent Ray Volk is assigned to a task force to investigate a tragic accident: the disappearance of interplanetary passenger liner ValuTrip Cardinal, carrying 500 souls between Mars and Earth on a routine run. What looks like a cut-and-dried case of pressure loss is complicated by the arrival of a Martian Captain. A very cute Martian Captain who keeps sticking his nose in Ray’s investigation. Martian exchange student Kelly Rack knows the disappearance is no accident. She survived the ships’ hijacking, but learns the former cruise entertainer leading the pirates has plans for the passengers, and they don’t include sightseeing. Kelly has avoided the murderous pirates, except now an off-duty Earth Commander insists on organizing resistance for the passengers. She forces Kelly to climb through service tunnels on sabotage runs, risking capture and death. Can Ray shake down the right accomplices to capture the good ship ValuTrip Cardinal before its new captain spaces everyone on board? Will Kelly discover the pirates’ hidden plans for their prisoners? The race is on, because One of Our Spaceships is Missing! Genres: Space Opera / Military Sci-Fi / Science Fiction / LGBT and Non Binary Market: Adult

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Summary: When Fatemeh Karimi married Ramon Morales, she neglected to share one small detail. She was already betrothed to a merchant named Hamid Farzan. She had no interest in Hamid or an arranged marriage. She wanted to live life on her own terms. Eight years after marrying Ramon, she assumed Hamid had long forgotten about her, as she had him. Settled in New Orleans, Ramon works as an attorney, Fatemeh owns a pharmacy, and they're proud parents of a precocious daughter. Out west, Apaches armed with powerful battle wagons have captured Fort Bowie and threaten Tucson. Businessmen with an interest in a peaceful solution ask Ramon to come west and settle the conflict. Meanwhile Hamid arrives in New Orleans and he has not forgotten Fatemeh or her vows to him. Now, the famed Owl Riders must assemble once again to reunite Ramon and Fatemeh so they can tame the Wild West.

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Summary: It appears out of nowhere—one moment the sky is empty, the next, there’s a rent in the fabric of space itself. And nothing in the system will ever be the same.  In the far reaches of the Rim Mountains, itinerant field-scientist Aran Romeu is searching desperately for the cure to an incurable disease—one that’s slowly killing his best friend. He’s sworn to do whatever it takes to find it. But when the portal opens, and something comes through, he realizes that ‘whatever it takes’ will involve travelling into the uncharted space beyond the portal. And he’s not the only one after the cure, and willing to do whatever it takes to get to it first … In the weighty halls of government, Chief Justice Alba Espina is preparing a political gamble that could change the shape of the system itself. The appearance of the portal shatters her carefully-laid plans and hands her political rival a weapon he could use destroy her—unless she can delay him with the promise of a diplomatic mission through the portal. But the stakes of the mission are higher than just her personal ambition. If her diplomatic mission doesn’t succeed, it might just spell the end of humanity itself. In a remote spaceport, Savina Moya, the system's most talented assassin-for-hire, is on the run again after her latest murder. But when a deadly government agent is sent after her, with instructions to bring her back dead or alive, the diplomatic mission heading into the portal may hold the key to Savina’s survival—if she’s brave enough, or desperate enough, to take it. No one knows what’s beyond the portal. And as the three of them are drawn inexorably together in uncharted space, with no idea who is an ally and who is an enemy—it’s an open question if any of them will live long enough to find out. 

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Summary: By day, Ruby Killingsworth is a billionaire media mogul. By night, she's a magic wielding supervillain. Her worst day ever came last year when a ritual gone wrong robbed her of the ability to use her powers, and now she will stop at nothing to get them back. With the help of her old pal, Loki (yes, that Loki), and the band of supernatural minions he sends to her aid, Ruby sets out to unlock the secrets of an ancient African gem-- which proves easier said than done. And she's going about this while simultaneously working to seduce her neighbor: fellow billionaire Jaccob Stevens-- also known as Stardust, the city's preeminent superhero, also known as the city's least eligible man. Did I mention he hates magic? As though that isn't enough, Ruby must also deal with the unwanted attentions of a certain Lyle Prather: notorious former reality TV star and recently inaugurated President of the United States (sound familiar?). The going is tough, but Ruby just might be tougher. And a trickster god is never on anybody's side but his own....

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Summary: Royal Orders is Book 3 of the Suicide Arc. This time, it's Mitsuko Yamato-Windsor's turn in the spotlight. Since leaving the Navy, Mitsuko has become chief of King Edward's personal security, not to mention resuming her engagement. When a would-be assassin nearly kills Edward, she goes on the warpath, following a trail leading to a cult known as the Cubists. Except the founder and leader of the Cubists is no angry cleric running a jihad from the shadows. Master Ansel is, in fact, an affable space engineer who found an interesting philosophy. Someone else has coopted his legacy for violence. To find that person, he suggests she travel to sultry, war-torn Aphrodite with his most brilliant follower: Suicide. Their journey will bring them face-to-face with Gerard Kurz, a man who isn't the fanatic he seems to be. He's worse. And he plans to unleash an ancient technology. He will kidnap Suicide to bend Mitsuko to his will. Only that summons the other Children of Amargosa and the full might of the Navy. It all comes to an explosive head on the peak of Aphrodite's most sacred mountain.

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Summary: The Storm has arrived. For Davra Andraste, redemption comes as she accompanies the resistance commander to confront the human warlord fighting against both sides. And the newest overlord on Amargosa. For an ambitious politician, control of human evolution is almost in his grasp. Only a very old foe threatens to undo his plans. For Laral Farad, it is his family's last hope to tame the "rogue colony" called Cyal, which humans call Amargosa. For JT Austin, it's a now or never moment to prove himself as he trains to liberate his adopted homeworld. For Amargosa, it's a chance to end a year-long nightmare. The Amargosa Trilogy comes to a thrilling conclusion!

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Summary: On a peaceful evening, Suicide's meditation is interrupted when a ship crashes near her remote home on Amargosa. It's a modified lifepod containing Tishla, First Citizen of Hanar, and her daughter. A coup has sent Tishla fleeing for help from Suicide and her surrogate son, JT Austin. Together, they will smuggle Tishla to the Realm, humanity's reluctant enemy, to plead for help from the Sovereign, the absolute ruler dubbed "the Father of All Gelt." Tishla will submit to a life of indentured servitude if He will restore Hanar's independent status. But an old foe seizes the opportunity to claim Tishla for himself, revenge for the deaths of his uncle and cousins, the Laral family, who brutally occupied Amargosa for a year. JT refuses to allow this and challenges her would-be master to a duel for her indenture contract. Both JT and Suicide will risk death in the arena to save Tishla and Hanar. But is it already too late? Through flashbacks to her time on Aphrodite, Suicide's past is revealed, how she met the founder of Cubism and the radical who corrupted the new faith, how she worked to build a new Aphrodite after centuries of civil conflict, and how a woman named Priya awakened both a capacity for love and a need to create art in Suicide.