Venus in 1887 is no paradise. Hardy colonists eke out a meager living cultivating blue Kosh root to ship back to Earth via aether transit, and traders and explorers brave the deadly foliage and even deadlier fauna of the Aphrodite continent’s inner forests in search of riches.
Lieutenant Albo Collins has just come to Venus straight from graduating West Point, and the young officer craves more to do than cleaning drunks off the streets of New Philadelphia. When the governor orders the First Venusian Colonial Infantry to the northern border of the colony Collins gets his wish, but as he marches into the unexplored wilderness hot on the trail of Federalist raiders, he has little idea what horrors await him, in the shade of the Ishtar trees.
In the Shade of the Ishtar Trees is a 10,000 word (40 pages) steampunk novella.
Books similar to In the Shade of the Ishtar Trees: A Tale of the First Venus War
In a time when the Industrial Revolution has become an all-out war, mad science rules the world—with mixed success.
In Agatha H and the Siege of Mechanicsburg, Agatha Heterodyne, the last of the Heterodyne family, has returned to her family’s hereditary town with the might of the Wulfenbach Empire hot on her heels. The only thing holding off an outright attack is Gilgamesh Wulfenbach, the heir to the Empire, who has joined Agatha and her friends inside the great artificially intelligent fortress of Castle Heterodyne. Now they must race to repair the mechanisms that once allowed the Castle to defend Mechanicsburg, before the rest of Europa shows up to take all the revenge the mad Heterodynes of the past so richly earned.
Jim Butcher, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Dresden Files and the Codex Alera novels, conjures up a new series set in a fantastic world of noble families, steam-powered technology, and magic-wielding warriors...
Since time immemorial, the Spires have sheltered humanity. Within their halls, the ruling aristocratic houses develop scientific marvels, foster trade alliances, and maintain fleets of airships to keep the peace.
Captain Grimm commands the merchant ship Predator. Loyal to Spire Albion, he has taken their side in the cold war with Spire Aurora, disrupting the enemy’s shipping lines by attacking their cargo vessels. But when the Predator is damaged in combat, Grimm joins a team of Albion agents on a vital mission in exchange for fully restoring his ship.
And as Grimm undertakes this task, he learns that the conflict between the Spires is merely a premonition of things to come. Humanity’s ancient enemy, silent for more than ten thousand years, has begun to stir once more. And death will follow in its wake...
In the 1890s Conor and his family live on the sovereign Saltee Islands, off the Irish coast. Conor spends his days studying the science of flight with his tutor and exploring the castle with the king’s daughter, Princess Isabella. But the boy’s idyllic life changes forever the day he discovers a deadly conspiracy against the king. When Conor tries to intervene, he is branded a traitor and thrown into jail on the prison island of Little Saltee. There, he has to fight for his life, as he and the other prisoners are forced to mine for diamonds in inhumane conditions.
There is only one way to escape Little Saltee, and that is to fly. So Conor passes the solitary months by scratching drawings of flying machines on the prison walls. The months turn into years; but eventually the day comes when Conor must find the courage to trust his revolutionary designs and take to the air.
Off the windswept shores of Scotland, unnatural and deadly secrets lurk beneath the waves
Isa McQuiston is caught between two worlds
Strange creatures are attacking her people, the injuries inflicted beyond her medical expertise. Men tossed ashore by the waves, drained of blood, a severed tentacle piercing their flesh. Any hope of finding answers involves forging a cautious alliance with a handsome outsider.
Dr. Alec McCullough, recovering naval officer, is investigating a rash of inexplicable octopus attacks, but his every effort is met with resistance. Coaxing an attractive young widow—the local healer—to allow him to examine the latest victim only leads to further complications.
Together, they uncover layers of deceit—and creatures fabricated from a fusion of both living and mechanical components. As innocent lives are callously sacrificed, Isa and Alec struggle to forge a future together while attempting to prevent a disaster of international proportions.
The islands of Caldera are a shining jewel in a rather bleak world. A terrible calamity in the past had blanketed much of the world with a toxic "fug." Those who survived were forced to take to the mountains and the skies in wondrous airships. Life has since been a struggle, with only the most ruthless and crafty able to survive. To spare themselves the same fate, the Calderans erected a battery of guns to fend off the airships of the mainland. They isolated themselves from the madness of the world, choosing instead to focus on the pursuits of art and creativity. Few believe the technologically advanced but socially barbarous outsiders have anything to offer. Amanita Graus, though, is hoping that they do.
Nita's mother has lost her livelihood and perhaps soon her life to a terrible disease. Already the black sheep of the family for embracing engineering rather than art, Nita resolves to leave the safety of her home and do whatever it takes to find a cure. For a price, the bizarre crew of an airship called The Wind Breaker are willing to grant her a meeting with their mysterious benefactors, and thus a chance to procure the one thing with a chance to save her mother. Free-Wrench follows Nita’s adventures in a steampunk world of airships and lunatics. Helping her in her journey are an eccentric crew of smugglers; the gruff Cap’n Mack, the simple but enthusiastic Lil and Coop, the arrogant marksman Gunner, the surly surgeon Butch, and the irritable mascot Wink. To survive and find what she seeks she’ll need to earn their trust, follow their rules, and meet face to face with the people who pull the strings of their society.
Alek and Deryn are abroad the Leviathan when the ship is ordered to pick up an unusual passenger. This brilliant/maniacal inventor claims to have a weapon called Goliath that can end the war. But whose side is he really on?
While on their top-secret mission, Alek finally discovers Deryn's deeply kept secret. Two, actually. Not only is Deryn a girl disguised as a guy...she has feelings for Alek.
The crown, true love with a commoner, and the destruction of a great city all hang on Alek's next--and final--move.
The thunderous conclusion to Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan series, which was called "sure to become a classic" (SLJ).
A simple error leaves Leah with a unique Neural Enhancement Chip and a rapidly evolving AI implanted in her brain. In 'Nascent', she evaded kidnapping by virtual slavers and helped shut down some operations of the virtual crime syndicate that uses mind-controlled players as slaves. In 'Odyssey', she not only found a way to escape but she also uncovered deeper plots being carried out in both the virtual multi-universe and reality. In 'Change', Leah began learning how to use the additional connections her chip has made throughout her body. The Pod facility she opened expanded as she helped others from her neighbourhood. She discovered that the crime syndicate has an even greater presence in the virtual multiverse than she’d imagined. As she begins to unravel some of their secrets, they tarnish her reputation and kidnap.
In 'Rescue' Leah hacked the secure Vault where an AI friend of hers had been archived. She not only managed to retrieve her friend but uncovered a deeper conspiracy she has yet to understand. She succeeded in downloading a secure file she'd stolen from the crime syndicate although she hasn't yet managed to understand what it means. Leah also managed to rescue her mother from the crime syndicate but not before her mother had an AI chip inserted in her brain. She not only discovers that her boyfriend's family controls their own crime syndicate, but he is being controlled virtually by his parents.
In 'Ipseity' Leah discovers that the syndicate inserted a dangerously modified AI chip in her mother, the police are actively investigating her activities, her neural architecture is continuing to change, and her enemies are becoming more numerous and determined. Also, she works to rescue her boyfriend, continue her studies at MIT, understand the broader conspiracy, save her mother, complete quests in three virtual worlds, build her growing business empire, and set her AI free.
Five Stars: "Cannot say enough about how much I enjoyed this book. Author knows how to write an interesting story."-Goodreads Review Five Stars: "Sedgwick's imagination soars for this tale..."-Amazon Review Five Stars: "... the best series I've read in a long while... This series gets top marks from me... No steam collection is complete until you own these three books"-Amazon Review
DESCRIPTION:
At last, all will be known...
Many years have passed since Breeze Tinkerman vanished in her spring-powered plane over the northern Wastes while searching for the fabled lost city in the ice, but her daughter River is more than happy to carry on her legacy. The Vangar overlords have turned Astatia into a slave state, forcing citizens to work in their mines and factories, stealing Astatia's resources for their own greedy ends while living safely high above in the sky-city known as Juntavar.
River has never known any life other than the mean streets of Dockside, but street life has made her strong and resourceful. She's the perfect leader, and that's what her ragtag group of rebels needs most. The rebels meet to conspire against their overlords but their meeting is interrupted by three sentinels - Vangar warriors whose bodies have been melded with nine-foot-tall suits of armor powered by steam - and River has no choice but to lead the Vangars away from the others, exposing her and forcing her to go on the run.
Along the way, River runs into some of the last people she'd ever expected to meet. She learns that there still might be a way to defeat the Vangars. She also learns that her mother's fate may have been decidedly different than what she was led to believe. Now, River will do anything to learn the truth about her blood-kin. And one way or another, she's determined to destroy the Vangars once and for all.
Also contains the short story "The City in the Wastes."
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