Fantasy Historical Magic Mystery Paranormal Steampunk

The Train

Name: The Train
Rating: 4.02 (264 reviews)
Author: Cari Z.

Cari Z.

4.02 264 Ratings

Ongoing Status

9 Views

Start Reading

Synopsis

Anton Seiber, journeyman thaumaturge, has finally escaped his dead-end job identifying bodies in the morgues of London. He’s off to seek a brighter future…or he would be, if he hadn’t just been robbed, mugged, and turned away from the only train that will help him reach that future on time.

A random meeting turns into a fight for his life and gifts Anton with two things: a knife that always kills whatever it stabs, and the chance to assume the identity of the man who just tried to kill him and board the train in his place.

He wasn’t counting on being found out by a lumière, one of the French emperor’s most powerful and intriguing spies. He wasn’t betting on a murder being committed on the train, or on being asked for his help identifying the culprits. He wasn’t asking to be drawn into a web of simmering insurrection, and he certainly didn’t want to find Lord Lumière so irresistible, but there’s no denying it.

Perhaps Anton will even tell him so…if he survives to the end of this journey.

Books similar to The Train

The Tower

★ 4.03

Cari Z.

Anton Seiber is on the cusp of finishing his Doctorate of Thaumaturgy, ready to leave university life behind and set out to make his own way in the world. His careful plans are interrupted by the arrival of Camille Lumière, the emperor’s investigator—and Anton’s lover.

Camille is in pursuit of a murderer, and needs Anton’s special talents to help track him down. Worse yet, the killer is targeting foreigners with magical abilities—men like Anton himself. If he and Camille don’t find him before he find Anton, his every plan for the future could be in jeopardy…not to mention his life.

The Tank

★ 4.11

Cari Z.

All Anton Seiber, newly-minted Master Thaumaturge, wants is to use his training to support himself out in the world. Well, that and to see the man he loves, Imperial Investigator Camille Lumière, more than once every six months.

What he gets instead is an invitation to visit L’Institut D’Ingénierie Technologique in Paris, the foremost research institution for thaumaturgy and the arts of war in the world. It’s an offer he can’t turn down…quite literally.

Getting to the Institute is a mess that Anton barely survives, and that’s just the beginning of his troubles. Drawn into a web of lies and betrayals, Anton will have to use every trick he can conjure to survive—and perhaps hand over the most diabolical spell in the world in exchange for saving the life of someone he loves.

The Darkling Thrush

★ 3.78

Josh Lanyon

Fed up with his desk duty in the Imperial Arcane Library, book hunter Colin Bliss accepts a private commission to find The Sword’s Shadow, a legendary and dangerous witches’ grimoire. But to find the book, Colin must travel to the remote Western Isles and solve a centuries’ old murder.

It should be nothing more than an academic exercise, so why is dour — and unreasonably sexy — Magister Septimus Marx doing his best to keep Colin from accepting this mission — even going so far as to seduce Colin on their train journey north?

Septimus is not the only problem. Who is the strange fairy woman that keeps appearing at inconvenient times? And who is working behind the scenes with the sinister adventuress Irania Briggs? And why do Colin’s employers at the Museum of the Literary Occult keep accusing Colin of betraying them?

As Colin digs deeper and deeper into the Long Island’s mysterious past, he begins to understand why Septimus is willing to stop him at any price — but by then, it’s too late to turn back.

The Trials

★ 3.96

Cari Z.

Anton Seiber, Master Thaumaturge and reluctant architect of the French Empire’s newest weapon of war, is on the verge of collapse. It wouldn’t be so bad if his blood wasn’t required to power the spell revolutionizing the battlefield, or if he were allowed to communicate with his friends and family, or if he could see his lover Lord Camille Lumière, special investigator for the emperor himself, more than once every few months. As it is, he’s barely holding himself together. He’s determined to make it through…until an accident in the laboratory leads to his collapse.

Camille is a loyal servant of the empire, but it will take more than a war to keep him away from Anton. He returns to find his lover on the brink of death, and it takes Camille’s special “gift” to keep him alive. He is ordered to leave Anton behind and return to service—the future of the empire, and everyone “gifted” like him, might depend on it.

There’s only one thing to do: escape to England with Anton. If only they weren’t surrounded by armed guards, dangerous magic, deadly cannons and, oh yes—a war for control of the entire continent.

Mongrel

★ 3.72

K.Z. Snow

Hunzinger's Mechanical Circus, a rollicking seaside carnival where imagination meets machinery, shines as the only bright spot in the dreary city of Purinton. A shadow is cast there one day when a tall, cloaked figure approaches the stand of Will Marchman, a young patent-medicine salesman. Fanule Perfidor, commonly known as the Dog King, isn't welcome at the Circus. No resident of Taintwell is; they're all Branded Mongrels, officially shunned. But Will is beguiled by the stunning, mysterious Perfidor. Their mutual wariness soon gives way to desire, and a bond forms. Soon the naive but plucky pitchman becomes embroiled in a dangerous quest. Fanule suspects Alphonse Hunzinger and Purinton's civic leaders are responsible for the disappearance or incarceration of countless Branded Mongrels. But why? As Will's passion and regard for his tormented lover grow, he's determined to help Fanule get answers and prevent any further persecution... or worse. They just have to stay together—and stay alive long enough—to see their plan through.

Nero’s Fiddle

★ 4.15

A.W. Exley

This is an alternate cover edition for ASIN: B0137IKRTK

One... death by spontaneous human combustion is a rare act of God

Two... is surely a freakish coincidence

Three... well, that’s starting to look deliberate.

Cara has a new role as Queen Victoria’s artifact hunter, she’s adapting to married life and living in a country manor that more closely resembles a mausoleum.

In London, Inspector Fraser investigates a series of strange deaths by divine fire - except he doesn't believe in coincidences. Despite himself, he enlists Cara's help to identify what artifact could cause such a hideous death while his desire to bring her husband to justice burns unabated.

Someone's intent on making sure a decades old secret stays hidden and Cara must figure out who is responsible before this case consumes her family and rocks the entire realm to its foundations.

Rise of the Catalyst

★ 4.39

Honor Raconteur

One ancient mask with earth-bending powers searching for a bearer.

One magical retrieval expert who is determined to seal it back in its tomb.

At the moment, both are failing at their goals, but Arwen is not about to be bested. So what if she doesn’t know what culture it’s from or where to put it back. She’s smarter than a semi-sentient mask. Hopefully.

But if the thrice-cursed mask breaks out of her seal one more time, she’s melting it with prejudice, magical backlash be damned.

The Screaming Plague of Ash (A Medical Horror Fantasy)

★ 4.83

GLBertrand

(WARNING: This book contains graphic descriptions of body horror, blood, gore, violence, and trauma based heavily on real-life medicine. There is occasional profanity, alcohol, and drug use at various points. This is not a story for the easily squeamish, pursue at your own risk!)

When a deadly plague arises in a metropolitan desert trading post called Ash, a healer is summoned by the city's oligarchical ruling class to uncover its cause and nature. The healer, Appo Ilonnorot, is an intelligent and highly skilled practitioner of the burgeoning field of medicine, though he is challenged both by the almost supernatural nature of the plague and the town's absence of medical literacy. With the help of Jere, a laconic mercenary with a mysterious past, Appo is forced to navigate local politics, ancient superstitions, and even the harsh desert environment in order to contain the plague before it becomes an epidemic.

__________________________

Author's Note: This is a slow-burn fantasy horror story I have been writing since 2020. While there are magic and supernatural elements scattered throughout, much of this story is inspired by actual historical medicine, in a foreign world where development is somewhere between Sumerian and Roman times.

Update 3/15/2024: That's a wrap, folks. Full story is here to read. Hope you enjoyed, and for future readers, I hope you enjoy.

-B

Cover art by the insanely talented J. Eddy (insta: gulag_gucci_gang)

The Train

Books similar to The Train

The Tower

The Tank

The Darkling Thrush

The Trials

Mongrel

Nero’s Fiddle

Rise of the Catalyst

The Screaming Plague of Ash (A Medical Horror Fantasy)

Welcome Back!