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If you enjoy reading the Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman, try these authors whose titles are also accessible through Digital Library of Illinois (Libby) and Hoopla |
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The Runes of Engagement
by Tobias Buckell
No one could have been prepared for the day when orcs, trolls, and dragons fell from portals in the sky. But now a very tough but not-quite-prepared platoon of Marines is trapped on the wrong side. The enchanting world looks like Middle Earth, but to the dismay of even the geekiest soldiers, is nothing like it. While the Marines fend off dangerous, improbable, and very rude assailants, their mission is to escort a Very Important Princess who could broker a crucial strategic alliance between worlds. What could possibly go wrong?
Available on Hoopla.
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Interstellar MegaChef
by Lavanya Lakshminarayan
Saras Kaveri has the honor of being the first human competitor on the galaxy's favorite cooking competition, Interstellar MegaChef. Serenity Ko, fresh off the success of her smash hit Sim game SoundSpace, is in a rut and trying to get her life back together. When the two of them share a cab, the meeting of their minds may just change everyone's futures.
Available on Hoopla.
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The Mercy of Gods
by James S. A. Corey
The empire of Carryx has descended upon the human populated planet of Anjin, taking away their best and brightest to serve on the Carryx homeworld. Dafyd Alkhor and his fellow academic companions must find a way to survive by navigating the complex social politics of the Carryx and seeking revenge from within.
Physical copy available. Also available on Hoopla.
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Solo Leveling: Vol. 1
by Chugong
Known as the Weakest Hunter of All Mankind, E-rank hunter Jinwoo Sung’s contribution to raids amounts to trying not to get killed. Unfortunately, between his mother’s hospital bills, his sister’s tuition, and his own lack of job prospects, he has no choice but to continue to put his life on the line. So when an opportunity arises for a bigger payout, he takes it…only to come face-to-face with a being whose power outranks anything he’s ever seen! With the party leader missing an arm and the only healer a quivering mess, can Jinwoo somehow find them a way out?
Physical copy available only.
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August Kitko and the Mechas from Space
by Alex White
Jazz pianist Gus Kitko expected to spend his final moments on Earth playing piano at the greatest goodbye party of all time, and maybe kissing rockstar Ardent Violet, before the last of humanity is wiped out forever by the Vanguards--ultra-powerful robots from the dark heart of space, hell-bent on destroying humanity for reasons none can divine. But when the Vanguards arrive, the unthinkable happens--the mecha that should be killing Gus instead saves him. Suddenly, Gus's swan song becomes humanity's encore, as he is chosen to join a small group of traitorous Vanguards and their pilots dedicated to saving humanity.
Physical copy available only.
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The Way up is Death
by Dan Hanks
When a mysterious tower appears in the skies over England, 13 strangers are pulled from their lives to stand before it as a countdown begins. Above the doorway is one word: ASCEND.
Physical copy available only.
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Lucky Day
by Chuck Tingle
Four years ago, an unthinkable disaster occurred. In what was later known as the Low-Probability Event, eight million people were killed in a single day, all of them dying in improbable, bizarre ways. A day of freak accidents that proved anything is possible, no matter the odds. Luck is real now, and it's not always good. Vera, a former statistics and probability professor, lost everything that day, and she still struggles to make sense of the unbelievable catastrophe. When Special Agent Layne shows up on Vera's doorstep, she learns he's investigating a suspiciously--and statistically impossibly--lucky casino. He needs her help to prove the casino's success is connected to the deaths of millions, and it's Vera's last chance to make sense of a world that doesn't.
Physical copy available. Also available on Libby.
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Space Opera
by Catherynne Valente
“Glamrock messiah” Danesh Jalo is fighting for mankind’s continued existence -- by taking center stage in an intergalactic talent show bursting with glitter, lipstick, and rock and roll.
Available on Hoopla.
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Battle of the Linguist Mages
by Scotto Moore
In modern day Los Angeles, a shadowy faction led by the Governor of California develops the arcane art of combat linguistics, planting the seeds of a future totalitarian empire in Scotto Moore's thrilling Battle of the Linguist Mages. Isobel is the Queen of the medieval rave-themed VR game Sparkle Dungeon. Her prowess in the game makes her an ideal candidate to learn the secrets of power morphemes--unnaturally dense units of meaning that warp perception when skillfully pronounced. But Isobel's reputation makes her the target of a strange resistance movement led by spellcasting anarchists, who may be the only thing stopping the cabal from toppling California over the edge of a terrible transformation, with forty million lives at stake.
Physical copy available only.
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The King Must Die
by Kemi Ashing-Giwa
Fen's world is crumbling. Newearth, a once-promising planet gifted by the all-powerful alien Makers, now suffers from failed terraforming, leaving its people on the brink of collapse. Fen has spent her life working as a mercenary bodyguard for a cunning magistrate, entangled in the politics of the empire that shattered her family. But then her fathers--her last remaining tether to hope--are executed by the ruthless Sovereign, who marks Fen for the same fate. With nothing left to lose, Fen escapes with a single map and an old quarterstaff, embarking on a dangerous quest to seek out the last remnants of her parents' rebellion. But the underground insurgents she finds may be even more dangerous than the Sovereign's army. At the center of it all stands Alekhai, the Sovereign's heir--a brutal, power-hungry force of destruction. Though he embodies everything Fen despises, his dangerous plans might be the empire's last chance at survival...or the final push to its doom.
Physical copy available. Also available on Libby.
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The 27 Run: Crash
by Justin Zimmerman
An amnesiac Pilot wakes to an AI-driven nightmare world filled with 27 gigantic, hungry creatures. He's got a Mech he doesn't remember how to use, he's surrounded by post-apocalyptic nothingness and his only chance to survive is...well, it's not looking good.
Available on Hoopla.
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Becstar
by Joe Corallo
A tough-as-nails space mercenary faces down a quest to save the universe, armed with only her magical luck dagger and her biggest fan/best friend as backup! Becstar is a star hopping mercenary-gone-full time-gambler light years away from earth. Leaving her old life behind with the help of her magical luck dagger and her fan-turned-regret filled-friend Sally Soolin, Becstar ekes out a living under the nefarious Shadowy Syndicate's radar. But when a mysterious girl appears with grim news and an urgent quest where the fate of the universe hangs in the balance, Becstar has no choice but to join ... and regret it immediately.
Available on Hoopla.
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Terminal Alliance
by Jim C. Hines
Lt. Marion "Mops" Adamopoulos, head of the Shipboard Hygiene and Sanitation team of the ECMS Pufferfish, must clean up the mess caused by an alien bioweapon.
Available on Hoopla.
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Chilling Effect
by Valerie Valdes
Captain Eva Innocente of La Sirena Negra and her crew must take on dangerous secret missions to raise the ransom money to save Eva's sister, Mari, from crime syndicate The Fridge.
Available on Hoopla.
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Halo: Tales from Slipspace
by Frank O'Connor
Featuring all-new stories from a stellar cast of creative talent-- as well as 343 Industries' own Franchise Creative Director Frank O'Connor and Franchise Producer Tyler Jeffers.
Available on Hoopla.
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The Song of the Quarkbeast
by Jasper Fforde
Magic has been in a sad state in the Ununited Kingdom for years, but now it's finally on the rise, and boneheaded King Snodd IV knows it. If he succeeds at his plot, the very future of magic will be at risk! Sensible sixteen-year-old Jennifer Strange, acting manager of Kazam Mystical Arts Management and its unpredictable crew of sorcerers, has little chance against the king and his cronies-but there's no way Kazam will let go of the noble powers of magic without a fight.
Available on Libby.
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Mogworld
by Yahtzee Croshaw
In a world full to bursting with would-be heroes, Jim couldn't be less interested in saving the day. His fireballs fizzle. He's awfully grumpy. Plus, he's been dead for about sixty years. When a renegade necromancer wrenches him from eternal slumber and into a world gone terribly, bizarrely wrong, all Jim wants is to find a way to die properly, once and for all. On his side, he's got a few shambling corpses, an inept thief, and a powerful death wish. But he's up against tough odds: angry mobs of adventurers, a body falling apart at the seams--and a team of programmers racing a deadline to hammer out the last few bugs in their AI.
Available on Hoopla.
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Kaptara Volume 1: Fear Not Tiny Alien
by Chip Zdarsky
Keith Kanga crash lands on Kaptara, a world filled with danger and weird danger and dangerous weirdos! And if he can't survive, then Earth is doomed!
Available on Hoopla.
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Everybody Wants to Rule the World Except Me
by Django Wexler
Davi has left the horde behind her, hoping to find a peaceful solution to keep the Kingdom from being destroyed this time. But her plan to guide the Kingdom is thwarted when her usual love interest, Prince Johann, is already married and the bloodthirsty Duke Aster is running the government. Johann's new husband is everything Davi is not, but he holds a key to the one mystery she can't solve - the origins of the time loop that has entrapped her. She must gain his trust, and swiftly. With restless armies at her doorstep, Duke Aster reaching for power, and an ancient magician hounding her every turn, Davi must scheme her way to peace and uncover the truth behind her curse if she is to break the spell that binds her once and for all.
Waitlist on Libby - place holds there now.
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Dungeons & Dragons: Ravenloft: Heir of Strahd
by Delilah S. Dawson
Five strangers armed with steel and magic awaken in a mist-shrouded land, with no memory of how they arrived: Rotrog, a prideful orcish wizard; Chivarion, a sardonic drow barbarian; Alishai, an embittered tiefling paladin; Kah, a skittish kenku cleric; and Fielle, a sunny human artificer. After they barely survive a nightmarish welcome to the realm of Barovia, a carriage arrives bearing an invitation. With no alternative, and determined to find their way home, the strangers accept the summons and travel to the forbidding manor of the mysterious count. But all is not well at Castle Ravenloft. To survive the twisted enigmas of Strahd and his haunted home, the adventurers must confront the dark secrets in their own hearts and find a way to shift from strangers to comrades--before the mists of Barovia claim them forever.
Waitlist on Libby - place holds there now.
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Prospect Heights Public Library District
12 N. Elm St., Prospect Heights, Illinois 60070
847-259-3500https://www.phpl.info |
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