Smith's Reading List
173 stories
Star Rider by seagle3137
seagle3137
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Ami: "We may be in different worlds, but we share the same moon and stars." This is a sci-fi love story, dedicated to those people who had to depart... Can you still see the stars in the city's sky? Have you ever imagined that your imagination could transcend what meets the eye? Slowly soaring towards the outer reaches of the solar system, you will encounter Mars first, followed by the asteroid belt teeming with activity, and then the radiant Jupiter and the ringed Saturn. Continuing further, there's Uranus, and beyond Uranus lies the deep blue Neptune, followed by the Kuiper Belt. Farther still is the Oort Cloud, a journey that takes at least 20,000 years... This is a pilot's logbook from the era of interstellar exploration. During that time, fusion technology has become practical, and humanity has embarked on voyages into the frigid expanses of the outer solar system, exploring the Kuiper Belt. Earth remains a stage for political and economic struggles, while the explorers are busy bees of that era, pioneers venturing into various planetary belts, far removed from human civilization. This story encompasses love, longing, psychological descriptions, speculation, as well as themes of loneliness, social anxiety, and PTSD. If you're a tech enthusiast, you'll find foundational elements of interstellar travel here: astronomical units, speed and time, the asteroid belt, Kirkwood gaps, Trojan groups, the Kuiper Belt, Lagrange points, orbital resonance, gravity assist, centrifugal force, the structure and construction materials of interstellar space stations, fusion engines, magnetic confinement, propellant propulsion, and other technological concepts.
Scaling Mountains of Fire by AlyDevinator
AlyDevinator
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Deep within the Hyxa mountains lay a secret tribe of dragonshifters hidden away from society. Being appointed guard at the southern gate, Dev and her Drakon unit were the first to intercept the band of human adventurers from the continent. With strict orders from the King, she undertakes the hike with the Ambassador, concealing her Dragon Spirit. A feat that grows increasingly more difficult as the dangers of the mountains challenge their every step. Tasked with leading an expedition to map the mysterious mountains covered in fog, the Ambassador Felix Amory never expected to meet an advanced society in lieu of rabid animals. Inexperienced but striving to prove himself, he will have to learn to trust and communicate with a guide incapable of speaking while never seen before creatures and natural events threaten his life at every turn.
Everlast by The_twilight_writer
The_twilight_writer
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Ajay Kumar is not the sort of person who likes adventures; those sorts of things are better left in the pages of books, where they can't bother you. But when a casual day at the lake takes a dark turn, he finds himself whisked away to another world filled with magic, monsters, and a Nightling prince with more attitude than Ajay would have liked. Now, this awkward non-adventurer of a boy must join a questing party of strange and powerful creatures; learning the dark and archaic arts of magic in order to fufil his destiny and hopefully make it back to his own world in one piece... preferably before his library books are due.
Blackquest 40 by jeff_bond
jeff_bond
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** WATTYS 2018 WINNER ** Big Tech meets Die Hard in this techno-thriller Kirkus Reviews calls "a clever, spirited tale with a brainy, nimble heroine at the helm." From IndieReader's 5-star (highest rating) review: "Bond weaves an entertaining tale filled with deceit, robots, Russians, and tech entrepreneurs that all combine to give the reader a reason to flip pages furiously to find out what might happen next." Deb Bollinger has no time for corporate training. Her company's top engineer at just twenty-seven, Deb has blocked off her day for the one project she truly cares about: the launch of Carebnb, an app that finds spare beds for the homeless. When she's told all employees must drop everything for some busywork exercise called Blackquest 40, it's an easy no. Trouble is, her bosses aren't really asking. Blackquest 40 is the mother of all corporate trainings. A near-impossible project to be completed in forty straight hours. No phones. No internet. Sleeping on cots. Nobody in, nobody out. Deb finds the whole setup creepy and authoritarian. When a Carebnb issue necessitates her leaving the office, she heads for the door. What's the worst that could happen? Armed commandos, HVAC-duct chases, a catastrophic master plan that gets darker by the hour - Blackquest 40 is a fresh take on the Die Hard formula, layering smart-drones and a modern heroine onto the classic action tale. Cover design and illustration by Ethan Scott.
Prisoner Six by tpinley
tpinley
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[WATTYS 2018 LONGLIST | WATTPAD FEATURED STORY] Sam Sterling is the lone commander of a risky space mission. Her task: to take six prisoners to a remote asteroid, Externo, for a life sentence. But Sam's careful plan is disrupted when a meteoroid storm cripples her ship, and requires more than one person to repair. To survive, Sam must free Dave--prisoner number six--to help repair the damage before it's too late. With time running out and Externo looming, Sam must decide whether she can trust Dave's tale of innocence, or if her entire mission is a lie... HIGHEST RANKING: #13 in Science Fiction. AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story remains unpublished, and I am currently looking to bring it to a wider audience. I hope you enjoy my space madness! Please leave a comment, vote, or introduce yourself. I'm new to the site and would love to hear from you! Copyright © 2017
Phantom Hunters | Saphir Casters Academy by dark_affinity
dark_affinity
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No room for failure, an ancient brewing secret, and perfecting magic art. In a world where magic can only be cast through a vessel, an ongoing battle between good and evil encircles the lives of all casters, whether it's fighting corruption of the soul or ridding evil auras from the world. After seven whole years apart, Kael Smaradine finally meets his brother who comes with news that Kael will attend the only academy in the world that teaches casting. Saphir Casters Academy is a prestigious academy that only a select few will have a chance to graduate. To learn how to eradicate phantoms - casters corrupted by their power - Kael leaves his home country for the first time in his life. Once in the melting pot of cultures, Kael learns what it takes to become a phantom hunter - and the dangers that follow. With friends and enemies alike, Kael must survive his class or face elimination. Kael believes he's got what it takes to attend the academy, but as his skills are tested, surviving even the first semester of this harsh academy proves to be difficult. And the possibility of elimination strikes too close for comfort. *Cover by @loopsydaisys* * Updates every Saturday*
Draeyer Academy (First Ver.) by ShanaZeren
ShanaZeren
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(FIRST DRAFT) (53 Chapters + Bonus Materials) The Draes are wild, dangerous, magnificent and powerful creatures that thrive in Kosmiks. In their presence, the ancestral rulers of the main skylands established Draeyer Academy. A place for the youth to learn how to unlock the powers they shared with their Draes. A place where they form bonds which keeps their world alive. Centuries later, a secret is stolen from the academy, prodding a search through the skies. Much to Alec Arden's displeasure, he gets suck into the mix after an encounter with one of the magical beasts leads to an unprecedented eventful night. Swept away from the cold and icy skyland he calls his home, they force him to attend Draeyer Academy to keep him safe. While other students busy themselves with their school lives, Alec slowly learns that he has more on his plate than he already did. "The loss shall tip the balanced scales, And bring the fall of the heaven realm" Highest rank achieved #30 in Adventure & #44 in Fantasy Cover by oh so awesome @PaulineForgie
Black Ice ✓ | Deathsworn #1 by MyLovelyWriter
MyLovelyWriter
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|COMPLETE| Life after death, ironically enough, does not live up to expectations. When the entirety of the afterlife is upended by unexpected chaos after the gods took a leisurely vacation, Death himself enlists Evyionne's help to find out what went wrong. He leaves her with two things: memories of her past life, and his very domain. But with the trouble coming, it might not be enough.
March City: Land of the Gifted [Book 1 | Fantasy/Sci-fi | Complete] by KatrinHollister
KatrinHollister
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THE MATRIX meets THE HUNGER GAMES. Ari is a high-flying but lazy energy manipulator who gets by doing the minimum in the technologically advanced March City, where academic achievements and abilities determine your true worth. When her sister, Mina, is kidnapped during a series of terrorist bombings, Ari has to defy the law and delve into the dark secrets of the city in a race against time and the city itself - and Mina's life may be her price. Book 1 of Project Lunation. NaNoWriMo2014. 3rd place in the 2017 FreedomAwards. 2nd place in the Quill Award. 1st place in the Sanguine Awards. Also available on RadishFiction, Tapas, and RoyalRoadl.com.
Rise of the Dark Heroes (BOOK #1) by SusanWard
SusanWard
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COMPLETED! ~ Stevie Jones gains powers in a world where having abilities is illegal. In order to protect her planned future, she must gain help from a stubborn vigilante. ~ My name is Stevie Jones, and I live in Havenbrook City. Population: 7-8 million. Crime Rate: very high. We have Deviates to thank for that. What are Deviates? Evil, violent vagrants with unfathomable abilities who terrorize our streets every night. They are extremely dangerous...and apparently, I am one of them. - Stevie Jones is a nineteen-year-old genius with an eidetic memory and an aspiration to become an engineer like her late father. Her future is in her sights, and she won't allow anyone or anything to stand in her way. But when Stevie mysteriously wakes up with superhuman powers, her future is suddenly in jeopardy. Desperate for answers, she searches for the one stranger she knows who can help her: a Deviate who once saved her life. Derrick "Dark" Harvard is a twenty-three-year-old Deviate with a blurry past. Living as a "freak" with glowing veins takes a toll on him day by day, scared that someone will find out his secret. When a girl who claims to be a Deviate randomly pops into Dark's life, he (defiantly) agrees to help her control her powers. But what he didn't agree to was helping her avoid being kidnapped by an evil group of Deviates that have targeted her for reasons unknown. Now Stevie and Dark must uncover the biggest mystery of their lives while avoiding Deviates with potent fire abilities. Can they find the truth before Stevie becomes a victim? [[Word count: 95,000-100,000 words]] Characters by Susan Ward and Gerald Gordon Book cover by Zander! Twitter is @artizan00