Wisconsin Starships, Bulgarian Manticores, and a Whole Lot of Zombies

by Jamie McFarlane

Rix Banner just wants to fix cars and drink coffee in Cranberry Cove, and then a starship crash-lands in Wisconsin. That mix of cozy small-town mechanic and pulpy space adventure is the whole charm. It's sitting at 4.48 with over 1,400 readers, the highest score on this list by a good margin, so I'd start here.

by Alexandrina Krusharska

A 400-year-old manticore runs a secret hospital above Sofia, and someone is murdering its patients. That premise grabbed me right away. It holds 4.18 across nearly 1,900 ratings. One Bulgarian reader was thrilled to see a local author pull this off, while another sounded like it put them through the wringer, so expect something heavy and a bit brutal.

“Заради такива истории давам шанс на българските автори! Книгата е зашеметяваща и не мога да повярвам, че е написана от български автор - история, добре изградени образи, чудесен изказ, това е малка част от вълшебството ѝ. Авторката е изградила един невероятен свят, пълен с мистика, обрати и...”

by Nicole R Taylor

This is really urban fantasy, with demons ravaging London and a sassy, reluctant heroine named Scarlett Ravenwood. It's the shakiest pick of the week at 3.93. One reader quit at 42% and another said the setup felt a lot like City of Bones. Fine if you like the formula, but go in knowing it's familiar territory.

“This was a DNF at the 42% mark. The writing, as such, wasn't bad, but the characters and plot line? Yikes. First off, our Heroine, Scarlett, or Purples (gag) as the H likes to call her. She's one special surly snowflake. Plagued by visions/memories of her parents death - that she's not sure really...”

by Caleb Wachter

This is the military space opera of the bunch. Captain Tim Middleton has an aging cruiser, a green crew, and a stubborn streak, and his quiet border patrol turns into a fight against pirates, banned missiles, and a designer bioweapon. It has 4.24 from 335 readers, which is solid for a first book in a series. Good pick if you miss ship-versus-ship tension and a captain who won't budge.

by E. Bowser

Kaylee has been "chosen" to see the future, and what she sees is a zombie outbreak before it happens. The vision angle is a nice twist on the usual apocalypse setup. It's at 4.29 with about 150 ratings, a small but happy crowd. Best for readers who like horror with a touch of the supernatural.

by S.A. Ison

Three CIA assassins are trapped in a city full of zombies, and the blurb asks how many bullets they could possibly have. That's pretty much the whole pitch, and it sounds like fast, grim fun. It has 4.44 with just over 100 ratings, which is better than I expected. Not for everyone, but action fans should give it a shot.