Books like 'The Wild Machines'
Readers who enjoyed The Wild Machines by Mary Gentle also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
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Enemy of God by Bernard Cornwell
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsThe balance of King Arthur's unified kingdom is threatened by Merlin's quest for the last of Britain's 13 Treasures; by the conflict between the ancient religion and the new Christianity; and by Britain's war with the Saxons. A master storyteller continues his retelling of the Arthurian legend...Categorized as:
action-adventure epic historical-fiction medieval 20th-century adult alternate-history arthurian -
![Sword in the Storm by David Gemmell]()
Sword in the Storm by David Gemmell
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsFierce and proud, the Rigante dwell deep in the green mountain lands, worshiping the gods of air and water, and the spirits of the earth. Among them lives a warrior who bears the mark of fate. Born of the storm that slew his father, he is Connavar, and tales of his courage spread like wildfire...Categorized as:
action-adventure dark-fantasy epic historical-fiction adult alternate-history audiobook book -
![The Guns of Empire by Django Wexler]()
The Guns of Empire by Django Wexler
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsAs the “audacious and subversive”* Shadow Campaigns novels continue, the weather is growing warmer, but the frosty threat of Vordan’s enemies is only growing worse..Categorized as:
action-adventure epic female-mc historical-fiction adult alpha-mc alternate-history assassins -
![The Fell Sword by Miles Cameron]()
The Fell Sword by Miles Cameron
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsTHE RED KNIGHT was one of the most acclaimed fantasy debuts of 2012 - and now he rides again. Prepare for one epic battle...In The Fell Sword the Red Knight and his company go across the mountains to the Morea and Thrake - those are the kingdoms to the east of Alba - to put down what appears to be a local rebellion and proves to be larger...Categorized as:
action-adventure dark-fantasy epic historical-fiction medieval adult alternate-history anti-hero -
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![The Pen and the Sword by Olan Thorensen]()
The Pen and the Sword by Olan Thorensen
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsDestiny’s Crucible: Joe Colsco boarded a flight from San Francisco to Chicago to attend a national chemistry meeting. Through a freak accident, he never sets foot on Earth again. He is unaware he has been poured into a crucible, where time and trials will transform him in ways unimagined, and that will send him and his descendants to a destiny beyond one planet...Categorized as:
action-adventure epic historical-fiction adult aliens alternate-history audiobook book -
![Heavier Than a Mountain by Olan Thorensen]()
Heavier Than a Mountain by Olan Thorensen
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsBeware of creating your worst enemy. All Joe Colsco wanted out of life was a reasonably interesting job supporting a quiet, comfortable suburban lifestyle, eventually a small family, and time to pursue hobbies. Instead, a freak accident casts him naked onto a beach of another planet inhabited by humans with technology circa 1700...Categorized as:
action-adventure epic historical-fiction adult aliens alternate-history audiobook book -
![Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay]()
Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 46 ratingsA masterful epic of magic, politics, war, and the power of love and hate — from the renowned author of The Fionavar Tapestry and Children of Earth and Sky.Tigana is the magical story of a beleaguered land struggling to be free. It is the tale of a people so cursed by the black sorcery of a cruel despotic king that even the name of their once-beautiful homeland cannot be spoken or remembered..Categorized as:
action-adventure epic historical-fiction 20th-century alternate-history audiobook book classics -
![Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman, Steve West]()
Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman, Steve West
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 19 ratings[MP3CD audiobook format in vinyl case.] Another inventive novel of epic terror by the acclaimed author of Those Across the River In the darkest days of the Dark Ages, the people of France faced both the Black Plague and desperate gangs of men who wandered the depopulated countryside looting and raping. Tomas, a disgraced knight, is one of these men... -
![The War Hound and the World's Pain by Michael Moorcock]()
The War Hound and the World's Pain by Michael Moorcock
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 13 ratings"The forest flourished, a lush and spreading refuge from the Wars, coolly green and welcoming. Beyond its borders the land burned flame red, blood red, ghastly black. Men and women, hacked to death, choked the paths and streams as the Armies of Religion clashed and slaughtered. Carrion-hung gibbets loomed starkly through the smoke and all the land was desolate. The forest was a refuge... -
![Surrender to the Will of the Night by Glen Cook]()
Surrender to the Will of the Night by Glen Cook
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsPiper Hecht’s secrets make him dangerous, but his skill and his reputation put him in danger—from his enemies, who fear what he might do, or who want revenge for what he has already done; and from his friends, who want to use his military gifts for their own purposes... -
![Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K.J. Parker]()
Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K.J. Parker
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsThis is the story of Orhan, son of Siyyah Doctus Felix Praeclarissimus, and his history of the Great Siege, written down so that the deeds and sufferings of great men may never be forgotten.A siege is approaching, and the city has little time to prepare. The people have no food and no weapons, and the enemy has sworn to slaughter them all...Categorized as:
action-adventure dark-fantasy epic historical-fiction medieval adult alternate-history audiobook -
![Scorn of Angels by John Patrick Kennedy]()
Scorn of Angels by John Patrick Kennedy
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsNyx, Queen of Hell, lies broken and burning in a box at the bottom of the Lake of Fire, put there but her lover Tribunal, who is God’s Son. Nyx’s daughter Epiphenia, has been slaughtered by Tribunal and Lucifer. Her companions, Persephone and Ishtar, were captured and are now suffering unspeakable torture... -
![Creeping Jenny by Jeff Noon]()
Creeping Jenny by Jeff Noon
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe third book in Jeff Noon's widely acclaimed 'Nyquist Mysteries' find our protagonist caught up in a new mystery that delves into nightmares, Saints and the answer to his father's disappearanceNyquist finds himself in a village where everyday is a different type of nightmare and whose bizarre rules are governed by whichever Saint rules that day... -
![Mother of Chaos (Princess Dracula) by John Patrick Kennedy, Carlos Quevedo]()
Mother of Chaos (Princess Dracula) by John Patrick Kennedy, Carlos Quevedo
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTo summon an Angel of Hell…Ruxandra Dracula, a 250-year-old vampire, wants nothing to do with the fallen angel that created her. But when fellow vampire Kade tells her a group of magicians in Moscow is going to summon that angel, Ruxandra knows she must try to stop them.In Moscow, Ruxandra finds herself caught in a web of political and supernatural intrigue...Categorized as:
action-adventure historical-fiction adult alternate-history book dark fiction grim-dark -
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![Lost Burgundy by Mary Gentle]()
Lost Burgundy by Mary Gentle
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThere is more than one history of the world... "In a barbarous age in a world now forgotten, an extraordinary figure stood formidable on the European battlefield--a remarkable female warrior and strategist without equal...save one."Dijon, the once-proud capital of Burgundy, has been pounded into near submission...Categorized as:
dark-fantasy female-mc historical-fiction medieval secrets slavery adult alternate-history -
![Carthage Ascendant by Mary Gentle]()
Carthage Ascendant by Mary Gentle
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThere Is More Than One History Of The WorldIn a brutal age of bloodshed and miracles where dark sorcery has extinguished the sun, the fate of Western Europe, Africa--and perhaps all the world--rests in the hands of a warrior woman named Ash. The undefeated legions that are the army of Carthage rampage across the kingdoms of Europe... -
![The Folding Knife by K.J. Parker]()
The Folding Knife by K.J. Parker
Rated: 3.91 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsBasso the Magnificent. Basso the Great. Basso the Wise. The First Citizen of the Vesani Republic is an extraordinary man.He is ruthless, cunning, and above all, lucky. He brings wealth, power and prestige to his people. But with power comes unwanted attention, and Basso must defend his nation and himself from threats foreign and domestic...Categorized as:
action-adventure dark-fantasy epic historical-fiction adult alternate-history book dark -
![The Incorruptibles by John Hornor Jacobs]()
The Incorruptibles by John Hornor Jacobs
Rated: 3.75 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIn the contested and unexplored territories at the edge of the Empire, a boat is making its laborious way up stream. Riding along the banks are the mercenaries hired to protect it - from raiders, bandits and, most of all, the stretchers, elf-like natives who kill any intruders into their territory. The mercenaries know this is dangerous, deadly work. But it is what they do...Categorized as:
action-adventure dark-fantasy epic historical-fiction adult alternate-history audiobook book -
![The Wolf by Leo Carew]()
The Wolf by Leo Carew
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe Wolf is a thrilling, savagely visceral, politically nuanced, and unexpectedly wry exploration of power - and how far one will go to defend it.Violence and death have come to the land under the Northern Sky.The Anakim dwell in the desolate forests and mountains beyond the black river, the land under the Northern Sky...Categorized as:
action-adventure dark-fantasy epic historical-fiction adult alternate-history audiobook book -
![The Enterprise of Death by Jesse Bullington]()
The Enterprise of Death by Jesse Bullington
Rated: 3.78 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAs the witch-pyres of the Spanish Inquisition blanket Renaissance Europe in a moral haze, a young African slave finds herself the unwilling apprentice of an ancient necromancer. Unfortunately, quitting his company proves even more hazardous than remaining his pupil when she is afflicted with a terrible curse...Categorized as:
action-adventure dark-fantasy female-mc historical-fiction medieval adult alternate-history book -
![Son of the Morning: A Novel by Mark Alder]()
Son of the Morning: A Novel by Mark Alder
Rated: 3.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsEngland, 1337: Edward III is beset on all sides, plagued by debt and surrounded by doubters. He refuses to pay homage to the newly crowned Philip Valois of France and seeks to secure his French holdings, but he's outmanned. Philip can put 50,000 men in the field, but he is having his own problems: he has summoned the angels themselves to fight for France, but the angels refuse to fight...Categorized as:
action-adventure dark-fantasy epic historical-fiction medieval adult alternate-history angels -
![Evil is a Matter of Perspective: An Anthology of Antagonists by Adrian Collins, Michael R. Fletcher]()
Evil is a Matter of Perspective: An Anthology of Antagonists by Adrian Collins, Michael R. Fletcher
Rated: 3.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsExperience your favourite fantasy worlds through some of the most fearsome, devious, and brutal antagonists in fantasy. Villains take centre stage in nineteen dark and magical stories that will have you cheering for all the wrong heroes as they perform savage deeds towards wicked ends. And why not? They are the champions of their own stories—evil is a matter of perspective. Authors: R... -
![Faces Under Water by Tanith Lee]()
Faces Under Water by Tanith Lee
Rated: 3.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom the world-renowned fantasy author of The Secret Books of Paradys comes a chilling new fantasy series of alchemy and horror. In this new series, Tanith Lee weaves intricate plots around the elements of water, fire, earth, and air. The first in this new series, Faces Under Water immerses readers in the timeless beauty of Venice and the secret terror that lies beneath...Categorized as:
dark-fantasy epic historical-fiction adult alchemy alternate-history assassinations book -
![A Secret History by Mary Gentle]()
A Secret History by Mary Gentle
Rated: 3.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThere Is More Than One History Of The World...In the mid-fifteenth century there was Burgundy, the jewel of Europe - opulant and powerful, the undisputed center of an uncivilized world.In an epoch of war and madness there was Ash. A girl born in mud and dung, she slew her first men while only eight...Categorized as:
dark-fantasy epic female-mc historical-fiction medieval adult alternate-history book -
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![The Tyranny of the Night by Glen Cook]()
The Tyranny of the Night by Glen Cook
Rated: 3.70 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsWelcome to the world of the Instrumentalities of the Night, where imps, demons, and dark gods rule in the spaces surrounding upstart humanity. At the edges of the world stand walls of ice which push slowly forward to reclaim the land for the night. And at the world's center, in the Holy Land where two great religions were born, are the Wells of Ihrain, the source of the greatest magics...Categorized as:
action-adventure dark-fantasy epic adult alternate-history anthologies audiobook dark -
![The Beating of His Wings by Paul Hoffman]()
The Beating of His Wings by Paul Hoffman
Rated: 3.61 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFollowing the bestselling novels The Left Hand of God and The Last Four Things comes the final installment of Paul Hoffman’s stark, epic trilogy. Thomas Cale has been running from the truth…... -
![A Song for No Man's Land by Andy Remic]()
A Song for No Man's Land by Andy Remic
Rated: 3.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsHe signed up to fight with visions of honour and glory, of fighting for king and country, of making his family proud at long last.But on a battlefield during the Great War, Robert Jones is shot, and wonders how it all went so very wrong, and how things could possibly get any worse.He'll soon find out...Categorized as:
dark-fantasy historical-fiction urban-fantasy 20th-century adult alternate-history audiobook book -
![Monstress, Vol. 6: The Vow by Marjorie M. Liu, Sana Takeda]()
Monstress, Vol. 6: The Vow by Marjorie M. Liu, Sana Takeda
Rated: 4.45 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWar has engulfed the Known World, and Maika Halfwolf is at its epicenter. As she and her friends grapple with the consequences of their actions, long-buried secrets and long-awaited reunions threaten to change everything. Join MARJORIE LIU and SANA TAKEDA in the newest volume of this Eisner, Hugo, Harvey, and British Fantasy Award-winning series...Categorized as:
action-adventure dark-fantasy epic female-mc alternate-history anthropomorphism comics dark -
![Ash: A Secret History by Mary Gentle]()
Ash: A Secret History by Mary Gentle
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFor the beautiful young woman Ash, life has always been arquebuses and artillery, swords and armour and the true horrors of hand-to-hand combat. War is her job. She has fought her way to the command of a mercenary company, and on her unlikely shoulders lies the destiny of a Europe threatened by the depredations of an Infidel army more terrible than any nightmare... -
![The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane by Robert E. Howard, Salvador Sanz]()
The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane by Robert E. Howard, Salvador Sanz
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsWith Conan the Cimmerian, Robert E. Howard created more than the greatest action hero of the twentieth century—he also launched a genre that came to be known as sword and sorcery. But Conan wasn’t the first archetypal adventurer to spring from Howard’s fertile imagination. “He was . .
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