Books like 'The Sand Sea'
Readers who enjoyed The Sand Sea by Michael McClellan also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical fantasy alternate history action / adventure steampunk industrial-era epic dystopia magical-realism historical-fiction
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The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 56 ratingsMore than anything, Joel wants to be a Rithmatist. Rithmatists have the power to infuse life into two-dimensional figures known as Chalklings. Rithmatists are humanity’s only defense against the Wild Chalklings. Having nearly overrun the territory of Nebrask, the Wild Chalklings now threaten all of the American Isles... -
Within the Sanctuary of Wings by Marie Brennan
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsThe conclusion to the thrilling memoirs of Lady Isabella Trent and her legacy of dragon evolutionary research and anthropological adventures... -
In the Labyrinth of Drakes by Marie Brennan
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsIn the Labyrinth of Drakes, the thrilling new book in the acclaimed fantasy series from Marie Brennan, the glamorous Lady Trent takes her adventurous explorations to the deserts of Akhia.Even those who take no interest in the field of dragon naturalism have heard of Lady Trent's expedition to the inhospitable deserts of Akhia... -
Dragons Beyond the Pale by Maria Grace
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSmugglers. A kidnapping. A fire-breathing fairy dragon? The Blue Order is falling apart at the seams.After months in Bath mentoring Dragon Keepers and Friends, Dragon Sage Elizabeth Darcy actually anticipates traveling to London for the Keeper’s Cotillion. Which says a great deal considering the she-dragons who make up the Cotillion board would very much like to show the Sage her proper place... -
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Daughter of Ninmah by Lori Holmes
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsLove or loyalty? Destiny hangs upon a single choice…Living deep within the mysterious southern forests, the spiritual Ninkuraaja people are being hunted to the brink of extinction by bloodthirsty raiders known only as Woves.Nobody knows better than a Ninkuraa that a Wove deserves only death...Categorized as:
dystopia epic historical-fiction action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook book -
Sword and Pen by Rachel Caine
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsWith the future of the Great Library in doubt, the unforgettable characters from Ink and Bone must decide if it's worth saving in this thrilling adventure in the New York Times bestselling series.The corrupt leadership of the Great Library has fallen. But with the Archivist plotting his return to power, and the Library under siege from outside empires and kingdoms, its future is uncertain... -
Airborn by Kenneth Oppel
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsMatt Cruse is a cabin boy on the Aurora, a huge airship that sails hundreds of feet above the ocean, ferrying wealthy passengers from city to city. It is the life Matt's always wanted; convinced he's lighter than air, he imagines himself as buoyant as the hydrium gas that powers his ship. One night he meets a dying balloonist who speaks of beautiful creatures drifting through the skies... -
The Convent's Secret by C.J. Archer
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsTo find the one man who can fix the magic in Matt’s watch, he and India are led to a convent where the nuns will do anything to keep their secrets private. Including murder? Matt and India must uncover the truth behind the disappearance of the mother superior and two babies given to her care many years ago. But sometimes, the truth is painful and its exposure can have deadly consequences... -
The Shadow of Water by Jacquelyn Benson
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsLily Albright can see the future, and it looks like hell. In an England on the brink of war, Lily is plagued by visions of the cataclysmic destruction of London. An ancient prophecy is coming to fruition, and it starts with the gruesome discovery of a corpse in the sewers.To save her city, Lily must untangle a web of conspiracy and violence... -
In Plain Sight by Dan Willis
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsWhen a magical plague is released in a Depression-era New York soup kitchen, private detective Alex Lockerby finds himself in a desperate hunt to catch a madman before he can strike again.His investigations lead Alex to a famous thief, a daring heist, and the search for a mythic book of ancient magic, but none of that brings him any closer to finding the man responsible for the massacre... -
Сердце Пармы by Aleksej Ivanov
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsАлексей Иванов - известнейший писатель и сценарист, автор бестселлеров "Золото бунта", "Географ глобус пропил", "Общага-на-Крови", "Блуда и МУДО". "Сердце Пармы", вероятно, самый известный роман писателя. Две могучие силы столкнулись на древней пермской земле. Православный Господь, именем которого творят свои дела люди великого князя Московского, и языческие боги вогулов, темные и пугающие... -
Rise of the Wolf by Steven A. McKay
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSir Guy of Gisbourne is back! Bent on vengeance against Robin Hood and with a turncoat new lieutenant in tow, an unlikely new hero must stand up for herself..Categorized as:
historical-fiction industrial-era action-adventure adult alternate-history book fiction historical -
Twig by Wildbow
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe year is 1921, and a little over a century has passed since a great mind unraveled the underpinnings of life itself. Every week, it seems, the papers announce great advances, solving the riddle of immortality, successfully reviving the dead, the cloning of living beings, or blending of two animals into one... -
The Philosopher's War by Tom Miller
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe second book in the thrilling series that began with The Philosopher’s Flight finds Robert Canderelli Weekes as a rookie Rescue and Evacuation flier on the front lines of World War I in France. He came to save lives, but has no idea how far he’ll have to go to win the war... -
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Factotum by D.M. Cornish
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsRossamund Bookchild stands accused of not truly being a human at all, but of being a monster. Even the protection of Europe, the Branden Rose-the most feared and renowned monster-hunter in all the Half-Continent-might not be enough to save him. Powerful forces move against them both, intent on capturing Rossamund- whose existence some believe may hold the secret to perpetual youth...Categorized as:
dystopia epic industrial-era steampunk action-adventure alternate-history audiobook book -
The Rising by Ian Tregillis
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe second book in the Alchemy Wars trilogy by Ian Tregillis, an epic tale of liberation and war. Jax, a rogue Clakker, has wreaked havoc upon the Clockmakers' Guild by destroying the Grand Forge. Reborn in the flames, he must begin his life as a free Clakker, but liberation proves its own burden...Categorized as:
dystopia historical-fiction industrial-era steampunk action-adventure adult ai alternate-history -
The Naturalist Society by Carrie Vaughn
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn this magical tale of self-discovery from New York Times bestselling author Carrie Vaughn, a young widow taps into the power that will change the world—if the man’s world she lives in doesn’t destroy her and her newfound friends first.In the summer of 1880, the death of Beth Stanley’s husband puts her life’s work in jeopardy...Categorized as:
historical-fiction magical-realism industrial-era romance fantasy fiction historical magic -
The Song Rising by Samantha Shannon
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsThe hotly anticipated third book in the bestselling Bone Season series – a ground-breaking, dystopian fantasy of extraordinary imaginationFollowing a bloody battle against foes on every side, Paige Mahoney has risen to the dangerous position of Underqueen, ruling over London's criminal population... -
Odalisque: The Baroque Cycle #3 by Neal Stephenson
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe trials of Dr. Daniel Waterhouse and the Natural Philosophers increase one hundredfold in an England plagued by the impending war and royal insecurities -- as the beautiful and ambitious Eliza plays a most dangerous game as double agent and confidante of enemy kings... -
Embers of Destruction by J. Scott Savage
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIt's time to take the battle to the dragons. In the third and final volume of the bestselling Mysteries of Cove series, Trenton and Kallista--along with their friends, Plucky, Simoni, Angus, and Clyde--fly their mechanical dragons south toward San Francisco, looking to rescue any survivors from the battle of Seattle...Categorized as:
dystopia industrial-era low-fantasy steampunk action-adventure alternate-history animals audiobook -
Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsThe Tower of Babel is the greatest marvel in the world. Immense as a mountain, the ancient Tower holds unnumbered ringdoms, warring and peaceful, stacked one on the other like the layers of a cake. It is a world of geniuses and tyrants, of airships and steam engines, of unusual animals and mysterious machines...Categorized as:
dystopia epic historical-fiction industrial-era steampunk action-adventure adult alternate-history -
The Clockwork Ghost by Laura Ruby
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIt was only a few weeks ago that the Biedermann twins, Tess and Theo, along with their friend Jaime Cruz, followed the secrets of the Morningstarrs’ cipher further anyone had in its century-and-a-half history—and destroyed their beloved home in the process. But the Old York Cipher still isn’t solved. The demolition of 354 W... -
The Liberation by Ian Tregillis
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSet in a world that might have been, of mechanical men and alchemical dreams, this is the third and final novel in a stunning series of revolution by Ian Tregillis, confirming his place as one of the most original new voices in speculative fiction. I am the mechanical they named Jax. My kind was built to serve humankind, duty-bound to fulfil their every whim... -
The Vanishing Throne by Elizabeth May
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsEverything she loved is gone.Trapped. Aileana Kameron, the Falconer, disappeared through the fae portal she was trying to close forever. Now she wakes in an alien world of mirrors, magic, and deception—a prisoner of the evil fae Lonnrach, who has a desperate and deadly plan for his new captive.Tortured... -
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The Silvered Serpents by Roshani Chokshi
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsThey are each other's fiercest love, greatest danger, and only hope. Séverin and his team members might have successfully thwarted the Fallen House, but victory came at a terrible cost -- one that still haunts all of them. Desperate to make amends, Séverin pursues a dangerous lead to find a long lost artifact rumoured to grant its possessor the power of God... -
Magician's Ward by Patricia C. Wrede
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsWhen Mairelon made Kim his ward, he promised to teach her to be a lady and a magician. But magic proves to be harder than it looks for a girl who has just learned to read, and being a lady is even harder. Before frustration - and Merrill's formidably correct aunt - can drive her mad, a mysterious gentleman attempts to burgle the Merrill town house... -
Storming by K.M. Weiland
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn the high-flying, heady world of 1920s aviation, brash pilot Robert “Hitch” Hitchcock’s life does a barrel roll when a young woman in an old-fashioned ball gown falls from the clouds smack in front of his biplane. As fearless as she is peculiar, Jael immediately proves she’s game for just about anything, including wing-walking in his struggling airshow... -
Sword of the Ronin by Travis Heermann
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn 13th-Century Japan, a land of ancient spirits, shapeshifting animals, and demons, Ken'ishi is a warrior without a master. Orphaned in infancy, he has only one link to his past - Silver Crane, his father's sword. When Silver Crane is stolen, Ken'ishi must go on a quest to recover his very identity. The crime lord known as Green Tiger holds the key to Ken'ishi's past... -
The Expeditioners and the Secret of King Triton's Lair by S.S. Taylor, Katherine Roy
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsKit, Zander, and M. K. West are settling into their new lives as students at the Academy for the Exploratory Sciences when Kit finds another mysterious map left for him by their father, the brilliant, famous — and presumed dead — explorer Alexander West... -
Time of Trial by Michael Pryor
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIn the fourth book of this utterly addictive series, magical genius Aubrey Fitzwilliam is heading deep into the heart of enemy territoryluckily, with his friends by his side It may look like a simple wire device, but the Beccaria Cage could be the cure for Aubrey's condition: a way to reunite his body and soul. But can Aubrey solve its mysteries while Dr... -
Word of Honour by Michael Pryor
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSinister plots, schemes within schemes, magical upheavals, and a world to save from evil. As always, Aubrey goes looking for trouble--and finds it, in spades.Magical genius Aubrey Fitzwilliam, along with his loyal friend George, is trying to immerse himself in his new life at university. But for Aubrey life is never straightforward... -
Ironfoot by Dave Duncan
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsMedieval magic, murder, and mayhem!It is 1164, and for a hundred years England has been ruled by the Normans. A young Saxon boy named Durwin, crippled by a childhood accident, had caught the eye of a Norman sage teaching at a rural school of magic. Realizing that the boy had promise, Durwin was made stable boy, and eventually allowed to attend classes...Categorized as:
historical-fiction industrial-era steampunk action-adventure alternate-history audiobook book dark -
The Desert and the Blade by S.M. Stirling
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIn his novels of the Change, New York Times bestselling author S.M. Stirling presents “a devastated, mystical world that will appeal to fans of traditional fantasy as well as post-apocalyptic SF...Categorized as:
dystopia epic industrial-era magical-realism steampunk 21st-century action-adventure adult -
The Golden Specific by S.E. Grove
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe eagerly-awaited sequel to the best-selling The Glass Sentence -- a historical, fantastical adventure perfect for fans of Philip Pullman!It is the summer of 1892, one year since Sophia Tims and her friend Theo embarked upon the dangerous adventure that rewrote the map of the world... -
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The Coldest War by Ian Tregillis
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSomeone is killing Britain's warlocks.Twenty-two years after the Second World War, a precarious balance of power maintains the peace between Great Britain and the USSR. For decades, the warlocks have been all that stand between the British Empire and the Soviet Union-- a vast domain stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the shores of the English Channel... -
The Ink Master's Silence by C.J. Archer
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIt should be a happy time for India and Matt, but forces beyond their control conspire to ruin their future. A distraction from their troubles comes in the form of murder. When the editor of The Weekly Gazette is killed, controversial journalist and ink magician Oscar Barratt asks India and Matt to investigate... -
Rebirth by Craig Zerf
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWill you survive? A series of solar flares smash the world back into the Dark Ages. Chaos follows. Millions die in the post-apocalyptic aftermath.One man is changed by the radiation. Marine Sergeant Hogan. Turning him into a superhuman being. Faster, stronger and able to create magic.He has become - The Forever Man. Oorah!But even he is not ready for what happens next...Categorized as:
dystopia epic industrial-era steampunk action-adventure aliens alternate-history apocalyptic -
The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsStop the Magician. Steal the book. Save the future.In modern-day New York, magic is all but extinct. The remaining few who have an affinity for magic—the Mageus—live in the shadows, hiding who they are. Any Mageus who enters Manhattan becomes trapped by the Brink, a dark energy barrier that confines them to the island. Crossing it means losing their power—and often their lives... -
The Clockwork Three by Matthew J. Kirby
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsThree ordinary children are brought together by extraordinary events...Giuseppe is an orphaned street musician from Italy, who was sold by his uncle to work as a slave for an evil padrone in the U.S. But when a mysterious green violin enters his life he begins to imagine a life of freedom... -
Camber the Heretic by Katherine Kurtz
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsKing Cinhil, who had assured peace between the Deryni and humans in Gwynedd, was dying. And the regents who were set to rule in the place of his sickly son were evil men who could very well undo all that Cinhil had accomplished. Once they ruled, no Deryni would be safe. The only hope lay in a discovery that blocked off all Deryni talents, enabling them to go underground and appear as humans...Categorized as:
epic historical-fiction action-adventure adult alternate-history book female-author fiction -
Saint Camber by Katherine Kurtz
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWhen Camber of Culdi, master of arcane Deryni powers, led a successful revolution against Imre, his sister Ariella, plotted war against Cinhill, her brother's successor. But Cinhill didn't want a fight, he didn't want power, and it was up to Camber to save crown and country...Categorized as:
epic historical-fiction action-adventure adult alternate-history book fiction high-fantasy -
The Black God's Drums by P. Djèlí Clark
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsCreeper, a scrappy young teen, is done living on the streets of New Orleans. Instead, she wants to soar, and her sights are set on securing passage aboard the smuggler airship Midnight Robber. Her ticket: earning Captain Ann-Marie’s trust using a secret about a kidnapped Haitian scientist and a mysterious weapon he calls The Black God’s Drums... -
Lost Acre by Andrew Caldecott
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWynter is here . . .Geryon Wynter has returned to Rotherweird and has not only taken over the town but is busy destroying the countrysiders' life too. Can our small band of heroes find a way to outwit a genius whose master plan is five centuries in the making? Watch this space . . -
The Map of Chaos by Félix J. Palma
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsFrom the New York Times bestselling author of The Map of Time and The Map of the Sky, the final installment in the award-winning trilogy that The Washington Post called “a big, genre-bending delight.”When the person he loves most dies in tragic circumstances, the mysterious protagonist of The Map of Chaos does all he can to speak to her one last time...Categorized as:
historical-fiction industrial-era steampunk action-adventure adult alternate-history book fiction -
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Crucible Zero by Devon Monk
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe national bestselling author of Infinity Bell returns to her “fresh and unique”* world where the truce between the ruling Houses has shattered and chaos now reigns. Only one woman has the power to save the world—but she could also destroy it...Matilda Case never thought of herself as a hero...Categorized as:
dystopia industrial-era magical-realism steampunk action-adventure adult alternate-history book -
The Crimson Skew by S.E. Grove
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe final volume in S.E. Grove’s stunning, bestselling Mapmakers trilogy.At the end of The Golden Specific, Sophia was on her way home to Boston, anticipating her reunion with Theo. But he has been conscripted to fight in the Western War—Prime Minister Broadgirdle’s twisted vision of Manifest Destiny. Shadrack is in his thrall as War Cartologer and cannot help his niece... -
The Road to Hell by David Weber, Joelle Presby
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsEntry #3 in the popular Hell's Gate series by 28 times New York Times best-selling author David Weber and Joelle Presby.The war between magically-gifted Arcana and psionically talented Sharona continues to rage. The dragon-borne Arcanan assault across five universes has been halted at Fort Salby by a desperate defense, but at atrocious cost... -
The Map of Stars by Laura Ruby
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAfter the events of The Clockwork Ghost, Tess, Theo, and Jaime don’t know what to think about their legacy—both past and present. They have only one choice: to follow the Old York Cipher to the end.Doing so reveals the plans for a machine invented over 150 years ago but never built. Its purpose is a mystery, but Tess, Theo, and Jaime know that they must construct it... -
The Broken Lands by Kate Milford
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA crossroads can be a place of great power.So begins this deliciously spine-tingling prequel to Kate Milford’s The Boneshaker, set in the colorful world of nineteenth-century Coney Island and New York City... -
The Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsThe thrilling adventure of Lady Trent continues in Marie Brennan's The Tropic of Serpents . . . Attentive readers of Lady Trent’s earlier memoir, A Natural History of Dragons, are already familiar with how a bookish and determined young woman named Isabella first set out on the historic course that would one day lead her to becoming the world’s premier dragon naturalist...
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