Recommendations based on "Celtic Empire"

This is a dramatic contemporary thriller focussing on the blind passion of an obsessive dream. "Stromchild" is the story of a quest, of a man's search for his missing daughter - and to prove his daughter's innocence from involvement in her mother's murder. And he is no ordinary man - for he is famous as a world-class yachtsman, but the strength of the storms he has to face at sea are nothing compared to the violence of the political campaigners who hold his daughter.

A war is coming, a battle that will stretch from the prehistoric forests of the ancient past to the cutting-edge research labs of today, all to reveal a true mystery buried deep within our DNA, a mystery that will leave readers changed forever . . . In this groundbreaking masterpiece of ingenuity and intrigue that spans 50,000 years in human history, New York Times bestselling author James Rollins takes us to mankind’s next great leap. But will it mark a new chapter in our development . . . or our extinction? In the remote mountains of Croatia, an archaeologist makes a strange discovery:  a subterranean Catholic chapel, hidden for centuries, holds the bones of a Neanderthal woman. In the same cavern system, elaborate primitive paintings tell the story of an immense battle between tribes of Neanderthals and monstrous shadowy figures. Who is this mysterious enemy depicted in these ancient drawings and what do the paintings mean? Before any answers could be made, the investigative team is attacked, while at the same time, a bloody assault is made upon a primate research center outside of Atlanta. How are these events connected? Who is behind these attacks?  The search for the truth will take Commander Gray Pierce of Sigma Force 50,000 years into the past. As he and Sigma trace the evolution of human intelligence to its true source, they will be plunged into a cataclysmic battle for the future of humanity that stretches across the globe . . . and beyond. With the fate of our future at stake, Sigma embarks on its most harrowing odyssey ever—a breathtaking quest that will take them from ancient tunnels in Ecuador that span the breadth of South America to a millennia-old necropolis holding the bones of our ancestors. Along the way, revelations involving the lost continent of Atlantis will reveal true mysteries tied to mankind’s first steps on the moon. In the end, Gray Pierce and his team will face to their greatest threat: an ancient evil, resurrected by modern genetic science, strong enough to bring about the end of man’s dominance on this planet. Only this time, Sigma will falter—and the world we know will change forever.

From New York Times bestselling author James Rollins comes an electrifying short story, in which the battle over a lost treasure leads to murder, betrayal, and the revelation of a shocking mystery hidden aboard the . . . Ghost Ship The discovery of a burned body sprawled on a remote Australian beach shatters the vacation plans of Commander Gray Pierce. To thwart an ingenious enemy, he and Seichan are pulled into a centuries-old mystery surrounding a lost convict ship, the Trident. The vessel—with a history of mutiny and stolen treasure—vanished into the mists of time, but nothing stays lost forever.  A freak storm reveals clues scattered across the Great Barrier Reef, but following those clues will lead to bloodshed and savagery, for where this ghost ship is hidden is as shocking as the mystery behind its disappearance. It will take all of Gray’s ingenuity and Seichan’s deadly skills not only to survive—but to stop an enemy from destroying everything in his path. Included with this short story is a sneak peek at the upcoming Sigma Force novel, The Demon Crown, where events here lead to Sigma’s most harrowing adventure to date.

The Number One bestselling detective series. Nothing keeps a crime hidden like fear, and DS Logan McRae hits a dead-end in this 5th crime thriller from the award-winning Stuart MacBride. 'You can't be an eyewitness if I cut out your eyes...' Someone's preying on Aberdeen's growing Polish population. The pattern is always the same: men abandoned on building sites, barely alive, their eyes gouged out and the sockets burned. With the victims too scared to talk, and the only witness a paedophile who's on the run, Grampian Police is getting nowhere fast. The attacks are brutal, they keep on happening, and soon DS Logan McRae will have to decide how far he's prepared to bend the rules to get a result. The Granite City is on the brink of gang warfare; the investigating team are dogged by allegations of corruption; and Logan's about to come to the attention of Aberdeen's most notorious crime lord...

After receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor for action in Iraq, Commander Daniel V. Lenson is given new orders: "Take over as skipper of USS Thomas W. Horn." His mission: Prepare the Tomahawk-equipped strike destroyer and her crew for the Red Sea, where she'll join an international task force searching for weapons of mass destruction. But this will be no routine deployment. Horn will be the first US Navy warship to deploy with an integrated male and female crew--a controversial and politically explosive experiment that will raise questions about morale, behavior, training, sexual attraction, and ultimately, performance under fire. Facing sandstorms, smugglers, and ambushes, Horn's increasingly polarized crew will conduct demanding, diplomatically sensitive search-and-seizure operations against foreign vessels attempting to smuggle arms to Iraq. But the real nightmare is brewing in Bahrain. There the most dangerous bomb expert in Al-Qaeda has targeted Horn for attack--as the first step in a plan to redraw the map of the whole Middle East. With gripping action scenes and an explosive climax, The Command continues Dan Lenson's star-crossed career in a series that explores both global and deeply personal implications of honor, duty, power, and war.

Matthew Reilly dazzled the world with his electrifying thrillers Ice Station and Temple. And now, Shane "Scarecrow" Schofield returns with his most harrowing and explosive adventure yet. . .AREA 7It is America's most secret base, hidden deep in the Utah desert, an Air Force installation known only as Area 7. And today, it has a visitor - the President of the United States. He has come to inspect Area 7, to examine its secrets for himself. But he's going to get more than he bargained for on this trip. Because hostile forces are waiting inside.Among the President's helicopter crew, however, is a young Marine. He is quiet, enigmatic, and he hides his eyes behind a pair of silver sunglasses. His name is Schofield. Call-sign: Scarecrow. Rumor has it, he's a good man in a storm. Judging by what the President has just walked into, he'd better be. . ."An exciting romp. The action is nonstop and includes shootouts, crazed convicts, wild animals, and an eerily timely subplot."--Library Journal"Reilly has a gift for sustaining momentum that never lets up." --Publishers Weekly

Learn the secret – or die trying Has ex-SAS soldier Ben Hope finally got out of his depth? That’s the question Ben faces when the hunt for a missing girl takes him to China. He’s a stranger in a strange land – but he’s also the victim’s only hope. To make things worse, she’s almost family. As the pressure mounts, so does the gruesome death toll. With ruthless enemies in pursuit and an unlikely alliance with an enigmatic detective his only lifeline, Ben realises that this situation is far more explosive than even he’d bargained for. Suddenly it’s no longer just the missing girl’s fate depending on him. At the heart of the mystery lies an ancient secret dating back to China’s first emperor and the legendary Terracotta Army – a secret that people will still kill for, millennia later. Ben Hope has never turned his back on those in need, and he’s no stranger to tough odds. But can he survive long enough to discover the truth – and is he ready for the consequences?

Grafton and Carmellini are back and joined by the Navy SEALs to battle terrorists on the high seas in Pirate Alley, an action-packed tale by New York Times bestseller Stephen CoontsA luxurious vacation cruise to the exotic locales of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden turns into a nightmare for passengers and crew when their ship is suddenly attacked and captured by a band of bloodthirsty Somali pirates. An initial rescue mission ends in failure; the decks are covered in blood. Unless they are paid a ransom of $200 million dollars within seven days, the pirates threaten to execute all their hostages. But information gleaned from a captured Al Qaeda operative indicates that there is a far more dangerous conspiracy afoot.Once the ransom is paid, Islamic militants intend to swoop in and slaughter the passengers in an orgy of terror, hoping to provoke a massive American military response that will set the Muslim world aflame. Jake Grafton is assigned to negotiate with the brutal pirate chief while his right hand man, Tommy Carmellini, and a team of CIA and Navy SEAL operatives mount an undercover operation to save the hostages and keep the U.S. from being maneuvered into a murderous war.

Retired Department of Defense research analyst Lewis Cole loves his small New Hampshire town of Tyler Beach, and he shares this affection with his friend Jon Ericson, an eccentric retiree who’s convinced Vikings had once lived in their town, more than a thousand years ago. For years Ericson has searched for artifacts to prove Vikings had a settlement on the New Hampshire coastline, and when Lewis gets a phone message from Ericson that he’s finally found this evidence, Lewis races over to congratulate him. But when he reaches Ericson’s house, however, there is no celebration: there is only a crime scene. In the minutes after the excited phone call, someone has brutally murdered Lewis’ friend and stolen the artifacts. Who could have committed such a crime? Ericson’s estranged brother, a convict who deals in stolen antiques? A disgruntled town resident, jealous of Ericson’s quest? Or someone else who would easily kill to cover up such an archaeological discovery? These questions and others haunt Lewis, but Lewis is sure of one thing: he intends to avenge Ericson’s death, recover the missing Viking artifacts, and honor his friend’s memory, even if it means paying a stiff price -- exchanging his beachfront home for a prison cell.

Somewhere in the jungles of Thailand, the details of an enormous arms deal are unfolding with deadly precision. Embarking upon a one-man freelance mission, Quiller must race against the clock to disarm the earth-shattering operation. He soon tracks down his enemy, a delicate Cambodian beauty who is wreaking havoc between the superpowers.