If you liked CHRONAL ENGINE, or my other novels, here are some authors whose works you might likewise enjoy (At least, I do ). The books highlighted tend to be generally adventurous and/or funny and are the sort that I enjoyed both as a young reader and as a reader today.
Although age levels are listed, they are somewhat arbitrary (generally based on what the publisher has provided).
The author’s name is hyperlinked to the author’s web site, while the book titles are hyperlinked to my blog recommendations.
Links will open a new browser tab.
Young Adult (ages 12+)
Tracy Barrett (KING OF ITHAKA. The Odyssey, retold).
Chelsea M. Campbell (THE RISE OF RENEGADE X: What if you found out your father, rather than being a supervillain, was in actuality a superhero? And that you had to go live with his family… ).
James Dashner (THE MAZE RUNNER series: THE MAZE RUNNER, THE SCORCH TRIALS, THE DEATH CURE. Intense action thrillers — a group of teens is put through unimaginable trials for mysterious reasons).
David Macinnis Gill (BLACK HOLE SUN. Mars, red in tooth and claw.)
Y.S. Lee (THE AGENCY series: A SPY IN THE HOUSE and THE BODY AT THE TOWER. Undercover mysteries set in Victorian England and featuring the redoubtable Mary Quinn).
Kenneth Oppel (THIS DARK ENDEAVOR: THE APPRENTICESHIP OF VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN. The youth of the boy who would become Dr. Frankenstein. The AIRBORN trilogy: AIRBORN, SKYBREAKER, STARCLIMBER. Dirigibles and swashbuckling on an alternate Earth.)
Rosemary Sutcliff (FRONTIER WOLF and THE EAGLE OF THE NINTH. Compelling historicals involving the Roman Empire in Britain).
Megan Whalen Turner (THE THIEF series: THE THIEF, THE QUEEN OF ATTOLIA, THE KING OF ATTOLIA, A CONSPIRACY OF KINGS. Adventure and political machinations in a world resembling the Byzantine Empire).
Scott Westerfeld (The Leviathan trilogy: LEVIATHAN, BEHEMOTH, GOLIATH. Action and adventure and World War I-based steampunk awesomeness.).
Brian Yansky (ALIEN INVASION AND OTHER INCONVENIENCES. It takes the aliens twelve seconds to conquer the earth. This is what happens next…)
“Tween” (ages 10-14)
Helen Hemphill (THE ADVENTUROUS DEEDS OF DEADWOOD JONES. Prometheus Jones and his cousin Omer escape a pair of scoundrels by joining a cattle drive.)
F.E. Higgins (THE EYEBALL COLLECTOR and other books in the world of Urbs Umida. Eerie and compelling. Read them all.)
Simon Higgins (MOONSHADOW: RISE OF THE NINJA. Moonshadow is on his first mission as a ninja spy in service of the shogun.)
Catherine Jinks (EVIL GENIUS trilogy. What if your father was an evil genius and you were raised to be as well?)
David Lubar (TRUE TALENTS. Science fiction involving a group of friends with superpowers and their escape from those who would do them harm; a companion to HIDDEN TALENTS. WEENIES series. Creepy, funny, Twilight Zonish short stories.)
Katy Moran (BLOODLINE, BLOODLINE RISING. Epic historical fantasy set in 7th Century Britain and Constantinople.)
Pat Moriarty (THE INQUISITOR’S APPRENTICE. Historical fantasy where magic reigns in turn-of-the-century New York).
Craig Moodie (INTO THE TRAP. Action in the littorals as twelve year old Eddie and his friend Briggs try to thwart lobster thieves on an island off the coast of Massachusetts.)
Rick Riordan (PERCY JACKSON series. What if demi-gods walked among us?)
Neal Shusterman (ANTSY DOES TIME. Antsy “bequeaths” a month of his life to his friend, and then things really get out of control…A companion to THE SCHWA WAS HERE.)
Arthur Slade (THE HUNCHBACK ASSIGNMENTS series. Fourteen year old Modo is an unlikely agent in the service of Queen Victoria.)
Robert Louis Stevenson (TREASURE ISLAND. The classic story of pirates and pirate treasure.)
N.D. Wilson (THE DRAGON’S TOOTH: ASHTOWN BURIALS I. A secret society, treachery, and legends come to life.)
Middle Grade (ages 8-12)
Tony Abbott (THE POSTCARD: Helping to settle his grandmother’s estate in St. Petersburg, Jason uncovers a mystery that goes back decades…)
Tom Angleberger (THE STRANGE CASE OF ORIGAMI YODA and DARTH PAPER STRIKES BACK: Does Dwight’s Origami Yoda finger puppet really channel the power of the force?)
Kelly Barnhill (THE MOSTLY TRUE STORY OF JACK. Jack is sent to live with his aunt and uncle in rural Iowa, where things are dark and magical.)
Elise Broach (MISSING ON SUPERSTITION MOUNTAIN. Three siblings find three skulls and attempt to solve a mystery.)
Cynthia DeFelice (WILD LIFE. Twelve-year-old Erik runs away to live off the prairie and save a dog.)
Jean Craighead George (MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN. Sam Gribley runs away to the Catskills, trains a falcon, and lives on his own for a year.).
Peni Griffin (11,000 YEARS LOST. Time travel to the neolithic, with mammoth hunting.)
Michael Hemphill and Sam Riddleburger (STONEWALL HINKLEMAN AND THE BATTLE OF BULL RUN. Time travel to the first battle of the Civil War.).
R.L. LaFevers (The THEODOSIA series 1 2 3 4. In Edwardian England, Theodosia works to keep Egyptian curses at bay.)
Gregory Mone (DANGEROUS WATERS: AN ADVENTURE ON THE TITANIC. Patrick Waters must solve a mystery and uncover a stowaway before the ship reaches New York City, or…).
Linda Sue Park (ARCHER’S QUEST. When an ancient Korean warrior suddenly appears in Kevin’s house, he has to send him back or irrevocably destroy the present.)
Johann Wyss (THE SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON. The classic about a family shipwrecked on a desert island. With a tree house.)
Tracie Vaughn Zimmer (THE FLOATING CIRCUS. In 1852, thirteen-year-old Owen runs away from the orphan train.)