Dial G for Gravity (Brent Bolster Space Detective, #1) by Michael Campling

SPSFC 2023

Brent Bolster has a particular set of skills. Unfortunately, most of them have no practical application whatsoever. Now, he's met his worst nightmare: an alien with a clipboard. So begins the adventures of Brent Bolster and his ragtag coalition of associates. With a client in the shapely form of a gorgeous dame, a musclebound assistant, an alien with an attitude, and fish called Algernon, Brent uncovers a galactic conspiracy. Meanwhile, a mighty warship is on its way. Affectionately known as The Skull by its crew of warlike Andelians, the ship causes all who see her to tremble. And in command is the notorious Admiral Norph, a warrior who makes Genghis Khan look neighborly. The scene is set for a galactic confrontation. Can Brent handle it? Probably not. But it will be fun to watch him try. You’ll get a kick out of this comedy because all sci-fi fans love a tongue-in-cheek reference. Dial G for Gravity takes the world of an old-fashioned gumshoe and propels it into the future. But like all good sci-fi, it has something to say about the way we live now and where we’re headed.

Dark Theory by Wick Welker

SPSFC 2022 SPSFC 2023

A robot yearns to remember. A thief struggles to forget. A galaxy on the verge of collapse. On the fringe of a broken civilization, a robot awakens with no memories and only one directive: find his creator. But in the village of Korthe, Beetro finds only radioactive pestilence, famine, and Miree—a tormented thief with dreams of retiring after her final score. Meanwhile, the fiefdom is plunged further into chaos when a new warlord seizes control, recasting serfs as refugees and leaving derelict robot peasants in his wake. With a shared interest in survival, Beetro and Miree team up to pull off an impossible castle heist: steal a single flake of dark matter, the world’s most valuable and mysterious ore. But as they trek through the feudal wasteland in search of answers, they realize the true extent of the chaos surrounding them: the stars are disappearing from the sky and the entire galaxy is unraveling. As he uncovers his origin, Beetro discovers he may be the key to the salvation of the cosmos—or its destruction. Time, space, and loyalty become relative as he learns the real reason he was created. A mind-bending science fiction epic with the bones of a fantasy traveling quest, Dark Theory unfolds through a journey of betrayal, identity, and unlikely friendships in a world of darkness set at the edge of space and time.

My Lord by L.B. Shimaira

"You try to comfort yourself with visions of events that didn't happen, but that doesn't mean that what did happen left no scars." After losing hearth and home, Meya attempts to escape the traumatic memories by travelling east. In 13th century Tristanja, however, it’s not safe to be alone. A local slave trader catches wind of the kinless woman and abducts her in the dead of night. Beaten and abused, the now meek Meya is sold to Lord Deminas. He's known to be cruel, yet becomes strangely protective of his new chambermaid, punishing anyone who dares hurt her. After cutting her to drink her blood, he even uses his own to heal her wounds. Meya and her paramour wonder if Deminas' dark secret is why servants regularly vanish, including the lord's previous chambermaids. However, the two women quickly learn that Lord Deminas isn't the only danger lurking in the castle's shadows. MY LORD is a queer, slow-burn erotic gothic horror novel about rediscovering yourself after trauma—with kinky, blood-drinking immortals and polyamory.