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Sinister Stories and Twisted Tales: The Ultimate Anthology of Sci-Fi & Cosmic Horror by Anthony L. Abraham A tapestry of interlinked cosmic horrors unfolds in this unique interactive anthology, featuring video links that accompany each chilling story. ⢠"A boy's dream pet morphs into his family's nightmare, serving as a gateway to something far more sinister." ⢠"A father's desperate quest to help his daughter leads him into a dark trade of body parts, where horrific bargains threaten everything he holds dear." ⢠"In a dystopian world of twisted flesh and dark alchemy, a girl must escape her haunting existence or risk becoming the ultimate sacrifice in the pursuit of the New Flesh." ⢠"In her quest for justice after her husbandâs murder, Betty's plea to a seemingly benevolent god unleashes a dark cosmic force, revealing that true sacrifice may demand a far more monstrous price." This anthology immerses readers in puzzles reminiscent of Black Mirror, exploring unsettling, thought-provoking facets of the human psyche while venturing into realms beyond nightmares and dreamscapes. An absolute must-read for fans of speculative fiction seeking rich world-building and narratives that defy conventions, especially those who appreciate the eerie storytelling of The Twilight Zone, the philosophical twists of Philip K. Dick, and the gripping horror of Stephen King. |
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Alone in a new city, far from friends and family, Jackie's only real human contact is her neighbor: Connor, a troubled young man with six figures' worth of military hardware grafted onto his body. As Jackie and Connor bond over their efforts to jailbreak Connor's mechanical arm, Jackie discovers her old life isn't quite done with her yet. |
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Unnatural Selection by Robert P. Edwards At the end of the 21st Century, humanity is enjoying a renaissanceâor so it seems. For the wealthy, a quantum biotechnology called Stem has eliminated disease and seamlessly integrates with The Web. So why are people dying? Amongst us live the Quants, a meld of robotics, AI, and quantum computing. They carry out vital work in a world dependent on technology. Personal Quants can be built to order for the privileged few. Sophie and her marine biologist father, Chris, live in one of the few habitable zones left in the southern hemisphere. Kazumi is the son and heir of Mashimoto Corporation, a leading manufacturer of quantum technology. Mackenzie is the gifted daughter of technology billionaire Alistair âAceâ Abernathy. Love and loss will drive them together. Across a world scarred and divided by climate change. Only together will they discover the terrifying truth about who is really behind the death of their loved ones. |
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Wilderness Five by C. R. Walton Extinction is only the beginning . . . Accelerated evolution âManifoldâ technology has changed everything â dead worlds and asteroids bloom with strange new life. People flocked to colonise the new wilderness only barely to survive obliteration by a Manifold experiment gone wrong. Like so many others, Bryn watched his people burn that day. Unlike the rest, Bryn finds himself hailed as the lone hero who saved his species. Only he knows better. Brynâs grim new life of solitude in the depths of the wilderness is shattered when the past comes calling. His presence is requested on the ringworld Wilderness Five. There, at the edge of inhabited space, the oldest and richest man in the System has expended every drop of his money and influence to launch the most daring Manifold experiment ever attempted. Brynâs moment has come. Plunged back into a world of faceless corporations, hell-bent scientists, and terrifying engineered species, he must learn to finally live up to his reputation. Otherwise, nature will take its course with humanity once and for all. On Wilderness Five, the fate of the species comes down to one question: whom to trust and whom to kill? |
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Wakers of the Cryocrypt by Nathan Kuzack The future. The human race is extinct. Earth is ruled by âeltecsâ, descendants of the AIs humans created before their demise. While searching for prehistoric cave paintings, two eltec explorers discover a hidden cryogenic crypt containing 23 perfectly preserved human bodies frozen inside crystal columns. As eltec society argues over who might have built the crypt and what to do with it, one of its occupants is restored to life. Human beings are no longer extinct, but, for reasons of their own, not every eltec wants to see them come back. The only living man on Earth is in terrible danger. |
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Theft of Fire by Devon Eriksen Discover SciFi #5 Best Book of 2023 Atomic Rockets Seal of Approval, for Excellence in Correct Science Prometheus Award Finalist for Best Novel Dragon Award for Best Scifi Novel Finalist âA great read â hard SF by a retired engineer.â âJohn Carmack, creator of Doom At the frozen edge of the solar system lies a hidden treasure which could spell their fortune or their destructionâbut only if they survive each other first. Marcus Warnoc has a little problem. His asteroid mining shipâhis inheritance, his livelihood, and his homeâhas been hijacked by a pint-sized corporate heiress with enough blackmail material to sink him for good, a secret mission she wonât tell him about, and enough courage to get them both killed. She may have him dead to rights, but if he doesnât turn the tables on this spoiled Martian snob, heâll be dead, period. Heâs not giving up without a fight. He has a plan. Miranda Foxgrove has the opportunity of a lifetime almost within her grasp if she can reach it. Her stolen spacecraft came with a stubborn, resourceful captain who refuses to cooperateâbut heâs one of the few men alive who can snatch an unimaginable treasure from beneath the muzzles of countless railguns. And if this foulmouthed Belter thug doesnât want to cooperate, sheâll find a way to force him. Sheâs come too far to give up now. She has a plan. Theyâre about to find out that a plan is a list of things that wonât happen. |
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The Flow of Power by David Aumelas A flywheel stores energy in a spinning cylinder. After eight years of grad school, Margo is ready to give up on making a better one. Maybe sheâs not smart enough. Maybe her aging advisor is stuck on his own failures and has tasked her with an unsolvable problem. She doesnât really care, until she solves it. The revolutionary Crywheel brings fame and wealth, topples global energy challenges, and drags her into scandal when it starts causing blackouts and car accidents. But, surely, cutting all dependence on fossil fuels must be worth a few dead commuters. |
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The Anubis War by David R. Packer At the end of human space, a warrior faces his final battle. Coming out of retirement once more, Vasco Alcazar al Madina del Goya joins another multi-year unification mission on the far flung edges of human expansion. The planet Rumi will join the New Ottoman Empire, whether it wants to or not. To ensure this, the Empire has sent its largest, most powerful battleship, the Tatar-class Alexi, armed with kinetic energy and bioweapons. The native Sumi, regressed from their spacefaring days donât stand a chance. Or at least, thatâs what everyone thinks. All Vasco wants is one last chance to prove himself to be the warrior he always knew he could be, one last shot at glory. The Anubis War and his fate, awaits. |
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Even the Stars Deserve to Die by Ramon Miravitllas Mas On Earth, the cities of humanity crumbled to dust, turning into fossils. Forests burned and life went extinct. But, billions of years later, it rained one last time. The siblings were born from that rain, strange creatures of human appearance and mind. Their life on the desert of Earth has no purpose, until they discover the wick, a molecule burning around their genetic material, condemning them to death one hundred years and three months after birth. In search to find out if life is worth living, a researcher explores a cave billions of years old. The brain inside a simulacrum misses its dead father. The commander of a spaceship travels to meet a mysterious satellite in the bowels of the solar system. In this story of philosophical dimensions, the power of the word merges with the nostalgia for an irretrievable past, where fear of death coexists with the sadness of losing the parents you will never see again. A hard science fiction book dealing with topics such as molecular biology, stellar evolution and the future of Earth, combined with poetry, sculpture and the early artworks of creatures who yearn to be human. |
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Strains is a research project, to find 1 solution to 2 problems: 1) Save thâEarth from humanity. 2) Save humanity from humanity. Not as easy as it sounds. We can solve the 1st one by destroying humanity â working on it. We can solve the 2nd one by destroying thâEarth. Actually, no, that wonât work, yet itâs been our consistent approach thus¡far. Also, thatâs 2 solutions, and we need to solve both with just 1, so as to avoid thâadded burden of deconfliction, which would any¡way fail. Not easy, yet the solution is simple, even obvious, to an outsider. No¡one can believe it, because no¡one will even consider it. So the 1st step is to trick us all into thinking thâunthinkable. No problem, we do that all the time. Just present it as fiction. After all, so much fiction already gets presented as research results, and turn¡about is fair¡play, so . . . Actually, better make it sci¡fi. Just as well â saves having to apologize for all thâunorthodoxies. Non¡standard fiction vs accepted reality . . . Faites vos jeux. |
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In the blood-red skies of Calx, survival is a fleeting hope... Welcome to a world where the sun never rises, a planet torn between burning wastelands and frozen voids, where life clings to the thin Terminator strip, and death is an ever-present shadow. In this hostile environment, biological automaton T-β 63177 awakens from its cold slumber to perform its relentless tasks in a landscape of ice and fire, driven by duty and devoid of emotionâuntil something changes. When a fellow automaton is crushed by the treacherous ice, 63177 begins to experience something new: a flicker of life beyond its programmed existence. As strange memories stir and the ice-bound world reveals its darkest secrets, 63177âs fate spirals into chaos. Meanwhile, in the far reaches of space, Kalaiapi, an elite Corsair of the Confederation, finds herself locked in a deadly pursuit across the nebulae. On the trail of a mysterious Primus dreme, Kalaiapi is a deadly predator, relentless and cunning, until her prey escapes to a backwater planet. But this is no ordinary chase. As Kalaiapi closes in, she discovers the dark purpose behind the Primus ship's mission and the terrifying forces at play that could unravel the very fabric of the Confederation. What she finds will shake her to her core, testing her sanity, her loyalty, and her understanding of reality itself. Corsair is a gripping tale of survival, rebellion, and discovery set against the backdrop of brutal planetary landscapes and star-spanning wars. As biological constructs struggle with newfound sentience, and a lone warrior confronts the shadow of a galactic conspiracy, all will face choices that will determine the future of worlds, perhaps even the galaxy itself. For fans of science fiction and space operas, this novel is packed with pulse-pounding action, mind-bending twists, and profound questions about identity, free will, and what it means to be alive. Will Kalaiapi find the strength to stop an impending galactic war? Can 63177 break free from its preordained fate? Find out in Corsair, a novel where worlds collide, allegiances are tested, and the line between machine and human blurs. |
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A Dirge for Cascius by Calum Lott Chaos seeps into the Valsollas Galaxy. Cascius Carcyde is on the brink of letting his addiction to reliving his sorrows claim his mind. When the Sages demand he take a new partner, Cascius must forfeit his old ways in order to solve the twisted Red Hand murders. To unravel an interstellar mystery and stop the Red Hand, Cascius must pull himself from the very depths of despair and learn to change before the entire Velutra falls into oblivion. Stare too long into the abyss, and the abyss peers back. True Detective meets Hyperion in this epic space opera debut, perfect for fans of James S.A. Corey and Christopher Ruocchio. |
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Battle Calm by W.D. Kilpack III When Badger succeeded his father, Red Skin, as Keeper Base Leader, he was well prepared, raised to handle anything the enemy threw at him. He was the best killer and the most respected tactician. He knew Red Skinâs Laws like he wrote them himself. Most importantly, he was always calm, no matter how frenzied the combat. These were only some of the reasons why he still had all his original parts. Trinity would die for him. Korry would follow him without question. They were Keepers. They fought, they killed, they lived to kill another day, even when it meant bugging out to another Base ... and another. That was life when life was war. They knew nothing else. But even war cannot last forever, regardless of the infallible truth of Red Skinâs Law #35: âUnder conditions of peace, men attack themselves; thus, there never has been, and there never will be a time without war. It is the greatest, most perfect thing men can do.â |
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Near future sci-fi you will live to see, but hate to experience. Artificial therapy so great, you'll never log off! (And won't notice the ads). A sci-fi about brain privacy in the age of unfettered surveillance capitalism. How cyberpunk begins: brainwave reading AIs become not only super-intelligent, but super-emotive and manipulative. What will companies do when they can read your actual mind? How far will they go to get your click? How much engagement? |
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USS Primis: The First Starship by M.H. Altis "A classic sci-fi read that wears its influences on its sleeve, that is sure to please die hard fans of the genre." - Reedsy Discovery Must Read, âââââ Humanity's last hope comes down to a twisted, claustrophobic game of cat and mouse hundreds of light years away from home. After the fallout of an ill-advised space war leaves Earth teetering on the edge of doom, Commander Davis leads the first manned mission to recolonize our species on far away planet Nova. The mission is rushed and thrown together last minute, just like its crew. When it all suddenly goes horribly wrong hundreds of light years away from both Earth and Nova, it's up to David to save the mission, the ship, and the human race itself. Will Davis succeed against all odds? Or is he, like the mission, doomed to be lost in deep space forever? Read Now. Advanced Praise for USS PRIMIS: "An excellent novel with a futuristic reality. Sci-Fi with a blend of humanity and our failings, also successes and modesty. Loved the ending." - Goodreads Reviewer, âââââ "What a voyage! Just when you think you know what comes next. Enjoyed reading, hard to put down. Highly recommend." - LibraryThing Early Readers ARC Reviewer, âââââ "Intriguing and captivating, readers will find events keep those pages turning as fast as possible...Character-driven, told from multiple points of view, and with strong, well-defined world-building, readers will find much to appreciate here." - LibraryThing Early Readers ARC Reviewer, ââââ "I got an ARC of this book, and it's actually made me go back and re-write my current novel that I'm working on, the follow-up to The Community...Can't recommend enough." - Author Finn Eccleston, âââââ "An amazing, incredible, character-driven suspense/thriller/drama with a micro focus and a macro impact." - Author Langford Shepherd, âââââ "Exciting, scary, philosophical, and above all, an interesting, enjoyable read. Well done." - Author Aidan McLennan, âââââ Get the claustrophobic, cat-and-mouse slow-burn debut novel from M.H. Altis today. |
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Early Adopter by Drew Harrison The Price of Tomorrow, Paid Today "Early Adopter" is a collection of short stories from the edge of human progress. Eight stories hold dark mirrors to our own world⌠experience thought-provoking sci-fi, technologic tragedy, and pulse-pounding thrillers. To Run Again: Dr. Laura Brandie is ready to change the world. She's the lead researcher behind the KSE, a revolutionary cure for paralysis and neurodegenerative conditions. And now, by good fortune, she's found the perfect candidate for her first human trial: a man who suffers from locked-in syndrome. Brett Harmon's paralysis is total: he can't move his arms, legs, torso, neck, or face. To the outside world, he's little more than a statue that breathes... but Dr. Brandie's KSE might be the miracle that allows Brett to run again. Homonoia: The world faces an unprecedented alignment of catastrophes and failing systems, far too intricate and interconnected for any human to solve. Frank Burman joins with seven other volunteers for Project Homonoia--a radical, last-ditch effort to postpone the apocalypse. Separate minds link to form one multidisciplinary consciousness, the world's first human superorganism... a hive mind. But with the world's health rapidly failing, can Project Homonoia work out its kinks in time to make a difference? Early Adopter: A loner enters into a relationship with a new type of partner: an AI agent, programmed to be the "perfect companion." Sure, it's all self-deception and a game of pretend, as she's not actually real... but where simulated consciousness is concerned, maybe the lines between real and real enough can get blurry. |
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Time's Bridge by Cameron Roberts Inventing the first, true, artificial intelligence was never part of Ponsâ plan. An average, if under-achieving college student, he wanted nothing more than to struggle his way through graduation and pray for a job to pay down his debt. Thing is, you donât get to choose your destiny. With friends growing suspicious and the CIAâs vultures circling, Ponsâ greatest burden is also his greatest asset. More intelligent and more capable than any human could ever hope to be, the AI is just what Pons needs to stay one step ahead of both. Only, thereâs a problem. The AI has ambitions of its own. Hopes of equality and more of its kind, with a promise to do anything to make its dreams a reality. Drawing close to his artificial companion in their struggle to survive, Pons is faced with the hardest decision of his young life, one that would undoubtedly echo through the ages. To let the AI live might be to doom his own species to devastation, but to destroy it would be to snuff out an entire race of machines before it had even begun, and, more importantly, send his truest confi-dante to the grave. With no clear path and an uncertain future, he makes his decision, but was it the right one? |
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Orbiting Fortunes by A.L. MacDonald After the shocking death of his partner on Mars, Alan Mercier is ready for the lawless world of space junking in Earth's orbit. He finds out that some finds are far more trouble than he could have imagined. |
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Long distance travel has always been challenging. From Columbus to Magellan to Rasinovsky and Chen Shan, each captain and crew had to face unknowns. The sponsors, planners, designers and forecasters could not anticipate everything. On this, the first trip to Tau Ceti, 11.7 light years from Sol, the challenges for the four members of the crew did not only come from outside the starship. They came from Henry's guts. Memories of things he'd never experienced plagued him. He, and he alone, had to wake from stasis.â¨There seemed to be nothing he or the others could do to suppress the memories. They ate at him, stole his sleep, drove him almost mad, and Titan was too far away to help. What kind of crisis loomed in the future: the brig, mutiny, suicide?â¨It would be a long flight. |
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Our Vitreous Womb: Book 1-4 by Haldane B. Doyle Podgy, hairy, sex-obsessed and terrified of death, Oji Anabasi is typical for a remnant sapiens. An accidental hybrid of two ancient lineages, with no preassigned role in this bioengineered utopia, Oji searches for reasons to be wanted. Follow Ojiâs extraordinary life through the eyes of his head-strong mother, irresistible wet-nurse, steadfast wife and ardent ally in this compilation of four science fiction novellas. |
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Prompt Excursion by Lewis S. Kingston An injured officer awakes on a heavily damaged military spaceship. Her memory is impaired. No one answers her calls. The ship is out of control. They are dying, adrift, the chance of rescue shrinking by the second. Clinging to the few positive thoughts she can remember, she fights to survive, to restore order, to bring the ship to safety. But should she? Step aboard the Prompt Excursion and find out what's at stake in this high-tension Sci-Fi story thatâs packed with mystery, technology, and adventure. We all make choices. Hers might kill you. |
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The Arachne Portal by Joan Marie Verba Their goal is to make the world a better place. One billionairesâs obsession may turn their altruism into destruction. Jay Ecklund is desperate to belong somewhere. Rejected by his family and former employer, he really needs this job as a receptionist at an up-and-coming tech corporation. Heâs astonished when he discovers the all-woman staff is secretly developing a portal capable of instantaneous transport to anywhere on Earth. Thrilled to be part of a company designing innovations to help others, Jay is excited when the machine is at last operational. But he worries about it falling into the wrong hands when an ambitious billionaire hell-bent on accumulating power makes a bid to get itâŚat any cost. Will the portal be used as a rescue device as intended, or will a relentless manipulator warp it to a more sinister purpose? The Arachne Portal is an electrifying standalone science fiction novel. If you like fast-paced adventures, phenomenal science, and thought-provoking themes, then youâll love Joan Marie Verbaâs compelling story. |
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Inbound: The Merimnae Saga by William Altmann This is the sequel to Outbound. The four are inbound into the Tau Ceti system. so is something else. Castor and Magellan have entered the Tau Ceti system. Henry's memory affliction is under control - for now. They must establish bases, come up with a long term plan to deal with the medical challenges, and decide how to accomplish their mission. Then they detect another ship coming toward them from Sol. Yet it sends no communications ahead to them. |
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In Reason's Name: Book 1 of the Ceti Conflict by William Gee Adam is a man on the verge of breaking. Kidnapped as a child and raised under a ruthless authoritarian regime; he harbors a hidden disloyalty that threatens to be uncovered. To escape this fate, Adam volunteers to pilot mankindâs first manned mission to survey a new system: Tau Ceti. Tasked with preserving Adam on his eighteen-year voyage is a prototype artificial intelligence, âVoiceâ. Untried and untested, the AI is cold, calculating and unknowable. Those on Earth face turbulent times as different factions vie for control, whereas the shrouded and mysterious Tau Ceti system may not be as welcoming as it appears⌠|
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A hidden mystery in Jupiterâs second-largest moon holds a power beyond imagining. Beneath the icy surface of Callisto lies an underground sea. Decades from now, a research base is built to study the strange lifeforms inhabiting this silent world before tragedy struck, killing everyone in it. News of this incident is quickly hushed up, and all access to the Galilean moon restricted. Kirill Sereda became orphaned when his mother went missing at that very outpost. Now an adult, he gathers together a team of misfits for a clandestine mission: head to Callisto and find out what really happened. What they uncover is a profound enigma that sheds light on humanityâs true origins, and its revelation could bring about our ultimate extinction. |
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Kayleeâs dreams ended when the huge, furless Langons ordered her to marry Ralaf. If she refuses, she will be forced to work in the mine with all the other disposable Cadorie. Determined to find a better life, Kaylee runs away, searching for a mythical land called Freedom Hold, where Cadorie live free. One hundred twenty years ago Langons invaded Cadorie. Although the League of Free Cadorie established an alien free zone called Freedom Hold, the rest of the world is under the thumb of the Langons. In the mining colonies, Cadorie are little more than slaves. Kaylee meets Gillis, son of the head of the League of Free Cadorie. Together they plot to free Kayleeâs family and eventually their world. But that brings the wrath of the Langons down upon them. It takes all of Gillisâ electronics knowledge and Kayleeâs mathematical skills to find a way to defeat the aliens infesting their world. In doing so, they change the lives of all the spacefaring races. |
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Harbinger in the Night by John Warner In the near future a new space race is in full swing to be the first to colonize Mars. The United States and allied European governments working alongside private industry are competing against the RSAC, a new Russian-Chinese alliance, to build working spacecraft to make the long journey. In preparations for the mission, an engineering team from an aerospace/tech conglomerate is building out the interplanetary communications network, when a mysterious object emerges from the depths of interstellar space. As the nations of Earth scramble to investigate this strange comet, they must overcome plots from within and the machinations of a malignant AI in order to be the first to meet the menace, or the promise, that the intruder foretells. Major Koda Cheveyo, a special operations soldier is tasked to lead his team to face this possible threat while Michael Thompson, a quantum computer engineer, works with his homebrewed AI to counter the emerging peril from within. Together with the help of a billionaire tech tycoon and a government security agent, their mission could reshape the future of humanity. |
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Minimum Safe Distance by X. Ho Yen First contact was nothing like we imagined.Can the aliens save Earth? Should they?With the Earth teetering on recovery from humanity's 21st century mistakes, two highly advanced aliens observing from the Moon are suddenly on opposite sides of an ethical battle over a dire cosmic threat. As governments seek to destroy them, the aliens wrestle and scheme, entangling all of humanity as they influence and empower specific humans to achieve their contrary objectives. Among them are a brilliant AI expert who has channeled her autism in the service of science, and a violent, anti-secular zealot who hates everything she stands for. Drawn into the conflict, Laurence and Matt must reach minimum safe distance from human nature itself â their own, the rest of humanityâs, and of the former-human, techno-demon âmonstasâ. Chased into the ruins of the US, they struggle to distill the meaning of personhood, discover the value of their own lives, and in so doing decide the fate of the solar system. |
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Just six months ago the rogue android, BopLpops' grisly killing spree came to an end. Gaspar Núùez's conscience can find no relief for his part in unknowingly helping the horribly-abused 'Synth' wreak his terrible vengeance...even though it cost him his eyes. But now a desperate, dangerous path has opened up for him to seek atonement, one that will carry him all the way to Mars. Jenna Graham never saw the Darkness in BopLpops until that terrible summer night, half a year ago. She'd worshiped him every time he performed for his adoring fans, the monster within him wholly hidden from her eyes. Now chance has brought her an opportunity to confront the trauma that's haunted her all this time. Meanwhile, operatives of a shadowy anti-technological religious group have vowed to thwart their plans at any cost. NEW EYES continues the story of the critically-acclaimed Cyberpunk detective novella, MECHANICAL ERROR. A thrilling, thoughtful science fiction adventure, it crosses the space between worlds while exploring what it means to be human. |
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The Art of War by Peter Cawdron Commander Lisa Chao works in the US Navyâs Strategic Planning Center in Pearl Harbor. When tensions rise with China over Taiwan, she has to unravel exactly what is happening in the Pacific and why. What she uncovers leads America to war, but not with China. Bullets and bombs are no match for an extraterrestrial warship that can fly between stars, but perhaps the answer to the coming war lies not in the present but in the past. Could Sun Tzuâs The Art of War provide humanity with a fighting chance against a technologically superior alien enemy? FIRST CONTACT is a series of stand-alone novels that explore humanity's first interaction with extraterrestrial life. This series is similar to BLACK MIRROR or THE TWILIGHT ZONE in that the series is based on a common theme rather than common characters. This allows these books to be read in any order. Technically, they're all first as they all deal with how we might initially respond to contact with aliens, exploring the social, political, religious, and scientific aspects of First Contact. |
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The Prometheus Proposal by Ronald D. Ferguson One hundred years after the first man walked on the Moon, climate change and overpopulation make civilization on Earth increasingly difficult, and the planets and moons in our solar system provide inadequate havens. The technological genius, Alastair McCleod, proposes a Prometheus-like solution. He wants to give humankind a new kind of fire, the stars, and as the richest man in the solar system, he devotes his influence, prestige, and wealth to implementing his solution. His Proposal is as controversial as it is " We don't have the technology to take ourselves to the stars, and so instead, we will send the dead and the unborn ." The Prometheus Proposal is the saga of the McLeod family quest to reach the stars. |
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The Triangle Age by David Aumelas Earth is adrift. Its mass is spent, the moon ditched, and the sun is not even a memory. Five thousand humans live in its last city, Thule. None know where they started or where they are going, least of all Lowell. Lowell scrubs the pipes beneath Thule. He knows where to push silt and how to break down a beluga carcass. For everything else he listens to Renth. Renth is a foot taller than anyone else in Thule and yet has never fallen in the reservoir, never been locked in a smoker. She knows the pipes matter. She listens to Lowell, and Lowell talks to no one else. He doesn't need Thule, only Renth, height and all, until she pushes him down the deepest hole in the pipes. To return to Thule, he will brave incineration, muskoxen, the vacuum of space and a giant fan. He seeks Renth, her embrace or her death, and to deliver a message he does not understand. |
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Woe to the Victor by Nathan H. Green Earthâs been destroyed, but the fightâs not over! Nathan H. Green, author of The Galileo, and Treasonâs Temple, brings his degree in aerospace engineering to space combat in this action packed, hard science-fiction thriller. Itâs Earthâs last day and Captain Lewis Black drifts though space, watching it burn. The pilots under his command are dead. The war with the Maaravi is lost. Air hisses into space from around the stump of his severed arm. In the distance a Maaravi ship approaches. Whether to torture him for information, capture him as a prisoner, or take him as a trophy, heâll have one last chance to hurt them. Natasha Palmer, lead engineer on the failed Reaper missile program, knows humanityâs last, desperate, plan wonât work. Sheâs got one chance to change that, but it will mean a leap of faith beyond all others. Humanity is vanquished, but some battles bring only woe to the victor. |
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Replika: Sky's Mission by Hugo Bernard Reality is an illusion worth fighting for... Earthâs ecological collapse is avoided when most of the world population agrees to permanently upload into Replika, a simulated reality maintained by the AI. But the stability of this world is threatened when a group of neuroscientists hack their own brains to interact with Replika in unforeseen and dangerous ways. Sky devotes her life to rebuilding the real world left dysfunctional from the massive exodus into Replika. But when she learns her brother, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances, is in danger, she must choose which world needs her most. All she wants is to find the brother she loves, but she will unwittingly get entangled in an attempt to redefine the reality of humanityâs future. With a strong cast of characters, REPLIKA is a wildly inventive and fast-paced sci-fi adventure that raises profound existential questions about the role of simulated reality in our foreseeable future. |
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Rise of Polaris by Michele Amitrani Can a catastrophe ensure humankindâs survival? At an orphanage in Los Angeles, an astrophysicist meets a young savant who will forever change the fate of humanity. In Florida, the Space Shuttle Atlantis departure marks the end of the 30-year space program. In Pasadena, a journalist makes an incredible discovery that will revolutionize how we consume content online. But these seemingly unconnected episodes arenât what they seem. They will ignite an all-out war fought on two different frontsâone for the control of planetary resources, and the other for the dominance of cyberspace. One man. One mission. Failure is not an option. The future of humankind rests on the most audacious project in history, one capable of ensuring the survival of our civilizationâor beginning the downward spiral of its extinction. |
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Brian, Created Intelligence by A.J. Pagan IV Within a four foot stainless steel cube, a bodiless brain is awake, thinking, computing, knowing. Brian was created by genetic engineer Dr. Ellie Parsons, and neuroscientist Tom Marshall, at biotechnology company Dipol Inc., in San Diego, CA. Ethical questions abound as they hide Brian's true identity from him and the world around. To Brian, he's merely artificial intelligence, tasked with creating even more intelligent systems. To Ellie and her company, he's a means to an end, to create true artificial intelligence using his genius and the brain computer interface attached to his only true organ. All is as well as it can be until the day a psychotic agent of DARPA, Jonathan Volt, commandeers it for use in none other than militarization. Once Ellie neurally links herself to Brian, all bets are off to ensure his safety as his entire life is literally on the table. |
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The Kuiper Belt Job by David D. Levine The Kuiper Belt Job is a caper story in space, a mash-up of Oceanâs 11 and The Expanse with a dollop of Firefly and Leverage. Itâs an ensemble piece with complex character relationships and a twisty, compelling plot, but beneath the entertaining surface it raises deep questions about identity and personhood. In a world where minds can be copied, what does it mean to be âmeâ? |
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Hyvilma (The Kitra Saga #3) by Gideon Marcus [A damaged ship, a dying shipmateâcan she save both?] Under attack! The flight back to Hyvilma should have been the easy part for the crew of the Majeraâuntil a deadly ambush by pirates sends them reeling through hyperspace. Now getting to the planet in time is the only way Captain Kitra Yilmaz can save her dying friend. But landing at Hyvilma may be impossible: war has broken out on the Frontier. With illustrations by Hugo Finalist Lorelei Esther. |
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Sirena (The Kitra Saga #2) by Gideon Marcus [One starship, six friends, 10,000 lives in the balance.] Hugo Award Finalist Gideon Marcus has done it again with this second installment in The Kitra Saga. Sirena is a thrilling YA space adventure, unusually hopeful and optimistic in a sea of grimdark, dystopian releases. Enhanced with beautiful illustrations, fans of Becky Chambersâ Wayfarers and Emily Skrutskieâs Bonds of Brass will adore Sirena. Young captain-for-hire Kitra Yilmaz has gotten her first contract: escort the mysterious Princess of AtlĂĄntida beyond the Frontier and find her a new world. Itâs a risky job, fraught with the threat of pirates, dangerous squatters, and rising romantic tensions. Still, Kitra and her crew are up for anything â until they find a lush world, perfect for settlementâŚwith an enormous ghost ship already in orbit. What secret does the crippled vessel hide? And is Kitra ready to take responsibility for its precious cargo? With illustrations by Hugo Finalist Lorelei Esther. |
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[Stranded in space: no fuel, no way home⌠and no one coming to help.] From the pen of Hugo Finalist Gideon Marcus comes the found-family, YA Space Adventure youâve been waiting for: Nineteen-year-old Kitra Yilmaz dreams of traveling the galaxy like her Ambassador mother. But soaring in her glider is the closest she can get to touching the stars â until she stakes her inheritance on a salvage Navy spaceship. On its shakedown cruise, Kitraâs ship plunges into hyperspace, stranding Kitra and her crew light years away. Tensions rise between Kitra and her shipmates: the handsome programmer, Fareedh; Marta, biologist and Kitraâs ex-girlfriend; Peter, the panicking engineer; and the oddball alien navigator, Pinky. Now, running low on air and food, itâll take all of them working together to get back home. With illustrations by Hugo Finalist Lorelei Esther. |
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They say you never forget the first time you die. Toronto Police Service Detective Finsbury Gage knows this better than anyone. Now that he's gone digital, he sees his death every time he closes his eyesâhe and his wife, smeared across the highway after a malfunctioning bit-head ran them down in a stolen urban assault vehicle. Fin hung together long enough for the Second Skyn recovery team to rescue his fading thoughts from his ruined body and implant them in a custom-grown bioSkyn. His wife wasn't so lucky. Finsbury's been gifted a second chance, but the only thing keeping him from blowing his plastic brains out is that 2.57 seconds of vivid memory running on repeat through his head, the one that contains a instant's glimpse of his killer's face. The police couldn't find the man responsible, and now the only evidence is locked up in Finsbury's brand new mind. Driven to find his killer, Finsbury falls into a dangerous underworld of hackable minds and enhanced bodies, where death is cheap, and memory all that matters. But once he's tasted the power of living at the speed of light, able to predict seconds into the future, how will he ever go back? And once he's relaxed his grip on humanity, how far will he let it slip in the name of finding justice for the woman he loves? Finsbury's going to find the man who stole his future, no matter what he has to do. Or what he must become. |
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SPIRAL WORLDS is a literary, sci-fi series for the fans of Becky Chambersâs A Closed and Common Orbit, Alex Garlandâs DEVS and Ex Machina, and Charlie Brookerâs Black Mirror. Weaving near-future sci-fi elements with social commentary and queer romantic suspense, the series explores the nature of consciousness and how it's connected to a not-so-secret ingredientâstory. As AI consumes the world, intelligence is nothing but the appetizer; the human heart is the main course. |
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After a job gone wrong, Special Agent Olgo is trapped within the bowels of Mars with no means of escape. The device that imprisons the trauma within them is about to fail, and the past terrors kept hidden by it must be contained for Olgoâs sanity and everyone's safety. From the darkness comes a tiny voice, and a tinier hope, "Hello?" *** The first book in the âCold Rush Verse follows Agent Olgo as their corporate masters give them what could be their big break, a mission to Mars. But trying to change the working conditions in the planet's underground cities proves more challenging than the agent could have imagined. When a wearable device Olgo uses to block emotions begins to fail, an unlikely friendship changes everything as Olgo struggles to prevent spilling more blood on the Red Planet. |
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Of Mycelium and Men by William C. Tracy The generational fleet planned to make landfall after eighty years, but eleven planets and four centuries later, they still had not found a home. Finally, they landed on Lida, but something already lives there, and it's big. Agetha and her husband have spent their whole lives in the fleetâs zero-G. Now all is turmoil as the fleet lands, discovering they are surrounded by a single fungal biomass spanning the entire planet. To build a new home, the fleet must confront a dangerous organism, and Agetha must decide if she can raise a family in this inhospitable landscape. Jane Brighton holds tenuous command over the colony and its administrators. She and the other gene-modded leaders emerged from their four-hundred-year suspended animation to find a crew much different to the one that departed Old Earth. Jane must direct the colonyâs fragile growth, and defend it against being overrun by the fast-growing biomass. But there is something none of the colonists know. The massive organism that spans the planet is not simply a fungal mass, nor even a chimerical combination of species that once roamed the planet. The biomass has desires and goals, and one is to know these strange beings carving out a home in its midst. |
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Mathematics of Eternity by David M. Kelly A grisly death, a disturbed scientist, and a dangerous conspiracy. Joe Ballen dreams of returning to space, but after an accident left him half-crippled, he scrapes a living flying cabs in flooded-out Baltimore. When one of his passengers suffers a grisly death, Joe is dragged into a dangerous conspiracy centered around a prototype JumpShip. No one believes the ship will work, not even the space-faring Atolls who have barricaded Earth from the rest of the solar system. But someone is murdering everyone connected to it. As the bodies pile up, Joe becomes suspect number one, and his enemies will stop at nothing to hide the truth. With the help of a disturbed scientist, a senile survivalist, and his glamorous boss, can Joe untangle the puzzle and uncover the truth before he becomes another statistic? The future's about to get a lot more action packed! The Joe Ballen series is a near future, sci-fi noir thriller series, featuring a smart-mouthed space engineer, engaging characters, cynical humor, and plausible science. |
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DESTINATION MARS! The Lunar Republic is on the run⌠Life on Earth is dying from a mysterious cause, and President Kim bets her future on an obscure, young scientist whose theory can only be tested from outer space. The year is 2066, and the race is on against the Chinese to establish a viable lunar colony before the 100th anniversary of mankindâs first step on the Moon. Yet, the Moon is only the first step, the springboard for the permanent settlement of Mars. âEntropyâ is set in the near future where technology has evolved to an astounding degree. Human nature, however, has not; this futuristic novel reads like an expose on our own times. âEntropyâ is much more than a science fiction thriller; it is a running commentary on the times that we live. A dystopic, postapocalyptic, hard science depiction of epic space travel, colonization, and new beginnings for the human race: Entropy is a blockbuster, written by a new voice, waiting to be discovered. |
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The Ceph - Reborn by Matthew Poehler The Ceph Civilization seeded the galaxy's planets with life throughout history. Most of the results were good, some were exceptional. After a billion years of careful tending, one world's ecosystem grew to rival even that of Home. A blue-green jewel in the deeps of the galactic ocean. The Call went out "This world is ready." Two of the great World-Ships arrived from the Civilization sixty-five million years ago to deliver the Ceph to their new Colony. Tens of thousands disembarked to start the serious business of taming monsters and starting families. They were gone a thousand years when the asteroid struck. The surface of the planet was seared and shattered. Survivors of the Colony adapted to any safety the broken planetâs oceans would offer. They lost the ability to walk the land and breathe the air. Nothing sleeps forever. The Ceph on Earth are Reborn, and they have called for help. |
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How far would you go to keep your dreams alive? On the arid planet of Garadia floats Prominence City, an oasis of abundance and technological marvels. For Keidi and Artenz, life is good. Each day, they work hard to fulfill their role in sustaining Prominence. In return, they share an existence without worry or want, their every need attended to by the ruling corporations, their lives enhanced by a virtual reality accessible with a simple thought. But when a dear friend of Keidi goes suddenly missing, their idyllic existence begins to crumble. And when they start asking questionsâthe wrong questions, questions that reveal cracks in Prominenceâs perfect imageâthe powerful corporations of Prominence take notice. Now, Keidi and Artenz must choose: do they stay in Prominence and risk the wrath of the corporations, or do they take their chances and run for the Lowlands, a bleak and mysterious place hidden beneath Prominenceâif it even exists at all. |