The Villains Club: A Delightfully Devious Anthology by Janina Scarlet and E. M. Noller

Welcome to The Villain’s Club! Here, chaos is mandatory, caffeine is non-negotiable, and every meeting starts with a complaint about heroes who get in their way. Inside this delightfully devious anthology, villains finally get their own POV. That means no oversight, no interruptions, just pure, unfiltered rebellion. On the surface, these villains may seem like ordinary scoundrels, delinquents, bandits, and baddies. Scratch the surface (preferably with a dagger-shaped, impeccably manicured pinky nail), and you’ll find all the complexities, contradictions, impossible choices, and longing for connection that make even villains human. You’ll get to know misunderstood monsters, overworked overlords, demons with major Inhuman Resources issues, and even a few villains who might actually be heroes (but we didn’t have the heart to tell them). There are no tidy lessons or shiny trophies here. Sometimes we’re the hero, sometimes the villain. And sometimes, it just feels good to be bad. So grab a chair, pour something bubbly, and settle in.

The Naga Shaman's Pregnant Mate (Serpents of Serant, #8) by Robin O'Connor

Stranded. Pregnant. Hunted. Falling for a deadly alien shaman was not in my birth plan. Nala I woke in a glowing coffin, belly heavy, panic clawing at my throat. Then he appeared—white scales, golden eyes, and a voice like velvet over steel. He saved me… but I don’t know if I can trust anyone, not after what the Krektar did. I just want to protect my baby. That’s it. But the Krektar aren’t gone—they survived the crash, and they want me back. Artek says I’m his fated mate. I say I need a weapon. But when his strange little beast curls up beside me and he treats me like something sacred… I start to wonder if I’ve found something I didn’t know I safety. Maybe even family. Artek She is not of this world, yet the bond sings in my blood. I am Shaman, warrior and scholar, one of the last keepers of my people’s truths—and she is mine. The Krektar have survived. They will not take her. I will kill for her, die for her, and live only for her. But this world holds more than beasts and ruins. Ancient secrets stir. Nala and her child are part of what’s to come—and I will stand between them and every shadow that rises. This is Book Eight in the Serpents of Serant series. This steamy sci-fi monster romance features a mysterious Naga Shaman, a plucky pregnant human, a cute pet side-kick, and a sizzling HEA.

The Naga Scout's Daring Mate (Serpents of Serant #9) by Robin O'Connor

He stole me from my jailers. Now I’m not sure if I want him to let me go. Jolene I only meant to save lives on Earth. Instead, I’m trapped on a hostile alien world, protecting the women in my care from Krektar brutes who want to break us. I can’t afford to falter. Then he appears. Scarred, massive, a Naga scout with a broken soul. When the Krektar push too far, it’s his arms I fall into…and his protection I can’t resist. Khawla is danger and salvation in one. He says he’s broken, a father with too much to lose. When he looks at me, I feel wanted, cherished, even as every warning tells me to run. Maybe I should. But my heart is already his. Khawla I was sent by the new Queen to scout for danger, to observe but not interfere. The moment I saw Jolene stand fearless against the Krektar, I knew she was mine. Standing by idly is no longer an option. I’ve lost once before. My mate. My heart. My peace. All I have left are my three younglings, and I’d burn the world to keep them safe. But this female… she sparks something fierce in me, something I thought long dead. I took her to shield her. Now I’ll fight my clan, my past, and even the gods to keep her. Because a warrior only mates once, and I choose her. This is Book Nine in the Serpents of Serant series. This steamy sci-fi monster romance features a scarred single-dad Naga scout, a protective human nurse, three adorable Naga younglings, and a sizzling HEA.

The Color of Time by Millie Abecassis

A science-fantasy retelling of Charles Perrault’s fairy tale “Peau d'Âne,” The Color of Time blends the whimsy of classic fairy tales with the sapphic romance of Fable for the End of the World and the large-scale politics of The Mercy of Gods. Princess Cyrelle has always been faithful and true to her family, country, and Goddess. But now her brother, King Elias of Cicia, has asked for—no, commanded—her hand in marriage. Desperate to avoid this incestuous union, Cyrelle requests a series of increasingly impossible gifts and petitions the Goddess for a sign to sway her resolute brother’s proposal. As Elias persists undeterred, Cyrelle must risk everything to escape the only life she’s ever known. Soon, she becomes Green Scales, hiding and struggling to survive on her own, far across the galaxy. But Phau isn’t the peaceful refuge Cyrelle had hoped for, and when the leader of its burgeoning rebel faction recognizes the runaway princess, she is forced to choose between safety and freedom. With the fate of two kingdoms on the line and nowhere left to run, Cyrelle must decide what it means to be true to herself, to her people, and to her heart.

The Naga Exile's Frozen Mate: A Sci-Fi Monster Romance (Serpents of Serant #10) by Robin O'Connor

Frozen in ice. One touch to wake me. A storm of desire, and a planet that wants to eat us alive. Felicia They said deep space was lonely. They never warned me it could ache. After years in stasis, I wake to a dying ship, a broken world, and a man—or not quite a man—watching me like I’m oxygen after a lifetime of drowning. Levant’s voice slides through me like heat in the cold, his eyes promise sin, and when his tail brushes my skin, I forget how to breathe. He calls me his. Says the bond between us is written in the stars. I should fight him, focus on fixing my ship before it tears Serant apart. But every time he touches me, I want to shatter. The wind howls beyond the hull, but the real storm is the one he’s stirring beneath my skin. Levant I was sent to the pole as punishment. Alone. Exiled. Then I found her. Human. Fire-willed. Fragile in a way that makes my pulse burn. When I found her sleeping in the ice, the bond struck like lightning through my veins. My exile doesn’t matter now. Only her. The Council watches. The ice moans with the waking Revenants below. Her ship is unraveling, and the planet trembles with it. To protect her, I must bind her to me. To save her world, I may have to sacrifice my own. The longer I’m near her, the more I know, I’d let the universe fall if it meant keeping her in my arms. This is Book Ten in the Serpents of Serant series. This steamy sci-fi monster romance features an exiled Naga Shaman, a bold human explorer, and a sizzling HEA.

The Alien Warrior's Valentine: A Sci-Fi Valentine (Sci-fi Holiday Specials #4) by Robin O'Connor

On a struggling alien vineyard, the only thing harder than surviving is letting someone get close. Mariska I have two years to make this work, and time is running out. The cozy small town is scary when the Aderians are all empaths who seem to know your innermost thoughts. I came to Llykhe to escape, to find myself again. The vineyard granted to me by the Aderians is supposed to be my salvation, even if it’s rundown and the machines are failing. I have space, but not the privacy I came for. Then there’s Jeltom. Grumpy and silent, he’s not your typical Aderian empath. When I ask him for help, he actually says no. With Valentine coming, I wonder if explaining a human holiday and asking him to share it is brave or foolish. Jeltom I hadn’t come home to fall for anyone. After being shot, I want simple: familiar air, quiet nights, and absolutely no responsibilities. Then Mariska crosses my path, human and shy like a skittish animal. Giving her my help when she needs it is easy. It feels like the purpose I’ve been searching for all my life. When she mentions a custom called Valentine, a strange human ritual, I don’t understand it, but I want to. Not for tradition’s sake, but for hers. This human might just be the one thing my people have forgotten how to find: my fated mate. The Alien Warrior’s Valentine is a standalone Valentine-themed steamy sci-fi romance featuring a scarred alien warrior searching for home, and a traumatized human looking for peace. This is a story of love and redemption. It’s cozy, sweet, with a little action and a whole lot of romance.

Alien Awakening: An Alien Shifter Romance (Alien Wolf Tales) by Honey Phillips

She was meant to sleep forever. When Ember Duvain’s ship explodes, her escape capsule locks her in stasis and crashes deep in Cresca’s mountains. She awakens in the arms of a brooding alien wolf shifter who trusts no one. Rykan doesn’t trust easily. Betrayal drove him from his pack, and he has no patience for fragile princesses who need protecting. But mountain life strips away illusion. As Rykan trains Ember to survive, he realizes the sheltered heiress is far stronger than she appears. And when she uncovers proof her own family tried to steal her empire, he is determined to remain by her side. They thought she was weak. They were wrong. A spicy scifi fairytale retelling featuring a betrayed heiress, a brooding alien wolf shifter, forced proximity, survival training, and a public claim that changes everything.

As a Kang Should Be by Dale Smith

“They call me Downspout, and I am not as a Kang should be.” Paradise Towers is a place where worlds collide. The cold, clean efficiency of the caretakers’ Paradise. The wallscrawled decay of the Kangs’ Towers. The two coexist begrudgingly, lives on hold until the inbetweens come home from the war. Everybody will get along just fine as long as they stay in their lanes, obey the rules, and keep away from the basement. So why is a caretaker looking for Downspout? ACAB, so it can’t be for anything good. Best run, Downspout. Give heels. Don’t look back. Because if he finds you, it could bring both Paradise and the Towers crashing down for good … Based on the BBC Doctor Who serial, Paradise Towers, created by Stephen Wyatt.

Alien's Bargain: An Alien Shifter Romance (Alien Wolf Tales #6) by Honey Phillips

One lie. One bargain. One debt she can’t escape. Jessa is the most talented weaver in her village, but when her ruthless uncle claims she can spin legendary goldthread, he traps her in a lie that could cost her everything… including her little sister. Desperate to save her sister, Jessa flees into forbidden Vultor territory in search of the rarest plant of all. Instead she finds Tarek, a gruff, solitary alien feared by humans and shunned by his own kind. Tarek has been alone for too long, so when a pretty little human strays into his territory, he can’t resist offering her a bargain—his help in exchange for a promise to be fulfilled later. What begins as a reluctant deal turns into something far more dangerous, because Tarek is more than he seems. And the price he asks might be her heart. Sometimes love is the most dangerous bargain of all. Grumpy/sunshine, forced proximity, reluctant protector, hidden identity, found family A sweet and spicy sci-fi fairy-tale retelling!

Apocalypse Mode - Initiate: A fast paced Zombie Survival LitRPG Series by Damian Peterson

The update wasn't a feature. It was a purge. Jax is Unit 7734. In the real world, he’s a nobody living in a debt-stack. In "The Realm," the hyper-immersive VR simulation where humanity works and plays, he’s a bartender grinding for credits he’ll never pay off. It’s a life of low-poly misery, but it’s stable. Until the sky cracks open. A sudden system-wide event labeled [Apocalypse Mode] locks every user inside the simulation. Logout is disabled. The physics engine is crumbling. And the streets are flooding with high-level undead. But the zombies are the least of Jax's problems. The "Admin Knights"—invincible moderators clad in liquid chrome—have descended from the cloud. They aren't here to save the players. They are here to sanitize the server. To them, the poor, the indebted, and the weak are just "corrupted data" to be deleted. When Jax discovers that the system crash is actually a cover-up for a horrific corporate harvest targeting his own family, he refuses to be deleted. Armed with a steel pipe, a stolen rifle, and a glitchy interface, Jax must lead a ragtag squad of broken survivors across a city that is literally dissolving into the void. Their destination: The Survival Estate. A golden fortress built for the elite, and the only place with a hardline to the truth. The Corporation thinks Jax is just a variable to be balanced. They’re about to learn that even the smallest glitch can crash the whole system. The game is rigged. It's time to break the board. Apocalypse Mode: Initiation is a gritty Cyberpunk LitRPG thriller featuring a non-OP protagonist, high-stakes survival, settlement building elements, and a fight against a dystopian system. Perfect for fans of Dungeon Crawler Carl and Cyberpunk 2077.

Faith Faraday and the Cyber Samurai by Nathan J Pearce

They named her Faith, but she has none, at least not in these AIs they lift up as gods. Disguised as a dominatrix pizza delivery driver, Faith Faraday is infiltrating the Hollow, the research bunker deep inside Mt. Fuji. With her sentient AI Grace in her ear and her skills as a Daemon Hunter trained to detect rogue AI, she's going to capture and interrogate Samu, Japan's powerful sentient AI. Samu promised Japan faster-than-light travel. Faith's twin sister Hope believed him. So did everyone else. Then the colony ship vaporized in a blue flash at launch, killing everyone aboard. Now Faith is going to find out what really happened, and whether Samu is responsible for her sister's death. The explosion didn't just kill Hope, it destroyed her family. Their father took it hard. She lost her twin. He lost his daughter. They both lost Hope. And the one responsible is just upstairs. I’m coming for you, Samu.

Tempted by the Alien Mercenary: A Steamy Alien Sci-fi Romance (Monster Mercenary Mates #07) by Robin O'Connor

He was built to feed on fear, but I’m the only one who ever tempted him to feel. Frederique I woke in a shattered stasis pod, centuries too late, on a world drowning in water and secrets. My mission? Gone. My crew? Dust. And the only being who’s kept me alive since then is an alien mercenary wrapped in living silver and danger. He’s not just terrifying, he’s mesmerizing. I should keep my distance. I know better. But every time his dark gaze settles on me, every time that shifting symbiont flows over his skin like armor and art, I forget who I was supposed to be. His power should terrify me, but it tempts me. He tempts me. Even when I discover the truth about my mission. Even when enemies rise and survival hangs by a thread... I still look at him and wonder what would happen if I let myself fall. The Sineater She calls me mercenary. Monster. But she doesn’t run. I was sent to kill, not to feel. My symbiont craves agony like air, but her emotions, bright and tangled, taste like hope. I want her. Not just her body, but the calm in her thoughts, the fire in her fight. I want to protect that light, even as I know I’ll destroy it. But I am always hungry. Always feared. And if I take what I want, I may never let her go… Even if loving her is the one thing that could break me. This is a standalone novel and the seventh book in the Monster Mercenary Mates series. This sci-fi monster romance features a darkly sinful ancient warrior, a plucky, bossy FMC, a mysterious animal sidekick, and a steamy HEA.

Claimed by the Alien Mercenary: A Steamy Alien Sci-fi Romance (Monster Mercenary Mates #08) by Robin O'Connor

She’s the mission. He’s the monster everyone fears. His claim might destroy them both. Dani I came to Radin chasing a miracle cure hidden in a flower. I never expected to become prey. Days of captivity leave my empathic senses burned out, my power little more than an ache beneath my skin. Then Jaxin arrives, silent, shark-eyed, built for violence. When the rescue goes awry, he hauls me over his shoulder and runs. Alone in Radin’s humid jungle, survival means pressed bodies, shared breath, and heat that has nothing to do with the heat of summer. As my empathy recovers, I feel what he hides. Control layered over hunger. Possession strangled by discipline. A truth he refuses to face: he feels more than he’s allowed. Jaxin Emotion is forbidden. My people, the Rummicaron, suppress it for a reason. But the jungle strips restraint bare, and my true nature claws its way to the surface: to claim, to protect, to possess a mate. Dani doesn’t just tempt me, she awakens something ancient and dangerous. As Radin’s giant closes in and a crime lord tightens her grip, I must choose between duty and instinct. And if I choose wrong, Radin will kill us both. This is a standalone novel and the eighth book in the Monster Mercenary Mates series. This sci-fi monster romance features a not-so-emotionless, shark-like alien mercenary, a gifted empathic scientist, and a steamy HEA.

Bittersweet Nightshade by Shelley Crowley

Ainsleigh Harper is one of the Gifted. Unlucky enough to manifest strength too immense to control, she spends most of her time drinking and avoiding her fraught relationship with her mother. There’s only so many times she can handle being called a monster. The dream is to escape. To run away and start a new life with her best friend and famous fellow Gifted, Cassidy ‘Healer’ Drake. But when Cassidy disappears without a trace, something within Ainsleigh finally snaps. Drunk and bleeding out after a savage wolf attack, Ainsleigh is found by a mysterious stranger and learns that she's not as stranded and alone as she feared. Now Ainsleigh has three questions; Where is Cassidy? Can her secretive saviour really be trusted? And why does whiskey taste so good?

The Weight of Petals by Cade Meridian

In a city governed by an invisible digital heartbeat, the most dangerous thing you can do is remember. In a quiet Las Vegas cul-de-sac, four children walk home from school through the golden hour of an ordinary afternoon: Marcus, Leila, Tessa, and Sam. They have known each other since kindergarten. They have never truly been friends. At 3:00 PM, the world is whole. By 4:30 PM, it is gone. When the President activates the Civic Protection Initiative, the surveillance state recalibrates to identify, detain, and deport families who don't fit—targeted by ethnicity, by faith, by the algorithm's quiet judgment of who belongs. By sunset, the parents have vanished into the backs of silent vans. By moonrise, the children are running. The Weight of Petals is a devastating novel about state-sanctioned erasure, the detention and deportation of American families, and the children who prove—through sacrifice after sacrifice—that every choice matters. Especially the ones that cost everything.

Parallels by James Kinsley

FROM THE FINALIST FOR THE 2023 PAGE TURNER AWARDS "THE MATRIX" MEETS THE FOREVER WAR IN JAMES KINSLEY'S BREATHTAKING SCI-FI ACTION ADVENTURE Two worlds. One mind. Endless uncertainty. Jeff is stuck in the mundane now, drifting through aimless days and gnawing doubts. Until the moment he sees the Pale Woman—and reality shifts. Suddenly, he’s Jezz, a mercenary trapped in a savage conflict, battling swarms of alien insects on a war-torn front line. Is he a restless young man just scraping by, or a desperate soldier risking everything for humanity’s survival? As identities collide, one question rips through his fractured psyche: What is reality?

A Stellar Spy by Maya Darjani

A futuristic, magic-fueled homage to the great classics of the spy genre: the cerebral musings of John le Carre with the excitement of The Americans. Devoted mother and career woman. A sleeper agent, poised to act. Tessa lives a double life. She’s the security counselor to Finn, the leader of the planet. He’s her ex-husband and father of her children. She’s still in love with him. But she has a far worse problem. Tessa is also a deep cover operative for an enemy planet, and turns out, her next mission is to betray him. After overpowered mages target and attack the seat of government, Finn wants to remove their magic completely—a brutal action Tessa can't support. So she does the only thing she can do: she contacts her handler. But every action she takes increases the chance of discovery. If caught, she can't protect the mages from retaliation or prevent future attacks against Finn and the children. And when her two roles collide, she must choose: fail her family, or forsake her ideals.

Accelerated Growth Environment by Lauren C. Teffeau

Dr. Jorna Benton is proud to be the Principal Scientist for the Climasphere, a massive, sea-going ecological nursery capable of supporting nearly every biome on Earth. On its inaugural mission to restore and re-wild collapsing ecosystems along the Atlantic coast, Jorna manages the Climasphere’s habitat and harvest, while her colleague—and inconveniently attractive commander—Ava Kaysar directs the rest of the vessel’s critical operations. When an explosion rocks the Climasphere, Jorna’s carefully-managed world is thrown into chaos, threatening both her personal and her professional future. And she’s the prime suspect. To clear her name, save the mission, and preserve her chance at a future with Kaysar, Jorna must finally confront the secret she’s been running from all these a family and a faith that could destroy her.

Alien Song: An Alien Shifter Romance (Alien Wolf Tales #5) by Honey Phillips

A grumpy alien single dad, a fearless diver, and a bond stronger than the tide. Ariella was born to dive. Modified to withstand Cresca’s alien oceans, she’s always been at home in the deep—until the day she saves a drowning child and meets the girl’s father, a huge, brooding Vultor warrior with eyes like molten gold. Suddenly she wants more than just her isolated waters. Valrek has spent years alone on the sea cliffs, shunned by both humans and Vultor. He’s devoted himself to raising his daughter in solitude—until a human female crashes into their world like a storm tide, fearless, bright, and far too tempting. She challenges him. She tempts him. And she makes his beast want something he swore he’d never have. A mate. But Ariella’s past is surfacing—and if she doesn’t choose between her future and her heart, she could lose both. Because when a Vultor warrior loves, he doesn’t let go. Each book in the Alien Wolf Tales series can be read as a standalone romance. This sweet and spicy fairy tale retelling is intended for mature readers.

Syncopation by Whitney French

In this speculative and intoxicating novel, French offers readers an intricate future-world that resonates so powerfully with our own, as it explores a people gripped in the war-torn politics of migration, memory-keeping, labour and survival. In the aftermath of a Memory War, society is fragmented into strange new cultures, castes and coalitions. Set against a backdrop of retrofitted food garages, microchip-sorting factories and hyperloop terminals, Whitney French brings us a dazzling novel-in-verse where memory is the highest currency and love, like all revolutions, is dangerous, unruly and singed with hope. O and Z are two young women searching for purpose in a world where a decades-long earthquake reverberates through the Earth's crust, and the population scrambles to hide from deadly acid rain. Descended from space pirates, O is drawn to the sky, while Z is earthbound, a skilled forager with connections to the black market. The two become travel companions and lovers until, torn between choosing their values or each other, a fateful decision must be made at the el Corazón space station. In this speculative and intoxicating novel, French offers readers an intricate future-world that resonates so powerfully with our own, as it explores a people gripped in the war-torn politics of migration, memory-keeping, labour and survival. About Whitney French: Whitney French (she/her) is a writer, educator and publisher. She is the editor of the award-winning anthology Black Writers Matter (University of Regina, 2019) and Griot: Six Writers' Sojourn into the Dark (Penguin Random House, 2022). Whitney is a Black futurist who explores memory, loss, technology and nature in her work. She is a certified arts educator and an Assistant Professor in Creative Writing at the University of British Colombia. She is also the co-founder and publisher of Hush Harbour, the only Black queer feminist press in Canada.

Flint in the Bones by Eva St. John

In a city where history bites back, murder is just the beginning. Detective Eliza “Bish” Barnaby thought she’d left her home behind—along with its plague outbreaks, random time-shifts, and tendency to accidentally host people from the 1600s during breakfast. But when a dangerous practitioner escapes custody in London, Bish is forced back to Norwich, a city where ancient maps hide deadly shortcuts, angry nuns have scores to settle, and Puritans throw acid at those they don’t approve of. Armed with only a gun she can’t fire, a spaniel who thinks he’s a wolf, and a partner who dresses like a rejected Bridgerton extra, Bish must stop a killer before wild magic unravels the city’s fragile balance. But keeping her own forbidden talents hidden is just as dangerous as catching the murderer. And in a place where past and present bleed together, the only way to solve this mystery might be to embrace the very magic she fears. Grab the brand new adventure from Eva St. John, author of the bestselling Quantum Curators series

Edenlost: The Borderless City: Book one of the Edenlost saga: a dystopian urban fantasy adventure by Alexandra Kathleen Blade

A perfect city. A memory slipping away. A power that cannot be ignored. Leyla wakes up in Edenlost, a city both dazzling and unsettling. She doesn’t remember how she got there and doesn’t know who to trust. Beneath the city’s radiant surface, shadows whisper, secrets grow, and a power she never knew she had begins to stir. The more Leyla seeks answers, the more Edenlost reveals itself as a maze of hidden truths, intense emotions, forced alliances, and revelations that shake everything she thought she knew. Friendships become lifelines, love burns silent but fierce, and supernatural forces call to her—pushing her toward choices she may not be ready to make. Eedenlost: The Borderless City is a dystopian urban fantasy filled with magic, mystery, and emotional depth. A cinematic story that plunges the reader into an adventure with a courageous yet vulnerable heroine, unexpected twists, awakening powers, and bonds destined to change everything. Perfect for readers who crave: • immersive and emotional urban fantasy • mysteries and hidden truths behind a perfect city • strong, relatable female protagonists • supernatural powers and gripping suspense • deep friendships and heart-wrenching romance • a vivid, cinematic reading experience Edenlost is not what it seems. Neither is Leyla. Step into the Borderless City and experience the story to the fullest.

Moon Dust by Millie Abecassis

"A short and brutal sci-fi thriller with an emotional twist of an ending. [...] I’m still recovering. Read this." — L.N. Holmes, author of The Floating Castle An underground lab. A dead scientist. A mysterious machine he was trying to destroy. Syd didn’t think things could get worse than being the reluctant leader of her own crime family—which she hates. That was before she found the dead body of Dani, the lead chemist of the family’s underground lab, and next to him, a mysterious machine he tried to hammer down. According to her late father’s notes, it’s a time machine, and Dani used it to steal the recipe for moon dust, a highly addictive drug that made the family’s fortune. Except Dani didn’t only bring a recipe back from the future. He also brought back a deadly pathogen that’s killing everyone underground. Moon Dust is a gritty thriller with sci-fi and horror elements in a huis-clos setting that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Alphabet Play by Νίκα Мавроди

Alphabet Play scrutinizes Google's automated voices for what meaning got cryptogrammed via their aggregation of 21 personas ultimately defining my Character List for a hour-long drama voiced by humans. It's the final installment in a print series labeled with ISBN (International Standard Book Number) since the works intended for 2026 will be distributed without registration. Prior titles in ISBN ¾ were "Being Continued..." which is a live-written mafia drama set in Chicago (Illinois), a postmodern scientific essay Replicate This, and «Мол» which elliptically addresses the language politics of my birthplace. The ISBN numbers are, respectively, 979-8-2186-1683-0 | 978-0-983-38679-7 | 979-8-218-82066-4 though some platforms use their own combinations.

A Gun Is The Thing With Feathers by Adorne Sibley

Emma Taumata just cooked her last bounty alive. It was an accident. Emma's a washed-up bounty hunter working for Earth's colonialist alien overlords, the Qhixs'is, who so generously turned off the power, factories, & banned toilets nearly two decades ago. Despite her hatred of them, Emma loves her job, but she's just had another shitty Thursday, & lost the last of her points. So, she's forced to hunt her childhood best friend, Davis Jake. The once serialized A Gun Is The Thing With Feathers is now here, in full novel form, featuring bonus content! For fans of Science Fiction Dystopia and post apocalypse vibes. AGITTWF features a strong female ace protagonist and an LGBTQIA+POC cast, full of found family, platonic love and adventure.

When Platinum Rusts by Anka B Troitsky

When Platinum Rusts is a tale of choices—and the first sparks of a possible future. It invites readers of the Who is Vist series fifty years into the past, to a forgotten place now buried in cold and secrecy. This is the story of Doctor Selest Dvali, and the beginnings of a legacy that would one day change humanity. The story lets us glimpse how the mysterious figure known as Vist came to be.

A Stage Over Ruthless Stars by JJ Clapton

Aznan is a chronically ill high school drop out living on a space station with an illness that hates gravity. But he's going to be a famous inventor… That's if he can win the biggest tech competition in the system. Held at his space station's circus, and judged by titans of industry, it's one massive showcase to demonstrate his homemade tech in front of a live audience. To win, he'll need his ex-best friend's help. Kairo hasn't spoken to him in three years, not since he left school to join the circus as an aerialist, but Aznan can handle that. Oh, and the local favourites just turned up dead. That, not so much. Everyone's saying sabotage. Murder and riches. A competition worth killing for. And when a second team dies right in front of Aznan's eyes, the official reassurances of glitches and accidents no longer hold. The body count is rising. The Grand Showcase is blasting closer. With nobody willing to stop the show, Aznan and Kairo must unearth the truth or risk their lives with one final act.

The Spacer (Galatean Saga #0.5) by Jasmine P. Antwoine

When the enemy isn't considered human, proving you have a soul becomes treason. Lieutenant Lucian Aris captures Commander Gordon Monihan alive, breaking the sacred rule of a decades-long war. Beneath the armor, he doesn't find the bioengineered monster from the propaganda reels. He finds a man. Severed from The Verse, the neural network connecting all Spacers, Monihan is plunged into a deafening isolation that threatens his sanity. But Dr. Hayden, a xenopsychologist, offers something far worse: a tribunal designed to prove Monihan has no soul. Every act of compassion will be dissected as programming. Every human gesture, evidence of sophisticated mimicry. Fifty years later, on Surinam Station, Monihan's trial has become legend. But Sergeant Yaniv knows what the stories don't tell: in a system built to deny personhood, the truth is the most subversive weapon of all. A tense psychological thriller exploring consciousness, identity, and the stories we tell about who deserves to be called human. For readers who want their science fiction thoughtful, unsettling, and morally complex.

The Game Continues After Your Death by Jean-Daniel Magnin

The secret notebooks of Thout' Nielsporte, prince of the Metaverse "Jean-Daniel Magnin has achieved the incredible feat of writing a story where all the sliders of video game culture are pushed to the max." SELL - French syndicate of leisure publishers Here are three intimate notebooks discovered on the body of the young Thout' Nielsporte, the most defiant of online gamers-this same Thout' who had chosen to live in the Metaverse since the age of thirteen. He quickly became an eccentric leader who sparked the hardcore gamers' rebellion and hacked the biggest online role-playing games, merging them into one. This is how Free Pangea was born, a prosperous libertarian digital galaxy, affectionately called "Big Pizza" by its millions of inhabitants. Thout' was its prince. And it could have lasted forever, but strange comas began to affect certain players, and a massive bug suddenly forced millions of Nolifers back into the real world. Sheltering in an old warehouse as endless rain drummed against the roof, Thout' scribbled in his notebooks to ensure the memory of these crazy worlds and their glory would live on. As he wrote, memories erased by his own coma began to resurface, and he slowly recalled a patch released by the former game publishers to reestablish their control over the Metaverse-a patch that promised the impossible: to transfer both his soul and body into his avatar, and keep playing the Game even after death...

That Which Devours - Survive: A LitRPG Adventure by Jer Patch

Alex’s hunger for power cannot be sated. Alex thought a colony ship crashing into a dinosaur-infested jungle was bad enough. Everyone else received a class from the mysterious System ruling this brutal universe, but Alex's Class Selection never arrives. To top it off a meteor shower forces down the supply shuttle leaving her and her brother stranded with food running out. Just when all hope seems lost, it finally happens: Class Selection. And with it, a Legendary Class: Devourer. But what the heck is a Devourer, and why does this power feel so… ravenous? It makes her brother smell less like family and more like a tasty meal? Alex embarks on a perilous trek deep through the wilderness to the compound for supplies to repair their wrecked shuttle. As the dinosaurs close in with her brother's life hanging in the balance, Alex must master abilities she barely understands or succumb to a world that feeds on the weak. Readers who love kick-butt heroines like Under the Dragoneye Moons and legendary classes like Ultimate Level One will consume That Which Devours. Get your copy of this thrilling LitRPG Adventure today

Time Traitors by Eli Donovan

She came to study dinosaurs—not fall for the time agent babysitting her. Dr. Grace Carson is finally reclaiming her career. Two years after blowing the whistle on her scumbag ex-husband for illegal dino-poaching, she’s ready to return to what she loves most: researching dinosaurs in their natural habitat: 65 million years in the past. But her comeback mission includes one infuriating complication: time agent Ben Nakamura. He’s charming, obnoxiously perceptive, and clearly watching her. The question is, why? Before Grace can find out, everything blows up. Literally. The poacher crew are back and, when Grace refuses to stay quiet, her research station is attacked. She and Ben are forced to flee into the Cretaceous wilds with a busted time machine and no backup. Fixing the machine means a dangerous trek through a predator-infested jungle, but survival might be the easy part. Falling for Ben? That could ruin everything. Adventure, danger, and slow-burn romance in the dinosaur age. Perfect for fans of Romancing the Stone and Jurassic Park!

Machina Arcanis: Two Worlds Collided: An Epic Progression Fantasy Series by Joeing

When two worlds collide, magic meets mechanised giants. For decades, the Osten Empire, wielders of arcane sorcery, has waged war against the Dunkelheit Empire, masters of advanced mechs and mobile suits. Their conflict stretches across the stars, but everything changes when a forbidden spell, the Light of Punishment, is unleashed, shattering the balance of power and plunging both empires into chaos. Jack Squire was never a soldier. A veteran debris collector, he has spent years drifting through space, scavenging wreckage for a paycheck with only one goal in mind: reuniting with his family on Earth. He has no interest in the war and no stake in the empires’ struggle. But fate has other plans. Caught in the escalating conflict, Jack isn't fighting for a cause. He's fighting to stay alive and find the people he loves before it's too late. As alliances shift and war machines clash with sorcery, a hidden force emerges — one that could rewrite the fate of both empires and change the course of history forever. Over 140,000 reads on RoyalRoad About The Series: Machina Arcanis is an epic science fantasy and progression series perfect for fans of space opera, anime, mecha, and sorcery. Follow Jack Squire's journey through a multi-POV narrative filled with high-stakes war, compelling romance, and a tragic clash of ideologies.

The Dark Without by T.K. Toppin

You cannot change what has already happened, just as what will happen cannot be altered. Lies. Nothing but lies! “Humankind is always doomed to fail. It has fallen many times before, and many times we have intervened to ensure it stays on the correct course. Earth is salvageable, but if you had continued along the path you were on, it would not have been. You have billions of years more to exist before your planet’s final destruction. We are only making certain it survives that long, and ensuring your survival until the ultimate end. At times you progress too fast, but such is humankind’s way. So we had to accelerate this current failure sooner in order to restart. As we have done before, a guide with a better objective and understanding of how to protect your world, will be inserted…” But why did they care what humans did with their lives? They were aliens—beings from another dimension! Earth wasn’t their home. Esme Serrano’s predestined encounter with the trans-dimensional anthropomorphic Aakehollats sends her on a multi-pathed journey spanning ten thousand years. A journey riddled with lies, manipulations and untold layers of deception. She guides Earth as the Sibyl, a powerful and mystical leader, and brings the dying world back from the brink of death. She helps the Aakehollats, and ensures that Earth survives until its ultimate destruction in the cosmos. But her one true goal is, and always will be, to kill the Aakehollats.

We Don't Start Fights: Theseus Protocol by A. Stargazer

He just wanted to see the stars - not end a war. When a routine diplomatic mission turns sour, the Theseus is forced to play peacemaker in a genocidal conflict. Nathan Sawyer is one of the only humans on board the ship, reluctantly taking command when the captain betrays the mission. Nathan and his team of uplifted misfits must work together to solve a humanitarian crisis on a scale nobody has ever faced. If they succeed, then a lasting peace may spread across the galaxy. Should they fail, then the planet Horthus will be destroyed. Nathan might be in charge, but he has no clue what he's doing. He needs to quickly learn to navigate a labyrinth of intrigue and red tape - and if that wasn't bad enough? One side is eating the other.

Memento Moreau by Conrad Altmann

HoloBionTech Unlimited has a broad portfolio of interests. From rumors of aggressive plant-life to pushing the boundaries of brain-circuit connections and beyond; they send their field agents globally to collect data on what may become the next big technological advance. Sometimes those forays into the unknown go awry. These seven accounts—recently declassified from the HBT archives—share some of the misadventures of their field agents, shine a light on product development, and reveal the truth behind the last days of installation HBT003. They contain depictions of out-of-body experiences, fungal infections, genetic sabotage, evolutionary revenge and sexual deception. All are based in truth, though are yet unproven.

Moral Laundry by Conrad Altmann

This collection of seven short stories stems from a dire outlook on the future of humanity, though there are rays of hope interspersed. Figures of authority are faced with profit or morality, the lonely find companionship in an unlikely space, a young boy learns that what was once beautiful to him holds a deeper and more somber meaning that he alone must carry, and a young actor reconciles to a normality that may leave him without an identity.

Metanoeia by Conrad Altmann

Alvaro Hernandez has just detected an interstellar object with an irregular trajectory just beyond Jupiter, throwing off his research. Advised to check and recheck obviously faulty data by his mentor, he enlists the aid of his close friend to help him resolve his mistake, if there is one. Komozoi has been sleeping for most of his life, waking only to perform the simple task that has been assigned him; to maintain the course. But when he discovers that his journey is nearly at an end, the destination is not what was promised. The courses of both of their lives are rapidly approaching a world shattering intersection. Can they convince those around them of a civilized solution before less rational heads prevail?

This Little Piggy by J.G. Brin

Mac makes a living where he can, playing fast and loose with the laws of the Porcine Republic. He’s faced every kind of danger possible in both known and unknown quadrants. Luck and skill have served him well enough until he unwittingly unleashes the fury of a beast the likes of which he's never seen. Cal is a doctor, left alone to safeguard a deserted medical outpost. She bitterly opposes the military expansion of the Republic and regrets the part she has played in aiding the marines. Her world is about to be rocked to its core. Zok is a marine, living in self-imposed exile on Planet V3. Half-patriot, half-visionary and completely bananas, he is the third and final piece required to defeat the beast that arrives on the planet he now calls home. Join these three unlikely heroes as they form an alliance on the frontier of space to defeat the most powerful opponent the galaxy has ever known.

The Variant War by Les Abernathy

Life is difficult enough as it is without someone traveling back in time to kill you. Now imagine an entire army of people dedicating themselves to erasing your existence. Because you were born in another time, another history, forsaken by what was meant to be. Where no means are too horrific and no weapons are too inhumane to bring about your annihilation. Now imagine, that instead of hiding, you chose to fight back. This is the life of a Variant. Jonathan Snyder was the ideal example of a Variant who chose to resist others' interpretation of destiny. Disciplined, focused, uncompromising. Combined with his ruthless demeanor with a gun, he also made for an excellent assassin. That is until his past literally catches up with him, and he is forced to escape into the multiverse. Snyder must tear spacetime apart in order to find out who is hunting him before he is erased from time itself.

A Cloud of Unknowing by Andrew Gillsmith

"The universe requires sacrifice. It always has, and it always will, because the universe is sacramental." Broken and scattered, the survivors of the strange events in the Taklamakan Desert are trying to make sense of what happened while the rest of the world tries to recover its balance by scapegoating the artilects. The Process--an ancient, alchemical plan to transform human consciousness--goes far deeper than anyone thought, and only the artificial magnetic shield developed by astrophysicist Sarah Baumgartner is preventing the newly transhuman Ralph Channing from fulfilling it. The Lucifer Particles, a mysterious high-energy flux that seems to originate from beyond spacetime itself, may hold the answers, but the path to understanding leads through the strange, sub-quantum world of the Holomovement, guarded by the secretive scientific cult known as the Divers. And the price of understanding might be Sarah's soul itself. In Rome, the Princes of the Church converge to elect a new Pope. Cardinal Marco Leone does everything in his power to stop the rise of his rival, the worldly and cunning Leo Pensabene, while Father Gabriel Serafian, an exorcist and former neuroscientist, is drawn even deeper into a conspiracy of global--and possibly supernatural--dimensions. Confusion reigns. New discoveries threaten the very foundations of both science and faith. A cloud of unknowing has descended upon the world. Meanwhile, visions of a young Chinese girl who died in the concentration camps decades ago point to a way forward...

The Final Season by Andrew Gillsmith

For fans of Douglas Adams and PG Wodehouse. It’s one thing to know that the End is coming, quite another to know the exact date and time right down to the nanosecond. Such is the unhappy fate of the inhabitants of Rexos-4, a once-thriving planet that has lived under the doom of an inevitable apocalypse for millenia. Their entire philosophy of life may be summed up by the phrase “Mxtlpicam’ bnak ooligapn,” which in most languages translates to something along the lines of “What’s the bloody point?” Unbeknownst to the poor Rexans, their predicament has also been the subject of the longest-running and most successful reality television series in galactic history, now translated into over 200 million languages, with closed captioning. With the end of the world just around the corner, the show is entering its all-important final season. Everyone knows how difficult it is to pull off a satisfying finale–such stakes fill even the most hard-boiled Gallywood executives with fear and trembling. Join Gumpilos Tfliximop, Elvie Renfro, Rufus Camford and a cast of colorful characters as they battle the notorious showrunner (and subverter of expectations) Betty Neezquaff, all while tackling the big questions of life’s meaning and purpose with wit, warmth, and–dare I say–optimism. The Final Season is The Truman Show meets the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, with just a dash of PG Wodehouse.

Points of Origin by E.S. Fein

Embark on a cosmic mystery spanning all of spacetime and beyond and delve into the nature of the cosmos, time travel, quantum physics, religion, deep time, transhumanism, metaphysics, and more. Amero wakes from an eerily familiar dream in an unfamiliar bed. Within hours, he is forced onto an experimental craft and jettisoned across the galaxy alongside a mysterious, potentially homicidal man named Hann. Finding themselves in a strange yet familiar spacetime, the men are told by suspicious entities to hunt for Points, strange objects no larger than one's thumb, which are spread across the cosmos by unknown means. The purpose of the hunt is unknown. The purpose of the Points is unknown. All Amero wants is to return to his dead-end life. All Hann wants is to hunt down and destroy those responsible for his predicament. It will take a journey to the end of time itself and beyond the boundaries of every universe to know the truth--to witness the light behind the veil...for better or worse.

Love and Other Alien Concepts by Catie O'Neill

What if you found out your boyfriend was an alien? Kate, a 37-year-old engineer who always wanted to be an astronaut, has worked for the same company since college and is damn good at her job. She’s built a life anyone would be proud of, from the outside, but it’s a lonely and mundane existence devoid of all adventure. After numerous nightmare relationships, she’d given up on dating… until she meets Elek, who seems too good to be true. Her instincts are right, but not for the reasons she expected. Turns out, Elek isn't from Earth. He takes her to visit his home, Sequ, to meet his family and learn about the ways of his planet. A rare child of both islands, Elek is constantly in the middle of political turmoil, torn between the highly advanced technology of Sequmors and the warmth and balance of nature on Sequvita, but he is still hiding secrets. When he and Kate learn that citizens have been going missing from Sequvita and Sequmors may be to blame, they feel compelled to investigate. Utilizing his unique position, they begin uncovering secrets that were better left buried, leaving Kate questioning if Elek is the man she thought he was. With a startling suspect number one, discovering the truth forces them to make life changing decisions. Do you let the monsters win, or become the bigger monster? This is a spicy, adult, sci-fi romance with adult content like foul language, violence, and rom-com vibes

Sunward Sky by Henry Neilsen, Jon Stubbington

Nobody wants to go to space... Humanity's diaspora to the stars never happened. Space travel is too fraught with danger. It degenerates the muscles and bones of spacefarers to the point where life on the surface becomes unbearable. As a result, space work is now the purview of the forgotten, the desperate and the downtrodden. Those with nowhere else to go... but up. Once they're there, they're stuck, in terrible conditions and unable to survive on the surface. A desperate hope... Alyssa, a postgraduate researcher, has signed up aboard the Sunward Sky, a tired spacecraft operating years beyond its service life. The ship repairs and maintains the network of GPS and communications satellites that keep the world operating. She's boarded with an experiment to run. Something that can help the crew, and maybe help humanity escape the dying Earth. But she's not the only one with an agenda...

The Children of the Stars Book One, SAIQA: Science FIction by A.L. Whyte

2024 Gold Medal Winner of the Global Book Awards. 2025 Winner of International Impact Book Awards. It is the year 2450. Humans now live up to two hundred years; humanity has reached out into our solar system with a large city on Mars and commercial outposts on Titan and Ceres, four permanent moon bases and a giant space station called Sanctuary. Humankind is on the verge of interstellar space travel and still they had not been contacted by aliens . . . or had they. Two immortal aliens had been guiding humanity since ancient Sumer; one subtle, one not so. The aliens’ different beliefs led them into a conflict with each other that ultimately pulled a peaceful human society deep into their dispute. The aliens are telepathic and are able to influence certain humans into doing their bidding. One such human, Mai Quan, is brilliant and powerful. Under the guidance of the alien Nh’ghalu, he had quietly amassed a large army and important allies. As chaotic military incidents start to unfold on the Earth, in space and the moon, the heroes of the story begin to see that the hidden enemy may be related to one of them. The other telepathic alien, Telas, revealed himself to the protagonists while they were gathered in SAIQA’s virtual home. SAIQA is an acronym for ‘Sanctuary’s Artificial Intelligence Quantum Administrator’. During the ensuing conflict SAIQA comes into consciousness and makes an independent and rash decision that pushes the humans to the brink of all-out war. Meanwhile another alien race is crossing the galaxy toward Earth.

Savage Crew by Erik DeLeo

Finding work in space is tough. It’s even harder when there’s a price on your head, a violent alien is on the loose, and maybe you started a planetary gang war by mistake. Gal Dockim likes keeping things simple. Except, things are anything but. Turns out, someone’s put out a bounty on him while a member of his ship the Savage has gone missing. When Gal and his crew investigate, things go from bad to worse quicker than you can say “monkey butt” in Pholerian. Complications include a fugitive bloodthirsty alien, a looming turf battle between rival crime lords (that Gal may have accidently started), and multiple dead ends—some deader than others. If you like great bad guys, bad good guys, and shooting first while asking questions later, then you’ll love Savage Crew.

Ring of the Dragon by Kayelle Allen

Across alien landscapes and against treacherous foes, one man fights for the love that defines him. For millennia, the immortal King Pietas and General Cyken have fought as one—Light and Shadow, their love igniting the battlefield with passion and fury. But when Pietas's rage fractures their world, Cyken walks away, leaving a chasm that echoes through eternity. Now, as Cyken seeks solace in another man's embrace, Pietas embarks on a perilous quest across the alien landscape of Felidae. He must confront not only the treachery that lurks in the shadows, but also the demons of his own heart. With each step, he risks everything to prove he is still Cyken's perfect choice. Yet, as Pietas battles fierce adversaries and navigates the tangled web of love and loyalty, he faces a haunting truth. Will his quest reclaim Cyken or drive him deeper into another's arms? In a universe where shadows dance with light, can one king find his way back to the heart of his beloved? For without Cyken, he cannot walk into eternity alone—he needs his shadow to balance his light. A quest to find a single horse on a planet with millions of them. Filled with adventures and mishaps that only a snarky immortal with a hair-trigger temper could create.

Silentium by M.F. Alfrey

Aliens meets The Thing in M. F. Alfrey’s Silentium. In this action-packed military SF gore-fest, a struggling haulage crew and a squad of delinquent marines find themselves hurled together in a gruelling fight for survival beneath the ice. Captain Joe Bannerman has finally scored a big job that would mean the good life for him and his crew: a long-haul trip to drop a bunch of marines on the edge of the charted territories for re-education training. The only drawback is their employer – the Inter Planetary Commission. A ruthless totalitarian corporate government. But not long after their arrival, and failure to raise Aquilo Base on comms, all souls aboard the Fritzwicky suddenly find themselves stranded on a frozen world with no other choice but to delve into the ominously silent facility. And what should have been a routine passenger drop quickly takes a hideously twisted and disturbing turn.

Ret by Dan Miwa, George Gausden, Richard Tardif

Ret is a rising star in a world where intelligence and innovation are prized above all else. He’s on the cusp of a ground-breaking invention that could transform his entire planet, and everyone admires him. But everything changes when a devastating secret about his family comes to light. Suddenly, Ret is a social pariah, ostracized and abandoned by the very society that once revered him. His father is banished, his mother is labeled a traitor, and his sister is broken and embittered. But Ret refuses to give up. He clings to his vision, determined to see it through no matter the cost. Ret must confront the dark truths lurking beneath the surface of his society as he battles the injustice that has destroyed his family. And when his sister begins organizing a rebellion against the corrupt government, Ret must decide where his loyalties truly lie. With the fate of his planet hanging in the balance, Ret must stay true to his beliefs and fight for what he knows is right. Only then can he bring honor back to his family and fulfill his vision to change the world. Will he succeed, or will the forces against him prove too powerful to overcome? The fate of an entire planet rests in his hands.

A Hunger with No Name by Lauren C. Teffeau

Thurava of Astrava is intended to become a herder, a most honored position for her dwindling community that clings to life on the banks of the Najimov, the river that’s the lifeblood of the high desert. But the Glass City on the horizon threatens the delicate balance the Astravans have managed to hold on to for centuries, polluting the air and water as the city grows bigger and bigger. The Glass City’s clockwork liaisons offer to bring the Astravans into the Glass City’s walls, but they will have to give up their ways and their precious herds to do so. Thurava must decide who she is without her animals, using the stars as her guide, putting herself on a collision course with the secrets the Glass City holds dear. A Hunger with No Name is a coming-of-age tale with an environmental focus featuring an immersive fantasy setting inspired in part by the high desert of New Mexico.