stories in

Cranax Outbreak

Cranax Outbreak by Candice Lim

SPSFC

You can run from the zombies but you can’t run from fate. In the alternate 2020, Asia Nova is governed by a group of elite scientists called the Community. In this prime time of genetic engineering, non-academic fields are frowned upon and those who pursue them are deemed the peasants. Roxy isn’t the most motivated student scientist. All she wants is a simple life—to graduate and move back to her idyllic beachside hometown. But the wrestle for power in the Community thrusts her in the path of the covert party who has unleashed the deadly Cranax virus and abducted her high-profile mentor, Dr. Jane Hershey, who has the only known cure. The Infecteds aren’t the only thing Roxy has to run from. With the masterminds behind Project Cranax hot on her heels, Roxy finds herself in an accidental quest to rescue Hershey. And now, all her training will be put to the test. Cranax Outbreak is the first book of the Cranax Outbreak trilogy.


Gods of the Black Gate

Gods of the Black Gate by Joseph Sale

SPSFC

“There are those who bow to darkness. And there are others to whom darkness bows.” In 2060 Caleb Rogers and his partner Tom Marvin put away one of the most dangerous serial killers Texas has ever known: Craig Smiley, an ex-infantry mental patient who believes he can summon seven gods through a series of disturbing rituals. Caleb and Tom secured him a life sentence in Mars's toughest prison. They thought the whole thing was finished. But when Smiley escapes the prison seven years later and sets out once again on his insane mission, Caleb and Tom are sent to Mars to track him down. Both cop and criminal are determined to finish what they started.Only the criminal will stop at nothing. Gods of the Black Gate is part thriller, part supernatural horror, part sci-fi blockbuster and at its heart: a journey of spiritual descent.


Shakedowners

Shakedowners by Justin Woolley

SPSFC SPSFC 2022

To boldly go where no losers have gone before... Some starship captains explore strange new worlds, seeking out new life and new civilisations. Some lead missions of discovery through wormholes to the other side of the galaxy. Then there's Captain Iridius B. Franklin, someone who spent too long seeking out strange new bars and new alien cocktails. After graduating bottom of his class at Space Command Academy Iridius Franklin hasn't had the glamorous career he envisioned, instead he hauls cargo ships full of mining waste, alien land whale dung, and artificially intelligent toy dogs across the stars. Iridius does have talent though - he is exceptionally good at breaking starships. So, when not hauling freight, he is captain of a shakedown crew, a skeleton crew used to test newly constructed ships for faults before the real crew takes over. While on a routine shakedown mission aboard the FSC Gallaway, soon to be pride of the Federation Fleet, Earth is attacked by an unknown alien life-form. With the galaxy in chaos, Captain Iridius B. Franklin finds himself, unqualified, understaffed and completely unprepared, in command of the most advanced starship in the galaxy. Now, he just needs to not break it.


No Easy Road (Concordia Series Book 1)

No Easy Road (Concordia Series Book 1) by Greg Camp

SPSFC

Five years in the Centauri Royal Navy has earned Lieutenant Thomas Cochrane the disapproval of his superiors. And when his captain dies in an accident that Tom is unable to prevent, the young officer finds himself without a posting and without a future. Unless he can make a destiny of his own. Bertrand Lile spends his days in the shadows, obeying the orders of a clandestine society while harboring his own secret, his belief that a distant enemy is weaving its tentacles into the heart of the Centauri Empire. But his time to prove this is running short. This first book in the Concordia Series starts the friendship of Tom and Bertrand set against a culture satisfied with its own traditions. Caught between pirates who want to kill them and their supposed comrades who could end their careers, they seek to save their worlds that do not yet know of the looming dangers. And they find that no matter what the destination, the journey has no easy road.


In My Memory Locked

In My Memory Locked by Jim Nelson

SPSFC

They hired a cyberpunk detective to recover their stolen memories. They didn’t know his twisted past is the key to the crime. Security expert C.F. Naroy's investigation across a desolate San Francisco uncovers blackmail, political intrigue, family secrets, and a few dead bodies. Meanwhile, he has to keep tabs on a beautiful young programmer addicted to Blue Pharje, a substance used to forget your past in a world where nothing is forgotten. He also learns the hard way that the stolen data is so explosive, people are willing to kill for it. Then Naroy discovers his own painful past is the key to the entire affair. He must choose between solving the crime…or burying it for good. In My Memory Locked is perfect for fans of Blade Runner, Raymond Chandler, Ghost in the Shell, William Gibson, When Gravity Fails, and Altered Carbon.


Sidnye (Queen of the Universe)

Sidnye (Queen of the Universe) by Scott Fitzgerald Gray

SPSFC

Sidnye Dupree was going on thirteen years old when she broke the Bishop's nose with a dodgeball and dreamed the dream of the shooting star. But even if she'd known then what was happening to her, it would have been far too late to stop it... Life is complicated enough when you live full-time at boarding school because your parents are dead, and when the other students around you are mostly idiots, and when you're doomed to spend the rest of your existence in cafeteria detention because you just can't stop annoying the people in charge of your life. But that's when you discover the headaches you've been having aren't just a part of being thirteen and feeling the weight of the world hammering down on you. That's when you realize the dreams you've been having are more than dreams, and the people you thought you were closest to are less concerned with caring about you than with keeping you from knowing the things they don't want you to know…


THE PROMETHEUS EFFECT

THE PROMETHEUS EFFECT by DAVID FLEMING

SPSFC 2022

Deep in the Nevada desert... ...lies a secret futuristic world. Would Jack's technology save humankind? It started with Jack's epiphany, but he feared it was a power too great. All around the globe, the oil reserves are dangerously low. Superpowers brace for battle over what remains. Should Jack share his energy solution? He thinks it's too dangerous. The power potential is as important as Prometheus discovering fire and giving it to man. There must be a way to use what he knows, but he's conflicted. Maybe the brilliant mind of Mykl can solve the puzzle? Mykl is five. Is the answer worth the cost? You'll love this Dystopian Science Fiction, because the world building is brilliant, the technology is fascinating, and the story keeps you turning pages. And don't be fooled... ...this isn't for kids. Get it now.


Retrieval

Retrieval by Regina Clarke

SPSFC

A woman isolated in the Mojave desert…an alien invasion…and a primal obsession. For Gillian Hall running her diner in the desert is the good life, until a man calling himself Gabriel arrives as her enigmatic and unpredictable new short-order cook. On the same day fiery explosions streak across the sky. Everyone in town assumes their presence must be part of a military operation from the nearby base. What do the blasts really signal? Gillian’s quiet world shifts into an unknown reality when seven starbreakers—alien ships—enter Earth’s atmosphere. One of them is destroyed, scattering valuable and dangerous technology into the desert in its wake. Five ships depart. The last starbreaker, the Menocai, stays to retrieve the lost debris before the military can find it, but its self-absorbed commander, Malakai, has an additional need. He wants Gillian as well. He has sent his brother Inac, in the guise of Gabriel, to retrieve her.


Homecoming

Homecoming by RD Meyer

SPSFC

Earth. The mere name has had an almost talisman-like pull on the human race since we were driven from our homeworld over 6,000 years ago. Mankind’s ancestors ran from the genocidal threat engulfing them, fleeing like intergalactic refugees towards a new home that would allow us to flourish once again.And flourish we did. From a ragtag group of just over 12,000 survivors, humanity has grown to create a proper empire of nearly 900 billion spanning two galaxies. But we never forgot our home, so we waited and we planned. Now the time was finally right to return to Earth and take back what we once had no choice but to abandon.Although the military campaign, as well as the alien races between humanity and our birthplace, were the primary concern, they turned out to not be the only ones. You see, Earth itself, despite crawling with the vermin that nearly eradicated us, was far from free of surprises, both physical and historical. Unanticipated challenges waited for the people of the Terran Confederation, including notions that would shake the very foundations of what it meant to be human. Our legends had defined us, but could those legends withstand scrutiny? What if everything we’d come to believe about ourselves and our world had been carefully crafted to cocoon us for our own good?A story meant to be about our return to Earth expands to cover our journey both across and within the realms of known space, from long lost colony worlds where mankind has morphed into something else, to the edges of an intergalactic war between implacable enemies…enemies that now had the incentive to turn their attention towards humanity...


Godeena

Godeena by Stjepan Varesevac Cobets

SPSFC 2022

Henry Broncon is a Cyber-modified soldier, a special teams commander, and the sole survivor of the Field of Death battle on Planet Morad. Unable to shake off his old demons, he enlists in a new mission to collect more of them. Planet Godeena is a prized new acquisition from the war with the Anskers until it starts killing everyone who lands on it. Three complete expeditions to the planet disappear suddenly with no trace and no survivors. High Command is ready to write the rich planet off as "permanently inaccessible" until a lone survivor sends a cryptic SOS from the planet's surface using outdated Morse Code. Now Henry Broncon, with a platoon of hardened criminals as his only troops, must lead a force of prisoners, mystics, and old friends in a last-ditch effort to save a resourceful VIP survivor from a powerful and unknown enemy. In the process, he'll attempt to lay claim to the perfectly preserved remains of a two-thousand-year-old advanced civilization that once thrived on the now-deadly Planet Godeena. Can Planet Godeena be salvaged for the Interstellar Confederation? Will anyone return from this mission alive? Or will Henry, his squad, and his VIP all end up being buried there together, along with everyone else who has gone there before them?


Grandfather Anonymous

Grandfather Anonymous by Anthony W. Eichenlaub

SPSFC

Ajay was one of the best hackers in the world when he retired from the NSA, and a lonely life in a heavily surveilled Minnesota town hasn’t dulled his skills one bit, thank you very much. When his estranged daughter knocks on his door with her two daughters in tow, he hopes it’s his chance to become part of her family again.But she needs more than just a sitter for his two willful granddaughters. She needs someone to keep them safe — from who, she won’t say.Before, he failed at being a father so badly that he’s afraid he can never make amends. Thrust back into a world of secrecy and cyberwarfare, Ajay now must uncover what makes his granddaughters valuable — and dangerous.


Numanity

Numanity by Alexander Lucas

SPSFC

In a future beset with rising seas, and darkened skies, technology stays the tide and tries to plug the holes that humanity creates. Hubris sees two technological powerhouses with different philosophies at odds with each other. A son tries to figure his place in the world while two youths try to survive in theirs and unwittingly set into play a series of events that threaten to change the status quo of humanity.


ALTERLIFE

ALTERLIFE by Matt Moss

SPSFC

The Chance of A Lifetime... To Live In A Thrilling World of Adventure... One with Endless Possibilities. *** Down on his luck and with his back against a wall, John Crussel would do anything to provide for his family. Even rob a bank out of desperation. But when he hears of how he can make money in a virtual reality video game called Alterlife, he walks away from the robbery and decides to give it a shot. Couldn't be harder than robbing a bank, could it? John's world is about to change as he finds that Alterlife is easier than it seems. But being a hotshot new guy that seems to have all the luck draws the attention of some dangerous people in Alterlife - ones that want what he has and are willing to do anything for it. Through a series of unfortunate events, John becomes the first to contract a deadly virus. Now he only has ten days to live. He soon finds himself tied to a sinister plot and realizes that his misfortune may not be a coincidence. The virus was designed to kill players outside of the game. And John was targeted to be a carrier. Can he rid himself of the virus before time runs out? All John Crussel wanted was to make some easy money. He thought Alterlife was just a game... This high stakes novel depicts John's struggle both in and out of virtual reality. Fans of Otherland by Tad Williams, Ready Player One, and Skyrim will feel right at home in Alterlife.


Sped-Bot: DroidMesh Trilogy Book 1

Sped-Bot: DroidMesh Trilogy Book 1 by Billy DeCarlo

SPSFC

All work and no play makes an android a dull toy. The remnants of human civilization create their own utopia on an alien planet. A brilliant robotic scientist breaks the rules in an attempt to make his impaired son whole. Meshing android and human minds is considered impossible, a societal taboo, and illegal. Can the sorrow of a father, the challenge of a feat never accomplished, and the promise of normalcy for a son who has never known it motivate a man beyond his ethical boundaries? What happens when it all goes wrong?


HARVESTED

HARVESTED by Anthony O'Brien

SPSFC

The year is 3716. Earth’s resources are depleted. Humanity has been forced into a 21st century computer simulation, controlled by Ikelos, AI at its most terrifying. A seedbank lost to time in the frozen wastelands of a Norwegian island is mankind’s last hope for survival. Jon Stone, a New York physicist, has been extracted out of the simulation by another scientist, Tori. With no memory of Tori or his past life, Jon must trust her as they re-enter the simulation to locate, somewhere in this dangerous, illusionary world, the island’s co-ordinates. Can they avoid the traps in the matrix, find what they seek, and return to the 38th century in time to save humanity before the final extinction?


Don't Speak

Don't Speak by Vanessa Heath

SPSFC

Speech is illegal. Punishable by death.The doctor took your voice away mere minutes after you were born. Even your mother couldn't hear your cries. Now, over two hundred years after the “Silent Night” bill, people go about their lives, flicking and tapping away at their communication pads while carefully choosing each word so they don't end up like the ones with missing fingers or entire hands. For years, Rose was the same as everyone around her - nervous when Civility Agents requested a meeting or terrified when Voice Agents rounded people up for interrogation.But, when everything she holds dear is ripped away from her, she has no choice but to run and join the one group she was taught to fear... the Rebellion.


Lost Solace

Lost Solace by Karl Drinkwater

SPSFC

Lost Solace was a semifinalist in the international SPSFC science fiction competition in 2022. Sometimes spaceships disappear with everyone on board - the Lost Ships. But sometimes they come back, strangely altered, derelict, and rumoured to be full of horrors. Opal is on a mission. She's been seeking something her whole life. Something she is willing to die for. And she thinks it might be on a Lost Ship. Opal has stolen Clarissa, an experimental AI-controlled spaceship, from the military. Together they have tracked down a Lost Ship, in a lonely nebula far from colonised space. The Lost Ship is falling into the gravity well of a neutron star, and will soon be truly lost ... forever. Legends say the ships harbour death, but there's no time for indecision. Opal gears up to board it. She's just one woman, entering an alien and lethal environment. But perhaps with the aid of Clarissa's intelligence - and an armoured spacesuit - Opal may stand a chance. Ideal for fans of sentient AI ships (such as Brandon Sanderson's Skyward books), while the creepy, derelict Lost Ships evoke Kristine Kathryn Rusch's Diving series.


The StarMaster's Son

The StarMaster's Son by Gabriel Morales

SPSFC

“Reminds me of Banks' Culture War series, with more developed humor.” -Duane, beta reader "A Game of Thrones in Space." -Amazon Customer review The most powerful man in the universe has died under mysterious circumstances, and now the StarMaster's underachieving son must save his empire from collapse... When Felik Ullon inherits the StarMaster’s prized ship, what seems like a blessing launches him into a universe of schemers, dark dealings, and truths too uncomfortable for even a black hole to swallow. If Felik is going to survive, he'll have to discover how his father died, uncover an alien conspiracy, and prevent his brothers from plunging the galaxy into civil war. Meanwhile, across space and time, the bold and cocky inquisitor Kai tracks the biggest bounty of her life, hoping to restore her family’s reputation. Yet killing her target may require unleashing an ancient threat that could dissolve the fabric of the cosmos. This is a universe both shrinking and expanding at its own pace. The more you think you know, the less you know. And the less you know, the better. If you’re a fan of the politics of The Expanse, The Interdependency, and Dune, download The StarMaster’s Son for a space opera thriller full of drama, politics, and laughs!


Spacefarer: Fanatic's Bane

Spacefarer: Fanatic's Bane by Edmund de Wight

SPSFC

When Free Agent Malbane of the Interstellar Trade Commonwealth is summoned to the galaxy's largest space station to quell racial strife she encounters sinister forces willing to destroy civilization to fight forces they believe to be from Hell itself. Whether dealing with terrorists, a homicidal priest, race riots, or invading aliens, it's just another day in the life of a Free Agent. The Human and Narath races have been at peace for over 300 years but horrific killings could spark a new race war. If Malbane can't defuse the situation it could mean the end of the Commonwealth. But life is never simple - even for a Free Agent. Standing in her way are bureaucrats, terrorists, corrupt cops, religious zealots, a former lover and the vanguard of an alien invasion. It's high action space opera with the gritty feel of a spy thriller. Climb aboard and meet the new face of action-adventure in outer space. Perfect for fans of the fast-paced danger of the Aliens franchise, Jason Bourne, or the military space adventures of Honor Harrington.


Talon, AD: Epitaph for a Planet

Talon, AD: Epitaph for a Planet by Zan Zastrow

Ripped of her neuroenhancements and left to die, Anne Demming has lost her skills and her memory. The medcenter where she wakes up is succumbing to violence in the city outside, and the planet is in chaos. It is a crisis she may have caused on the most valuable planet in the star system. Q-7 is the only known source of a rare element expected to power a New World of advanced technology. And while the people of Q-7 starve, Trade Council allies are coming to take the prize . . . at any cost. Caught in the crossfire, the renegade Talon and his garrison of mercenaries find themselves fighting for their survival. Talon will finish what others started - any way he can.


An Idle King

An Idle King by Andrew Paterson

Imagine fighting a war no one wanted you to win. Imagine never wanting to leave. Afghanistan has been abandoned by the international community. Left to the ravages of warlords and mercenaries, vying for dominance over the new Silk Road. For Callum King, a former officer who was discharged from the army, his past remains very much tied to that forsaken place. When he receives an offer from one of his former soldiers to work for a private security company in Kandahar, the contract represents an opportunity to make amends for his failures as a soldier and a leader. But the cost would mean walking away from a family that he’s tried so hard to put back together. An Idle King is a modern retelling of an ancient story about lost soldiers who can never go home.


This Is Our Undoing

This Is Our Undoing by Lorraine Wilson

Could you condemn one child to save another? In a near-future Europe fracturing under climate change and far-right politics, biologist Lina Stephenson works in the remote Rila Mountains, safely away from London State. When an old enemy dies, Lina’s dangerous past resurfaces, putting her family’s lives at risk. Trapped with her vulnerable sister alongside the dead man’s family, Lina is facing pressure from all sides: her enemy’s eldest son is determined to destroy her in his search for vengeance, whilst his youngest carries a sinister secret… But the forest is hiding its own threats and as a catastrophic storm closes in, Lina realises that to save her family she too must become a monster.


Ash Friday

Ash Friday by Ariadne Blayde 

Giving ghost tours on the decaying streets of the French Quarter isn’t exactly a high-profile career, but the guides at Spirits of Yore Haunted Tours are too strange and troubled to do anything else. They call themselves Quarter Rats, a group of outcasts and dreamers and goths who gather in hole-in-the-wall bars to bicker, spin yarns, and search for belonging in the wee hours of the night after the tourists have staggered home. Through the ghost stories they tell, their own haunted lives come into focus. Like the city they call home, these tour guides are messy with contradiction: they suffer joyfully, live morbidly, and sin to find salvation. Weaving together real New Orleans folklore with the lives of eleven unforgettably vibrant characters, Ash Tuesday is a love letter to America’s last true bohemia and the people, both dead and living, who keep its heart beating.


NYV: PUNK

NYV: PUNK by K.D. McQuain

NYV: PUNK is a dark and sexy coming of age story of adventure, music and horror set in the harsh 1980s New York Punk scene. (UF / NA) With only his mother for company, rural isolation in East Texas was as boring and bleak a life as Christian could imagine. The most exciting thing to look forward to were monthly visits from the nice old lady who took his mother shopping in town. After being subjected to a bizarre and humiliating birthday ritual, Christian leaves home to think things through, and when the opportunity for adventure presents itself, he jumps at the chance. But being on his own is more terrifying than a sheltered and naïve teenager would ever have dreamed. Miraculously surviving a brutal attack in a bus station restroom, Christian finds himself being hunted across the country by an ancient, bloodthirsty evil, putting him and those he cares for in mortal peril. Homeless and alone, he is befriended by a group of streetwise kids but danger still lurks around every corner. He must quickly learn to navigate the hazards of the gritty streets of New York City if he is going to survive the tough Punk music scene long enough to discover his destiny. Can he survive on the street? Will he find the life of adventure he hoped for? And what the hell does OMFUG mean anyway? Oh… and there’s vampires.


Capitol Punishment

Capitol Punishment by K.D. McQuain

Summer 1977 Years of homophobic bullying come to a head after graduation when Caleb lashes out against his High School nemesis and loses his job in the process. Coming out to his parents has disastrous consequences prompting him to abandon his Midwestern home for the glamorous lure of New York City. There he discovers a gay community flourishing after the cultural revolution of the 1960s. Embarking on a quest for self-discovery, he discovers the ecstasies of the hottest discos and the appeal of anonymous sex. But endless nights of partying and interchangeable partners soon lose their attraction, revealing a yearning for a more fulfilling life. As the chaos of a blackout engulfs the city, Cal gambles on a meaningful relationship. Yet as he heads down the path of domestic bliss, a mysterious epidemic begins claiming lives all around him. When illness takes his lover, Caleb decides that something drastic must be done.


Honey Trap

Honey Trap by Tony Brenna

Journalist Mike Delano is seduced by fame and money, away from a career as a fearless foreign correspondent into the dark world of tabloid media. Through a titanic battle with evil international media tycoon Max Rothenberg, Delano comes out on top to reclaim his soul while gaining, losing, and regaining the love of his life, Lord Max’s daughter Rachel. The story begins when foreign correspondent Delano barely escapes from jihadists in Iraq after his savage killing of a sadistic prison guard jihadist who beheads his victims. The gruesome bestseller Delano writes after his escape leads Lord Rothenberg to hire him as his flagship tabloid’s editor. But the two men become mortal enemies whose conflict will end only when one of them is dead. Driven by revenge, Delano exploits a superstar's depravity in order to destroy Lord Rothenberg whose unhappily married daughter, Rachel, has fallen in love with Delano. Delano's sordid revelations wreck the wanton movie star's life, at the same time turning the ethical journalist into a sleazy tabloid writer who is disgusted by the stench of yellow journalism clinging to his once unblemished career. Lord Rothenberg's need to dominate the global audience – and destroy Rachel's love for Delano – leads to his shameful demise. It also triggers death and destruction on the set of a blockbuster movie, the brutal murder of a glamorous studio executive, and a massacre of Tinseltown glitterati at an Oscars night party. The players in this violent saga of lust and greed provoke enemies from all sides as Delano struggles to rescue Rachel from her tyrannical father – after extorting the criminal mogul for millions. This deadly mayhem plays out on land and sea in the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, and South America involving attacks by assassins, terrorists, and drug cartels. Delano triumphs professionally and weds Rachel, but success brings unexpected heartbreak. Author Tony Brenna brings decades of international journalistic experience to this debut novel.


Jiao Tu’s Endeavour, Episode 1: The Kidnapped Mousling

Jiao Tu’s Endeavour, Episode 1: The Kidnapped Mousling by Donald Jacob Uitvlugt

On a multigenerational colony ship five hundred years off course, a lagomorph warrior must survive using only his wits and his sword. Jiao Tu has been hired to rescue a young kidnapped mousling. A tip leads him to the Below, home to the engines that keep the world in motion. His mission has hardly begun when an encounter with a monstrous being plunges him into the midst of a struggle not only for control of the Below but for the world itself. Teamed with an untested ratling warrior and the ratling leader of a gang of thugs, Jiao Tu must stop the monster and save the mousling—and the world—before it is too late. Drawing inspiration from sources as diverse as Leigh Brackett’s planetary romances, Gene Wolfe’s Book of the Long Sun, Robert E. Howard’s Solomon Kane stories, Hideyuki Kikuchi’s Vampire Hunter D, Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo, and the wuxia tradition starting with Water Margins and Journey to the West, Uitvlugt has created a world all his own that promises a far-future adventure unlike any other.


Dreamer

Dreamer by Amy Campbell

Their dream of freedom will turn into a nightmare unless these outlaws can stack the deck in their favor. Safely back in his chosen home, Breaker mage Blaise should only have to worry about his bakery and his complicated relationship with Jefferson. But the lies that shaped his life continue to haunt him, and he sets out to reconcile with his mother—only to discover that a band of magical desperadoes has taken her. With old friends at his side, Blaise sets off across the frontier, chasing down leads and unaware that his new foes hope to snare the Breaker, too. Meanwhile, Jefferson balances guiding his fledgling homeland to nationhood while concealing magic he’s not supposed to possess. The demands of his ambassadorship send him to a faraway country where he’s embroiled in a web of intrigue between a shadowy cabal planning to use him and malicious politicians who want to see him—and the new nation—fall. As Blaise closes in and Jefferson navigates the dangerous political waters, they realize their circumstances are once again linked. Will their combined magic be the ace in the hole that wins it all, or will they fold in the final showdown?


Two Ways to Sunday

Two Ways to Sunday by Tom Starita

Chris Marcum was a man who had everything. The perfect wife, the perfect job, and the perfect life. He was also sure his belief in God did not depend on those successes. So when an angel appeared to him on his deathbed with a challenge to prove the depths of his faith, Chris immediately accepted. Relive your life, with no recollection. This time however, without the breaks. What happens when instead of going right, you go left? What if there are no happy endings? How much can a man endure before he hits his breaking point? And what happens then?


Genesis

Genesis by Chris Voss

SPSFC

In a world ravaged by climate change, social inequality and dwindling natural resources there’s only one solution: abandon the planet and terraform a new home. When Dylan Lomax - an emotionally disconnected empath, running from the memory of his past - joins Operation Genesis, he soon discovers not all is as it seems. The mission to bring life to a barren planet has a terrible secret. One which threatens to bring humanity to the brink of extinction.Inspired by the blockbuster movies of the 90s, Genesis, the debut novel from C.A. Voss, is an accessible sci-fi romp which accelerates towards an epic finale. Popcorn is optional.


The Awakening

The Awakening by Adair Hart

SPSFC

What happens when a space and time traveler interferes with an alien abduction? Dr. Albert Snowden just wanted to take care of his niece, Emily. The last thing he expected was to end up in a virtual simulation on a damaged alien ship in another galaxy one year into the future. Unfortunately, the ship's power is failing, releasing apex predators that were captured by the aliens. Enter Evaran, a space and time traveler, and V, his trusty mobile artificial intelligence, who help those in need. They decide to interfere and help Dr. Snowden and Emily, along with two other humans who were also abducted. In addition to all that, Jerzan Graduul, leader of the Bloodbore mercenary pack, has boarded the ship in search of potential salvaging opportunities. Evaran and friends will try to reach Evaran's ship while dealing with the Bloodbores and apex predators.


ACHE

ACHE by Levi Jacobs

SPSFC

With the advent of nanotech, happiness is just a brain hack. But if you can hack your brain, who else can? In the energy-scarce landscape of the former US, society has turned to mood-altering nanomachines to augment its grim reality. Like many, Lance Mireles walks the line between use and abuse, running shady side jobs to feed his habit while keeping up appearances with his younger brother. Pushing his luck once too often, he ends up on the wrong side of the law, disowned from his family, and exiled to the anarchy outside the city gates. Determined to turn his life around, Lance follows clues to an isolated commune with a mysterious source of nanomachines. It looks like a second chance—until he traces their source back to a danger looming over his family, and the secret reason for the city’s nanotech dependence. As things at home fall apart, Lance turns to the outlaw community for help—but to earn their trust he first has to overcome the roots of his addiction.


Primordial Threat

Primordial Threat by Michael A. Rothman

SPSFC

The year is 2066 and the world is oblivious to the threat it faces. The fate of humanity lies on the shoulders of Burt Radcliffe, the new head of NASA's Near Earth Object program. He's been rushing the completion of DefenseNet, a ring of satellites that are both part of an early-warning system as well as the means to eliminate incoming threats. Yet Burt knows that despite the world's best efforts, nothing can be done about the alert he's just received. Coming out of deep space is a danger that's been approaching since the dawn of time. A black hole. An unstoppable threat that promises death for all in its wake. Dave Holmes was a modern-day Einstein. As the original architect of DefenseNet, he'd had visions of this Primordial Threat before he disappeared, yet he'd left behind no details on how the problem might be solved. Can Holmes be found, and if so, will his solution even work? The world has less than a year to find out.


The One: A Cruise Through the Solar System

The One: A Cruise Through the Solar System by Eric Klein

SPSFC

The year is 2152. What started as a normal work day for BJ Armstrong (debugging the latest faulty AI), quickly turned to the adventure of a lifetime. Join Armstrong on his all-expenses-paid 30-day cruise through the solar system on board the maiden voyage of the latest pleasure ship (complete with a beauty pageant and scientific symposium), as he tries to unravel an assassination plot and foil the biggest heist in history. The only question that remains, will BJ get the girl?


Isoldesse

Isoldesse by Kimberly Gruenbacher

SPSFC

Friendships are tested, new alliances are made, and the truth of one woman's actions from over a millennia ago are revealed. Kenna and Meegan are college students dealing with upcoming finals, needy parents, boy drama, and what to do with their lives after they graduate in a few weeks. What they weren't expecting was for Kenna to receive a powerful stone necklace that ultimately changes their plans for a relaxing summer. Strange things begin to happen to Kenna, like being the only one who can see and talk to the mysterious old woman with a golden aura. Or how in her dreams, a man with vibrant orange eyes keeps appearing who may or may not be real. Though, not all of Kenna's mysterious encounters are pleasant as she's haunted by massive beings carrying long swords and wearing armor covered in black scales. Besides solving the mystery of where the stone necklace came from, Kenna, Meegan, and their friends are taken to another world for a routine evolutionary assessment. The assessment gets sabotaged and causes more chaos for Kenna and her friends, especially for Meegan who is forced to open up and reveal her true identity and the magic she hides. There's one name that Kenna, Meegan, the Sendarians, and the monsters who've been hunting Meegan and her family for over a century all have in common-Isoldesse.


Blackcoats: Dead Man Walking

Blackcoats: Dead Man Walking by Michael Lachman

SPSFC 2022

ZOMBIES. CRYPTIDS. SECRET GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. AND ADAM THOUGHT HIGH SCHOOL WAS TOUGH. When Adam arrives home to find his house swarming with government agents, he quickly discovers that his father was a secret government scientist specializing in fringe science and the paranormal. An agent reveals that Adam’s father was caught performing illegal experiments, including genetically modifying Adam’s DNA. Now, with his father missing and the genetic tampering beginning to take effect, Adam’s only chance to find a cure is to help the agency track down his father. The mystery deepens as agents go missing, and all the evidence points to a man long dead. With the clock ticking and hints of a mole within the agency, Adam must uncover the traitor, find his father, and secure a cure—before it’s too late. Blackcoats: Dead Man Walking is the first book in the Blackcoats series.


Children of Vale

Children of Vale by Daniel Alan Anderson

SPSFC

An alien world. A hidden race. A girl haunted by visions must discover an ancient secret. Tyana is the first of her kind. Gifted with unique powers but plagued by nightmarish dreams, she’s ostracized by most, yet revered by a few. Compelled by her visions, she searches for the truth to her society's origin on the eve of war. The secrets she discovers will not only change her forever; they will reveal the truth behind her kind’s genesis—and foreshadow its end. Her life, the lives of her kind—and humanity itself—hang in the balance.


Rise (Last Chance #1)

Rise (Last Chance #1) by K.T. Hanna

SPSFC

Death doesn't always kill you... but second chances don't come free. Death is inevitable... Unless the Second Chance (SC) program recruits your particular super power. One last chance at life, in exchange for unquestioning completion of tasks set by the system that brought you back. At first, Dare's assignments seem trivial, inconsequential even. But as the missions progress, they produce more questions and no answers. Unexpected assailants, inexplicable tasks, and too many people Dare knows already in the system. Dare's never believed in coincidences. SC's motives are unclear. Questions aren't tolerated. Punishment is meted out arbitrarily. And SC can terminate the contract, and all participants lives with it, at any point in time. Dare's only chance is to figure out how to fight back without being deleted in the process. Rise is a Gamelit dark contemporary science fiction story set in the near future and is the first book in the Last Chance series. It touches on death, the afterlife, torture, and the lengths people can be pushed too.


Double Edged

Double Edged by Jessie Kwak

SPSFC

With stakes this high, humanity doesn't need a hero. They need someone who can win. **Series complete! (5 books)** Willem Jaantzen didn't ask to be a hero. He just wants to keep his family safe in the shifting sands of Bulari's underground—and to get the city's upper crust to acknowledge just how far he's come since his days as an orphaned street kid. With his businesses thriving and his dark past swept into the annals of history, it looks like he has everything he could ever ask for. Until, that is, his oldest rival turns up murdered and the blame—and champagne—begins to flow. It turns out Thala Coeur died as she lived: sowing chaos. And when a mysterious package bearing her call sign shows up on Jaantzen’s doorstep, he and his family are quickly swallowed up in a web of lies, betrayals, and interplanetary politics. It’ll only take one stray spark to start another civil war in the underworld, and Jaantzen’s going to have to pull out every play from his notorious past if he wants to keep his city from going up in flames. Jaantzen never wanted to be a hero, but that might just be a good thing. Because a hero could never stop the trouble that's heading humanity's way. DOUBLE EDGED is the first book of the Bulari Saga, a five book series featuring gunfights, dinner parties, explosions, motorcycle chases, underworld intrigue, and a fiercely plucky found family who have each other's backs at every step. Perfect for fans of The Expanse, Firefly, and The Godfather. Download Double Edged and start the adventure today. Download Double Edged and start the adventure today.


God in the Machine

God in the Machine by Cole Martyn

SPSFC 2022

The Earth is dying
The Resistance lives on
The Nihon will rise Blinded by their addiction to technology, the people of Earth's last remaining city shelter beneath an artificial sky, shielded from the devastating impacts of global warming. Some still strive for change, driven underground, the remnants of a shattered civilisation fight to bring down the ruling cabal. Elias, a refugee from a forgotten war, living beyond the city walls, vows to escape the despair of the refugee camps and give his little brother a real home. Until the day Elias discovers he has an incredible gift that will change his life forever. Dragged into a war to save a world that rejected him, Elias risks losing the one thing he was fighting for - his brother.


Eden M51

Eden M51 by G. R. Paskoff

SPSFC

Eden exists, tucked away in a remote corner of the universe.In the year 2283, overpopulation, resource depletion, and climate change have pushed global civilization to the brink of collapse. Colonies on the moon and beneath the oceans, despite years of development, are struggling to survive. As international tensions escalate, and humanity faces an impending crisis for subsistence, a new race has quietly begun, one to find a habitable planet for human expansion outside the solar system. Thus far, however, every expedition sent has resulted in monumental disappointment, and occasionally, tragedy.But all is not lost.A U.S. interstellar probe, launched decades earlier, unexpectedly transmits a burst of tantalizing figures on a remote alien world in the M51 galaxy, yielding the first promising data scientists have seen in years. In response, an international team of experts is hastily assembled to investigate the prospective planet over thirty million light years away. Each with their own set of hopes and agendas, what they discover upon arrival is more than any of them imagined – something that forces them to confront the shadows of their past and to reevaluate their choices for Man’s future.Commander Nathaniel Hawke, a renowned pilot in the United States Department of Space Defense, is selected to lead the mission. Seven years after the controversial death of his best friend, he views the expedition to M51 as one last opportunity for redemption. But will the journey offer the salvation he seeks or cast him further into despair?


Mindguard

Mindguard by Andrei Cherascu

SPSFC

Called out of semi-retirement, the telepath and Mindguard Sheldon Ayers is tasked with protecting an information package located inside the mind of a young woman who claims the knowledge she holds is vital to the future of mankind. Sheldon and his team must help her cross the most dangerous territory in the man-inhabited universe: the Djago Desert. Hunted by the Enforcement Unit, the all-powerful Military arm of the Interstellar Federation of Common Origin, Sheldon’s team must fight to keep the Carrier alive and guard the integrity of her mind. But nobody suspects that Sheldon also has a dark secret, and it could end up changing the fate of the mission.


Stars Forever Black

Stars Forever Black by A. L. Bruno

SPSFC

A Bold New Novel of First Contact! For eighteen months the Terran starship Hyperion hid in orbit and marveled at a world that should not exist. Far from the ravages of a war-torn galaxy, Phelspharia blossomed, populated by humans as varied as those on the Earth of old. But when the starship is discovered, the crew is forced to trust a war-weary officer whose knowledge of local languages may mean the difference between life and death.

Now, breathing the air of a world he has come to know from afar, Lt. Commander Jason Roberts realizes how high the stakes are for Terrans and Phelspharians alike. Scarred inside and out by a past filled with treachery and carnage, Roberts must perform his duty to the Terran Star Force… and, if he can, do right by the people of Phelspharia.

Courage, loyalty, grief, and love drive conflicting nations and cultures toward a reckoning, not merely with each other, but with a threat that could leave the galaxy itself in ashes.


Earthweeds

Earthweeds by Rod Little

SPSFC

At the end of the world - it's the start of something new, with puzzling and terrifying origins. A green fog descends over every major city in the world, and the populations disappear one by one. By nightfall, every living soul in every metropolis is gone. Earth grinds to a halt. Only a few stragglers are alive in the rural countryside. When Sam and his brother return from a mountain camping trip, they find only empty city streets. Alone, they look for any survivors to give them answers. The next day, lizards the size of Komodo dragons flood the city and attack the remaining humans. When these creatures are confronted by giant spiders, the two species fight each other for the remaining food supply.... with the humans caught in the middle. A teenage boy with electric powers - stemming from his DNA.  His brother with a strong iron will.  A college student who can understand and communicate with animals.  A scientist with a secret.  And a band of psychopaths with an agenda of their own.  Defending each other from the evils of men and creatures alike, the last humans must race to unravel the mystery of the empty cities, the swarming creatures, and the disappearance of humankind.


The Elcy Protocol

The Elcy Protocol by Bave Grozdanov

SPSFC

The stars were her home. Now she feels their call again. Advancements in technology gave humanity the stars, starting a vast Age of Exploration. Centuries later, the human race is engulfed in bitter war against two alien powers too different for them to comprehend. Elcy was part of humanity’s defense at the Cassandrian front as a battleship, until an incident forced her to retire in a human body. Stripped of rank and weapons, she continued her life on a rural backwater planet. When she's given an opportunity to return to the stars, Elcy must prove she has what it takes to rejoin the front lines as a cadet. Considered neither ship nor human, she's caught in a web of rules, regulations, and power plays by humans she barely understands. But Elcy knows more than she realizes from her battleship days, and it just might be the answer humanity's been searching for.


Shepherds

Shepherds by James Brumbaugh

SPSFC

Olga is a genetically altered “shepherd” born to live at sea herding factory tuna. She lives with her two shipmates aboard a submersible raft in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Toivo is an independent fisherman who, along with two dolphins, struggles to make a living catching what few wild tuna are left. The two of them should never have met. But, someone is killing shepherds and fate pushes Olga and Toivo to join forces just to stay alive. Together they must outwit heavily armed drug smugglers bent on killing anyone who gets in their way. The nonstop action hurtles toward a startling conclusion that will keep you on the edge of your seat.


Silicon Override

Silicon Override by Shawn Ketcherside

SPSFC

One thousand feet below the ocean, in the largest and most advanced research facility on Earth, something has gone terribly wrong… Chase Edwards, a brilliant, reformed slacker, arrives at ArcSIS on the eve of the most ambitious experiment in human history -- His life finally back on track. At ArcSIS he’ll have access to cutting-edge technology, advanced resources, and the world’s most talented scientists and engineers – all of which meant to design, patent, and usher in the next stage in human evolution. It’s everything Chase needs to restart his once promising career. But when the experiment results in disaster, Chase finds himself on the run from the transformed and terrifying reawakened bodies of the ArcSIS staff, all under the absolute control of a renegade AI – Node Zero. Trapped a thousand feet below the surface of the ocean, completely cut off and isolated from the outside world – The catastrophe turns personal when Chase learns that Node Zero has a special connection to him – and it won’t stop until Chase is assimilated into its network… Or he’s exterminated. Now Chase must survive long enough to uncover the dark secrets and true aims of ArcSIS, clinging to his fragile hope it will give him the means to stop Node Zero from escaping the facility and unleashing wholesale devastation upon the earth.


Elijah's Chariot

Elijah's Chariot by Andrew Griffard

SPSFC

A large meteor is headed straight for Earth and 13-year old Sean couldn’t be more excited. With his father Kevin, a lead scientist on the NASA team being sent to study the meteorite, Sean is going to get to travel to central Russia and learn firsthand all the secrets that the rock from outer space may hold. It’s the chance of a lifetime. Soon after Sean and his father arrive in Moscow, the meteorite finally reaches Earth’s surface, but instead of exploding upon impact as was predicted, the huge space rock lands quietly – and largely intact. Within hours adults around the world are complaining of severe headaches and inexplicably begin to die. Sean is soon left alone and, as he struggles to escape the dying city, he discovers that somehow the meteorite’s arrival has given him strange, almost supernatural, abilities. He must use these newfound powers to survive against ruthless gangs and find out what happened to his world.


The Threat Below

The Threat Below by Jason Latshaw

SPSFC

She heard the legends. She knew the history. But nothing could have prepared her for what she found. Three hundred years ago, a lethal and mysterious threat arose and pushed humanity to the brink of extinction. Now, a small remnant - the descendants of the few survivors who escaped the massacre below - lives above the clouds, atop a mountain. When they discover their water supply is being poisoned, an expedition, including seventeen year-old Icelyn Brathius, must descend and face the horror that wiped out civilization centuries ago. The danger is closer than you think. The shocking true nature of the Threat Below. As Icelyn faces dangers in a world humans are not meant to survive, she learns that not everything is as it seems, uncovers an ancient revelation, and faces a choice that will change the fate of everyone above and below the clouds. Will Icelyn be strong enough to survive - and bear a terrible secret?


Eos

Eos by Jen Guberman

SPSFC

How far would you go for freedom? After a world war left the country in ruins, the survivors regrouped, creating four cities. With the population lower than ever, the prison system became impossible to maintain, so the city officials developed the Exile Town System… Avid—a literal dump for the thieves, Bellicose—caverns for the violent, Clamorite—mountains for the unruly, Delaisse—factories for the addicts and vandals, and Equivox—a lake for the liars. When a young thief learns about the Skeleton Key, a device that can be used to unlock anything, she can’t help but to go after it. But there’s a catch—in order to unlock the box containing it, she needs a key from each of the exile towns, which turn out to be far more dangerous than she could have imagined.


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