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First Contact occurred a decade ago with a traveling circus in the high-altitude desert plateau of Uzbekistan. The US Government has been covertly monitoring extraterrestrial activity around Earth since then but has struggled to make contact. They've kept tabs on the circus and its founder, Buster Al-Hashimi. Four years ago, Buster returned to the US to start a counter-culture group called The Clowns, challenging the sociopolitical status quo in America. Clowns asks the question: What would an extraterrestrial intelligence think about our intelligence? FIRST CONTACT is a series of stand-alone novels that explore humanity's first interaction with extraterrestrial life. This series is similar to BLACK MIRROR or THE TWILIGHT ZONE in that the series is based on a common theme rather than common characters. This allows these books to be read in any order. Technically, they're all first as they all deal with how we might initially respond to contact with aliens, exploring the social, political, religious, and scientific aspects of First Contact. |
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Night Music by Tobias F Cabral The colonization of Mars has begun. Following a rapid expansion of the manned space program due to the discovery of a potentially catastrophic Earth-crossing comet, Zubrin Base has been established on the Red Planet to oversee the capture of the rogue object. During final preparations for a second expedition, however, contact has been lost with the outpost. Pilot Seth Boaz finds himself re-tasked for a rescue mission, one which will force him to confront his own past, as well as otherworldly forces with profound implications for humanity's future. A "Hard" Science Fiction space exploration novella, with affinities to the work of Greg Bear, Michael F. Flynn, and Arthur C. Clarke, NIGHT MUSIC incorporates realistic, near-future space technology and Mars mission and colonization models, as well as elements of Complexity Theory and nanotechnology. The author is a clinical psychologist, who applied that experience to the development of distinct and fleshed-out characters who speak with realistic voices. |
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The Name of the Shadow by Mars G. Everson Fear is a double-edged weapon. When a Shadow spreads over the utopian Colony, the only human enclave in a lonely planet, the young will be the first to understand the danger that hovers above them. What they find about themselves in that struggle will lead them to greatness... or to the destruction of their idyllic way of living. Who will rise a hero, and who will become a monster? In the tradition of Ursula K. Le Guin and Isaac Asimov, this is the story of a people that do not know fear... and what happens when they discover it. Of what is left when paranoia becomes all-encompassing, and men find the evil within each of them. |
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BATTLE FOR EARTH: War of the Worlds, Book Two by John Pirrilo Their fathers one morning marched off to do battle with invaders from another world and have now vanished. Jules Verne and Herbert George Wells are two young men who grew up loving each other and having just one goal in life, to write the best speculative fiction ever done. Their success is just dawning when invaders from another world land and begin a reign of terror and destruction across the planet. Both young men realize now they can not be writers, when their world is at stake. And now their parents are gone, vanished. No one knows where, until one day an ugly truth emerges. One even more frightening than the deadly heat weapons of the invaders. Now, Jules and Wells, are left with no recourse but to turn their clever minds in another direction than writing. How to battle for Earth...and win! |
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Their world is a prison... ... a zoo made for humans ...and no one suspects that we are the main attraction. When the giant hand steals away Harl Eriksson’s parents he becomes an orphan and swears vengeance on the titanic alien that rules over his world. Forced to live in a glass fronted box, his entire village is at the mercy of the god that peers in at them. He hates the "god" that his fellow captors adore. He sees no “god,” only a giant monster that ripped his family from him. He must break free from the tank and destroy the creature that treats them like insects. An intensely absorbing universe where humanity must rise from their place at the bottom of the food chain |
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While the Earth quelled the violence after the alien invasion, teams of engineers reopened the Lunar Colony. After clearing the dead, it became humanity’s engineering epicenter, where a small team designed cutting edge technology. Calliope Morrigan arrived on the moon, the first to complete designs for a ship. The military wanted larger offensive ships and backed Mattias, an engineer promising a ship so massive it required fusions reactors, a technology beyond humanity’s reach. Arn Lasserman, head of nuclear engineering, allied with Calliope to create a stronger ship with engines designed to her specifications, cementing their bond and inciting their rivals. Satellites searching for metallic asteroids to harvest find aliens close enough to attack without warning. The pressure ramps up as humanity’s ability to survive hangs in the balance. Calliope’s ship nears completion and humanity chooses to go on the offensive. Calliope pushes technology to its limits, but can she survive long enough to propel humanity forward and win this fight? |
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The Signal (PLANET NINE TRILOGY) by SEBASTIEN ACACIA 2020, Astrophysicist Anthony Hallbrown is desperate to decipher a signal coming from space with the help of Yoko, a Japanese expert in cryptography. They will discover that the source of the signal is none other than the ninth planet in our solar system, never yet officially observed. But their discovery will awaken the Partisans, a former sect led by Asarus Hicks who claims to be the legitimate servant of space travelers, who, according to the theory of ancient astronauts, had come to Earth to genetically create the human race hundreds of thousands of years before our age. |
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Expedition: A first-contact, colony ship, space opera. (Galactic Neighborhood Book 1) by Alexander Elliott The humans of Earth planned for a long intergalactic journey. What they didn’t plan on was running into the neighbors. In 2096 starship Expedition set out on a centuries-long search for a suitable world to colonize. Assisted by Mosis, a sentient AI, the unsuspecting crew is awakened by an alien transmission, leading them to the remains of the Vingah race, preserved in stasis. With a rescue mission in full swing, the allies are challenged by an aggressive species, bent on acquiring the Vingah’s secrets. The confrontation’s outcome will change the destinies of three disparate races, allowing the victors to spread their influence throughout the galaxy. Expedition is the first book in the Galactic Neighborhood trilogy—three Earth starships sent out into the void to find new worlds for man to colonize. Though their futures are ultimately intertwined, each faces the uncertainties of a galaxy filled with wonder, danger, and incredible opportunities. Author’s note: the books should be read in order for the complete backstory. |
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Sphere of Influence by G.E. Ginn After centuries of war and mismanagement, planet earth is finally dying, and no one is inclined to do much about it but pack up and leave. If you're rich enough. Cheetah and his best friend, Mayan, have no intention of sticking around until the end of days, knowing he, at least, will be amongst those kicked to the curb. Inspired by an old map, a stashed away lunar shuttle and a ride or die attitude, their last hurrah will be to experience their last days on their terms; as free people, fighting for their survival their way. And who knows? Maybe they'll end up doing something noble after all. Like save the human race. |
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The Adventures of Dewey the Alien: Book One by Marshall Lefferts The Aliens had been visiting Earth for millions of years, fascinated by the abundant life on this thriving blue world. They are especially curious about the Humans, whose recent advances into (somewhat) higher intelligence and technological capability is most intriguing. Alien explorers sent to study life on Earth are given strict orders to avoid direct contact with these emotionally volatile, and sometimes irrational Humans, lest it open a Pandora's Box of problems the Alien Councils wanted no part of. But it was inevitable that unauthorized contact might happen eventually, given the insatiable curiosity of both species. |
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The Homefinders by Mauren Robeson As Homefinder II swiftly whisks the Broogans away from the only home they’ve ever known, they wonder what their new home, Alvalimar, will be like. Will the graceful, sensitive Amalians relocated there many years before, accept their hardy, inquisitive ways? Both species love peace and harmony, but have nothing else in common. Will Lt. Brenner ever win the affections of the lovely Kreegan scout, Xephra? Kreegans are powerful and independent, and are known to have no romantic interest. Will Thump, the most mischievous of the Broogans, venture over to the forbidden side of Alvalimar forever deprived of Valtima’s bright rays? Whereas the Amalians have no interest in the mysterious Nightside, the young Broogans consider it a thrilling prospect of adventure! |
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Edomia: A Fantasy-Adventure (Tales from the Edomian Mythos) by J.M Kind At the dawn of a new Dark Age, the world of Edomia reels amid the clash of warring species, and the rise of a militant new religion from beyond the stars. Heir to the ancient Goddess-worshiping matriarchy of Taugwadeth, Princess Ashna N’rene is sent on a dangerous journey to form an alliance with her people’s most obstinate foe, the fanatical, misogynist Curions, adherents of an alien faith only recently carried to Edomia from medieval Earth. But success in this endeavor may be no more desirable than all-out war with the ravenous race of arachno-sapiens known as the Sc’dorim. Faced with two equally dire prospects—to become concubines for the Curions or livestock for the Sc’dorim— Ashna and her companions must fight for their own enlightened way of life, their faith, their freedom, and all they have ever loved, before their once-proud world of women passes forever into the hands of men. Paralleling the story of Ashna’s adventures, a modern-day Marco Polo recounts his travels through the quantum portal that connects Earth to Edomia. A small boy when he arrives from Earth in the year 1965, Brother Morek looks back over many decades to recount his enslavement by the Sc’dorim, his friendship with a fellow prisoner, his escape and rescue in the midst of battle, and his struggles to adapt to life on a world at once familiar and nightmarishly strange. Along the way, Morek offers rich insight into the culture, and science, art, language, and mythology of his adopted world. |
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Humankind have spread to the stars, but so far, the only other intelligent being discovered is a primitive fox-like race called the Kawokee. Sixty years after their discovery, humanity is being inundated by a virus that originated from the Kawokee world. Jasmine Char believes the cure lies within the native culture. While other scientists look for a chemical solution amidst the growing fear and political landmines, Jasmine has her own reasons for finding a cure. But with the planet’s inhabitants decimated by human interference and misunderstandings, will she find the answers, or will the Kawokee disappear along with the entire human race? |
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Fear of the Nexus by Ross Harrison A dark planet on the galaxy’s edge. A primordial predator. A desperate hunt for a dangerous secret. When the medical frigate Ruby Rose picks up an SOS from the planet’s lightning-ravaged surface, the medics do not hesitate to drop into the raging storm. But the innocuous little planet is home to something sinister. Something desperate. Something that will stop at nothing to find what it’s looking for. Across the galaxy, the crew of the Star Wraith receives a call for help. The captain of a medical frigate has lost his medics, and one of their names is all too familiar. But how could the Wraith’s crew know that a simple rescue mission will lead to a string of murders and a waking nightmare that will leave them forever changed? |
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Exigent Circumstances: Book One of the Path of Exigents Series by Andrew Second An odd couple, that's for sure. One is a dyrantisa, a race of beings known throughout the galaxy as the terrifying Nightbeasts, and the other is just an average pilot from a race of surprisingly tough beings called humans hardly known to the wider galaxy at all. What will they do when a mysterious alien visitor arrives at their doorstep with news that could change the galaxy forever? What do they do when their societies and cultures clash, leading them down very different paths? What will each be willing to sacrifice to keep their people safe? Most importantly, will their marriage survive? This is the first book in the Path of Exigents space-opera series, an exciting galaxy-spanning science fiction adventure! |
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Starborn (the Book of Ominiue 1) by D.M.Barnham A new colony. A man without a soul. A prophecy of his coming. The future of both worlds rests in his hands. In the Spirit of Dune, Starborn is a slow-paced but deep ride that takes you on a journey between two very different worlds. *** The Earth has expanded to the stars. Colonising habitable planets as they gradually march forwards; forever fuelling the unquenchable beast that is humanity. But their expansion outwards was met with a strange mystery. Many of the best worlds were already inhabited by human beings. Not just that but all life had a shared history. The Book of Ominiue is set upon this newest world and another intelligent species walks amongst the humans. The lionman: tall, strong, fierce. These lionman sought out the "star-people" when they saw their ships descending from the skies. What ensues is a series of events bringing both worlds together. But to what end? Shayne Forrester was one of the colonists. A degenerate human who had an adverse effect to the long hibernation between stars. A man who was merely a shell of his former self. Retrained as a soldier he was shunned from the rest of society. The natives saw Shayne and declared him the sky messenger, the one sent to fulfil an old prophecy to bring back their lost gods. The mediator between the locals and the colonists, Shayne is thrust between two worlds he does not understand and is slowly forced into a prophecy he has no interest in being part of. |
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Talarans, a race of advanced and deceptively angelic aliens, invade and claim Earth as their new home. A handful of human uprisings and a short but violent period known as "The Flaming Purge" are followed by several decades of an uneasy peace.When a human rebel named Eric Matterson attempts to assassinate a Talaran senator, tensions between humans and Talarans are thrown back into high gear.This, in turn, forces Addison, a captain in the Talaran army, to face long buried memories surrounding Eric.When she tries to save him from the barbaric torture of a mind-wipe, the senator forces her to take full responsibility for Eric’s “rehabilitation”. Addison soon finds herself developing forbidden feelings for the rebel. She must keep her assignment a secret from both humans and Talarans, but most of all she cannot let Eric learn the truth behind their tragic past connection |
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Koinobi: Book one of the Koinobi Trilogy by Reid Minnich How far would you go to help a parasitic insect from the stars? Tweeskzaht nudges human civilization and technology forward from the shadows. Unaware of the war in the stars above it, Earth is in the cross-hairs of both sides. To save her adopted home, she must reveal herself to a small band of humans. Will Mike’s self-sacrifice, Kindra’s cunning, and David’s intelligence be enough to save Earth from becoming a hunting ground? |
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Spectacular Silver Earthling by Mara Lynn Johnstone Hubcap used to be a rescue bot, getting humans out of every boneheaded scrape imaginable. His new career as a TV star suits him better: he can poke fun at the humans instead, while harvesting jetpods and tackling alien predators faster than any of them. It doesn’t hurt that he’s also immune to the mysterious “space frenzy” that keeps sending his coworkers into a froth. The robot worries for his human friends, though he would never admit it. Not when it’s much more fun to deploy weapons-grade sass. The pressure ratchets up when a rival show aims to steal their sponsor. Hubcap has to film his most spectacular footage yet, while avoiding dangerous wildlife, plantlife, and emotions. But if anyone is up to the task, it’s the robot with skills second to none, and an ego to match. |
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Those Once Forgotten by N. C. Scrimgeour They were a memory once forgotten. For millennia, they waited. Now, they are coming. The galaxy has been plunged into chaos, left reeling from the trap Alvera Renata triggered around the ancient alien waystations. As the leaders of the allied systems desperately try to prepare for what might be coming, Ridley and Kojan go on the hunt in search of answers. But the one person who might hold the key—the rogue starship captain who started it all—is missing in action, and her old friends aren’t the only ones looking for her… Meanwhile, tensions between the Coalition and the Idran-Var are at breaking point in the aftermath of a brutal attack. The only hope for peace may lie in a fragile alliance between Rivus and Niole, old enemies thrown unwillingly onto the same side. But even if they can bury their past, what will it take to overcome the centuries of bloodshed dividing their people? As the mysterious signal coming from the waystations counts down, only one thing is for certain: something is coming, and if the fractured factions of the galaxy can’t find a way to stand against it together, it may be the end for them all. |
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Those Left Behind by N. C. Scrimgeour A dying planet. A desperate mission. A crew facing impossible odds. Humanity’s last hope lies with them… Time is running out for the people of New Pallas. Nobody knows that better than Alvera Renata, a tenacious captain determined to scout past the stars with nothing but a handpicked crew and a promise: to find a new home for humanity. But when a perilous journey across dark space leads to first contact with a galactic civilisation on the brink of war, Alvera soon realises keeping her word might not be as easy as she thought. Her only hope lies with the secrets of the ancient alien waystations scattered across the galaxy. The mysterious technology could be the key to humanity’s survival—or bring unwanted attention from the long-forgotten beings who built them. But remaining united in the face of annihilation is a lot to ask from a crew already splintering under the weight of their differences. A jaded pilot looks for a place he can start over. A young translator searches for meaning out in the galaxy's lawless frontier. And Alvera reckons with the aftermath of betrayal as she fights for a way to save them all. As they break apart to forge their own paths, Alvera and her crew all face the same question: what are they willing to sacrifice to save those left behind? |
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The Rax-Out of Darkness by C.G. Harris Human technology is a crime punishable by death and the alien race controlling the planet fears one thing... a blind boy immune to their greatest weapon... With Earth enslaved by a vicious alien race known as the Rax, hope hangs on a single savior—a blind runaway named Tael. His alien captors distill fear into a devastating weapon, but Tael and a small band of rebels discover an ancient super computer that holds the technology to defeat them. If Tael unravels its secrets, humanity may have a fighting chance. But only if they find the traitor hidden within their rebel ranks who threatens their extinction… |
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Crystal Deception by Doug J. Cooper Book 1 of the Crystal Series Criss lives in a special kind of prison. He can see and hear everything around the world, yet a mesh restrains his reach, forcing his cooperation. His creator, Dr. Jessica Tallette, believes his special abilities offer great promise for humanity. But she fears the consequences of freeing him, because Criss, a sentient artificial intelligence with the intellect of a thousand humans, is too powerful to control. Tallette’s world is upended when the Kardish, a race of alien traders, announce that they want Criss for themselves, expressing their desires with ominous undertones. She turns to the Union of Nations for help, and they task Sid, a special agent, with leading the response. Sid believes that Criss is Earth’s greatest weapon and asks him to confront the Kardish. But can the AI be trusted? And what is humanity’s role if an interstellar battle among titans starts to rage? Download Crystal Horizon for Free at: www.crystalseries.com Keywords: science fiction, space thriller, artificial intelligence, military adventure, strong women, sentient AI, alien contact, space fleet, light romance, crystal series |
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SPSFC SPSFC 2022 Indie Recs Indie 2021 San Diego Book Award Winner! A melody from the stars can save humanity, but only if Stephen can awaken the alien within… Childhood therapy cured Stephen Fisher of disturbing visions and the delusion of having come from another world. But when his daughter obsesses over a star in the night sky, he fears that his genetic legacy may have burdened her with the same illness. His sanity is then shattered when he loses his child and the military abducts him claiming that she recorded a song broadcast from another world. A voice inside Stephen’s head convinces him that he can bring his daughter back to life. What he discovers instead is a stunning truth about himself, his child’s destiny, and fate of the entire human race… Melody is a riveting and thought-provoking science fiction novel. If you like first contact scenarios and action-filled pages, then you’ll love David Hoffer’s otherworldly adventure. |
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Dragon's Baby by Miranda Martin My strange life as a scientific researcher is ripped apart the day blood-thirsty pirates attack our space ship. In the confusion, the ship is thrown off course. We crash land on a planet that can barely support life. Yeah…things are going swell. I’ve escaped the pirates, at least. But when Ladon, a powerful Zmaj warrior, rescues me from the scorching desert wasteland, I soon learn I have bigger problems. This planet is home to a dragon-alien...and he has eyes set on me. Ladon takes me to his lair, where it soon becomes clear I'm not just a prisoner. I’m his mate. In love with my curves and my soft, human form, he declares he intends to keep me and claim me in every way. And the moment he touches my trembling body, he leaves no doubt... This fierce, protective dragon owns me. Fans of Ruby Dixon and Calista Skye will love Dragon's Baby by USA Today Bestselling Author Miranda Martin, a full length, standalone science fiction romance with a happily ever after, plenty of steam, bloody battles, and alien-human intrigue. Scroll up and one click to start this scorching hot SFR today! |
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SEARCHING FOR A NEW HOME… The Galahad, a faster-than-light spacecraft, carries fifty scientists and engineers on a mission to prepare Kepler 452b, Earth’s nearest habitable neighbor at 1400 light years away. With Earth no longer habitable and the Mars colony slowly failing, they are humanity’s best hope. After ten years in a failed cryogenic bed—body asleep, mind awake—William Chanokh’s torture comes to an end as the fog clears, the hatch opens, and his friend and fellow hacker, Tom, greets him…by stabbing a screwdriver into his heart. This is the first time William dies. It is not the last. When he wakes from death, William discovers that all but one crew member—Capria Dixon—is either dead at Tom’s hands, or escaped to the surface of Kepler 452b. This dire situation is made worse when Tom attacks again—and is killed. Driven mad by a rare reaction to extended cryo-sleep, Tom hacked the Galahad’s navigation system and locked the ship on a faster-than-light journey through the universe, destination: nowhere. Ever. Mysteriously immortal, William is taken on a journey with no end, where he encounters solitary desperation, strange and violent lifeforms, a forbidden love, and the nature of reality itself. …HE DISCOVERS THE INFINITE. Jeremy Robinson, the master of fast-paced and highly original stories seamlessly blending elements of horror, science fiction, and thrillers, tackles his most ambitious subject matter to date: reality itself. An amalgam of the works of J.J. Abrams and Ridley Scott, Infinite is a bold science fiction novel exploring the vastness of space and a man’s desire to exist, find love, and alter the course of his life. |
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The Peacemaker's Code by Deepak Malhotra WINNER OF THE "NATIONAL INDIE EXCELLENCE AWARD" FOR BEST SCIENCE FICTION (2021) Professor Kilmer, a renowned historian of war and diplomacy, is collected from his home and whisked off to Washington. Thrust into the highest levels of government as an adviser to the President, the young historian must come to terms with the seemingly impossible, figure out how to navigate a world where not everything is as it appears, and use all the skills and knowledge he has acquired in his life to help save humanity from a conflict of truly epic proportions. A genre-breaking novel that re-examines the human condition and masterfully blends some of the most compelling themes in literature: war & peace, strategy & serendipity, love & friendship, courage & fear, the bounds of possibility, and the limits of imagination. Replete with mysteries that will compel you to keep turning the pages, powerful moments that will stop you dead in your tracks, and insights that will change the way you understand and navigate the world. Most of all... a journey you will not forget. |
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Wherever Seeds May Fall by Peter Cawdron FIRST CONTACT is a series of stand-alone novels that explore humanity's first interaction with extraterrestrial life. The Prince of Darkness is coming. Comet Anduru skimmed the clouds of Saturn. Rather than being drawn into the gas giant, it skipped back out into space. With the comet heading for Jupiter, speculation is mounting it’s an alien spacecraft making its way to Earth. Lieutenant Colonel Nolan Landis and Dr. Kath McKenzie are caught between an angry public and an anxious President as they grapple with the scientific, social, and political implications of First Contact. FIRST CONTACT is similar to BLACK MIRROR or THE TWILIGHT ZONE in that the series is based on a common theme rather than common characters. This allows these books to be read in any order. Technically, they're all first as they all deal with how we might initially respond to contact with aliens, exploring the social, political, religious, and scientific aspects of First Contact. |
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The Bygone Wars 1: Songs of Space and Time by Scott Robinson Fifty thousand years ago, people were genetically engineered to take on different roles on the interstellar starships of a great civilization. For a while dwarves, elves, trolls, halflings, and giants worked with humans exploring the galaxy and colonizing amazing worlds. But then we discovered we weren't alone and, of course, we argued about what should be done. Nasty words were exchanged. Wars were started. And, of course, everything fell apart and the great civilization collapsed. Soon there were just scattered worlds with myths and legends to hint at what had come before. And, eventually, civilizations rose again... After years in the army, then more years backpacking around the world, Kim thinks she's seen just about everything there is to see. But she has to admit to being a little bit surprised when the giant bats started dropping bombs. And then the aliens came. There she was, wondering what a medieval hotdog might have been filled with, and five minutes later she was battling ugly, leathery-skinned aliens, beating them over the head with a historically accurate mace. And if that wasn't strange enough, she was shown a portal to another world, with the same war being fought on the other side. Kim knows the information she holds could be vital, but she doesn't like authority all that much, and it doesn't like her either. So, when the leaders of the Earth's defenses test her friendship one time too many she sets out to end the war on her own. Well, just her, an elf, a giant and a dwarf who may well be completely nuts. *** Please note-- "The Bygone Wars" series is the same as "The Tribes of the Hakahei". It has been rearranged and repackaged as 2 books instead of 4. (The books don't align though, so don't mix the series) The series is completed in All the Wars Of Heaven. If you have already read The Tribes of the Hakahei, don't buy this book. And if you read this book, follow it up with All the Wars of Heaven (Well, you can if you like, just don't say you weren't warned)*** |
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Out of the Gray by Patricia Gilliam Aliens, politics, and murder. Only the first one is new. Towards the end of the twenty-fourth century, it is common knowledge aliens have lived on the planet for a long time. The Hannarian royal family has stationed an ambassador to interact with Earth’s governments and to be an official bridge between humans and their race. They also want to assist humanity by offering access to advanced medical, communication, and transportation technologies. This does not ring true with the EIP, the Earth Independence Party. They are aware that Hannarians possess superhuman skills and abilities that they have kept hidden from Earth’s general population. To the people aware of these abilities, the Hannarians seem dangerous to some and downright demonic to others. They fear Hannarians pose a tangible threat to the Earth and every living human on the planet. The organization has spent decades preparing for the perfect opportunity to remove the Ambassador, expose the aliens what they truly are, and finally place themselves on equal footing with their enemies. Alex Verin, son of EIP Congressman Adam Verin, has had a very unexpected day. After chance meetings with the Hannarian Ambassador’s son and later the Ambassador himself, Alex has his beliefs about the Hannarians brought into question. Once at home and milling over what he has learned, Alex tries to figure out what is truth and what isn’t. When a visitor arrives at their home to speak with his father, Alex attempts to find out the man’s identity and why his father is being so secretive about him. While doing so, Alex overhears the man discuss plans to assassinate Hannaria’s Ambassador with his father. Rica Miller, the adopted daughter of Charlie and Rebecca Miller, is leaving Earth. After discovering that she is not human but Hannarian, Rica’s parents decide that relocating to Space Station Destiny would be the best option for her future. As a station engineer, Charlie has made arrangements for his wife and daughter to join him now that construction has entered its final phases. After boarding a transport leaving Baltimore, Rica meets Jernard. He introduces himself as the Hannarian Ambassador and explains he wants to ensure they arrive at Destiny safely out of friendship to Charlie. Rebecca does recognize Jernard, but considering she and Charlie told no one about Rica or that they were leaving, she is hesitant to trust him. How will Alex react to his father’s agreement with a plan to murder someone? Can Rica trust Jernard, and does he hold any answers on what happened to her birth parents? Will the EIP succeed in killing Hannaria’s Ambassador? |
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Some of My Best Friends Are Human by Liz J. Andersen In an underground orphan center on an overpopulated planet, Tajen Jesmuhr dreams of freedom in a distant wilderness under an open sky. So when offered an interplanetary ecology class with offworld field trips, Taje leaps at the chance. But Taje isn't the only misfit here, where everyone has a tragic past and hidden wounds, and she soon clashes with her teacher and her classmates, including:A boy with a frightening secret who lost his family to a terrorist plague. A crafty female human-alien chimera whose parents disappeared in a paraspace accident. And a boy with a hidden past and a dead father he still hates.All may have promising careers ahead of them, but only if they can learn to trust themselves and one another enough to survive an uncaring system and a deadly final exam.Andre Norton believed in this story, and anyone--young and old--who loves science fiction with interesting characters, alien animals, and interplanetary adventures without war will enjoy it too.About the AuthorLiz J. Andersen grew up in Silicon Valley (Palo Alto, California), and wrote the first draft of this novel when she was about the same age as her main characters. Liz has red hair like Taje, but Liz is not Taje. The author just became tired of too many red-haired villains, and a scarcity of red-haired heroes.In real life, a serious lack of mentors undoubtedly led to this book, and a solution aimed at the author and other kids floundering on their own. However, once done, Liz realized she needed more science for an accurate SF novel.So she set her novel aside to earn a B.S. in Animal Physiology with Highest Honors at U.C. Davis, which required physics, chemistry, and calculus, as well as numerous physiology classes. It also allowed broad electives such as ecology, astronomy, and art. She proceeded from there immediately into veterinary school, and also earned her D.V.M. degree at U.C. Davis.During summer breaks Liz backpacked, primarily in the Sierra Nevada with her friend Carla Salido, where they enjoyed their own adventures. Liz has also defied death at least four times to bring you this novel, so it must be important.She now lives in Eugene, Oregon, with her husband, Brian, and has published several short stories about Dr. Tajen Jesmuhr in Analog Science Fiction and Fact magazine. Find her at her website LizJAndersen.com, and her husband's music at labbwerk.bandcamp.com. |
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In the Orbit of Sirens by T.A. Bruno THE LAST FRAGMENTS OF THE HUMAN RACE ARE FORCED TO ADAPT TO A DANGEROUS NEW WORLD OR FACE EXTINCTION. When starship mechanic, Denton Castus, is caught in the destructive path of a devastating war, he abandons his home and seeks refuge on a distant planet. However, this new safe haven has undiscovered threats of its own. Eliana Veston, a scout preparing the planet for the refugees, struggles with a deadly pandemic that is killing off colonists. The hunt for a cure unleashes a new threat to humanity—the Sirens—mysterious beings with incredible powers and a deep hatred for invaders. |
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Mantivore Dreams by S.J. Higbee On a colony planet, in a hot, dusty village where no one wants to live, is someone who was exiled there a long time ago. Someone who stole something so precious, others are prepared to lie, kidnap and murder to get it back. Drawn into this web of deceit is Kyrillia, a teenager who dreams of running the village’s branch of the Node, the planetwide organic information system, but instead drudges for her mother… Seth, member of the disgraced Priest family who can read and write, but instead toils as a day labourer on the smelliest, most thankless jobs in the village, in exchange for scraps of food and temporary shelter… And Vrox, an ancient, sentient alien who lives only in Kyrillia’s imagination, or so she thinks... When Kyrillia sneaks into the Node and opens up a forbidden site, she triggers a chain of events that not only rips through her own life, but affects those living thousands of miles away in the capital. For when something so precious goes missing, others will stop at nothing to get it back. For fans who enjoy Lois McMaster Bujold |
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Escape From B-Movie Hell by M T McGuire If you asked Andi Turbot whether she had anything in common with Flash Gordon she'd say no, emphatically. Saving the world is for dynamic, go-ahead, leaders of men and while it would be nice to see a woman getting involved for a change, she believes she could be the least well-equipped being in her galaxy for the job. Then her best friend, Eric, reveals that he is an extraterrestrial. He's not just any ET either. He's Gamalian: seven-foot, lobster-shaped and covered in Marmite-scented goo. Just when Andi's getting used to that he tells her about the Apocalypse and really ruins her day. The human race will perish unless Eric's Gamalian superiors step in. Abducted and trapped on an alien ship, Andi must convince the Gamalians her world is worth saving. Or escape from their clutches and save it herself. |
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The 5th Gender by Gail Carriger A species that has no word for murder has a murderer aboard their spaceship! New York Times bestselling romantic comedy author Gail Carriger (writing as G.L. Carriger) brings you a light-hearted science fiction mystery featuring an adorable lavender alien and his human crush. ALIEN Tristol lives in exile. But he’s built a life for himself aboard a massive space station. He’s even begun to understand the complex nuances of human courting rituals. Detective Hastion is finally flirting back! MURDER Except that Tristol’s beloved adopted home is unexpectedly contacted by the galoi – a xenophobic species with five genders, purple skin, and serious attitude. They need the help of a detective because there’s a murderer aboard their spaceship. Murder is so rare, the galoi don’t even have a word for it. Tristol knows this because he is galoi. ROMANCE Which means that he and Detective Hastion are on the case… together. "This is a fun, funny, sexy book, and I’m so happy it exists. It hits you in the feels, makes you laugh and cry, and makes you think about matters of family, kin, and the heart." ~ Bookriot |
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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. |
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Spacefarer: Fanatic's Bane by Edmund de Wight 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. |
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PIERCING THE CELESTIAL OCEAN by Kip Koelsch AN EPIC TALE, A CLASH OF TWO UNIVERSES Disgraced scientist, Captain Anton Ekels, seizes the opportunity for redemption he recognizes in the Endeavor’s near-collision with an alien stasis pod. Expelled from the mouth of a remote wormhole, the capsule—once taken onboard the deep space research vessel--reveals clues that the captain believes may link its female humanoid occupant to an alternate reality. A student of Earth’s space exploration history, Ekels quickly recognizes a plaque similar to that attached to the twentieth century’s Pioneer space probes--but the universe described is potentially unlike anything ever encountered by the Intragalactic Science Consortium. SIX-HUNDRED YEARS EARLIER ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORMHOLE Grand Master G’lea and her assistant, Master T’reau, aim their innovative celestiscope skyward and make a heretical discovery. Suppressed and warped by influential P’nesian Clerics, this startling revelation further secures the dominance of the Grand Conclave, enhances the mystery of the Heavenly Visitors and seals the fate of G’lea and T’reau. Despite the best efforts of the Grand Conclave the legend of the Grand Master and her assistant lives on in hand-copied, forbidden books, the furtive whisperings of radical academics and the tall tales of drunken sailors on the island of Lolus. Hundreds of years later, on this oft-denigrated island, unique circumstances unite a sea captain raised on those whispered tall tales with the estranged son of the powerful P’nesian Archcleric. Aboard the Vagus, A’zra and G’regor begin an adventure that not only challenges entrenched religious beliefs, but eventually inspires a much greater scientific leap—towards the Celestial Ocean and beyond. PIERCING THE CELESTIAL OCEAN THE SAGA OF THE CERULEAN UNIVERSE BEGINS |
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Shasta Mountain. Known for its overall strangeness: UFOs, strange lights, and unusual creatures. Perhaps Greer McClelland, the protagonist, lives among the source of these sightings after her car spins out of control while driving to Seattle. Waking up after her accident, she finds herself at the mercy of an underground hybrid alien-human people with special abilities and fascinating history. The Zakota people welcome her, but in doing so has sealed her fate: she’s not allowed to leave. Greer rebels against this, struggling to come to terms with her new reality. Her life takes on as many twists and turns as the dark passageways in the underground cavern where she now lives. She discovers a simple way of life, yet with unexpected advanced technology. As Greer comes to know these people, including two potential love interests, she’s forced to decide between staying with the Zakotas, or escaping back to the outside world. |
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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... |
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Lost Solace by Karl Drinkwater 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. |
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Leviathan centipedes. Ravenous wasps. Moon universities. Viscoelastic AI's in the nude. One upstart anthropologist trying to learn echolocation. A tortured weapons dealer dodging exploding flowers. Predator Moons is equal parts horror and wonder. It's Dune meets Pokémon, with a splash of Blade Runner and a touch of Annihilation. |
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Stars Forever Black by A. L. Bruno 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. |
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The Universal Good Deal by Cleophas Foy Alien white people from outer-space invade Earth armed with amazing deals and low, low prices. They're selling lava lamps, fanny packs, water beds, and more and everyone's buying it. Wouldn't you? It's from outer-space! Made by Aliens! And everything's on sale. It's a steal. But the Aliens only take cash. It's up to a marketing genius, a bosomy politician, and a genuinely nice guy to figure out what the Aliens want before we all become the product. Can humanity survive the most effective advertising campaign ever created or will the Aliens make a real killing? The Universal Good Deal is a satire about colonialism that explores all the horrible ways people fail to understand those who are different from them. |
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Ghost Dragon by Craig A. Price Jr. A spaceship crashes onto a planet… completely filled with dragons. When crash landing onto a planet filled with flying, fire-breathing beasts, Daniel is uncertain he can step up as the captain his crew needs to escape the strange planet. Daniel is an Unwanted. His parents didn't want him. The Space Academy didn't want him. The shipyard he worked at for years barely wanted him. But here he was, clawing through the ranks of them all to become the captain of his very own ship. The Ghost. After one successful accidental mission, and a second mediocre one, he is now the captain of an exploratory crew. To go where no one has gone before, and all that jazz. It's always been his dream. But when he crash lands on a planet full of dragons. No, not dinosaurs. Dragons. Yes, you heard that right. Dragons. Fire-breathing, Ice-Breathing, and lots of other elemental-breathing, flying dragons. Daniel doesn't know what to do. They may not be intelligent life, but he's stranded with a small crew and they must fight their way out, fix their ship, and get as far away from what Daniel is calling "Dragon Planet" (Original--I know), and onto his next exploratory mission ... if he can survive. If you love Star Trek and The Orville, Science Fiction with snarky characters and humor-filled plot lines with a little bit of hard science, then you’ll love Ghost Dragon, because everyone is an explorer at heart! |
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Ghost Surveillance by Craig A. Price Jr. A radio transmission deep in space… a surveillance mission is ordered … Daniel finally has his chance to prove himself with his first official planetary exploration mission. It isn’t going to be Daniel’s first time to a new planet, but it will be his first time leading an expedition from the beginning. In the past, he led missions to asteroids, and one planetary exploration since there were no nearby captains. But this time, he is chosen to go on his first official planet exploratory mission. He is ready to prove himself a capable ship captain. What could possibly go wrong with a simple surveillance mission? Daniel is an Unwanted, surrounded by a galaxy of clones. He desires nothing more than to prove himself, but no one takes him seriously. He uses humor as a defense mechanism and stumbles his entire way through being a captain. But this is his first serious mission. He needs to make sure it succeeds at all cost. If you love Star Trek and The Orville, Science Fiction with snarky characters and humor-filled plot lines with a little bit of hard science, then you’ll love Ghost Surveillance, because everyone is an explorer at heart! |
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Ghost Probe by Craig A. Price Jr. Roads?! Where we’re going, we don’t need roads! When a strange radio signal is detected in deep space, the president needs his finest officers to check it out. Unfortunately, the closest vessel is a lowly asteroid miner staffed with a ragtag crew of misfits. The leader of this crew is Captain Daniel, an "Unwanted." In the future, the rigors of space travel are reserved for two sets of people. Clones of the best and brightest officers, and the products of unplanned pregnancies. As one of the latter, Daniel is considered inferior to his peers and sees this exploratory mission as a chance to prove himself to the galaxy. Full of tongue-in-cheek humor, "Ghost Probe" will have you chuckling and smiling as the crew of the ship attempts to answer one of humanity's biggest existential questions. With comic dialogue and situations, "Ghost Probe" will appeal to fans of "The Orville" and other sci-fi that doesn't take itself too seriously. |
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The Rosetta Man by Claire McCague Wanted: Translator for first contact. Immediate opening. Danger pay allowance Estlin Hume lives in Twin Butte, Alberta surrounded by a horde of affectionate squirrels. His involuntary squirrel-attracting talent leaves him evicted, expelled, fired and near penniless until two aliens arrive and adopt him as their translator. Yanked around the world at the center of the first contact crisis, Estlin finds his new employers incomprehensible. As he faces the ultimate language barrier, unsympathetic military forces converging in the South Pacific keep threatening to shoot the messenger. The question on everyone’s mind is why are the aliens here? But Estlin’s starting to think we’ll happily blow ourselves up in the process of finding that out. |
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Almost a century after Keres Triplets asteroid impact and subsequent nuclear exchange nearly ended all human life on Earth, a strange artifact is discovered on one of the moons of Saturn. Who should be sent to the outer reaches of the solar system to initiate the first contact with an alien culture? Dr. Varsaad Volhard, an evolutionary-socio-historian, is chosen to help the world understand the alien civilization that left an artifact some thirty thousand years ago, before humans even learned to farm, at the time when other human species still walked the earth. While Vars prepares for the mission, her father, Dr. Matteo Volhard, discovers nanobots among the microplastics he studies. The bots are everywhere and seem to have been created to bond with human cyber implants. Why? Matteo is made to keep his discovery a secret...as well as his and his daughter's true origins. Both were donated to a Human DNA Vault as babies. Matteo was raised as a Seed before leaving with his young daughter to study ecology around the world. Who knows what? Who is in control? How does one communicate with non-human intelligence? People seem to die in gruesome ways as their cyberhumatics go haywire on Earth and on Luna and Mars colonies. Is Earth under attack or is it all just a cosmic misunderstanding? Vars needs to use all she knows to solve the mystery of the ancient civilization on Mimas, as her dad battles the alien nanobots at home. |
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A millennium has passed since the small world of Incari was struck by a meteor known as the Kutsal Stone. In the celestial object's wake, two powerful inhabitants of another realm—beings of light and creatures of shadow—ravaged the land with war until they were ultimately banished. Time distorted tales of these god-like creatures into myth and legend, but Princess Elurra quickly finds there is legitimacy amongst the lore. After her parents' deaths pave the way for her exiled aunt to claim the throne, she finds herself desperate and on the run. Elurra must uncover the truth about magic and untwist the legends of old in order to protect the future of her homeland and thwart her aunt's malicious plots. Mysterious visions lead Elurra and her unlikely allies down a path to the truth; however, they find the conflicts of the past may be impossible to repair before they rip Incari apart. |