stories in and

Behind Blue Eyes

Behind Blue Eyes by Anna Mocikat

SPSFC 2022

In a future world ruled by warring mega-corporations, cyborg Nephilim believed she was fighting a righteous cause. As a powerful, cybernetically enhanced elite soldier her job is to do all the dirty work for the mega-corporation she belongs to. She and her elite cyborg squad are deployed on the most dangerous missions – to protect Olympias from threats outside and inside at any cost. One day, a malfunction in her implants separates her from the all-controlling grid. For the first time in her life, Nephilim is free. She learns that everything she has believed in all her life is a lie and decides to defend her newfound freedom. But Metatron, the leader of her unit, has very special plans for her future and won’t let her get away. Soon, Nephilim finds herself hunted by the killer squads she once belonged to. She’s the best of them but will her skills be enough to survive? Blade Runner meets John Wick with a badass female lead.


Convergence (A DRMR Novel, Book 1)

Convergence (A DRMR Novel, Book 1) by Michael Patrick Hicks

SPSFC

MEMORIES ARE THE MOST DANGEROUS DRUG Jonah Everitt is a killer, an addict, and a memory thief. After being hired to kill a ranking officer of the Pacific Rim Coalition and download his memories, Everitt finds himself caught in the crosshairs of a terror cell, a rogue military squadron, and a Chinese gangster named Alice Xie. Xie is a profiteer of street drugs, primarily DRMR, a powerful narcotic made from the memories of the dead. With his daughter, Mesa, missing in post-war Los Angeles, Everitt is forced into an uneasy alliance with Alice to find her. Mesa's abduction is wrapped up in the secrets of a brutal murder during the war's early days, a murder that Alice Xie wants revenged. In order to find her, Jonah will have to sift through the memories of dead men that could destroy what little he has left. In a city where peace is tenuous and loyalties are ever shifting, the past and the present are about to converge. Convergence is a tech noir work of science fiction with dystopian and cyberpunk elements, perfect for fans of authors like Richard K. Morgan and his Takeshi Kovach's series, and is the first novel in the DRMR series.


The Chiral Agent

The Chiral Agent by L. L. Richman

SPSFC

WINNER OF THE 2021 Reader's Favorite Book Award for Science Fiction First, they stole his identity. Now, they want him dead. Shadow Recon pilot Micah Case awakens above an alien world, with no memory of his past and a mysterious voice inside his head. Worse, his own military is hunting him... and he has no idea why. His genetic code could destroy all life. The voice leads to a discovery so unbelievable, enemy nations would kill to control it — to control him. Now, Micah must use every skill in his arsenal to secure the stolen research. The stakes are impossibly high, but failure is not an option. The alternative could mean the extinction of a people Micah can no longer call his own. Humanity. THE CHIRAL AGENT is a fast-paced, cerebral thriller that's part hard science fiction, part spy novel, and one hundred percent adrenaline. It’s sure to keep you guessing every step of the way.


Lost Girl

Lost Girl by L.J. Kendall

SPSFC

Alone. Lost. Hunted. Pulled from chill waters, she doesn’t tell her rescuer that someone’s trying to kill her. Nor that capture would be far worse. She doesn’t tell him – because she can’t. She doesn’t remember. Why though was Mason Dane in New Francisco Bay in the middle of the night? Was it entirely by luck that he lifted her from its cold embrace? Who is he? Can she trust him? Can she trust herself? With her odd behaviors, her strange abilities… is she even human? It’s 2063, decades after magic’s return. Hunted and on the run, it’s not the shadowy Department she should fear: it’s those who stole her memories. That inner void however, that emptiness, has drawn the attention of uncanny forces. For humanity, the risk is Freedom itself. But for one lost girl – annihilation. When all is darkest, she shines most bright.


Neurotopia

Neurotopia by Tony Mohorovich

SPSFC

When government and corporations can read your thoughts, you have nowhere to hide... Sky Marion spends her days on the Neuronet investigating thought crimes and recommending offenders for reprogramming. It's one of the few jobs you can hold down without having to talk to people, which is just the way Sky likes it. Plus, it allows Sky to indulge in one of her favorite pastimes; listening in on the thoughts of complete strangers. Is it voyeuristic? Sure. Legal? Yup. Addictive? Just ask Sky's worried mother, Winona. But Sky's sheltered life is upended when off-world brain hackers infect over a million Earth citizens with a suicide virus, and Winona is one of the unfortunate victims. With only days until the virus destroys her mother's mind, phobia-ridden Sky must risk her life and sanity and infiltrate the lawless Moon—now the independent planet of Apollo—to track down the hackers and find the cure. There, Sky will unravel a tapestry of deceit and betrayal, and find herself in the middle of a hidden war of civilizations, with humanity the ultimate prize. Neurotopia: Geppetto’s Chains is a fast-paced science fiction thriller set in a fascinating future dominated by neurotechnology and those who would use it to control the most valuable resource known to humankind: information.


ARvekt

ARvekt by Craig Lea Gordon

SPSFC

Will the battle for humanity be fought in reality? Or in her mind? Tannis Ord is a black-ops cyborg assassin. A highly-trained human-weapon, dedicated to hunting down the last of the brain hacking syndicates. There’s just one problem… Her mind was broken from a psychotic episode. Neural programming erased her trauma, gave her a fresh start. But when an old brain hacker cult resurfaces, and a sentient AI is set to govern the entire human population, she starts seeing things. Horrors that can’t possibly be real… that make no sense… that only she can see. Ix, their AI Guardian, is abducting innocent citizens from the streets in broad daylight. And it’s using the Augmented Reality it has thrown over the world as cover. Is the AI hellbent on humanities destruction? Or is her mind tearing itself apart again? ARvekt is an explosive story, fusing action and intrigue into a journey full of twists and turns where you won’t know what’s real and what isn’t. If you enjoy books with amazing plots and characters, set in a stunning futuristic world, then input ARvekt into your brain now. ARvekt is book two of the Instant Reality Series.


Steel Guardian

Steel Guardian by Cameron Coral

SPSFC

The AI Uprising destroys society as we know it. Banking is wiped out overnight. No internet, phones, or electricity. Anything “smart” or “connected” turns against humans. The military’s SoldierBots have one function--seek and destroy. Block is a simple CleanerBot programmed to clean and serve hotel guests. Forced to leave his city, he must avoid dangerous SoldierBots and find a new hotel he can call home. But when Block discovers a human infant, his surprise attachment to the girl compels him to protect her while traveling across the metal infested wastelands of America to a safe haven. Without his help, the abandoned baby could die before they reach safety. When he encounters Nova - a surly soldier who becomes an unlikely ally - they must tackle the biggest challenge of their lives. Together, they face mortal danger from bands of scavengers, militaristic SoldierBots, and Combat Mechs. A cyborg Bounty Hunter will stop at nothing to find Block and the child - an infant who holds the key to humanity’s future.

If you enjoy characters with heart and action-packed adventure, then you’ll love the first book of this thrilling post-apocalyptic sci-fi series.


The Paradise Factory

The Paradise Factory by Jim Keen

SPSFC

She's a policewoman with a past. In a future ruled by AI, one bad decision could get her killed... or worse. Former UN Marine Alice Yu is a beat-down cop running from guilt in a ruined city. Brutally ambushed and left for dead, she's powerless to prevent a ruthless crime boss from abducting her NYPD partner. Though it will cost her job in a world with 99% unemployment, she vows to bring him back from the lawless and forbidden Fourth Ward Territory. Fighting through injuries and resurfacing trauma, Yu tracks her mentor's trail. But when her war born PTSD flares in the face of a cartel death squad, her bloody background could spell her demise. And if she doesn't succeed, the entire city is doomed. Can Yu save the man she failed, or will her quest for redemption become a suicide mission? If you like James S.A. Corey, Martha Wells, and William Gibson, you'll love the thrilling Alice Yu series. Buy The Paradise Factory to discover this amazing new world today!


Into Neon: A Cyberpunk Saga

Into Neon: A Cyberpunk Saga by Matthew A. Goodwin

SPSFC 2022

When a corporate lacky discovers a terrible secret that exposes his illusions, will his hidden fire dwindle or ignite a rebellion? Orphaned and alone, Moss is happy to have found a place in the world. But his humdrum working routines take a terrifying turn when a mysterious woman breaks into his apartment and hands him a data chip from his dead parents. Suddenly hearing messages revealing his benevolent employer has a far darker side, he braves the dangerous megacity streets in search of the truth. Surrounded by outcasts and criminals and running on instinct, Moss stumbles onto a rebel group intent on exposing their corrupt oppressors. And though he fears for his life when his old boss has put a price on his head, the naïve man believes the key to taking down the enemy may lie inside the high-tech device… and his own cerebral cortex. Will Moss’s attempt to fight the power cause him to terminally short circuit? Into Neon is the electrode-laden first book in A Cyberpunk Saga science fiction series. If you like everyman heroes, futuristic tech, and immersive dystopian worlds, then you’ll love Matthew A. Goodwin’s mind-expanding epic. Buy Into Neon to hack the system today!


Killing Dragons

Killing Dragons by Kristie Clark

SPSFC

"A smart, science fiction thriller that will have readers looking twice at dolphins - and scanning the waters for something far more menacing. Highly recommended." - Chanticleer Reviews In a world where sea dragons terrorize dolphins, you enter the reef at your own risk. Marine biologist Eva Paz is on the verge of revolutionizing linguistics by cracking the dolphin communication code. Then police call her away to investigate a dead fisherman. It's her mother's boyfriend, but Eva is running out of time to complete her dolphin whistle library by the deadline, putting her grant at risk. Without funding, her dolphins will soon be turned loose in the deadly Caribbean. A cartel leader makes Eva an offer she can't refuse. He'll fund her dolphin research if she'll help him capture the sea dragon. His aid comes with a catch, and he doesn't count the cost. Then geneticist Thomas Sternberg arrives on sabbatical to lead a dive school. He wants to help Eva, but they share a tragic past. While on his watch as a Navy Seal, Eva's brother was killed, and her dolphin was wounded. Eva doesn't trust Thomas, but can she set that aside to work with him to stop the sea dragon and save her dolphins? For fans of Jaws and Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park, Killing Dragons is book one in Kristie Clark's Order of the Dolphin series. Buy Killing Dragons to join Eva and her dolphins on their adventures today! Book club questions included. May be read as a standalone, but Killing Dragons is best enjoyed with the other Order of the Dolphin series books: Dragon Gold and Dragon Clan.


Iron Truth

Iron Truth by S.A. Tholin

SPSFC SPSFC Winner

Fresh and surprising on every level, IRON TRUTH is an epic science fiction adventure with a twist of cosmic horror, bursting with staggering world-building, unremitting action and memorable characters. When miners on a remote colony dig too deep, the golden age of space exploration comes to a bloody end. A corruption springs from Xanthe's alien soil, possessing every mind it touches. Embroiled in civil war, the galactic community spirals into panic, and the Primaterre Protectorate seizes control. In order to preserve Earth, its surface is quarantined, and all further deep space colonisation is outlawed. Aboard one of the last colony ships, junior botanist Joy Somerset slumbers in cryostasis, unaware of war and corruption. Expecting the clear skies of a garden colony, she instead wakes stranded on Cato - a planet whose menacing sands seem to share a hunger with the crazed locals - and Joy faces mortal peril at every turn. Commander Cassimer, troubled by a past of epic proportions, is a Primaterre veteran dedicated to fighting the corruption. Now he leads Scathach Banneret Company's elite strike team on a mission to recover a clandestine starship lost on Cato. On this storm-lashed world, surrounded by shadow and ruin, Cassimer faces not only failure, but the loss of what little sanity he has. Joy and Cassimer must trust each other long enough to uncover Cato's dark secret and work together to survive deranged cultists, terrorist rebels, and the IRON TRUTH.


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.


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.


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.


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.


Stray Cat Strut: A Young Lady's Journey to Becoming a Pop-Up Samurai

Stray Cat Strut: A Young Lady's Journey to Becoming a Pop-Up Samurai by Ravens Dagger

SPSFC

In the year 2057, the world has become a corporate-run utopia for the super-rich, and a hellhole for all the rest. Catherine 'Cat' Leblanc is an orphan that is about as far from super-rich as one can be. When the Incursion alarms start blaring and the sky starts raining hungry xenos, it's just another blemish on an already piss-poor afternoon. A cyberpunk magical-girl alien-invasion LitRPG. It’s exactly as wild as it sounds.


Predator Moons

Predator Moons by J.H. Ramsay

SPSFC

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.


Viral

Viral by Toby Bennett & Benjamin Knox

SPSFC

Two years after a violent pandemic wracked the vast future-sprawl of New Manau, reporter Vivian Liu and her cameraman Al join the first team sent beyond the wall into the quarantine zone – a two hundred square kilometre containment area where nine million citizens were left to a grisly fate. Vivian knows there's more going on than what the pharmaceutical giant Omni-Chem is saying. She can smell a conspiracy and will do anything to uncover the story. Joining a team of rag-tag mercenaries, armed with the latest high-tech weaponry, and lead by scientist and cult-leader Dr Brooker, they prepare to enter the quarantine zone in search of survivors... and perhaps a cure. What follows is seventy-two hours of nightmarish carnage and brutality unlike anything they could have imagined. At night roving packs of cunning and sadistic Stalkers roam the streets in search of fresh victims. But the day brings worse horrors as the sunlight has degraded the infected, mutating them into new grotesque forms. Sinister corporations, mutant abominations, vampiric hordes, cannibal clowns, twisted experiments, orbital lasers and enough gore to drown a city. Grab a bug burger and a box of pop-roaches, sit back and let the glorious pulp wash over you with... Viral: Omnibus Edition.


Watson and Holmes

Watson and Holmes by E.B. Dawson

SPSFC 2022

A SOLDIER TIRED OF WAR Born into wealth and privilege, Jenny Watson left her parents’ way of life behind when she volunteered to go fight the Shifters. After giving up her commission, she arrives in Linden hoping to make a fresh start and to put her medical degree to good use. But when her friend and fellow passenger is murdered, Jenny finds new purpose working with Detective Sharlotte Holmes. A DETECTIVE ITCHING FOR TROUBLE Sharlotte Holmes has lived in a three mile radius her entire life, content to pursue her varied interests and wholly unconcerned with the burden the outside world would place on her great intellect. But when Jenny's past comes back to haunt her, Sharlotte may have to choose between staying in her comfort zone and getting answers. EXPERIENCE SHERLOCK HOLMES LIKE NEVER BEFORE


A Star Named Vega

A Star Named Vega by Benjamin J Roberts

SPSFC

The 30th Century is a technological paradise. Androids have built a utopian future of advanced robotics, augmented reality, and simulated worlds. Humanity thrives across the Thirteen Suns. Why not spread some chaos, shake things up a bit? Aster Vale leads a secret life as the Wildflower, a competitive street artist with dreams of infamy. When her father joins a mysterious research project in the Vega System, Aster sees their luxury starcruiser as just another canvas to explore. How else is she supposed to channel all this teenage rebellion? But not everyone prospers in this world of synthetic gods. Rel Akepri is a young soldier from a broken planet, genetically engineered for war. The research project in the Vega System now threatens the fate of his people, and he must embark upon a deadly mission to stop it. Rel's orders: intercept the starcruiser on its voyage to Vega, or face extinction. Perhaps Aster might find something new to fight for.


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.


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.


The Harbinger of Freedom

The Harbinger of Freedom by Freddie A. Clark

SPFBO8

In the millenary world of Taenand, the continent of Empiria is oppressed by a fifty year lasting military dictatorship perpetrated by the Army of the Harpy, the leader of which is the young General of aristocratic descent Ludwig Maximilian Eckhale who inherited the throne and became the second Emperor of his Era.In these challenging times, Valerius Raleigh, a young noble as the Emperor himself, takes on the mission to inspire his country to break its chains and free itself from the ever more raging tyranny, first becoming a symbol and a messenger of freedom, then building an army whose purpose is to take down the reign of terror and injustice which threatens to spread all over Taenand due to the ruthless ruler’s strategic mindset and powerful alliances.The Harbinger of Freedom is the first act of the Falling Feathers Series, a crazy mix of blood, sex, drugs, hacking, cybernetic augmentations, shamanism, fantasy creatures, artificial life and an overall retrofuturistic and cyberpunkish aesthetic. In this vast, complex world, liberty and self-determination play a pivotal role in the search for balance and justice for all, while the diverse characters are pawns in a gritty game of power, intrigues and violence in which there is no place for surrender or subjugation.


Lightblade

Lightblade by Zamil Akhtar

SPFBO8 SPSFC 2022

In three days, Jyosh will slay the God Emperor, or die trying. But first he must train his lightblade skills. While asleep. Each hour of sleep equals a day in a lucid dream, plenty of time to master the essential lightblade techniques and hopefully get skilled enough to defeat the monster who enslaved him and beheaded his parents and sister. When Jyosh awakens to learn that the God Emperor has surrendered to an even crueler foe, a mysterious lightblade master who can summon divine dragons to burn whole cities, he’ll face a trial by fire against forces far more frightening than he could ever dream. That is, if he’s not still in one.


Quenched in Blood

Quenched in Blood by Sean Crow

SPFBO8

Twilight City hosts over a hundred million souls, most held beneath the heel of the global empire, Tenocore. After suffering a bitter defeat in Europe, Angus Jarlson, the Glade Burner, has brought the Old Gods and what remains of his once mighty empire of Valhalla Steel, across the ocean to stake a claim in the megacity and begin to rebuild. Yet the long-lived Fae despise the Glade Burner and will muster their might and magic to destroy what remains of Angus and his clansmen. When vengeance and duty to family collide, violence ensues. The question is not only which side will be victorious, but will either remain standing at all?


Tropical Punch (Bubbles in Space Book 1)

Tropical Punch (Bubbles in Space Book 1) by S.C. Jensen

SPSFC 2022

HoloCity’s only cyborg detective really sucks at her job. Bubbles Marlowe is broke, newly sober, and hating her life. All she wants to do is find a girl and deliver a message. It’s supposed to be an easy gig. It’s supposed to pay her bills. It’s supposed to be exactly what she needs. Instead, the easy job devolves into a gruesome murder. Bubbles has to solve the case or take the fall, and a HoloCity prison sentence might be the only thing worse than her current apartment. But when she uncovers a conspiracy that threatens the entire city Bubbles has to get her act together quickly, or there will be more than one person’s blood on her hands…


Moon Rising

Moon Rising by Daniel Weisbeck

She is not who she thinks she is. Her true identity is a mystery. Trapped in a cellar by a man she does not know, a young girl is forced to act out the life of someone she has never met to stay alive. When she escapes, she finds herself on the run, confused about her past, and hunted by a sinister corporation. With the help of Bobby Houndstooth, a teacher she once knew, and Nutt, an android who loves to dance, Silon begins to unravel her true identity. She must decide if she will be the person others expect her to be or if she can become a person of her own making. Even if it kills her. A Sci-Fi Biopunk Thriller for fans of the Ghost in the Shell, Klara and the Sun, and the Murderbot Diaries


Good Girl

Good Girl by Olga Werby

Humans are finally going to colonize another world, an exoplanet in Tau Ceti. Three people are specially selected, each sent in isolation on the long journey, accompanied only by the voice of Saia, a powerful Spaceflight AI Aide. Each partition of Saia interacts with one of the future colonists: Null, a neuroatypical who desires to leave humanity behind; Aliza, an immune-compromised biologist charged with keeping Earth flora alive on the long journey; and Rachel, an eleven-year-old genius. To keep its crew alive and sane for the twenty-four lonely years it would take them to reach their destination, Saia can play games, read books, and carry on conversations on almost any topic and in any language. But soon there are hints that either this AI is not completely stable, or it has received orders that run counter both to the mission and the safety of these isolated would-be colonists. "Good Girl" presents intriguing questions about consciousness and individual agency within the framework of a fascinating multiple-point of view narrative. It’s a story about meanings and hidden context buried in words. As we teach our AIs to take on more and more difficult tasks, their learning algorithms become black boxes to us. What are they really learning? What are they thinking?


Lizard Girl & Ghost

Lizard Girl & Ghost by Olga Werby

A child lies dying. To save her, to preserve some of her identity, memories need to be retrieved from her avatar—Lizard Girl. Jude’s dad is using a cyber reality game to recover some of his sick girl’s memories in an attempt to restore brain function. The avatar’s personality patterns help patch the holes in Jude’s brain ravaged by the disease. But what becomes of a virtual mind left to roam in cyberspace after its host falls sick? The Far Cinct is a cyber city forbidden to school kids and average citizens. The Far Cinct is where rogue entities go to hide and to innovate and to die. It’s where illegal cyber enhancements and compulsions are sold to those who have the money and the connections to find them. But that’s cyberspace for you—nothing is ever what it appears to be on the surface. As Jude’s consciousness starts to slip, her cyber awareness gains independence. What is a girl’s avatar without her human? Can consciousness and identity be tied up in a digital world without the wet works of a human body? Jump into the world of weird and surreal, and as you journey to look for memories of a sick girl, you might accidentally discover a virtual soul of her avatar. Cyberpunk meets Sleeping Beauty meets cats… werecats


Birds of a Feather

Birds of a Feather by Sandy Butchers

WriteHive Book Club

Gifted with wings and an exceptional predator’s instinct, Gideon finds that The Keep of Whispers is not too fond of Splices like him. Growing up in a cruel city, he quickly discovers that the only people who care about him are the people who created him through generations of genetic enhancements. Trained to be a killer in the name the tech-hoarding Houses, Gael Griswold, the man behind the Splice technology, sells Gideon to the highest bidder. Here, he discovers that there’s more to life than his head on a wanted bounty pamphlet. Follow Gideon Crowby as he tries to discover who he is and how he can become a better man. Birds of a Feather is the third volume in a series of short story collections that prelude the 'The Singularian'


The Zero Day Proposal

The Zero Day Proposal by Fabrina Glitchlace

Daniqua was just a regular single woman; hungry, horny, and trying to make it on her own in the world. But her past came calling and now her weekend plans are FUBAR. Will she play her role, prevent nuclear annihilation, and win financial freedom? What will be her answer to The Zero Day Proposal?


Norylska Groans

Norylska Groans by Michael R Fletcher & Clayton W. Snyder

SPFBO7 SPFBO Finalist

Norylska Groans... with the weight of her crimes. In a city where winter reigns amid the fires of industry and war, soot and snow conspire to conceal centuries of death and deception. Norylska Groans... and the weight of a leaden sky threatens to crush her people. Katyusha Leonova, desperate to restore her family name, takes a job with Norylska's brutal police force. To support his family, Genndy Antonov finds bloody work with a local crime syndicate. Norylska Groans... with the weight of her dead. As bodies fall, the two discover a foul truth hidden beneath layers of deception and violence: Come the thaw, what was buried will be revealed.


NACL: Eye of the Storm

NACL: Eye of the Storm by Allegra Pescatore & E. Sands

SPFBO7 SPSFC 2022

Lani should never have trusted any plan that started with the words, "So, I have an idea, but first you need a drink." When a crazy Precog handed Lani the coordinates to a stretch of ocean just off the Salt Spire, she should have thrown them overboard. Going there would be a horrible idea. Lani, though, was a pro at making bad decisions. A not-so-chance encounter with escaped salt slave Adavera launches them on a path to forsake all that they know and dare to take on the cruel Corporation that controls every grain of salt on their planet. With the help of old friends, new friends, and people they are pretty sure might be enemies, Adavera and Lani travel outside the protective reef that keeps the worst of the Storms off the Islands and venture into a world of piracy, astonishing powers, and unexpected love. The odds might be against them, but with a little planning and a lot of brass, this team of misfits intends to do the impossible. They have very little in common, except for two things: They all want to blow the Crystal Corporation into oblivion... And are willing to sacrifice anything to see it done. NACL: Eye of the Storm is a high-octane, non-stop, foul mouthed and steamy roller-coaster of a novel. Grab your favorite bottle of rum and revolutionary spirit, and jump into the ride of a lifetime.


Quantum Cultivation

Quantum Cultivation by Jace Kang

SPFBO7

A Cultivation system based on Daoist Five Elements and Eight Trigram Theories, written by an Acupuncturist/Wing Chun Sifu. Like all Purebred with their menial jobs, Ken ekes out a living sweeping the floors of Kyoto Peacekeeping Central. His kind serve as a benchmark for XHumans to measure how far they’ve progressed, and a reminder of what homo sapiens once was. His life changes when eight-hundred-year-old Ryu crosses over from the World of Rivers and Lakes, looking for a lost temple; and Aya, a beautiful hacker whose Sensory Interface perceives the EtherCloud as Feudal Japan, learns that XHumans aren’t as perfect as they thought. They’ve edited out the genes which allow for Cultivation. That will give Ken a chance to surpass them. And maybe use mythical martial skills to save the world from an oppressive government, spirit beasts, and alien invaders. WARNING: This story contains graphic scenes describing the Daoist methods of Dual Cultivation, but no harem elements. Suggested audience 18+.


Minimum Wage Magic

Minimum Wage Magic by Rachel Aaron

Making a living is hard. In a lawless city where gods are real, dragons are traffic hazards, and buildings move around on their own, it can feel downright impossible. Good thing freelance mage Opal Yong-ae has never let little things like impossibility stop her. She’s found a way to put her overpriced magical art history degree to use as a Cleaner: a contract municipal employee who empties out abandoned apartments and resells the unusual treasures she finds inside for a profit. It’s not a pretty job, or a safe one--there’s a reason she wears bite-proof gloves--but when you’re neck-deep in debt to a very magical, very nasty individual, you can’t be picky about where the money comes from. But even Opal’s low standards are put to the test when the only thing of value in her latest apartment is the body of the previous tenant. Dealing with the dead isn’t technically part of her job, but this mage died hiding a secret that could be worth a lot of money, and Opal’s the only one who knows. With debts she can’t pay due at the end of the week, this could be the big break she’s been waiting for, but in a city of runaway magic where getting in over your head generally means losing it, the cost of chasing this opportunity might be more than Opal can survive. AUTHOR’S NOTE: This is the first in a new series set in the same universe as my Heartstrikers books, but you don’t need to have read those stories to enjoy this one. MINIMUM WAGE MAGIC was written to stand by itself, so if you haven’t read the others, don’t worry! I wrote this book with you in mind. Thank you so much for reading!


Reality Testing

Reality Testing by Grant Price

Welcome to Berlin. Population: desperate. In the throes of the climate crisis the green tech pioneers are king, and if you aren't willing to be their serf then you're surplus to requirements. Carbon credit for sleeping on the job. That's the offer a dreamtech puts to Mara Kinzig, and she jumps on it. After all, the city ain't getting any cheaper. Then somebody changes the deal while she's dreaming in the tank. Now Mara has a body on her hands, an extra voice in her head, and the law on her tail. Only the Vanguard, a Foreign Legion of outcasts seeking an alternative path in the dust between the city states, might be able to help her figure out what went wrong. First, though, she'll have to escape the seething streets of Berlin alive.


Protostar: An Automatic Apocalypse

Protostar: An Automatic Apocalypse by Jesse Pohlman

WriteHive Book Club

Lahira Ocean is the Captain of the Messenger, a cutting-edge Cruiser defending Humanity and its allies against an alien race called The Orphans. After a hectic battle at the planet Gagarin, Lahira awakens from a two-week long coma to find two strangers carefully awaiting her recovery. The first is clearly from the upper echelons of Earth's government who calls himself Herodotus Fork; the second is distantly familiar to Lahira as a woman named Amber, an ambassador from the Automatons, a 'species' of alien who are fully artificial intelligences. Neither are happy to be sitting over her hospital bed. Lahira is suspected of being involved in an unprecedented attack on an Automaton: During the Battle of Gagarin, Lahira's ship emitted a strange signal which seemed to corrupt the mind of an elder Automaton, and Amber has been assigned to levy judgment about what happened. Unfortunately for her, the chaos of the ensuing melee led to the Human receiving serious injuries: She was mentally connected to a computer system which shorted out. These injuries - along with others lurking deeper under the surface of her thoughts - have induced retrograde amnesia, meaning she cannot fully explain the events leading to her role in the brawl.


Entanglement: A Dystopian Sci-Fi Thriller

Entanglement: A Dystopian Sci-Fi Thriller by Alina Leonova

Cay thinks he may be going insane. His partner isn’t herself. He can only surmise that she’s been replaced, which is impossible. And yet… In a desperate attempt to discover the truth, Cay gives up his identity and flees home. Cutting out the implant that connects him to society is an unforgivable crime, but it may be the only way to find the people who can help him. His path leads him to the underworld where he meets Vietra. She wants to run from her past but can’t leave it behind. Together, they get a chance to discover why the world has set out to destroy them. Will the answers they find save them, or bring their downfall? Readers call Entanglement mind-bending, exciting, and unpredictable. This cyber-punk thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat until the final page.


Always Greener

Always Greener by J.R.H. Lawless

WriteHive Book Club

A smash-hit reality show is offering a lifetime of luxury to the one person living the world’s worst life, and now everyone is out to prove just how bad they’ve got it.


The Korpes File (The Korpes File Series Book 1)

The Korpes File (The Korpes File Series Book 1) by J. I. Rogers

"As if being born Diasporan wasn’t enough, Technician Nash Korpes had the bad luck to resemble his Tyran ancestors almost identically in both form, and manner. These traits, though highly prized by the special projects division at the shadowy Korlune Military Research and Development, mark him as a specter from their warlike past. With only his intellect holding his sanity in place, he wages a private war against the entire socioeconomic status quo and begins to uncover the truth that threatens them all." --- The Korpes File contains coarse language, adult situations, and controversial themes such as, but not limited to racism, xenophobia, arranged marriage, genocide, and genetic experimentation. Set against a dystopian sci-fi backdrop, and told from multiple point-of-views, the story centers around the main character's experiences as a genetic anomaly. ---


Tag (The Zumar Chronicles Book 1)

Tag (The Zumar Chronicles Book 1) by Simon Royle

On 15 March 2110, 6.3 billion people will die at the hand of one man. A man with a twisted vision, to make humans a better, more intelligent race… In the wake of Arbitrator Jonah Oliver’s interrogation of Jibril Muraz, a prisoner of UNPOL, his secure life disintegrates into one of lies, corruption, conspiracy and murder due to what he learns. Jonah is thrown into a race against the clock to stop a plot designed to eliminate two-thirds of the population. The odds are stacked against him. He soon finds his past is not what he thought it was, those closest to him cannot be trusted, and what he’s learned could get him, or worse, his loved ones, killed.


The Binary Man

The Binary Man by Jacob Prytherch

Three lives collide in this #1 UK cyberpunk thriller. Yannick Meyer's life seems locked in a downward spiral, before a knock at the door changes everything. Offworld opportunity promises a release from the rampant pollution and social decay of Earth, although the bright lights of Washington station cast their own shadows, ones which are not so easily shaken off. Alice Howe stumbles upon a seemingly harmless signal that draws her into a vicious war between corporations. Toshihiro Sato watches the funeral of someone that only he truly knows, losing count of how many he has consigned to death. These three stories are wound together through The Binary Man, the first true magician.


Unknown Horizons

Unknown Horizons by Casey White

Alone and hunted, Sam is lost in the cold emptiness of space. Abducted from Earth and whisked into the depths of the Milky Way, Sam wakes up amidst a grotesque menagerie of aliens. Imprisoned by the Nalitokk, an advanced species out for information no matter the cost, Sam is shielded by one simple fact: Out of the many aliens the Nalitokk have captured, the only thing to make humans stand out is how unimpressive they are. When they come to regard their newest test subject as little more than a defective pet, Sam is all too happy to play along. As humiliating as the deception is, it’s the only way to survive. But times are changing, and every game comes to an end. When disaster strikes, Sam is faced with hard decisions about how to break free of their grasp. Decisions which change everything - from the Nalitokk’s view on humans, all the way down to Sam’s humanity itself. With the Nalitokk hot in pursuit, Sam breaks free with one singular goal - to find the way home.


Bluebloods: A Cyberpunk Novella

Bluebloods: A Cyberpunk Novella by Remy Harmon

Ynes Harris thought she was untouchable. That just made her more vulnerable. She had it all: the best upbringing, the right friends, a bright future in a family business worth billions, and a top internship. But when her manager asks what she – not her wealthy father – wants for her life, Ynes has to think for herself for the first time. Joining a protest against the Oligarchy seems like a good way to rebel and figure things out, until she's arrested. Ynes finds herself abandoned to the prison system when her father refuses to acknowledge her arrest. Things go from bad to worse when she's selected for an illegal bioengineering program that strips her of her ability to fight back. When she overcomes her prejudices to ally herself with her android guard, both are targeted for further projects. Together, they begin to discover what it means to be human. They'll have to break free of their new reality – before she's sold to one of the same Oligarch families she used to belong to.


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