SPSFC 2022 Self-published Science Fiction Competition 2022
A sister competition to the SPFBO, the SPSFC is for sci-fi self-published works. Stories tagged with this mark were entered into the second year of this competition.
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An innocent girl with a mysterious father… … finds herself a fugitive on the galaxy’s most wanted list. Considered too fragile, Kal is forbidden to join the raising of the Et’Tal’s home and feels as if she has shamed her family. Her lithe stature links her to her absent father. He left the village to fight in the Teristaque Wars and never returned. She meets Sarge, a strange star species called Human, who seems to know the secret of the patch from her father’s uniform. Before she can get clarity, a fierce Teristaque death squad descends on her village, murders everyone in it, and takes Kal prisoner. Kal wants more than just answers. She wants revenge. |
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Moon Deeds by Palmer Pickering It's 2090: the last outpost of freedom is the moon, the best defense against technology is magic, and the only hope for humankind rests in the hands of the Star Children. Twins Cassidy and Torr must save Earth from a ruthless enemy at a time when the only force more powerful than alien technology is magic. Moon Deeds launches the siblings' journey across the galaxy, where they must learn their power as the Star Children, claim their shamanic heritage, and battle dark forces that threaten humankind. The Star Children Saga follows Cassidy and Torr as they slowly awaken to their destiny as the twin Star Children, born every millennium to reconnect with the source of all life. They come to discover the sheer enormity of their task: to find our ancestors on a lost planet across the galaxy and save humanity from a spiraling descent into darkness. The powers they must wield to accomplish this task are truly frightening and put at risk everything they love. Come along with 20-year-old twins Cassidy and Torr, who inherited deeds to land parcels on the moon. They want to use their moon deeds to get off Earth and escape a brutal dictatorship. But first they must unlock their shaman powers. A rollicking yet poignant adventure in the not too distant future, when we have colonized the moon and nearly lost Earth to a dictatorship. Only the shamans remain free, plus the lucky ones who escaped to the moon. Join the adventure! An addictive space opera, science-fantasy series. |
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Tomorrow Lives Today by W. O. Torres When a weapon composed of dark matter mysteriously arrives from the future, twenty-four-year-old Brody Rodriguez's chill life gets a super-powered upgrade. A clandestine government agency led by Agent Gonzo and a squad of sinister spies kidnaps Brody and his future tech to save democracy … or at least their version of it. Brody’s only ally is his time-traveling granddaughter, Isabella Rodriguez who wields a future tech of her own. Brody must convince his future wife “Dez” to stick around his chaotic life long enough to fall in love with him or watch him die. As an impending A.I. War inches closer, threatening humanity, Brody will face who he was, who he is, and who he is meant to be. |
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Of Mycelium and Men by William C. Tracy The generational fleet planned to make landfall after eighty years, but eleven planets and four centuries later, they still had not found a home. Finally, they landed on Lida, but something already lives there, and it's big. Agetha and her husband have spent their whole lives in the fleet’s zero-G. Now all is turmoil as the fleet lands, discovering they are surrounded by a single fungal biomass spanning the entire planet. To build a new home, the fleet must confront a dangerous organism, and Agetha must decide if she can raise a family in this inhospitable landscape. Jane Brighton holds tenuous command over the colony and its administrators. She and the other gene-modded leaders emerged from their four-hundred-year suspended animation to find a crew much different to the one that departed Old Earth. Jane must direct the colony’s fragile growth, and defend it against being overrun by the fast-growing biomass. But there is something none of the colonists know. The massive organism that spans the planet is not simply a fungal mass, nor even a chimerical combination of species that once roamed the planet. The biomass has desires and goals, and one is to know these strange beings carving out a home in its midst. |
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The Last of the Time Lords by Athena Stamelou Centuries after the Great War between the Time Lords and the Syndicate of the Five Planets, a Bounty Hunter accepts a job that ties directly to that past. Meanwhile, a Gypsy is having dark visions he doesn't want, two planets will do anything to win the war between them, the last Time Lord is being hunted by Vampires, and a Witch from Earth believes that her neighbor is a demon. |
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Zeroed Out is a cyberpunk thriller set in a fully automated metropolis governed by an all-seeing synthetic intelligence that examines the morality of limiting technological evolution. While chasing a criminal through an unruly sector of Omega City 6, freelance enforcer Zed Takeda stumbles on the first of many victims by an unknown serial killer that has somehow escaped all forms of the city’s intensive surveillance. His investigation into the murders will uncover some hard truths he had not intended to find. On the other side of the city, Ash Starbrooke lives as a dreamcaster, or someone whose dreams are turned into highly profitable virtual reality entertainment. She is unaware that the symbols showing up in her nightmares will have her caught up in Zed’s murder investigation. Their intertwining stories will have them traveling through multiple layers of the neon-drenched, futuristic city filled with street gangs, radical political groups, and social elites |
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Time to Play: Apocalypse Parenting #1 by Erin Ampersand A few minutes ago, Meghan Moretti's biggest concern was getting the kids' athletic clothes washed in time for practice this evening. Now, it seems that Earth has been forced into participating in some high-stakes intergalactic reality television. All electrical wiring has been slagged, and most combustibles neutralized. Some kind of evil space rodents are appearing on the front lawn, too. Like any parent, Meghan's first instinct is to keep her young kids safely away from the monsters, but an odd stroke of luck has her coming into some advanced information about this dangerous game. She learns that her kids will have to fight too. What's a mom to do? --- The beginning of an apocalyptic LitRPG saga. |
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Webley and The World Machine by Zachary Chopchinski "This world within a world is such a fabulous concept! It's almost like Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the Bible all mashed up together with a steampunk twist." A strange coin. A mysterious elevator. And a war deep within the Earth that could destroy the world. Adal and Arija weren't concerned with what makes the world go round until they followed an old coin into a dark cave. Deep within the Earth is a world they never dreamed possible. A world that will challenge their most important beliefs. A world that will soon be torn apart by war. Webley controls the center of Earth, but not all his creations are happy. When the hidden plot to overthrow him turns violent, Adal and Arija are forced to choose sides. But the dangers are more than they could have predicted. Will their hidden feelings for each other help them through it, or rip them and the world apart? If you like Cassandra Clare, Quantum Leap, and Lindsay Buroker, you'll love this hilarious portal fiction adventure full of snark, sass, and one curious little robot boy. |
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For many years the curse of the Evil Shadowy Figure is plaguing the Chagga. Prophecy has it that the day an extraterrestrial falls from the sky, the tribe will have a chance to perform a ritual to end the curse. DECEMBER 2010. In a far-off galaxy, a Brozian cargo ship, with a female Catusapien aboard, slips into a wormhole and spits out into the Milky Way Galaxy. The Catusapien escapes her cell and flees the ship in an escape pod. Allison Banes, who is in Tanzania working on a PhD in zoology, is in Arusha National Park and sees the Brozian spaceship explode and crash land. She finds the Catusapien sleeping by the escape pod and takes the alien to her house for observation. When Allison Banes falls victim to the Evil Shadowy Figure, the alien retreats to the forest surrounding Lake Duluti. After spearfishing on Christmas Eve, Cassidy Mkama, an 11-year-old African girl, sees the alien and tells her friend Laila Diwani, a Chagga member who tells the tribe’s Paramount Chief, Anton Naruma. The chance to end the supernatural curse on the Chagga is at hand. And a lifelong friendship between Cassidy and the alien, whom she soon will name Gotham Kitty, is just beginning. |
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What if the video game Civilization was real? Bestlethrone is attacked and doomed to fall. Now Prince Felan must flee, leaving his family behind in a desperate attempt to save his father’s kingdom against known forces and the influence of the gods who may be moving against them. All his family built over centuries hangs in the balance, as Felan fights against invaders, betrayal and the 'gods' who are really humans, now a galaxy spanning civilization, interfering with Felan's species as a game. Unbeknownst to Felan his fate is intertwined with Sandra Ferrara, a 13-year-old girl growing up in the space colony located above his planet and retired General Dash Cricken, a veteran of the Galaxy Wars. Though Felan is oblivious to their existence, what they do could change Felan’s fate and the fate of everyone on his planet. Felan’s Rescue blends medieval fantasy into a sprawling space opera set immediately after years of intergalactic war, taking the reader to a galaxy spanning civilization, populated by alien races, trying to recover from the devastation of the last thousand years of war. |
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Mathematics of Eternity by David M. Kelly A grisly death, a disturbed scientist, and a dangerous conspiracy. Joe Ballen dreams of returning to space, but after an accident left him half-crippled, he scrapes a living flying cabs in flooded-out Baltimore. When one of his passengers suffers a grisly death, Joe is dragged into a dangerous conspiracy centered around a prototype JumpShip. No one believes the ship will work, not even the space-faring Atolls who have barricaded Earth from the rest of the solar system. But someone is murdering everyone connected to it. As the bodies pile up, Joe becomes suspect number one, and his enemies will stop at nothing to hide the truth. With the help of a disturbed scientist, a senile survivalist, and his glamorous boss, can Joe untangle the puzzle and uncover the truth before he becomes another statistic? The future's about to get a lot more action packed! The Joe Ballen series is a near future, sci-fi noir thriller series, featuring a smart-mouthed space engineer, engaging characters, cynical humor, and plausible science. |
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A Space Girl from Earth by Christina McMullen Yesterday, her biggest worry was failing an exam. Today, it's saving the galaxy. From her six foot four inch height to the uniform white dots that peppered her skin in perfect geometric patterns, Ellie Whitmore was certainly unusual, but an alien from the other side of the galaxy? Of course not. That's just what the tabloids said to sell papers. Or so she thought. Turns out not only is Ellie an alien, but an ancient and powerful relic housing the forbidden knowledge of a lost civilization is hidden deep within her genetic code. Suddenly she's on the run from a malevolent Emperor who sees her as the key to ruling the galaxy. Even her own mother can't resist the draw of ultimate power and the one person Ellie might be able to trust is an unrepentant assassin who may be responsible for her life’s upheaval. Now, she must travel to a distant planet and unlock the secrets to restoring peace and ending tyranny. But how can anyone expect her to save the galaxy when she can’t even pass organic chemistry? |
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INTERGALACTIC BASTARD by Dave Walsh The galaxy’s mightiest warriors laughed at humans entering their arena... until they met the bastard. Coop Sabre, along with his exploding barbed wire bat, Guy, has turned the galaxy upside down, taking crowds across the galaxy by storm. The brutal bloodsport of alien deathmatches was no place for the average person, but nothing about Coop and his reckless fighting style was average. With everything he desires seemingly within reach, an unwanted question pops into his mind: Is this really what he wants out of his life? The vicious cycle of violence, addiction and depression takes a toll on every warrior. It’s up to Coop to find where he belongs, or he risks losing it all. He is the INTERGALACTIC BASTARD. |
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Da Vinci On The Lam by B. D. Booker One week. One chance. Earth is dying as a fungal ‘grit’ and dust storms smoother crop lands and destroy the oceans. The rich flee into space, leaving the poor to die off. But if gunslinger Artis Quinn delivers a priceless da Vinci artwork to an offworlder hub on the other side of the country, his family will get tickets off-world. Yet the true end of the world might arrive sooner than expected and Quinn will have to fight his way through the ruthless Onyx Group to succeed. |
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The Nemesis Effect by Michael Shotter Tom Hallett was an ordinary man, living an ordinary if pleasant-enough life, his world, perfectly shaped and managed by the wonders of technology and the handful of elite "executives" who control it. Thus, the young man finds himself completely unprepared when a chance encounter and a twist of fate bring him face to face with the most terrifying event in human history. Can a simple archivist, a keeper of the records of other people's deeds, rise to the occasion or will he remain an ordinary citizen, powerless and subject to "The Nemesis Effect?" |
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Hammer and Crucible by Cameron Cooper The interstellar array which links worlds together wakes to find it has enemies… The Fourth Carinad Empire stretches across hundreds of settled worlds and stellar cities, and thousands of light years. The Empire’s people and data are linked by a space-folding gates array controlled by the Emperor and his cohorts. When the array evolves into a sentient entity, it recognizes the Emperor as its foe. Danny Andela, once known as The Imperial Hammer, withdrew from the Imperial Rangers decades ago, her reputation in tatters. She lives on her family’s star barge, waiting to die of a rare disease: old age. She would be the array’s perfect weapon against the Emperor, except she no longer gives a damn—about anything. Then Danny learns that the military disaster which essentially ended her life might possibly have been arranged by the Emperor himself… Hammer and Crucible is the first book in the Imperial Hammer space opera science fiction series by award-winning SF author Cameron Cooper. The Imperial Hammer series: 1.0: Hammer and Crucible 1.1: An Average Night on Androkles 2.0: Star Forge 3.0: Long Live the Emperor 4.0: Severed 5.0: Destroyer of Worlds Space Opera Science Fiction Novel |
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It appears out of nowhere—one moment the sky is empty, the next, there’s a rent in the fabric of space itself. And nothing in the system will ever be the same. In the far reaches of the Rim Mountains, itinerant field-scientist Aran Romeu is searching desperately for the cure to an incurable disease—one that’s slowly killing his best friend. He’s sworn to do whatever it takes to find it. But when the portal opens, and something comes through, he realizes that ‘whatever it takes’ will involve travelling into the uncharted space beyond the portal. And he’s not the only one after the cure, and willing to do whatever it takes to get to it first … In the weighty halls of government, Chief Justice Alba Espina is preparing a political gamble that could change the shape of the system itself. The appearance of the portal shatters her carefully-laid plans and hands her political rival a weapon he could use destroy her—unless she can delay him with the promise of a diplomatic mission through the portal. But the stakes of the mission are higher than just her personal ambition. If her diplomatic mission doesn’t succeed, it might just spell the end of humanity itself. In a remote spaceport, Savina Moya, the system's most talented assassin-for-hire, is on the run again after her latest murder. But when a deadly government agent is sent after her, with instructions to bring her back dead or alive, the diplomatic mission heading into the portal may hold the key to Savina’s survival—if she’s brave enough, or desperate enough, to take it. No one knows what’s beyond the portal. And as the three of them are drawn inexorably together in uncharted space, with no idea who is an ally and who is an enemy—it’s an open question if any of them will live long enough to find out. |
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The Left Hand of Dog by Si Clarke Escaping intergalactic kidnappers has never been quite so ridiculous. When Lem and her faithful dog, Spock, retreat from the city for a few days of hiking in Algonquin Park, the last thing they expect is to be kidnapped by aliens. No, scratch that. The last thing they expect is to be kidnapped by a bunch of strangely adorable intergalactic bounty hunters aboard a ship called the Teapot. After Lem falls in with an unlikely group of allies – including a talking horse, a sarcastic robot, an overly anxious giant parrot, and a cloud of sentient glitter gas – the gang must devise a cunning plan to escape their captors and make it back home safely. But things won’t be as easy as they first seem. Lost in deep space and running out of fuel, this chaotic crew are faced with the daunting task of navigating an alien planet, breaking into a space station, and discovering the real reason they’re all there… Packed with preposterous scenarios, quirky characters, and oodles of humour, The Left Hand of Dog tackles complex subjects such as gender, the need to belong, and the importance of honest communication. Perfect for fans of Charlie Jane Anders’ Victories Greater than Death and The Long Way to a Small by Becky Chambers – especially ones who enjoy endless references to Red Dwarf, Star Trek, and Doctor Who. This book will show you that the universe is a very strange place indeed. |
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Star Nations by James Michael Minard “Duty is heavier than a mountain. Death is lighter than the morning air. My loyalty belongs forever to the one I love.” —Commander Leera en Tasrah. Five superior star nations struggled for dominance over their galaxy, unaware a more significant threat punctured the fabric of space and entered from a parallel universe. This new threat had a name: the Cepha. They conquered entire galaxies, consumed and exploited worlds, and enslaved sentient beings. Humans, Kazarians, Zorlons, and the other minor star nations' only chance of survival against the Cepha was to forget their differences and stand together. But was that possible? How do you put aside three hundred years of hate and endless wars, which cost billions of lives? Where does loyalty belong? Is their honor in fighting alongside your enemy? What does duty require? STAR NATIONS is book one of the Loyalty And Honor Series. |
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Black Table by Anttimatti Pennanen Jon and Gus, science fiction fans from Finland with a penchant for fist bumping and pop culture references, travel to the Portland Comic Con where tragedy strikes. Their hero, Dr Wells, suffers a heart attack. With his dying breath, the doctor exhorts Jon to “find the …” as he pushes a book into Jon’s hands. Following clues inscribed in the book, Jon and Gus discover an alien structure with a mysterious Black Table which they accidently activate, transporting them to an alien world. Jumping from world to world via the Black Table galactic transportation network, Jon and Gus embark on the adventure of a lifetime where they encounter monsters, alien tech, giant vessels made of water and make new friends. But those friends are facing an unstoppable and mindless enemy. An enemy that is destroying the galaxy, and Earth is next in its path. Can two fans from Finland save the day? Black Table is a rollicking yarn of two likeable, wise-cracking friends who like nothing better than pranking each other. That is, except when they are not doing something more serious, like saving the universe. JOIN THE FIGHT, JOIN THE BLACK TABLE NETWORK! |
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Barrabas Madzimure is banished to the desert planet Eridania for his many crimes. Slaves to the Church and to the will of its prophet Jovian, a charismatic figurehead who rules everything on Earth, Madzimure and his cohorts toil underground digging endlessly for the substance eridanium—the source of Jovian’s alien power. But Madzimure can no longer hide from his past. Facing execution he claims to have once been Thaniel Kilraven, transferred decades earlier into the body of Madzimure against his will. Under interrogation the stories of both men are brought to light, and the terrible fate of the lost Kilraven bloodline is revealed. Madzimure escapes, knowing the only way to salvage what’s left of the Kilraven name and confront his destiny—and Jovian—is by facing them head on. But the horrific truths he finds on Earth might be the undoing of all mankind. What if everything humanity believed about civilization was a lie? Will anything or anyone be left from the fallout? |
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On colonial Venus, people who are susceptible to lies have been denigrated and barred from the citizenry. Ancient dirigibles dock at the top of colossal towers to shunt people to and from underground cities. Armies of enclosed, beetle-shaped biocrawlers creep around the planet providing a coveted, yet deficient, natural environment. Colonists strive for an outdoor ecology to call their own, but terraforming is faltering. There is growing unrest, and at the heart of this rift is Hix, a member of the Venusian underclass. He has risen from the tenements to become a renowned film star, until he is accused of murder. Neeva is destined to be Keeper, an esteemed protector of First Colony Heritage. She is also an inspector assigned to Hix’s case... and the victim happens to be her sister. Hix and Neeva must find passage through the winds of change, or their people will be swept away forever. |
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It’s the find of a lifetime – an ancient alien spaceship hanging in a forgotten corner of space. For Song this could change everything. She’s got as many problems with her finances as she does in her marriage, but maybe at last her passion for wreck-diving will pay off. One piece of unknown tech could set her whole crew up for life. The ship conforms to nothing in their records and dwarfs the largest human vessels. Battle-scarred and old before humanity ever reached the stars, it’s a mausoleum of an unknown, long-dead species. And it’s just winked at her. |
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A robot yearns to remember. A thief struggles to forget. A galaxy on the verge of collapse. On the fringe of a broken civilization, a robot awakens with no memories and only one directive: find his creator. But in the village of Korthe, Beetro finds only radioactive pestilence, famine, and Miree—a tormented thief with dreams of retiring after her final score. Meanwhile, the fiefdom is plunged further into chaos when a new warlord seizes control, recasting serfs as refugees and leaving derelict robot peasants in his wake. With a shared interest in survival, Beetro and Miree team up to pull off an impossible castle heist: steal a single flake of dark matter, the world’s most valuable and mysterious ore. But as they trek through the feudal wasteland in search of answers, they realize the true extent of the chaos surrounding them: the stars are disappearing from the sky and the entire galaxy is unraveling. As he uncovers his origin, Beetro discovers he may be the key to the salvation of the cosmos—or its destruction. Time, space, and loyalty become relative as he learns the real reason he was created. A mind-bending science fiction epic with the bones of a fantasy traveling quest, Dark Theory unfolds through a journey of betrayal, identity, and unlikely friendships in a world of darkness set at the edge of space and time. |
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DESTINATION MARS! The Lunar Republic is on the run… Life on Earth is dying from a mysterious cause, and President Kim bets her future on an obscure, young scientist whose theory can only be tested from outer space. The year is 2066, and the race is on against the Chinese to establish a viable lunar colony before the 100th anniversary of mankind’s first step on the Moon. Yet, the Moon is only the first step, the springboard for the permanent settlement of Mars. “Entropy” is set in the near future where technology has evolved to an astounding degree. Human nature, however, has not; this futuristic novel reads like an expose on our own times. “Entropy” is much more than a science fiction thriller; it is a running commentary on the times that we live. A dystopic, postapocalyptic, hard science depiction of epic space travel, colonization, and new beginnings for the human race: Entropy is a blockbuster, written by a new voice, waiting to be discovered. |
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Syn City: Reality Bytes by Lewis Knight He's a mentally-enhanced hacker; she's a cyborg cop. They're supposed to work on opposite sides of the law ... until a common threat targets them both. Specter is a thief and hustler addicted to Elysia: a virtual reality world where limits don't exist, and he can have everything he desires. His illegal activities put him in the crosshairs of Cyber Corp, a lethal government agency specializing in hunting down the most wanted fugitives. Enigma is a Scyther: a former criminal forced to work for Cyber Corp after being enhanced as a super-soldier. A device implanted in her skull keeps her loyal, even when hunting down members of her old team. And now, she has a new assignment: tracking down and eliminating Specter. |
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How far would you go to keep your dreams alive? On the arid planet of Garadia floats Prominence City, an oasis of abundance and technological marvels. For Keidi and Artenz, life is good. Each day, they work hard to fulfill their role in sustaining Prominence. In return, they share an existence without worry or want, their every need attended to by the ruling corporations, their lives enhanced by a virtual reality accessible with a simple thought. But when a dear friend of Keidi goes suddenly missing, their idyllic existence begins to crumble. And when they start asking questions—the wrong questions, questions that reveal cracks in Prominence’s perfect image—the powerful corporations of Prominence take notice. Now, Keidi and Artenz must choose: do they stay in Prominence and risk the wrath of the corporations, or do they take their chances and run for the Lowlands, a bleak and mysterious place hidden beneath Prominence—if it even exists at all. |
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The Treasure of Lor-Rev by Bryan Asher One discovery has unimaginable consequences… While searching a deserted mountain range, an explorer locates a high-tech artifact he assumes is merely another interesting find. It’s only one piece in a greater puzzle leading towards a device of ultimate power, the Diffusor-Sphere. Suddenly, he’s thrown into a battle between an engineer who’s remade himself as a cybernetic demigod, and the one tasked with safeguarding humanity from him. The only way out is recovering the Sphere first, but will he reach it in time? The Treasure of Lor-Rev is another exciting adventure from Bryan Asher, set in the world of floating nations known as The Intercontinents. |
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The Sequence by Lucien Telford "The Sequence" is a science fiction thriller that weaves together the stories of a world-leading genetic editor, a pilot/smuggler who hauls contraband for the mob in a ground effect stealth jet, and a pair of Hong Kong Police detectives investigating a series of genetically modified dead bodies they find in curious locations around the city, only during typhoons. |
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The Last Nehisi by Warwick Eden War. Corruption. A dying empire… And the only means of escape wiped out in genocide… For millennia, Ageronians have prospered beyond imagination, aided by the Nehisi, an ancient tribe with the ability to bridge worlds. But now the tides have turned. The Realm is dying. In the face of imminent destruction, Supreme Commander Draeger must find a way to save his people. As the prophecy of doom plays out, a chance encounter with a thief sparks the beginnings of a cat and mouse game, between commander and crook, in a world of political and moral dilemmas, corruption, and murder… …and the revelation that the fate of billions could depend on the actions of a single amoral thief. Combining the storytelling of Rothfuss with the richness of George RR Martin’s world building, this epic saga, cast against the sweeping setting of alien worlds and warring races, tells of adventure, intrigue, murder and romance across the generations. Read this unmissable immersive debut novel of the Red Realms series! |
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The Ceph - Reborn by Matthew Poehler The Ceph Civilization seeded the galaxy's planets with life throughout history. Most of the results were good, some were exceptional. After a billion years of careful tending, one world's ecosystem grew to rival even that of Home. A blue-green jewel in the deeps of the galactic ocean. The Call went out "This world is ready." Two of the great World-Ships arrived from the Civilization sixty-five million years ago to deliver the Ceph to their new Colony. Tens of thousands disembarked to start the serious business of taming monsters and starting families. They were gone a thousand years when the asteroid struck. The surface of the planet was seared and shattered. Survivors of the Colony adapted to any safety the broken planet’s oceans would offer. They lost the ability to walk the land and breathe the air. Nothing sleeps forever. The Ceph on Earth are Reborn, and they have called for help. |
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Out of the Wastelands for the first time, Zander has never been lonelier. As a mutant he's used to loss, but leaving his 14-year-old sister, Kensy, behind is an emptiness like no other. As he steps through the walls of Westport, her words are the only thing keeping him going: "Win your freedom. If not for yourself then do it for me." |
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Alex is a detective in a world that considers them unnecessary. When everyone is a telepath, with their own inner policeman, crimes cannot escape notice. So a murder with no obvious culprit leaves the authorities at a loss. Woken from a virtual sentence, still unrepentantly anti-social, Alex is given the opportunity to finally investigate a mystery. One which puts him in danger, and leads to mysteries of a more personal nature. Exactly how long has he been asleep? And is this really the first mystery he's been awakened to investigate? |
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Alien Exit is driven by a female astronaut, a palaeolithic mongrel, Glastonbury chaos, steamy sex in space, a journalist and a mad general. All to overcome time-quakes created when aliens depart Earth. Hopes rely on a female space pilot who needs to invent a new way of communicating with the aliens after all conventional methods fail. |
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Star Marque Rising by Shami Stovall The future is governed through a genetic hierarchy—superhumans at the top, humans and defects at the bottom. Welcome to an all-new military science fiction novel from critically-acclaimed author Shami Stovall. Clevon Demarco, a genetically modified human, has a cocksure attitude and the combat skills to back it up. With his unparalleled skills, he makes his living as a ruthless gunrunner on a shady space station near the edges of the quadrant. Stronger, faster, and wittier than most sad sacks, no one even comes close to Demarco’s abilities—until he crosses paths with the captain of the notorious Star Marque, Endellion Voight. Captain Voight arrests Demarco and offers him a choice: go to a prison planet for his crimes, or join her starship, the Star Marque, working as mercenaries for the superhumans. But she didn't pick him at random. She has a plan to become a planet governor; a title no human has held since the superhumans won the war. It doesn’t matter the cost—assassinations, extortion, blackmail—she’s determined to claw her way to the top. All Captain Voight needs is Demarco’s help to carry out her machinations, and she’ll give him everything he’s ever wanted in return. A fast-paced space opera for those who enjoy Old Man’s War by John Scalzi, Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds, or anything by Robert A. Heinlein. |
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Starhelm Epsilon by David Viergutz Royce used to be a talented mech Pilot, but now he’s a washed up and in hiding. Stuck combing slums and backwater planets, hopping from job to job, Royce makes it to a substation and is quickly caught up in a new conflict he wants no part of. His identity is revealed, along with the secret location of one of the few remaining Starhelms, the ultimate war machine. The mech of all mechs. To complicate things, he’s accompanied by a mysterious woman on her own quest with too many secrets. Secrets which attract the attention of all three factions vying for control of the galaxy. Now, Royce’s simple life of surviving has become a battleground, and he must recover his Starhelm before the factions do. For the things they will do with it will not lead to war, but the obliteration of the entire galaxy. |
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Echoes of Another Earth by J Daniel Layfield A scientist in hiding. An admiral on the brink of treason. A man who has lived hundreds of versions of his life across the same number of dimensions. Three paths converge in one dimension. Their actions will affect them all. Josh hasn't really felt like himself since the first time he died. It's funny what you can get used to though. With his next jump into another Josh's life, he may finally get some answers, but does he want to hear them? Better question: can he trust the scientist being hunted by his past? Whatever Josh chooses, his actions will either aid in saving this dimension from destruction, or add it to a long list of ones destined to end. |
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The Unpleasantness at Baskerville Hall by Chris Dolley Wodehouse steampunk version of The Hound of the Baskervilles! “Jeeves and Wooster meet Holmes and Watson with a touch of steampunk in the hilarious first full-length Reeves and Worcester tale ... This laugh-out-loud parody works on several levels ... With razor-sharp wit and fast pacing that plays fair with the reader, this is an excellent genre mash-up that fires on all cylinders.” - Publishers Weekly An escaped cannibal, a family curse ... and Reginald Worcester turning up on the doorstep. Could things get any worse for the Baskerville-Smythe family? As the bodies pile up, only a detective with a rare brain – and Reggie’s is so rare it’s positively endangered – can even hope to solve the case. But... there is the small matter that most of the guests aren’t who they say they are, the main suspect has cloven feet, and a strange mist hangs over great Grimdark Mire. Luckily the young master has Reeves, his automaton valet, and Emmeline, his suffragette fiancée, on hand to assist. This stand alone novel is the fifth Reeves & Worcester Steampunk mystery |
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Framed for a crime he didn’t commit. Haunted by the ghosts of his past. Incarcerated in the most notorious prison in the Freeholds. Fate has mauled Mattias Temple, a failed cadre necromancer, leaving him with little hope. Until a rogue military squad kidnaps the governor and threatens the city with a magical plague, giving him a shot to redeem a lifetime of mistakes and be the one thing he never thought possible: A hero. As the body count rises Mattias finds himself neck-deep in trouble and drowning in ghosts. Outnumbered and outgunned, he has one choice left: Cut a bloody swathe through his enemies or die trying. |
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house of haddaway by parker j cole A consortium of worlds align to form the Milky Way Planetary Alliance where the most powerful planet--Earth--rules one third of the galaxy. In this sci-fi fantasy romantic retelling of a classic fairytale, an arranged marriage, a husband's secrets, and a wife's quest to gain power collide to create a tale of a galactic intrigue. Death Haddaway, ruler of Preyida, will do anything to save his people, even if it means marrying a woman from an alien race. Lee Glow knows her duty is to uphold her planet’s interests. Despite her doubts, she obeys the command to wed. As time passes, she knows Death is hiding something that will threaten their relationship and affect the treaties between their worlds. Soon, Death finds himself trapped in a web of his own deceit. Torn between duty and choice Death has to determine whether to continue to lie and save his people. Or, reveal the truth and lose everything he holds dear. |
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Dangerous Thoughts by James L. Steele Their planet was ripped apart from under their feet. When Deka and Kylac wake up, they discover Archeons are dead, and the portals have closed without warning, leaving hundreds of planets without links to other worlds. Rel’s destruction touched every planet in the contacted universe. Without the portals, entire civilizations hang in the balance, and Deka and Kylac are the only two who can make spacetime spheres. The raptor and the fox travel from world to world, repairing the damage the disaster caused, preventing civilization from collapsing. Floating islands drifting through the toxic atmosphere of a gas giant—offworlders are stranded there, just barely clinging to life. A planet of raised platforms made of growing rock that elevate the people above the flammable algae on the surface—everything is falling apart, and where are the people? A world of giant insects—researchers have gone missing, and they have been injected with mind-altering venom. A planet of salamanders and birdlike reptiles who relied on portals for food—facing starvation, the reptiles revert to hunting the salamanders. What could have destroyed an entire planet? What could have reached across the light years to kill so many Archeons at the same time? Did anyone else survive? |
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Revolution (The Sol Saga Book 1) by James Fox War is good for business... And business is about to boom. General Keith Brennan would rather face an army with his trusty rifle than attend another state dinner. When the President of the solar system is assassinated on Mars, Brennan is the obvious choice to investigate. If he comes up with the wrong answer, though, his career will be over. However, duty is never so simple. Brennan's career is the least of his worries when the investigation uncovers a trail of corruption and a conspiracy on a system-wide scale. With Earth and Mars on the brink of a shooting war and forces behind the scenes determined to push them over the edge, only Marine General Keith Brennan can stop the slaughter before it’s too late. Unless, of course, it already is… |
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The Cost of Survival by J. L. Stowers Survival isn’t about who’s right; it’s about who’s left. Earth spirals into chaos. World war ravages every border. The human race teeters on the edge of extinction. Survival hinges on the success of one colony located in a decimated valley. Walt Marshall, government contractor, is no stranger to loss after the death of his wife and son. Now he’ll honor them by doing whatever it takes to ensure the survival of humankind. Walt gets more than he bargained for when he uncovers a puzzling clue left behind by a mysterious woman. Destined to unveil the truth, he embarks down a dangerous path of espionage and treason. He quickly learns the dark truth about the past, and the future in this daring science fiction novel. |
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Always being connected to technology is nothing new for Daj, a young Maglan with dreams of flying. With constant access to vid streams, friends, legions of fans, and everything digital, there’s nothing else he needs. When he stumbles upon an anti-tech group, however, he begins to see the other side of a world controlled by technology. |
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Beyond the farthest reaches of explored space, survey ship Cerberus arrives at an unclaimed planet to find a deserted vessel already in orbit. When newly commissioned captain Janet Hollander leads a team to the derelict, they find an ancient alien artifact on board. As her own crew members begin to disappear, Hollander learns that neither the ghost ship nor the planet are as lifeless as they appear. She must survive long enough to find out what happened to the derelict—before she and her crew suffer the same fate. |
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The Massive Planet: The Adventures Of Deep Contact by Jeff Walker Captain Christopher Riley and his brave crew of the Earth Core United spaceship, Deep Contact, set out for adventure beyond the solar system. Their mission is to traverse space and discover new worlds for colonization; They represent humanity seeking to expand, explore, and search for alien life in any form. Alone and in the uncharted wilderness of the cosmos, they try to survive and complete the mission on behalf of Earth Core United. Deep Contact almost collides with a massive planet appearing out of nowhere. A Jupiter-like world that popped right into its main flight path. The crew desperately try to figure out a way to break free of its gravity as it pulls them deeper inside. Even though the ship should have been crushed instantly the minute they came into its wake; It falls deeper into the atmosphere’s densely thick clouds, endangering them all to whatever doom awaits. Captain Riley and his crew must race to figure out how to escape this huge world before they crash into its core, but do they have time to solve this riddle? Or will this be their one and only mission of failure? |
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Astral Fall by Jessica Mae Stover A hundred-year interplanetary war receives little attention from the military’s greatest warriors. Until five of them devise a secret plan to end it. From Midwest Book Review: "Without providing spoilers, suffice it to say that Astral Fall attempts to identify, address, and turn upside down reader preconceptions of [...] the nature of military sci-fi as a genre. And, it succeeds. Think the classic Ender's Game, but without any attempt to mimic Orson Scott Card's scenarios or success. Think a military battle structure holding the epic confrontations of Lord of the Rings, complete with its promise of multiple series books; yet with an attention to intricate detail that belays the (too-often) hasty series production. There is no artificial division of action felt in Astral Fall. |
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The Veiled Edge of Contact by James Brayken A lost tribe, a missing spouse, and an alien interception . . . Okon was comfortable. Then his wife did something inconsiderate: she disappeared. When Okon realizes she left behind a desperate message with instructions for finding her, he’s forced to enter the largest jungle in Africa to follow her trail. But the longer Okon searches for his wife, and the deeper he journeys into the jungle, the more tangled he becomes in an astonishing discovery and the lives of an unlikely group of outsiders. Okon’s comfortable home has never seemed so far away and danger never so close . . . or so strange. Fun, sometimes dark, and relentlessly original—you won’t read another science fiction book like this! |
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Nanite and implant internal technology began in the Pax Romana planetary empire's army, but it hasn't stayed there. Across four novellas and more than a century, two natives of the conquered planet Idyll must each contend with technological abilities thrust upon them without their consent. Genevieve, living in a time of war on her planet, was infected with nanites from a dying super-soldier—nanites that remade her in the image of those super-soldiers. Sienna, caught between the now-aging empire and even more violent rebels, was captured and used in a prisoner exchange in the place of a dead Pax Romana spy—leaving her with that spy’s implant in her head, leaking memories. Can Genevieve and Sienna remain themselves with internal technology taking over their minds? And what can they do when the abilities granted by that hated technology are the only thing that can save the ones they love most? |