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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The Sphere: A Journey In Time by Michelle McBeth Adelaide loves her job, but who wouldn’t enjoy traveling to the past to unravel the great enigmas of human history? The rules and regulations of her mysterious workplace may seem rather severe, but their need becomes apparent when a coworker returns from a mission decades older and unable to remember his life in the future. Adelaide embarks on a desperate journey through time to save her friend before he becomes trapped in the past. When her own timeline takes an unexpected turn, the fates of everyone she knows are at stake, and the secrets she uncovers put her own life at risk. |
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Origin of Pietas: Bringer of Chaos by Kayelle Allen Traitors stripped the immortal king Pietas of everything. Now, marooned on a deserted planet, his only hope of finding his people lies with the human who imprisoned him. That doesn't mean Pietas will humiliate himself by asking for help. Enough is enough. He's already died a thousand times. But if he fails, he will doom his people to eternal exile, and end his own immortality. Their ultimate salvation relies on the one thing he swears does not exist. The honor of a human... |
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First of Their Kind by C. D. Tavenor Robots. Androids. Virtual Worlds. Corporate Conspiracies. Meet Theren: a new synthetic intelligence. The first synthetic intelligence. Created in a lab with sterile white walls, Theren longs to meet the people of the world. The first SI has hopes, fears, and dreams, just like a human. Yet the world fears the idea of an artificial mind, capable of conscious thought. To survive against powerful corporations, hateful humans, and global conspiracies, Theren will need friends—and more importantly, a family. Can Earth survive side-by-side with its new creation? |
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Seven years ago, Rebecca St. Martin took the coward’s path to save her skin. She has lived with that decision, eking out a life as an indentured servant on a space station far from home. Only now, fate has decided to give Rebecca another chance. A ghost from her past plans to execute a daring rescue from the prison bowels of the station Rebecca now works. Rebecca has to face the same decision she made all those years ago. Could she watch her friends be murdered? Or could she, just for once, be a hero? |
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Escaping First Contact by T.S. Beier At the far edge of cultivated space, a derelict ship rests. Ten times larger than the biggest Terran dreadnaught, the ship is not recognized by any of the five species tenuously coexisting in the galaxy. Small crews are sent to investigate. What they find is a trap. Once in the metal labyrinth’s clutches, it is clear the unlikely allies will not escape unless they can work together as a team. Unfortunately, trust and cooperation are entirely out of the question. An immersive tale of escape and comradery, Escaping First Contact brings together an unforgettable cast of characters, richly detailed alien cultures, deft humour, and explosive action. |
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A Dream of Waking Life by E. S. Fein HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO TO UNDERSTAND THE NATURE OF YOUR EXISTENCE? HOW MUCH WOULD YOU SACRIFICE FOR LOVE? When Matthew Willish wakes up on a cold steel floor unsure of how he got there, he begins desperately searching for answers. What Matthew doesn't realize, however, is that this is only the beginning of a journey that will ultimately send him searching other worlds for the answer to numerous profound questions, the most pressing being: is he living in reality or in a dream? Or is he just an insane man who desperately needs help? A Dream of Waking Life is a philosophical and psychological thriller that tells the story of one man's journey through space, time, and mind to not only discover his true identity but also the love of his life—a woman who keeps slipping through his fingers and into another reality. A thought-provoking meditation on the thin line between what is real and what is not, A Dream of Waking Life will leave readers questioning how far they would go to understand the nature of their own existence and how much they would sacrifice for love. |
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Lunar Football League by Jason A. Holt Get the inside scoop on the LFL from the sportswriter who actually went to the moon! With over 2 billion viewers, the Lunar Football League is on its way to becoming the most popular sport in the world – an amazing feat for a sport played 384,000 km away. Linemen leap. Receivers soar. Defenders make tackles in midair! For three seasons, LFL fans have waited for the inside story. Now we have it. A sportswriter embedded with the Fyzacom Dragons delivers a moon's-eye view of intriguing stories from the 2119 season: * Meet Morse Kramer, the coaching genius who invented the aerial running game.
* Discover the physics behind the first lunar sport.
* Get the inside story on the drama between the Dragons and their quarterback, Zhifeng Wang.
* And spend a season with hockey star Sheila Patel as she attempts to become the first woman to play football on the moon! These stories and more, with detailed recaps of every Dragons game, told from a perspective never before seen in sports journalism. Get the inside story! ---------------------------
What is this really?
This is science fiction. But it's not a novel. It's a sports book about a game that can only be played in a dome built on the moon. The sport, the players, the games, and the strategies are all made up. But if anyone ever does start a professional tackle football league on the moon, this is what it might look like. Come check it out! |
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A Small Gray Dot by P.B. Cannon It is the year 2047 and twenty-five-year-old Tennessee Murray has realized his ambition to teach and his dream of publishing a book. He is preparing to marry the love of his life and things couldn’t be better. Then one morning he steps out into foggy weather and finds the world has taken a turn for the extremely bad. In a matter of minutes, half the population of Earth dies in a horrible fashion. It’s not an ultimate war or biological disaster, and no oversized meteorite hit the planet or any other such catastrophe. It is sudden, it is deadly, and it is inexplicable. Seven and a half years later, Tennessee, now a tracker in a diminished world that is limping along, sets out to find a missing young woman and makes a discovery that sheds light on the longstanding mystery. He also learns that a finale is in store for the remaining peoples of Earth. Could the fate of the world hinge on the actions of an ex-middle school English teacher? |
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The Trouble With Love by Maurice X. Alvarez Teenage thief, Kormèr Lezà l, tumbles through his inter-dimensional portal to the distant future and into the middle of a fire fight on a distant world. Swept into a web of industrial espionage, an impossible jewel heist and romantic intrigue, there's trouble at every turn, but he'll do whatever it takes to win over Averia's beautiful chief of police... if she doesn't arrest him first. |
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Humanity watches the skies…but the real danger is at their feet. After an asteroid strike on the moon, a strange blue dust began to flow down through Earth’s atmosphere. It’s harmful to breathe, but at least the microscopic creatures within the dust are dormant. Or so we thought. Tahira made a childhood promise to a friend that the crisis would bring their people together… before a violent riot tore their lives apart. Now, as an adult, Tahira works as a biologist for a corporation constructing experimental towers to force the spores—known as riebeckites—to germinate into harmless colonies. Except they’re about to learn everything they think they know about the dust is wrong. The real threat isn’t the asteroid that struck the moon and by the time humanity figures it out, it might be too late. Riebeckite combines suspense and conspiracy with heart-in-mouth action sequences and nightmarish encounters, all in an immersive near-future setting and, at its core, a heartwarming story of friendship against the odds. |
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The Carnelian Fox by Kay MacLeod Monsters don’t exist. At least, they didn’t until we created them. Maiyamon was once merely a game. Now it's a global reality. After dozens of hit monster collecting games raked in billions of credits per year, it was inevitable someone would create real ones. Unfortunately, it wasn’t so obvious how many people would dump them in the wild… Sam Wentworth grew up with nothing. She’s worked tirelessly just to get through college and earn her first monster. Bankrupt and exhausted, she sets her sights on fame and fortune in Maiyamon arenas. Instead, Sam’s caught between battling the rampaging elemental creatures abandoned by their owners and standing up to a toxic group intent on ending the game forever. With her flame fox cub, Finn, at her side, Sam sets out to build a team capable of protecting both innocent people’s lives and the creatures she loves. That’s the easy part. Monsters may fill the world, but it’s humans she fears the most… |
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When his spaceship crash-lands outside of Newton College, destroying his papers, weapons, and clothes, Phil thinks that his life has hit rock-bottom. But when he's forced to hide out in Alpha Tau Ceti fraternity, he learns that life can always get worse... Now laser-toting assassins are after him, the dean wants him to help hunt for UFOs, and his frat brothers are building something in the basement--but the most dangerous thing he's discovered about Earth--is girls. |
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Before the Shattered Gates of Heaven (Shattered Gates Volume 1) by Bryan S. Glosemeyer FIGHT FOR YOUR PLACE IN THE STARS in an epic adventure of interstellar war, visionary transformation, and cosmic mysteries! Growing up the lowest of the low in a cruel, alien underworld, Sabira dreams of something more. More than being forever unseen, toiling in tunnels and mines, and never seeing the sky. She dreams of a life of adventure among the stars. She has only one way to make her dreams come true:
Victory in the deadly fighting pits of the Divine Masters. When a failed battle brings certain death and defeat, a chance encounter saves Sabira’s life, but challenges everything she holds sacred. Confronted by shamanic visions and unimaginable revelations, Sabira must choose between faith and loyalty or mystery and liberation. The lives of everyone she loves, and of worlds across the galaxy, weigh in the balance… Bryan S. Glosemeyer’s novel delivers a fast-paced, thrilling sci-fi adventure set in the distant future, filled with vivid worlds, compelling characters, and gritty action. |
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Warrior Wench by Marie Andreas Vaslisha Tor Dain is a mercenary starship captain with a few simple rules: A good ship is better than a great man, in case of confusion always err on the side of blowing someone's head off, and never fall for a telepath or a member of her crew. All of those are about to bite her in the behind. Vas’s life takes a turn for the worse when she comes back to her crew after what should have been a two week pleasure trip to find out she’s actually been gone a month and has no memory of missing time. Her beloved ship, The Victorious Dead, has been sold for scrap and its pieces scattered throughout the galaxy. In addition, there are unmarked ships blowing apart entire planets and the Commonwealth government can’t, or won’t, stop them. And that’s just her first day back. Vas has to fight her crew, the Commonwealth, and a mysterious cadre of warrior monks to get her ship back and save a universe that may not want to be saved. |
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Super-Borg Dies by Tac Anderson After being forced out of his last startup, Trent Daeshaun uses his technological prowess, and a good publicist, to become Super-Borg, Seattle's preeminent super. As rumors of homeless people being abducted coincide with an increase in violent attacks, Trent suspects that someone is weaponizing the homeless population and doing it with technology he created. With help from fellow tech entrepreneur Max Roman, a homeless girl from the camps, and several of Seattle's supers, Super-Borg must uncover who is behind the attacks and stop them. But the truth of who is behind the attacks and why, are far more complex than Trent imagined and stopping them will require great personal cost. |
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Scribes' Descent by Dylan West People worship technology on Planet Daishon. With inventions that prolong life and eradicate disease, it's little wonder. Death seems obsolete until an earthquake kills thousands, including Mallory's parents. They should have lived for a thousand years, not just fifty. Mallory scrambles for answers. Such a disaster shouldn't be possible. Quakes have never happened on this world before. Suspecting the top research center had triggered it, her best friend's father investigates. When he turns up missing, Mallory goes on site after him as a geology intern. She can't bear to lose anyone else. An old mine sits at the epicenter of the recent quake, and an unbreakable alien barrier seals it off. But a door hidden in its surface opens for Mallory when she translates its engravings. Once inside, she evades underground predators while cut off from the tech that's always protected her. Some graves run much deeper than six feet, and this place could be one of them. Within this self-contained world lie the remnants of a universal war, revealing that Daishoni folklore is more than superstition. To survive, Mallory must trust in something more than science and logic. She must follow the voice of one she can't see down to the very bottom. Something deadlier than a quake is trapped there, and it is trying to escape. |
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Gold Award, Fantasy / Science Fiction category, eLit Book Awards. Fear can blind you to the truth. The news is ominous and terrifying. People are seeing UFOs and strange, alien-looking creatures with humanoid shapes, green skin and large black eyes. In places where this occurs, doctors report the spread of a mysterious virus that scrambles people’s thoughts and causes hallucinations. Many experts believe the virus came from the aliens. The pathogen has not yet been identified; there is no cure. Psychology professor Dr. Cora Frost has a different theory: the bizarre symptoms are nothing more than mass hysteria, not unlike the hysteria that caused people in our not too distant past to see witches flying through the sky, which justified hanging them or burning them at the stake. Intense stress within societies gives rise to scapegoats. Doing field research within the compound of a cult in Roswell, New Mexico that reveres the exact same kinds of aliens being reported on the news, her entire worldview is shaken and upended. In a shocking series of events, her past and future collide, forever changing her life. |
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The Psychic's Memoirs by Ryan Hyatt Ted Kaza, a hot-tempered Los Angeles detective, and Lydia Jackson, his distracted partner, are assigned to find Alice Walker, an alleged teenage psychic whose capture might determine the outcome of a looming civil war and humanity’s relationship with a misleading alien force. |
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The Created by Michael McCloskey What do a stealthy synthetic plant, an eavesdropping sound curtain, and an invisible observer have in common? They are artificial agents working tirelessly in the crime-rife city of Red Calais for their ingenious Master. They wend their way through the cutthroats, cat burglars and con men of the greatest city of the core world called Idona, challenged by numerous obstacles. Yet it seems that their Master hardly notices the chaos his automated minions are creating... |
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Fermi's Progress by Chris Farnell “The Fermi is the Earth’s first and last faster-than-light-spaceship. The last, because it turns out its engine vaporises entire star systems in its wake. And nobody knows how to turn it off.” Four planets. Four adventures. Four apocalypses. A Dyson sphere, a philosophical zombie apocalypse, a giant airborne beehive and a galactic telesales scam. Each world brings new wonders, new dangers, and a planetary scale genocide. The Fermi crew must survive by what little wits they have as they bounce a trail of destruction across the galaxy. For the first time all four parts of Fermi’s Progress are together in one volume. |
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Aztra's Mirror by Charles Freedom Long Beneath the surface of Trychnos and its twin, Saecula, lie a galaxy’s wealth of gemstones. The Trux have despoiled their world through mindless quarrying. The Saec rejected wealth and all modernity. They detest each other. To the point where their saints have abandoned them. With Trychnos on the verge of ecological collapse, the Trux plan to invade Saecula and repeat the mining calamity. Centuries of hate cannot simply be erased. But deep within the bowels of Trychnos, lies a magical mirror, made of one perfect diamond by the god Aztra herself. Whoever gazes into Aztra’s Mirror—if they survive the mirror’s gazing back into them—will have power beyond their wildest dreams. Power to bring about whatever change they desire. If they do not survive, they will pay a price beyond imagination. Neither Zakan nor his twin Javek ever wanted more than to live as simple acolytes in their pastoral village. But the God Aztra herself calls Zakan to the challenge of the Mirror. Despite Zakan’s recurring dream that he will die in this quest, driven by Aztra’s calling, aided by saints, sinners, sorcerers, and the dead of both planets, Zakan sets out to find Aztra’s Mirror and use its power to save both worlds. If he fails, both the simplistic Saec and avaricious Trux will die, and their planets with them. The mirror has its price. And it will be paid. |
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Exin Ex Machina by G. S. Jennsen Cyberpunk and space opera collide in a thrilling new trilogy from the author of the acclaimed Aurora Rhapsody saga. When man and machine are one and the same, there are many crimes but only one sin: psyche-wipe. The secrets it has buried could lead to a civilization's salvation, or to its doom. The Asterion Dominion is at peace with its neighbors and itself. Its citizens enjoy great freedoms and all the luxuries their biosynthetic minds can imagine, design and create. But beneath the idyllic veneer, something is going wrong. People are going wrong, driven to commit inexplicable crimes without motive or purpose. And once imprisoned for those crimes, they simply vanish. Psyche-wiped and dumped in an alley 5 years ago, awakened into a culture where ancestral memories stretch back for millennia, Nika Tescarav's past is a blank canvas. But if whoever erased her did so in the hope of silencing her, they should have tried harder. Someone must speak for the lost. Someone must uncover how and why they became lost. Someone must find the lost. Nika is that someone. ASTERION NOIR
700,000 years ago, the Asterions fled persecution for their pro-synthetic beliefs. In the safe harbor of a distant galaxy, they have evolved into a true biosynthetic race and built a thriving society upon the pillars of personal autonomy, mutual respect and boundless innovation. Now that society is fracturing at the seams. Beneath lies built upon lies, the shocking truth as to why threatens the future of not merely the Asterions, but all life in the universe. Enter a world of technological wonders, exotic alien life, enthralling characters, captivating worlds—and a terrifying evil lurking in the void that will shatter it all. |
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A Call to the Sky by Marc DeGeorge In a world with no ground, only flight keeps you alive. Toume d’Nezuhmy only wanted to be a pilot, just like his mother. As the son of a chieftain, his clan had trained him to fly well, then sent him to bury his head in books. He would have stayed in them, if not for the high priestess of the Drahken clan. After making a stop on her Island to deliver parts, she offers him a curious mission. Take a mysterious package to the Manuke—the clan of scientists and engineers who will study it to find its secrets. There is no pay, but if he is successful, the high priestess will grant him her daughter’s hand in marriage. Ever since his mother went missing, Toume has struggled to gain his father’s approval. Could this be the chance he needs to show his father he is ready to be away from his books? This delivery is not as simple as it seems, however. Rival clans will kill him for the package, and even if he is successful, marriage is no guarantee of happiness. A serious choice lies before Toume. Should he choose wrong, he could wind up dead, or worse—a failed union between him and the Drahken heir would destroy the only alliance that protects his clan from destruction. |
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The Patmos Revelation by Carl Jamieson Arlo’s dream has become a nightmare. Discovering an alien signal from an exoplanet fulfils a promise to his dying father. But, inexplicably, a series of devastating events are unleashed.
Set in a dystopian 2049, The Patmos Revelation is a fast-paced science fiction thriller, packed with twists and turns. In Arlo’s world, reason and beliefs clash, reality and dreams blur, and evil awaits. |
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How far would you go to achieve your greatest ambition? Nothing is what it seems in this speculative thriller about a quantum computer scientist, virologist, podcaster, venture capitalist, and assassin coming together to untangle a twisted enigma that will change the course of future history. Everyone has something to hide, and every transgression is a portal to discovery. Taking you on a whirlwind journey from the heart of the San Francisco Bay Area to the distant shores of the Galápagos, Reap3r is a propulsive adventure that grapples with the price of progress and how technology shapes our lives and world. |
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From the Grave of the Gods by Alan K. Dell Strange lights in the sky.
A Red Planet.
A catalyst to change the course of human history. Commander James Fowler is an astronaut and the first officer of the Magnum Opus, the largest spacecraft ever built, on the first crewed expedition to Mars. The mission: to investigate the mysterious extrasolar object that went down on the Red Planet five years ago. James is living the dream: he gets to go to space and be one of the first to set foot on another world, with his girlfriend, Angela, cheering him on at home. Maybe after the mission, when he's returned a hero, he'll find the perfect moment to finally propose. But his dreams shatter as the mission ends in disaster. Returning to a world reeling from the revelation of what they found out there, James works to piece his life back together and come to terms with what happened. But the mission left him changed, and now he must fight to protect everything he holds dear from those who seek advancement at any cost; a process that makes him question his identity, his place in the world, and what it means to be human. |
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The Secret of the Tzaritsa Moon by C. Litka “I signed aboard the Tzaritsa Moon as her second engineer. I ended up a toaster repairman. I was very lucky.” – Rafe d’Mere. The Alantzia system is known for its many little worlds, moons, and rocks that are reputed to be more like the “lawless” drift worlds than the staid worlds of the Unity. Old spaceers convinced Rafe d’Mere that to fully appreciate the exotic romance of the Alantzian experience, he needed to ship out on one of the small planet traders which call on the eccentric little worlds. He did, signing aboard the Tzaritsa Moon, as her second engineer. On the passage to Fairwaine, Rafe’s swift response to a critical engine failure saved the Tzaritsa Moon. And his life. However, that failure was deliberate, part of a pirate prince’s plan to keep the Tzaritsa Moon from arriving in Fairwaine orbit. And when it did, the pirate prince was not happy. At best, Rafe might expect his memory of the incident to be erased. Erasing Rafe would, however, work just as well. In Rafe effort to get clear of the Tzaritsa Moon and get very lost on Fairwaine, he crossed orbits with a thief – a girl with a pretty face, who may, or may not, have been a covert agent of the Patrol. She was rather evasive on that point. But she was determined to discover why the pirate prince wanted the Tzaritsa Moon destroyed. And Rafe found that he couldn’t resist helping her. She had a pretty face. The Secret of the Tzaritsa Moon is a SF mystery adventure featuring Rafe d’Mere, ex-Patrol contraband suppression and repair tech, and Vaun Di Ai, Patrol Lieutenant JG, Intelligence Analyst 2, who had, somehow, escaped her desk job to be an acting covert agent. The story is set on the moon of Fairwaine, in one of its old fashioned, nonconforming societies. One that uses toasters to make toast. |
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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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In Times of Peace: Dance of Darkness & Light Episode 1 by The Loneliest Lone Wolf Against the backdrop of an immortal War that has entered into its final chapter…
A girl and a boy from a ravaged planet hope to start the first chapter of their new lives…
But no one could see what was lurking in the darkness that lies beyond what their eyes can see… A SAGA SPREAD ACROSS THE UNIVERSE WITH A VERY GROUNDED CAST OF CHARACTERS... As The Empire prepares for the inevitable war against an unseen, unimagined enemy from beyond the realm of the known, an enemy that is determined to destroy everything at any cost... a group youngsters from far and wide are brought together to begin their initiation into The Imperium and face their faceless foe... and in this group of outstanding people there are two that stand out... a girl and a boy... They are the first of their people to be allowed back into The Imperium in generations... for it was generations ago that the rebellion against The Empire had failed and their people were pushed into exile, an exile that had to come to an end when the War came calling... but as they're now being cautiously welcomed back into the mainstream fold... some are more careful about it than others... Join them as they try and find a place for themselves in a changing new world as their old world begins to collapse… two lost souls alone in the vast star system trying to help each other find their true paths... just as a great War charges ahead on its path to them! DESTINIES WILL BE CHANGED... LIVES WILL BE LOST... WHEN THE PAST & PRESENT COLLIDE! The epic story that was in the making for a thousand millennia… is finally ready to be told… This is that story... the story of an epic war as old as time itself... the story of how that immortal war finally died... this is the story of the Dance of Darkness & Light... Witness the beginning of the end with… Episode 1... |
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Rhonda Wray: Raptor Wrangler by Charon Dunn Rhonda Wray: Raptor Wrangler is about a teenage girl who was innocently trying to listen to some live music … her favorite boy band happened to be playing a festival on a dinosaur planet … when bad things suddenly happened. Now she and her trusty robot are all alone in the wilderness, picking up survival skills and looking for her favorite singer, Sebastian Rose, just in case he needs to be rescued. There’s hard science, explosions, plenty of dinosaurs (with feathers), diversity, no sex (although there are a few references to it), less violence than many dinosaur stories, cliffhangers galore, and a little bogus science just to honor the fine tradition of speculative fiction (what if raptors had syrinxes and could sing like birds?). |
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Edge of the Breach by Halo Scot We all become monsters at the edge of the breach. In a post-apocalyptic world where season of birth determines power — spring healers, summer mages, fall shapeshifters, and winter shields — a man and a woman emerge from tragic childhoods to lead humanity on opposite sides of an interrealm war. ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ There is a hole in the sky. They call it the Rift. A portal to the gods. The scar of a suffering world. Through it, the gods rule the last scraps of civilization, harkening war. As chaos beckons, two leaders emerge from the ashes of a dying planet. Julian Kyder is the son of an abusive rape victim who compensates for his abandonment through psychopathy. Sira Rune is a cancer survivor who dedicates her life to living free and fearless while experiencing the taboo and the unorthodox. Rune is the only one unafraid of Kyder, and that terrifies him, because he only knows how to function through fear. Even though she gives him more chances than he deserves, how much violence can she forgive? When is a person beyond redemption? While he struggles to control his demons and she struggles to find purpose, the gods drag the ruined world into war. Amazon Top 10 New Releases LGBTQ+ Sci-Fi
Amazon Top 25 New Releases LGBTQ+ Fantasy CONTENT WARNING: The Rift Cycle is a highly graphic series intended for mature audiences. |
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New York: two years after the Third World War. Humanity is rebuilding its cities brick by brick; the damage done to the people, however, is a lot harder to repair. Dan Hardacre is one of those people. An aspiring stage actor and experienced draft-dodger, Dan struggles to find his place within the Utopic rebuild of New York City. When he’s not caught up with the duties of work, Dan lives a quiet life in mourning for his mother, Dyani, who went missing when he was a teenager. One night, Dan experiences a vivid, terrifying nightmare that puts him right on the front lines of the war for which he dodged the draft; it ends with him facing Death itself in the form of a metallic, faceless humanoid creature that calls itself the Valkyrie. To investigate the reason behind his haunting experience, Dan seeks out a meeting with his estranged father, who reveals the startling truth about Dan’s dream: it wasn’t a dream. With this newfound knowledge and the powers it brings, Dan makes it his mission to return to the scene of his nightmare. However, he soon comes to know that confronting the Valkyrie not only endangers him but the war-withstanding world he leaves behind. |
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The Diamond Device by M. H. Thaung After diamond power promises to replace steam, an unemployed labourer and a thieving noble unite to foil an international plot and avert a war. Alf Wilson resents the new technology that cost him his factory job, especially as his clockwork leg bars him from army enrolment. He daren’t confess his unemployment to his overbearing mother. Desperate over the rent, he ends up in a detention cell with a hangover. Impoverished Lord Richard Hayes maintains his expensive parliamentary seat by a mixture of charm and burglary. During a poorly planned break-in, he inadvertently witnesses a kidnapping. To cap it all, the police arrest him for the crime. At least he's using a fake identity. The real criminals make off with not just the professor who discovered diamond power, but her plans for a diamond-fuelled bomb. When Rich encounters Alf in the neighbouring cell, he sees an opportunity to keep his noble reputation intact. He persuades Alf he's a secret agent who needs an assistant. This chance association will take them to the oddest locations. But law-abiding Alf’s first assignment? Break Rich out of jail. |
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Humor Book Winner in the 2021 IndieReader Discovery Awards A sci-fi satire about seeking work-life balance while doing public relations for an authoritarian president. PR extraordinaire Blake Hamner (the n is silent) put off his honeymoon for his big break: joining a major political campaign for president. Now, the "Hammer" struggles to make time for his marriage as Crisis Communications Manager for Our Leader, who since taking power has become increasingly mad and totalitarian. The Hammer starts to reconsider his career choices when one of Our Leader's savage steel hounds attacks the Comms team at a press conference. He'd love to talk about his erratic job with his wife, Triple-N news anchor Maria Worthington, but they have a rule: the broadcast journalist doesn't ask Blake for inside information about his work, and the spin doctor doesn't use their relationship as leverage on what Maria reports. They say you shouldn't keep things from each other in a marriage, but it's OK--the only secrets between Blake and Maria are professional. When a revolutionary levels grave allegations against Our Leader--and accuses Blake of distributing disinformation and propaganda to cover it up--the PR rep who thought he could talk his way out of any crisis finds himself utterly trapped in a dystopian job. |
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Behind Blue Eyes by Anna Mocikat 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. |
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Superheroes are big business. Imagine not being able to afford them. Kit Baldwin just wants to make rent. The only work she can find in the ruins of her devastated city is scavenging for alien technology. When she finds a powerful alien weapon, her discovery pays off more than she could have hoped: it draws the attention of the most powerful of the superhuman Empowered, Valene. Valene hears everything, everywhere. She suffers for it, and as they begin a precipitous romance, Kit believes she can use the weapon she’s scavenged to mitigate Valene’s pain. If she can’t, Valene will retreat to the soundlessness of space. Without Valene’s compassion, the stricken city is left to the mercy of Valene’s ruthless father, who denies the assistance the city needs unless it can pay for it. As Valene’s condition worsens, Kit becomes more desperate and unleashes the full power of the alien weapon. In an instant, she is transformed into a being of cosmic power. She can acquire the knowledge and energy of anything – or anyone – she touches. |
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The Solid-State Shuffle: Sunken City Capers Book 1 by Jeffrey A. Ballard Almost a hundred years ago, a major terrestrial event reshaped the earth’s coastlines. Goodbye entire cities. Goodbye entire states. Goodbye entire countries. And when the authorities outlawed salvaging from these sunken sites, why say hello to a new breed of criminal: underwater reclamation specialists. Even a hundred years later, there’s still a whole lot of loot for the reclaiming. But it’s not theft if you put it back, right? After cracking an underwater vault in their first major heist in the Seattle Isles, Isa and her crew think they’re on easy street again—that is, if they can figure out what it is exactly they stole. A question, they soon learn, where their very lives hang in the balance. Thrust into a high-stakes game of subterfuge and deception by the local mob boss, Isa and her crew must scramble to unravel the mystery of what it is they stole while unseen forces move against them. Harried. Threatened at every turn. Isa and her crew must stay one step ahead to stay alive. Sunken City Capers is a fun post-apocalyptic series with no zombies, just criminals and mischievous ne’er-do-wells. Fans of heist novels/movies and strong female protagonists will likely enjoy this series. |
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Effacement by Hieronymus Hawkes A future where offline privacy is illegal. A lethal plot permanently deleting people in power. One determined genius caught in an assassin’s sights. 2037. Dr. Cole Westbay is proud of having helped eliminate crime. Groomed to take over the company that makes the surveillance chip everyone is required by law to have, he’s alarmed by a series of suspicious deaths the hardware caused. And after launching an investigation, the brilliant scientist panics when he awakes with his mandatory neural link ripped out and his recently recorded memories erased… Arrested for the federal crime of failing to have his life fully documented, Cole struggles to get back online and clear his name. And as his paranoia grows while the bodies continue to pile up, he fears government enforcers, friends, and even his fiancée may be in on the scheme to set him up for a deadly fall. Can the embattled scientist crack the conspiracy before his enemies hit CTRL+ALT+DEL on his life? Effacement is a gripping standalone science fiction technothriller. If you like gifted but flawed heroes, deep-state intrigue, and relentless villains, then you’ll love Hieronymus Hawkes’s dystopian vision. Buy Effacement for a hard reboot today! |
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Aerovoyant by Patricia L. Tavormina On planet Turaset, droughts ravage farmlands, cyclones rip through coastal cities, and with every barrel of oil the combustion industry pumps from the ground, the climate worsens. Alphonse has just refused a council seat because taking it means serving that rapacious industry. He leaves the city to seek solace in the wilderness, and there, a power to live the past awakens within him. Alphonse walks the steps of his distant ancestors on long-dead Earth, soon growing plagued with memories of its collapse, and he's left with a troubling certainty: he must infiltrate the combustion industry to secure proof of its treachery, or Turaset will be next to fall. Alphonse finds an ally in Myrta, a farmgirl who sees air, every molecule in every pulse of breath or blast of exhaust. With her talent, she can evade the patrols on the industry's grounds. Together, Alphonse and Myrta can prove the industry lies about emissions. They can convince the councils to shut down fossil fuel use permanently. But people in the industry have grown wise to Myrta's power--and now she's marked for death. |
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Bache Loftt wants nothing more than to follow in his father’s footsteps and be an engineering officer on one of the galaxy’s most powerful, state of the art starships. He has the grades, he has the aptitude – and his application for the naval academy is in. All he has to do is wait for the call up. Then he witnesses a double murder. Barely escaping with his life, can he evade the unlimited resources of a galactic syndicate hunting for him and uncover a conspiracy that involves the very institution he’s determined to join? The Aspirant: a tale of friendships, betrayals, unspeakable crimes – and greed. "Absolutely loved this book! Adventure; Mystery; Intrigue; Conspiracy; Crime; Murder; Assassination — and all of it done on an intergalactic level, this book is worth picking up and taking the time to enjoy" - Goodreads |
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Into Neon: A Cyberpunk Saga by Matthew A. Goodwin 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! |
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Novum Chronicles by Joseph Rhea As the last descendants of Earth struggle to survive beneath the surface of an alien water planet, a young ship's captain awakens an ancient enemy that could destroy what's left of the human race, or be the key to its future.Jake Stone is a young man haunted by his past. As the reluctant captain of a transport submarine called the Rogue Wave, he just wants to forget his troubles and find a safe place for his crew to live in peace. But there is no peace in the crushing depths of this hostile world. Fueled by an oppressive government and failing resources, the people of Civica Colony have finally given in to their fears, and civil war is spreading like a virus. And now, an ancient enemy that was cast out after the destruction of Earth, the so-called Fall of Man, is returning to destroy what's left of the human race. Will Jake abandon the colony to protect his crew, or stay and fight to prevent humanity's final apocalypse? |
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Time and the Soldier by David Dvorkin Thrown forward in time from 1945, three friends fight to find each other and go home. War, death, and love are the only constants. In the dangerous 21st Century, time changes them and they change time and history. |
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NEANDER: A Time Travel Adventure by Harald Johnson "My God. These people really are Neanderthals!" At an archeological dig in Gibraltar, science journalist Tom Cook's hopes and dreams are shattered in an instant by a mysterious explosion—his pregnant fiancée is missing. During the search, things go from bad to worse when Tom plunges through a time portal and into the strange and dangerous era of the Neanderthals. Can he get back, or is he stuck in the past forever? On top of figuring out how to return to the present, Tom must use his modern-day wits to fight for survival in the world of 40,000 years ago. And contend with a group of archaic humans that are not at all like what he expects. Finally, Tom faces a crucial decision that could alter the course of human history. A history he knows he has the power to change. Will he make the right choice? If you're a fan of the time travel fantasy novels of Jack Finney (Time and Again), Stephen King (11/22/63), or Michael Crichton (Timeline), you'll savor this science-fiction, time-travel adventure from historical fiction author Harald Johnson. "It's 40,000 years ago and I'm stuck here. Now what?" (Book 1 of the series) |
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The Stars Within by Lena Alison Knight Escape was impossible...until she had nothing to lose. For Kerelle Evandra, her psionic powers have always meant three things: mandatory service to a multigalactic corporation, a luxurious lifestyle as a prized asset, and an electronic collar that will kill her if she steps out of line. As much as Kerelle might resent her gilded cage - and obedience to her corporate masters’ cold directives - everyone knows that escape is impossible. And defiance risks not just her own life, but also the life of the person closest to her: Galhen Ambrel, her lover and fellow bound psionic. But when Galhen’s contract is suddenly sold to a distant oligarch, Kerelle learns that obedience was not the guarantee of safety she once thought - and that escape may not be as inconceivable as she was taught to believe. When a mission brings her into contact with an unexpected ally, she must decide how far she can go, and how much she’s willing to risk for freedom. |
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Watson and Holmes by E.B. Dawson 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 |
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Escape From Earth 1 by David DuBois Steve is an aspiring computer programmer and business owner. Zander is a burnt-out but dedicated FBI agent. They don't know each other, but their paths cross when they find a portal to another world. The gateway is not random, and they meet Maximilian Beauregard, the Vice-Chancellor of the United Federation of Americas. He needs their help. Steve and Zander travel to this strange world, quickly embrace new technologies, and get pushed into politics on the world's stage. They want to help, but the more involved they get, the more they realize things are not as they seem. The duo soon get in over their heads and must depend on one another if they want to survive and escape from Earth 1. Author Note: This is a Sci-Fi/Fantasy blend, predominantly a buddy adventure that emphasizes world-building, a detailed portal system, mysterious elements, and powering/leveling up. The content is appropriate for all ages, with a target audience of teenager and up. |
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The distant world of Haphez is located on the edge of populated space. The planet's native superhuman race is feared and respected by neighboring civilizations. Their military and police forces are unmatched. Lieutenant Aroska Tarbic is an agent with the revered Haphezian Special Police. He’s lost a lot in a short period of time; the other members of his squad were killed in a tragic accident, and his younger brother was wrongfully convicted and executed for a crime he didn’t commit. Just when Aroska thinks he’s starting to piece his life back together, he’s assigned to a joint task force with a special operations team. It seems like a unique opportunity, at least until he learns his new commander is none other than Ziva Payvan, HSP’s finest operative…and the assassin who killed his brother. Ziva is good at her job, a business that requires her to ignore her feelings and carry out her missions without question. She’s confident in her own abilities to complete the assignment, but Aroska is a wildcard. When their team stumbles across a young human during a routine investigation, they soon realize the situation isn't what it seems. The boy has unwittingly uncovered a sinister plot, one that could put the entire Haphezian race in jeopardy. Now the lines between friend and foe have become blurred, and no one can be trusted. United by the imminent threat, Ziva and Aroska must set their differences aside long enough to save their people…and maybe even each other. |
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The Engineer by Darran M Handshaw Indie Recs Indie SFFOasis SPSFC 2022 "We are born in the shadow of fading memories and fallen dreams, living our days within the decaying bones of an age long gone." When the Engineer, Actaeon, arrives at Pyramid in the heart of Redemption, nothing goes according to plan. Mysterious raiders pursue him relentlessly across the shattered remains of the ancient metropolis, and the leaders of his homeland pay no heed to his ambitious ideas. Meanwhile, deep beneath Pyramid, a deadly creature stirs. And, when Actaeon meets a skilled young Knight Arbiter with brilliant blue eyes, he starts down a path he could never have imagined. The vast, fallen city of the Ancients is home to a new people who face the constant struggle to find resources needed to survive in the dangerous ruins. For the Engineer, however, Redemption is a treasure trove of technology, opportunity, and answers. But his unique skills make him a target for those who would use his talents to achieve their own dreams of power and control. In his endless quest for the truth, will Actaeon discover the fallen city’s greatest secrets? Or will he share the same fate as the Ancients of whom nothing remains but a whisper? One thing is certain: in Redemption, everything comes with a cost. |
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Those dark and terrible things from your nightmares are VERY real. They walk among us, masquerading as your neighbor, your lover, even your friend. You see, Empire City is full of them…if you only know where to look. How do I know this? Well, for starters the name is Detective Tom Holliday. I work homicide for Special Crimes. My friends, what few I have, call me Doc. And the other reason? I’ve got magic of my own. Welcome to Empire City, where magic and technology co-exist, and humanity endures behind walls of stone and spell-forged steel. A place where danger lurks around every street corner, and anything is possible. When former hotshot homicide detective Tom “Doc” Holliday is recruited to join Special Crimes, he trades in his boring desk job for a second chance to do what he does best: hunt down killers. And his first case doesn’t disappoint—a murdered woman with a bogus past, her body drained of blood, and two eyewitnesses wasted on the designer drug goldjoy claiming a vampire did it. Armed with a fickle clairvoyance and saddled with a team whose past is as checkered as his own, Holliday embarks upon an investigation through a dystopian landscape filled with bio-engineered vampires, interdimensional shadow parasites, and the magical masterminds behind it all. But to solve this murder and safeguard his city, Holliday will have to uncover the truth behind an ancient shadowy conspiracy and confront a destiny he never wanted. Fans of Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London and Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files will fall in love with Empire City. Grab your copy of BLOODLINES today! |