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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Sequela is the debut novel from Cleland Smith, named to Kirkus Reviews' Best Books of 2013. Kester Lowe is the next big thing in viral fashion. For the price of a Brinkov suit you could be wearing one of his exclusively engineered STVs. And once you put it on, almost everyone will want you... At least, that's the plan. Alexis Farrell will stop at nothing to make her new designer a star, but not everyone is a fan; those offended by what he represents, those he has betrayed, his own suppressed ambitions and forgotten promises - Kester is racking up enemies and they are about to come together in an attempt to destroy him. Sequela is a solid debut from a fresh new voice in science fiction. Set in London in the 2080s, it follows the story of virologist Dr Kester Lowe as he rockets to fame as the first fashion virus designer. As events unfold, the reality of Kester's fame and desirability bring him to crisis point, forcing him to deal with the consequences of selling his services to the highest bidder and reawakening his ambition to use his scientific talent to the greater good. A potent mix of nanotechnology, terrorism and sexual politics. |
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Things They Buried by Amanda K. King & Michael R. Swanson Named to Kirkus Reviews' Best Books of 2019 "...uses dazzling worldbuilding and a hodgepodge of characters, cultures, and fantastic species to tell a powerful, human story. ... The worldbuilding is nearly flawless in its execution, which will entice readers to immerse themselves in the story... The intriguing plot makes excellent use of its primary characters, resulting in a breathtaking, harmonious read. An empathetic, complex, and offbeat tale."â¨âKirkus Reviews (starred) "The creepy threats and fierce fights in this densely imagined novel will gratify fans of dark fantasy, especially those who want real depth in between thrills."â¨âBookLife Under the dirty streets of Ismae's greatest port city, an old nightmare waits for Sylandair and Aliara, one that is stealing Dockhaven's children, one only they can end. When the pair escaped their owner and abuser years ago, they left him behind in a ball of blue flame, but as more children disappear near the city's desalinization plant, their suspicions turn to the predator they believed dead. Accompanied by their less-than-reliable puka scout Schmalch, they delve into the forgotten depths of the patchwork city. Their search will lead to a twisting world of corruption and experimentation, uncover horrors greater than any they imagined, and summon memories they never wanted to exhume. A dark science fantasy action adventure, Things They Buried is the first full-length novel of Ismae, a world where science sometimes appears as magic and history as myth, where monsters make themselves and heroes are wholly unintentional. This novel contains adult themes and violence. |
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One man's lust for power threatens the future of humanityâcan a young girl from the outer system stop it all? Imogen âChimâ Esper is thrust into the center of an interplanetary conflict when her family is torn apart by the cruel and indifferent Kardashev Corporation. Forced to run, along with her robotic best friend, Chim struggles to find her place in a society that is poised for revolutionary transformation. The Kardashev Corporation dominates all commerce and politics in the solar system. Its megalomaniac CEO, Alton Neal, is hell-bent on transforming society by capturing the full energy output of the sun through the creation of a Dyson Swarm. Citizens of Earth and the stations throughout the system must band together to protect access to the lifeblood of the system or risk becoming permanently enslaved to the Kardashev Corporation. Mercuryâs Shadow is a thrilling adventure that blends real science, big ideas, grand adventure and high stakes to introduce a new heroine and a deep universe that will leave readers asking for more. |
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The Clarity of Cold Steel by Kevin Wright The kid disappeared two days ago. Missing. Abducted. Murdered. What have you... Just another in an endless line of indigent kids wrung from the dregs of the Machine City. And itâs my job to find him. Me. Avinash Shakteel, detective extraordinaire. Probably you ainât heard of me. Not if you run the straight and narrow and ply the right side of the tracks. Cause me? I ply the other. Two days missing⌠Two long days in the Machine City, last bastion of mankind in all its fallen glory. Where the sum total of lifeâs cheaper than in part. I hope I find the kid. By God, I do. But if I canât find all of him, I pray I find none. Join Detective Shakteel in this gritty steampunk thriller sure to set your blood to boil. |
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The Dimensional Gateway is built... A plot against humanity revealed... Humankind's ultimate evolution. Theron Mobius has worked his entire life on a Dimensional Gateway that will propel humankind into a new era of space travel. When it's sabotaged by a mysterious entity, he uncovers a plot against humanity that's been underway for millennia. Theron is driven against all odds to stop the entity, only to discover he's an integral part of the entity's sinister plan. Together with a small group of travelers, he must journey across galaxies in search of an ancient Guardian of the universe. If he fails, humankind will face oblivion. |
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Goodbye to the Sun by Jonathan Nevair "A fresh sci-fi for the modern era that successfully balances serious themes with exciting space opera." -Spells & Spaceships A rebel pilot teams up with a war-torn diplomat in a bid to win her peopleâs freedom â but an impossible choice awaits⌠On a lone wind-shaped world, the Motes are on the brink. Razor, a bold and daring pilot, leads a last-ditch gambit against their local oppressors, the Targitians. The plan - abduct visiting Ambassador Keen Draden and use him as a bargaining chip to restore Mote independence on Kol-2. But when the operation unravels, Razor is forced to renegotiate terms with the arrogant diplomat. Racing the planet's raging wind tides, the two struggle to maintain a fragile pact. But Keen's dubious past rises and the Mote's resolve falters. Opportunity and obligation clash in a confrontation over honor, family, and revenge that binds their futures more tragically than they ever thought possible. |
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Godeena by Stjepan Varesevac Cobets Henry Broncon is a Cyber-modified soldier, a special teams commander, and the sole survivor of the Field of Death battle on Planet Morad. Unable to shake off his old demons, he enlists in a new mission to collect more of them. Planet Godeena is a prized new acquisition from the war with the Anskers until it starts killing everyone who lands on it. Three complete expeditions to the planet disappear suddenly with no trace and no survivors. High Command is ready to write the rich planet off as "permanently inaccessible" until a lone survivor sends a cryptic SOS from the planet's surface using outdated Morse Code. Now Henry Broncon, with a platoon of hardened criminals as his only troops, must lead a force of prisoners, mystics, and old friends in a last-ditch effort to save a resourceful VIP survivor from a powerful and unknown enemy. In the process, he'll attempt to lay claim to the perfectly preserved remains of a two-thousand-year-old advanced civilization that once thrived on the now-deadly Planet Godeena. Can Planet Godeena be salvaged for the Interstellar Confederation? Will anyone return from this mission alive? Or will Henry, his squad, and his VIP all end up being buried there together, along with everyone else who has gone there before them? |
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In a future where the human race has split into three species, the mentally-evolved Illuminatos have conquered the other two in a brutal Evolutionary War. Now, the seven most powerful Illuminatos, the Council, control the Earth, ruling over the other two human species through violent oppression. As one of the defeated physically-evolved Corporis, Samara lost everything: her family, her freedom, and her will to fight. But when her master, Lord Wyatt Faraday, commands her to find the mysterious leader of the Resistance, Tristan, everything she thought she knew is challenged. Tristan is an Illuminatos who has turned his back on his own kind to follow his principles. An idealist hoping to restore peace and equality for all species, he cannot escape his past, and it may force him to make a terrible choice. Their meeting will change the world, but will it be for the better? |
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Sometimes adventure knocks. Other times, it kicks the door in. "Dearest Alexandria and Ozymandias, If you are reading this, I have perished. My demise likely involved some manner of spiked pit or curiously fanged beast, so itâs doubtful I suffered long. Do not try to find me - the path is too perilous, and I am lost to the mortal plane." When Alex and Ozzie read their grandfatherâs latest âdeathâ letter, they barely blink. Dying six times in two years has to be a record, even for an explorer as incompetent as Sir Quidby Forsythe III. Faster than you can say âkidnapped by a giant, glowing lizard,â the Forsythe twins are dragged into a world of ancient prophecies, sarcastic swords of legend, mutant slime beasts, and a growing awareness their grandfather might be the greatest explorer in history. With Skhaar the Annihilator hot on their trail, Ozzie and Alex must solve the mystery of Sir Quidbyâs disappearance before they become the final victims of the Forsythe Curse. |
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Aurora Ascending: Armageddon is only the Beginning by Dennis Ideue The first volume of the epic New Terrans series! Follow Elliotâs adventures he gathers a force to challenge the invincible fleet surrounding Aether. Vowing to destroy the Emperor that shattered his homeworld, heâs joined by a beautiful telepath, a smartass computer, and an elite team of Terran military forces. If you love action, detailed space battles, fleet engagements, ship-to-ship combat, and a little romance, you'll love this series. Elliot Greyjoy is an avid affecionado of 20th century Sci-fi. In alternating first-person, you will be swept into Elliot's universe. First contact, planetary occupation, and evacuation are merely the first trials he must overcome before his quest even begins. Armageddon is only the beginning of the adventure. |
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The Earth Concurrence by Julia Huni A hero with big expectations. A daughter who doesnât want to live in his shadow. Siti Kassis, daughter of the âHero of Darenti Four,â doesn't know what she wants out of life. A lot of her friends are taking time to travel and see the galaxy. But her father wants her to attend the Academy and follow in his footsteps. Then the Hero is offered one last assignment: take a team to find and explore the deserted homeworld of mankind. Itâs a twenty-year mission, and he doesnât want to leave his only child behind. Siti's going, whether she wants to or not. It's an exciting mission and a chance to make history--even if twenty years in deep sleep is a bummer of a way to start her âgap year.â But when they arrive, nothing is as they expected. Surprising finds and dangerous conditions cause her father to overreact, keeping Siti on a tight leash. When unknown enemies rear their dangerous heads, Siti must take matters into her own hands. Can the heroâs daughter save the day? |
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Three vast starships, ambushed by aliens. Will Earthâs last survivors live to see a new dawn? One hundred and fifty years in the future, on humankindâs one-way mission to find a new home planet, Doctor Lucas Sundberg unknowingly leads the ships into a devastating attack. Isolated in the aftermath, he struggles for redemption. So when he finds a father and daughter still alive, the tormented scientist vows to help extract them from the wreckage. Widower Nathan Clarke will do anything to keep the last of his family from being killed. After a year of hiding in a secret shelter, he jumps at the chance of survival when his strong-minded twelve-year-old, Izzy, uncovers a potential lifeline off the interstellar deathtrap. Teaming up with Lucas to get to an escape vessel, they learn theyâre not as alone as they thought as horrific creatures block their exit. But they will never stop fighting to reach the one starship left unharmed even if it takes their final breath. |
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Earthâs surface is no longer ours. Humans thought they were safe underground where the invading Arthropods couldnât reach them. After centuries of occupation, the antiquated subterranean cities have deteriorated and they have exhausted their supplies. Making matters worse, the hostile invaders have destroyed one of the ten remaining cities. Now Huck, Ariadne, and Hemant are in a race to destroy the Arthropod Hive before the âinvertsâ completely annihilate humanity. But before the candidates can begin, they must survive their corrupt governmentâs population control schemeâa highly-fatal, barbaric event known as RELEASE DAY. To accomplish their mission, they must enlist the help of a group of dubious transporters to trek across the planet through numerous biomes, infinite swarms of Arthropods, and deranged surface-dwelling humans on their perilous mission to recover a war-ending device and carry it to the creaturesâ hive. |
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The Emissary: A First Contact Novel by Michael J. Edwards It wasn't the aliens she had to worry about; it was the humans. A troubled young woman is recruited by a race of ancient alien explorers to be their emissary to save the human race from extinction. The problem is that not everyone believes the world is doomed, and not everyone trusts the aliensâ motives. Holly Burton will have to overcome opposition from world leaders, attacks by religious zealots, assassination attempts, intractable bureaucracies, and her own fears and doubts if she is to save the human race, not just from the coming apocalypse, but from itself. She will have to become a very different person to lead a remnant of humanity into space and become the architect of a new civilization. The question is: Can she use the extraordinary knowledge and abilities given to her without losing her own humanity in the process? |
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Although he has always dreamed of traveling to the stars, Ricardo Olivera is stranded on Trocken; a planet in the far reaches of the galaxy where inequality is the law of life. Hard as the sands in which he grew up, injustice will put Ricardo on a collision course with the planetâs elite government. Trapped by injustice, he will leave his life behind and embark on a journey that will test him, and confront him with an ancient evil that grows in the shadows. Ranging from the desolate and hard sands of Trocken to bustling cities enthroned in glass. The Cult Shadow tells the story of idealists, soldiers, rulers, and troubadours, and of an evil slipping among cosmic winds. |
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An ambitious Singapore gangster recruits an elite hacker to steal a devastatingly powerful quantum computer and hijack the world's financial markets. Meanwhile, a beautiful streetwise CIA agent is determined to foil their plan in a case that could make or break her career.With settings ranging from Detroit to Singapore to the slums of Bihar, India (the "Sicily of India"), *Qubit* examines both the vulnerability of our cryptographic infrastructure and the corruptibility of our financial systems. The story features international intrigue, a violent gang war, an unlikely love story, and an intricate cryptographic chess match as the global economy teeters on the brink of collapse.âBrilliantâŚWell written with complex charactersâŚAn author to follow.ââOutstanding! The charactersâŚare wonderfully fleshed out.â |
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Of All Possibilities by Joe Butler What does someone who can slip between universes do for a living? They help shape the fate of this reality. When his grandfather dies, a young Eli Clarke takes over as the Key: an individual with the power to traverse the multiverse. Raised inside a cult that works with the government, he erases targets from the timeline. Then he meets Jess, a fellow outsider who shows him what it is to question everything. Set in the 80s, 90s, and now, OF ALL POSSIBILITIES is a universe-hopping, punk rock love story about loss, identity, and obsession that explores the repercussions of the choices we make and what makes us who we are. |
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No more secrets. Political scandals. Corporate greed. Embezzlement, disinformation, and fraud. Schemes perpetrated, year after year, by an elite fewâand yet itâs always, always the little people who are victimized. Who pay the price. Those little people have finally demanded action. Powerful elites must be watched. And our leaders have responded . . . by mandating that all individuals who wield global influence receive Harvestersânanoparticle-infused, flexible circuitry tattoos that transmit a personâs biometric data for monitoring and analysis. Analysis by Data Minersâlike Gwen Elliott. Gwen is one of the data mining industryâs most talented analysts. She sees things that others miss. And itâs led to her being chosen for a critical assignment: personal data miner for Senator Rosemary Martin, the leading candidate for President of the United States. But Senator Martin has a dangerous secret. One that sheâs determined to keep hidden at all costs. Only Gwen can solve the mystery buried deep in the senatorâs data . . . but first, she needs to figure out how to survive. |
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A Hardness of Minds by Eric Kay A Near-Future Hard Sci-Fi about Data, War, and First Contact in our Solar System. Life exists under Europaâs ice, but thereâs doubt in the data. Against of backdrop of escalating tensions, double-sided revelations of first contact ripple through all involved as the probe attempts the first landing on the ice of Europa. The novel intertwines perspectives of Earth and under Europa as all struggle for truth. For fifteen years, the Europa Clipper has hinted at life under the ice-shell of Europa. An eccentric mogul, bent on expanding his legacyâfunds and launches the first privately funded probe to Jupiter. The robotic submarine can reach the ocean floor and returning by an expertly trained AI. Tensions flare between the United States and China, while cyberattack threatens the project. Meanwhile, Dalton, a self-sabotaging synthetic data engineer, longs to make a name for himself in the scientific community, even at the cost of being infamous. Unknown to Earth, alien society has penetrated up the kilometers of ice, and has long researched âNullworld,â the mysterious âetherâ beyond the ice from which no sonar returns. Tensions in their global society have escalated as their city-state fights with a neighbor whose hydrothermal vent has run cold. Now the military caste is in control, halted all research, and pressed capable scientists and engineers into militia service. The alien scientist must escape and bring back research he hopes will diffuse tensions: the revelation of another water world. This is the second hard sci-fi novel by author Eric Kay (No Lack of Sunshine). It explores issues of data integrity in the age of adversarial information warfare, moving minds away from the brink of war, and experience versus knowledge by proxy. |
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They Will Be Coming for Us by Kim Catanzarite A young womanâs greatest dreams and darkest nightmares are pivoted against each other in Catanzariteâs dynamic sci-fi thriller, the first in the Jovian Duology series. Svetlana Peterman desires nothing more than a peaceful life with a devoted husband and a child to dote on. Andrew Jovian, an astronomer with powerful cosmos-obsessed parents, gives her both, along with a suffocating extended family and a mother-in-law preoccupied with the idea of immediately having grandchildren. Svetlana does her best to settle into her new married life, but quickly finds herself at the center of an unusualâpossibly intergalacticâmystery that endangers everyone she loves. With no one to trust and everything to lose, she must find the strength to fight and survive. |
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Fid's Crusade by David H Reiss Even supervillains have lines they dare not cross. If only the same could be said of heroes... For more than two decades, the sight of Doctor Fid's powered armor has struck terror into the hearts of hero and civilian alike. But when a personal tragedy motivates the notorious supervillain to investigate a crime, a plot is uncovered so horrific that even he is taken aback. Haunted by painful memories and profound guilt, Doctor Fid must race against time if he is to have any hope of confronting the approaching threat. Every battle takes its toll...but the stakes are too high for retreat to be an option. In the end, it may take a villain to save the world from those entrusted with the world's protection. |
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God in the Machine by Cole Martyn The Earth is dyingâ¨The Resistance lives onâ¨The Nihon will rise Blinded by their addiction to technology, the people of Earth's last remaining city shelter beneath an artificial sky, shielded from the devastating impacts of global warming. Some still strive for change, driven underground, the remnants of a shattered civilisation fight to bring down the ruling cabal. Elias, a refugee from a forgotten war, living beyond the city walls, vows to escape the despair of the refugee camps and give his little brother a real home. Until the day Elias discovers he has an incredible gift that will change his life forever. Dragged into a war to save a world that rejected him, Elias risks losing the one thing he was fighting for - his brother. |
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Heritage (Tales of the Phoenix Titan 1) by S.M. Warlow Heritage is the debut novel from S.M. Warlow and the first instalment of the Tales of the Phoenix Titan series. This space opera is perfect for fans of Firefly, the Expanse, Star Wars and Mass Effect. Make them proud, son of Earth. 25 years after the fall of Earth, the Commonwealth is locked in a vicious, galaxy-spanning war against the Revenant. Countless worlds have been lost in the fighting, and now one crew must come together and stand in the way of galactic annihilation. Nathan Carter is an efficient criminal, but when he's hired to steal supplies from a Commonwealth warship, what starts as an easy job soon transforms into something that could change the course of history. Now, Nathan must work with a group of unlikely allies to protect a woman whose heritage is the key to everything. |
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The Pono Way: A Solarpunk Novel by Kirsten M. Corby In 2050, the United States of America finally crumbled. Jake Weintraubâs family fled the burned-out ruins of Chicago for the safety of the artificial island steading of Pono. Now grown, Jake works as an independent journalist, but the horrors of the Chicago River Riots still haunt him. As Pono watches, safe in the Pacific Ocean, the successor West Coast state of Cascadia collapses under a further series of catastrophes. Thousands of desperate refugees arrive on Ponoâs shores â homeless, stateless, and hungry. Jake throws himself into covering their story, even as their plight evokes memories of his own trauma and flight. Can Pono, a carefully constructed island society, accept this influx of strangers? Or will this crisis tear Ponoan society apart? |
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EMP Strike: EMP Apocalypse Survival Thriller by Bo Thunboe THE ROAD meets SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON Dan Fallon is a courtroom warrior at the pinnacle of his profession. Thatâs what he knowsâitâs who he is. As heâs driving back from the biggest victory of his career an electromagnetic pulse [EMP] wipes out modern civilization and strands him hundreds of miles away from his family. Danâs legal skills are worthless against the chaos he must battle to get home. Is he strong enough? Is he ruthless enough? Can he can be the man his family needs him to be to survive in this new world? Back home Mary and the children face their own challenges. Mary has run out of her medication and struggles to separate the apocalypse from her delusions. Erin is stranded at a Taekwondo tournament and decides to head home through the chaos alone. Sean thinks playing video games has better prepared him for the apocalypse than for picking a college major. Do they have what it takes to survive in this new world? Can they come together as a family against all that tries to tear them apart? |
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The Miranda Project: The Miranda Project Book 1 by Matthew Cesca For the last five years, Alex has been on the run. Once a living weapon for a shadowy government organization, Alex is now hiding out on Mars trying to start a new life. But the shadows of his past creep around every corner. Every night, his broken mind forces him to relive the horrors he has committed. Alex isnât like most people: heâs a psych. Born with rare psionic powers, each mental is a prized asset for the Centralized World Government back on Earth. Psyches like Alex are tracked down by the Agency and trained to do the jobs the CWG doesnât want the public to know about. With Mars no longer safe, Alex is forced to run once more. Refuge wonât come easyâhe's running out of places to hide. And for the first time since taking his life back into his own hands, he's not running alone... |
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Becoming Animals by Olga Werby Humans have always wanted to know what goes on inside the minds of other animals. But what if humans could become animals? Tobyâs father leads a team of neuroscientists directly connecting the brains of humans with those of animals. And Toby is a prodigy at throwing her mind into the animal subjects in his labâsheâs the best there is. But Toby suffers from cystic fibrosis and sheâs not likely to live into adulthood. Could a radical plan to embed her consciousness into an animal allow Toby to survive? And what does it mean to live without a human body? Can Toby and her father solve the problem of fully merging two beings before she takes her last breath? Will the government succeed in stopping their efforts before they are done? Itâs a race against death and into the minds of animals. |
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Panacea Genesis by L. Ana Ellils Mariela Staffordâs life just hit rock bottom. Her boss, the CEO of Panacea Corp, created a digital clone of himself, demoted Mariela, gave the clone her job, and told Mariela to train it. Now the clone wants her to help it kill the CEO. In 2115, embedded chips, virtual reality, and the threat of extreme weather have led to a market for businesses that keep a personâs body alive in a habitation pod while the person lives entirely in the metaverse. But not everyone embraces technological advancesâ a group of people have adopted the tech of 2005 while isolating themselves from the temptation of advanced technology. Panacea Corp â the worldâs most powerful corporation â connects both worlds through providing the metaverse, the pod warehouses, and the land to the technology resisters. Mariela Stafford, a vice president for Panacea Corp, is demoted after her new boss assigns his digital clone to take over her job. Assisted by Amoco, an eccentric polymath who also works for the corporation, she schemes a way to get rid of the clone. To delete it, theyâll need to recruit a team to access an eighty-year-old server farm in a remote locationâwhich would be a lot easier to do if the records on the location of the server farm hadnât been lost. This âearthâ operaâa tale with all the drama, expansiveness, and varied cast of a space opera, but set on earthâwill appeal to anyone whoâs ever felt out-of-control of the technology in their lives. Panacea Genesis is book one in the Panacea Trilogy. |
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Pink Apocalypse by Carpenter Gibson Forget diamonds, in the Post Apocalypse, Bullets are a girlâs best friend! Pink is a mysterious woman who walked out of the wastes. She is an up and coming member of the Patrol. They are the sheriffs of the wild wastes, taking on zombies, mutants, bandits and robots left over in the ruins. Pink is now freshly promoted and set out on a seemly mundane mission with three other wasteland warrior women at her side. However, she is haunted by a failed expedition to find her mentor in more ways than one. Pink must now lead this team of bad ass bullet babes into the wastes for answers. The End of the World was just the beginning of Action and Adventure!" The world ended in the weird future of an alternate earth. Zombies stalk the wasteland! Mutants lurk in the ruins! Forgotten robotic soldiers still patrol the devastation. Raiders and rival tribes war over scraps. But there is hope. Braves souls still seek the tame the wasteland and ensure humanity's survival. Intrepid settlers and traders struggle to make a slightly better future. In such strange times tales of adventure abound. Pink's story is but one. Come see the wild west of the post apocalypse with us! |
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'Sudden Deathâ is just a theme park thrill ride. Until it's not. Fresh off his first Marine deployment, Boone must now choose between two schools: Intelligence or Scout Sniper. Though heâs shown clear aptitude for the second, heâs not sure he has what it takes to do the job. When he puts the decision aside to join his buddies on a day of leave, the last thing Boone expects to see is a naval weapons locker in the hands of a man who is clearly not Navy. On impulse, he shadows the man, only to find himself running for his life⌠smack into a Unit operator. Now he has two options: join the fight or remain behind. But the choice heâs been given is really no choice at all. For the only way to save the park is for Boone to embrace his calling. The fate of thousands rests on this one decision. Heâd better make it a good one. |
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Mercuryville by Tara Summerville Things were great in the desert. We ate pancakes, shopped at farmer's markets, casually murdered, drank hot cocoa by the fire, dodged cannibals, sunbathed, decorated for Christmas, buried bodies, looked through old photo albums, and did minor home improvements. Then, things took a weird turn. Mercuryville follows the story of Kid, a self-proclaimed recluse that knew she needed a change. When a stranger asks her to join her for a mystery project in the middle of the desert, she follows him. As she drives across the country, her imagination explores all of the terrible things awaiting her at her destination. Even after two days on the road, what she finds in the small cabin in the middle of nowhere is beyond anything she imagined. |
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Debbie Peck is a conflict mediator struggling to make ends meet in Chicago's near future. Conflict is everywhere, but jobs are scarce, so when her headhunter calls about an open position at the prestigious Jefferson Trellis, she jumps at the opportunity. She lands right in the middle of an active murder investigationâa tangle of half-truths, broken promises, and a growing snarl of danger and dread. But a job's a job. At least this one has health insurance. As Debbie navigates her new position and Detective Melody Jackson investigates the murders at the Trellis, they each untwine the tendrils of a secret creeping through its corner offices. Like the botanical gardens at the Trellis' base, their worlds weave between the lush, the stark, the delicate, and the deadly. Dancing between mystery, science fiction, and nail-biting suspense, THE TRELLIS layers a decade or two of decline to the current American condition. Whether it's drone swarms, deepfakes, or the growing divide between the have-it-alls and the have-nots, the technology predictably improved while the people predictably haven't. Debbie's tale is both familiar and fantastic, both funny and frightening, but calling her world a dystopia would damn ours the same definition. THE TRELLIS is Jools' first full-length novel. It paints a compelling picture of dangers to comeâsometimes rich with thick impastos, sometimes sharp in sparks and flashes. But by the last page, Debbie's story becomes our own. |
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ALL IS SILENCE - Book I - Deserted Lands by Robert L. Slater As the world crumbles...Lizzie had it worse than most.Will she give up?A bat virus brought the world to its knees. At 17, Lizzie barely remembers her father. Surviving an apocalypse could push anyone to the unthinkable.Her shotgun is loaded.She meets survivor, a hungry, silent man with a dog collar. She leaves food.Things go to hell. People die. Some by her hands.When Lizzie is attacked, her box of family keepsakes is smashed and her father's name and a phone number peak out from under the paper.Like a beacon.Could he still be alive?She has to find out.You'll love this coming-of-age, post-apocaloptimistic adventure. Because when you need it most, a single piece of hope can be all it takes.Get it now. |
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A corporate investigator who doesn't trust his employer. A mercenary gun-for-hire with a talent for violence and a willingness to shoot first. And a white-hat hacker who doesn't know when to quit. Three independent contractors brought together for one unusual job. Five years ago, master programmer Carlos Rodriguez retired. Now his old employer wants him back. Quietly. It'd be a lot easier if he hadn't left Earth. Sci-Fi Epic Adventure - 1100 pages. |
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My son eats people. He doesnât translate languages or shut off trash chutes. He doesnât transform into a truck or a fighter jet. He doesnât morph into liquid and seep through sewer grates. He eats people - My son eats people. Well, yeah, that's what he was designed to do. You see, my son is a robot. And me? I'm a sworn pacifist, raising him as best I can. So when a stranger came knocking one day, well, some stuff happened⌠|
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Through Stranger Eyes: a science fiction cyberpunk mystery thriller (Matriarchs - Silicon Gods Book 1) by Chris Sarantopoulos Flesh comes cheap in a machine world. Doctor Rick Stenslandt has always advocated against the fusion of man and machine. But after a near-fatal accident, he is forced to accept ocular implants or go blind, end up unemployed, and without social status. But something goes wrong. Now he remembers people he has never met beforeâinfluential members of the corporate elite that governs the world. And they have all been murdered. Worse, it seems heâs the next target. On the run from the police and a pair of augmented assassins, Rick seeks refuge in the infamous alleys of the megacity. But to protect the ones he loves, he cannot hide forever. Now he must figure out his borrowed memories and his connection to the victims, before itâs too late. If you love cyberpunk technothrillers with settings similar to Blade Runner, rich with corporations, conspiracies, murder, and mystery, with strong elements of biopunk and nanopunk, with hackers and AIs, then you will love the entire Matriarchs - Silicon Gods trilogy. |
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I, Cunningham by Benoit Goudreault-Emond Gordon Cunningham, an ordinary citizen of 22nd century Earth, died in an unfortunate accident. Except he didn't die. Not really. Instead, he woke up stuck inside a robot. In the 29th century. Thirteen light-years from home. In a space station. Which is orbiting a planet that was meant to be a new home for the colonists. Unfortunately, everything went wrong. He was brought back to life by accident, but the station denizens need him. Their colony is failing. Most colonists have lost hope. The AI in charge can't do much, which is somewhat moot, since it's out of ideas. But Cunningham is a reluctant hero at best. He's disoriented by his new body. He doesn't know anything about his new environment. He doesn't trust the station's authorities. And yet, somehow, he must help them. Or, in less than a century, no one human will remain. Join him as he discovers his new home, his new body, and, perhaps, his new... mind? Content warning: the book presents only minimal violence and no sexual content. That said, the main character does use four letter swear words when life throws him a curve ball. Please bear with Mr. Cunningham; to say his day starts on the wrong foot is quite the understatement. |
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Dim Stars: A Novel of Outer Space Shenanigans by Brian P. Rubin Kenzie Washington, fourteen-year-old girl genius, signs up for a two-week tour as a cadet on the spaceship of her idol, Captain Dash Drake. Too bad Dash, who once saved the galaxy from the evil Forgers, is a broke loser and much less than meets the eye. But when an intergalactic evil appears and launches an attack, Dash, Kenzie, and the shipâs crew escape, making them the next target. On the run and low on gas, Dash and Kenzie encounter cannibal space-pirates, catastrophic equipment failure, and a cyborg whoâs kind of a jerk. Kenzie is determined to discover the bad guysâ secret plan. But for her to succeed, Dash needs to keep his brilliant, annoying cadet from getting killed âŚwhich is a lot harder than it sounds. |
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Who Am I? What am I? These questions have plagued Joshua since childhood. Mysterious amplified senses and boosted reflexes have helped him survive and thrive in a brutal, lawless megacity, and he leads the notorious Epitaph gang with keen street instincts. When Joshuaâs unexplained abilities draw the attention of a covert government entity, he finds himself on the run. Only his skills, street smarts and a rogue hacker named Shelby keep him one step ahead of his relentless hunters. They know what he is. They know who he is, and they will tear apart a megacity, placing everyone he cares for in danger, to bring him in. |
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Samurai Barber Versus Ninja Hairstylist by Zed Dee Change is in the hair. Ninjas are wreaking havoc by cutting peopleâs hair without their permission. Behind this follicular terrorism is a master ninja, the Ninja Hairstylist, whose chaotic hairstyle embodies the anarchy that is about to tear the city apart. The Samurai Barber must step up and cut down the evil strands on the Ninja Hairstylistâs head. It is not just keratin that is at stake. The Samurai Barber must fight for one of the cornerstones of modern civilization; the freedom and self-determination to choose your own hairstyle. |
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Lottery to Haven by William Gee JENNIFER MI feels nothing but contempt for the new world and those choosing to abscond there. For the richest few, the new world represents an escape from a dying Earth; a place to start anew, free from responsibilities to society. With every launch, a global lottery is convened to select one lucky winner to accompany each paying passenger. Cast in the lottery without her knowledge, Jen is drawn into a desperate snare that even her skills as a budding cyber security specialist are ill-equipped to untangle. Joined by four other winners, she must uncover New Worldsâ shadowy motivations for THE LOTTERY. |
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In Every Clime and Place by Patrick LeClerc Semper Fidelis. Always Faithful. The motto of the United States Marine Corps. Words to live by. On the ragged edges of civilization, Corporal Michael Collins has lived those words, taking on riots and evacuations, rebels and terrorists. Asteroid belt patrol is just another deployment. Ninety nine percent boredom, one percent terror. But soon the platoon of Marines find themselves entangled in the threads of a conspiracy of corporate greed, government corruption, piracy, and a band of war criminals. As the fire team leader struggles with tensions in the close knit unit, Collins and his fellow Marines find themselves outnumbered in a pitched battle to stop a corrupt land grab that seems right out of the Old West, but on a new, wider, more unforgiving frontier. And now he must confront the harsh demands of being âalways faithful.â Semper Fi. Words to live by. Words to die by. Time to earn that combat pay, Marines. Welcome to the Suck. And remember, you volunteered for this. |
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Aftan Whispers (Estalia Book 3) by Phil Williams He didn't know how savage the world was - until he met Deni. As the days grow darker in the Estalian Empire, young Tyler stays positive by helping others. But when he meets a girl on the run with enemies in the highest places, Tyler's life gets complicated fast. Deni isn't afraid to kill, and sheâs got a secret that could tear apart the sky. In a mortal chase that takes them from a besieged city across the war-torn countryside, Tyler soon discovers that the Empireâs guardians are their most dangerous foe. Worse still, Deni is faced with a terrible choice: remain hidden and save herself - or expose herself to prevent the oncoming darkness. If you're looking for a visceral ride packed with steampunk machines, stunning action sequences and ambiguous moral choices, youâll love Phil Williamsâ latest post-apocalyptic adventure. |
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Spectacular Silver Earthling by Mara Lynn Johnstone Hubcap used to be a rescue bot, getting humans out of every boneheaded scrape imaginable. His new career as a TV star suits him better: he can poke fun at the humans instead, while harvesting jetpods and tackling alien predators faster than any of them. It doesnât hurt that heâs also immune to the mysterious âspace frenzyâ that keeps sending his coworkers into a froth. The robot worries for his human friends, though he would never admit it. Not when itâs much more fun to deploy weapons-grade sass. The pressure ratchets up when a rival show aims to steal their sponsor. Hubcap has to film his most spectacular footage yet, while avoiding dangerous wildlife, plantlife, and emotions. But if anyone is up to the task, itâs the robot with skills second to none, and an ego to match. |
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Tropical Punch (Bubbles in Space Book 1) by S.C. Jensen HoloCityâs only cyborg detective really sucks at her job. Bubbles Marlowe is broke, newly sober, and hating her life. All she wants to do is find a girl and deliver a message. Itâs supposed to be an easy gig. Itâs supposed to pay her bills. Itâs supposed to be exactly what she needs. Instead, the easy job devolves into a gruesome murder. Bubbles has to solve the case or take the fall, and a HoloCity prison sentence might be the only thing worse than her current apartment. But when she uncovers a conspiracy that threatens the entire city Bubbles has to get her act together quickly, or there will be more than one personâs blood on her hands⌠|
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Earthship by John Triptych & Michel Lamontagne Our world will be destroyed. Only a chosen few can escape. In the near future, a cataclysmic collision with a rogue planet destabilizes the sun, causing an exponential increase of its output. With the ever-increasing heat, life on earth will be extinguished within a decade. As the global crisis deepens, it falls on a handful of individuals who will determine whether humanity survives. NASA scientist Dr. Olivia Quinn must outwit a corrupt government system and warn the public before itâs too late. Veteran astronaut Valerie McKinnon and her son Sawyer are in a race against time to build a space ark that could rescue countless lives. And Armand Balkan, a cutthroat trillionaire who seeks to maintain his empire by any means possible, could either save or doom them all. |
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First Contact occurred a decade ago with a traveling circus in the high-altitude desert plateau of Uzbekistan. The US Government has been covertly monitoring extraterrestrial activity around Earth since then but has struggled to make contact. They've kept tabs on the circus and its founder, Buster Al-Hashimi. Four years ago, Buster returned to the US to start a counter-culture group called The Clowns, challenging the sociopolitical status quo in America. Clowns asks the question: What would an extraterrestrial intelligence think about our intelligence? FIRST CONTACT is a series of stand-alone novels that explore humanity's first interaction with extraterrestrial life. This series is similar to BLACK MIRROR or THE TWILIGHT ZONE in that the series is based on a common theme rather than common characters. This allows these books to be read in any order. Technically, they're all first as they all deal with how we might initially respond to contact with aliens, exploring the social, political, religious, and scientific aspects of First Contact. |
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Intelligence Block by Kit Falbo Talos June performs with the creed of never break character. It lets him hide his awkward self from the universe as the ancient and powerful Wizard Joontal. No one knows the man behind the curtain. It is a good job, and he has his artificial companions to keep him company as he plays with the most fabulous technologies the colonized planets have produced. Technologies as dangerous as they are exciting. Content with playing it safe, and slowly climbing up the ranks of techno-wizardry, Talos works passionately in his field. Itâs all business until the risks of the job come calling for him, and then it gets personal. |
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Night Music by Tobias F Cabral The colonization of Mars has begun. Following a rapid expansion of the manned space program due to the discovery of a potentially catastrophic Earth-crossing comet, Zubrin Base has been established on the Red Planet to oversee the capture of the rogue object. During final preparations for a second expedition, however, contact has been lost with the outpost. Pilot Seth Boaz finds himself re-tasked for a rescue mission, one which will force him to confront his own past, as well as otherworldly forces with profound implications for humanity's future. A "Hard" Science Fiction space exploration novella, with affinities to the work of Greg Bear, Michael F. Flynn, and Arthur C. Clarke, NIGHT MUSIC incorporates realistic, near-future space technology and Mars mission and colonization models, as well as elements of Complexity Theory and nanotechnology. The author is a clinical psychologist, who applied that experience to the development of distinct and fleshed-out characters who speak with realistic voices. |