SPSFC 2024 Self-published Science Fiction Competition 2024
A sister competition to the SPFBO, the SPSFC is for sci-fi self-published works. Stories tagged with this mark were entered into the fourth year of this competition.
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The Collective: Science is Stranger Than Fiction by J. F. Olazabal Science says the Collective is the perfect society, where every day is sunny, and no wind blows. Science says all the animals are gone. Science says the accident in the fields couldnât have happened⌠âŚbut Science is stranger than fiction. Iago is an accomplished young Operator, harvesting corn in the name of the Collective â a hi-tech orphanage thousands of miles from civilization. After a chance encounter with Javier and Kraken â a pair of wayward boys who have escaped a brutal prison known as the Village â Iago is beginning to question his reality. Now, he must survive the cruelties of the Protocol, and discover the terrible secrets of the Collective: a long-dead trillionaire with a grim warning, a super-mind that controls fate, and a plague that kills only men. |
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ORION by Aaron Frale Orion is dead⌠again. Whether death comes from a stab wound, a bullet to the brain, or just plain dumb luck, he always comes back. He is glad to have the opportunity because a princess in each life seems to be in trouble. Whether sheâs a nurse in the Vietnam War or medieval English royalty⌠âŚOrion is determined to win her over. |
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Decades of hostilities. A chance for peace. Caught between belligerent groups, will this operation be her last? Sam âValkyrieâ Ryan is reeling. Struggling with her brotherâs recent decision to make their next assignment his last, the recon specialist fights to change his mind. But she has no time to process her emotions when theyâre tasked to protect a pivotal reconciliation summit between the Altered and Humans from human-supremacist terrorists. Distracted by a charming female medic, the golden-haired marine struggles to stay focused as events quickly unravel. And with the conflict becoming dangerously unpredictable, secrets from the past catch Sam by surprise as she uncovers a plot to destroy all of humanity. Can she stop a violent and oppressive history from spiraling into a catastrophic future? |
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Nothing Larger Than These Stars by E. Marie Robertson Faith believed in the benevolence of the Company, until it used her code to frame her lover, then tried to kill them both. On Company planet Home World, Faith uncovered secrets that made her a target in a shadowy game of interplanetary-scale corporate intrigue. She fled to independent Iona, where sheâs spent the last eight years tinkering with space junk and keeping a low profile. But her carefully controlled life unravels when a mysterious someone attacks her planetmates with a chemical weapon that drops them into stasis and turns their bodies blue. Then the Company starts making noise about sending a representative to âhelp,â and all Faithâs alarm bells go off. Proving a connection between the Company and the attacker might save Iona from both, but Faith canât do it alone and her prospective allies all suspect each other. Should she trust the new arrival whose ânice guyâ persona doesnât quite match up with rumors of a shady past? Or the frosty Company official whoâs clearly got an agenda of her own? And then thereâs her long-lost lover, who lands on Iona full of secrets but no straight answers about what heâs been up toâor why he disappeared completely all those years ago. Simply making the wrong choice could be enough to doom Iona, but as Faith discovers the hidden truth about the little planet, she realizes the Company may be the least of their problems. |
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Non-Conscious by Andi van Houten In a post-cybernetic world where most have abandoned their neural enhancements, seventy-year-old Herbert Ferris clings to his outdated techâand the troubled legacy it carries. Once a rogue hacker, Ferris now clocks in at Re/Live Corporation as a digital ecologist, crafting biomes for the popular fantasy game world, New Europa. But when a glitch starts turning playersâ avatars pink, triggering an online uproar, Ferris is thrust into the heart of a spiraling corporate crisis. Ferris is ordered to clean up the mess alone. Fed up, he decides to go non-con, using his neuromod to become the perfect corporate zombie until the storm blows over. But when he reawakens, the chaos has only escalated: protesters are picketing Re/Liveâs head office, his job is on the line, and, to make matters worse, an innocent schoolgirl has gone missing. Gripped by a paranoia he hasnât felt in decades, Ferris races to uncover the truth, clashing with police, protesters, ruthless rivals, andâworst of allâhis vindictive ex. Non-conscious is a darkly humorous journey of one manâs battle to reclaim his dignity and sanity in a world where the line between fantasy and reality has blurred beyond recognition. |
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Cybernetic addiction plagues the populace of Cyber City, the post-apocalyptic metropolis of neon grime and crime. The government promises a tech-free âUtopiaâ for the Virgins, a small community rejecting body modification technology. But before the invitation goes public, the Virgins begin to disappear. Xia, a lawbreaking freelancer with a haunting past, is the first to notice the strange vanishings. As she puts the pieces together, she reveals a sinister plot: someone is kidnapping Virgins and using their bodies to escape to the promised Utopia. Teaming up with Mai, a Virgin prostitute, Xiaâs mission shifts from providing simple protection as a means for money into an impossible endeavor: helping the Virgins escape the city. This mission puts them at odds with both the mysterious Virgin body snatchers and Cyber Cityâs governmentâtwo threats that could end in fates worse than death. As the unlikely duo embark on the impossible, they discover secrets more shocking than the plasma dome that traps the city within. |
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Navvy Dreams by H. M. H. Murray TAKE A JOB. FALL IN LOVE. TRY NOT TO BLOW UP SUNS! My nameâs Polla Ottrava. Iâm a registered smuggler and hotshot hyperspace pilot with a navigational symbiote (ânavvyâ) implanted in my arm. Its name is Second. With dear Second, Iâm the best pilot I know (probably). Without, Iâm just a farmgirl from a backwater planet whoâs moved back in with her folks. Between the lover I abandoned and the crime boss I cheated, I had no choice. In my twenty-eight years Iâve made a lot of bad calls, but thatâs relative, isnât it? I mean, Iâve never blown up a binary star with space magic. Iâve never harnessed a fleet of alien ships and used âem to terrorize perfectly respectable arms dealers, either. Iâve also never unleashed a shapeshifting biophage, nor ended even one civilization. The woman who did all that was Ledas-stinking-Starfire. Ledas: the rebel Kamen-lord, spoiled Terran princeling, and failed revolutionary. A year ago, someone killed her. Now her widowerâs ravaging planets. I guess for revenge. Who cares? This isnât her stinking story⌠Itâs MINE. Iâm Polla Ottrava. Iâve taken a job I wasnât allowed to refuse. My employers are war criminals who swear theyâre saving the galaxy. They say Iâm the only one who can fly their bloodship. They say weâre heroes. They say theyâll pay me. They say a lot of crap. Only some of itâs true⌠|
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Mission Beta by Archie Kregear Antigravity propulsion enables humans to venture into the vast regions of space seeking empty worlds to make their own. Plucky journalist Bianca Varian joined the second mission to write the ultimate story, humans arrival to the stars. But when the chosen planet turns out to be already inhabitedâby a race evolved from something like a jellyfish, no lessâthey find that the more they discover about them, the more they realize they donât know. Tensions between colonists a reach breaking point between those who wish to befriend the aliens and those who donât. Can humans learn to control their fear and live in peace with alien life forms? Or will fear and violence rule the day? Bianca strives to document the tale of a beautiful, faraway world, and itâs inhabitants but does she become the story and source of the conflict? |
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Mercy Rising by Bowen Greenwood A Girl. A Mysterious Power. A Revolution The Archon Dominion crushes all dissent. Mercy Hail wants change, no matter the cost to herself. But freak accidents keep happening around her, and she canât explain why. So when she lights the fuse on an uprising, itâs not exactly a surprise when everything goes wrong at once. The Dominion sends Dante Matter to Mercyâs world with a simple set of orders: Find the girl with emerging telekinetic powers and put her to work for us. Nobody warned him sheâd be beautiful, though. Nobody warned him her gifts would be greater than his own. And nobody warned him that his hunt would be the first battle in an interstellar war. In a world where gifts like hers have been all but extinguished, Mercy must choose sides in a war that will spread across the stars. To survive, sheâll have to learn how to use her power, learn how she feels about Dante, and learn the true story of the past that made her who she is. |
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Mendelsonâs Return by CristĂłvĂŁo Correia What if you were being hunted by terrorists and law enforcement on the same day? The Gifted, people with extraordinary powers who hide them from ordinary people, are torn by a decades-long war between the Order of Thesan, extremists for Gifted supremacy, and the Refuge, which stands for pacifist coexistence. Viviane Greenwell, a badass ex-Refuge operative and a Gifted with psychokinesis and accelerated regeneration, gave up on this war years ago. She just wants to live a normal life. Sheâd spent the last seven years on the run, trying to evade both The Order and the GSA, a special law enforcement agency that tries to control all Gifted and hunt down The Orderâs operatives. The Order wants to capture her and convert her, or worse. And the GSA wants to lock her up for breaking the rules. When she returned to Lisbon, Portugal, under an alias, she thought she could finally live in peace. But one day, she nearly escapes both the GSA and the Order. And she discovers that Mendelson, the responsible for the death of her parents, is alive and has plans for her. And now heâs the new leader of the Order. If you like high-octane action thrillers, with twists and turns, science fiction elements and great characters, like Marvelâs Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or The Alphas TV shows, then youâll love Mendelsonâs Return. Will Viviane avoid a war she doesnât want to be a part of? Click the BUY NOW button above and enter Vivianeâs exciting world today. |
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Zenya Cobb has had enough of a traditional life with her husband-to-be, Pavell. She returns to her life as a space pirate, setting out to find and claim as much gold and other treasures as she can. Except, due to a freak accident, she crash-lands on a planet that shouldnât exist â The mythical lost planet of Vunerth, reputed to have been the galaxyâs richest spot until an asteroid destroyed it many years ago. But itâs still very much around, and holds more secrets than even Zenya can imagine. She meets the mysterious natives, a peaceful alien community of traders with their own secrets, and hears whispers of conspiracy. Could Vunerthâs disappearance be part of a web of darkness perpetuated by the government? While Zenya reels, her determined partner, Pavell chases her across the galaxy. But when they are reunited, they must make a choice. Leave this bizarre planet in their past and return to a life of peace, or risk their lives teaming up with the natives to save the planet and expose an intergalactic lie? |
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Population centers have been leveled and society has regressed to a pre-industrialized state. An advanced city rises from the ashes, enabling the rebirth of more such cities, each one subtly different, the result of an experiment in finding the best machine-governed utopia. Sovereign forces mobilize to exploit their power, and others, to contain them. At the heart of this struggle is an unlikely pair; a dejected anthropologist whose lifeâs work has finally become useful, and a snarky pirate forced to serve a monastic cult. To survive, they must not only navigate escalating conflict, but also understand the broader implications of the rising machine cities for all of humanity. |
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The City That Disappeared by Cheryl PeĂąa For the past ten years, the city of Khonsu, built on the foreign planet Reiddo, has sent a daily transmission home to Earth. Then one day, the transmissions stopped coming. Rebecca Vance fears that something disastrous has happened to Khonsu. She and her friend Mark Wu, the nearest thing there is to an expert on Reiddo, convince the leadership at the AAIR (the American Agency for Interplanetary Relations) to investigate the cityâs strange disappearance, eventually making their way to the site of the lost city itself. From the beginning, the expedition is plagued by problems. The city isnât where itâs supposed to be. There are mysterious deaths among the team members. Rebecca has never trusted easily, but she must put aside her fears and doubts in a frantic attempt to find survivors before they are lost forever. The natives are friendly and seem anxious to help, but they arenât alone. A deadly secret puts her own life at risk and possibly the lives of the members of her team. It may even spell doom for the entire planet she calls home. |
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The Artificial Structure Formerly Known as the Moon by I. K. Stokbaek The Order of the Demolition has one objective â destroy the broken world. And Darlan dreams of joining them. His zeal and willingness to do anything takes him far from the abandoned school that has sheltered him throughout his young life. In a world where AI has enhanced some people and replaced others, the Indigents have no purpose and nothing to look forward to. Marianne accepts her fate. She is in all ways the last person one would expect to lead a revolution â until the Order of the Demolition involves an innocent in its schemes, and beliefs come tumbling down. Sabineâs uncle runs the Space Ladder Project. Her father is a prominent politician fitted with a brain chip. Her only friend is the governing AI â the Order of the Demolitionâs main target. |
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Itâs the year 4818 and throughout the Milky Way Galaxy discord is threatening the peace, and worse, the commerce, of Earth and its mega-companies. The solution? Finding âŚthe Areisa. Trouble is, sheâs a teenage girl whoâs pretty sure theyâre all bonkers. And the meddling of long dead Areisas isnât helping much either! |
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The Anubis War by David R. Packer At the end of human space, a warrior faces his final battle. Coming out of retirement once more, Vasco Alcazar al Madina del Goya joins another multi-year unification mission on the far flung edges of human expansion. The planet Rumi will join the New Ottoman Empire, whether it wants to or not. To ensure this, the Empire has sent its largest, most powerful battleship, the Tatar-class Alexi, armed with kinetic energy and bioweapons. The native Sumi, regressed from their spacefaring days donât stand a chance. Or at least, thatâs what everyone thinks. All Vasco wants is one last chance to prove himself to be the warrior he always knew he could be, one last shot at glory. The Anubis War and his fate, awaits. |
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Song of the Caged Warrior by Maria Perez An orphan with amazing powers forced to serve his enemies. Montor is a child, happily growing up on the planet of Arandaâuntil the Lostai, an imperialist alien race, invade his planet, then attack his seaside village. Soon, Montor loses his whole family to injuries, sickness, and punishment. With his aggressive temperament fueling dreams of revenge, Montor seems destined to follow the same fate as his family and succumb to the cruelty of Lostai enslavement. Then the Lostai military discovers that Montor is no ordinary child; he possesses dormant telekinetic and telepathic abilities. Montor is transferred to a military science station where a devious commander intends to turn him into a Lostai super soldier. Can Montor survive the brutal and humiliating bootcamp? How will he manage the anger, depression, and self-loathing that comes from serving in the very same military that decimated his people? Or will he refuse to be a pawn in Lostaâs war and risk everything to take on the mantle of an Arandan warrior? This space opera features non-human spacefaring civilizations, galactic war, dark empire, supernatural abilities, and rebellion / survival / coming-of-age themes. It is a prequel to the romantic space opera trilogy, The Curse of Sotkari Ta, that can be enjoyed before or after reading the trilogy. |
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Slipspace: Terra Nullius by Zachary Forbes Two brothers⌠Two empires⌠And two definitions of what it means to be alive⌠Slipp McMahon is a disgruntled veteran of the Terran Straits Republic, having retired from service when mechanical âartificialsâ slowly took the place of his living, breathing compatriots. He is caught up doing private work in the outskirts of the known galaxy when a strange job falls into his lap. It involves a girl, an ancient oil deposit, and all the money he needs to retire his aging mother. But his brother, Breth, who still works for the Republic, has sworn to uphold the law by any means necessary. A major promotion hangs in the balance, as well as the future of warfare across the galaxy⌠|
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Why did they come? When they appeared across the sky, speculation wheeled around the worldâthe aliens were from heaven, the invaders were from hell⌠or they were proof that neither existed. But when they landed, curiosity gave way to suspicion and the nations reacted with nuclear force, setting off a chain reaction that left the world in ruins. Twenty years later, instead of nearing her retirement, Dr. Elspeth Darrow struggles to forget the loss of her child and husband by plunging herself into the work of operating the last remaining hospital in San Francisco. With medical supplies running out and working herself to exhaustion, Elspeth must embark on a risky salvage mission into the heart of the Neo California danger zone. Here, she discovers the disturbing truth: the aliens have returned. As the mystery of the aliensâ purpose on Earth unravels before her, Elspeth must hide what she discovers from reactionary despots, all vying to bring Neo California under their control. Aided by a band of pre-war scientists and new-world medical students, Elspeth races against astronomical odds to reveal the terrifying truth that might save the worldâor finally destroy it for good. |
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Rebellious Nature by Rho Diehl Konstance awakens from cryosleep with the distinct feeling that he has forgotten something important. Soon afterward, Vylik, his captain, informs him (as well as the rest of the crew on board the Rebellious Nature) about their new mission, one unlike any they have previously undertaken. To make things even more puzzling, only she is in possession of its most important details. All the crew knows is that they will be transporting a unique âUnfitâ named Seirene across space to a distant location. Tensions on board the ship are already starting to rise, however, as Lubov (the shipâs ordnance specialist) has been acting strangely ever since waking from cryosleep. Will the crew of the Rebellious Nature successfully complete their mission? Or will they fail and face possibly dire consequences? |
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Raq by T. K. Toppin Lies that become truths⌠The Hlad are one race, the only race beneath the Great Abyss. The great Fire King deemed it so when the Great Mother birthed the Fire Kingâs children from the dry lake beds. All know of His power and scorn, and praise Him with each rising so He may shine down gently and with kindness. Warrior Class Lieutenant Raq of the Imperial Guard is a proud soldier, an adoring father to his sons, brave, dutiful and honour-bound, a devout servant of the Fire King. He is a true Hlad. But his faith is shattered when an alien craft crash-lands on Hlad from the Great Abyss. One alien, the Dayyid, survives the horrible massacre that follows the crash. Imprisoned, suffering from malnutrition, and studied by the reptilian doctors and scientists, he doesnât forget one of the creatures from the crash site. One who hesitated to kill. Forced to live together, Raq and the Dayyid learn to understand each other despite the language barrier. But when they learn of a threat to Earth, they discover an almost unbelievable truth that unites them against the Hlad. The rest of Hlad must learn this truth, and so, too, the rest of the universe. |
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In a near-future America torn apart by corporate warfare and social unrest, an unlikely antihero might be the lesser evil. Warner Vogelâs life in a corporate dystopia isnât as bad as it could be: his name blazes in blue neon atop a skyscraper. As heir to the omnipotent VogelCorp, his life should be idyllic, but a brutal encounter with an insurgent fifteen years ago cost him an eye and much of his sanity. Now, he lives for his secret projects and his distractions in seedy nightclubs, but his only desire is revenge. Freya is a genetic marvelâa supersoldier from the legendary Unit Six, engineered for violence and conditioned to enjoy it. When her mission at the VogelCorp vault goes catastrophically wrong, she ends up in a titanium cage with a hole in her skull. Her escape hinges on one thing: helping Warner exact revenge on Nero, her former handler. As they unite, they uncover a shared enemy and a common goalâto dismantle Unit Six and end the decades-long war ravaging their states. As their journey unfolds, Warner is forced to question everything he knows: the loyalties of those closest to him, the integrity of his country, and his own humanity. How far will he go for vengeanceâand the greater good? |
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Library System Reset: Overdue by K. T. Hanna The Library once stood proud as a beacon of magic and power. For 500 years, it has been broken. Quinn can barely handle her own life. When the Library of Everywhere discovers her compatible magical signature, suddenly she is the sole existing potential Librarian. Now itâs not only the weight of her world on her shouldersâQuinn must connect with the Library system before the universe itself disintegrates. Once sheâs settled, it should be quiet, peaceful work- just as soon as she battles a few engorged bookworms, repairs hundreds of years of damage, and figures out why thereâs been no Librarian for the last several centuries. And once thatâs done she can start gathering overdue books. All 18,042 of them to start with. Thereâll be a helluva lot of late fees to process. |
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Forward and Back by Michael Pickard At the moment of his greatest professional achievement, renowned physicist Randy Weinberg wakes up eight years in the future. He is legally dead, divorced from his wife, and a stranger to his son. Enemies threaten him for the secrets of time travel. As a victim of his failed experiment, Randy is clueless. Randy must decide whether to invent a tool that could be used to corrupt history, or refuse and see his wife and son murdered. Perhaps there is another way. Turn back the clock. |
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Flight of the Pangolin by Michael Moutinho Still reeling from its first extraterrestrial incursion, the solar system is attempting to return to normal. Amidst the chaos, a small team of visionaries and misfits hope to move forward with exploration. Their vessel: the Pangolin, a ship whose glory days are long past. But other forces in the system have their own thoughts on the mission. Can the crew of the Pangolin make it out of the system before running afoul of isolationists, megacorporate interests, regime collapse, oligarchs, and space pirates? Flight of the Pangolin is a thrilling sci-fi adventure, where a team of heroes follows their ambition to discover a fresh start out among the stars against improbable odds. |
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Everyone always said Grace was weird. An albino abandoned at birth, anti-social, and selectively intelligent, sheâs never had a friend. Now at 23, she lives alone and quietly runs a dojo in Toronto. But beneath her stony exterior, somehow sheâs always known that somethingâ or someoneâ was coming for her. The night she meets the quirky Tomiko, everything changes and an unseen force draws them to three more women. Together, the five uncover shared memories of a beautiful and mysterious world called Fieres. While unlocking the magical secrets of their past, they encounter a terrifying enemy that threatens both Fieres and Earth. As they prepare for the fight of their lives, Grace must face the hard truth of whoâ and whatâ she really is. |
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The world runs on code, and not all code is safe. This is why Anna Flynn has a job. Matter Manipulation Devices alter the physical world, turning dreams into reality. But some dreams are treacherous, and the streets are filled with mods that manipulate matter in illegal and dangerous ways. As a seasoned MMD agent, Anna fights back against the criminals who misuse these devices and traffic in illegal mods. When she intervenes in a plot to assassinate one of the worldâs most respected political leaders, her methods draw the ire of her superiors, and she finds herself under investigation from her own agency. Increasingly isolated and unsure whom she can trust, Anna works to unravel a conspiracy that would unleash the worst potential of matter manipulation technology on the world. |
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As the Second American Civil War wanes, Mary the Exoputian awaits her chance to contact the Folbulaeâa highly advanced species of extraterrestrial, only to be hunted down by the dictator of the Sovereign States of America, Vladimir Booth. With rising tides and thawing tundra, the Exoputiansâa new species of human genetically created to live in Space and communicate with the Folbulae, land in the Republic of Texas following a missile strike on their Space station. Mary and the other Exoputians learn of the lies their progenitor taught them, training the Space-bred crew to use their novel communication to cure the planet theyâd never set foot on. As Mary and the others road trip through racially segregated America, they encounter multiple attempts on their lives to follow through with their once-mission of saving the planet from the climate crisis. Discover with Mary whatâs worth saving on a planet prepared to destroy her entire species. |
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Even the Stars Deserve to Die by Ramon Miravitllas Mas On Earth, the cities of humanity crumbled to dust, turning into fossils. Forests burned and life went extinct. But, billions of years later, it rained one last time. The siblings were born from that rain, strange creatures of human appearance and mind. Their life on the desert of Earth has no purpose, until they discover the wick, a molecule burning around their genetic material, condemning them to death one hundred years and three months after birth. In search to find out if life is worth living, a researcher explores a cave billions of years old. The brain inside a simulacrum misses its dead father. The commander of a spaceship travels to meet a mysterious satellite in the bowels of the solar system. In this story of philosophical dimensions, the power of the word merges with the nostalgia for an irretrievable past, where fear of death coexists with the sadness of losing the parents you will never see again. A hard science fiction book dealing with topics such as molecular biology, stellar evolution and the future of Earth, combined with poetry, sculpture and the early artworks of creatures who yearn to be human. |
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Escape from OtherWorld Island by Sage Rooker Thereâs never a dull day when you and your older sister are the worldâs top teen-scientist-adventurers. But when your arch-nemesis manages to trap you on a remote tropical island (complete with a volcano about to explode)âŚWell, thatâs when things get really interesting. Itâs a race against time for Team Rugged Stuff and the inhabitants of the OtherWorld! Danae and Rachel Ruggâs scientific discovery of a brand-new world has been hijacked by their rival, the young evil mastermind Colin Null. The clock is ticking as they try to make their way home and foil his plans before he steals their research for his own and lays claim to the girlsâ latest inventionâa meteor-powered transportation portalâand the new world to which it leads! Joined by their cousins Noah and Levi (a pair of part-time special agents in their own right) and Colinâs sister, Nessa (smart, rich, beautiful and just whose side is she on, anyway?), the sisters of Team Rugged Stuff take on the challenge with their trademark wit and grit that is a celebration of the determination of tough young women everywhere! |
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Two friends, divided by tragedy, race to thwart an insidious plot that threatens humanityâs survival across the galaxy. 10,184 A.D. Britta is heir to the Silverstar legacy and the youngest ambassador in Galilean history. Crystal is the smartest scientist in ten generations and is happy to live in her lab without talking to anyoneâexcept Britta. Even diametrically opposite interests havenât managed to separate these childhood friends whose journey has led them to a space station orbiting Enigma, a planet with strange atmospheric properties that nullify their technology. A tragic drop-ship disaster leaves Britta stranded on the planetâs surface, and Crystal fleeing for her life. Each possess a critical piece to diffusing a plot that may allow their ancient enemy to annihilate the Lost Colonies Alliance, from outside and within. Equipped with only her prized hairpin, Britta must survive a harrowing trek across a primitive landscape to have any hope of helping the colonies, while Crystal must embark on a mad flight across the stars in a desperate mission to save her own colony, who are also hunting her for the alleged murder of Britta. Timers on both sides are ticking. If either fails to reach their goal, it could spell the end for the entire human race. Enigma is a science fantasy adventure set in the expansive Lost Colonies universe. |
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Two galaxies. One microbe. Trillions at risk. When an unidentified microbe sweeps across Earth, curing all disease but crippling the global economy, heiress Aubrey Hope hatches a risky plan to save her familyâs pharmaceutical empire. To succeed, sheâll need the help of a brilliant microbiologist, a master hacker, and a pop star with a secret. In another galaxy, Matthai Valtrellin, unexpected heir to the high priesthood, is burdened by grief and duty. But when a bloodied alien claiming to be his mate teleports from the future, his world turns upside down. Caught between his obligations to her, his family, and the countless Valmoran citizens he is meant to lead, he finds himself torn between fate and destiny. But with the help of a luck-obsessed smuggler, an empathic politician who finds most people âinvariably intolerableâ, and a four-armed ex-gladiator, he may just find himself on a perilous journey to a mythical planet ⌠called Earth. As these complex characters navigate love, duty, and the weight of their choices, their paths intertwine in unexpected ways. Nothing is as it seems, and the truth could reshape two galaxies forever. Perfect for fans of the grand-scale world-building of Dune, the ragtag crew dynamics of Firefly, and the mind-bending twists of Black Mirror, The Valmoran Chronicles: Emergence is a thrilling space opera that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. |
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Ghosts on An Alien Wind by Moe Lane Pam Tanaka rides the winds of a Tomb World in a charnel galaxy, with only ghosts for companions. When trouble comes to her, she must face death, mystery, and despair â but must she face it alone? On that, the ghosts on the alien winds are silent. |
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Governments have fallen. Corporations control the world. Now their eyes are on Mars. But Benjamin Drake is about to ruin everyoneâs plans. Earth is no longer made up of countries and nations. Every bit of land has been privatized, and most of it is owned by five big corporations. Life is hard, and people are struggling. Crime is rampant, and they send serious offenders to Mars to help with the terraforming. Benjamin Drake is a happy-go-lucky truck driver (or hauler) with an uncomplicated life, hauling cargo around the world in his Hydrostar, until a run of bad decisions leaves him without work. Down on his luck and desperate for a contract, he makes a decision that he instantly regrets. As Drake gets caught in a tug of war between a mining mogul and the worldâs most ruthless security force, he suddenly finds himself with a truck full of stolen cargo, and decisions need to be made. But who can he trust? After a big professional blunder, Lt. Lily Wells plots a way to get her career back on track as one of Penta Corporationsâ top security officers. But when Wells ends up on a murder case, she uncovers something much bigger. One on the run and the other on the hunt, Drake and Wells cross paths, at odds and supposedly enemies. But could their alliance be the only way out alive? Set in the near-future, Hauler is the first book in the Benjamin Drake adventure series, filled with witty dialogue, flawed heroes, and plenty of bad decisions. |
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Kemperâs House by Frank Saverio What if the cost of first contact was leaving behind a world youâd never recognize upon return? On the heels of discovering interstellar travel, humanity has stumbled upon the first signs of intelligent life in another system. Captain Adrian Kemper is selected to lead the expedition to Kyra-2B in order to make first contact with the Kyrans. He departs a world struggling to deal with overpopulation, knowing that the realities of space travel will mean the Earth he eventually returns to will no longer be home. Even the stone cottage he loves may not remain. Despite this, Kemper accepts the mission. He leads an elite crew of optimistic scientists on a journey that will traverse hundreds of light years before reaching an alien world. What they find is truly unexpected. |
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KARA by Peter Beard For over ten years Kara was a Hunterâthe highly trained individuals with the ability and resources to find people, no-matter where they tried to hide. But after killing her best friend in a tragic accident, her world collapsed in on itself, and Kara spiralled. Recovering, and keen for a distraction to keep her mind from wandering, Kara turned her attention to something that had intrigued her for as long as she could rememberâto the mysterious symbol on her wrist. Determined to learn more, she began a hunt of a different kindâa hunt for answers. But three years of searching yielded little information, and she began losing hope of ever discovering the truth. But then, unexpectedly, she receives an anonymous messageâa message pointing her to a highly secretive prison on the outskirts of the Kuiper Belt. What she finds changes everything, and leads her down a path that puts her, and the people around her, in danger. Can she learn the origins around the strange marking, all whilst unravelling a sinister plot that threatens to send a peaceful world back into chaos? |
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In the Valley, A Shadow by Samantha Tano An action-packed sci-fi western tale of revenge, love, and identity. The frontier planet Celestine, millennia from now. It was supposed to be the furthest Alix could get from the Xypha Corporation, that all-consuming entity at the heart of humanityâs interstellar expansion. After the Xypha forward station arrives in orbit, Alix, a transgender pilot, finds herself out of work and her ship grounded. Sheâll do anything to pay off her mounting debts so she can fly againâeven if it means killing for the meanest crime boss in the Isidis Valley. As Xyphaâs influence grows, Alix is trapped in a web of betrayal and politics that threatens more than just her life. Armed with a pair of Plasveld-7s, a sharp wit, and with the love of her life by her side, Alix embarks on a deadly path across the valley. Can she flee Xyphaâs creeping shadow, or is it time to stop running and stand her ground? |
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âEarthâs time has run out. You must leave this decaying cradle.â With only a few words, Orinious Xaivâs deliberately small world is altered forever when heâs named Exim, the leader-elect of the Imitari. A theocratic group of genetically altered beings presiding over the dying Earth. As a âNamed,â Orinious receives an impossible task: to recover the lost seeds of mankind. Without them, all is destined for failure, resulting in not only his death â but that of all. Setting out with him on this mission is Veyra, one of the rare Chimaera with an elevated position among the Imitari. An elite personal enforcer, infamous for her ruthlessness and violent nature. Sheâs ordered to leave her masterâs side to protect Orinious â no matter the cost. Forced to work together to survive, theyâre confronted by gut-wrenching realizations about themselves, their world, and the true purpose of their mission. Unlikely friendships emerge and a forbidden romance dares to gasp, all while brutal attacks, unrelenting chaos, and bitter deception challenge them at every turn. Tracking down the seeds is only the beginning. Imitari is the first book in the exhilarating dystopian sci-fi ALTERA DOMI Series. |
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Hounds of Gaia by Sean M. Tirman Foxhound doesnât care about the gaps in her memory. Being a Contractor, a kind of spacefaring mercenary, keeps her occupied enough. Rather than dwelling, she rockets around the farthest reaches of the solar system, earning a steady paycheck hunting down neâer-do-wells and enjoying a semblance of freedom most folks in the outer colonies canât dream of. So when she receives an urgent prisoner transfer request from a cult starship, she accepts the gig. She figures that transporting a bone marrow-eating serial killer from the cultâs colony back to Earth is just another well-paying job thatâll keep her mind off things. Upon discovering that the suspect in custody is an orphan girlâone that could pass for her much younger doppelgängerâshe decides itâs time to get some answers. Before she can piece together who the girl is and how their lives intertwine, a group of violent prisoners aboard Foxhoundâs starship breaks free. As the once-peaceful cultists take up arms in response, the Contractor teams up with her mechanized AI assistant and two of the cultâs wayward members to stop the barbaric escapees and elude the grasp of the cultâs radicalized leader. And when thatâs done, she can focus on figuring out the secret behind the mysterious, potentially dangerous girlâbut will she even want to know the truth? |
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There is no salvation among the stars⌠With every known planet, colony or settlement mostly ruined or completely destroyed, a desperate crew of humans onboard the starship Odyssey, hear rumours of a mythical phenomenon called the Horizon. This magical place on the edge of known space is believed to transport those who traverse it, back in time to the moment they were at their happiest. With only death, heartache and baron wastelands surrounding them, the crew head toward the Horizon. However to reach this phenomenon, they must cross the Expanse â a 30 day trip through entirely empty space. No light, no stars, no planets⌠nothing. At least thatâs what they think. |
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Historian of Future Past by Revis Grey Alaina is a 26th-century data linguist and a historian specializing in 15th-century Turkey. Working with a quantum computer called Nexus, a machine able to record history in real time, she longs to be like the woman she observes, a red-head warrior temptress. But when an anomaly appears, and a peasant from the past is teleported into the future, anyone involved begins to be reassigned or disappear. Alaina finds herself thrust into the history sheâs been studying when her godfather, the Director of Operations, chooses to lose her in time rather than eliminate her. Alaina transports from a culture of peace and abundance to a world of scarcity and violence. She will have to navigate 15th-century strife with the aid of a holographic cohort and a 26th-century mirage of life rapidly fading. Betrayed and wrongly accused of murder, her last hope rests in a crooked dwarf merchant. When a mysterious reflection brings her closer to understanding the futureâs past. |
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Hi De Ho, Infecterino! by Andrew Marc Rowe Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out Larry Evans never asked for this, dude. As the front man for a rock band with the brand spankingest new deal with a major record label, the Irish-born Londoner was on the up and up. Finally, he could cease slinging pot to make ends meet and maybe â just maybe â make his father proud of him. One little âaccidentalâ fire and a faceful of sporulating destiny had another idea⌠Subject #30452 never really asked for it either. Not the injections from the strange men, not the development of sapience and self-awareness out of his easy-going life as a crow. Not to mention the fact that he was the sole one of his murdermates to have some kind of Cartesian epiphany in the California section of Parasol Industries. Escape â and revenge, served hot â might prove to be the first orders of business as brilliant bird of⌠opportunism. And what about Willy, the adult book shop worker who is trying to get clean from sex addiction? Or Hester, the brilliant scientist with the aesthetic challenges? Or Hector, the black ops Zen master? Or Constable Sheri Allston, the bobby who just happened to be thrust into a world of⌠Flesh-eating zombies that may or may not be tripping balls as they feast. There, I said it. Thanks to Parasol Industries, your friendly neighbourhood nefarious corporation on the government teat, some brand-new strain of fungus that is definitely not a derivative of jock itch and Albert Hoffmannâs beloved ergot is bringing humanity to the brink. But the brink of what? Will the monsters destroy us all? Will we use the nuclear option? Or is this all about⌠Evolution? |
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Hero (The Hero Rebellion 1) by Belinda Crawford The battle for human evolution begins now. Centuries ago, humans colonised Jørn, a lonely planet on the far side of the galaxy, only to discover that the planet was killing them. The culprit, a native spore, carried on every wind to every corner of the globe. Blending Earth and Jørn DNA saved their crops and livestock, but for humans there was no cure. Instead they took to the skies, turning their colony ships into floating cities that hovered out of the sporeâs reach. Today. Hero Regan is a freak; she hears voices, the kind only she can hear. Force medicated and isolated, her only solace is Fink, a six-hundred-kilogram, genetically engineered ruc-pard. They share lives, thoughts, triple-chocolate marshmallow ice-cream and the burning desire for freedom. Their chance comes when Hero is allowed to attend an academy in Cumulus City, but in this super city nothing is as it seems. As Hero is drawn into an ancient conspiracy where two secret societies will stop at nothing to control human evolution, she must decide how much sheâs willing to risk to gain her freedom. Hero is the first book in an action-packed YA sci-fi series, featuring psychic mutant animal companions, illegal street races and a kick-ass heroine who wonât take no for an answer. |
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Embers of Esper by Tyler Aston Kyra groaned as she uncoiled the swords from her waist. It looked like she was about to spend another night shampooing entrails out of her hair⌠Tristan is on the verge of becoming a Warden. It is one of the greatest honours the galaxy can bestow â not bad for a scrawny kid from Earth. With it comes a new life of responsibility, dedication and sacrifice. But after a lifetime on the run, the rainbow-haired mercenary Kyra has a problem. Her past, it seems, has finally caught up with her⌠And innocent people are paying the price. Her family are in danger. Her home planet is under attack. She is the only one who can make things right â but she canât do it alone. Join Tris and Kyra on a desperate mission to the furthest reaches of space. Together they must confront an enemy that has haunted Kyraâs dreams, and pursued her across the stars since she was a child. But you canât fight the past. Or can you? Find out now, in this fast-paced and explosive space opera â perfect for fans of Firefly, The Expanse and Killjoys. |
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The Correct Order by Trish Taylor THE CORRECT ORDER With women in control, life is better, but not for everyone. After the defeat of a repressive regime, women under the Correct Order enjoy safer and better lives. The AI entity BELLA dispenses harsh penalties to those breaking the rules. Men found guilty of crimes against women are sent to the Resort, where they undergo demasculationâa surgical penalty. Seventeen-year-old Emily, daughter of a high-ranking Order leader, is about to embark on her dream career as a surgeon. But doubts creep in as BELLAâs judgments hit close to home. As Emily learns the truth about the Resort, she questions her career choice and everything she believed about the Correct Order. |
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Your Service is Required by Jeff Walker From the author of space opera novella The Long Lost War and the sci fi/fantasy series Outer Red. Jeff Walker brings you his vision of a dystopian society in Earthâs distant future, where robots rule over whatâs left of humanity. A science fiction drama centred on one man trying to survive in a machine dominated world. Earth is now under the control of two artificially intelligent rulers. Angela and Malcolm; they govern the planet and use humanity to service their needs. David 00472 is one of those daily service attendants that must obey the commands of the two AI overlords. David becomes a person of interest to Angela as she helps him to improve the quality of his life. David, suspicious and fearful of her sudden concern for him, is cautious about her true intent. Malcom, ever watchful of all humans, is unsure why David 00472 has become Angelaâs pet project. Is this part of their cruelty? Do they delight in using humans for their amusement somehow? David meets a man, another Human Service Attendant, that will change and challenge his notion of freedom, and what it truly means to be free. |
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Tomorrowâs Child by D. G. Barnes It should have been easy money: deliver the cargo to the Proxima Colony via the Jump Gate, donât ask questions, collect the pay cheque. But a freak accident, one that shouldnât even be possible, sends the tramp freighter Calypso to an uncharted star system. After a forced landing on the systemâs only habitable world, Captain Jax Hunter and the crew of Calypso find themselves questioning everything they thought they knew about time and space. Join Jax as she unravels the secrets of this alien world and explores a burgeoning romance, all while struggling to get her ship and crew home. |
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A theme park worker can travel back in time to walk the decks of the Titanic. But can he save one of her heroes from a watery grave? Ever since he graduated from high school, Liam Peterson has worked at the Titanic Voyage ride in Historytown, a struggling amusement park in Eloy, Arizona. Heâs enchanted by the journal of Clara Jones, a hero of the Titanic who saved several fellow Third Class passengers before she perished in the sinking. He never dreamed heâd meet her. One night, the teenage son of Historytownâs founder tricks Liam into thinking that a 3D projection of Clara is a theme park guest. As Liam spends time with Claraâs âholoactorâ on the sets of Titanic Voyage, the past starts to change, and he realizes heâs been visiting the real Clara Jones. When tragedy strikes Liamâs life outside the ride, his only escape from the grief is the hope of saving Clara and giving her a long, happy life. But if he rewrites her history, he might erase his own. |
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Timeâs Ellipse by Frasier Armitage No solution saves everyone. Only one keeps us human. The hope of a dying Earth rests on a crew of astronauts. Their mission: find a new home. But when they touch down on a distant planet, a time-bending anomaly traps them in a situation that no one couldâve predicted, causing them to question the nature of humanity, the snare of destiny, and the shape of time itself. Timeâs Ellipse spans generations, orbiting the lives of the scientists and astronauts involved in this historic mission as they discover that escaping the planet is simpler than evading its legacy. |
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Time Travel Rescue: Escape from the 21st Century by Tom Kranz âWE LIVE IN A WASTELANDââRick Twenty third century Earth is barely hanging on. Climate ignorance and environmental abuse have diminished the population by 48%. Land masses are a toxic sprawl. Five companies run whatâs left. WHAT TO DO? A world class hacker and an altruistic citizen go back in time to stop the Earthâs destruction by the forces of 21st century evil. |