SPSFC Self-published Science Fiction Competition 2021
A sister competition to the SPFBO, the SPSFC is for sci-fi self-published works. Stories tagged with this mark were entered into the competition.
|
The River Twice by Brenda W Clough Calla Ang has always known her own power. Her grandmother is the dictator of Jalanesia in Southeast Asia, and Calla's future is to follow in her footsteps. But after the Victorian time traveler Jack Wragsland invites her to 1867 to show Charles Darwin what a real scientific revolution looks like, Calla returns to the 21st century to discover Jalanesia is no longer the country she knew. As she and Jack thread their way deeper into an interlocking maze of alternate realities, there always seems to be a second chance...until suddenly there isn't. The only certainty Jack and Calla have as the universes change is each other. But if she can't learn to handle power wisely, then even love will not be enough to save Calla, Jack, or her country. |
|
Glitch Mitchell and the Unseen Planet by Philip Harris A gateway to another world. A lucky contest winner. An adventure across the cosmos! Dwayne "Glitch" Mitchell has always been obsessed with space. When he learns that NASA has discovered an alien gateway, he's the first to enter a contest to see the incredible phenomenon. Glitch wins and he travels deep within the Colorado Rockies to get a peek. He's in awe, but he's also in danger. As project head Dr. Zheng discusses the gateway, an armed man calling himself John Smith takes Zheng hostage and causes an explosion. When the rubble clears, Glitch is alive but trapped with Air Force Captain Scarlett Anderson on the other side of the gateway! Far from home on an alien world, Glitch and Anderson must find Zheng before the planet's inhabitants can eat, crush, drown, or execute them. Even if they can escape in one piece, will they still have a home to come back to? Glitch Mitchell and the Unseen Planet is a sci-fi adventure that features exotic alien worlds and fast-paced suspense. If you liked the wild adventures of Flash Gordon, you'll love this thrill-ride throughout the universe! |
|
Echoes of Angels by M.A. Larkin After millennia of oppressive dogma, one rebellious woman seeks to change it all and spark a galactic enlightenment. When Rachel Jordan dares to question the ancient beliefs governing her world, she finds herself alone. For refusing to conform, the inquisitors have branded her a heretic. Redeemers have hunted her to a remote corner of the universe, intent on forcing her back into obedience. But she isn’t hiding. Armed with proof that the angels who saved mankind weren’t angels at all, she will break this cycle and bring freedom to humanity! Echoes of Angels is the first book of Sins of Angels, an epic space opera series set 3000 years after the fall of Earth. With the scope of Dune and the adventurous spirit of Indiana Jones, Sins of Angels delivers a conflict that spans galaxies and rests on the spirit of a single brave researcher. Follow the complete saga, and watch as the fate of our species hangs in the balance. |
|
A Hymn for the Dying by J.L. Doty For many the dying part is hard. For some the living part is harder. At sixteen years of age, Mathius’s life is focused on scrounging bits of food in the midst of a five-way civil war on the planet Novalis III. Two government factions and three rebel factions are all hell-bent on killing one another, and the civilian population is caught in the middle. If Mathius doesn’t find food, he and his father, mother and sister will go hungry for the day, a not unusual occurrence. Mathius must also avoid the rebel factions, who frequently kidnap young boys and force them to become soldiers. Will the Commonwealth of Allied Systems intervene? And what of the Blacksword Regiment, the elite soldiers of the Commonwealth Security Corps? Will they sweep in and make everything right? And the Kelk Supremacy, a race of strange humans with blood-red eyes, and pale bluish-white skin? They're perfectly human, and yet they are not. Why does Mathius keep seeing signs that the Kelk are somehow involved in the unrest? A gripping saga of war and redemption. Order it now. |
|
Alan Lennox and the Temp Job of Doom by Brian Olsen Alan Lennox has been assigned yet another soul-crushing temp job, keeping him from his first loves – drinking, playing video games, and looking for a boyfriend. But Alan’s new job proves to be anything but boring when his co-workers start turning up dead. The mysterious megacorporation Amalgamated Synergy has taken a deadly interest in Alan and his three roommates, and the hapless quartet are woefully unequipped to deal with the psychotic secretaries, murderous middle managers, and villainous vice-presidents hunting them down. Their investigation leads them deep into Amalgamated Synergy’s headquarters, but can Alan and his friends stay alive long enough to discover who – or what – waits for them on the top floor? Alan Lennox and the Temp Job of Doom is the first book of The Future Next Door, a contemporary urban science fiction comedic thriller series in four parts. |
|
Before and After by Andrew Shanahan THE BEST-SELLING SCI-FI THRILLER THAT BLENDS HEALTHY LIVING AND LOTS OF DYING "A big fat five stars. This is a horror story. It's a visceral portrait of addiction and the hope of redemption in a world turned mad by hate and fear. The worst thing is that it is true. A must-read." Jane Almond-Deville, The British Obesity Society. Ben Stone is terrified. He's terrified because he weighs 601 pounds and needs his right leg amputating. He's terrified because a crane will shortly lift him from his fourth-floor flat and lower him 44 feet to an ambulance waiting below. He's terrified because he hasn't been outside in nine years and he doesn't know who will look after his beautiful dog. He needn't worry though, because the world is about to end. |
|
Bypass the Stars by Kate Sheeran Swed Seventeen-year-old Frankie Hartiger can reroute any elevator, steal the data from any ID chip, and scramble the facial recognition software on any security bot. The only thing she can’t hack? Her parents. They won’t trust her with a coffee order, never mind a position in their interworld exploration company. When their very first inter-universal tour goes wrong, Frankie sets out to rescue her parents—accompanied by Earth’s first (and most annoying) interworld immigrant, Jord Mathison. But a transport malfunction hurtles them into the wrong world, where a deposed prince wears Jord’s face. To the prince, Frankie’s last name is equivalent to a curse: his world is dying, and Frankie’s family is at fault. As a breadcrumb trail of conspiracies leads Frankie toward her parents, she’s sure Jord knows more than he’s willing to admit. If she can’t forge a truce with him to root out the truth, she’ll be stuck forever—and if the inhabitants get their way, she’ll burn with their world. |
|
Dark Nebula: Isolation by Sean Willson Lies crafted from good intentions. Death spreading through the stars. When the past returns to claim its due, will anyone survive? Earth Solar System, the Future. Abigail Olivaw is drowning in self-doubt. Hiding a devastating secret from the populace, the President of the Confederation of Planetary Explorers is horrified when hostile aliens arrive to announce they’re putting humanity on trial. Forced to act as her species’ defender in court, she struggles to hide her family’s hidden multi-generational history that could lead to a sentence of genocide. Epsilon Eridani Colony. Joyce Green’s passion for her job is dwarfed only by her love for her son. So when he dies from a mysterious virus that threatens the entire settlement, the Director of Colonization vows to stop at nothing to discover what triggered the deadly infection. And as she uncovers the truth bit by bit, her heartbreak fuels a berserk need for justice. Trapped by guilt over a mistake she didn’t choose, Abigail falls into a tailspin when the invaders reveal the facts of her race’s origins. And when Joyce unmasks a traitor, the rest of her people would be lucky to only die from disease. With their paths on a collision course, will the women’s consequence-laden decisions destroy humankind’s last hope? Dark Nebula: Isolation is the gripping first book in the evocative Dark Nebula space opera series. If you like emotionally complex characters, chilling twists, and eye-opening takes on technology, then you’ll love Sean Willson’s sweeping epic. Buy Dark Nebula: Isolation to launch a defense against corruption today! |
|
Day 115 on an Alien World by Jeannette Bedard A barren world. A crashed colony ship. A saboteur at work. After a tarnished military record leaves her unable to find work on Earth, Margo is hunting for a fresh start. A colonizing mission heading to a new world creates the perfect opportunity—or at least that’s what she thinks. Strapped into a crashing colony ship, she realizes how wrong she is. On the ground of their destination planet, the straight forward colonizing mission becomes a scramble for survival. Her new world is harsh and unforgiving. Accidents keep happening. Too many to blame on bad luck alone. The trail of evidence leads Margo to a startling conclusion—one of her fellow colonists is a saboteur. Tomorrow is the colony’s first communications window with Earth and their only chance to send a message home. With the fate of the colony at stake, will Margo stop the saboteur before it’s too late? |
|
Drained by Marc Daniel Acriche A Booklife Reviews editor's pick. Can you trust your family? Can you trust your friends? Because you may just have to choose. New York City, 2048. Superstorms, and the politics of privilege, have left downtown Manhattan in tatters with electricity rationed, neighborhoods condemned, and hope destroyed. When high school senior Casey Parker and her best friend Jennifer are ripped from their comfortable, prep school lives, the pair find themselves in the dangerous world of the resistance. With family on both sides of the conflict, there’s no way out for Casey but a dangerous gamble: allowing herself to be captured by the enemy in order to learn their secrets. Failure could mean the lives of her family; success could mean the lives of her friends… |
|
The Player Blackout by Lucas Flint In 2043, Capes Online is the biggest, most popular VRMMORPG in the world. With over one billion active players and counting, gamers can become brave Heroes or cunning Villains, their every choice determining their Alignment. Everyone wants to play this game and almost everyone does. Except for 25-year-old police officer Nyle Maxwell, who can't log out. Killed in a car accident on his first day on the job, Nyle gets his mind uploaded to Capes Online to save his life. But the one way mind-to-game upload process means Nyle can never return to his physical body in the real world. Nor is he allowed to contact his friends and family outside the game or else he risks deletion by the secretive government organization that put him in the game in the first place. Things get even worse when a villain known as Dark Kosmos takes over Capes Online not long after Nyle's arrival. Trapping all of the players in the game and cutting off all contact with the real world, Dark Kosmos targets Nyle for death. Now Nyle must become a true superhero and save his fellow players from Dark Kosmos while adjusting to his new digital life. All of which would be much easier if he didn't have a hyperactive sidekick overly fond of puns or if he even wanted to be here in the first place. |
|
The Lighthouse in the Sky by B.Y. Yan An Alternate History Epic. “Firefly meets Inglorious Basterds in 1930s China.” 1936. China. A whole new frontier exists in the war-torn Orient, and the crew of the Sky-Fortress class heavy bomber Goosefare will take any job to make their fortunes. From Constantinople, Capt. Mossfar de Crossfer Rain is coerced to train aviators in the Middle Kingdom. However, things take a complicated turn when he and his merry band accidentally kidnap the Chinese President, and find themselves on the run from Imperial assassins. A chance foray into the Devil’s Sea leads to a haunting vision that their version of the 1900s is but one of infinite possibilities, with nothing set in stone. But if all history is a canvas upon which anything is possible to change, then there are others with more sinister designs on such world-altering technologies. The Empire of Japan will stop at nothing to get their hands on the strange aircraft and its reality hopping ability, in order to enact a daring, full-fledged invasion at Pearl Harbor... |
|
Marcus Antonius Primus began a golden age for humanity when he liberated Roma from Octavian Caesar and became sole Consul. With wisdom from the gods, future Antonii Consuls conquered the world and spawned an interstellar civilization. Three weeks before the millennial anniversary of the Antonii Ascension, star freighter captain Kaeso Aemelius, a blacklisted security agent from Roman rival world Libertus, is asked by his former commanders to help a high-ranking Roman official defect. Kaeso misses his lone wolf espionage days - and its freedom from responsibility for a crew - so he sees the mission as a way back into the spy business. Kaeso sells it to his crew of outcasts as a quick, lucrative contract...without explaining his plan to abandon them for his old job. But Kaeso soon learns the defector's terrifying secret, one that proves the last thousand years of history was built on a lie. Can Kaeso protect his crew from Roman and Liberti forces, who would lay waste to entire worlds to stop them from revealing the civilization-shattering truth? |
|
Alex is a detective in a world that considers them unnecessary. When everyone is a telepath, with their own inner policeman, crimes cannot escape notice. So a murder with no obvious culprit leaves the authorities at a loss. Woken from a virtual sentence, still unrepentantly anti-social, Alex is given the opportunity to finally investigate a mystery. One which puts him in danger, and leads to mysteries of a more personal nature. Exactly how long has he been asleep? And is this really the first mystery he's been awakened to investigate? A 39000 word novella. |
|
The Soldiers' Perspective by Phillip Murrell War doesn’t have good guys. War doesn’t have bad guys. A slight shift in perspective changes everything. The planet Gemma is under attack. For the people of Gemma, this is an unprovoked and murderous raid by bandits unwilling to earn their way. The defenders will protect their culture with their lives. For the attackers, the wealth of Gemma represents the source of their collective anguish. Desperate humans, aliens, and cyborgs unite to fight a system they perceive as callous and corrupt. An invasion is the only way to survive. Soldiers from each army will meet on the battlefield. T'azure leads Shadow Squad, a motley crew comprising elite human, cyborg, and reptilian fighters. They’ll spearhead the invasion. Sare Importa and his wife Neera will defend their home, enhanced by state-of-the-art equipment which turns both into a near unstoppable force. Good and evil are labels history applies. What will be said of this war today? |
|
Broken Angel: The Lost Years of Gabriel Martiniere by Joyce Reynolds-Ward Exiled heir. Rebel. Husband. Father. In 2029, Gabriel Martiniere testified against the Martiniere Group's forced imposition of mind control programming on unwilling indentured workers. For his pains, he was forced into exile for over thirty years. Forced to divorce the love of his life. But he's still coming. Still bent on vengeance against the man who forced him into exile, Philip Martiniere. Gabe will win...or die trying. |
|
Altered 2nd Edition by D.L. Gardner In a dystopian future, the new government known only as the Privatol invades American soil, and crops propel the engine. Uncontrollable tyranny has succeeded in dictating where people live, what they do, and what they eat. When Abree, a spunky twelve-year-old is taken away to learn the process of modifying seed to Newly Constructed Food she discovers an evil plan that could alter the fate of the human race, and a way out if only she can escape to tell the others. A fast paced tale of conspiracy and escape through the southwestern desert and northern Mexico as Abree, her older brother and his girlfriend defy an abusive government. This second edition has gone through another round of edits and some of the content has been revised. |
|
The past is the future. A young physicist, Sandy Say, is dispatched to a Scottish highland estate to secretly decipher a decrepit manuscript that may hold the key to reinventing the 21st century, devastated by a series of solar storms. There he finds whispers of a reincarnated wizard, a hidden laboratory that is said to be the gate to the Otherworld, and a girl. A Summer in Amber is set in Scotland and England in the not too distant future, after a series of extremely powerful solar storms has laid to waste the modern world of cell phones, computers satellites, and even the power grids. Britain exists as an eclectic mix of the 21st and 19th century, with both steam engines, and pocket computers. A Summer in Amber is a quiet, enchanting novel of adventure and romance, with a unique steampunk air. C. Litka writes old-fashioned novels with modern sensibilities, humor, and romance. His lighthearted novels of adventure, mystery, and travel are set in richly imagined worlds and feature a colorful cast of well drawn characters. If you seek to escape, for a few hours, your everyday life, you will not find better company, nor more wonderful worlds to travel and explore, than in the novels of C. Litka. |
|
Chroma: Philadelphia Triptych Book One by Isla Molina "Chroma has no vulnerabilities.”  That's what they told us. A discovery by a researcher threatens the dominance of Philadelphia’s controlling family in the fully imagined, near future of this taut science fiction thriller. In a future controlled by family-owned city-states and a nanotech surveillance cloud, Tillers tried hard to avoid the attention of the System. But the suspicious collapse of a renowned professor sets his researcher, Dez Lighthorse, on a search for foul play that leads to the uncovering of dark secrets. Dez’s quest through the forbidden zones beyond the boundaries and the city’s long-buried catacombs soon attracts the attention of a relentless Safeguard investigator. From the swirling dust of a desolate desert, the emergence of a unique bioreading alerts the omnipresent Mystic. With the help of the mysterious Seditionists, Dez must outrun the converging threats to uncover a truth that may spark a revolution. |
|
In space, nobody is watching your reality. Or are they? Robin and Miranda go to bed in their separate rooms but wake up somewhere else. Somewhere that is alien and way outside their comfort zone. However, as they discover more about their new surroundings and have several unusual and action-packed adventures, they begin to suspect that all may not be as it first seemed. As the days progress, their passion for each other grows as their relationship develops emotionally and physically. However, is someone or something watching them? Why do they keep discovering things that don’t feel right? And what’s the story behind the various androids who they meet during their adventures? Follow the mysterious adventures of our two unwilling space travellers, and discover what is really going on... As well as being a fast-moving science fiction action and adventure novel, this book touches on several social topics. Covert surveillance; humanity’s journey after the extinction of Earth; how Artificial Intelligence might develop; and whether humans would, one day, upload their minds into robots and, if so, what sort of society might result? |
|
Captain Wu, Starship Nameless #1 by Patrice Fitzgerald Captain Wu’s the name. Smuggling’s her game. To be fair, they only started shooting after she started insulting them. She was just about to hand off the package—Wu didn’t know what was inside, and she didn’t want to—when three tentacle-faced strangers attacked. Wu loves a good fight and lives for a good heist. The Captain and her crew make their living taking undercover assignments from questionable clients... and it pays. Or at least, it used to. But this time the merchandise is a little too hot to handle. So when the squid-shaped xenos show up and destroy the guys who are there to receive it, Wu is barely able to make it back to her ship alive. Soon the Nameless is racing around the galaxy with not only the powerful Commonwealth on its tail, but another dangerous creature bent on revenge. And then an unexpected visitor arrives, putting Wu and her crew in the position of taking care of some very precious cargo. Is it time for the Captain to give up criming and retire to a sedate life more suitable for a woman of her age? Not a chance. Captain Wu is the first volume in the Starship Nameless trilogy, to be followed by Smugglers Crew: Starship Nameless #2, April 2021 New Path: Starship Nameless #3, June 2021 |
|
Starshine (Aurora Rising Book One, Amaranthe #1) by G. S. Jennsen SPACE IS VAST AND UNTAMED, AND IT HOLDS MANY SECRETS. Now two individuals from opposite ends of settled space are on a collision course with the darkest of those secrets, even as the world threatens to explode around them. The year is 2322. Humanity has expanded into the stars, inhabiting over 100 worlds across a third of the galaxy. Though thriving as never before, they have discovered neither alien life nor the key to utopia. Earth struggles to retain authority over far-flung planets and free-wheeling corporations while an uneasy armistice with a breakaway federation hangs by a thread as the former rebels rise in wealth and power. Alexis Solovy is Earth Alliance royalty, her father a fallen war hero and her mother an influential military leader. But she seeks only the freedom of space and has made a fortune by reading the patterns in the chaos to discover the hidden wonders of the stars. Nothing about her latest objective suggests the secret it conceals will turn her life— not to mention the entire galaxy—upside down. But a chance encounter with a mysterious spy leads to a discovery which will thrust Alex into the middle of a galactic power struggle and a sinister conspiracy, whether she likes it or not. |
|
Dusk Mountain Blues by Deston J. Munden The Caldwells have one goal in life: to be left alone. They’ve been living on the backwater planet of C’dar for years, smuggling and scavenging their way to a comfortable life on their Homestead. But you know the saying about all good things – they come to an end. The Civilization wasn’t content with falling apart the first time and has finally caught wind of the ol’ boys and girls on their little rock in the middle of nowhere. Ain’t nothing much they can do about that, though…except fight ’em. It all comes down to three generations of Caldwells— Luke “Drifter” Caldwell, Woodrow “Appetite” Caldwell, and Cassie “Kindle” Caldwell—as they fend for everything they call home. What is isolation worth? Great for fans of Gareth L. Powell, James S. A. Corey, X-Men, Firefly, Mass Effect, and Red Dead Redemption. |
|
"We've found something here, something game-changing…" The explosion at the International Space Station (ISS) forever changed the direction of inventor Tamarind Chase's life. His life mission was to mine asteroids, but when the accident triggers an expanding debris field it strands the scientists at Moonbase Verity including the friend that once saved his life. He must find a way to rescue them and empower the secret they have discovered. "Impact" is the first book in The Pan Nationals series about a group of leaders trained to solve intractable world problems. But what happens when the problems come from beyond our world? |
|
Gates of Mars: Book 1 of the Halo Trilogy by Kathleen McFall What happens after the plutocrats colonize Mars? An interplanetary mystery and a searing critique of the billionaire quest for Mars. Funny, irreverent, a bit hopeful. Plus, giraffes.  IN THE AGE OF SURVEILLANCE, HOW CAN A PERSON GO MISSING? The year is 2187. Crucial Larsen, a veteran of the brutal Consolidation Wars, is working as a labor cop on Earth. The planet is a toxic dump and billions of people are miserable, but so what? It's none of his business. He's finally living a good life, or good enough. But then Essential, his beloved kid sister, disappears on Mars. When Halo--the all-powerful artificial-intelligence overseeing Earth and Mars on behalf of the ruling Five Families--can't (or won't) locate his sister, Crucial races up-universe to find her. In the Choke, the frigid, airless expanse outside the luxury domes, Crucial uncovers a deadly secret from Essential's past that threatens to shatter his apathetic existence...and both planets. Blending science-fiction with the classic, hard-boiled detective story, Gates of Mars is a page-turning, futuristic thrill-ride featuring a gritty, irreverent anti-hero--Crucial Larsen. The first book of the Halo Trilogy, Gates of Mars is the eighth novel by award-winning authors Clark Hays and Kathleen McFall. |
|
What a Piece of Work is Man by David Clark By joining the grafters, Joaquin has become an outcast, part of a group distrusted and hated by the people of Laurim, the last vestige of humankind after the Days of Desolation. But the cybernetically-enhanced grafters have long been a necessary evil that bring stability to the fragile colony. Laurim is thrown into turmoil when news leaks that the recently-landed alien, the only other known life in the galaxy, has died under the care of the grafters. When Joaquin uncovers a conspiracy that would destroy the delicate balance of power, he must make a choice: Will he sacrifice his new identity among the non-grafters for the good of Laurim or will he remain silent? The stakes grow higher when a distress signal from Earth breaks over a century of silence. Are there really other humans left or is it a trick? As part of an envoy to Earth, Joaquin discovers nothing is as it seems, and the fate of not only Laurim, but of all of humanity rests on him forsaking his own humanness. . . |
|
The Star Collector by Matthew William Space-sheriff Joe Corbit has just stumbled upon the greatest artifact in the history of the universe. Too bad it's a threat to our very existence. When a distress call leads Joe to the ruins of a lost, alien civilization, he finds an illegal archaeological dig underway. The Chinese Galactic Empire is working with the Martian mob to smuggle an artifact across state lines. One deadly shoot-out later, and Joe finds himself in sole possession of the curious trinket. His plan is to auction it off to the highest bidder... that is, until he finds out why the Chinese were after it in the first place. They believe it to be an ancient alien super-weapon, a device that has already sent one intergalactic species into extinction. Joe must fend off the powerful Chinese Space Fleet all while trying to figure out how to deactivate the artifact. Otherwise... it will be our turn to go extinct. |
|
The Last Shadow by J.D. Robinson The woman in the alley scratches a symbol into the pavement, then vanishes from the video. Now her desperate father is begging Bas Milius to accept one last case.In 1991, strange things are afoot in Boston. Bas is on the verge of hanging up his hat, until his final client—the missing woman’s father—suddenly claims to be someone else entirely. Someone without a daughter.Across town, Dee Khalaji finds herself seeing visions of someone in the shadows watching a recorded video—one that changes each time it’s played back.In a downtown compound, a secretive couple promises healing to lost souls through compulsory sessions of meditation and dance. But how have they been monitoring each member without the use of cameras? And why does the very first tape in their extensive surveillance collection focus on someone Bas lost a decade ago?A man on a mission to put the pieces together. A nonverbal autistic girl with the ability to see through others’ eyes. A story of identity, connection, and magic, set in a Boston that never was. |
|
The Judas Cypher by Greg Dragon When machine murders man, one detective is the world’s only hope of preventing an all-out-war… Dhata Mays has become used to living on the fringes. Unlike most of humanity, the detective treats the synth population with the respect they deserve. But when a gruesome murder points to a synth as the perpetrator, Dhata must do everything in his power to discover an explanation before the case goes public… In a race against time, Dhata discovers a scheme involving cypher hackers, synth prostitutes, and a pair of rival gang bosses that could tear the city apart. When the case puts his loved ones in harm’s way, the investigation becomes personal. For Dhata to keep the uneasy peace, he’ll have to track down the murderers himself, but no one said he had to take them alive… The Judas Cypher is a sci-fi technothriller with an enticing noir vibe. If you like robust future worlds, action-packed cyberpunk, and mysteries that keep you guessing, then you’ll love Greg Dragon’s electrifying tale. Buy The Judas Cypher to decode the futuristic suspense tale today! |
|
For centuries, humankind has been extinct...until now. Six awoke from a dream, only to find himself in a nightmare. He is the last living human – lost and alone in a city of unrecognizable wonders. A new empire reigns over the Earth, a race of genetically engineered humans so evolved they bear little resemblance to their ancient predecessors. Before Six can get his bearings in this strange new world, he is framed for a heinous crime and exiled into the deadly wasteland beyond the city walls. As he struggles to survive in this hostile environment, and memories of his past slowly resurface, Six discovers that he has been marked for death. The empire has a secret, one so devastating its own people would be executed if they knew. Can Six decipher the hidden world of new Earth before they wipe out what is left of humanity? Grab The Ancestor today and let the adventure begin! |
|
Smokepit Fairytales by Tripp Ainsworth An adventure tale for our times, the author combines real world events and supernatural elements in the style of a classical epic to tell a sometimes snarky, sometimes uproarious, and very poignant modern tale. Meet Hank Allensworth and Wilson Evans in a modern reflection of the Epic of Gilgamesh. An epic bromance between a Marine and his corpsman running around Oceanside, California . Degenerate Lance Corporals who have recently returned from Afghanistan, spending most of their time drunk at The Purple Church. One night while they're out drinking they are called back to base and the battalion is put on stand by because during the conflict with ISIS, the Islamic Republic of Iran decided to end the proxy war and get involved themselves. Soon after, Hank and Doc go with the regiment to keep the Iranians from crossing the Euphrates. The war kicks off and the Marines push across Iraq and into Iran. Hank and Doc both are wounded and sent home. The rest of the story they deal with survivor's guilt, alcoholism, PTSD, covering up for a murder, and trying to manage deteriorating love lives. I don't know if I could say there's any deeper meaning than gratuitous sex and violence, but I can guarantee you that if you've spent more than three days in an infantry battalion you will love this book. |
|
CYGNUS AWARD FINALIST DANTE ROSSETTI AWARD FINALIST Neworld Papers is brimming with action, adventure, and a touch of New Adult romance grounded solidly in thought-provoking science fiction. Is revealing the truth worth the disruption of a society? Fallon lives in a peaceful world that has no concept of war, or murder, or even love. It is a society that prohibits histories and pledges itself to "The Service of Today and the Building of Tomorrow." Just weeks before he reaches adulthood, Fallon is torn from his sheltered life as a ward of the state. He is drawn into a subversive group that needs his secret talents and he quickly becomes a chronicler of discoveries that threaten to destroy the very fabric of Neworld. Can Fallon handle the weight of the new responsibilities thrust upon him while he navigates relationships with the feisty redhead Aidan and raven-haired beauty Lenore? This volume includes first two Neworld stories: The Historian's Tale and The Warriors' Tale. You can check out their reviews when deciding to buy this volume. |
|
No Lack of Sunshine by Eric Kay A Hard Sci-Fi Novel With a Hopeful Twist "If Red Mars was half the length and infused with The Martian with a touch of Bobverse." Warm, tropical weather, strong gusts of wind, poisonous air, and metallic-tasting seas that kill more organisms than it breeds — yet, life on the South Island goes about as well as it can. There was a reason why Earth colonized this place. Everything is familiar, consistent — consistency is a welcome reprieve, and Ava’s planet has plenty of it. The fifth to be born among the stars, Ava sets forth to make a name for herself despite this obscure claim to fame. Being raised by emotionless, loveless robots doesn’t exactly merit a natural flair for spontaneity or empathy, but Ava makes do. At the very least, she tries to. Her life is here on South Island, where the sea represents freedom and the air symbolizes a dangerous kind of thrill. But now, her existence is under threat. The autonomous supply ship fails to deliver. With only a few weeks’ worth of oxygen left, Ava and her beau must embark on a journey to retrieve more. However, what once was a straightforward quest slowly morphs into one rife with ambush. Something has affected the robots’ advanced processors, causing them to spiral into a fruitless quest for an artifact that may not even exist. And the more they wait, the more Ava’s in peril. Will Ava be able to save herself and her colony from asphyxiation? Will the robots prove too strong, too cunning to be overcome? Or will Ava succumb to her own resentful demons and allow her personal battles to take center stage? |
|
Defective. Fierce. A lonely survivor. When Oto didn’t connect to the system at adolescence like everyone else, his dreams for racing his way off-planet shattered into a million little pieces. A chance encounter out in the Wilds will fix his broken parts and set him back on the path to escaping his terrible life—but not in ways he could have ever expected. With new friends that he’ll have to learn to trust, and a race car to cultivate, Oto’s in over his head. But that’s never stopped him before. He’s going to go up against the city’s best and most dangerous racers to guarantee, once and for all, that he cannot be ignored. Zero Car is a SciFi Litrpg Cultivation mix with sentient cars and lots of character. |
|
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. |
|
Pale Boundaries by Scott Cleveland Where do you go after you're torn from the only planet you've ever called home? What do you do when your new home despises foreigners? Who do you blame when they kill someone you care about....and how do you take revenge? Terson Reilly knew things would be different on Nivia. But he wasn't prepared for the draconian environmental laws, harsh population control measures or the prejudice against outsiders-and they didn't expect what he was willing to do to defend himself. Terson finds love when he meets Virene, an independent young woman chafing under the strict social controls herself. The couple do their best to conform, but their rebellious streak leads them beyond the colony's boundaries where their attempt to rescue the crew of a crashed spacecraft unwittingly sets in motion a chain of events that threatens to expose not only Nivia's dark secret, but that of a powerful criminal organization as well. |
|
Can you tell Fake from true? A thriller depicting reality and sci fi, what is true and what is fake? A fancy laboratory researching cures for life changing diseases, but what goes on behind the scenes? Is anything authentic these days? Virtual reality unlimited. From fake news to genetically programmed babies, follow the thrilling chase to uncover the secrets behind the news. |
|
What Branches Grow by T.S. Beier A boldly imagined, exhilarating quest through post-apocalyptic America, where human nature is torn between the violent desperation to survive and the desire to forge connection. Thirty-five years ago, the world was ravaged by war. Delia, driven from her home in Savannah by loss, travels North in search of a future. Gennero is tortured by his violent past and devotion to his hometown. Ordered to apprehend Delia, he follows her into the post-apocalyptic landscape. The wasteland is rife with dangers for those seeking to traverse it: homicidal raiders, dictatorial leaders, mutated humans, and increasingly violent and hungry wildlife. What Branches Grow is an unflinching depiction of life after civilization, where, above all else, trust is the hardest thing to achieve and to give. The survivors have an audacious dream of a better life, but their quest may end up being a fruitless endeavour in a world openly hostile to hope. |
|
Quantum Space by Douglas Phillips Space turned out to be deeper than anyone imagined. High above the windswept plains of Kazakhstan, three astronauts on board a Russian Soyuz capsule begin their reentry. A strange shimmer in the atmosphere, a blinding flash of light, and the capsule vanishes in a blink as though it never existed. On the ground, evidence points to a catastrophic failure, but a communications facility halfway around the world picks up a transmission that could be one of the astronauts. Tragedy averted, or merely delayed? A classified government project on the cutting edge of particle physics holds the clues, and with lives on the line, there is little time to waste. Daniel Rice is a government science investigator. Marie Kendrick is a NASA operations analyst. Together, they must track down the cause of the most bizarre event in the history of human spaceflight. They draw on scientific strengths as they plunge into the strange world of quantum physics, with impacts not only to the missing astronauts, but to the entire human race. If you liked the authenticity of The Martian, the page-turning pace of Da Vinci Code, and the inspirational world view of Arthur C. Clarke, you'll love Quantum Space. A mind-bending journey from the ultra-small to the vast stage of the Milky Way. |
|
Starlight Seized by China Dennington Two storytellers separated by decades Could the story of the past be the key to saving the future? Don't miss this clean YA science-fiction read perfect for fans of Shannon Hale and Megan Whalen Turner! Maris Hall's name isn't spoken. Her writings were burned. Her images erased because of the horrendous thing she did. As a third-generation inhabitant of the red desert planet Erimost, Tessa Hall ironically knows precious little about her own family history, despite being the city historian. When she discovers the journal of her grandmother, the first historian, she slowly comes to realize that the secrets of the past might be the key to saving the present. It speaks of aliens who feed on stories and devastating famines. Are the contents true or simply the ramblings of a madwoman? Mysteriously cut off from communication with the home planet decades prior and with a limited supply of the medicine that helps them tolerate the harsh environment, the people of Erimost are in a precarious position. In a race to understand herself and the planet she's always despised, what secrets will Tessa uncover? |
|
This is a work of neurodiverse, culturally diverse, gender-bendy, socio-politico-economic, drunken-arguments-in-the-pub science fiction – not bang-bang-pew-pew science fiction. Other stories will take you to Mars. This one will take you inside the boardroom, the pub, and the bedroom with the people planning the mission. Gurdeep is an engineer and a soldier. Georgie’s a food scientist. One is pragmatic with a tough outer shell; the other's an optimist, a person of ideas and compassion. In the span of a single afternoon, the couple find themselves in charge of planning a self-sustaining colony on Mars. Together, they’re humanity’s last hope for survival. They have 160 slots to fill with experts from all over the world as they set about designing an all-new society with its own government, economy, and culture – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Among those chosen for the mission is Devon, an autistic scientist with a unique skill set who finds life on Earth strange and alienating. Maybe a whole new planet is exactly what's needed. With 1,114 days until the launch, excitement and tensions run high. Earth’s second chance hangs in the balance. Between strict genetic requirements and the dangers of the dystopian almost-present, will everyone make it to the final countdown? |
|
The future is not assured. The near future was a world of technological chaos until Oreste Pax invented the augmented/virtual reality glasses known as the Univiz. Now he’s working on a brain-computer interface he believes will revolutionize human cognition. But when a vicious computer virus attacks the Internet of Things and threatens to tear civilization apart at the seams, Pax is forced to help deal with the crisis. He meets Alethia, the leader of a secret society who reveals a devastating truth to Pax and forces him to make a choice that will affect the future of the human race. |
|
Delphine Descends by Darrel Moore After her family is killed and her homeworld occupied, young Kathreen Martin is sent to the distant world of Furoris for re-education. She will live the rest of her life as a serf – to be bought and sold as a commodity of the Imperial Network. When her only chance of escape is ruined, a chance mistaken identity offers her a new life as the orphaned daughter of a First-Citizen Senator and heiress to a vast fortune. She vows to claw her way into power to sit among the worlds’ elite. Then, with her own hands, she will reap bloody vengeance on them all. But, to beat them she must play their game. She must become worse than them all. Power corrupts ~ Innocence is lost ~ Vengeance makes monsters of us all |
|
Company Daughter by Cal Primer A girl, a saucepan, a plan to conquer the universe. Aleta Dinesen doesn't see the point of hanging around home, not when she can cook a mean paella. But her plans to conquer the universe one meal at a time run afoul of her overprotective father, commander of a tough mercenary company. And when he puts his foot down, he's got the firepower to back it up. Undeterred, Aleta escapes the dreadnaught she calls home one step ahead of the gorgeous, highly disapproving Lieutenant Park, the unlucky young officer tasked with hauling her back. But the universe isn't the safe place she thought it was. Stranded in a dangerous mining community, she clings to survival by her fingernails. Only by working with someone she can't stand will she have a chance to escape, proving to everyone that a teenage cook can be the most dangerous force in the universe. |
|
The Dark That Dwells by Matt Digman and Ryan Roddy The first installment in an immersive new space opera series combining the epic scale of the original Star Wars trilogy and the ensemble-cast adventure of Firefly in a world where alien technologies, hidden magic, and ancient evils push the limits of reality itself. Beyond the edge of known space, the Frontier awaits four souls... Fall Arden, freelance Ranger for hire, wields an unbreakable sword and a mechanized bow. Low on funds, he's taken a job on a dangerous expedition, one that promises a hefty reward. But danger lurks in the Frontier, a fact his employer refuses to acknowledge. Ban Morgan, leader of an Alidian marine squad, fights to regain his honor. But the man who ruined him stands in his way. As he prepares for the orbital assault on an enemy installation, he draws strength from the words of an ancient knight's order, one he dreamt of joining before he lost his way. Tieger of Westmarch, Malleus Maleficarum of the Elcosian faith, hunts down the arcanist witches wherever they may flee. Using the mighty gifts of his god, Elcos, and a technologically advanced ship predating the dawn of history, he scours the stars for his prey, burning a path to their hidden world. Sidna Orin, a mercurial young arcanist, searches for the power to save her people. In a lost temple on a forgotten world, she's closer than ever to finding what she seeks. Able to harness the dual forces of fire and lightning, she won't let anything, or anyone, stand in her way. Forced together by fate on paths that collide in chaos, they must fight to survive in a galaxy on the brink of war. As their stories interweave in love and hate, redemption and revenge, one threat will eclipse their greatest fears: a being of utter darkness and its imminent return. THE DARK THAT DWELLS: a thrilling debut that blends science fiction and fantasy, essential for readers craving a robust, character-driven saga set against the backdrop of an expansive universe with deep world-building at its core. |
|
The Flight of the Kingfisher by Chloe Garner Smuggling is supposed to be the kind of job where you're in, you're out, and no one ever knew you were there. Simple. Boring, even. But that's only when you're doing it right. Unfortunately, Avery and the rest of the crew of the Kingfisher have hit a snag, one in the form of a strange woman living in a hallway ceiling at Installation 23, and from there on out, it seems like they're ever only one jump ahead of the next guy looking to kill them. Increasingly enmeshed in complex politics and missing their blissful ignorance, the crew of the Kingfisher are going to have to make some hard decisions about what role they really want to play in galactic events, and just how far from their mundane world of weapons smuggling they're willing to venture. Climb aboard. The flight of the Kingfisher is about to begin. |
|
Crystal Deception by Doug J. Cooper Book 1 of the Crystal Series Criss lives in a special kind of prison. He can see and hear everything around the world, yet a mesh restrains his reach, forcing his cooperation. His creator, Dr. Jessica Tallette, believes his special abilities offer great promise for humanity. But she fears the consequences of freeing him, because Criss, a sentient artificial intelligence with the intellect of a thousand humans, is too powerful to control. Tallette’s world is upended when the Kardish, a race of alien traders, announce that they want Criss for themselves, expressing their desires with ominous undertones. She turns to the Union of Nations for help, and they task Sid, a special agent, with leading the response. Sid believes that Criss is Earth’s greatest weapon and asks him to confront the Kardish. But can the AI be trusted? And what is humanity’s role if an interstellar battle among titans starts to rage? Download Crystal Horizon for Free at: www.crystalseries.com Keywords: science fiction, space thriller, artificial intelligence, military adventure, strong women, sentient AI, alien contact, space fleet, light romance, crystal series |
|
Go big or go home. For privateer Captain Magdalene Landon, it's all about going big. For Kay Ellis, it's about getting home. Together, they're about to architect the most daring heist in the galaxy. Kay knows too much. She knows it’s a matter of time before a Conglomerate hitman finds her. She’s desperate for safe passage back to Union space. Then Magdalene shows up, promising a way home in exchange for that information. It’s a risky bet, but Kay is out of options. So she strikes a deal: the heist of the century for her freedom. Kay is playing a dangerous game, and she knows it. She’s made herself Enemy Number One of the Conglomerate. She’s relying on privateers for her safety. It’s a fool’s game. But the worst part is, her fool’s heart is starting to warm to the enigmatic captain. And that’s a risk for which she hadn’t planned.(Cover by May Dawney Designs) |
|
They Say the Ends Justify The Means When Menrva, a geneticist in the subterranean city of survivors known as Bunker, responds to a call for help from Cowl, her former best friend, and Bas, a renegade cyborg, she makes a vital mistake and places all three of them in danger. As they struggle to escape City guards, cyborg soldiers, desperate scavengers, and ravenous aliens, they find in each other something they never expected: family. During a battle, an attacking cyborg manages to overcome her programming just long enough to deliver a cryptic message. The trio is forced to decide if they will risk death - or worse, capture - to seek out the truth about the City, or if they will fight only for themselves. This fast-paced, gritty first book of the Malfunction Trilogy introduces a future caught between destruction and oppression, where Menrva and her friends must decide if the ends justify the means. |