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.
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Alone. Lost. Hunted. Pulled from chill waters, she doesn’t tell her rescuer that someone’s trying to kill her. Nor that capture would be far worse. She doesn’t tell him – because she can’t. She doesn’t remember. Why though was Mason Dane in New Francisco Bay in the middle of the night? Was it entirely by luck that he lifted her from its cold embrace? Who is he? Can she trust him? Can she trust herself? With her odd behaviors, her strange abilities… is she even human? It’s 2063, decades after magic’s return. Hunted and on the run, it’s not the shadowy Department she should fear: it’s those who stole her memories. That inner void however, that emptiness, has drawn the attention of uncanny forces. For humanity, the risk is Freedom itself. But for one lost girl – annihilation. When all is darkest, she shines most bright. |
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The Gaia Effect by Claire Buss In City 42 Corporation look after you from cradle to grave. They protect you from the radiation outside the wall. They control the food, the water, the technology and most important of all, the continuation of the human race. Kira and Jed Jenkins were lucky enough to win Collection but when their friends start falling pregnant naturally, everything changes. How long has Corporation been lying to them? Is it really toxic outside the wall? As the group comes to terms with the changes in their lives they discover there is a much more powerful and ancient force at work, trying to bridge the gap between man and nature. |
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Fresh and surprising on every level, IRON TRUTH is an epic science fiction adventure with a twist of cosmic horror, bursting with staggering world-building, unremitting action and memorable characters. When miners on a remote colony dig too deep, the golden age of space exploration comes to a bloody end. A corruption springs from Xanthe's alien soil, possessing every mind it touches. Embroiled in civil war, the galactic community spirals into panic, and the Primaterre Protectorate seizes control. In order to preserve Earth, its surface is quarantined, and all further deep space colonisation is outlawed. Aboard one of the last colony ships, junior botanist Joy Somerset slumbers in cryostasis, unaware of war and corruption. Expecting the clear skies of a garden colony, she instead wakes stranded on Cato - a planet whose menacing sands seem to share a hunger with the crazed locals - and Joy faces mortal peril at every turn. Commander Cassimer, troubled by a past of epic proportions, is a Primaterre veteran dedicated to fighting the corruption. Now he leads Scathach Banneret Company's elite strike team on a mission to recover a clandestine starship lost on Cato. On this storm-lashed world, surrounded by shadow and ruin, Cassimer faces not only failure, but the loss of what little sanity he has. Joy and Cassimer must trust each other long enough to uncover Cato's dark secret and work together to survive deranged cultists, terrorist rebels, and the IRON TRUTH. |
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Along the Perimeter by Steven Healt A caustic fog blankets the Earth. Only the transparent barrier known as the Shield holds it at bay. It is the Amboians—an advanced alien species—and their technology that saved the last remnants of Humanity from the deadly Haze. Cordelia Faucher, a scavenger known as the Haze Walker, has a secret she must keep hidden. Carter Gerro, one of the few Humans allowed among the City Guard is unexpectedly chosen to protect a member of the Amboian Council. A mercenary group known as the Amber Waves find themselves in over their heads after accepting a job they couldn't pass up. As disturbing reports of attacks from beyond the perimeter of the Shield reach the capital city of Amboy, all eyes turn eastward. It is these events that bring together the Haze Walker, a City Guardsman, and a band of mercenaries. |
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The Dawn Cluster I: Detriment by Mark J. Schultis "Military SF, galactic intrigue, and a fight for survival: The Dawn Cluster I: Detriment is action-packed with twists and turns. The start of an exciting series." —Tom Sweterlitsch, author of The Gone World and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. Terik Donato has lost his place in the universe. Casting aside a promising career, years spent in fleeting pursuit of truth has left him with nothing. But an ill-timed visit to the Sacramento, a space vessel well past her prime, could change everything for the former Mako-6 agent. Terik’s arrival vexes many on board, including Captain Garett Soness, but when both a terrorist attack and a bizarre anomaly catch the skeleton crew off guard, all onboard must band together. Soon the surviving crew members of the Sacramento find themselves halfway across the galaxy, stranded on a planet where humans are not as alien as the crew would think. Their stay may be brief, as a brutal species seeks to enslave all in its path and kill all that resist. Terik Donato and Garett Soness will find themselves tested in the face of death, forced to become either the men they were meant to be, or the monsters they always feared they were. Survival takes its toll in this first volume of The Dawn Cluster. About THE DAWN CLUSTER: Spanning three novels, THE DAWN CLUSTER is a tale of tragedy, revenge, fortitude and hope. It is a rousing space opera that follows a fledgling crew, longing to survive after being inexplicably displaced to the center of the galaxy. Hunted by a relentless warlord, their fate hinges on the choices of two men, both of whom teeter between valor and self-destruction. |
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Cuzak Rudir is the newly crowned King of the Specter Alliance. His coronation has left the position as head of the military empty. When he decides to promote his longtime friend, Gregor, over his own brother, Destor, the King's brother takes matters into his own hands. Destor travels to the Alliance's adversary, Mars, and returns with an enemy fleet and a mind for revenge. Amidst the fighting a discovery is made. A book written generations ago, foretelling the war and depicting Cuzak as a hero with supernatural abilities. Now, Cuzak must come to grips with his role in the prophecy as he tries to protect his people from his traitorous brother. But what is driving his brother's actions? Is it simply anger, or an even more mysterious force, long forgotten by the people of Specter? Prophecy is the first book in The Ghost Wars Saga, a series that blends the science fiction and fantasy genres into an action packed adventure of space ships and dragons, lasers and magic. |
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Killing Dragons by Kristie Clark "A smart, science fiction thriller that will have readers looking twice at dolphins - and scanning the waters for something far more menacing. Highly recommended." - Chanticleer Reviews In a world where sea dragons terrorize dolphins, you enter the reef at your own risk. Marine biologist Eva Paz is on the verge of revolutionizing linguistics by cracking the dolphin communication code. Then police call her away to investigate a dead fisherman. It's her mother's boyfriend, but Eva is running out of time to complete her dolphin whistle library by the deadline, putting her grant at risk. Without funding, her dolphins will soon be turned loose in the deadly Caribbean. A cartel leader makes Eva an offer she can't refuse. He'll fund her dolphin research if she'll help him capture the sea dragon. His aid comes with a catch, and he doesn't count the cost. Then geneticist Thomas Sternberg arrives on sabbatical to lead a dive school. He wants to help Eva, but they share a tragic past. While on his watch as a Navy Seal, Eva's brother was killed, and her dolphin was wounded. Eva doesn't trust Thomas, but can she set that aside to work with him to stop the sea dragon and save her dolphins? For fans of Jaws and Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park, Killing Dragons is book one in Kristie Clark's Order of the Dolphin series. Buy Killing Dragons to join Eva and her dolphins on their adventures today! Book club questions included. May be read as a standalone, but Killing Dragons is best enjoyed with the other Order of the Dolphin series books: Dragon Gold and Dragon Clan. |
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Mantivore Dreams by S.J. Higbee On a colony planet, in a hot, dusty village where no one wants to live, is someone who was exiled there a long time ago. Someone who stole something so precious, others are prepared to lie, kidnap and murder to get it back. Drawn into this web of deceit is Kyrillia, a teenager who dreams of running the village’s branch of the Node, the planetwide organic information system, but instead drudges for her mother… Seth, member of the disgraced Priest family who can read and write, but instead toils as a day labourer on the smelliest, most thankless jobs in the village, in exchange for scraps of food and temporary shelter… And Vrox, an ancient, sentient alien who lives only in Kyrillia’s imagination, or so she thinks... When Kyrillia sneaks into the Node and opens up a forbidden site, she triggers a chain of events that not only rips through her own life, but affects those living thousands of miles away in the capital. For when something so precious goes missing, others will stop at nothing to get it back. For fans who enjoy Lois McMaster Bujold |
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Dusk by Ashanti Luke In the year 2500, humanity has become so technologically advanced that overpopulation has led to an Earth too arrogant to acknowledge its own failures. With the Earth overpopulated and polluted, a group of twenty premier scientists must depart on a mission to explore Asha—a distant, uninhabited planet that may offer solutions to humanity’s burgeoning problems. But when they arrive at Asha, the scientists are brusquely greeted by a mysterious human military force that imprisons them with no explanation. They find that during their journey, a faster ship not only delivered humans to Asha, but those humans defeated Earth in an interplanetary civil war. With this war and the discovery of an inexplicable link to mankind’s past, the team finds Asha holds more mysteries than answers. Astrophysicist Cyrus Chamberlain is among those who left behind their old lives and risked everything on this journey. Unfortunately for Dr. Chamberlain, he finds that even if he survives the many challenges this new world holds for him, he may have already lost more than he ever imagined. |
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Symphony Under Siege by Stephen Hall 512 years in the future. Not your typical Thursday morning. Five centuries from now, ex-navy officer Diana Singh commands the monumental luxury spaceliner the 'Symphony of the Stars'. None of her crew knows that their ship is smuggling a treasure worth millions. None of them knows which one of them is the serial killer. As Captain Singh pilots the mighty cruise ship back to base, she races to unmask the murderer in their midst before they can kill again. So, not the most convenient time to be attacked by pirates... "I am Captain Salazar Sharp, here to claim what is wrongfully mine!" For the flamboyant leader of the pirates, infiltrating the 'Symphony' is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But the secret treasure that could make him and his crew filthy rich is only the beginning; his ultimate goal is a far greater prize... 'Symphony Under Siege' is a witty sci-fi adventure packed with heroic exploits, twists and turns, nail-biting cliffhangers and daring escapes. If you like rollicking, fast-paced sci-fi with a sense of humour, then you'll love this exuberant debut novel from veteran TV comedy writer Stephen Hall. Buy 'Symphony Under Siege' today, and get on board the adventure! |
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The 5th Gender by Gail Carriger A species that has no word for murder has a murderer aboard their spaceship! New York Times bestselling romantic comedy author Gail Carriger (writing as G.L. Carriger) brings you a light-hearted science fiction mystery featuring an adorable lavender alien and his human crush. ALIEN Tristol lives in exile. But he’s built a life for himself aboard a massive space station. He’s even begun to understand the complex nuances of human courting rituals. Detective Hastion is finally flirting back! MURDER Except that Tristol’s beloved adopted home is unexpectedly contacted by the galoi – a xenophobic species with five genders, purple skin, and serious attitude. They need the help of a detective because there’s a murderer aboard their spaceship. Murder is so rare, the galoi don’t even have a word for it. Tristol knows this because he is galoi. ROMANCE Which means that he and Detective Hastion are on the case… together. "This is a fun, funny, sexy book, and I’m so happy it exists. It hits you in the feels, makes you laugh and cry, and makes you think about matters of family, kin, and the heart." ~ Bookriot |
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Gunships and Goodbyes by Casey White McCallister was done with the galaxy. The galaxy wasn’t quite done with him. When the Tamani blew a hole in his ship, his friend, and his career, Richard McCallister called it quits. No more TerraCorp work. No more cheerfully donning the uniform and pretending he couldn’t see the cracks in the bulkheads around him. From that moment, he’d be his own man again. Until the message came – a whisper, carried through the few contacts he had left to the Dust, the farthest reaches of settled space. A warning that the Tamani had returned. When it arrives, McCallister is presented with a choice: He can run, hiding in a darker corner of the universe that the Tamani haven’t found yet. He can stay moving, and stay alive. Or he can turn back, straight into the maw of their approaching doom, and pluck his friend’s legacy from its teeth. Winning means honoring his partner’s memory. Losing means sharing his fate. The choice is his. |
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Coyle and Fang: Curse of Shadows by robert adauto III The year is 1892. A mythical book has been stolen, and the fate of mankind rests in the hands of two exceptional women: a brilliant detective and a deadly vampire. But they discover things are never that simple as they face a world much more dangerous than either could have imagined. Between enemies within and enemies without, can Coyle and Fang stop a madman before it kills hundreds of thousands? |
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Steal the Reaper by Todd Hosea "A fun mix of military thriller and sci-fi adventure!" The most advanced warship on Earth is not from this world. Captain Ava Tan's mission is to steal it. A mysterious spacecraft has crashed in a remote, mountainous region of North Korea. The ship is now in the hands of a tyrannical dictator who will stop at nothing to unlock its secrets and bring the West to its knees. As tensions rise in the wake of this threat, North Korea’s Supreme Leader is unaware that a small, prototype vessel, known as the Reaper, lays hidden within the wreckage. Its ingenious purpose could either save humanity or lead to its extinction. Meanwhile, Captain Ava Tan is recruited for the boldest mission in military history: Steal the Reaper. Her orders are to infiltrate North Korea—the most isolated country on the planet—avoid triggering World War III, and pilot an alien vessel that is light years beyond anything she has ever flown. It is a suicide mission that will test Ava’s courage and force her to decide where her loyalties truly lie. Earth’s fate hangs in the balance and the clock is ticking. |
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Escape From B-Movie Hell by M T McGuire If you asked Andi Turbot whether she had anything in common with Flash Gordon she'd say no, emphatically. Saving the world is for dynamic, go-ahead, leaders of men and while it would be nice to see a woman getting involved for a change, she believes she could be the least well-equipped being in her galaxy for the job. Then her best friend, Eric, reveals that he is an extraterrestrial. He's not just any ET either. He's Gamalian: seven-foot, lobster-shaped and covered in Marmite-scented goo. Just when Andi's getting used to that he tells her about the Apocalypse and really ruins her day. The human race will perish unless Eric's Gamalian superiors step in. Abducted and trapped on an alien ship, Andi must convince the Gamalians her world is worth saving. Or escape from their clutches and save it herself. |
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A THRILLING space adventure that hits the ground running and unfolds unlike anything you've seen before! In a foreboding future, the United Earth Government brands its citizens and dictates what they are allowed to do. The stars are the only refuge of freedom left in a world where all countries are one. World War Four, mankind's first galactic war, left humanity divided and Earth a regulated, classist society that brands its people based on their genetics. Two decades later, an alien from beyond our universe arrives on Earth and interrupts events already in motion, rearranging the unseen threads that weave human lives together. Mike, a space-faring pirate on a rescue mission encounters the alien being and a pair of displaced teenagers, Natalie and Will. In a galaxy reeling from the wounds of a recent war, the incident sets his crew on a collision course with a tenacious and unsavory special agent kept in check by an idealistic officer from the Ministry of Science. |
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Otherworlders by Angela Cavanaugh When a virus threatens humanity with extinction, the desperate and dwindling number of uninfected seek refuge in a parallel universe. The technology is untested. The other universe is unprepared and one thing is made violently clear: they are not wanted. As a fatal virus mutates and threatens to kill all life forms on Earth, Special Agent Williams conspires to send the healthy away. After space travel and going underground are ruled out, all that remains is the theoretical technology of an autistic savant: escaping to a parallel universe. But when they travel to the other dimension, their arrival is met with suspicion and hatred. To evade persecution, experimentation, and to save their lives, the Otherworlders must find a way to escape, survive, and outwit Agent Williams's murderous double. |
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The Enodia Enigma by Christopher J Wright Enodia – an obscure, unimportant world. As humanity emerges from a galactic dark age, Amber Stefans is drawn to the newly rediscovered planet. What starts as academic curiosity grows more urgent when an ancient superstition proves to have sinister roots. Navy Lieutenant Yorvin Bandrell has a simpler problem – he wants to see his wife and family again. Stranded, his search for a way home unearths a long-buried secret. Amber and Yorvin have never met. They never will. In “The Enodia Enigma” by Christopher J Wright, Amber and Yorvin’s lives are brought together by a mystery that threatens all humanity, unleashing events that will forever change mankind’s place in the universe. |
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Shakedowners by Justin Woolley To boldly go where no losers have gone before... Some starship captains explore strange new worlds, seeking out new life and new civilisations. Some lead missions of discovery through wormholes to the other side of the galaxy. Then there's Captain Iridius B. Franklin, someone who spent too long seeking out strange new bars and new alien cocktails. After graduating bottom of his class at Space Command Academy Iridius Franklin hasn't had the glamorous career he envisioned, instead he hauls cargo ships full of mining waste, alien land whale dung, and artificially intelligent toy dogs across the stars. Iridius does have talent though - he is exceptionally good at breaking starships. So, when not hauling freight, he is captain of a shakedown crew, a skeleton crew used to test newly constructed ships for faults before the real crew takes over. While on a routine shakedown mission aboard the FSC Gallaway, soon to be pride of the Federation Fleet, Earth is attacked by an unknown alien life-form. With the galaxy in chaos, Captain Iridius B. Franklin finds himself, unqualified, understaffed and completely unprepared, in command of the most advanced starship in the galaxy. Now, he just needs to not break it. |
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Gods of the Black Gate by Joseph Sale “There are those who bow to darkness. And there are others to whom darkness bows.” In 2060 Caleb Rogers and his partner Tom Marvin put away one of the most dangerous serial killers Texas has ever known: Craig Smiley, an ex-infantry mental patient who believes he can summon seven gods through a series of disturbing rituals. Caleb and Tom secured him a life sentence in Mars's toughest prison. They thought the whole thing was finished. But when Smiley escapes the prison seven years later and sets out once again on his insane mission, Caleb and Tom are sent to Mars to track him down. Both cop and criminal are determined to finish what they started.Only the criminal will stop at nothing. Gods of the Black Gate is part thriller, part supernatural horror, part sci-fi blockbuster and at its heart: a journey of spiritual descent. |
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Cranax Outbreak by Candice Lim You can run from the zombies but you can’t run from fate. In the alternate 2020, Asia Nova is governed by a group of elite scientists called the Community. In this prime time of genetic engineering, non-academic fields are frowned upon and those who pursue them are deemed the peasants. Roxy isn’t the most motivated student scientist. All she wants is a simple life—to graduate and move back to her idyllic beachside hometown. But the wrestle for power in the Community thrusts her in the path of the covert party who has unleashed the deadly Cranax virus and abducted her high-profile mentor, Dr. Jane Hershey, who has the only known cure. The Infecteds aren’t the only thing Roxy has to run from. With the masterminds behind Project Cranax hot on her heels, Roxy finds herself in an accidental quest to rescue Hershey. And now, all her training will be put to the test. Cranax Outbreak is the first book of the Cranax Outbreak trilogy. |
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PIERCING THE CELESTIAL OCEAN by Kip Koelsch AN EPIC TALE, A CLASH OF TWO UNIVERSES Disgraced scientist, Captain Anton Ekels, seizes the opportunity for redemption he recognizes in the Endeavor’s near-collision with an alien stasis pod. Expelled from the mouth of a remote wormhole, the capsule—once taken onboard the deep space research vessel--reveals clues that the captain believes may link its female humanoid occupant to an alternate reality. A student of Earth’s space exploration history, Ekels quickly recognizes a plaque similar to that attached to the twentieth century’s Pioneer space probes--but the universe described is potentially unlike anything ever encountered by the Intragalactic Science Consortium. SIX-HUNDRED YEARS EARLIER ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORMHOLE Grand Master G’lea and her assistant, Master T’reau, aim their innovative celestiscope skyward and make a heretical discovery. Suppressed and warped by influential P’nesian Clerics, this startling revelation further secures the dominance of the Grand Conclave, enhances the mystery of the Heavenly Visitors and seals the fate of G’lea and T’reau. Despite the best efforts of the Grand Conclave the legend of the Grand Master and her assistant lives on in hand-copied, forbidden books, the furtive whisperings of radical academics and the tall tales of drunken sailors on the island of Lolus. Hundreds of years later, on this oft-denigrated island, unique circumstances unite a sea captain raised on those whispered tall tales with the estranged son of the powerful P’nesian Archcleric. Aboard the Vagus, A’zra and G’regor begin an adventure that not only challenges entrenched religious beliefs, but eventually inspires a much greater scientific leap—towards the Celestial Ocean and beyond. PIERCING THE CELESTIAL OCEAN THE SAGA OF THE CERULEAN UNIVERSE BEGINS |
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The Dark Realm by Anthea Sharp WHEN A GAME… Feyland is the most immersive computer game ever designed, and Jennet Carter is the first to play the prototype. But she doesn’t suspect the virtual world is close enough to touch — or that she’ll be battling for her life against the Dark Queen of the faeries. TURNS REAL…
Tam Linn is the perfect hero — in-game. Too bad the rest of his life is seriously flawed. The last thing he needs is rich-girl Jennet prying into his secrets, insisting he’s the only one who can help her. WINNING IS EVERYTHING…
Together, Jennet and Tam enter the Dark Realm of Feyland, only to discover that the entire human world is in danger. Pushed to the limit of their abilities, they must defeat the Dark Queen… before it’s too late. |
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Condition Evolution by Kevin Sinclair Does your life suck? Need a helping hand? As Shaun’s life continues its downward spiral, he is offered the chance to escape into an epic game world. One with the power to repair his mind and body while he lives out his wildest dreams. What could possibly go wrong? It turns out, fighting monsters and obesity is tough wherever you are! Then there’s the unrequited love. Weren’t the women supposed to fall head over heels with the hero? Not in Anatoli, a brutal and unforgiving land on the brink of apocalypse. If Shaun can survive this all too real experience, he might just get to be a hero back in the real world… Note: This book 1 of the fast-paced genre hopping LitRPG series, Condition Evolution. Be warned! It contains lots of profanity, dark humor, and gratuitous violence. Buckle in. It’s going to be wild! |
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Where Weavers Daire by Robert Bentley Ten years after the last war . . . Across the universe, on the desert world of Stuk’s Hollow, the New Year celebrations are in full swing with gatherings of Houses; the technological, the magical and the mortal. All the while invisible fingers pull the living, the dead and the banished towards the festivities. Salvage hauler Melinda Scott and her family are in the middle of an asteroid belt when her wild ride begins. Necromancer Spence MacGregor awakens from a long slumber only to find himself and his ship on a collision course with the Hollow. Techno Mage Roark Knoll is very dead but that doesn’t stop their adventures. From the cold and dark reaches of space to across the Wailing Sea, something old has been summoned. It’s just a question of who’s going to reach the festivities first and what secrets they will uncover. The Fallen Techno Mage. The Forgotten Weaver. The Lost Leader. The bloodthirsty evil. Welcome to Where Weavers Daire. |
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The Voyage of the White Cloud by Darusha Wehm Can home be a place you’ve never been, a place no one has ever been?The White Cloud is the most audacious experiment the human species has ever undertaken—to search for a new Earth. The ship and its crew exist for a solitary purpose—to reach a distant planet and establish a colony. However, the vast majority of people undertaking this journey will not live to see its result, nor were they part of the decision-making process to leave.A novel-in-stories, following the many generations who make the journey, The Voyage of the White Cloud asks how you can find meaning as a slave to destiny, a mere stepping-stone in history.These are the stories of the most ordinary people on a most extraordinary journey. |
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The Hammond Conjecture by Martin Reed The Hammond Conjecture is an alternative history novel which explores themes of memory, identity and historical narrative. It is also a lot of fun. Are you sure you know who you are? If your memories disappeared and were replaced with someone else's, would you still be you? And what if those memories were not just from another person - but of a different world? London 1982. Regaining consciousness in an isolation ward of catatonic patients, glimpsing the outside world only through a television news bulletin, that is the dilemma facing Hugh Hammond. Gradually Hugh's memories return – of his life as an MI6 officer a decade earlier. But in a world where Britain has been locked since 1941in a lonely Cold War against a fascist-dominated Europe. Are his memories false: delusions, or implanted as part of a mind-control experiment? Or was the television news fake – and if so, why? And what is the role of Carlton, the shadowy Intelligence officer who delivered him to the hospital? Hugh types out his recollections: an adventure which takes him from an opium den in Limehouse, via a hippie encampment in British-occupied North France, to a State Reception for the Deputy Führer in the Durbar Court in Whitehall, and a Le Carré-style climax in the divided city of Paris. Meanwhile in the hospital Hugh struggles to understand his predicament – and to escape from it. But escape only leads him into greater danger… |
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The Elitist Supremacy by Niranjan K Alexander Selwood is hiding many secrets. Being the first immortal is only one of them. He is also hunted by the despotic ruler of Cynfor, Cesar Thaxter -the man ruling the galaxy for centuries. Unknown to Alexander, the group of rebels who had been fighting Thaxter in secret is also seeking to use his company to build a safe haven. He would do anything to keep himself from falling into the clutches of either the Resistance or the Supreme Ruler. When the consequences of his actions cascade into a torrent of events that threatens to engulf him and everyone he cares for in danger, Alexander can't sit on the sidelines any longer. Having stayed out of the conflict for this long, he has to make a choice, but can he handle the repercussions of that decision? |
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Shasta Mountain. Known for its overall strangeness: UFOs, strange lights, and unusual creatures. Perhaps Greer McClelland, the protagonist, lives among the source of these sightings after her car spins out of control while driving to Seattle. Waking up after her accident, she finds herself at the mercy of an underground hybrid alien-human people with special abilities and fascinating history. The Zakota people welcome her, but in doing so has sealed her fate: she’s not allowed to leave. Greer rebels against this, struggling to come to terms with her new reality. Her life takes on as many twists and turns as the dark passageways in the underground cavern where she now lives. She discovers a simple way of life, yet with unexpected advanced technology. As Greer comes to know these people, including two potential love interests, she’s forced to decide between staying with the Zakotas, or escaping back to the outside world. |
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The Road from Antioch by Pierre E. Pettinger Jr. The pilgrim ship Antioch is destroyed just short of the New Vatican. Someone is stealing critical shipments in the Chemosh Empire. Two worlds of the Laanyr Clan Heer have been attacked. Small vessels are buzzing the Rivnyera World Ships. Who is behind these incidents? Terrorists? Rebels? The mysterious Cherek? Or someone else entirely? The nations of the Orion Arm must join forces and find the culprits. The investigation ranges from the space around the planet Ans to the fields of Inohr Dan Nool to the supposedly primitive planet of Cordwainer. Join an Admiral, a Catholic Sister, a Knight Militant, an Ensign, a Great Mind, an Inspector and a Herdmaster as they seek out the perpetrators of these odd occurrences. |
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No Easy Road (Concordia Series Book 1) by Greg Camp Five years in the Centauri Royal Navy has earned Lieutenant Thomas Cochrane the disapproval of his superiors. And when his captain dies in an accident that Tom is unable to prevent, the young officer finds himself without a posting and without a future. Unless he can make a destiny of his own. Bertrand Lile spends his days in the shadows, obeying the orders of a clandestine society while harboring his own secret, his belief that a distant enemy is weaving its tentacles into the heart of the Centauri Empire. But his time to prove this is running short. This first book in the Concordia Series starts the friendship of Tom and Bertrand set against a culture satisfied with its own traditions. Caught between pirates who want to kill them and their supposed comrades who could end their careers, they seek to save their worlds that do not yet know of the looming dangers. And they find that no matter what the destination, the journey has no easy road. |
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In My Memory Locked by Jim Nelson They hired a cyberpunk detective to recover their stolen memories. They didn’t know his twisted past is the key to the crime. Security expert C.F. Naroy's investigation across a desolate San Francisco uncovers blackmail, political intrigue, family secrets, and a few dead bodies. Meanwhile, he has to keep tabs on a beautiful young programmer addicted to Blue Pharje, a substance used to forget your past in a world where nothing is forgotten. He also learns the hard way that the stolen data is so explosive, people are willing to kill for it. Then Naroy discovers his own painful past is the key to the entire affair. He must choose between solving the crime…or burying it for good. In My Memory Locked is perfect for fans of Blade Runner, Raymond Chandler, Ghost in the Shell, William Gibson, When Gravity Fails, and Altered Carbon. |
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Spacefarer: Fanatic's Bane by Edmund de Wight When Free Agent Malbane of the Interstellar Trade Commonwealth is summoned to the galaxy's largest space station to quell racial strife she encounters sinister forces willing to destroy civilization to fight forces they believe to be from Hell itself. Whether dealing with terrorists, a homicidal priest, race riots, or invading aliens, it's just another day in the life of a Free Agent. The Human and Narath races have been at peace for over 300 years but horrific killings could spark a new race war. If Malbane can't defuse the situation it could mean the end of the Commonwealth. But life is never simple - even for a Free Agent. Standing in her way are bureaucrats, terrorists, corrupt cops, religious zealots, a former lover and the vanguard of an alien invasion. It's high action space opera with the gritty feel of a spy thriller. Climb aboard and meet the new face of action-adventure in outer space. Perfect for fans of the fast-paced danger of the Aliens franchise, Jason Bourne, or the military space adventures of Honor Harrington. |
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The StarMaster's Son by Gabriel Morales “Reminds me of Banks' Culture War series, with more developed humor.” -Duane, beta reader "A Game of Thrones in Space." -Amazon Customer review The most powerful man in the universe has died under mysterious circumstances, and now the StarMaster's underachieving son must save his empire from collapse... When Felik Ullon inherits the StarMaster’s prized ship, what seems like a blessing launches him into a universe of schemers, dark dealings, and truths too uncomfortable for even a black hole to swallow. If Felik is going to survive, he'll have to discover how his father died, uncover an alien conspiracy, and prevent his brothers from plunging the galaxy into civil war. Meanwhile, across space and time, the bold and cocky inquisitor Kai tracks the biggest bounty of her life, hoping to restore her family’s reputation. Yet killing her target may require unleashing an ancient threat that could dissolve the fabric of the cosmos. This is a universe both shrinking and expanding at its own pace. The more you think you know, the less you know. And the less you know, the better. If you’re a fan of the politics of The Expanse, The Interdependency, and Dune, download The StarMaster’s Son for a space opera thriller full of drama, politics, and laughs! |
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Lost Solace by Karl Drinkwater Lost Solace was a semifinalist in the international SPSFC science fiction competition in 2022. Sometimes spaceships disappear with everyone on board - the Lost Ships. But sometimes they come back, strangely altered, derelict, and rumoured to be full of horrors. Opal is on a mission. She's been seeking something her whole life. Something she is willing to die for. And she thinks it might be on a Lost Ship. Opal has stolen Clarissa, an experimental AI-controlled spaceship, from the military. Together they have tracked down a Lost Ship, in a lonely nebula far from colonised space. The Lost Ship is falling into the gravity well of a neutron star, and will soon be truly lost ... forever. Legends say the ships harbour death, but there's no time for indecision. Opal gears up to board it. She's just one woman, entering an alien and lethal environment. But perhaps with the aid of Clarissa's intelligence - and an armoured spacesuit - Opal may stand a chance. Ideal for fans of sentient AI ships (such as Brandon Sanderson's Skyward books), while the creepy, derelict Lost Ships evoke Kristine Kathryn Rusch's Diving series. |
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Speech is illegal. Punishable by death.The doctor took your voice away mere minutes after you were born. Even your mother couldn't hear your cries. Now, over two hundred years after the “Silent Night” bill, people go about their lives, flicking and tapping away at their communication pads while carefully choosing each word so they don't end up like the ones with missing fingers or entire hands. For years, Rose was the same as everyone around her - nervous when Civility Agents requested a meeting or terrified when Voice Agents rounded people up for interrogation.But, when everything she holds dear is ripped away from her, she has no choice but to run and join the one group she was taught to fear... the Rebellion. |
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The year is 3716. Earth’s resources are depleted. Humanity has been forced into a 21st century computer simulation, controlled by Ikelos, AI at its most terrifying. A seedbank lost to time in the frozen wastelands of a Norwegian island is mankind’s last hope for survival. Jon Stone, a New York physicist, has been extracted out of the simulation by another scientist, Tori. With no memory of Tori or his past life, Jon must trust her as they re-enter the simulation to locate, somewhere in this dangerous, illusionary world, the island’s co-ordinates. Can they avoid the traps in the matrix, find what they seek, and return to the 38th century in time to save humanity before the final extinction? |
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Sped-Bot: DroidMesh Trilogy Book 1 by Billy DeCarlo All work and no play makes an android a dull toy. The remnants of human civilization create their own utopia on an alien planet. A brilliant robotic scientist breaks the rules in an attempt to make his impaired son whole. Meshing android and human minds is considered impossible, a societal taboo, and illegal. Can the sorrow of a father, the challenge of a feat never accomplished, and the promise of normalcy for a son who has never known it motivate a man beyond his ethical boundaries? What happens when it all goes wrong? |
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The Chance of A Lifetime... To Live In A Thrilling World of Adventure... One with Endless Possibilities. *** Down on his luck and with his back against a wall, John Crussel would do anything to provide for his family. Even rob a bank out of desperation. But when he hears of how he can make money in a virtual reality video game called Alterlife, he walks away from the robbery and decides to give it a shot. Couldn't be harder than robbing a bank, could it? John's world is about to change as he finds that Alterlife is easier than it seems. But being a hotshot new guy that seems to have all the luck draws the attention of some dangerous people in Alterlife - ones that want what he has and are willing to do anything for it. Through a series of unfortunate events, John becomes the first to contract a deadly virus. Now he only has ten days to live. He soon finds himself tied to a sinister plot and realizes that his misfortune may not be a coincidence. The virus was designed to kill players outside of the game. And John was targeted to be a carrier. Can he rid himself of the virus before time runs out? All John Crussel wanted was to make some easy money. He thought Alterlife was just a game... This high stakes novel depicts John's struggle both in and out of virtual reality. Fans of Otherland by Tad Williams, Ready Player One, and Skyrim will feel right at home in Alterlife. |
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Sidnye (Queen of the Universe) by Scott Fitzgerald Gray Sidnye Dupree was going on thirteen years old when she broke the Bishop's nose with a dodgeball and dreamed the dream of the shooting star. But even if she'd known then what was happening to her, it would have been far too late to stop it... Life is complicated enough when you live full-time at boarding school because your parents are dead, and when the other students around you are mostly idiots, and when you're doomed to spend the rest of your existence in cafeteria detention because you just can't stop annoying the people in charge of your life. But that's when you discover the headaches you've been having aren't just a part of being thirteen and feeling the weight of the world hammering down on you. That's when you realize the dreams you've been having are more than dreams, and the people you thought you were closest to are less concerned with caring about you than with keeping you from knowing the things they don't want you to know… |
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A woman isolated in the Mojave desert…an alien invasion…and a primal obsession. For Gillian Hall running her diner in the desert is the good life, until a man calling himself Gabriel arrives as her enigmatic and unpredictable new short-order cook. On the same day fiery explosions streak across the sky. Everyone in town assumes their presence must be part of a military operation from the nearby base. What do the blasts really signal? Gillian’s quiet world shifts into an unknown reality when seven starbreakers—alien ships—enter Earth’s atmosphere. One of them is destroyed, scattering valuable and dangerous technology into the desert in its wake. Five ships depart. The last starbreaker, the Menocai, stays to retrieve the lost debris before the military can find it, but its self-absorbed commander, Malakai, has an additional need. He wants Gillian as well. He has sent his brother Inac, in the guise of Gabriel, to retrieve her. |
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Earth. The mere name has had an almost talisman-like pull on the human race since we were driven from our homeworld over 6,000 years ago. Mankind’s ancestors ran from the genocidal threat engulfing them, fleeing like intergalactic refugees towards a new home that would allow us to flourish once again.And flourish we did. From a ragtag group of just over 12,000 survivors, humanity has grown to create a proper empire of nearly 900 billion spanning two galaxies. But we never forgot our home, so we waited and we planned. Now the time was finally right to return to Earth and take back what we once had no choice but to abandon.Although the military campaign, as well as the alien races between humanity and our birthplace, were the primary concern, they turned out to not be the only ones. You see, Earth itself, despite crawling with the vermin that nearly eradicated us, was far from free of surprises, both physical and historical. Unanticipated challenges waited for the people of the Terran Confederation, including notions that would shake the very foundations of what it meant to be human. Our legends had defined us, but could those legends withstand scrutiny? What if everything we’d come to believe about ourselves and our world had been carefully crafted to cocoon us for our own good?A story meant to be about our return to Earth expands to cover our journey both across and within the realms of known space, from long lost colony worlds where mankind has morphed into something else, to the edges of an intergalactic war between implacable enemies…enemies that now had the incentive to turn their attention towards humanity... |
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Grandfather Anonymous by Anthony W. Eichenlaub Ajay was one of the best hackers in the world when he retired from the NSA, and a lonely life in a heavily surveilled Minnesota town hasn’t dulled his skills one bit, thank you very much. When his estranged daughter knocks on his door with her two daughters in tow, he hopes it’s his chance to become part of her family again.But she needs more than just a sitter for his two willful granddaughters. She needs someone to keep them safe — from who, she won’t say.Before, he failed at being a father so badly that he’s afraid he can never make amends. Thrust back into a world of secrecy and cyberwarfare, Ajay now must uncover what makes his granddaughters valuable — and dangerous. |
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In a future beset with rising seas, and darkened skies, technology stays the tide and tries to plug the holes that humanity creates. Hubris sees two technological powerhouses with different philosophies at odds with each other. A son tries to figure his place in the world while two youths try to survive in theirs and unwittingly set into play a series of events that threaten to change the status quo of humanity. |
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A Touch of Death by Rebecca Crunden A thousand years in the future, the last of humanity live inside the walls of the totalitarian Kingdom of Cutta. The rich live in Anais, the capital city of Cutta, sheltered from the famine and disease which ravage the rest of the Kingdom. Yet riches and power only go so far, and even Anaitians can be executed. It is only by the will of the King that Nate Anteros, son of the King’s favourite, is spared from the gallows after openly dissenting. But when he’s released from prison, Nate disappears. A stark contrast, Catherine Taenia has spent her entire life comfortable and content. The daughter of the King’s Hangman and in love with Thom, Nate’s younger brother, her life has always been easy, ordered and comfortable. That is, where it doesn’t concern Nate. His actions sullied not only his future, but theirs. And unlike Thom, Catherine has never forgiven him. Two years pass without a word, and then one night Nate returns. But things with Nate are never simple, and when one wrong move turns their lives upside down, the only thing left to do is run where the King’s guards cannot find them – the Outlands. Those wild, untamed lands which stretch around the great walls of the Kingdom, filled with mutants and rabids. |
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Olga is a genetically altered “shepherd” born to live at sea herding factory tuna. She lives with her two shipmates aboard a submersible raft in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Toivo is an independent fisherman who, along with two dolphins, struggles to make a living catching what few wild tuna are left. The two of them should never have met. But, someone is killing shepherds and fate pushes Olga and Toivo to join forces just to stay alive. Together they must outwit heavily armed drug smugglers bent on killing anyone who gets in their way. The nonstop action hurtles toward a startling conclusion that will keep you on the edge of your seat. |
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Silicon Override by Shawn Ketcherside One thousand feet below the ocean, in the largest and most advanced research facility on Earth, something has gone terribly wrong… Chase Edwards, a brilliant, reformed slacker, arrives at ArcSIS on the eve of the most ambitious experiment in human history -- His life finally back on track. At ArcSIS he’ll have access to cutting-edge technology, advanced resources, and the world’s most talented scientists and engineers – all of which meant to design, patent, and usher in the next stage in human evolution. It’s everything Chase needs to restart his once promising career. But when the experiment results in disaster, Chase finds himself on the run from the transformed and terrifying reawakened bodies of the ArcSIS staff, all under the absolute control of a renegade AI – Node Zero. Trapped a thousand feet below the surface of the ocean, completely cut off and isolated from the outside world – The catastrophe turns personal when Chase learns that Node Zero has a special connection to him – and it won’t stop until Chase is assimilated into its network… Or he’s exterminated. Now Chase must survive long enough to uncover the dark secrets and true aims of ArcSIS, clinging to his fragile hope it will give him the means to stop Node Zero from escaping the facility and unleashing wholesale devastation upon the earth. |
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ACHE by Levi Jacobs With the advent of nanotech, happiness is just a brain hack. But if you can hack your brain, who else can? In the energy-scarce landscape of the former US, society has turned to mood-altering nanomachines to augment its grim reality. Like many, Lance Mireles walks the line between use and abuse, running shady side jobs to feed his habit while keeping up appearances with his younger brother. Pushing his luck once too often, he ends up on the wrong side of the law, disowned from his family, and exiled to the anarchy outside the city gates. Determined to turn his life around, Lance follows clues to an isolated commune with a mysterious source of nanomachines. It looks like a second chance—until he traces their source back to a danger looming over his family, and the secret reason for the city’s nanotech dependence. As things at home fall apart, Lance turns to the outlaw community for help—but to earn their trust he first has to overcome the roots of his addiction. |
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The Threat Below by Jason Latshaw She heard the legends. She knew the history. But nothing could have prepared her for what she found. Three hundred years ago, a lethal and mysterious threat arose and pushed humanity to the brink of extinction. Now, a small remnant - the descendants of the few survivors who escaped the massacre below - lives above the clouds, atop a mountain. When they discover their water supply is being poisoned, an expedition, including seventeen year-old Icelyn Brathius, must descend and face the horror that wiped out civilization centuries ago. The danger is closer than you think. The shocking true nature of the Threat Below. As Icelyn faces dangers in a world humans are not meant to survive, she learns that not everything is as it seems, uncovers an ancient revelation, and faces a choice that will change the fate of everyone above and below the clouds. Will Icelyn be strong enough to survive - and bear a terrible secret? |
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Eos by Jen Guberman How far would you go for freedom? After a world war left the country in ruins, the survivors regrouped, creating four cities. With the population lower than ever, the prison system became impossible to maintain, so the city officials developed the Exile Town System… Avid—a literal dump for the thieves, Bellicose—caverns for the violent, Clamorite—mountains for the unruly, Delaisse—factories for the addicts and vandals, and Equivox—a lake for the liars. When a young thief learns about the Skeleton Key, a device that can be used to unlock anything, she can’t help but to go after it. But there’s a catch—in order to unlock the box containing it, she needs a key from each of the exile towns, which turn out to be far more dangerous than she could have imagined. |