Alasdair C. Shaw's Blog, page 6
January 26, 2020
The January Roundup of Scifi Books
Lots of spring bulbs pushing up are making me happy at the moment, along with my lovely helebores. I've not been able to run much recently due to shin splints, but have been able to help by marshalling and coaching at Parkrun and orienteering events.
I'll be teaching some Mountain Training Rock Skills and Hill Skills courses next month. Should be a lot of fun.
And here are the books you want...
The Phage War had been a devastating conflict for the Terran Confederacy. Even with the destruction of their terrifying, implacable foe, humanity is still reeling. Political alliances are crumbling and their mighty fleet is in tatters. There is nothing to celebrate, even after such a complete victory.
They soon learn that there are other stellar neighbors ... and they’ve been watching the conflict with great interest. One species comes with an offer of friendship and alliance, but humanity is weary and distrustful, their only interactions with aliens having resulted in the near-eradication of their kind.
Before the ashes of war have been fully swept away Captain Celesta Wright is dispatched to the Frontier with a small taskforce to investigate a mysterious signal while the Confederacy struggles to hold itself together. A partnership with this new species could help accelerate the recovery effort, but is the offer too good to be true? Can humanity risk another fight with an advanced alien species right on the heels of the bloodiest war that had ever been waged?
Thirty years from now, in a dystopian future, the Earth is under strain due to natural disasters and accelerating pollution. On the coast of Madagascar, a ruthless corporate leader creates his own vision of the future in the shape of Tabula Rasa, a mega-complex inhabited by over a million people.
Jonathan Jarl, a rookie agent for the Amber group, is on his first assignment and is assigned to retrieve the famous Nebra Sky disc that has been stolen. During the mission, he is faced with some of Tabula Rasas darkest secrets.
Meanwhile, in orbit around the moon, a discovery is made that has potential implications for the entire human race but Tabula Rasa is doing everything in its powers to keep the discovery secret. In a lab within Tabula Rasa, an idealistic scientist decides to share the discovery with the world. She takes a fateful decision that puts her life on the line.
Jonathan is thrown into a breakneck race for time and Tabula Rasa is the first science fiction adventure thriller about Jonathan Jarl and the Amber group.
Free in exchange for signing up to author's newsletter.
We fought them for decades. And we won. But victory hurt us more than defeat.
Years after defeating aliens bent on burning down the galaxy, the Interstellar Union is breaking apart, its member species undermining each other at every opportunity.
When an interdimensional distress signal arrives, only humanity is interested in helping.
Captain Vin Husher is sent in with a task force ... right into a trap laid by humanity’s old enemy.
Surrounded by a bioengineered super-species and unable to return home, Husher must draw on decades of experience just to keep his people alive.
If he can’t survive long enough to escape this hellish pocket universe and warn humanity of the impending danger, all will be lost.
The FREE prequel novelette for The Atlantean Conflict series by C.P. MacDonald. Learn how Calin Aku became the Captain of the Sea Rover and experience one of his many adventures smuggling around the Solar System.
Free in exchange for signing up to author's newsletter.
For centuries, the Daegon waited. They plotted. And now they are ready to strike.
The core worlds of settled space enjoy a tenuous peace, unaware and ill prepared for the threat building beyond the furthest reaches of humanity. The star kingdom of Albion stands as a shining light of justice and mercy in a harsh galaxy, and they will be the first to suffer the Daegon's fury.
Defying his low born status, and despite his self-doubt, Commodore Thomas Gage has risen through the ranks by sheer grit and determination, defending Albion from brutal pirate clans.
And when the onslaught comes, Gage and his fleet may be Albion's last hope for freedom.
For centuries, the Wardens have guarded our planet. Their sacred duty: to protect humanity from itself… and from everything else.
Lord Anakreon, Warden of the First Circle, has a problem.
He’s been forced to kill another apprentice, and he’s rapidly running out of candidates.
In fact, there is precisely one left...
On Earth, Tristan Andrews is in trouble. He has been ever since the day his dad left for work – and never came home. Seven years later, living with one foot on the street, Tristan is struggling to survive. Until a tough old man with a scarred face breaks into his house. He claims to have the answers Tristan seeks… But there’s a price.
Rainbow-haired Kyra didn’t sign up to babysit a scrawny kid from Earth. She’s more about kicking ass, and looking damn fine while she’s doing it. But there’s something about this boy. He doesn’t know it yet, but he’s got talents… and if he’s anything like his father, he could change the shape of the galaxy.
She just has to keep him alive long enough to find out.
Join Tris, as he’s catapulted into a world he never could have imagined. Where bizarre aliens threaten mankind, genetically engineered assassins lurk in the shadows, and the mysterious Wardens live by an ancient code… Of sacrifice.
The recently colonized world of Glenlyon has learned that they're stronger when they stand with other star systems than they are on their own. But after helping their neighbor Kosatka against an invasion, Glenlyon has become a target. The aggressive star systems plan to neutralize Glenlyon before striking again.
An attack is launched against Glenlyon's orbital facility with forces too powerful for fleet officer Rob Geary to counter using their sole remaining destroyer, Saber. Mele Darcy's Marines must repel repeated assaults while their hacker tries to get into the enemy systems to give Saber a fighting chance.
To survive, Glenlyon needs more firepower, and the only source for that is their neighbor Kosatka or other star systems that have so far remained neutral. But Kosatka is still battling the remnants of the invasion forces on its own world, and if it sends its only remaining warship to help will be left undefended against another invasion. While Carmen Ochoa fights for the freedom of Kosatka, Lochan Nakamura must survive assassins as he tries to convince other worlds to join a seemingly hopeless struggle.
As star systems founded by people seeking freedom and autonomy, will Kosatka, Glenlyon and others be able to overcome deep suspicions of surrendering any authority to others? Will the free star systems stand together in a new Alliance, or fall alone?
Recruit. Fight. Build.
As Dash and his team begin expanding the Forge, they must focus on Dark Metal as the one thing that can give them an advantage in the coming war.
Using drones and a map from an ancient library, Dash and Leira must seek out the source of a transmission coming from far away.
That source, however, is something far more valuable than they could have hoped: a fleet of ancient Unseen ships, waiting to be salvaged.
With the Golden forces closing in, Dash will need to enlist more help as he prepares to engage the enemy.
He must choose his next battleground, all while the Forge works to arm his team with new weapons that could turn the tide once and for all.
I'll be teaching some Mountain Training Rock Skills and Hill Skills courses next month. Should be a lot of fun.
And here are the books you want...
The Phage War had been a devastating conflict for the Terran Confederacy. Even with the destruction of their terrifying, implacable foe, humanity is still reeling. Political alliances are crumbling and their mighty fleet is in tatters. There is nothing to celebrate, even after such a complete victory.
They soon learn that there are other stellar neighbors ... and they’ve been watching the conflict with great interest. One species comes with an offer of friendship and alliance, but humanity is weary and distrustful, their only interactions with aliens having resulted in the near-eradication of their kind.
Before the ashes of war have been fully swept away Captain Celesta Wright is dispatched to the Frontier with a small taskforce to investigate a mysterious signal while the Confederacy struggles to hold itself together. A partnership with this new species could help accelerate the recovery effort, but is the offer too good to be true? Can humanity risk another fight with an advanced alien species right on the heels of the bloodiest war that had ever been waged?
Thirty years from now, in a dystopian future, the Earth is under strain due to natural disasters and accelerating pollution. On the coast of Madagascar, a ruthless corporate leader creates his own vision of the future in the shape of Tabula Rasa, a mega-complex inhabited by over a million people.
Jonathan Jarl, a rookie agent for the Amber group, is on his first assignment and is assigned to retrieve the famous Nebra Sky disc that has been stolen. During the mission, he is faced with some of Tabula Rasas darkest secrets.
Meanwhile, in orbit around the moon, a discovery is made that has potential implications for the entire human race but Tabula Rasa is doing everything in its powers to keep the discovery secret. In a lab within Tabula Rasa, an idealistic scientist decides to share the discovery with the world. She takes a fateful decision that puts her life on the line.
Jonathan is thrown into a breakneck race for time and Tabula Rasa is the first science fiction adventure thriller about Jonathan Jarl and the Amber group.
Free in exchange for signing up to author's newsletter.
We fought them for decades. And we won. But victory hurt us more than defeat.
Years after defeating aliens bent on burning down the galaxy, the Interstellar Union is breaking apart, its member species undermining each other at every opportunity.
When an interdimensional distress signal arrives, only humanity is interested in helping.
Captain Vin Husher is sent in with a task force ... right into a trap laid by humanity’s old enemy.
Surrounded by a bioengineered super-species and unable to return home, Husher must draw on decades of experience just to keep his people alive.
If he can’t survive long enough to escape this hellish pocket universe and warn humanity of the impending danger, all will be lost.
The FREE prequel novelette for The Atlantean Conflict series by C.P. MacDonald. Learn how Calin Aku became the Captain of the Sea Rover and experience one of his many adventures smuggling around the Solar System.
Free in exchange for signing up to author's newsletter.
For centuries, the Daegon waited. They plotted. And now they are ready to strike.
The core worlds of settled space enjoy a tenuous peace, unaware and ill prepared for the threat building beyond the furthest reaches of humanity. The star kingdom of Albion stands as a shining light of justice and mercy in a harsh galaxy, and they will be the first to suffer the Daegon's fury.
Defying his low born status, and despite his self-doubt, Commodore Thomas Gage has risen through the ranks by sheer grit and determination, defending Albion from brutal pirate clans.
And when the onslaught comes, Gage and his fleet may be Albion's last hope for freedom.
For centuries, the Wardens have guarded our planet. Their sacred duty: to protect humanity from itself… and from everything else.
Lord Anakreon, Warden of the First Circle, has a problem.
He’s been forced to kill another apprentice, and he’s rapidly running out of candidates.
In fact, there is precisely one left...
On Earth, Tristan Andrews is in trouble. He has been ever since the day his dad left for work – and never came home. Seven years later, living with one foot on the street, Tristan is struggling to survive. Until a tough old man with a scarred face breaks into his house. He claims to have the answers Tristan seeks… But there’s a price.
Rainbow-haired Kyra didn’t sign up to babysit a scrawny kid from Earth. She’s more about kicking ass, and looking damn fine while she’s doing it. But there’s something about this boy. He doesn’t know it yet, but he’s got talents… and if he’s anything like his father, he could change the shape of the galaxy.
She just has to keep him alive long enough to find out.
Join Tris, as he’s catapulted into a world he never could have imagined. Where bizarre aliens threaten mankind, genetically engineered assassins lurk in the shadows, and the mysterious Wardens live by an ancient code… Of sacrifice.
The recently colonized world of Glenlyon has learned that they're stronger when they stand with other star systems than they are on their own. But after helping their neighbor Kosatka against an invasion, Glenlyon has become a target. The aggressive star systems plan to neutralize Glenlyon before striking again.
An attack is launched against Glenlyon's orbital facility with forces too powerful for fleet officer Rob Geary to counter using their sole remaining destroyer, Saber. Mele Darcy's Marines must repel repeated assaults while their hacker tries to get into the enemy systems to give Saber a fighting chance.
To survive, Glenlyon needs more firepower, and the only source for that is their neighbor Kosatka or other star systems that have so far remained neutral. But Kosatka is still battling the remnants of the invasion forces on its own world, and if it sends its only remaining warship to help will be left undefended against another invasion. While Carmen Ochoa fights for the freedom of Kosatka, Lochan Nakamura must survive assassins as he tries to convince other worlds to join a seemingly hopeless struggle.
As star systems founded by people seeking freedom and autonomy, will Kosatka, Glenlyon and others be able to overcome deep suspicions of surrendering any authority to others? Will the free star systems stand together in a new Alliance, or fall alone?
Recruit. Fight. Build.
As Dash and his team begin expanding the Forge, they must focus on Dark Metal as the one thing that can give them an advantage in the coming war.
Using drones and a map from an ancient library, Dash and Leira must seek out the source of a transmission coming from far away.
That source, however, is something far more valuable than they could have hoped: a fleet of ancient Unseen ships, waiting to be salvaged.
With the Golden forces closing in, Dash will need to enlist more help as he prepares to engage the enemy.
He must choose his next battleground, all while the Forge works to arm his team with new weapons that could turn the tide once and for all.
December 27, 2019
The December Round-up of Scifi Books
Hello! I hope you're having a good festive season.
If you are anything like me, at this time of year you prefer short story collections and funny things, so that's what most of my selection this month are...
Growing up as a Martian on Earth has left Jas Harrington solitary, quick-tempered, and with zero tolerance for fools. All plus points when working as chief security officer aboard prospecting starships.
Jas' latest berth is aboard the Galathea, which trawls the reaches of the galaxy seeking precious minerals and rare resources. She thinks it's a routine trip. She's wrong.
An inspection of a far-flung planet leaves Jas suspicious that there's more to the place than meets the eye. If only she could convince the captain of the need for caution, but she might as well wish for a tasty meal in the ship's canteen.
When the captain disciplines Jas for insubordination, she has only two allies: a timid navigator and the second pilot, who has the hots for her. Not that Jas notices.
All hell breaks loose, and Jas' skills are put to the ultimate test. Can she enlist the help of the only two friends she has? She's in a race against time to prevent the aliens from achieving their goal: Generation.
If she fails, the ship's crew, the galactic empire, and humanity itself are at risk.
Humanity has seized its destiny among the stars. But space remains vast and untamed, and nothing has prepared us to face the dangers rising from the deep shadows of the void.
Fourteen years after The Displacement flung humanity into a universe teeming with alien life, a tenuous alliance has taken root among humans, Anadens, and numerous other species. The wounds of war and revolution have begun to heal, peace and prosperity are within reach, and the architects of The Displacement, Alex Solovy and Caleb Marano, are enjoying an idyllic existence on the living planet of Akeso.
But growing troubles fester beneath the surface of this alliance. An upstart species offers allegiance with one hand but readies weapons of mass destruction with the other, while the Anadens, leaderless and adrift for years, increasingly refuse to play by humanity’s rules.
As tensions simmer, Nika Kirumase, leader of the Asterions—a splinter group of former Anadens thought aeons dead—arrives bearing a warning of a terrifying enemy advancing across the void. Known as the Rasu, the powerful race of shapeshifting metal has already killed tens of thousands of Asterions in its quest to control all of known space.
Nika’s people have struck a blow against the Rasu, and now they race against time to prepare for the coming reprisal. An alliance with humanity stands to give them a fighting chance against their enemy. But for humanity, such an alliance may cost them everything, pushing the fragile peace they fought so hard to achieve to the breaking point and beyond.
In Amaranthe, where exotic alien life, AIs, wormholes, indestructible starships and the promise of immortality rule the day, no feat seems out of reach for humanity. But when the worlds of Aurora Rhapsody and Asterion Noir collide and the Rasu horde descends upon them both, more will be asked of heroes past and future. More will be given and more taken, and when the dust settles the very fabric of Amaranthe will be changed forever.
When a radical experiment into the nature of time is sabotaged, the scientific team finds themselves in an alternate universe, where humans never became the dominant life force. Instead, dinosaurs evolved into intelligent bipeds, developing language and societal structures.
The scientists have to learn to communicate with this alien species, who view them as unusual pets, and figure out how to recreate the original experiment in a non-industrialized world, so they can go back home—assuming there’s a home, or even a universe, to return to.
But the scientist who sabotaged them is trapped in this new world with them. And he’s looking to rise to power, even if his quest means the death of his traveling companions.
Captain Siobhan Dunmoore no longer enjoys the freedom to fight the Shrehari Empire on her own terms aboard the Q-ship Iolanthe. Special Operations Command has assigned her to Task Force Luckner, whose mission is replicating Iolanthe’s success on a larger scale. Unfortunately, neither her new superior, Rear Admiral Kell Petras, nor any other captain in the task force understands successful commerce raiding requires a different mindset. Instead of sheepdogs, they must become wolves in sheep’s clothing, and Dunmoore is just the right officer to teach them. Yet Petras and his flag captain are not interested.
But when an unauthorized raid on a Shrehari forward operations base produces surprising results, Dunmoore triggers a cascade of events which could forever change the course of the war. As the old saying goes, fortune favors the bold. Will Dunmoore prove once again that she and Iolanthe’s crew are the most daring of them all?
Being an officer means balancing many conflicting demands. Making the wrong decision can have serious consequences. It takes a special kind of person to cope with the responsibility.
The Officer is an anthology of eleven science fiction short stories by writers from across the globe. It is part of the Newcomer series of scifi anthologies.
What kind of life will we find in the depths of Europa’s oceans? What kind of life will we allow an AI with human level intelligence? The ten stories in Sapience: A Collection of Science Fiction Short Stories explore these questions and many more.
In the near future, humanity builds a colony on Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter. They tunnel into the ice to explore the dark oceans beneath the moon's surface, searching for signs of extraterrestrial life. What they find will change them forever, setting humanity on a path to the stars. But the old conflicts and hatreds of Earth are not so easily escaped. Will human colonists on distant planets and moons create a paradise or a horrifying dystopia?
Conflict across the cosmos. New frontiers discovered. What it means to be human reimagined.
Dreams of tomorrow become reality in this fourth collection of bestselling authors and newly emerging writers from Sci-Fi Bridge. From the inner worlds of unforgettable characters to alien planets at the farthest reaches of our galaxy and beyond, our writers examine the human experience from within and without. They hold up a mirror to the human experience. Who are we as a species? Who do we want to be? How do we achieve that greatest vision of ourselves for us and our children?
You'll wonder at the possibilities of what we can accomplish together. You might even come to believe that a better tomorrow can be more than a dream...
A sampler of the work of the best new writers of science fiction out there? A sci-fi selection box with a mix of hard (science) and soft (science) centres covering the spectrum of sub-genres? A brilliant anthology you’ll find hard to put down? A must read for every sci-fi fan?
All these things? We like to think so, and certainly with The Corona Book of Science Fiction we’ve tried to create something special – a multi-author sci-fi collection where each contribution embodies both great imagination and great storytelling, and which collectively covers a mix of themes from the fantastic to the topical, from AI to Z, all topped off with a last story so touching it has been proved to reduce grown men to tears.
When her maintenance bot found a body, Triana lost her lunch.
Then she lost the body.
How did she lose her memory?
When a highly connected security agent interrupts her routine with stories of murder and missing bodies, Triana can’t ignore him; it’s cooperate or find a new job. A girl has to pay the rent, even on a crappy studio compartment.
Since working with a shiny detective beats a shuttle dirt-side, Triana lends her programming skills to Agent O’Neill’s investigation. Together, they find more victims and evidence of a major cover-up.
It will take all Triana’s technical talents, most of O’Neill’s connections, and some really excellent croissants to stop the murders, save her job, and ultimately, her life.
The future may not be bright but it’s hilarious.
In tales that criss cross the Atlantic, Tomorrow’s World transports the reader into the future where even dreams can be controlled - but it seems that the future’s not all it’s cracked up to be. In England, Terrence finds himself disillusioned in a world of drudgery, compensation claim drones and a relentlessly rising retirement age. Across the pond, Walter has harnessed the power of age-defying medication in a bid to prosper indefinitely - at any expense. What could possibly go wrong?
With its dark humour and gripping narrative, Tomorrow’s World paints a vivid picture of a future that’s a little too close for comfort.
If you are anything like me, at this time of year you prefer short story collections and funny things, so that's what most of my selection this month are...
Growing up as a Martian on Earth has left Jas Harrington solitary, quick-tempered, and with zero tolerance for fools. All plus points when working as chief security officer aboard prospecting starships.
Jas' latest berth is aboard the Galathea, which trawls the reaches of the galaxy seeking precious minerals and rare resources. She thinks it's a routine trip. She's wrong.
An inspection of a far-flung planet leaves Jas suspicious that there's more to the place than meets the eye. If only she could convince the captain of the need for caution, but she might as well wish for a tasty meal in the ship's canteen.
When the captain disciplines Jas for insubordination, she has only two allies: a timid navigator and the second pilot, who has the hots for her. Not that Jas notices.
All hell breaks loose, and Jas' skills are put to the ultimate test. Can she enlist the help of the only two friends she has? She's in a race against time to prevent the aliens from achieving their goal: Generation.
If she fails, the ship's crew, the galactic empire, and humanity itself are at risk.
Humanity has seized its destiny among the stars. But space remains vast and untamed, and nothing has prepared us to face the dangers rising from the deep shadows of the void.
Fourteen years after The Displacement flung humanity into a universe teeming with alien life, a tenuous alliance has taken root among humans, Anadens, and numerous other species. The wounds of war and revolution have begun to heal, peace and prosperity are within reach, and the architects of The Displacement, Alex Solovy and Caleb Marano, are enjoying an idyllic existence on the living planet of Akeso.
But growing troubles fester beneath the surface of this alliance. An upstart species offers allegiance with one hand but readies weapons of mass destruction with the other, while the Anadens, leaderless and adrift for years, increasingly refuse to play by humanity’s rules.
As tensions simmer, Nika Kirumase, leader of the Asterions—a splinter group of former Anadens thought aeons dead—arrives bearing a warning of a terrifying enemy advancing across the void. Known as the Rasu, the powerful race of shapeshifting metal has already killed tens of thousands of Asterions in its quest to control all of known space.
Nika’s people have struck a blow against the Rasu, and now they race against time to prepare for the coming reprisal. An alliance with humanity stands to give them a fighting chance against their enemy. But for humanity, such an alliance may cost them everything, pushing the fragile peace they fought so hard to achieve to the breaking point and beyond.
In Amaranthe, where exotic alien life, AIs, wormholes, indestructible starships and the promise of immortality rule the day, no feat seems out of reach for humanity. But when the worlds of Aurora Rhapsody and Asterion Noir collide and the Rasu horde descends upon them both, more will be asked of heroes past and future. More will be given and more taken, and when the dust settles the very fabric of Amaranthe will be changed forever.
When a radical experiment into the nature of time is sabotaged, the scientific team finds themselves in an alternate universe, where humans never became the dominant life force. Instead, dinosaurs evolved into intelligent bipeds, developing language and societal structures.
The scientists have to learn to communicate with this alien species, who view them as unusual pets, and figure out how to recreate the original experiment in a non-industrialized world, so they can go back home—assuming there’s a home, or even a universe, to return to.
But the scientist who sabotaged them is trapped in this new world with them. And he’s looking to rise to power, even if his quest means the death of his traveling companions.
Captain Siobhan Dunmoore no longer enjoys the freedom to fight the Shrehari Empire on her own terms aboard the Q-ship Iolanthe. Special Operations Command has assigned her to Task Force Luckner, whose mission is replicating Iolanthe’s success on a larger scale. Unfortunately, neither her new superior, Rear Admiral Kell Petras, nor any other captain in the task force understands successful commerce raiding requires a different mindset. Instead of sheepdogs, they must become wolves in sheep’s clothing, and Dunmoore is just the right officer to teach them. Yet Petras and his flag captain are not interested.
But when an unauthorized raid on a Shrehari forward operations base produces surprising results, Dunmoore triggers a cascade of events which could forever change the course of the war. As the old saying goes, fortune favors the bold. Will Dunmoore prove once again that she and Iolanthe’s crew are the most daring of them all?
Being an officer means balancing many conflicting demands. Making the wrong decision can have serious consequences. It takes a special kind of person to cope with the responsibility.
The Officer is an anthology of eleven science fiction short stories by writers from across the globe. It is part of the Newcomer series of scifi anthologies.
What kind of life will we find in the depths of Europa’s oceans? What kind of life will we allow an AI with human level intelligence? The ten stories in Sapience: A Collection of Science Fiction Short Stories explore these questions and many more.
In the near future, humanity builds a colony on Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter. They tunnel into the ice to explore the dark oceans beneath the moon's surface, searching for signs of extraterrestrial life. What they find will change them forever, setting humanity on a path to the stars. But the old conflicts and hatreds of Earth are not so easily escaped. Will human colonists on distant planets and moons create a paradise or a horrifying dystopia?
Conflict across the cosmos. New frontiers discovered. What it means to be human reimagined.
Dreams of tomorrow become reality in this fourth collection of bestselling authors and newly emerging writers from Sci-Fi Bridge. From the inner worlds of unforgettable characters to alien planets at the farthest reaches of our galaxy and beyond, our writers examine the human experience from within and without. They hold up a mirror to the human experience. Who are we as a species? Who do we want to be? How do we achieve that greatest vision of ourselves for us and our children?
You'll wonder at the possibilities of what we can accomplish together. You might even come to believe that a better tomorrow can be more than a dream...
A sampler of the work of the best new writers of science fiction out there? A sci-fi selection box with a mix of hard (science) and soft (science) centres covering the spectrum of sub-genres? A brilliant anthology you’ll find hard to put down? A must read for every sci-fi fan?
All these things? We like to think so, and certainly with The Corona Book of Science Fiction we’ve tried to create something special – a multi-author sci-fi collection where each contribution embodies both great imagination and great storytelling, and which collectively covers a mix of themes from the fantastic to the topical, from AI to Z, all topped off with a last story so touching it has been proved to reduce grown men to tears.
When her maintenance bot found a body, Triana lost her lunch.
Then she lost the body.
How did she lose her memory?
When a highly connected security agent interrupts her routine with stories of murder and missing bodies, Triana can’t ignore him; it’s cooperate or find a new job. A girl has to pay the rent, even on a crappy studio compartment.
Since working with a shiny detective beats a shuttle dirt-side, Triana lends her programming skills to Agent O’Neill’s investigation. Together, they find more victims and evidence of a major cover-up.
It will take all Triana’s technical talents, most of O’Neill’s connections, and some really excellent croissants to stop the murders, save her job, and ultimately, her life.
The future may not be bright but it’s hilarious.
In tales that criss cross the Atlantic, Tomorrow’s World transports the reader into the future where even dreams can be controlled - but it seems that the future’s not all it’s cracked up to be. In England, Terrence finds himself disillusioned in a world of drudgery, compensation claim drones and a relentlessly rising retirement age. Across the pond, Walter has harnessed the power of age-defying medication in a bid to prosper indefinitely - at any expense. What could possibly go wrong?
With its dark humour and gripping narrative, Tomorrow’s World paints a vivid picture of a future that’s a little too close for comfort.
November 28, 2019
The November Roundup of Scifi Books
Hello. A quick one this month as I'm in the mountains with very low bandwidth.
So, straight into the books...
Alliance Navy Commander Grayson Stone is patrolling a nearby space station when a mysterious starship appears. It emerges from a storm of fire, its shields impenetrable, its weapons overwhelming, attacking without provocation and annihilating everything in its path.
While his ship is badly damaged in the assault, Grayson manages to survive. Suddenly trapped behind the front line of the invasion, faced with gut-wrenching choices and near-impossible odds, he'll do whatever it takes to escape the grasp of the terrifying new enemy.
Because if he fails, humankind will fall.
Struggling with newfound sentience and desperately trying to repair itself, The Indescribable Joy of Destruction is a ship trying to find a new home. In a galaxy torn apart by generations of civil war, that isn't an easy task. Tired of being used as a killing machine, it has a huge decision to make: hide and save itself, or help other artificial intelligences achieve freedom. Unable to make the decision alone, it revives the sole human aboard - the enemy officer who crippled it.
Commander Olivia Johnson wakes to find herself in the infirmary of a strange vessel. Her nightmares deepen when she discovers it is the ship that attacked her destroyer. Even as she recovers from her physical injuries, she can't get past her survivor's guilt. She might have failed to protect her crew, but she vows to take revenge on their killer.
When the ship uncovers a genocidal plot by the commander's own admirals, Johnson realises just what is at stake. Together, the AI ship and the human officer must recruit outsiders from both sides. Training the misfits in battle to prevent the atrocity may be an impossible task, but running and hiding is no longer an option.
Saree’s got a secret...
A secret that allows safe travel between star systems.
Saree’s the only human Clocker – she tunes space-fold clocks. But...
If anyone knew, she would be betrayed – forced to blockade and blackmail systems for evil crime lords or corporations.
With a bounty hunter on her heels, Saree jumps on Lightwave Fold Transport, the safest option. But will Lightwave’s crew protect her? Do they suspect who she’s become? Can Saree keep her secret safe?
Live in chains, or die trying to become a free woman?
Those were the choices of the Olympia Gold. The competition I’m participating in right now.
One contestant in the other team caught my interest. Galia. No man has ever made me feel the way she has.
But she’s such a reckless, gorgeous, pompous woman!
Even so, perhaps she can help us...
The only thing standing between us and freedom are six gruelling, fatal challenges and even more bloodthirsty crews battling for the glory of Olympia.
I’m destined to work under the boot of the Corporation for the rest of my life, to pay the debt of my dead father’s addiction to the most violent competition in the galaxy.
Everyone in my crew are servants. My best friend Devin and I obeyed the Totalitarian Corporation all of our lives.
The other teams have more training, credits and are armed to the teeth with the most advanced tech the black markets have.
If we fail, the Corporation will destroy us; take our lives and everything we ever cared for. Our odds are low, but I never felt so strongly about anything else.
Is my will to survive enough to see us through?
It’s pretty easy being a ship kid; clean out the cyclers, avoid your sister, don’t get sucked into space. The hardest bit about it is spending a couple of decades in stasis/sleep while your ship travels to the next solar system. Then rinse and repeat all the way back to a home you’ve never seen.
Except Kuma just got kicked out of stasis early, like decades early. And he’s alone.
All. Alone.
Except for the fug.
This is a free book in exchange for newsletter sign-up.
The signal shouldn't exist, but its disappearance brings forward a harbinger of doom. Humans can't fight this war. Not without help.
For years, Dr. Ethan Fawkes has been communicating with a mysterious scientist using an encoded signal. Together, they designed the first space-faring warship. But when the government orders Ethan to dismantle it, his collaborator has no choice but to reveal a terrible secret. An army of powerful aliens is about to invade Earth, and humans must rush to prepare a defense or risk losing their freedom forever.
The future looks bleak, and it's about to get worse.
Fiona has no memories of her origins, but somehow, she shares half her DNA with the invaders. For this, she lives a life of scorn and shame amongst humans. When the enemy arrives to enslave her village, will she help the humans who hate her or join the aliens who welcome her? The key to victory lies in the depths of her obscure past. Can she remember her true heritage before it’s too late?
The signal must be sent once again.
I never thought I’d have a bounty on my head the size of the Milky Way.
Of course, I never thought I’d be able to bend time, either.
But hey, life is full of surprises.
Don’t get me wrong, feeling like a goddess has its perks, but those perks come with a hefty price. My brain is tapioca. I’m stranded in the middle of dead space. Ratters are using me for target practice, and a giant, cybernetic monster named Oscar is trying to make me his chew toy.
All this because I played superhero (or thief, according to some) and snatched a doomsday device from an intergalactic mobster.
So if I don’t make it out of here alive, remember this: Above all else, I want a Viking funeral.
So, straight into the books...
Alliance Navy Commander Grayson Stone is patrolling a nearby space station when a mysterious starship appears. It emerges from a storm of fire, its shields impenetrable, its weapons overwhelming, attacking without provocation and annihilating everything in its path.
While his ship is badly damaged in the assault, Grayson manages to survive. Suddenly trapped behind the front line of the invasion, faced with gut-wrenching choices and near-impossible odds, he'll do whatever it takes to escape the grasp of the terrifying new enemy.
Because if he fails, humankind will fall.
Struggling with newfound sentience and desperately trying to repair itself, The Indescribable Joy of Destruction is a ship trying to find a new home. In a galaxy torn apart by generations of civil war, that isn't an easy task. Tired of being used as a killing machine, it has a huge decision to make: hide and save itself, or help other artificial intelligences achieve freedom. Unable to make the decision alone, it revives the sole human aboard - the enemy officer who crippled it.
Commander Olivia Johnson wakes to find herself in the infirmary of a strange vessel. Her nightmares deepen when she discovers it is the ship that attacked her destroyer. Even as she recovers from her physical injuries, she can't get past her survivor's guilt. She might have failed to protect her crew, but she vows to take revenge on their killer.
When the ship uncovers a genocidal plot by the commander's own admirals, Johnson realises just what is at stake. Together, the AI ship and the human officer must recruit outsiders from both sides. Training the misfits in battle to prevent the atrocity may be an impossible task, but running and hiding is no longer an option.
Saree’s got a secret...
A secret that allows safe travel between star systems.
Saree’s the only human Clocker – she tunes space-fold clocks. But...
If anyone knew, she would be betrayed – forced to blockade and blackmail systems for evil crime lords or corporations.
With a bounty hunter on her heels, Saree jumps on Lightwave Fold Transport, the safest option. But will Lightwave’s crew protect her? Do they suspect who she’s become? Can Saree keep her secret safe?
Live in chains, or die trying to become a free woman?
Those were the choices of the Olympia Gold. The competition I’m participating in right now.
One contestant in the other team caught my interest. Galia. No man has ever made me feel the way she has.
But she’s such a reckless, gorgeous, pompous woman!
Even so, perhaps she can help us...
The only thing standing between us and freedom are six gruelling, fatal challenges and even more bloodthirsty crews battling for the glory of Olympia.
I’m destined to work under the boot of the Corporation for the rest of my life, to pay the debt of my dead father’s addiction to the most violent competition in the galaxy.
Everyone in my crew are servants. My best friend Devin and I obeyed the Totalitarian Corporation all of our lives.
The other teams have more training, credits and are armed to the teeth with the most advanced tech the black markets have.
If we fail, the Corporation will destroy us; take our lives and everything we ever cared for. Our odds are low, but I never felt so strongly about anything else.
Is my will to survive enough to see us through?
It’s pretty easy being a ship kid; clean out the cyclers, avoid your sister, don’t get sucked into space. The hardest bit about it is spending a couple of decades in stasis/sleep while your ship travels to the next solar system. Then rinse and repeat all the way back to a home you’ve never seen.
Except Kuma just got kicked out of stasis early, like decades early. And he’s alone.
All. Alone.
Except for the fug.
This is a free book in exchange for newsletter sign-up.
The signal shouldn't exist, but its disappearance brings forward a harbinger of doom. Humans can't fight this war. Not without help.
For years, Dr. Ethan Fawkes has been communicating with a mysterious scientist using an encoded signal. Together, they designed the first space-faring warship. But when the government orders Ethan to dismantle it, his collaborator has no choice but to reveal a terrible secret. An army of powerful aliens is about to invade Earth, and humans must rush to prepare a defense or risk losing their freedom forever.
The future looks bleak, and it's about to get worse.
Fiona has no memories of her origins, but somehow, she shares half her DNA with the invaders. For this, she lives a life of scorn and shame amongst humans. When the enemy arrives to enslave her village, will she help the humans who hate her or join the aliens who welcome her? The key to victory lies in the depths of her obscure past. Can she remember her true heritage before it’s too late?
The signal must be sent once again.
I never thought I’d have a bounty on my head the size of the Milky Way.
Of course, I never thought I’d be able to bend time, either.
But hey, life is full of surprises.
Don’t get me wrong, feeling like a goddess has its perks, but those perks come with a hefty price. My brain is tapioca. I’m stranded in the middle of dead space. Ratters are using me for target practice, and a giant, cybernetic monster named Oscar is trying to make me his chew toy.
All this because I played superhero (or thief, according to some) and snatched a doomsday device from an intergalactic mobster.
So if I don’t make it out of here alive, remember this: Above all else, I want a Viking funeral.
November 9, 2019
An Interview with Earl T. Roske
I know I'm a little late for Halloween, but I've been enjoying looking at scifi fancy dress costumes (as opposed to serious Cosplay). I particularly like when whole families get together to make a themed turnout. All the more impressive when pets are included!
So, in my interview today, I am talking to Earl T. Roske, author of Diversion in Raziel and Rescue on Gimhae amongst many others.
The Hospitaller universe is quite extensive. Can you tell us a little about your series?
Diversion in Raziel is part of a trilogy called Lost Sheep. The protagonist, Sgt Kori Eldersun, is tasked with shepherding a squad of young orphans to a new orphanage on another planet. Things happen that Kori has no control over and he losses the children. In his efforts to find and save the children he acquires unlikely allies and learns a lot about himself and the universe around him.
That gives away a piece of the plot but to talk about the trilogy, you need to know that crucial part.
Kori belongs to the Hospitaller Orphan Corps. The Hospitallers are a military force whose primary purpose is providing aid to those in need and defense for those who require it. Every member of the Hospitallers is an orphan, raised in the Hospitaller orphanages.
What are you working on at the minute?
Currently, I've been writing a book two chapters a week for my newsletter.
At the same time I've been writing another series currently titled "Seasons of War" which also takes place in the Hospitaller universe. It'll be a five book series as the planet, Unumbottee, is at the peak of a 27-year cycle that results in a super-winter which covers the entire planet in ice and snow. The first book takes place during the beginning of the winter season.
And I've a stand alone book I'm working on called Savage Sanctuary. It's an alien encounter, on the alien's planet. A planet that is violent and brutal. For the main character to survive, he's allied himself with a life form that is just as savage, but is self-aware.
And I have three books not related to my Hospitaller universe that I have completed but just need to find time to get them published.
What are your thoughts on writing a book series?
When I first started taking my writing seriously, I didn't care. I just wanted to write a story. But it appears that readers like a series. They want - and it's based on conversations with other writers as well as readers - to be immersed in a world or universe longer than what one book provides.
When I wrote the Stories of the Orphan Corps I had to put them as a series so they would show up together on Amazon. I made a few people mad. You see, they are all standalone stories with different characters in each book. The intention was to layout what the universe was like for the Hospitallers. A few readers took umbrage to that.
I made sure when I wrote the Lost Sheep series to actually make it a series. As will be the same for every future instalment of the Hospitaller universe. I still like standalone stories. I read them and I'll continue to write them. But they might not get as much attention.
Oh, the sales power of a series is undeniable. A lot of readers don't want to get into a universe until they see there's a good few books in it.
Which brings me to a big question. What would you say are the main advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing against being published?
There are some amazing books out there that would never have seen the light of day without self-publishing. Shape-shifting LGBTQ space dragons? Can you imagine trying to get Random House to publish that?
With self-publishing we can write whatever we want. The readers will decide what survives and what falls by the wayside. I think that's a more democratic way of doing it rather than relying on gatekeepers whose primary focus is dollars.
For the most part, a traditionally published author doesn't have to worry about the artwork, the formatting, distribution, and not much of the marketing. Indies have to do all that and more. And, because of the nature of the game, most of us can't publish one book a year. I like to steal the old adage from the academic world: publish or perish. It's always the next book that keeps the readers coming.
Now, that's about writing to make a living. I'm there, but I'm also over here; writing to live.
Some of my work will likely fall on deaf ears (or blind eyes, I guess) and will garner very few reads or sales. I'm okay with that. Sometimes there are stories that I just want to write. There's a quote from Toni Morrison has been oft-repeated since her passing and I think it's relevant.
"If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it."
So I write stories that I would like to read.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Write.
Seriously, you have to write.
Write a lot.
The more I write the more I get better at the craft.
Years ago I thought I'd never be able to write a full novel. At that time I was struggling to just write a two thousand word story. But I kept at it. I learned from my mistakes and got better. Now, if you look on Amazon I think I have nine books. Some are shorter, some are longer, but I wrote them and there's the proof.
But if I hadn't written and continued to write, they would never have happened.
Read.
Seriously, you have to read.
Read a lot.
Read in the genre you want to write. Then read outside the genre, too. I like history, biography, British mysteries. Everything I read and see informs my writing.
Read books about writing, the art of writing, the business of writing, the business of self-publishing. Sometimes I already know what the book is telling me. But that's a good thing. It's an affirmation, a pat on the back that I'm on the right track.
Good advice. Thank you for taking the time to talk to me.
Earl T. Roske is a father first, husband second, walker of dog, scooper of poop, and an author. He's also been known to be a playwright.
Currently, he lives in the San Francisco Bay area, where he writes with any free time he can carve out of a busy day as father, husband, poop scooper.
So, in my interview today, I am talking to Earl T. Roske, author of Diversion in Raziel and Rescue on Gimhae amongst many others.
The Hospitaller universe is quite extensive. Can you tell us a little about your series?
Diversion in Raziel is part of a trilogy called Lost Sheep. The protagonist, Sgt Kori Eldersun, is tasked with shepherding a squad of young orphans to a new orphanage on another planet. Things happen that Kori has no control over and he losses the children. In his efforts to find and save the children he acquires unlikely allies and learns a lot about himself and the universe around him.
That gives away a piece of the plot but to talk about the trilogy, you need to know that crucial part.
Kori belongs to the Hospitaller Orphan Corps. The Hospitallers are a military force whose primary purpose is providing aid to those in need and defense for those who require it. Every member of the Hospitallers is an orphan, raised in the Hospitaller orphanages.
What are you working on at the minute?
Currently, I've been writing a book two chapters a week for my newsletter.
At the same time I've been writing another series currently titled "Seasons of War" which also takes place in the Hospitaller universe. It'll be a five book series as the planet, Unumbottee, is at the peak of a 27-year cycle that results in a super-winter which covers the entire planet in ice and snow. The first book takes place during the beginning of the winter season.
And I've a stand alone book I'm working on called Savage Sanctuary. It's an alien encounter, on the alien's planet. A planet that is violent and brutal. For the main character to survive, he's allied himself with a life form that is just as savage, but is self-aware.
And I have three books not related to my Hospitaller universe that I have completed but just need to find time to get them published.
What are your thoughts on writing a book series?
When I first started taking my writing seriously, I didn't care. I just wanted to write a story. But it appears that readers like a series. They want - and it's based on conversations with other writers as well as readers - to be immersed in a world or universe longer than what one book provides.
When I wrote the Stories of the Orphan Corps I had to put them as a series so they would show up together on Amazon. I made a few people mad. You see, they are all standalone stories with different characters in each book. The intention was to layout what the universe was like for the Hospitallers. A few readers took umbrage to that.
I made sure when I wrote the Lost Sheep series to actually make it a series. As will be the same for every future instalment of the Hospitaller universe. I still like standalone stories. I read them and I'll continue to write them. But they might not get as much attention.
Oh, the sales power of a series is undeniable. A lot of readers don't want to get into a universe until they see there's a good few books in it.
Which brings me to a big question. What would you say are the main advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing against being published?
There are some amazing books out there that would never have seen the light of day without self-publishing. Shape-shifting LGBTQ space dragons? Can you imagine trying to get Random House to publish that?
With self-publishing we can write whatever we want. The readers will decide what survives and what falls by the wayside. I think that's a more democratic way of doing it rather than relying on gatekeepers whose primary focus is dollars.
For the most part, a traditionally published author doesn't have to worry about the artwork, the formatting, distribution, and not much of the marketing. Indies have to do all that and more. And, because of the nature of the game, most of us can't publish one book a year. I like to steal the old adage from the academic world: publish or perish. It's always the next book that keeps the readers coming.
Now, that's about writing to make a living. I'm there, but I'm also over here; writing to live.
Some of my work will likely fall on deaf ears (or blind eyes, I guess) and will garner very few reads or sales. I'm okay with that. Sometimes there are stories that I just want to write. There's a quote from Toni Morrison has been oft-repeated since her passing and I think it's relevant.
"If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it."
So I write stories that I would like to read.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Write.
Seriously, you have to write.
Write a lot.
The more I write the more I get better at the craft.
Years ago I thought I'd never be able to write a full novel. At that time I was struggling to just write a two thousand word story. But I kept at it. I learned from my mistakes and got better. Now, if you look on Amazon I think I have nine books. Some are shorter, some are longer, but I wrote them and there's the proof.
But if I hadn't written and continued to write, they would never have happened.
Read.
Seriously, you have to read.
Read a lot.
Read in the genre you want to write. Then read outside the genre, too. I like history, biography, British mysteries. Everything I read and see informs my writing.
Read books about writing, the art of writing, the business of writing, the business of self-publishing. Sometimes I already know what the book is telling me. But that's a good thing. It's an affirmation, a pat on the back that I'm on the right track.
Good advice. Thank you for taking the time to talk to me.
Earl T. Roske is a father first, husband second, walker of dog, scooper of poop, and an author. He's also been known to be a playwright.Currently, he lives in the San Francisco Bay area, where he writes with any free time he can carve out of a busy day as father, husband, poop scooper.
October 28, 2019
The October Roundup of Scifi Books
Hello again. Just got back from a family holiday in south Wales. Lots of castles and beaches visited, and some SUPping in the rain!
And here are the books you want...
At the heart of a mystery unfolding in space, the opposing forces make a treacherous journey between Earth and Mars.
In space, mutiny means death—that’s why Inspector General Park Yerim is taking her investigation so seriously. The alleged mutineer is Captain Nicolau Aames, whose command of the massive Earth-Mars vessel Aldrin has come under fire. The vast System Initiative says he disobeyed orders, but his crew swears he’s in the right.
En route to Mars, Park gathers testimony from the Aldrin’s diverse crew, painting a complex picture of Aames’s character: his heroism, his failures, even his personal passions. As the investigation unfolds, Park finds herself in the thrall of powerful interests, each pushing and pulling her in a fiery cosmic dance.
Corruption, conflicting loyalties, and clashing accounts make it nearly impossible to see the truth in fifty million miles of darkness, and Park faces danger from every direction. All eyes are on her: one way or another, her findings will have astronomical implications for the Aldrin and the future of space travel.
Captain Siobhan Dunmoore no longer enjoys the freedom to fight the Shrehari Empire on her own terms aboard the Q-ship Iolanthe. Special Operations Command has assigned her to Task Force Luckner, whose mission is replicating Iolanthe’s success on a larger scale. Unfortunately, neither her new superior, Rear Admiral Kell Petras, nor any other captain in the task force understands successful commerce raiding requires a different mindset. Instead of sheepdogs, they must become wolves in sheep’s clothing, and Dunmoore is just the right officer to teach them. Yet Petras and his flag captain are not interested.
But when an unauthorized raid on a Shrehari forward operations base produces surprising results, Dunmoore triggers a cascade of events which could forever change the course of the war. As the old saying goes, fortune favors the bold. Will Dunmoore prove once again that she and Iolanthe’s crew are the most daring of them all?
A starship’s sirens scream into the void. Can a highly trained protector fight for peace on an unfamiliar world?
It’s elite soldier Laure’s duty to protect the last of humanity. Four hundred years after Earth fell to alien invaders, she’s only known life on a colonization ship searching through space. But when the vessel is forced to crash land for emergency repairs, Laure comes face to face with a new breed of enemy.
Struggling both to battle aliens and rescue her colonists, Laure never expects to find her other half on the strange planet. As her telepathic and physical bond with the alien grows, she’s horrified to discover the people she’s sworn to protect turn on her and consider her inhuman.
Torn between two species, can Laure defend humankind from extinction?
For decades, tensions have risen between the resurgent Terran Republic, formed from the ashes of a century-long conflict, and the Belters, colonists who left Earth at the height of the fighting to build new worlds among the stars, looking back at their homeworld with jealous, acquisitive eyes. When war erupts, the heart of their battle fleet is Goliath, the largest battleship ever built, the result of years of work in hidden shipyards lost in the depths of space. Earth has no answer to her, no ship in her fleet a match for the overwhelming power of the warship. Defeat seems inevitable.
Until a renegade Admiral concocts a final, desperate plan.
Only one ship, an experimental warship, the Avenger, might possibly stand a chance against the might of Goliath. One ship, with a picked crew, a crew with nothing to lose and everything to gain, gathered from the dregs of Earth’s space forces, all facing charges ranging from murder to mutiny, but all of them the best in their respective fields. The last hope for the Terran Republic. The last, desperate hope for victory.
You don’t know what’s coming...
Humanity is in danger...
The Krah have found our weaknesses, and nothing will ever be the same.
An experimental device was used in a last ditch effort to save the crew of the Modulus Echo. The result was more deadly than anyone anticipated.
A portal has opened to a new galaxy, a tunnel connecting two distant points of space. It is a doorway to a place ruled by a cruel, militant race whose only focus is complete domination. Humanity knows nothing about the Krah Empire, but soon they will learn to fear the alien ships and the fierce warriors who crew them. For the first time in the history of the human race, mankind is no longer the most intelligent and powerful species in the galaxy. The first shots in a galactic war have been fired, and the Modulus Echo is on the front lines.
'Reverb: Live, Die, Rave, Repeat' tells the epic story of six young and adventurous students who get to relive the first day of their, no holds barred, holiday to the hedonistic party haven of Magaluf over and over and over again.
Earth is safe for now, with it came some much needed surprises. Though if Salchar was expecting a break he’s in for a rude awakening, well he’s already done that once... but anyway.
Lady Fairgate has sensed something has gone wrong at Parnmal. Thinking that Jorsht is now trying to carve out his own little kingdom, she sends Captain Kelu, one of her favourite enforcers with the largest Syndicate Fleet assembled since the Syndicate and the Union went head to head.
Though Kelu is in for some nasty surprises when he reaches Parnmal, Jorsht isn’t home and this little bit of space is defended by the Free Fleet. Salchar and his people are going to have to pull some major tricks out of their hats to survive the defense of Parnmal. It’s time to see if the Free Fleet has what it takes to survive. No matter what the outcome, their going to make sure no one is going to forget their names.
In the year 1735 on Beta-Earth, something rare changed everything. War. A civil war in the country of Alma that not only tore up that land but spilled all over the Old Continent. That was because the Royal House of Alma wanted to impose their religion of the New Dome over all their reluctant neighbors. None of these countries had the military power of Alma, so it was up to independent companies of swift-acting, resourceful, and quick-thinking resistance groups to push the invaders back to the sea. Perhaps they could even the odds by capturing one of the new weapons the Almans were firing at them, the deadly missiles that seemed to have minds of their own?
But war can take unexpected, even quirky twists and turns that surprise all sides of the conflict. Can hearty resistance fighters reclaim their homelands or will the seemingly omnipotent Almans bully the New Continent into submission?
Aru must choose...
...use his powers to protect his family...
...or give up his life to save millions of strangers.
Aru and Nemi together summoned Trikaal, an ancient time traveler, who agreed to be their Guru. Nemi chose to master time travel, and Aru to read the future.
But their lives took a sharp turn when paranoid Nemi imprisoned Aru and his pregnant wife. Aru, who considered Nemi his brother, never saw it coming and now languishes in a tiny jail cell. While Nemi travels back and forth in time, wreaking death and destruction.
Traveling to the distant future, Nemi aims to decimate the last survivors of humanity. Aru reads this future and has a plan to end it all. But the price of doing the right thing is too high.
Will Aru escape and save his family or stay and save the world?
This book is free in exchange for signing up to a newsletter
And here are the books you want...
At the heart of a mystery unfolding in space, the opposing forces make a treacherous journey between Earth and Mars.
In space, mutiny means death—that’s why Inspector General Park Yerim is taking her investigation so seriously. The alleged mutineer is Captain Nicolau Aames, whose command of the massive Earth-Mars vessel Aldrin has come under fire. The vast System Initiative says he disobeyed orders, but his crew swears he’s in the right.
En route to Mars, Park gathers testimony from the Aldrin’s diverse crew, painting a complex picture of Aames’s character: his heroism, his failures, even his personal passions. As the investigation unfolds, Park finds herself in the thrall of powerful interests, each pushing and pulling her in a fiery cosmic dance.
Corruption, conflicting loyalties, and clashing accounts make it nearly impossible to see the truth in fifty million miles of darkness, and Park faces danger from every direction. All eyes are on her: one way or another, her findings will have astronomical implications for the Aldrin and the future of space travel.
Captain Siobhan Dunmoore no longer enjoys the freedom to fight the Shrehari Empire on her own terms aboard the Q-ship Iolanthe. Special Operations Command has assigned her to Task Force Luckner, whose mission is replicating Iolanthe’s success on a larger scale. Unfortunately, neither her new superior, Rear Admiral Kell Petras, nor any other captain in the task force understands successful commerce raiding requires a different mindset. Instead of sheepdogs, they must become wolves in sheep’s clothing, and Dunmoore is just the right officer to teach them. Yet Petras and his flag captain are not interested.
But when an unauthorized raid on a Shrehari forward operations base produces surprising results, Dunmoore triggers a cascade of events which could forever change the course of the war. As the old saying goes, fortune favors the bold. Will Dunmoore prove once again that she and Iolanthe’s crew are the most daring of them all?
A starship’s sirens scream into the void. Can a highly trained protector fight for peace on an unfamiliar world?
It’s elite soldier Laure’s duty to protect the last of humanity. Four hundred years after Earth fell to alien invaders, she’s only known life on a colonization ship searching through space. But when the vessel is forced to crash land for emergency repairs, Laure comes face to face with a new breed of enemy.
Struggling both to battle aliens and rescue her colonists, Laure never expects to find her other half on the strange planet. As her telepathic and physical bond with the alien grows, she’s horrified to discover the people she’s sworn to protect turn on her and consider her inhuman.
Torn between two species, can Laure defend humankind from extinction?
For decades, tensions have risen between the resurgent Terran Republic, formed from the ashes of a century-long conflict, and the Belters, colonists who left Earth at the height of the fighting to build new worlds among the stars, looking back at their homeworld with jealous, acquisitive eyes. When war erupts, the heart of their battle fleet is Goliath, the largest battleship ever built, the result of years of work in hidden shipyards lost in the depths of space. Earth has no answer to her, no ship in her fleet a match for the overwhelming power of the warship. Defeat seems inevitable.
Until a renegade Admiral concocts a final, desperate plan.
Only one ship, an experimental warship, the Avenger, might possibly stand a chance against the might of Goliath. One ship, with a picked crew, a crew with nothing to lose and everything to gain, gathered from the dregs of Earth’s space forces, all facing charges ranging from murder to mutiny, but all of them the best in their respective fields. The last hope for the Terran Republic. The last, desperate hope for victory.
You don’t know what’s coming...
Humanity is in danger...
The Krah have found our weaknesses, and nothing will ever be the same.
An experimental device was used in a last ditch effort to save the crew of the Modulus Echo. The result was more deadly than anyone anticipated.
A portal has opened to a new galaxy, a tunnel connecting two distant points of space. It is a doorway to a place ruled by a cruel, militant race whose only focus is complete domination. Humanity knows nothing about the Krah Empire, but soon they will learn to fear the alien ships and the fierce warriors who crew them. For the first time in the history of the human race, mankind is no longer the most intelligent and powerful species in the galaxy. The first shots in a galactic war have been fired, and the Modulus Echo is on the front lines.
'Reverb: Live, Die, Rave, Repeat' tells the epic story of six young and adventurous students who get to relive the first day of their, no holds barred, holiday to the hedonistic party haven of Magaluf over and over and over again.
Earth is safe for now, with it came some much needed surprises. Though if Salchar was expecting a break he’s in for a rude awakening, well he’s already done that once... but anyway.
Lady Fairgate has sensed something has gone wrong at Parnmal. Thinking that Jorsht is now trying to carve out his own little kingdom, she sends Captain Kelu, one of her favourite enforcers with the largest Syndicate Fleet assembled since the Syndicate and the Union went head to head.
Though Kelu is in for some nasty surprises when he reaches Parnmal, Jorsht isn’t home and this little bit of space is defended by the Free Fleet. Salchar and his people are going to have to pull some major tricks out of their hats to survive the defense of Parnmal. It’s time to see if the Free Fleet has what it takes to survive. No matter what the outcome, their going to make sure no one is going to forget their names.
In the year 1735 on Beta-Earth, something rare changed everything. War. A civil war in the country of Alma that not only tore up that land but spilled all over the Old Continent. That was because the Royal House of Alma wanted to impose their religion of the New Dome over all their reluctant neighbors. None of these countries had the military power of Alma, so it was up to independent companies of swift-acting, resourceful, and quick-thinking resistance groups to push the invaders back to the sea. Perhaps they could even the odds by capturing one of the new weapons the Almans were firing at them, the deadly missiles that seemed to have minds of their own?
But war can take unexpected, even quirky twists and turns that surprise all sides of the conflict. Can hearty resistance fighters reclaim their homelands or will the seemingly omnipotent Almans bully the New Continent into submission?
Aru must choose...
...use his powers to protect his family...
...or give up his life to save millions of strangers.
Aru and Nemi together summoned Trikaal, an ancient time traveler, who agreed to be their Guru. Nemi chose to master time travel, and Aru to read the future.
But their lives took a sharp turn when paranoid Nemi imprisoned Aru and his pregnant wife. Aru, who considered Nemi his brother, never saw it coming and now languishes in a tiny jail cell. While Nemi travels back and forth in time, wreaking death and destruction.
Traveling to the distant future, Nemi aims to decimate the last survivors of humanity. Aru reads this future and has a plan to end it all. But the price of doing the right thing is too high.
Will Aru escape and save his family or stay and save the world?
This book is free in exchange for signing up to a newsletter
September 29, 2019
The September Roundup of Scifi Books
What a crazy moth September always is. A new school year, leading trips to Snowdonia and Dartmoor, the orienteering league starting again, and a hundred and one other things conspire to mean I hardly have any time to sort out the graden, let alone write. Still, it does bring a host of ideas that I note down that eventually turn into story points!
It is pretty much obligatory for authors to post pictures of their cats. Many of you will know Sven, my rescued old boy. Then there's the kittens, Iggy and Mica.
And here are the books you want...
After the Renegade mission by the crew of the starship Flying Dutchman, the UN Expeditionary Force thought Earth was safe for hundreds of years, at least. After there was trouble on the Homefront, and the President had to authorize a nuclear strike on an American city. UNEF decided they did need the Merry Band of Pirates again. So, the Flying Dutchman is sent out on a simple recon mission. But for the Pirates, nothing is ever simple, and their mission will become Armageddon
hen the Taljzi’s genocidal invasion brought promises of aid from the oldest and greatest of the Core Powers, humanity and the Imperium looked to the Mesharom for salvation. But that salvation turns to ash as the Mesharom demand the surrender of the very weapons that saved the Imperium.
Defiance leaves the Imperium facing the Taljzi without the aide of the galaxy’s wisest race, but with their old enemies the Kanzi at their side, they have no choice but to end this war at any cost.
But Mesharom and Taljzi alike have scattered fire and death across the stars. The Imperial forces under Fleet Lord Harriet Tanaka will need every scrap of firepower and cleverness not only to defeat their enemies…but to find them in the first place.
Humanity has reached an uneasy truce with the Empire—but unless the allies bring the fight to the enemy, extinction is all but assured. In preparation for the inevitable next war, Commander Stephen Michaels is at the helm of the Archangel Squadron, and his orders are simple: go rogue.
Disguised as mercenaries, Commander Michaels and the Archangels seek valuable intelligence on their imposing foe. Their mission takes them deep into uncharted territory, where they make inroads with the Empire, fiercely guarding their true identities and purpose. Fighting for the enemy goes against everything they stand for, but these are desperate times.
As their deception increases, so does the risk. With the Empire’s deadliest secrets within reach, Commander Michaels and the Archangels accept a mission that will take them even deeper into the Imperial fold. They know all too well that one wrong step won’t just end their lives—it could end their entire civilization.
Synthetic Intelligence.
Thought impossible, but Dr. Wallace Theren has pushed the boundaries of computational science, creating an artificial mind capable of conscious thought. Naturally, his creation faces a harsh world bent on using it, exploiting it, or destroying it. If the first synthetic intelligence is to survive its early years, it'll need friends, but more importantly, it'll need a family.
And together, they'll need to show their enemies they're worth saving... or fearing.
Caution: this is a free book in exchange for signing up to an author's mailing list
The mission is simple. Escort an emissary to an intergalactic peace summit. Try not to get in the way.
Lt. Magnus and his 79th Recon Team have certainly handled worse, after all.
But when an explosion rocks the tower and sends everyone into a panic, Magnus and his asset find themselves cut off from the rest of the team. Worse still, a dying alien chieftain gives them a priceless drive of intel, marking them for death. The mission has officially changed.
With enemies on all sides, Magnus must do everything in his power to protect the emissary and escape the tower. There is no back-up. There is no chance for failure.
The fate of the entire galaxy now lies in the hands of a Republic Marine and a diplomat.
All they have to do is survive.
The Solarian League's navy counts its superdreadnoughts by the thousands. Not even its own government knows how enormous its economy truly is. And for hundreds of years, the League has borne the banner of human civilization, been the ideal to which humanity aspires in its diaspora across the galaxy.
But the bureaucrats known as the "Mandarins," who rule today's League, are not the men and women who founded it so long ago. They are corrupt, venal, accountable to no one... and they've decided the upstart Star Kingdom of Manticore must be destroyed.
Honor Harrington has worn the Star Kingdom's uniform for half a century and served her monarch and her people well. In the course of those years, the woman the newsies call the Salamander has grown from a tactically brilliant but politically naïve junior officer to supreme fleet command and a seat on the highest military and political councils of the Grand Alliance.
Very few people know war the way Honor Harrington does. Very few have lost as many men and women, as many friends, as much family, as she has. Yet despite that, hers has been a voice of caution. She knows the Mandarins and the Solarian League Navy are growing increasingly desperate as the truth of their technological inferiority sinks home, but she also knows the sheer size of the League. And she knows how its citizens will react if the Grand Alliance takes the war to the League, attacks its star systems, destroys its infrastructure... kills its civilians. Today's victory, bought on those terms, can only guarantee a future war of revenge against a resurgent Solarian League and its navy.
Honor knows the Grand Alliance must find a victory that doesn't require incursions deep into Solarian space, doesn't leave a legacy of bottomless hatred, and the strategy she supports has been working.
The League is sliding towards inglorious defeat as it steadily loses ground in the Protectorates and the Verge. As its central government teeters towards bankruptcy and even some of its core systems opt to secede in the face of the Mandarins' corruption. As the Solarian Navy finally realizes it cannot face an Alliance battle fleet and win.
But the Mandarins have embraced a desperate new strategy, and in pursuit of that strategy, the SLN has committed atrocities such as the galaxy has not known in a thousand years. The League have violated its own Eridani Edict against mass civilian casualties, violated the Deneb Accords prohibition on war crimes.
And they have finally killed too many of the people Honor Harrington loves.
Hers is the voice of caution and compromise no longer, and the galaxy is about to see something it has never imagined.
The Salamander is coming for the Solarian League, and Hell is coming in her wake.
Their cruise ship jumped to the wrong star system.
Criminal attorney, Liam Price, can't believe his luck. He scored a deal for a suite aboard the Starlit Dream to the exotic world of Aquaria in the Kepler star system. He surprises his wife, Aria, with the trip for her 40th birthday, and the Price family gets ready for the trip of a lifetime.
Soon after the voyage starts, they learn that they've somehow jumped to the wrong star system. Liam consults the ship's computer to determine their location, but he can't access the navigational data. The captain claims that there's nothing to worry about, but Liam wonders: if there's nothing to worry about, why restrict access to the ship's nav data? He fears that pirates may have detoured them to rob and ransom the wealthy passengers.
Before they can learn more, the ship plunges into darkness, and suddenly the cruise of a lifetime turns into a trip to hell. As the crisis unfolds, Liam and his family are thrust into the middle of a deadly conspiracy and a desperate struggle for survival.
The battle for Sparta has begun.
Logan Brannigan has taken back his father’s name and now he and Wholesale Slaughter fight to reclaim his father’s throne.
But deposing the traitor, Rhianna Hale, without bringing all of Sparta into a bloody and divisive civil war won't be easy. And while the Spartans fight among themselves, vultures circle, waiting for their chance to claim what’s left.
When former allies are forced into opposing sides, who can Logan trust to have his back…and who will deliver the Judas kiss?
The war everyone thought was over is just beginning.
Kira Forrest is a survivor. She’s risen above the pain of her beginnings to become a war hero only to leave it all behind in the pursuit of a simple life. Now a salvager, she makes a living sifting through the wreckage of dead alien ships from a war that nearly brought humanity to its knees.
After her ship takes damage, she’s forced to re-route to a space station where her past and present collide with dangerous consequences.
Kira’s existence holds the key to a faltering peace treaty with the Tuann—a technologically advanced alien race who dislikes and distrusts all humans. Winning her freedom should be easy, but a powerful and relentless Tuann warrior stands in her way. Deceiving him seems impossible, especially when he strays dangerously close to secrets she struggles to hide.
Can Kira reconcile the pain of her past with the possibilities of her future? The fate of two races depends on her success.
Hundreds of years in the future, on a stagnating and almost empty Earth, a space shuttle pilot from the early days of the 21st century is awoken from the cryogenic sleep he entered after a devastating accident.
As he comes to terms with this new world, he begins to realise that their history does not match what he remembers - and that only he may be able to stop the coming catastrophe destined to destroy the planet.
Until he meets a young woman who seems to have a drive of her own, and a plan...
One woman. One mission. One chance to save the world.
It’s 1952, and the world as we know it is gone. A meteorite has destroyed Washington DC, triggering extinction-level global warming. To save humanity, the world unites to form the International Aerospace Coalition. Its mission: to colonise first the Moon, then Mars.
Elma York, World War Two pilot and mathematician, dreams of becoming an astronaut but prejudice has kept her grounded. Now nothing and no man will stop her from reaching for the stars.
With each cough death looms closer.
Only an experimental technology can save him.
New meaning enters his life when a foreign leader asks the humble monk Am'ranth to help solidify his legacy during a time of peace. That legacy?
A weapon unlike any other.
Their friendship is the stuff of legends; their rivalry reshaped humanity's future.
Caution: this is a free book in exchange for signing up to an author's mailing list
Centuries after their defeat, the enemy has returned with an overwhelming attack on the fringes of human space. On the brink of annihilation, humankind's only hope is a few brave souls who survived the initial onslaught: Commander Lucinda Hardy, thrust into uncertain command of the Royal Armadalen Navy's only surviving warship; Booker3, a soldier of Earth, sentenced to die for treason, whose time on Death Row is cut short by the invasion; Alessia, a young royal of the Montanblanc Corporation, forced to flee when her home planet is overrun and her entire family executed; Sephina L'trel, the leader of an outlaw band who must call on all of their criminal skills to resist the invasion.
And, finally, retired Admiral Frazer McLennan, the infamous hero of the first war with the Sturm hundreds of years ago, who hopes to rout his old foes once and for all – or die trying.
These five flawed, reluctant heroes must band together to prevail against a relentless enemy and near-impossible odds. For if they fail, the future itself is doomed.
It is pretty much obligatory for authors to post pictures of their cats. Many of you will know Sven, my rescued old boy. Then there's the kittens, Iggy and Mica.
And here are the books you want...
After the Renegade mission by the crew of the starship Flying Dutchman, the UN Expeditionary Force thought Earth was safe for hundreds of years, at least. After there was trouble on the Homefront, and the President had to authorize a nuclear strike on an American city. UNEF decided they did need the Merry Band of Pirates again. So, the Flying Dutchman is sent out on a simple recon mission. But for the Pirates, nothing is ever simple, and their mission will become Armageddon
hen the Taljzi’s genocidal invasion brought promises of aid from the oldest and greatest of the Core Powers, humanity and the Imperium looked to the Mesharom for salvation. But that salvation turns to ash as the Mesharom demand the surrender of the very weapons that saved the Imperium.
Defiance leaves the Imperium facing the Taljzi without the aide of the galaxy’s wisest race, but with their old enemies the Kanzi at their side, they have no choice but to end this war at any cost.
But Mesharom and Taljzi alike have scattered fire and death across the stars. The Imperial forces under Fleet Lord Harriet Tanaka will need every scrap of firepower and cleverness not only to defeat their enemies…but to find them in the first place.
Humanity has reached an uneasy truce with the Empire—but unless the allies bring the fight to the enemy, extinction is all but assured. In preparation for the inevitable next war, Commander Stephen Michaels is at the helm of the Archangel Squadron, and his orders are simple: go rogue.
Disguised as mercenaries, Commander Michaels and the Archangels seek valuable intelligence on their imposing foe. Their mission takes them deep into uncharted territory, where they make inroads with the Empire, fiercely guarding their true identities and purpose. Fighting for the enemy goes against everything they stand for, but these are desperate times.
As their deception increases, so does the risk. With the Empire’s deadliest secrets within reach, Commander Michaels and the Archangels accept a mission that will take them even deeper into the Imperial fold. They know all too well that one wrong step won’t just end their lives—it could end their entire civilization.
Synthetic Intelligence.
Thought impossible, but Dr. Wallace Theren has pushed the boundaries of computational science, creating an artificial mind capable of conscious thought. Naturally, his creation faces a harsh world bent on using it, exploiting it, or destroying it. If the first synthetic intelligence is to survive its early years, it'll need friends, but more importantly, it'll need a family.
And together, they'll need to show their enemies they're worth saving... or fearing.
Caution: this is a free book in exchange for signing up to an author's mailing list
The mission is simple. Escort an emissary to an intergalactic peace summit. Try not to get in the way.
Lt. Magnus and his 79th Recon Team have certainly handled worse, after all.
But when an explosion rocks the tower and sends everyone into a panic, Magnus and his asset find themselves cut off from the rest of the team. Worse still, a dying alien chieftain gives them a priceless drive of intel, marking them for death. The mission has officially changed.
With enemies on all sides, Magnus must do everything in his power to protect the emissary and escape the tower. There is no back-up. There is no chance for failure.
The fate of the entire galaxy now lies in the hands of a Republic Marine and a diplomat.
All they have to do is survive.
The Solarian League's navy counts its superdreadnoughts by the thousands. Not even its own government knows how enormous its economy truly is. And for hundreds of years, the League has borne the banner of human civilization, been the ideal to which humanity aspires in its diaspora across the galaxy.
But the bureaucrats known as the "Mandarins," who rule today's League, are not the men and women who founded it so long ago. They are corrupt, venal, accountable to no one... and they've decided the upstart Star Kingdom of Manticore must be destroyed.
Honor Harrington has worn the Star Kingdom's uniform for half a century and served her monarch and her people well. In the course of those years, the woman the newsies call the Salamander has grown from a tactically brilliant but politically naïve junior officer to supreme fleet command and a seat on the highest military and political councils of the Grand Alliance.
Very few people know war the way Honor Harrington does. Very few have lost as many men and women, as many friends, as much family, as she has. Yet despite that, hers has been a voice of caution. She knows the Mandarins and the Solarian League Navy are growing increasingly desperate as the truth of their technological inferiority sinks home, but she also knows the sheer size of the League. And she knows how its citizens will react if the Grand Alliance takes the war to the League, attacks its star systems, destroys its infrastructure... kills its civilians. Today's victory, bought on those terms, can only guarantee a future war of revenge against a resurgent Solarian League and its navy.
Honor knows the Grand Alliance must find a victory that doesn't require incursions deep into Solarian space, doesn't leave a legacy of bottomless hatred, and the strategy she supports has been working.
The League is sliding towards inglorious defeat as it steadily loses ground in the Protectorates and the Verge. As its central government teeters towards bankruptcy and even some of its core systems opt to secede in the face of the Mandarins' corruption. As the Solarian Navy finally realizes it cannot face an Alliance battle fleet and win.
But the Mandarins have embraced a desperate new strategy, and in pursuit of that strategy, the SLN has committed atrocities such as the galaxy has not known in a thousand years. The League have violated its own Eridani Edict against mass civilian casualties, violated the Deneb Accords prohibition on war crimes.
And they have finally killed too many of the people Honor Harrington loves.
Hers is the voice of caution and compromise no longer, and the galaxy is about to see something it has never imagined.
The Salamander is coming for the Solarian League, and Hell is coming in her wake.
Their cruise ship jumped to the wrong star system.
Criminal attorney, Liam Price, can't believe his luck. He scored a deal for a suite aboard the Starlit Dream to the exotic world of Aquaria in the Kepler star system. He surprises his wife, Aria, with the trip for her 40th birthday, and the Price family gets ready for the trip of a lifetime.
Soon after the voyage starts, they learn that they've somehow jumped to the wrong star system. Liam consults the ship's computer to determine their location, but he can't access the navigational data. The captain claims that there's nothing to worry about, but Liam wonders: if there's nothing to worry about, why restrict access to the ship's nav data? He fears that pirates may have detoured them to rob and ransom the wealthy passengers.
Before they can learn more, the ship plunges into darkness, and suddenly the cruise of a lifetime turns into a trip to hell. As the crisis unfolds, Liam and his family are thrust into the middle of a deadly conspiracy and a desperate struggle for survival.
The battle for Sparta has begun.
Logan Brannigan has taken back his father’s name and now he and Wholesale Slaughter fight to reclaim his father’s throne.
But deposing the traitor, Rhianna Hale, without bringing all of Sparta into a bloody and divisive civil war won't be easy. And while the Spartans fight among themselves, vultures circle, waiting for their chance to claim what’s left.
When former allies are forced into opposing sides, who can Logan trust to have his back…and who will deliver the Judas kiss?
The war everyone thought was over is just beginning.
Kira Forrest is a survivor. She’s risen above the pain of her beginnings to become a war hero only to leave it all behind in the pursuit of a simple life. Now a salvager, she makes a living sifting through the wreckage of dead alien ships from a war that nearly brought humanity to its knees.
After her ship takes damage, she’s forced to re-route to a space station where her past and present collide with dangerous consequences.
Kira’s existence holds the key to a faltering peace treaty with the Tuann—a technologically advanced alien race who dislikes and distrusts all humans. Winning her freedom should be easy, but a powerful and relentless Tuann warrior stands in her way. Deceiving him seems impossible, especially when he strays dangerously close to secrets she struggles to hide.
Can Kira reconcile the pain of her past with the possibilities of her future? The fate of two races depends on her success.
Hundreds of years in the future, on a stagnating and almost empty Earth, a space shuttle pilot from the early days of the 21st century is awoken from the cryogenic sleep he entered after a devastating accident.
As he comes to terms with this new world, he begins to realise that their history does not match what he remembers - and that only he may be able to stop the coming catastrophe destined to destroy the planet.
Until he meets a young woman who seems to have a drive of her own, and a plan...
One woman. One mission. One chance to save the world.
It’s 1952, and the world as we know it is gone. A meteorite has destroyed Washington DC, triggering extinction-level global warming. To save humanity, the world unites to form the International Aerospace Coalition. Its mission: to colonise first the Moon, then Mars.
Elma York, World War Two pilot and mathematician, dreams of becoming an astronaut but prejudice has kept her grounded. Now nothing and no man will stop her from reaching for the stars.
With each cough death looms closer.
Only an experimental technology can save him.
New meaning enters his life when a foreign leader asks the humble monk Am'ranth to help solidify his legacy during a time of peace. That legacy?
A weapon unlike any other.
Their friendship is the stuff of legends; their rivalry reshaped humanity's future.
Caution: this is a free book in exchange for signing up to an author's mailing list
Centuries after their defeat, the enemy has returned with an overwhelming attack on the fringes of human space. On the brink of annihilation, humankind's only hope is a few brave souls who survived the initial onslaught: Commander Lucinda Hardy, thrust into uncertain command of the Royal Armadalen Navy's only surviving warship; Booker3, a soldier of Earth, sentenced to die for treason, whose time on Death Row is cut short by the invasion; Alessia, a young royal of the Montanblanc Corporation, forced to flee when her home planet is overrun and her entire family executed; Sephina L'trel, the leader of an outlaw band who must call on all of their criminal skills to resist the invasion.
And, finally, retired Admiral Frazer McLennan, the infamous hero of the first war with the Sturm hundreds of years ago, who hopes to rout his old foes once and for all – or die trying.
These five flawed, reluctant heroes must band together to prevail against a relentless enemy and near-impossible odds. For if they fail, the future itself is doomed.
September 9, 2019
An interview with D. Scott Johnson
Not much to report due to the start of the new academic year and all the chaos that brings. I'm off to Snowdonia with all of Yr9 this weekend for mountaineering, climbing and first aid training. And if all that's not enough, I'm now Chairman of Quantock Orienteers. It's a good job that Fraternity is off with a developmental editor right now! 
In my interview today, I am talking to D. Scott Johnson, author of the Gemini Gambit and Dragon's Ark.
What was the hardest thing about writing your latest book?
The first draft of the third book in my series, Gemini Gambit: Child of the Fall, was a complete disaster. My editor and I tore it down to the foundations and, with her help, I built it back up almost from scratch. I'm really glad I did, though. It's a much better story now.
What's your series about?
Gemini Gambit is set twenty years in the future. We now have fully immersive artificial reality, sophisticated artificial intelligences, and even self-driving cars. The series follows Kimberly Trayne, a former cyber-thief as she deals with her deadly past, her quirky friends, and an AI that shouldn't exist.
Do you have a special time to write or how is your day structured?
It depends on where I am in the writing process. When plotting and planning, I write whenever I've got some free time. When drafting, I'll stick my laptop in its bag and head down to the local pub. They're usually empty when I'm there (~ 3:30 pm), and a single beer is good to get things rolling.
What are you working on at the minute?
The very early stages of Book 4 of Gemini Gambit! As currently plotted, the series is scheduled to have at least six books. I look back on the days of groaning about 800 word essays in school and just smile.
Oh, yes. I'm still amused when pupils struggle to get a few hundred words written in a week.
What draws you to writing science fiction?
I love the wonder of it, the scale. I also love how it allows you to explore the human condition by exaggerating, eliminating, or distorting any part of what makes us, well, us. And you get to include cool special effects!
Thank you for taking the time to talk to me. Good luck with the Alfas - beautiful cars but a nightmare to maintain!
D. Scott Johnson has been an IT professional since 1988, and currently works as a software developer. Aside from writing, he also mucks around with the ridiculous world of hi-fi audio, and just barely keeps his two classic Alfa Romeos on the road. He lives in Northern Virginia with his wife, daughter, and however many pets they have managed to sneak into the house at any one time.
In my interview today, I am talking to D. Scott Johnson, author of the Gemini Gambit and Dragon's Ark.
What was the hardest thing about writing your latest book?
The first draft of the third book in my series, Gemini Gambit: Child of the Fall, was a complete disaster. My editor and I tore it down to the foundations and, with her help, I built it back up almost from scratch. I'm really glad I did, though. It's a much better story now.
What's your series about?
Gemini Gambit is set twenty years in the future. We now have fully immersive artificial reality, sophisticated artificial intelligences, and even self-driving cars. The series follows Kimberly Trayne, a former cyber-thief as she deals with her deadly past, her quirky friends, and an AI that shouldn't exist.
Do you have a special time to write or how is your day structured?
It depends on where I am in the writing process. When plotting and planning, I write whenever I've got some free time. When drafting, I'll stick my laptop in its bag and head down to the local pub. They're usually empty when I'm there (~ 3:30 pm), and a single beer is good to get things rolling.
What are you working on at the minute?
The very early stages of Book 4 of Gemini Gambit! As currently plotted, the series is scheduled to have at least six books. I look back on the days of groaning about 800 word essays in school and just smile.
Oh, yes. I'm still amused when pupils struggle to get a few hundred words written in a week.
What draws you to writing science fiction?
I love the wonder of it, the scale. I also love how it allows you to explore the human condition by exaggerating, eliminating, or distorting any part of what makes us, well, us. And you get to include cool special effects!
Thank you for taking the time to talk to me. Good luck with the Alfas - beautiful cars but a nightmare to maintain!
D. Scott Johnson has been an IT professional since 1988, and currently works as a software developer. Aside from writing, he also mucks around with the ridiculous world of hi-fi audio, and just barely keeps his two classic Alfa Romeos on the road. He lives in Northern Virginia with his wife, daughter, and however many pets they have managed to sneak into the house at any one time.
August 27, 2019
The August Round-up of Scifi Books
Today has been rather a frustrating day. I was all set for a major crack at getting the rewrite done on Fraternity. I got a lot done in Snowdonia earlier in the month and finally got the big problem sorted out. But I've been without power in the house most of the day. The RCCD kept tripping. I tried switching everything off and it still tripped within seconds of being flipped back up. After a lot of moving furniture to get at sockets to unplug things, the problem was eventually spotted. One of the kittens had widdled on an extension and the wee was shorting the circuit.
Now, I mentioned Snowdonia. I spent almost a week living in the Idwal Cottage Hostel. It's a wonderfully remote place, even though it is on a major road route. Each day I spent the morning doing something outddors, like running or scrambling or climbing, and the afternoon I was able to sit an write without interruption.
I've also got into collecting Munzees with my family. This is a sort of geocaching where the locations have a tiny QR code hidden on something. Its a lot of fun! Take a look and download the app here if you want to give it a go.
And here are the books you want...
Forcefully retired from a top-secret military project. Can she save humanity from itself?
On the backwater world of Cayelle, Tina Freeman runs a shop with her son Rex: fifteen years old, half-human, half-android with a massive chip on his shoulder about having been born without arms or legs.
The shop makes a modest profit, but when a creditor turns up wanting his money back, everything goes pear-shaped.
She needs money, and needs it fast. Another creditor is impossible to find. That leaves her one option: to return to the world she fled fifteen years ago and Kelso Space Station, where her spaceship has languished for over fifteen years, and finally sell the thing.
Tina worked as scientific officer in the Federacy Force’s top secret Project Charon, and was forced out when she rang alarm bells about particles that escaped out of a rift to another universe.
As it turns out, the alien dust has been infecting people in her absence, causing profound changes in human behaviour.
When Tina re-surfaces at Kelso, her presence is a threat to those who still defend the project, including her ex-husband, and they want to shut her up, but her continued silence may well mean the end of civilisation.
What if being a hero was encoded in your genes?
And nobody told you?
Casmir Dabrowski would laugh if someone asked him that. After all, he had to build a robot to protect himself from bullies when he was in school.
Fortunately, life is a little better these days. He’s an accomplished robotics engineer, a respected professor, and he almost never gets picked on in the lunchroom. But he’s positive heroics are for other people.
Until robot assassins stride onto campus and try to kill him.
Forced to flee the work he loves and the only home he’s ever known, Casmir catches the first ship into space, where he hopes to buy time to figure out who wants him dead and why. If he can’t, he’ll never be able to return home.
But he soon finds himself entangled with bounty hunters, mercenaries, and pirates, including the most feared criminal in the Star Kingdom: Captain Tenebris Rache.
Rache could snap his spine with one cybernetically enhanced finger, but he may be the only person with the answer Casmir desperately needs:
What in his genes is worth killing for?
An ancient mystery has returned.
Everyone wants to survive. Everyone wants answers.
The Outer Layer is an enigma to its residents. Representatives from countless races and civilisations wander the many territories, hoping to unlock the secrets and progress further into its depths.
After the events at Camp David, the Terran Alliance faces a crossroads—act upon this tragedy and start a war, or refrain and change the course of history. The choice is not easy since the incident leaves a young captain, Lucy Grimes, in full control of the Alliance, thrust against her will into leadership of the most powerful organization known to man.
As the Terran Alliance grows in size and strength, there are those both on Earth and off who see this as a direct threat. But they soon find that this fledgling organization isn’t going down without a fight as the Alliance endeavors to defend its home world from all enemies, foreign and domestic.
An alien civilization known as the Korvil has captured two humans and are torturing them to learn more about this new enemy. But things suddenly shift when the Shiravi—dubbed the Builders—mount a daring attack on a Korvil ship that results in their rescue. The events this sets into motion will change the frontier of the galaxy for generations to come.
For self-taught engineer Ben Griminski, life is perilous and hard. Living on the junk world of Torrent Four, Ben scours the vast fields of trash, wreckage, and derelict ships in search of anything of value while avoiding the Salvage Scalpers, a gang that takes whatever it wants and enslaves anyone with a knack for finding valuables in the endless mounds of trash. For many people in his position, life is unbearable, but Ben has a secret. Buried deep in the salvage fields, hidden by mounds of rubbish, lies a Kestrel class starship. And after a decade of tireless work, she’s almost ready to fly.
The Royal Imperium rules the galaxy with an iron fist. Freedom is just a dream on the hundreds of worlds under their domain. But in space, a person with a fast ship, an able crew, and the right connections can enjoy the last vestiges of liberty, as long as they stay under the radar. Ben Griminski has a ship, but he’ll need a crew and plenty of Zexum to fuel her if they hope to escape their dreary lives on Torrent Four. It’s a challenge worth taking on, and if his luck holds, he might just discover what life is like among the stars.
Brilliant physicist Zeke Travers is on the brink of a scientific breakthrough… and a nervous breakdown. So after the beta test of his interdimensional drive goes off without a hitch, he breathes a sigh of relief. But when an alien warship materializes out of nowhere with guns blazing, Zeke and his team must risk using their invention to jump to a parallel universe.
Uncertain how to return to their native continuum, Zeke’s nerd squad must blind-hop across the omniverse from high-tech galaxies to magic-powered medieval planets. Hunted by ridiculously persistent and savage attackers, Zeke fears the pursuers are only puppets of a far more shadowy evil. And with every roll of the interstellar dice, he’s terrified they’re falling deeper into its sinister clutches.
Can Zeke uncover the dark force behind the attacks in time to save his crew and possibly the galaxy?
At only eighteen, Helga Ate has lived a full life. After losing her parents and joining the Alliance Navy, Helga has proven to be special—special enough to be chosen for the prestigious Nighthawks.
But sometimes being chosen is too much for anyone...
Helga, having experienced war, is determined to bury her survivor's guilt and the memory of her first mission. With the pressure mounting, Helga will stop at nothing to keep it all together. But rest and recovery are not within her reach after a satellite is attacked and human lives are lost. Helga must once again join forces with the Alliance to embark upon yet another dangerous mission of death and destruction.
Will Helga be able to survive the mission and rescue those in need—or will she succumb to the war inside her mind?
For decades radio telescopes have scoured the skies for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence but have found none. Why? Could it be we really are alone in the universe? Or is it that the truth has been withheld from us by a global conspiracy of silence?
When radio telescope operators Lauren Stelleck, a woman with a special gift enabling her to literally see certain sounds, and Steve Andrews, a diehard sci-fi geek, detect a signal like no other at Jodrell Bank in England, a chain of events is unleashed that propels Earth towards all-out nuclear war. Can Lauren and Steve unlock the secret of the signal before our species tears itself apart?
Thirty years from now, in a dystopian future, the Earth is under strain due to natural disasters and accelerating pollution. On the coast of Madagascar, a ruthless corporate leader creates his own vision of the future in the shape of Tabula Rasa, a mega-complex inhabited by over a million people.
Jonathan Jarl, a rookie agent for the Amber group, is on his first assignment and is assigned to retrieve the famous Nebra Sky disc that has been stolen. During the mission, he is faced with some of Tabula Rasas darkest secrets.
Meanwhile, in orbit around the moon, a discovery is made that has potential implications for the entire human race but Tabula Rasa is doing everything in its powers to keep the discovery secret. In a lab within Tabula Rasa, an idealistic scientist decides to share the discovery with the world. She takes a fateful decision that puts her life on the line.
Fix the past. Save the present. Stop the future. Master of science fiction Alastair Reynolds unfolds a time-traveling climate fiction adventure in Permafrost.
2080: at a remote site on the edge of the Arctic Circle, a group of scientists, engineers and physicians gather to gamble humanity’s future on one last-ditch experiment. Their goal: to make a tiny alteration to the past, averting a global catastrophe while at the same time leaving recorded history intact. To make the experiment work, they just need one last recruit: an ageing schoolteacher whose late mother was the foremost expert on the mathematics of paradox.
2028: a young woman goes into surgery for routine brain surgery. In the days following her operation, she begins to hear another voice in her head... an unwanted presence which seems to have a will, and a purpose, all of its own – one that will disrupt her life entirely. The only choice left to her is a simple one.
Does she resist ... or become a collaborator?
Good and Evil do not exist.
Men and women are completely different species.
God and Satan are brother and sister, and the Big Bang was a giant cockup.
Now, over 13 billion years later, the most important item in all of creation is Simon Debovar's living room carpet. And someone just stole it.
Can Simon overcome his anti-social nature and recover his carpet before it costs him his life?
And, more importantly, should he?
Brace yourself for a witty, sexy, sweary romp through a world of angels, demons, witches, immortals and talking deer. Join Simon and his alcoholic, foul-mouthed Great Aunt Harriet as they stumble their way from one near disaster to the next, with the fate of the world at stake.
Bacchus Than wants nothing more than to return home after what felt like a lifetime in space. His plans are de-railed when he crosses paths with an old rival determined to throw a wrench in his plan.With his ship damaged and his body bruised one question remains. Will Bacchus ever make it home?
The skies have gone rogue. Space can't be tamed. And magic is a law unto itself.
Transport yourself to new worlds where dark magic clashes with witty witches, diabolic demons, feisty fae, and sexy shifters. Or travel through time and space with cosmic spies, space thieves, and telepathic pirates. Add in a dash of Victorian heroes and inhuman soldiers, and you have a one-of-a-kind science fiction and fantasy collection of intoxicating proportions.
Life was more simple as a servant.
I’m destined to work under the boot of the Gold Standard for the rest of my life, to pay the debt of my dead father’s addiction to the most violent competition in the galaxy.
The competition I’m participating in right now. Everyone in my crew are servants. My best friend Devin and I obeyed the Totalitarian Corporation all of our lives. The balls on him! He got us in the tournament and picked up a sleek ship to command! The other teams have more training, credits and are armed to the teeth with the most advanced tech the black markets have.
One contestant in the other team caught my interest. Galia. No man has ever made me feel the way she has. But she’s such a reckless, gorgeous, pompous woman!
Even so, perhaps she can help us...
Peace negotiations are easy right?
Not when you're learning a language composed of hisses, growls and other guttural sounds. And that's not even the tough part for recently-divorced diplomat, Viktor Jacobs. No, that would be matching wits with the fiercely intelligent daughter of the opposing side.
Between dodging her claws, avoiding a myriad of cultural taboos, and not accidentally getting married or killed, Viktor has to somehow show the Lyrissians that joining the Alliance of Worlds is the best choice for all of their futures.
No matter the century, being a teenage vampire is hard when there’s no one around to teach you how to be cool, date and lift a car out of the way without getting caught.
Vickie has grown into a rockstar vampire with her powers, but she can still cause harm. Not a good way to stay hidden when everyone has the number to TMZ and a camera in their pocket. Selfie with the teenage vampire anyone?
Social media can bite worse than a vampire’s fangs.
That’s not her only problem. The Circle may be gone, but a government agency is looking into supernatural activity and everything points at Vickie. Big brother is not happy.
To make matters worse, Alexis and Vickie clash over misunderstandings and Vickie’s desire for more independence. Can the girls get past their disagreements and work together as a family?
Vicki’s danger meter is going off and she can sense a threat to her new family.
Can Vicki right some wrongs and make up with Alexis before she finds herself in an even worse situation?
Now, I mentioned Snowdonia. I spent almost a week living in the Idwal Cottage Hostel. It's a wonderfully remote place, even though it is on a major road route. Each day I spent the morning doing something outddors, like running or scrambling or climbing, and the afternoon I was able to sit an write without interruption.
I've also got into collecting Munzees with my family. This is a sort of geocaching where the locations have a tiny QR code hidden on something. Its a lot of fun! Take a look and download the app here if you want to give it a go.
And here are the books you want...
Forcefully retired from a top-secret military project. Can she save humanity from itself?
On the backwater world of Cayelle, Tina Freeman runs a shop with her son Rex: fifteen years old, half-human, half-android with a massive chip on his shoulder about having been born without arms or legs.
The shop makes a modest profit, but when a creditor turns up wanting his money back, everything goes pear-shaped.
She needs money, and needs it fast. Another creditor is impossible to find. That leaves her one option: to return to the world she fled fifteen years ago and Kelso Space Station, where her spaceship has languished for over fifteen years, and finally sell the thing.
Tina worked as scientific officer in the Federacy Force’s top secret Project Charon, and was forced out when she rang alarm bells about particles that escaped out of a rift to another universe.
As it turns out, the alien dust has been infecting people in her absence, causing profound changes in human behaviour.
When Tina re-surfaces at Kelso, her presence is a threat to those who still defend the project, including her ex-husband, and they want to shut her up, but her continued silence may well mean the end of civilisation.
What if being a hero was encoded in your genes?
And nobody told you?
Casmir Dabrowski would laugh if someone asked him that. After all, he had to build a robot to protect himself from bullies when he was in school.
Fortunately, life is a little better these days. He’s an accomplished robotics engineer, a respected professor, and he almost never gets picked on in the lunchroom. But he’s positive heroics are for other people.
Until robot assassins stride onto campus and try to kill him.
Forced to flee the work he loves and the only home he’s ever known, Casmir catches the first ship into space, where he hopes to buy time to figure out who wants him dead and why. If he can’t, he’ll never be able to return home.
But he soon finds himself entangled with bounty hunters, mercenaries, and pirates, including the most feared criminal in the Star Kingdom: Captain Tenebris Rache.
Rache could snap his spine with one cybernetically enhanced finger, but he may be the only person with the answer Casmir desperately needs:
What in his genes is worth killing for?
An ancient mystery has returned.
Everyone wants to survive. Everyone wants answers.
The Outer Layer is an enigma to its residents. Representatives from countless races and civilisations wander the many territories, hoping to unlock the secrets and progress further into its depths.
After the events at Camp David, the Terran Alliance faces a crossroads—act upon this tragedy and start a war, or refrain and change the course of history. The choice is not easy since the incident leaves a young captain, Lucy Grimes, in full control of the Alliance, thrust against her will into leadership of the most powerful organization known to man.
As the Terran Alliance grows in size and strength, there are those both on Earth and off who see this as a direct threat. But they soon find that this fledgling organization isn’t going down without a fight as the Alliance endeavors to defend its home world from all enemies, foreign and domestic.
An alien civilization known as the Korvil has captured two humans and are torturing them to learn more about this new enemy. But things suddenly shift when the Shiravi—dubbed the Builders—mount a daring attack on a Korvil ship that results in their rescue. The events this sets into motion will change the frontier of the galaxy for generations to come.
For self-taught engineer Ben Griminski, life is perilous and hard. Living on the junk world of Torrent Four, Ben scours the vast fields of trash, wreckage, and derelict ships in search of anything of value while avoiding the Salvage Scalpers, a gang that takes whatever it wants and enslaves anyone with a knack for finding valuables in the endless mounds of trash. For many people in his position, life is unbearable, but Ben has a secret. Buried deep in the salvage fields, hidden by mounds of rubbish, lies a Kestrel class starship. And after a decade of tireless work, she’s almost ready to fly.
The Royal Imperium rules the galaxy with an iron fist. Freedom is just a dream on the hundreds of worlds under their domain. But in space, a person with a fast ship, an able crew, and the right connections can enjoy the last vestiges of liberty, as long as they stay under the radar. Ben Griminski has a ship, but he’ll need a crew and plenty of Zexum to fuel her if they hope to escape their dreary lives on Torrent Four. It’s a challenge worth taking on, and if his luck holds, he might just discover what life is like among the stars.
Brilliant physicist Zeke Travers is on the brink of a scientific breakthrough… and a nervous breakdown. So after the beta test of his interdimensional drive goes off without a hitch, he breathes a sigh of relief. But when an alien warship materializes out of nowhere with guns blazing, Zeke and his team must risk using their invention to jump to a parallel universe.
Uncertain how to return to their native continuum, Zeke’s nerd squad must blind-hop across the omniverse from high-tech galaxies to magic-powered medieval planets. Hunted by ridiculously persistent and savage attackers, Zeke fears the pursuers are only puppets of a far more shadowy evil. And with every roll of the interstellar dice, he’s terrified they’re falling deeper into its sinister clutches.
Can Zeke uncover the dark force behind the attacks in time to save his crew and possibly the galaxy?
At only eighteen, Helga Ate has lived a full life. After losing her parents and joining the Alliance Navy, Helga has proven to be special—special enough to be chosen for the prestigious Nighthawks.
But sometimes being chosen is too much for anyone...
Helga, having experienced war, is determined to bury her survivor's guilt and the memory of her first mission. With the pressure mounting, Helga will stop at nothing to keep it all together. But rest and recovery are not within her reach after a satellite is attacked and human lives are lost. Helga must once again join forces with the Alliance to embark upon yet another dangerous mission of death and destruction.
Will Helga be able to survive the mission and rescue those in need—or will she succumb to the war inside her mind?
For decades radio telescopes have scoured the skies for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence but have found none. Why? Could it be we really are alone in the universe? Or is it that the truth has been withheld from us by a global conspiracy of silence?
When radio telescope operators Lauren Stelleck, a woman with a special gift enabling her to literally see certain sounds, and Steve Andrews, a diehard sci-fi geek, detect a signal like no other at Jodrell Bank in England, a chain of events is unleashed that propels Earth towards all-out nuclear war. Can Lauren and Steve unlock the secret of the signal before our species tears itself apart?
Thirty years from now, in a dystopian future, the Earth is under strain due to natural disasters and accelerating pollution. On the coast of Madagascar, a ruthless corporate leader creates his own vision of the future in the shape of Tabula Rasa, a mega-complex inhabited by over a million people.
Jonathan Jarl, a rookie agent for the Amber group, is on his first assignment and is assigned to retrieve the famous Nebra Sky disc that has been stolen. During the mission, he is faced with some of Tabula Rasas darkest secrets.
Meanwhile, in orbit around the moon, a discovery is made that has potential implications for the entire human race but Tabula Rasa is doing everything in its powers to keep the discovery secret. In a lab within Tabula Rasa, an idealistic scientist decides to share the discovery with the world. She takes a fateful decision that puts her life on the line.
Fix the past. Save the present. Stop the future. Master of science fiction Alastair Reynolds unfolds a time-traveling climate fiction adventure in Permafrost.
2080: at a remote site on the edge of the Arctic Circle, a group of scientists, engineers and physicians gather to gamble humanity’s future on one last-ditch experiment. Their goal: to make a tiny alteration to the past, averting a global catastrophe while at the same time leaving recorded history intact. To make the experiment work, they just need one last recruit: an ageing schoolteacher whose late mother was the foremost expert on the mathematics of paradox.
2028: a young woman goes into surgery for routine brain surgery. In the days following her operation, she begins to hear another voice in her head... an unwanted presence which seems to have a will, and a purpose, all of its own – one that will disrupt her life entirely. The only choice left to her is a simple one.
Does she resist ... or become a collaborator?
Good and Evil do not exist.
Men and women are completely different species.
God and Satan are brother and sister, and the Big Bang was a giant cockup.
Now, over 13 billion years later, the most important item in all of creation is Simon Debovar's living room carpet. And someone just stole it.
Can Simon overcome his anti-social nature and recover his carpet before it costs him his life?
And, more importantly, should he?
Brace yourself for a witty, sexy, sweary romp through a world of angels, demons, witches, immortals and talking deer. Join Simon and his alcoholic, foul-mouthed Great Aunt Harriet as they stumble their way from one near disaster to the next, with the fate of the world at stake.
Bacchus Than wants nothing more than to return home after what felt like a lifetime in space. His plans are de-railed when he crosses paths with an old rival determined to throw a wrench in his plan.With his ship damaged and his body bruised one question remains. Will Bacchus ever make it home?
The skies have gone rogue. Space can't be tamed. And magic is a law unto itself.
Transport yourself to new worlds where dark magic clashes with witty witches, diabolic demons, feisty fae, and sexy shifters. Or travel through time and space with cosmic spies, space thieves, and telepathic pirates. Add in a dash of Victorian heroes and inhuman soldiers, and you have a one-of-a-kind science fiction and fantasy collection of intoxicating proportions.
Life was more simple as a servant.
I’m destined to work under the boot of the Gold Standard for the rest of my life, to pay the debt of my dead father’s addiction to the most violent competition in the galaxy.
The competition I’m participating in right now. Everyone in my crew are servants. My best friend Devin and I obeyed the Totalitarian Corporation all of our lives. The balls on him! He got us in the tournament and picked up a sleek ship to command! The other teams have more training, credits and are armed to the teeth with the most advanced tech the black markets have.
One contestant in the other team caught my interest. Galia. No man has ever made me feel the way she has. But she’s such a reckless, gorgeous, pompous woman!
Even so, perhaps she can help us...
Peace negotiations are easy right?
Not when you're learning a language composed of hisses, growls and other guttural sounds. And that's not even the tough part for recently-divorced diplomat, Viktor Jacobs. No, that would be matching wits with the fiercely intelligent daughter of the opposing side.
Between dodging her claws, avoiding a myriad of cultural taboos, and not accidentally getting married or killed, Viktor has to somehow show the Lyrissians that joining the Alliance of Worlds is the best choice for all of their futures.
No matter the century, being a teenage vampire is hard when there’s no one around to teach you how to be cool, date and lift a car out of the way without getting caught.
Vickie has grown into a rockstar vampire with her powers, but she can still cause harm. Not a good way to stay hidden when everyone has the number to TMZ and a camera in their pocket. Selfie with the teenage vampire anyone?
Social media can bite worse than a vampire’s fangs.
That’s not her only problem. The Circle may be gone, but a government agency is looking into supernatural activity and everything points at Vickie. Big brother is not happy.
To make matters worse, Alexis and Vickie clash over misunderstandings and Vickie’s desire for more independence. Can the girls get past their disagreements and work together as a family?
Vicki’s danger meter is going off and she can sense a threat to her new family.
Can Vicki right some wrongs and make up with Alexis before she finds herself in an even worse situation?
August 6, 2019
An Interview with L S King
I guess the biggest news I've got today is the arrival of two kittens in my household. Our old cat isn't too keen on them yet, but we're being careful with the introductions. All three are rescues, as are all the other animals in our family.
Now that I've added yet more cute cat pictures to the internet, on with the rest of the post. In my interview today, I am talking to L S King, author of the Deuces Wild space cowboy series.
Firstly a question that to non-writers may seem odd: Have any of your characters ever disobeyed you?
Oh yes! One actually just walked into a scene - just showed up out of the blue. I looked at him and asked myself, "who in the devil are you?" He just grinned and winked oh-so-impudently and proceeded to completely take over not only the book, but he ruined the entire story arc of the series. I had to start over to fit him in (he refused to let me kill him off).
I've definitely been there. One of my lead characters was supposed to just be a foil to help introduce the other lead and I thought I'd killed her at the end of the short story Independence. It seems that in many cases characters have a life of their own and authors just try to keep up with them.
I'm currently trying to solve a problem with my latest novel, Fraternity. It just won't settle into something I'm happy putting out. What are you working on?
Book three of the space opera series, Deuces Wild. And it's going to be interesting because the characters have decided the book isn't going to be what I had planned. Cheeky buggers.
How much research do you do? How do you do it?
I do as much research as I possibly can myself and have friends that I call on to help with accuracy. I have a physicist who helps to keep me from breaking too many laws of science, a pilot who helped with a particularly tough scene in one book, a friend who was raised with horses to help this city girl out, and on it goes.
Which famous person, living or dead, would you like to meet and why?
Professor J.R.R. Tolkien. And, oh dear, does the why really need to be explained? His stories, his love of languages, his imagination - the joy I've had since a kid from reading of his world, all these are reasons.
Finally, what advice would you give to aspiring writers? Other than, perhaps, let your characters express themselves.
Don't stop writing! Don't let voices, whether your own internal one or of those around you, tell you you can't, or you're not good enough, or you'll never get a book published, or whatever other tripe gets tossed at you. You're a writer. Writers write.
Sage advice! Thank you for taking the time to talk to me.
A science fiction fan since she was a wee babe, L.S. King cut her teeth on Twilight Zone and Outer Limits. She cosplayed as a kid and wrote fanfic on everything from Batman to Dark Shadows to Star Trek to X-Men and Avengers. She also studied the martial arts for most of her life.
When on the planet, this mother and grandmother coaches gymnastics, enjoys gardening, soap making, reading, and online gaming. She also likes All Things Myst, Middle-earth, Looney Tunes, the color purple, and is a Zorro aficionado, which might explain her love of swords and cloaks.
Now that I've added yet more cute cat pictures to the internet, on with the rest of the post. In my interview today, I am talking to L S King, author of the Deuces Wild space cowboy series.
Firstly a question that to non-writers may seem odd: Have any of your characters ever disobeyed you?
Oh yes! One actually just walked into a scene - just showed up out of the blue. I looked at him and asked myself, "who in the devil are you?" He just grinned and winked oh-so-impudently and proceeded to completely take over not only the book, but he ruined the entire story arc of the series. I had to start over to fit him in (he refused to let me kill him off).
I've definitely been there. One of my lead characters was supposed to just be a foil to help introduce the other lead and I thought I'd killed her at the end of the short story Independence. It seems that in many cases characters have a life of their own and authors just try to keep up with them.
I'm currently trying to solve a problem with my latest novel, Fraternity. It just won't settle into something I'm happy putting out. What are you working on?
Book three of the space opera series, Deuces Wild. And it's going to be interesting because the characters have decided the book isn't going to be what I had planned. Cheeky buggers.
How much research do you do? How do you do it?
I do as much research as I possibly can myself and have friends that I call on to help with accuracy. I have a physicist who helps to keep me from breaking too many laws of science, a pilot who helped with a particularly tough scene in one book, a friend who was raised with horses to help this city girl out, and on it goes.
Which famous person, living or dead, would you like to meet and why?
Professor J.R.R. Tolkien. And, oh dear, does the why really need to be explained? His stories, his love of languages, his imagination - the joy I've had since a kid from reading of his world, all these are reasons.
Finally, what advice would you give to aspiring writers? Other than, perhaps, let your characters express themselves.
Don't stop writing! Don't let voices, whether your own internal one or of those around you, tell you you can't, or you're not good enough, or you'll never get a book published, or whatever other tripe gets tossed at you. You're a writer. Writers write.
Sage advice! Thank you for taking the time to talk to me.
A science fiction fan since she was a wee babe, L.S. King cut her teeth on Twilight Zone and Outer Limits. She cosplayed as a kid and wrote fanfic on everything from Batman to Dark Shadows to Star Trek to X-Men and Avengers. She also studied the martial arts for most of her life.When on the planet, this mother and grandmother coaches gymnastics, enjoys gardening, soap making, reading, and online gaming. She also likes All Things Myst, Middle-earth, Looney Tunes, the color purple, and is a Zorro aficionado, which might explain her love of swords and cloaks.
July 27, 2019
The July Roundup of Scifi Books
The garden looked amazing earlier this month, but the heatwave has left quite a few plants looking strained. It's still nice to sit out under a tree and write. There have also been some lovely moths and butterflies.
I've just got back from a holiday in Brittany. Lots of walking and swimming in the sea. I visited plenty of historical sites from Neolithic and Bronze Age right through to remnants of Hitler's Atlantic Wall.
And now my monthly list of scifi book suggestions. Remember that those of you getting this by email via Mailerlite should see an option at the bottom to toggle between receiving the full list and a brief summary. The full list shows all the cover images and descriptions and allows clicking on a cover to go straight to that book. The summary contains the little snippet of my life and a link to a webpage with all the books on. Looking at the figures, most people have chosen to get the full listing and browse direct from the email.
It was a nice simple war. Just the Earth Federation and the League of Sovereign Systems fighting for the third time over who would be the supreme power in settled space, and who would have to exist in the victor’s shadow. Then the Ascendency showed up and ruined everything.One moment, Flight Lieutenant Mason Grey was a fighter pilot of the Federal Space Forces about to strike a League base located on a dwarf planet in an uninhabited system. The next, unknown starships showed up, blew his carrier to hell, killed his squadron, shot down his fighter, and left him stranded amid the ruins of the very base he had come to attack.With nothing but a space suit and a dwindling life support system, Mason was in way, way over his head. And that was just the start of his problems.
Harry and Jess thought they had enough on their plates: genetically altered humans bent on world domination, interstellar aliens that thought humans made decent slaves, and a government determined to arrest them for treason.
Then the universe said, "Hold my beer."
With war brewing over the alien technology, a secret society determined to betray Earth, and a head-to-head fight with the aliens on the horizon, they gather both enemies and allies alike to fight for humanity.
If their shaky alliance fails, humanity faces slavery or extermination. They must not fail.
The recently colonized world of Glenlyon has learned that they're stronger when they stand with other star systems than they are on their own. But after helping their neighbor Kosatka against an invasion, Glenlyon has become a target. The aggressive star systems plan to neutralize Glenlyon before striking again.
An attack is launched against Glenlyon's orbital facility with forces too powerful for fleet officer Rob Geary to counter using their sole remaining destroyer, Saber. Mele Darcy's Marines must repel repeated assaults while their hacker tries to get into the enemy systems to give Saber a fighting chance.
To survive, Glenlyon needs more firepower, and the only source for that is their neighbor Kosatka or other star systems that have so far remained neutral. But Kosatka is still battling the remnants of the invasion forces on its own world, and if it sends its only remaining warship to help will be left undefended against another invasion. While Carmen Ochoa fights for the freedom of Kosatka, Lochan Nakamura must survive assassins as he tries to convince other worlds to join a seemingly hopeless struggle.
As star systems founded by people seeking freedom and autonomy, will Kosatka, Glenlyon and others be able to overcome deep suspicions of surrendering any authority to others? Will the free star systems stand together in a new Alliance, or fall alone?
Eighteen years have passed since the Core Civilization was defeated; New Britannia and the Colonies are flourishing and their populations growing. Grady decides that it's time to go home to Britannia. The planet has recovered from the damage done by the Core Alien's attack and is ready to be resettled. The Henricks children will be graduating in a few months and there's nothing standing in the way of them going back home to the planet they were born and raised on. Thousands of the Britannia survivors will join them in the Home Coming.
However, at the end of the war with the Core Civilization, Taffy neglected to share some information she was given by the scouts investigating the Stealth Civilization. It was a small omission but when it comes out, the plans for a Britannia home coming are thrown for a loop. Grady calls off the move to Britannia but sometimes going back home isn't an option. Things can have a way of forcing you to do what you planned anyway.
Disaster has struck the Human Federation of Worlds. The Eternals have finally found Earth and are preparing to destroy it and the rest of the Federation. They begin gathering a massive fleet to overwhelm and destroy all of the Human worlds.
Fleet Admiral Jeremy Strong is far away on the far side of the universe attempting to build an alliance to stop the Eternals’ spread across countless galaxies. However, in his explorations he may have found a threat far greater than that represented by the Eternals.
The Originators along with their Human allies rush to the aid of the Federation, but it may already be too late. If the Federation falls, the Originators will lose their war against the Eternals. Massive space battles erupt and worlds are destroyed as the battle for control of the universe rushes toward its fateful climax.
Admiral Tyler Barron and the Confederation navy face a new threat, darker and deadlier than any that have come before.
The Confederation has just concluded its war with the Hegemony, but now that power, so long the hated enemy, is calling for help, for the Confederation to join it to face a deadly invasion, one likely to subjugate all humanity.
Barron must overcome his own resentments, and the resistance of the Senate, and find a way to lead his forces into battle once more. The odds are long, but the stakes couldn’t be higher, no less than a choice between survival and freedom…and slavery and death.
Barron and his people will find the strength, somehow, to face the invincible enemy, to find some way to fight, to overcome the darkness.
Or at least to survive to fight another day.
Criminal attorney, Liam Price, can't believe his luck. He scored a deal for a suite aboard the Starlit Dream to the exotic world of Aquaria in the Kepler star system. He surprises his wife, Aria, with the trip for her 40th birthday, and the Price family gets ready for the trip of a lifetime.
Soon after the voyage starts, they learn that they've somehow jumped to the wrong star system. Liam consults the ship's computer to determine their location, but he can't access the navigational data. The captain claims that there's nothing to worry about, but Liam wonders: if there's nothing to worry about, why restrict access to the ship's nav data? He fears that pirates may have detoured them to rob and ransom the wealthy passengers.
Before they can learn more, the ship plunges into darkness, and suddenly the cruise of a lifetime turns into a trip to hell. As the crisis unfolds, Liam and his family are thrust into the middle of a deadly conspiracy and a desperate struggle for survival.
The Free Navy - a violent group of Belters in black-market military ships - has crippled the Earth and begun a campaign of piracy and violence among the outer planets. The colony ships heading for the thousand new worlds on the far side of the alien ring gates are easy prey, and no single navy remains strong enough to protect them.
James Holden and his crew know the strengths and weaknesses of this new force better than anyone. Outnumbered and outgunned, the embattled remnants of the old political powers call on the Rocinante for a desperate mission to reach Medina Station at the heart of the gate network.
But the new alliances are as flawed as the old, and the struggle for power has only just begun. As the chaos grows, an alien mystery deepens. Pirate fleets, mutiny and betrayal may be the least of the Rocinante's problems. And in the uncanny spaces past the ring gates, the choices of a few damaged and desperate people may determine the fate of more than just humanity.
Humanity is within months of losing an interstellar war to a species of aliens known as Fangrin. Giving up isn’t an option. Victory doesn’t seem like an option either.
When assault craft pilot Commander Jake Griffin is sent out with the Eternity carrier group to hunt down and destroy enemy facilities, he has no idea what’s coming to him. The planet Graxol-4 out in the middle of nowhere hides a critical enemy base with vital resources just waiting to be stolen. The only problem is, it’s guarded by a war fleet and surface troops, while the planet itself is toxic and gripped by constant storms. The coming fight will be relentless. It will test Griffin’s combat skills to the limit against a vastly superior foe. In a way, he’s got it easy – the troops on the ground will have to beat the Fangrin in the most challenging circumstances imaginable.
That job falls to Lieutenant Tanner Conway, a man who just wants to go home to his family. Victory on Graxol-4 may not win the war, but it will buy time for humanity to regroup, toughen up and come back harder.
However, a third - unknown - player has an interest in this game and their involvement will turn everything on its head.
Hadrian Marlowe is lost.
For half a century, he has searched the farther suns for the lost planet of Vorgossos, hoping to find a way to contact the elusive alien Cielcin. He has not succeeded, and for years has wandered among the barbarian Normans as captain of a band of mercenaries.
Determined to make peace and bring an end to nearly four hundred years of war, Hadrian must venture beyond the security of the Sollan Empire and among the Extrasolarians who dwell between the stars. There, he will face not only the aliens he has come to offer peace, but contend with creatures that once were human, with traitors in his midst, and with a meeting that will bring him face to face with no less than the oldest enemy of mankind.
If he succeeds, he will usher in a peace unlike any in recorded history. If he fails...the galaxy will burn.
Bacchus Than wants nothing more than to return home after what felt like a lifetime in space. His plans are de-railed when he crosses paths with an old rival determined to throw a wrench in his plan.With his ship damaged and his body bruised one question remains. Will Bacchus ever make it home?
Being an officer means balancing many conflicting demands. Making the wrong decision can have serious consequences. It takes a special kind of person to cope with the responsibility. The Officer is an anthology of eleven science fiction short stories by writers from across the globe. It is part of the Newcomer series of scifi anthologies.
Them vs Us is a small collection of short stories about alien invasions, and the human errors that welcomed them.
Please note that this is a free download in exchange for signing up to a newsletter.
The Science Fiction Collection features some of the most amazing sci fi tales ever told from authors including Philip K Dick, Ray Bradbury, Ben Bova and Frederick Pohl.
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing, the endlessly-mysterious moon is explored in this reprint short science fiction anthology from award-winning editor and anthologist Neil Clarke (Clarkesworld, The Best Science Fiction of the Year).
On July 20, 1969, mankind made what had only years earlier seemed like an impossible leap forward: when Apollo 11 became the first manned mission to land on the moon, and Neil Armstrong the first person to step foot on the lunar surface.
While there have only been a handful of new missions since, the fascination with our planet’s satellite continues, and generations of writers and artists have imagined the endless possibilities of lunar life. From adventures in the vast gulf of space between the earth and the moon, to journeys across the light face to the dark side, to the establishment of permanent residences on its surface, science fiction has for decades given readers bold and forward-thinking ideas about our nearest interstellar neighbor and what it might mean to humankind, both now and in our future.
The Eagle Has Landed collects the best stories written in the fifty years since mankind first stepped foot on the lunar surface, serving as a shining reminder that the moon is and always has been our most visible and constant example of all the infinite possibility of the wider universe.
I've just got back from a holiday in Brittany. Lots of walking and swimming in the sea. I visited plenty of historical sites from Neolithic and Bronze Age right through to remnants of Hitler's Atlantic Wall.
And now my monthly list of scifi book suggestions. Remember that those of you getting this by email via Mailerlite should see an option at the bottom to toggle between receiving the full list and a brief summary. The full list shows all the cover images and descriptions and allows clicking on a cover to go straight to that book. The summary contains the little snippet of my life and a link to a webpage with all the books on. Looking at the figures, most people have chosen to get the full listing and browse direct from the email.
It was a nice simple war. Just the Earth Federation and the League of Sovereign Systems fighting for the third time over who would be the supreme power in settled space, and who would have to exist in the victor’s shadow. Then the Ascendency showed up and ruined everything.One moment, Flight Lieutenant Mason Grey was a fighter pilot of the Federal Space Forces about to strike a League base located on a dwarf planet in an uninhabited system. The next, unknown starships showed up, blew his carrier to hell, killed his squadron, shot down his fighter, and left him stranded amid the ruins of the very base he had come to attack.With nothing but a space suit and a dwindling life support system, Mason was in way, way over his head. And that was just the start of his problems.
Harry and Jess thought they had enough on their plates: genetically altered humans bent on world domination, interstellar aliens that thought humans made decent slaves, and a government determined to arrest them for treason.
Then the universe said, "Hold my beer."
With war brewing over the alien technology, a secret society determined to betray Earth, and a head-to-head fight with the aliens on the horizon, they gather both enemies and allies alike to fight for humanity.
If their shaky alliance fails, humanity faces slavery or extermination. They must not fail.
The recently colonized world of Glenlyon has learned that they're stronger when they stand with other star systems than they are on their own. But after helping their neighbor Kosatka against an invasion, Glenlyon has become a target. The aggressive star systems plan to neutralize Glenlyon before striking again.
An attack is launched against Glenlyon's orbital facility with forces too powerful for fleet officer Rob Geary to counter using their sole remaining destroyer, Saber. Mele Darcy's Marines must repel repeated assaults while their hacker tries to get into the enemy systems to give Saber a fighting chance.
To survive, Glenlyon needs more firepower, and the only source for that is their neighbor Kosatka or other star systems that have so far remained neutral. But Kosatka is still battling the remnants of the invasion forces on its own world, and if it sends its only remaining warship to help will be left undefended against another invasion. While Carmen Ochoa fights for the freedom of Kosatka, Lochan Nakamura must survive assassins as he tries to convince other worlds to join a seemingly hopeless struggle.
As star systems founded by people seeking freedom and autonomy, will Kosatka, Glenlyon and others be able to overcome deep suspicions of surrendering any authority to others? Will the free star systems stand together in a new Alliance, or fall alone?
Eighteen years have passed since the Core Civilization was defeated; New Britannia and the Colonies are flourishing and their populations growing. Grady decides that it's time to go home to Britannia. The planet has recovered from the damage done by the Core Alien's attack and is ready to be resettled. The Henricks children will be graduating in a few months and there's nothing standing in the way of them going back home to the planet they were born and raised on. Thousands of the Britannia survivors will join them in the Home Coming.
However, at the end of the war with the Core Civilization, Taffy neglected to share some information she was given by the scouts investigating the Stealth Civilization. It was a small omission but when it comes out, the plans for a Britannia home coming are thrown for a loop. Grady calls off the move to Britannia but sometimes going back home isn't an option. Things can have a way of forcing you to do what you planned anyway.
Disaster has struck the Human Federation of Worlds. The Eternals have finally found Earth and are preparing to destroy it and the rest of the Federation. They begin gathering a massive fleet to overwhelm and destroy all of the Human worlds.
Fleet Admiral Jeremy Strong is far away on the far side of the universe attempting to build an alliance to stop the Eternals’ spread across countless galaxies. However, in his explorations he may have found a threat far greater than that represented by the Eternals.
The Originators along with their Human allies rush to the aid of the Federation, but it may already be too late. If the Federation falls, the Originators will lose their war against the Eternals. Massive space battles erupt and worlds are destroyed as the battle for control of the universe rushes toward its fateful climax.
Admiral Tyler Barron and the Confederation navy face a new threat, darker and deadlier than any that have come before.
The Confederation has just concluded its war with the Hegemony, but now that power, so long the hated enemy, is calling for help, for the Confederation to join it to face a deadly invasion, one likely to subjugate all humanity.
Barron must overcome his own resentments, and the resistance of the Senate, and find a way to lead his forces into battle once more. The odds are long, but the stakes couldn’t be higher, no less than a choice between survival and freedom…and slavery and death.
Barron and his people will find the strength, somehow, to face the invincible enemy, to find some way to fight, to overcome the darkness.
Or at least to survive to fight another day.
Criminal attorney, Liam Price, can't believe his luck. He scored a deal for a suite aboard the Starlit Dream to the exotic world of Aquaria in the Kepler star system. He surprises his wife, Aria, with the trip for her 40th birthday, and the Price family gets ready for the trip of a lifetime.
Soon after the voyage starts, they learn that they've somehow jumped to the wrong star system. Liam consults the ship's computer to determine their location, but he can't access the navigational data. The captain claims that there's nothing to worry about, but Liam wonders: if there's nothing to worry about, why restrict access to the ship's nav data? He fears that pirates may have detoured them to rob and ransom the wealthy passengers.
Before they can learn more, the ship plunges into darkness, and suddenly the cruise of a lifetime turns into a trip to hell. As the crisis unfolds, Liam and his family are thrust into the middle of a deadly conspiracy and a desperate struggle for survival.
The Free Navy - a violent group of Belters in black-market military ships - has crippled the Earth and begun a campaign of piracy and violence among the outer planets. The colony ships heading for the thousand new worlds on the far side of the alien ring gates are easy prey, and no single navy remains strong enough to protect them.
James Holden and his crew know the strengths and weaknesses of this new force better than anyone. Outnumbered and outgunned, the embattled remnants of the old political powers call on the Rocinante for a desperate mission to reach Medina Station at the heart of the gate network.
But the new alliances are as flawed as the old, and the struggle for power has only just begun. As the chaos grows, an alien mystery deepens. Pirate fleets, mutiny and betrayal may be the least of the Rocinante's problems. And in the uncanny spaces past the ring gates, the choices of a few damaged and desperate people may determine the fate of more than just humanity.
Humanity is within months of losing an interstellar war to a species of aliens known as Fangrin. Giving up isn’t an option. Victory doesn’t seem like an option either.
When assault craft pilot Commander Jake Griffin is sent out with the Eternity carrier group to hunt down and destroy enemy facilities, he has no idea what’s coming to him. The planet Graxol-4 out in the middle of nowhere hides a critical enemy base with vital resources just waiting to be stolen. The only problem is, it’s guarded by a war fleet and surface troops, while the planet itself is toxic and gripped by constant storms. The coming fight will be relentless. It will test Griffin’s combat skills to the limit against a vastly superior foe. In a way, he’s got it easy – the troops on the ground will have to beat the Fangrin in the most challenging circumstances imaginable.
That job falls to Lieutenant Tanner Conway, a man who just wants to go home to his family. Victory on Graxol-4 may not win the war, but it will buy time for humanity to regroup, toughen up and come back harder.
However, a third - unknown - player has an interest in this game and their involvement will turn everything on its head.
Hadrian Marlowe is lost.
For half a century, he has searched the farther suns for the lost planet of Vorgossos, hoping to find a way to contact the elusive alien Cielcin. He has not succeeded, and for years has wandered among the barbarian Normans as captain of a band of mercenaries.
Determined to make peace and bring an end to nearly four hundred years of war, Hadrian must venture beyond the security of the Sollan Empire and among the Extrasolarians who dwell between the stars. There, he will face not only the aliens he has come to offer peace, but contend with creatures that once were human, with traitors in his midst, and with a meeting that will bring him face to face with no less than the oldest enemy of mankind.
If he succeeds, he will usher in a peace unlike any in recorded history. If he fails...the galaxy will burn.
Bacchus Than wants nothing more than to return home after what felt like a lifetime in space. His plans are de-railed when he crosses paths with an old rival determined to throw a wrench in his plan.With his ship damaged and his body bruised one question remains. Will Bacchus ever make it home?
Being an officer means balancing many conflicting demands. Making the wrong decision can have serious consequences. It takes a special kind of person to cope with the responsibility. The Officer is an anthology of eleven science fiction short stories by writers from across the globe. It is part of the Newcomer series of scifi anthologies.
Them vs Us is a small collection of short stories about alien invasions, and the human errors that welcomed them.
Please note that this is a free download in exchange for signing up to a newsletter.
The Science Fiction Collection features some of the most amazing sci fi tales ever told from authors including Philip K Dick, Ray Bradbury, Ben Bova and Frederick Pohl.
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing, the endlessly-mysterious moon is explored in this reprint short science fiction anthology from award-winning editor and anthologist Neil Clarke (Clarkesworld, The Best Science Fiction of the Year).
On July 20, 1969, mankind made what had only years earlier seemed like an impossible leap forward: when Apollo 11 became the first manned mission to land on the moon, and Neil Armstrong the first person to step foot on the lunar surface.
While there have only been a handful of new missions since, the fascination with our planet’s satellite continues, and generations of writers and artists have imagined the endless possibilities of lunar life. From adventures in the vast gulf of space between the earth and the moon, to journeys across the light face to the dark side, to the establishment of permanent residences on its surface, science fiction has for decades given readers bold and forward-thinking ideas about our nearest interstellar neighbor and what it might mean to humankind, both now and in our future.
The Eagle Has Landed collects the best stories written in the fifty years since mankind first stepped foot on the lunar surface, serving as a shining reminder that the moon is and always has been our most visible and constant example of all the infinite possibility of the wider universe.
