sci fi – dystopian & post apocalyptic

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Summary: In the wake of a worsening climate crisis, magic runs rampant and demons roam across the Canadian prairies. A long-dead god stirs in the Pacific Ocean, while the wilderness is choked by invasive, screaming grass. The Cascade has shattered political stability, leaving a scandal-plagued government clinging to power in Ottawa. As catastrophe looms ahead, a precognitive rainman, Ian Mallory, stands between run-of-the-mill corruption and a nightmarish, dystopian future. It is up to a diverse and unlikely band of activists, scientists, journalists, and one underpaid, emoji-spell wielding intern to save their beleaguered country from its own worst impulses

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Summary: RETURN TO THE MEAN STREETS OF AUTUMN Valerius Bakhoum is dead and buried. Too bad he’s still flat broke and behind on the rent. Unsure what to do with himself—and of who he is—Valerius resumes his career as a detective by taking up the oldest case in his files: where do the children go? Throughout his own youth on the streets of Autumn, last of the Great Flying Cities, Valerius knew his fellow runaways disappeared from back alleys and other hiding places more than anyone realized. Street kids even had a myth to explain it: the Gotchas, who steal urchins away in the night. With nothing but time on his hands, Valerius dives in head-first to settle the question once and for all and runs smack into a more pressing mystery: who killed one of Valerius’ former lovers? And do they know Valerius is still alive? Stalk the shadows of Autumn’s hidden places by Valerius Bakhoum’s side as he shines a light on secrets both sacred and profane, ones with shockingly personal connections to who he was—and who he might become. New Life in Autumn is the sequel to the Manly Wade Wellman Award-winning A Fall in Autumn.

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Summary: Miranda shed her charmed life and became a rebel, then shed that life, too. Now she wants peace, but is she willing to pay the price? It’s 1964, forty-five years after the Prophet preached his first sermon in a tent near Lynchburg, Virginia. Nearly thirty years after the Fellowship began acting as government consultants. And almost three years since Miranda vowed to never kill again, not even one of the tyrannical preacher-politicians. Now she cruises America’s inland rivers under an alias and rescues fugitives from the unforgiving government. Until the day she receives two letters: Her estranged sister, the wife of the newly confirmed Prophet, offers her forgiveness and a chance for peace. Her brother, sworn to destroy the tyranny, needs rescued from certain death so he can deliver vital information to the rebel leader. Voyaging against the current, she weighs her choices. But no matter which choice she makes, it will cost her. Dearly. In a deadly battle between her dreams and loved ones, will she stick to her peaceful principles and allow many to die or resurrect her dark side to save lives?

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Summary: Fourteen-year-old Samantha spends her days exploring the shallow reef behind her island home. With her world locked in a battle against rising seas, scientists deploy genetically modified corals to rebuild reefs and protect the coastline. No one expects the reefs to be a hotbed of evolution, but they are. When an octopus flows off a rock in her lagoon, Samantha is startled. When he purposefully arranges pieces of coral on the sand, trying to communicate, she is shocked. How she responds may determine the fate of life on Earth. The year is 2045, and fourteen-year-old Samantha lives in a world where ocean levels are rising, destroying coastal cities and swallowing islands. Millions of displaced people are homeless. The planet is in a climate tailspin that threatens civilization. Researchers deployed genetically modified corals that can grow in warmer waters. They aimed to sequester carbon dioxide and stabilize the climate. The successful project produced an extensive barrier reef system along the coasts of Georgia and Florida. Samantha lives on a research island off the coast of Georgia with her scientist parents. She becomes obsessed with the ocean, spending all her time exploring the reef. One day, she encounters an octopus attempting to communicate with her. The story dives deep into an exploration of species’ intelligence and the quest to save the planet.

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Summary: Ruling a city isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. Leanna has been governing the great city of Kingsfield for less than a year, and it’s already making her crazy. Audience Day is full of insane people making wishes, there’s a goblin infestation in town, and a ghost on the loose in the slums. But when a new group against Leanna starts recruiting conspirators in the shadows, Leanna must decide if ruling is what she really wants. Caught between that and her estranged family demanding audience, Leanna needs to put all the pieces together. Will she separate her allies from her enemies before it’s too late?

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Summary: The Earth has gone silent. John Mark Ellis and the crew of the Sanson are sent to investigate. When they arrive, they find vast alien machines known as Clusters in orbit. Fearing the worst, they land and discover that the once overcrowded, polluted Earth has become a paradise of sorts. The problem is over half the population is dead or missing and the planet's leaders don't seem to care. As Ellis works to unravel the mystery, sudden gravitational shifts from the galaxy's center indicate something even worse is in the offing. Can Ellis save the galaxy from the heirs of the new Earth?

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Summary: In the dystopian future where the rich have turned two dimensional and gobbled up the world’s resources, leaving the enslaved poor to remain three dimensional, can a disgraced detective help his rebellious daughter save the world? The sci-fi paranoia of Philip K. Dick meets the hardboiled sleuthing of Raymond Chandler. Prior Futures is a fast-paced and enigmatic trip through a nightmare world lost to its own decadent affair with nanotechnology and two-dimensional beings. Atmospheric and thought-provoking, this book will have you looking over your shoulder for nanos. It won’t help, though. You can’t see them. – David E. Sharp, author of Lost on a Page Winner of a 2022 Independent Press Award for Science Fiction Distinguished Favorite! Finalist, The Best Thriller Book Awards on BestThrillers.com

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Summary: Tangents & Tachyons is Scott's second anthology - six sci fi and sci-fantasy shorts that run the gamut from time travel to hopepunk and retro spec fic: Eventide: Tanner Black awakes to find himself in his own study, staring out the window at the end of the Universe. But who brought him there, and why? Chinatown: Deryn lives in an old San Francisco department store with his girlfriend Gracie, and scrapes by with his talent as a dreamcaster for the Chinese overlords. But what if a dream could change the world? Across the Transom: What if someone or something took over your body on an urgent mission to save your world? Pareidolia: Simon's not like other college kids. His mind can rearrange random patterns to reveal the images lurking inside. But where did his strange gift come from? And what if there are others like him out there too? Lamplighter: Fen has a crush on his friend Lewin, who's in a competing guild. But when the world goes dark, only a little illumination can save it. And only Fen, Lewin and their friend Alissa can light the spark. A Liminal Sky short. Prolepsis: Sean is the closeted twenty-five-year-old editor of an 80's sci-fi 'zine called Prolepsis. When an unabashedly queer story arrives from a mysterious writer, it blows open Sean's closet door, and offers him the chance to change the world - and the future. Plus two flash fiction stories – The System and The Frog Prince, never before published. This is the first time all of these stories have all been collected in one place.

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Summary: Enslaved by demonic aliens, a teenage boy must first survive if he is to avenge his murdered father. A typical Alaskan teenager, Paul’s greatest joy is hunting and fishing with his father. But when alien demons attack his family’s isolated cabin, they shatter Paul’s comfortable life. After killing his father and enslaving Paul, his twin sister, and their mother, the demons teleport their three captives to Hell, a desert world in the Demonic Empire. Once there, they face one of two terrible fates. They can either live as useful slaves or be immediately slaughtered as food for the merciless demons. With his demon masters demanding their slaves’ absolute obedience to their brutal human overseers, Paul soon learns to hide his burning hatred and desire for revenge behind the stoic expression of a servile slave. But as the years slowly pass, Paul adapts to survive, first as a field slave and then as a gladiator. Will he live long enough to take his revenge, or will Paul’s years of slavery rob him of his will to resist and cost him his humanity? Action-packed and with a strong emotional core and relatable characters, this multi-award-winning, stand-alone prequel to the Hell Holes series of alien invasion novels is an epic tale of love, loss, friendship, and survival under the most hellish of conditions. If you enjoy science fiction books like The Hunger Games and Divergent that stay with you long after you finish them, you will love Hell Holes: A Slave’s Revenge.   Awards: Winter 2022 Pinnacle Book Awards - Winner 2023 Cygnus Science Fiction Book Awards - Finalist 2023 Chrysalis BREW Project – Seal of Excellence 2021 Top Shelf Magazine Book Awards – Runner-up – Fiction/Fantasy Subcategory July 2022 BooksShelf Writing Awards – Finalist – Fiction Category 2021 The Wishing Shelf Book Awards – Finalist – Adult Category 2023 ReadFree.ly Best Book We’ve Read All Year – Finalist 2021 ReadFree.ly 50 Best Indie Books 2023 Kindle Book Award – Semifinalist – Science Fiction Category

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Summary: INK (NOUN) Five definitions to inspire writers around the world and an unlimited number of possible stories to tell: 1) A colored fluid used for writing 2) The action of signing a deal 3) A black liquid ejected by squid 4) Publicity in the written media 5) A slang word for tattoos Ink features 300-word speculative flash fiction stories from across the rainbow spectrum, from the minds of the writers of Queer Sci Fi.

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Summary: Rules were made to be broken. From terraformed outposts to magical realms, journey to worlds where deadly plants, rampant biodiversity, or failed colonies have created irresistible opportunities for those brave enough to seize them. New worlds, found family, mystical secrets, and deadly science weave together in this lesbian-centric anthology focusing on a very different kind of first time—a first encounter with a world, or being, entirely unlike our own. If you like diverse stories with lesbian heroines practicing science, magic, and seduction, buy Distant Gardens today!

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Summary: The truth can be sharp and pointy. Priestess Trixi is ready to reveal her god’s truth to the world, whether they like it or not. As she prepares to see her vision made real, only one thing stands in her way. A halfling that won’t die summons an ancient weapon, determined to kill the priestess. Friends betray them. Their pasts are hunting them. Hillbillies are trying to date them. But when Leanna and Trixi need each other the most, can they come together and see the great pilgrimage through to the Magic City?

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Summary: RELEASING IN AUDIOBOOK FORMAT APRIL 26TH, 2021 Colton is a trans man living in a climate-changed world. He plies the canals that used to be city streets, earning a living taking tourists on illicit journeys through San Francisco's flooded edges beneath the imposing bulk of the Wall. Tris is an elf who comes through the veil to the City by the Bay - the Caille - on a coming of age pilgrimage called the Cailleadhama. He is searching for his brother Laris, who went missing after crossing through the Caille years before. The two men find they have common cause, and together they set off to find Laris in a world transformed by the twin forces of greed and climate change. And in the end, they find out more than they ever expected, both about the warming world and their own selves. Note: This story was originally published in the "Myths Untold: Faery" anthology from Wilde City Press. It is presented here in its original form.

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Summary: A NEW DYNASTY IS BROUGHT INTO BEING… With the death of their parents in the Genocide Wares, Riven kan Ingan’s sons flee to separate countries to escape the margrave’s wrath. All agree to return when the time is right, to help elder brother Val avenge their parents. In the meantime, adventure, danger, and love await and there’s plenty of each before they hear Val’s call. Returning to a country ravaged by an insane king, a bittersweet homecoming awaits their quest for vengeance. Each of the five face their own choices as they fulfil the Drune priest’s prophecy made to their grandfather. Now, it’s up to the gods: Which of Riven’s sons will be the first ruler of the kan Ingan dynasty?

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Summary: The bar for heroes just got lower. Leanna Moonbody dreams of playing a concert in the Saul Amphitheater. Trixi has a vision from her god to take thousands on a pilgrimage. When a chance encounter puts them together, they realize how much they need each other. With a lovesick noble and a deranged halfling that won't die on their tails, they'll need help. Employing a motley crew of rejects, they take off running to realize their dreams. But when they're forced to stand and fight, can they be heroes?

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Summary: LIFE IS GOOD FOR A MIDDLE-AGED COUNTRY NOBLE… At least Riven kan Ingan thinks so. A few things could be better, of course, such as his volatile relationship with eldest son, Val, but his estate is prospering, his other children are still obedient, and his beloved Barbara is as feisty as ever. Even the barbaric Ghermians have settled peacefully within Francovia’s borders. Too soon, the bubble of contentment bursts. When a new margrave comes to power, civil war looms, turning native Francovians against its foreign-born citizens. Morling Ledeval demands an oath of loyalty from his subjects, and Riven is forced to make a choice. Will he risk home and family to follow a madman or become a traitor to the country he loves?

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Summary: Riven kan Ingan may have married his beloved Barbara. He may have become a noble by the margrave’s grace but the gods aren’t finished with him. Not yet. Though Riven admits married life makes him a lovestruck fool, he refuses to be the cuckold when he returns from battle to find his wife pregnant with a child he couldn’t have sired. In a fury at her supposed infidelity, he dares the gods’ wrath and abandons her, only to become the scapegoat when a blood curse strikes his people. Haunted by Barbara’s memory, Riven begins a quest to find the one who cursed him. He’ll return to the land of his birth, unearth long-hidden family secrets, and suffer more loss and grief. Only when his pride is ground to dust and he’s dependent upon an old enemy’s mercy will he be free to rid himself of the blood curse.

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Summary: By his own admission, Riven kan Ingan is a non-believer, denying the existence of magic or religion. He may have been raised by the Margrave of Francovia, but as the son of a barbarian sellsword, he’s never allowed to forget his foreign ancestry. Determined to fulfill the prophecy that he’s to become a king, Riven schemes to hurry his destiny along by marrying the margrave’s daughter, Aleza. Unfortunately, the gods of Arcanis, insulted by his denial of their existence, have other plans. When Aleza is kidnapped by the sorcerer Mahldimir Djaan-Baih, Riven swears a bloodseek oath to rescue her. The princess is restored to her, father but there’s no Happily Ever After for the young skeptic. Thanks to the gods, Riven falls in love with a woman he can’t have. There’s nothing he can do to forget her and no way he can claim her…and this punishment is just the beginning.

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Summary: A prophecy to a 16-year-old blacksmith’s son sends Trygare kan Ingan from his home in the Cymenean glyns, armed only with his father’s sword. Being GodChosen isn’t easy. The woman he wants doesn’t want him ; the man who should be his best friend thinks him laughable, and everyone ridicules his youth, to say nothing of his glyndweller accent. Slaying a dragon and defending the country from invaders changes their minds, and things are going nicely, but then the gods interfere… Tragedy strikes, sending Trygare to a foreign land where his true destiny lies… …to become the ancestor of a dynasty that will rule his planet for three thousand years.

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Summary: Zeke is a hermit in his late forties who lives a quiet life in a small cabin in the Western Montana mountains, a few miles outside of Thompson Falls. He’s gotten used to being alone since the end of the world, and has everything he needs. Everything but someone to talk to. Nathan is a younger man on a cross-country trek, searching the country for someone... anyone still alive. Saddled with a ghost from his old life and a case of OCD, he stumbles upon Thompson Falls and a pack of rabid dogs. Rescued by Zeke, he has to figure out how to be human again. And with Christmas just a week away, both men have to figure out if there’s something left to be hopeful for, and if they might have a future together.