sci fi – hard sci fi

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Summary: After a job gone wrong, Special Agent Olgo is trapped within the bowels of Mars with no means of escape. The device that imprisons the trauma within them is about to fail, and the past terrors kept hidden by it must be contained for Olgo’s sanity and everyone's safety. From the darkness comes a tiny voice, and a tinier hope: "Hello?" *** The first book in the ‘Cold Rush' Verse follows Agent Olgo as their corporate masters give them what could be their big break: a mission to Mars. But trying to change the working conditions in the planet's underground cities proves more challenging than the agent could have imagined. When a wearable device Olgo uses to block emotions begins to fail, an unlikely friendship changes everything as Olgo struggles to prevent spilling more blood on the Red Planet.

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Summary: A damaged ship, a dying shipmate–can she save both? Under attack! The flight back to Hyvilma should have been the easy part for the crew of the Majera–until a deadly ambush by pirates sends them reeling through hyperspace. Now getting to the planet in time is the only way Captain Kitra Yilmaz can save her dying friend. But landing at Hyvilma may be impossible: war has broken out on the Frontier. With illustrations by Hugo Finalist Lorelei Esther.

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Summary: To resuscitate his fading celebrity, tech CEO Stephen Lucas would sell his soul for one more hit. When the subspace network for his holographic gaming empire crashes, his hardware guru makes a discovery proving that Einstein was right once again—information can be sent into the past. They accidently created a simple time machine. In a culture built on instant gratification, Lucas is sure he's stumbled upon the next big thing,  the game-changer that will make Wall Street give him the accolades he craves—a device that makes instant delivery possible. Want a pizza now? Send your order back in time 30 minutes. Forgot to make reservations at that chichi french restaurant two weeks ago? No worries now you can make purchases of anything in the past and have it appear when you want it—now. So, buy last weeks PowerBall ticket. Invest in that stock you wish you bought last year. Share a FaceTime call with a loved one that passed away last month. Finally time really is on your side. A time machine for the rest of us. But when he rushes into beta testing, he learns that the stuff dreams are made of can quickly become the stuff of nightmares. It turns out Move Fast and Break Things is terrible policy when developing a time machine.

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Summary: Forty years after landing on Lida, the colony still isn't finished. Agetha has survived many more battles than she anticipated when she first landed on her new home planet. She's older and wiser, has gained family and lost loved ones. And yet her reward for four decades of service is to be pushed to the colony’s outer edges with the other aging Generationals. But that was only the beginning of her adventure. The biomass has spent years studying the intruders who landed on its surface, carving a new home from its very essence. Never satisfied in its attempt to communicate with this new and invasive species, finally it has found a way to express its intentions. The colonists may never be the same. Discover the fate of the colony in the second book of The Biomass Conflux trilogy!

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Summary: Have you ever made a ship's AI proud? Really, truly proud? Captain Alastri has. She's a child of Doro, a frontier world governed by a temperamental AI that represents the thoughts and feelings of all its citizens. Never heard of it? Well, it did get destroyed, which is where her ship's AI steps in, to regale us with how Alastri's past led directly to this catastrophe. When Alastri was 17, she witnessed a failed mediation between the ever-wronged citizen Ceres and Doro's governing AI. That day didn't just reveal a range of competing philosophies. It also led to treason, the loss of her ship, and the destruction of her home 25 years on. Connecting the dots from that day is the only way Alastri can hope to prevent further disaster for her system. And yes, this she does, most splendidly—at least, if you can believe a ship's ridiculously proud AI.   Inspired by The Brothers Karamazov, a.k.a. "Dostoevsky in Space"!

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Summary: Is Leif really lucky?  Stranded in orbit, viewing a destroyed civilization on Earth through the screens of a starship almost out of fuel and food, he doesn’t feel that way. It wasn’t supposed to be like that. As the starship Dauntless returns from a successful mission to the planet called Heaven, Earth holds no attractions for Exoplanetary Scout Leif Grettison.  He wants only to complete the mission and leave for another star, along with ace pilot Yang Yong.  In fact, he would be happy spending the rest of his life flying the starways with her. But they and the rest of the ship’s skeleton crew awaken from hibernation to find Earth’s solar system dark and silent—no signals, no responses to their transmissions. When they make orbit, the magnitude of the disaster becomes clear: An apocalyptic war has killed billions and destroyed every last source of power and tech that 22nd-Century humans relied on to survive. Getting down to Earth is only the beginning of Leif’s problems.  Those few who survived the apocalypse are still divided, fighting over what’s left. The disastrous re-entry to Earth leaves him with no resources or allies. He lands in the middle of a makeshift family that needs him more than he’s comfortable with and hears stories—even nursery rhymes—that speak of a lucky starman.  For once, he’s the only person with tech—but if he’s caught using it, they might kill him. Can a man back from the stars end the warfare on Earth, or will he make it worse?  Can he save a family that might become his?  Is he everyone’s lucky starman?

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Summary: In the not so distant future…  Kiah Hasan, a young, talented computer scientist haunted by her war-torn past, is reaching for something just past the edge of theoretical possibility. Her best friend, physicist Nigel Evans, is obsessed with pushing the boundaries of space travel. And Captain Josh Walker? He’s just out here for the adventure – and Kiah. Together with the crew of Trinity Station, they head toward the Kuiper Belt and disappear just as simmering political tension on Earth erupts into outright war. A hundred years later… Admiral Darren Winters leads a mission to the Kuiper Belt to find out what happened to Trinity Station. To his, and Earth’s, surprise, not only have the Trinity Station scientists survived, but have reached levels of advanced technology due to the success of Dr. Hasan’s AGI experiments. After shaky negotiations with Earth that ends with the birth of the new nation of Survey, Admiral Winters is offered a new position with the AI ship Musashi. His first mission is to figure out what happened to the youngest AI, Loki, whose first crew was killed in a tragic accident. With psychologist Dr. Alex Campos, they uncover a secret that could endanger the newly formed Survey nation and its AIs. Can Darren and Alex find Loki before it’s too late?

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Summary: Jack Kirby just wants peace. Deeply scarred from a failed mission and struggling with the loss of his lover, Jack takes a job  as a Religious Program Specialist on a remote PreCol station. There, he finds what he never expected: a family. Marsha, a complicated woman with a deep connection to the spiritual world. Jenny, a cheerful ensign with a dangerous past. Mark, driven to demolish the atavistic cult he was born into. Can Jack protect them all as they become entangled in an espionage game with galactic stakes?

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Summary: Jenny needs time to heal – but she’s not going to get it.  After her near destruction on New Harmony, Jenny Fraiser retreats to Musashi. She submerges herself in training and meditation, trying to find her balance again. Once more, she is unexpectedly catapulted to the front lines of a war of hatred – one she is uniquely qualified to win, with some help. As a deep-cover espionage specialist, Lulu uses her sociopathic tendencies for the greater good, but she never expects love, connection – or loss. Jenny, Lulu and the others are just pawns in a galactic game, which twists and changes in response to their every move. They need to track down the seemingly omniscient game master – before its seemingly innocuous task destroys two civilisations.

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Summary: What if first contact happened, and nobody even noticed? Light-years away, years ago, something insignificant happened. Now, the spirits are restless. Loki has returned, seeking help for his people. Entire stations are being consumed, populations lost. No one understands why, and the threat continues to spread. Can Jack, Marsha, and teenager Po carry the weight of saving Loki’s civilization? This time, it may break them all.

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Summary: Time is running out for planet Earth. An insidious Martian plague has been infecting the planet for over twenty years, and has resisted all human efforts to eradicate it. With all life on Earth facing extinction, the only solution left is to directly access a specific piece of Martian technology. But, according to diaries left behind by Ogilvy the astronomer, the Martians have hidden it at the lake on the moon. In 1945, three rockets converted from Martian cylinders take off on the vital lunar mission, and amongst the crew is Ogilvy's nephew, Jack Stent. Will the astronauts locate the Martian shadow-weapon, thought to hold the desperately needed cure for Marseria? Can it really be used to instigate another timeline on Earth so that mankind can survive? The stakes are high and so is the risk of contact and conflict with Martians. Nearly two hundred years later, at a scientific colony on Mars, a shocking discovery is made about Jack Stent, and Ogilvy's Martian diaries are once again pivotal to human survival and the continuation of life on Earth. Gateway To Mars is the third volume of The Martian Diaries series that continues the classic H.G. Wells Mars novel in a compelling, unmissable action adventure. If you're a fan of The War Of The Worlds you won't want to miss this story of survival, despair and hope, that brings the original tale full circle. Get your copy today! What readers have said: “A really well written, excellent continuation of the story and a truly brilliant tribute to HG Wells! I do recommend!” “An excellent third part to this incredible series!” “Boy this was a good book! I love the writing style... it's very true to the original story.”

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Summary: Clarity (noun) Four definitions to inspire writers around the world and an unlimited number of possible stories to tell: 1) Coherent and intelligible 2) Transparent or pure 3) Attaining certainty about something 4) Easy to see or hear Clarity 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: Lida was their last chance for an uncolonized planet. But a world-spanning fungus had colonized it first. Agetha and her husband have spent their whole lives in the fleet’s zero-G. Now all is turmoil as the fleet lands, discovering they are surrounded by a single fungal biomass spanning the entire planet. To build a new home, the fleet must confront a dangerous organism, and Agetha must decide if she can raise a family in this inhospitable landscape. Jane Brighton holds tenuous command over the colony and its administrators. She and the other gene-modded leaders emerged from their four-hundred-year suspended animation to find a crew much different from the one that departed Old Earth. Jane must direct the colony’s fragile growth and defend it against being overrun by the fast-growing biomass. But there is something none of the colonists know. The massive organism that spans the planet is not simply a fungal mass, nor even a chimerical combination of species that once roamed the planet. The biomass has desires and goals, and one is to know these strange beings carving out a home in its midst. Download today to read of the colony’s fate in Of Mycelium and Men! Genres: Space Opera / Science Fiction / Colonization / Alien Contact / LGBT / Non Binary / Trans Market: Adult

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Summary: 133 years. Time is up. Lead Engineer Tara and her partner Sasha face the coming end of the facility generator. For generations It has served thousands of people who have been hiding underground from the ravages of the war, and the lingering Enemy above. Up and down the Grand Elevator, though the entire facility, every resident's life will be shaken when the generator sparks its last amp. The Great Actual, the anarchistic Citizens, and all of the regressed sub-societies in between will have to face the unknowns of the surface. Old fears will pale against new circumstances beyond their imagination, and new attention brings judgment upon all.

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Summary: They say, “Never work with androids or children.” Quirk had one job to do, deliver papers to a Milan mafia boss, before leaving Earth for his home in the asteroids. But that was before being tailed, poisoned—oh, yes—and hijacked into raising foulmouthed fourteen-year-old convent girl Angelika Moratti, aka Moth, who'd rather see him asphyxiate in space. Fleeing assassins, Quirk, Moth and her syRen® android S-0778 ride the space elevator to the Moon, where Quirk hires on to hunt an ex-terra-former who somehow used an android to murder his doctor. But which android of the two hundred under Lunaville’s dome? The trail of bodies grows, time is running out; the only way they can save the dome and the two thousand souls beneath it is to solve The Mandroid Murders. Genres: Science Fiction / Thriller / Mystery / Adventure / LGBT and Non Binary Market: Adult

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Summary: Nothing is new under another sun. Not even murder. This mission should be simple. Exoplanetary scout Leif Grettison and ace pilot Yang Yong are off to deliver a load of supplies and reinforcing settlers to a recently colonized planet. It’s as routine as a starflight can be. Famous last words. Something is wrong with the colonists. They are astonishingly ill-suited for the task of settling a new world. The planet, too, is a poor place to plant a town for humans. Even if everything goes right, the colony might not survive. Then one of the colonists is found dead. Murder is a possibility. Not long after, another one dies—and this time, it’s definitely murder. In a world with only two hundred people, there’s at least one killer. Meanwhile, the colony’s new leader has a plan—but Leif has doubts. Will this man save the settlement, or use his power to become a dictator? Leif and Yong’s mission is clear: they must leave the colony in shape to survive. Leif is a retired soldier, not a detective, and when it comes to investigating a crime, he doesn’t have a clue. Literally. Still, it falls to him to follow the evidence and find the killer. He also needs to deal with the leader and the leader’s plan. If Leif fails, the only mystery may be how long it will take for everyone to die.

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Summary: Life after the Crash. Over a century after the end of the Earth, life goes on in Redemption, the sole remaining Lunar colony, and possibly the last outpost of humankind in the Solar System. But with an existential threat burrowing its way into the Moon's core, humanity must recolonize the homeworld. Twenty brave dropnauts set off on a mission to explore the empty planet. Four of them—Rai, Hera, Ghost and Tien—have trained for two-and-a-half years for the Return. They're bound for Martinez Base, just outside the Old Earth city of San Francisco. But what awaits them there will turn their assumptions upside down—and in the process, either save or destroy what's left of humanity.

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Summary: In the 23rd century, spaceships just don’t go missing. FBI agent Ray Volk is assigned to a task force to investigate a tragic accident: the disappearance of interplanetary passenger liner ValuTrip Cardinal, carrying 500 souls between Mars and Earth on a routine run. What looks like a cut-and-dried case of pressure loss is complicated by the arrival of a Martian Captain. A very cute Martian Captain who keeps sticking his nose in Ray’s investigation. Martian exchange student Kelly Rack knows the disappearance is no accident. She survived the ships’ hijacking, but learns the former cruise entertainer leading the pirates has plans for the passengers, and they don’t include sightseeing. Kelly has avoided the murderous pirates, except now an off-duty Earth Commander insists on organizing resistance for the passengers. She forces Kelly to climb through service tunnels on sabotage runs, risking capture and death. Can Ray shake down the right accomplices to capture the good ship ValuTrip Cardinal before its new captain spaces everyone on board? Will Kelly discover the pirates’ hidden plans for their prisoners? The race is on, because One of Our Spaceships is Missing! Genres: Space Opera / Military Sci-Fi / Science Fiction / LGBT and Non Binary Market: Adult

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Summary: Seasoned, strange, and dangerously clever Some invitations are impossible to refuse. When Ajay and Kylie are invited to a dinner party hosted by one of the wealthiest women around, Ajay sees it as an opportunity to dig into her past. He needs to find what shady business she’s been up to and how dangerous she really is. Never mind that she’s Kylie’s grandmother. What starts out as a dinner party turns quickly to trouble when a guest is murdered. Was the killer the billionaire socialite, the odd chef, or one of the other guests? Ajay needs to cut through the complex connections between the reluctant guests, because one of them is a killer–but they aren’t the only one. Too old to learn decent manners? Maybe. Too old to solve a murder? Not this grandfather.

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Summary: As the Oort Federation becomes a major force in the Solar System, Braxton Thorpe passes the Federation chairmanship to former US President John Butler. Thorpe’s group offers humanity virtual immortality, but Isidor Orlov and his Udachny Enterprises oppose their every move. While terraforming Mars for more living space, the Mars Reds prove formidable as resisters. If the Asterian starship fighter pilots are released, will they align with Phoenix or Udachny, and who will develop the right FTL technology? In this tense space adventure, Thorpe, his team, and Max the tabby cat travel to Proxima Centauri and beyond to the Aster system, 84 lightyears distant. Will Thorpe bring together humans and Asterians in their quest for intergalactic travel? Will long life prove more than mere humans can handle?