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sci fi s-z

Sci fi is a type of speculative fiction that looks ahead and asks “what’s next?” You can also check out these subcategories (s-z):

science fantasy | silkpunk | singularity | slipstream | social sci fi | soft sci fi | solarpunk | space exploration | space opera | space western | spacepunk | spyfisteampunk | stonepunk | superheroes & villains | terraforming | teslapunk | theologicaltime travel | transhuman | transistorpunk | uplift | utopian | virtual reality | wattpunk | weird sci fi

Note: these books are currently sorted by release date, with newest first.

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Word Count: 132,000

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!

Distant Gardens Anthology
Distant Gardens
N.L. Bates , Sara Codair , Robin C.M. Duncan , Wil...
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Word Count: 136227

Summary: An Element to surpass all others. The one with the power to wield it. Can he overcome his fears in time to save the world from imminent doom? The Pattern Juggler has inherited a formidable power. It can create, and just as easily destroy. He has the lore book of his father, but key parts of it remain impenetrable. On the day of the new Water Wizard’s inauguration ceremony, an injured stranger interrupts proceedings. He babbles an incoherent story about impending doom. Can it be true? How does the young man know what is to come? And if the Elementals can confirm his story, will the Juggler be able to confront his darkest fear? Can he unlock the last mysteries of his lore and overcome the deadliest challenge of all? Juggler is the final volume in John Beresford’s Science Fiction / Fantasy crossover trilogy The Berikatanyan Chronicles, where colonists from Earth join forces with the indigenous population to battle with nameless terrors from the Void.

Juggler - John Beresford - Berikatayan Chronicles
Juggler
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Word Count: 100630

Summary: One man holds the future of humanity in his hands. Six decades after the Blackship War, Earth is once again under alien attack, the weapon of choice one that humanity could never anticipate, and never hope to counter. Humankind is being attacked by its own planet. Six decades after the departure of the gigantic, alien star-ship dubbed the ‘Minaret’, Joe Falcon thinks it is finally over, and he can settle down to a better, quieter life. He is wrong. At the outermost edge of the Solar System lurks an alien intelligence the like of which humanity has never before encountered, with an agenda of its own. As the leading authority of the Minaret, it falls to Joe to find a solution and travel billions of kilometers to confront Mankind’s greatest ever threat. But how do you deal with a mind so alien, so advanced, and so filled with hatred that nothing will sway it from its destructive course? Joe must find a way. If humanity is to survive, he has no choice.

Falcon's Ghost - Mike Waller - Falcon Trilogy
Falcon's Ghost
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Word Count: 82000

Summary: Dallas Gordon and his crew crash landed on Mars. Ex-EPSILON employee Randy Porter put them there, hacking the mission on behalf of chief rival BMAC. If Dallas can traverse the seventy-five kilometers across the Red Planet to Prospector Base - can he identify and disable Porter’s traps before disaster dooms the crew 200 million miles from home?

Crimson Lucre - Brian H. Roberts
Crimson Lucre
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Word Count: 88,000

Summary: Journalist Will Corwin and Doctor Amelia Warren have started to build a life together on the war-torn colony of Amara. They are even raising a child, Amelia’s ten-year-old brother, Jonah. While Will struggles to integrate his new security detail into his work, he pursues an interview he’s wanted for a long time, and makes a decision--and takes a risk--in order to get the story. When that risk backfires, and he is abducted by the hybrid alien warlord, Nod Korvus, it will be a struggle to balance his life with his integrity. Amelia wants Will back, desperately, but in order to do so, will she be willing to betray everything he stands for? And how will the arrival of the Duchess Ezri Sinclair, Will’s domineering mother--who very much does not approve of Amelia--complicate the rescue effort? This is Among the Captive Stars, the sequel to All the Promised Stars, and the second installment in Broken Stars, a series of steamy romantic sci-fi novels by Chad Grayson.

Among the Captive Stars - Chad Grayson - Broken Stars
Among the Captive Stars
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Word Count: Information not available

Summary: Elderly, unarmed, and extremely dangerous. Ajay Andersen was the best hacker the NSA had ever hired. He sank corporations, toppled governments, and broke cryptography. All of it. Retirement hasn't slowed him down one bit, thank you very much. When his estranged daughter shows up on his doorstep with his two granddaughters, Ajay will do anything to keep them safe. He’ll hack biotech corporations and criminal enterprises alike. He'll brave the woods of Minnesota. Nobody after his girls will be safe, but the more he digs, the more he dredges up the shadows of his own dangerous past. He only needs to know one thing: What makes his granddaughters so darn dangerous?

Grandfather Anonymous - Anthony W. Eichenlaub
Grandfather Anonymous
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Word Count: 40000

Summary: Manifesto The Great rules Planet Hy Man, a Planet where meat is as toxic as nuclear waste. Faced with an uprising, Manifesto The Great turns to the only person he can trust----his mother; but she has days to live. With an army of malfunctioning Mae West robots and a committee as innovative as a sock puppet, Manifesto The Great loses control. And as his city falls under the hands of Fanny and her rebels, the grieving leader retreats to his cocktail bar. High on a cocktail of hormonal meat and hemp cocktails, Manifesto The Great returns to his committee for advice. But they have other plans, mainly to bat with the winning team, and from the looks of Manifesto The Great, he ain’t one of ‘em. Will he rise to command again or has he buried his balls along with his mother in a sea of cocktails and mad ramblings?

The Downfall of Manifesto The Great - Kerrie Noor
The Downfall Of Manifesto The Great
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Word Count: 81000

Summary: An implacable alien intelligence called the Cluster has arrived in the galaxy and dissects almost every star ship it encounters. Grandson of an infamous space pirate, Commander John Mark Ellis is disgraced and booted out of the space service when he fails to save a merchant ship from the Cluster. Even so, Ellis believes he holds the key to communicating with the invader. His mother, Suki Firebrandt Ellis, is a historian who believes the galaxy's leaders are withholding information about the Cluster. Clyde McClintlock believes the Cluster is God incarnate and provides the path to salvation. G'Liat is an alien warrior who hopes to protect his people from the Cluster. All together, they set out to stop the Cluster's reign of destruction.

Children of the Old Stars - David Lee Summers - Space Pirates' Legacy
Children of the Old Stars
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Word Count: Information not available

Summary: The War Of The Worlds continues.... The terror of the coming of the Martians is all but a distant memory, a bad dream that has faded with time. All George Wells wants is a quiet suburban life – but at breakfast one morning his newspaper reports the shocking discovery of a Martian cylinder, found intact and unopened, and carefully transported to London. Could it be from the first alien invasion and after more than seven years are there Martians still alive inside? But even worse, he soon learns that vengeance seeking Martians and their tripod fighting machines are already on their way back. This time they are armed with a doomsday weapon, able to destroy all bacteria and completely annihilate Earth. The countless numbers of their projectiles form a huge green comet and invasion day will be just before Christmas. The first attack by aliens was enough for any lifetime, but who would expect to be involved with two? Can George and his wife escape this new Martian apocalypse and how will our planet survive a second time? The Day Of The Martians continues the iconic Mars novel by H.G. Wells, in this exciting action adventure – the first volume of The Martian Diaries science fiction series. If you're a fan of The War Of The Worlds you won't want to miss this award-winning 3 part continuation. Get the ebook or paperback today or check out the action-packed audio version featuring original music and sound effects. The paperback features exclusive additional material not included in the other versions. It's the back story of Ogilvy the astronomer in the form of  his personal diary entries for the whole momentous year of 1913, and the second Martian invasion. Bronze medallist in the Readers Favorite 2024 International Book Awards (Fiction Audiobooks category) Winner of 5 awards in the 2020 Los Angeles Science Fiction Film Festival, Audio Drama category, together with volume 2 Lake On The Moon. WHAT PEOPLE HAVE SAID ABOUT THE AUDIO VERSION “...a wonderfully executed tribute to H.G. Wells.” Readers Favorite 5 stars ...sometimes in life, amongst all the boring stuff, something comes along to shake up your life and make you grateful for other people’s creations.” Breakaway Reviews “A splendid sequel.” C.A. Powell, science fiction author of The Last Days Of Thunder Child “A little diamond from Mars!” Goodreads reviewer

The Day of the Martians - HE Wilburson - The Martian Diaries
The Martian Diaries: Vol. 1 The Day Of The Martians
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Word Count: 42000

Summary: What lies hidden inside the Martian Red Weed and what is the secret of the lake on the moon? When the first Martian cylinder crash lands in England, Ogilvy the astronomer barely survives the deadly heat ray from the attack by aliens. While recovering in hospital he discovers that Martian Red Weed is key to the alien technology and sends vital evidence to scientists in France on board HMS Thunder Child, but the ship is attacked by a Martian tripod. Years later in 1919, in the aftermath of World War 1 and Spanish influenza, a sinister plague emerges on Earth from the long forgotten Red Weed, and it threatens all life on our planet with global extinction. Ogilvy suggests a daring and risky plan to combat the devastating alien menace, involving alternate history timelines. He persuades other original War Of The Worlds characters to participate, but how on earth can they locate the secret weapon hidden by the Martians at the lake on the moon? If you're a fan of The War Of The Worlds, you won't want to miss this compelling continuation of the H.G. Wells alien invasion novel in the gripping second volume of The Martian Diaries science fiction series. Available in paperback, ebook and award-winning audiobook featuring original music and sound effects. Text versions feature a bonus chapter not included in the audiobook version. Bronze medal winner in the Readers Choice Awards 2020 Winner of 5 awards in the 2020 Los Angeles Science Fiction Film Awards, Audio Drama category, together with volume 1 The Day Of The Martians. WHAT PEOPLE HAVE SAID ABOUT THE AUDIO VERSION “I sat spellbound while listening to this...as I’ve always been convinced nobody could ever out-rank the original War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells, but he has succeeded in giving us this astonishing follow-up.” Breakaway Reviews "The storyline is mesmerizing, and Mr Wilburson has done a magnificent job of melding his story with the original War of the Worlds." Readers Favorite Reviews “I am in awe. I finished the audiobook an emotional wreck, especially after the epilogue...and cannot wait for episode three, Gateway to Mars." Goodreads reviewer “Author Wilburson's trilogy is an enthralling companion to H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds. The Lake On The Moon is an audiobook treat, highly recommended!” Veronica Cline Barton - Mystery & Suspense author

Lake on the Moon - HE Wilburson - The Martian Diaries
The Martian Diaries: Vol. 2 Lake On The Moon
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Word Count: Information not available

Summary: Stop a murder, save two planets! Who she is: Sibyl Blue, single mom, undercover detective, and damn good at her job. What she wants: to solve the mysterious benzale murders, prevent more teenage deaths, and maybe find her long-lost husband. How she’ll get it: seduce a millionaire, catch a ride on his spaceship, and crack the case at the edge of the known galaxy.  

Sibyl Sue Blue - George Brown
Sibyl Sue Blue
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Word Count: 184000

Summary:

An unexpected romance. A space-heist gone wrong. A galactic catastrophe in the making.

  At the furthest reaches of the known galaxy, cyber-thief Rowland Hale’s biggest score turns into a fight for his life.  Beaten but not broken, ex-navy captain Toar Grithrawrscion can save that life, but only by risking his own. With a toothy foe hell-bent on domination, can these two unlikely heroes come together and not only save the galaxy, but each other? Their destiny is in their hands, but only if they keep their hands to themselves. A high-adventure space epic with a touch of charming romance, Allure of Oartheca tells the story of two men from different worlds who must face battles both from without and from deep within – an Allure that whispers promises of rapture and destruction, that dares not be risked, and cannot be refused. If our heroes give up, they fail.  If they give in, they fail too – and the fate of the universe rests in the balance.

Allure of Oartheca - James Siewert
Allure of Oartheca
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Word Count: Information not available

Summary: Four members of The Vampire Guard—Forge, Blair, Declan, and Lucas—face a dangerous and elusive enemy. And this time, it’s personal. When massive tech outages impact everything from Wi-Fi to traffic control, Blair, Forge, Declan, and Lucas think it’s a simple matter of catching troublesome hackers. But they quickly realize far more is at stake. Millions of dollars in art are the target of a thief who’s not afraid to kill---and he’s no stranger. Not only has he escaped capture, twice, a decade ago, but he’s had a hand in life-altering tragedies throughout their lifetimes. Once it becomes clear that art theft is just a fraction of his plan for mass destruction, they realize time is running out. The clock’s ticking. Catastrophe is imminent. Can they find and disarm all the bombs in time or will countless lives be lost?

SALE
Quarry - Elizabeth Noble - Vampire Guard
Quarry SALE
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Word Count: 82500

Summary: A mysterious distress call draws the crew of courier ship Hermes to what appears to be an empty, drifting troop vessel--empty except for the blood and gore spattered corridors and a lone survivor locked in a holding cell. Drawn to the handsome, traumatized man, the crew’s comm officer, Isaac Ozawa, makes Turk his personal responsibility, offering him the kindness and warmth he needs after the horror he experienced. Isaac knows firsthand what it’s like to be different and an outcast, and this cements their bond. Once a promising pilot, Isaac was left with a damaged body when his brain didn't meld with the high-tech implant needed to fly fighter ships. Turk’s brain is no better. The result of a military experiment gone wrong, his natural abilities have been augmented to a dangerous degree. When an amoral, power-hungry admiral kidnaps Isaac and uses him to convince Turk to become the cataclysmic weapon he’s hungered for, it will take Turk’s strength, the ingenuity of the Hermes crew, the help of the enigmatic Drak’tar, and Isaac’s own stubborn will to save them.

Gravitational Attraction - Angel Martinez - Esto Universe
Gravitational Attraction
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Word Count: 80000

Summary: What if there were a place that nobody else knew about – a secret place – where everyone was queer?” That’s the question Guy, an elderly, lonely gay anthropologist asks Richard, his young psychiatrist, as he searches for his tolerable truth. During each session, Guy tells Richard a story in which he survives the sinking of a cargo ship and is washed ashore on an uncharted tropical island along side the ship’s first mate, Luca. There, the two young men discover a world counter to everything they have ever known – a complex society in which almost everyone is homosexual and sex is considered the most basic form of communication. In his naive, awkward way, Guy attempts to integrate himself and win the love of a local man but first he must undergo a brutal initiation ritual, endure a crazed shaman, and swim across shark-infested waters. Meanwhile, Luca, who is unable to accept his sexuality, becomes obsessed with being rescued and degenerates into drug dependency. When Luca attempts to steal a large stash of gold salvaged from an old Spanish galleon and leave the island, Guy is forced choose between staying with the man he loves, or saving the life of the man who saved his. For more than 40 years Guy has been consumed by his longing to return to the island and recapture what he believes he has left behind. Although enthralled by his tale, Richard must be constantly wary of Guy’s attempts to manipulate him and meddle in his personal life, threating to upend his own sense of truth, leaving him to question if there could really be such a society, or does it only exist within the fantasy of a lonely old gay man? Rich with legends inspired by ethnography, this is a story within a story; the two collide when the depth of Guy’s subterfuge is revealed.

Eating the Moon - Mark David Campbell
Eating the Moon
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Word Count: 108000

Summary: Fifty years after a coup replaced President Franklin D. Roosevelt with a fascist dictatorship, America is a land of hopelessness. Ben Adamson, a 19-year-old farm boy in southern Illinois, wants only to spend his time fishing and hunting. But when his dead brother demands justice for his suspicious fate in a colonial war, Ben and Rachel, his brother’s fiancée, are drawn into an underground revolutionary movement. After staging a rally against the war, Ben and Rachel are arrested by the Internal Security Service, who have perfected the science of breaking people. Ben is given a choice: betray the rebels, including his best friend from childhood, or Rachel will be lobotomized. Although traumatized and addicted to a powerful drug, Ben refuses to doom anyone he cares about. Can he find a third option? Can he free Rachel and strike back at the dictatorship, while dodging the suspicions of police and rebels alike?

Born in Salt - T.C. Weber
Born in Salt
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Word Count: Information not available

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?

The Princess and the Holy Juggernaut - D.C. Fergerson - The Wicked Instruments
The Princess and the Holy Juggernaut
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Word Count: 22000

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.

Cailleadhama: Through the Veil - J. Scott Coatsworth
Cailleadhama: Through the Veil
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Word Count: 50000

Summary: Their goal is to make the world a better place. One billionaires’s obsession may turn their altruism into destruction. Jay Ecklund is desperate to belong somewhere. Rejected by his family and former employer, he really needs this job as a receptionist at an up-and-coming tech corporation. He’s astonished when he discovers the all-woman staff is secretly developing a portal capable of instantaneous transport to anywhere on Earth. Thrilled to be part of a company designing innovations to help others, Jay is excited when the machine is at last operational. But he worries about it falling into the wrong hands when an ambitious billionaire hell-bent on accumulating power makes a bid to get it…at any cost. Will the portal be used as a rescue device as intended, or will a relentless manipulator warp it to a more sinister purpose? The Arachne Portal is an electrifying standalone science fiction novel. If you like fast-paced adventures, phenomenal science, and thought-provoking themes, then you’ll love Joan Marie Verba’s compelling story. Buy The Arachne Portal to open a gateway to the future today!

The Arachne Portal - Joan Marie Verba
The Arachne Portal
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Word Count: 45500

Summary: Brave paladin. Royal princess. Fierce dragon. Simple. Being all three at once? Way too complicated. Paladin Snillek's mother was human and ruled a planet. That's about the extent of her knowledge since they didn't see each other much. When her mom dies in a freak accident, her father tells Snillek she's inherited the title, and she has to learn how to pass as the mostly human Princess Siel for a planet she never thought about much. The dresses alone are horrifying and the courtiers aggravating. ​ In a moment of frustrated rage, Snillek's princess persona slips and frightened palace staff misinterpret what they see. Now Paladin Snillek has been called upon to rescue Princess Siel…from herself. Gruyere wants desperately to journey into the wilds of Tarribotia, but it's too dangerous to go alone and so far, everyone's laughed at her for suggesting it. When she spots a Dzedek paladin sulking in a tavern, she offers her services, hoping to pass herself off as a rogue guide. Two women with secrets and possibly opposing goals head out into the hinterlands of a planet neither one of them knows well. They might both make it back by Winterfest if nothing eats them first. This book contains one out-of-her-element paladin, the perils of academia, deadly cake, and unconventional dragons.

The Anti-Quest - Angel Martinez
The Anti-Quest
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