sci fi – aliens

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Summary: While on shore leave in an orbital city, Connor Duffy meets a mysterious Gelt woman who entices him into a night of passion. But she has more than pleasure on her mind. Her name is Shrian, and she has discovered an alien device that can transport a ship across light-years instantly. And she wants him to have it. There's a catch. Under Realm law, she's in bondage to a Gelt trader whose family Duffy knows very well. He will have to free her, then convince the Compact to give Shrian political asylum. But it doesn't end there. While taking the device out for its first use in the field, Duffy and Shrian encounter the aliens who created it. They want it back. And they're not above killing to make their point. Duffy and Shrian must figure out a way to give the aliens what they want. Because while they're missing in action, the Compact of Humanity is tearing itself apart.

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Summary: Aik will never be the same … and neither will his world. War is coming. Aik has become the Progenitor, and the Seed Mother has released him to transform the world for her alien brood. Silya and Raven, Aik's former friends, are the only ones who can save him and the world. But what if the cure is worse than the invasion? As Silya rushes to prepare Gullton for the battle to come, she's determined to save as many people as she can. But new crises emerge that demand her attention. Raven has his own hands full, keeping the dragon-like verent in line, while helping Silya to save the world. But what if the only way to do so is to sacrifice Aik, the man that he loves? It's the end of the world … or could it be the start of something new?

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Summary: Can you leave your heart on the other side of the galaxy? When Wouter, a down-to-earth dyslexic caretaker, accidentally activates a travel disc sent by his late brother, he finds himself whisked away to a distant planet. Desperate to go home and reassure his grieving mother he’s alive, he’s instead stuck struggling to fill his brother’s shoes to keep the amphibian bani from freezing to death. Nif, a bani healer, clings to human music as a lifeline to memories of joy and a world beyond grief after losing his mate. Intrigued by the culture behind the songs he cherishes, he volunteers for Wouter’s support team—even as many of his kin distrust the humans, fearing exploitation of their fuel production. Their first meeting is one of necessity—a human in need and a bani ready to mend. As they navigate mistranslations, killer plants, and space pirates, a deeper connection blossoms between them. Each shared moment and conquered challenge draws them closer to an inevitable farewell. Will Wouter leave his heart or his home? In this slow-burn ace romance, discover a low-angst intergalactic adventure where true connection transcends stars and species. ___________________________ Content notes are available in the book's front matter and on the author's website.

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Summary: Seven stories of the gap year for the Children of Amargosa between Storming Amargosa and Suicide Run: Tishla must decide if Hanar can accommodate a group of socially inept sentient turtles. JT Austin has a ghost. Eric Yuwono must deal with his former enemies, who are now refugees on Amargosa. Davra Andraste tries to save a group of mean girls in space. Connor Duffy hacks the Boston sewer system. Ellie Nardino ponders her future, which might include terraforming. Mitsuko Yamato confronts squid people

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Summary: Half a century before Ray M. Holler sets off for the stars for the first time, a chance encounter near Neptune forever changes not only the course of human history but that of the entire Galaxy. Colonel Milan Pavel is a highly decorated officer in the Visegrád Union Navy, serving his last few months in command of the Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, the flagship of the VU’s Third Fleet. When an alien ship appears near Neptune, he initially dismisses it as an elaborate pre-retirement prank by his crew, but he is quickly proven wrong. The situation escalates rapidly as it turns out that the ship is on the run from a powerful enemy who is not far behind. Colonel Pavel has a decision to make: Either follow protocol and leave the aliens to their cruel fate, or risk his ship and crew in an attempt to save them.

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Summary: The fate of Lida looms. Agetha thought her fate was sealed, pushed to the edge of the colony to die. But with the revelation that the biomass is not only intelligent, but sentient, changes to colony are accelerating, threatening its very existence. Those who were controlled by the biomass once again have free will. Now, the human colonists are raising their voices and for the first time really influencing their new home. The planet-wide consciousness is slipping into a crisis of identity, when it doesn’t even have a sense of self. The wilds surrounding the colony are becoming increasingly unstable, and the colonists find themselves divided into those who have been touched by the biomass and those who are still wholly human. Can one small colony survive its inner conflicts as well as the titanic might of an entire planet?

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Summary: Ellie Nardino finds a dazed and confused man wandering the forests of Amargosa's tundra. They soon learn he is the stricken former president of the Compact. To find out what happened to him, they will smuggle him to a clinic inside the Compact. Ellie is tasked with escorting the former president and Tishla, now working as a genetic researcher in an off-the-books mission. When their pilot betrays them, they'll have to survive a lawless colony to keep him away from those who want to kill him.

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Summary: Silya comes into her own, but will she be enough? Silya finally has everything she always wanted: She's the Hencha Queen, head of the Temple, and is mastering her newfound talents. So why does the world pick now to fall apart? Her once-nemesis Raven is off riding dragons, and their mutual friend (and her ex) Aik is nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, a new threat menaces the Heartland from the East. If she can't convince a reluctant city council to prepare for the worst, she may lose everything—and everyone—she's ever cared about. As Silya wields her abilities, dry wit, and sheer determination to save her city, she's joined by Raven and his new friends, just as a dark storm threatens to sweep them all away. Will their aid help tip the scales? And will she and Raven finally find out what happened to Aik? Forget messy. Things just got apocalyptic.

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Summary: Ray M. Holler is an interstellar shipping freelancer, expert smuggler, and an occasional thief with a troubled past which means that his life is far from the boring, mundane exploits of your average denizen of the Orion-Sagittarius Union, a political alliance of intelligent species inhabiting the Milky Way galaxy. In fact, more often than not, he finds himself up to his neck in situations that require wit, courage, and a decent amount of luck to maneuver out of in one piece. Throughout his adventures in a universe where a safe, peaceful life is possible but not guaranteed, Ray gets to meet a variety of interesting individuals, make new friends, reunite with old acquaintances, and maybe—just maybe—face his own demons. All Quiet In the Milky Way: Ray M. Holler’s Adventures vol. 1 brings forth five stories, accompanied by an equal amount of side vignettes. This collection will take you on an exciting journey to remote worlds that, in some aspects, may not be all that dissimilar from the one we live in today.

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Summary: In 2048 BCE, the ancient Egyptian ruler Mentuhotep II of the Upper Kingdom of Mizraim campaigns to overtake the Lower Kingdom and become Supreme Pharaoh of all Egypt. At the same time, the last few Bor-ak survivors of the destroyed Red Planet, which the Egyptians called Horus, were coming for one last fly-by of the Blue Planet, before heading out of the solar system, searching for new worlds to inhabit. Mentuhotep saw the arrival of the Eye of Horus as a sign that the gods favoured his campaign and implored the Bor-ak to destroy his enemies. Meanwhile, his beautiful daughter Princess Iset has fallen for humble soldier Achillas and Mentuhotep plans to thwart the undesirable union. Would the Bor-ak side with Mentuhotep in his military campaign and efforts to dissuade Princess Iset?

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Summary: On a peaceful evening, Suicide's meditation is interrupted when a ship crashes near her remote home on Amargosa. It's a modified lifepod containing Tishla, First Citizen of Hanar, and her daughter. A coup has sent Tishla fleeing for help from Suicide and her surrogate son, JT Austin. Together, they will smuggle Tishla to the Realm, humanity's reluctant enemy, to plead for help from the Sovereign, the absolute ruler dubbed "the Father of All Gelt." Tishla will submit to a life of indentured servitude if He will restore Hanar's independent status. But an old foe seizes the opportunity to claim Tishla for himself, revenge for the deaths of his uncle and cousins, the Laral family, who brutally occupied Amargosa for a year. JT refuses to allow this and challenges her would-be master to a duel for her indenture contract. Both JT and Suicide will risk death in the arena to save Tishla and Hanar. But is it already too late? Through flashbacks to her time on Aphrodite, Suicide's past is revealed, how she met the founder of Cubism and the radical who corrupted the new faith, how she worked to build a new Aphrodite after centuries of civil conflict, and how a woman named Priya awakened both a capacity for love and a need to create art in Suicide.

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Summary: Something is definitely rotten in the experimental settlement on Ceres. Jax wonders how it will affect her and her colleagues when along comes Nan and shows her a side to the complex she did not expect. Together, the two young women work to break the control the aliens have over the human settlers and begin to form the foundation of a fairer community.

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Summary: RISE (noun / verb) Eight definitions to inspire writers around the world, and an unlimited number of possible stories to tell: 1) An upward slope or movement 2) A beginning or origin 3) An increase in amount or number 4) An angry reaction 5) To take up arms 6) To return from death 7) To become heartened or elated 8) To exert oneself to meet a challenge Rise 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: A genre-bending science fiction tale that takes place on several planets and through two lifetimes, rife with psychic magic as well as insights from psychology and physics. Yearning to reunite in the afterlife, a couple’s search runs afoul of both the materialistic Technists on Earth and the intransigent laws of Commensuration on their adoptive planet Xarbo, where rewards and retributions fly fast. Their quest for destiny leads to far-flung planets — one occupied by the disembodied brains of human astronauts, another by soulless clones — as the reincarnated pair find themselves on separate planets and following divergent paths. Hints of Star Trek and of Ram Das combine oddly with eroticism and mysticism in this epic tale of personal evolution.

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Summary: Taking shelter from a sudden rainstorm, Ardyn of the Athla’naa finds a strange object, inscribed with the ancient writing of his people. Except, it’s all wrong. The artifact is made of a metal he’s never seen before, not even among the metal-forging Medellans. What’s even stranger? Whenever he touches the object, the inscription glows. In a quest to seek the truth behind this discovery, Ardyn meets Jevan, a Medellan trader. They risk both their lives and the tenuous truce between their people by venturing deep into forbidden woods, known as the Aria'una. What Jevan and Ardyn discover could change their world forever. Before they can decide what to do, hunters bring them before the Athla’naa Triumvirate, who are intent on making an example of them for daring to trespass in the Aria'una. Will they face the consequences of their defiance or risk everything to flee and expose the truth?

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Summary: These interconnected sci-fi dystopian stories will transport you to a world teetering on the precipice of collapse. Join heroes who dare to challenge the shackles of oppression, embarking on dangerous journeys to seek freedom. As the shadow of destruction looms, some choose to fight, while others opt for escape. Yet, in the depths of tormented souls, hope emerges as a fragile yet resilient guiding light. Amidst the tapestry of deceit and cunning, clandestine agendas unfurl, weaving intricate webs of intrigue. The galaxy is engulfed in a war that threatens the fabric of existence. However, amidst the chaos, unexpected friendships and relationships are forged, transcending boundaries and divisions. Will righteousness prevail in the face of adversity? Can the seeds of change take root in the soil of uncertainty? Be enthralled by this omnibus edition, a gateway to the captivating Sehnsucht Series by Keyla Damaer.

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Summary: A guard and a thief. What could go wrong? Aik has fallen hopelessly in love with his best friend. But Raven's a thief, which makes things … complicated. Oh, and Raven has just been kidnapped by a dragon. Now Aik is off on a quest of his own, to hunt down the foul beast and make them give back his … friend? Lover? Soulmate? The whole not-knowing thing just makes everything harder. Meanwhile, the world of Tharassas is falling apart, besieged by earthquakes, floods, and strange creatures no one has ever seen before. Aik's ex, Silya has gone back to Gullton to try to save her people as the Hencha Queen, and Aik's stuck in a caravan with her mother and a damnable magical gauntlet that won't let him be. He has to find Raven, before it’s too late. Things were messy before … but now they're much, much worse.

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Summary: Fourteen visionary and thought-provoking science fiction gems take you on a faster-than-light journey to future worlds of dreams and nightmares. Whether you’re intrigued by the ethical ramifications of future technology or fascinated by the mysteries of the cosmos, Future Dreams and Nightmares will enthrall you with its boundless creativity and intellectual depth. Crafted with precision and care, this extraordinary collection of stories will draw you into richly imagined worlds populated by unforgettable characters and strange new events. With gripping plots and thought-provoking themes, Future Dreams and Nightmares is a must-read for all science fiction fans. Delve into what it means to be human and experience the thrill of exploring distant planets and confronting moral dilemmas as you read this captivating collection of alternate realities. Future Dreams and Nightmares is a testament to the power of science fiction to not just entertain but to push boundaries, expand the mind, and see the world from a new perspective. Embrace the unknown and embark on fourteen unforgettable journeys transcending time and space. Pick up your copy today, and prepare to be teleported into a universe of future dreams and nightmares! If you are a fan of the mind-bending tales reminiscent of The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits, then these short stories are for you: Memories: Who among us doesn’t have terrible memories we would like to permanently forget? But perhaps some memories just aren’t meant to be erased. Mind Trap: An oligarch’s deathbed confession leads to one last crime. A Mind Full of Memories: A successful operation unexpectedly violates a neurosurgeon’s Hippocratic oath. Everlife: A woman’s multiple resurrections point to a serial killer. Original Equipment: A man’s latest upgrade completes his physical transformation. A Jump Too Far: A man must deal with the unintended consequences of jumping between timelines to fight terrorists. We Service All: A lonely spacer’s visit to an alien brothel turns out to be exactly what he needs. Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind: During first contact, an alien species’ strange reproductive biology results in unexpected pregnancies. History is Written: Government-approved history lessons hide a forbidden truth. Ariana: A man uses a time machine to undo his greatest regret. To Serve and Protect: Time travel is used to undo humanity’s extinction. Questioning God: A system tester goes behind his management’s back to ask an artificial intelligence (AI) god a question. The Warning: Scientists ask a master AI how to stop and undo the climate crisis. The Great Dust Storm of 2047: An exceptionally powerful storm threatens the survival of climate refugees living underground in a former salt mine.

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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: Before Ardulum, there was the Mercy’s Pledge. One year after saving the Neek homeworld and redefining the people’s religion, the crew of the Scarlet Lucidity returns to the Charted Systems for a much-needed break. For Nicholas and Yorden, the Systems will always be home, but for Emn and Atalant, too many memories compound with Emn’s strange new illness to provide much relaxation. Tales from Ardulum continues the journey of Atalant, Emn, Yorden, Nicholas, and Salice as they try to define their place in a galaxy that no longer needs them while battling the artifacts of Ardulan colonization. Other stories include Yorden’s acquisition of the Mercy’s Pledge (and his grudge against the galaxy), Atalant’s exile from her homeworld, Ekimet and Savath’s romance, and many others.