Chased by Fire


D.K. Holmberg - 2014
    Terrifying creatures from dark and dangerous Incendin... And long-forgotten elementals again unleashed on the world. As an earth senser, Tan is tasked with helping guide the king's servant through the dangerous mountain passes in search for the artifact before Incendin can reach it first. But after losing his father to the war, Tan wants nothing to do with the king's demands. When everything he knows is lost, he is forced to risk himself to save the one person who can find the artifact, a beautiful girl who has lost as much as Tan. In doing so, power the world hasn't seen in nearly a thousand years is awoken, and a warrior long thought dead returns to claim the artifact for himself.

Noumenon


Marina J. Lostetter - 2017
    But one uncertainty remains: Where do we go? Astrophysicist Reggie Straifer has an idea. He’s discovered an anomalous star that appears to defy the laws of physics, and proposes the creation of a deep-space mission to find out whether the star is a weird natural phenomenon, or something manufactured.The journey will take eons. In order to maintain the genetic talent of the original crew, humankind’s greatest ambition—to explore the furthest reaches of the galaxy—is undertaken by clones. But a clone is not a perfect copy, and each new generation has its own quirks, desires, and neuroses. As the centuries fly by, the society living aboard the nine ships (designated “Convoy Seven”) changes and evolves, but their mission remains the same: to reach Reggie’s mysterious star and explore its origins—and implications.A mosaic novel of discovery, Noumenon—in a series of vignettes—examines the dedication, adventure, growth, and fear of having your entire world consist of nine ships in the vacuum of space. The men and women, and even the AI, must learn to work and live together in harmony, as their original DNA is continuously replicated and they are born again and again into a thousand new lives. With the stars their home and the unknown their destination, they are on a voyage of many lifetimes—an odyssey to understand what lies beyond the limits of human knowledge and imagination.

Critical Failures


Robert Bevan - 2012
    The next minute, they're in a horse-drawn cart surrounded by soldiers pointing crossbows at them. Tim now has the voice and physique of a prepubescent girl. Dave finds that while he lost a foot or two in height, he somehow acquired a suit of armor and a badass beard. Julian's ears have grown ridiculously long and pointy. And Cooper... well Cooper has gotten himself a set of tusks, a pair of clawed hands, and a bad case of the shits. He also finds that he's carrying a bag with a human head in it - a head that he had chopped off when they were still just playing a game.Shit just got real, and if they want to survive, these four friends are going to have to tap into some baser instincts they didn't even know existed in their fast-food and pizza delivery world.It's fight, flight, or try to convince the people who are trying to kill them that they don't really exist.Meanwhile, a sadistic game master sits back in the real world eating their fried chicken.

Path of Ascension I


Atlas Kane - 2020
    Those strong enough to resist, cultivated their Ki, and emerged as Heroes of Ascension to combat the demonic threat.For two hopeful Ascendants, J and Alex, this journey begins at Wyvern Academy. But surviving in one of the world's top battle academies isn't the only thing they have to worry about. Fellow students and rivals, beautiful girls, and treacherous exams stand in the way of their first steps on the path of ascension.Wyvern Academy is a harem cultivation novel written by authors Atlas Kane, bestselling author of Chimera King, and Grayson Sinclair, LitRPG author of Hive Knight. Wyvern Academy is inspired by Japanese Light Novels as well as a deep love and respect for anime, kung fu, martial arts, and battle academy adventures.Imagine a story that combines My Hero Academia, IP Man, and your favorite harem novel, and you'll have Wyvern Academy...Caution to Readers: Wyvern Academy Light Novels contain explicit adult content, unconventional / harem relationships, graphic and persistent violence, and occasional lapses in decorum that would make your dear mother faint. Proceed at your own risk.

The Land: Founding


Aleron Kong - 2015
    to "The Land!"Tricked into a world of banished gods, demons, goblins, sprites and magic, Richter must learn to meet the perils of The Land and begin to forge his own kingdom. Actions have consequences across The Land, with powerful creatures and factions now hell-bent on Richter's destruction.Can Richter forge allegiances to survive this harsh and unforgiving world or will he fall to the dark denizens of this ancient and unforgiving realm?A tale to shake "The Land" itself, measuring 10/10 on the Richter scale, how will Richter's choices shape the future of The Land and all who reside in it? Can he grow his power to meet the deadliest of beings of the land? When choices are often a shade of grey, how will Richter ensure he does not become what he seeks to destroy?ps - Gnomes Rule

Unsouled


Will Wight - 2016
     Lindon is Unsouled, forbidden to learn the sacred arts of his clan. When faced with a looming fate he cannot ignore, he must defy his family's rules...and forge his own Path.

Pandora's Star


Peter F. Hamilton - 2004
    The Intersolar Commonwealth, a sphere of stars some four hundred light-years in diameter, contains more than six hundred worlds, interconnected by a web of transport "tunnels" known as wormholes. At the farthest edge of the Commonwealth, astronomer Dudley Bose observes the impossible: Over one thousand light-years away, a star... vanishes. It does not go supernova. It does not collapse into a black hole. It simply disappears. Since the location is too distant to reach by wormhole, a faster-than-light starship, the Second Chance, is dispatched to learn what has occurred and whether it represents a threat. In command is Wilson Kime, a five-time rejuvenated ex-NASA pilot whose glory days are centuries behind him.Opposed to the mission are the Guardians of Selfhood, a cult that believes the human race is being manipulated by an alien entity they call the Starflyer. Bradley Johansson, leader of the Guardians, warns of sabotage, fearing the Starflyer means to use the starship's mission for its own ends.Pursued by a Commonwealth special agent convinced the Guardians are crazy but dangerous, Johansson flees. But the danger is not averted. Aboard the Second Chance, Kime wonders if his crew has been infiltrated. Soon enough, he will have other worries. A thousand light-years away, something truly incredible is waiting: a deadly discovery whose unleashing will threaten to destroy the Commonwealth... and humanity itself. Could it be that Johansson was right?

Dungeon Bound


Bastian Knight - 2019
    Unfortunately, his career as an adventurer doesn’t turn out quite how he was hoping. While on his first delve, he discovers more about monsters, dungeons, and souls than he ever imagined. With that knowledge comes power and new friends. But even as his exotic companions enrich his life, they also give him more to lose. When Gabriel learns that time isn’t on their side, he has to find his way as a Dungeon Master before greedy adventurers and ravenous monsters strip away everything he holds dear. Disclaimer: Dungeon Bound contains casual nudity, explicit sex, sexy monster girls, a growing harem, a fantasy world with magic, game mechanics, violence, revenge, crude humor, profanity, Dungeon Cores, Dungeon Masters, magic, home invaders, an exhibitionist, ritual sacrifice, and a dungeon.

Demon Seer


Kurtis Eckstein - 2018
     The problem is, the object of his sudden infatuation isn’t exactly normal. She has horns, wings, and a tail…and to complicate matters, she might have a fatal interest in Michael derived from her need for human blood. Will his newfound love interest lead to his untimely death? Or can he find a way to make it work out between him and his demon girlfriend?

For the Win


Cory Doctorow - 2010
    Meanwhile, others seek to exploit this vast shadow economy, running electronic sweatshops in the world's poorest countries, where countless "gold farmers," bound to their work by abusive contracts and physical threats, harvest virtual treasure for their employers to sell to First World gamers who are willing to spend real money to skip straight to higher-level gameplay.Mala is a brilliant 15-year-old from rural India whose leadership skills in virtual combat have earned her the title of "General Robotwalla." In Shenzen, heart of China's industrial boom, Matthew is defying his former bosses to build his own successful gold-farming team. Leonard, who calls himself Wei-Dong, lives in Southern California, but spends his nights fighting virtual battles alongside his buddies in Asia, a world away. All of these young people, and more, will become entangled with the mysterious young woman called Big Sister Nor, who will use her experience, her knowledge of history, and her connections with real-world organizers to build them into a movement that can challenge the status quo.The ruthless forces arrayed against them are willing to use any means to protect their power—including blackmail, extortion, infiltration, violence, and even murder. To survive, Big Sister's people must out-think the system. This will lead them to devise a plan to crash the economy of every virtual world at once—a Ponzi scheme combined with a brilliant hack that ends up being the biggest, funnest game of all.Imbued with the same lively, subversive spirit and thrilling storytelling that made LITTLE BROTHER an international sensation, FOR THE WIN is a prophetic and inspiring call-to-arms for a new generation

Child of the Daystar


Bryce O'Connor - 2015
    Towering tall even amongst the atherian, he is the only of his kind to live free in the "civilized" confines of mankind's varied cultures. He has no need of loyalties, his sole affections pledged to the gold crowns that buy his time and skills. Wed to his blades, Raz's only friends are the Moon and Her Stars and the shadows they bring with the night. But Raz was not born to the mercenary's way, to the butchery and battle of day-by-day survival. Raz, like a sword, was hammered from steel and fire and ashy smoke, forged on the ruins of an old life. And Raz knows who he owes this new path to, this carved way of blood and iron. The Monster of Karth, after all, would never forget who gave him that name. And some debts can't be paid in gold...

First Recruits: Eevona Space Command: Book 1


Marilyn Foxworthy - 2019
    The next thing I remembered was alarms and bells and flashing lights and a voice yelling that death was imminent. And now, I was staring down at a beautiful female clone, gray and featureless, about to wake her up from transport hibernation. On a space ship. In space. Thank goodness I still had my bonsai scissors. Otherwise I’d never have been able to cut open her containment bag and that imminent death thing would have killed her. The voice said that there was more of them and that I’d better hurry if I wanted to rescue all of them before they were no longer “viable”. My name is Jimmy Raskin. You can call me Captain Jimmy Raskin of The Eevona Space Command.

Cursed!


Jan Stryvant - 2020
    His father was once one of the richest men in the City of Sacramento. So what if his parents never had time for him? Made him work weekends and after school? Only allowed him to date the 'right' kind of women? He still had a pretty easy life: servants, good food, nice clothes, the latest games, and not a lot of expectations working at the family business.Then one day it all started to very quickly fall apart and months later he's living on the street, slowly starving to death, his parents both dead and every penny of the family fortune is gone. He's been beaten, robbed, and had to learn the hard way how to survive as just another of the unfortunate homeless living on the streets. Still, he's struggling, but he's alive and surely things will get better...After all, how could it possibly get any worse?WARNING: “Cursed” contains explicit sexuality, nudity, violence, bad language, attempted murder, actual murder, self-defense, pro-active self-defense, destruction of private property, theft, no arson (yet), demonic sex, gratuitous sex, mayhem, violence, breaking and entering, card cheats, a trip to Stockton (pee-ew! roll up that window!) and a really nice lady who drinks too much.

Conscript


Pamela Stewart - 2019
    Everyone had told her it would be easy—in and out.Then, the hostile aliens invaded.Now, she slaves away training and retooling a mining ship for war as part of the Star Defenders.All Vega wants is to get home to her family. So, when a chance at officers training opens up, she jumps at the opportunity for more freedom. But there are only five slots, and Vega must use all her planetborn skill to fight for her place.As if that wasn't enough, the ship's condition continues to worsen. "Accidents" may not be accidents. The lines between friends and enemies blur, and Vega realizes there's a lot more at stake than her chance at freedom.Fans of Aurora Rising, Ender’s Game, and Brandon Sander’s Skyward will devour this story of adventure, mystery, and friendship.

Tales of the Gemsmith - Green


Jared Mandani - 2018
    Fresh out of College, he managed to open his shop to sell his creations and get a toehold in the business. But like most people who start out in life, the beginnings were rough and he had to struggle. Still, he wouldn’t want it any other way. One evening, while he’s busy in his workshop, three men in balaclavas break in and he’s violently assaulted. That burglary will leave him crippled and traumatized. And after weeks of rehabilitation, he will finally have to accept that he’ll never again be able to use his fingers with enough dexterity to pursue this meticulous occupation. Dean is devastated. What will he do with himself now? In the unit where he’s treated, a glimmer of hope will emerge when he’ll be introduced to a virtual world that erases your limitations and where no dream is big or wild enough. He will join Aldaron as a Mage Artificer and he will soon discover that, by drawing from his real life skills, he can progress through the levels much faster. Going from one adventure to the other, Mage Winters will meet legendary players and formidable foes. But right when he thinks he’s found a new purpose, he will learn of the ominous danger that threatens everything he’s come to cherish, and that his peculiar skills might be the only hope to save them all. This is Dean’s story. These are the Tales of the Gemsmith.