The Man That Time Forgot


Paul Mitchell - 2013
    Just open any book or talk to any history professor and they’ll tell you that history is filled with nothing but glorious battles, great leaders, plagues, large fires, earthquakes, famous inventors, Egyptians and Louis Pasteur. This couldn’t be further from the truth. History, in fact, is filled with a whole lot of nothing. Andrew Adams knows that only too well. He’s an ordinary man living his life in the all too abundant and mundane spaces between those great moments. Just like all ordinary men he spends much of his life wondering what the point of it all is, struggling to form meaningful relationships or find his place in society. Andrew’s life follows a daily routine much like that of many others: he wakes up, does the minimum required to get himself through the day - careful not to learn too much or create a lasting impression on anyone - and then goes back to bed. There’s only one, ever-so-minor inconvenience that continually stands in the way of Andrew’s ignorantly blissful life Time-travel. Since before he can remember every time Andrew sleeps he’s randomly flung through time and space, never knowing where or when he’ll wake up. The only thing he can be certain of is that the location he arrives at won’t be anywhere exciting. He’s a cursed man who had no idea why this happens to him, clueless to how it all started or how it can be stopped. Rarely does he find a place to fit in and, on those rare occasions that he does, he can only stay there until he loses his fight against sleep. Andrew Adams has all but given up hope and given up on life.That is until he meets someone else like him who sets in motion a chain of events that will lead him on a journey of discovery and answers to questions that perhaps even he didn't want to know. With the help of a mysterious and tenacious woman, an old drunken priest and a seven-foot, psychopathic assassin Andrews life is about to be given a purpose. Finally he might start to view his abilities as a gift instead of a curse and perhaps learn that there’s always something to be thankful for. Whether he wants to or not

Extensis Vitae


Gregory Mattix - 2013
    The people around him have cast aside fighting and warfare. They haven't needed them--until now.Reznik is charged with tracking down a band of ruthless killers and finding a kidnapped doctor. He finds himself honor-bound to do what is right for the people who brought him back from the dead. A peaceful people are depending on him to do what is right. Can he live up to their expectations, even when he finds out that his new body has an expiration date?Extensis Vitae is a gritty, post-apocalyptic science fiction adventure.

Night Train to Rigel


Timothy Zahn - 2005
    The message is a summons from the Spiders, the exotic and mysterious creatures who run the Quadrail, an incredible transportation system connecting civilizations across the galaxy. The Spiders believe that someone or something is preparing to attack their entire network and the worlds it serves, by smuggling battleships through the Quadrail--something that should be impossible to do. Compton, with the aid of a beautiful but enigmatic agent of the Spiders, is their last hope.Because nobody else has been able to find the elusive enemy who seeks to enslave the entire galaxy…and Earth is its next target.

The Forbidden Spacemage


Dan Oakley - 2018
     Tomas longs for adventure. Rejected by the villagers of Terrano all his life for his magical abilities, he knows peasants like him are not permitted to serve aboard the Seven Kingdom’s Starships. But when someone reports him for practicing the dark art of magic and Tomas has to run from his accusers, he finds himself caught up in a world of starships, alien worlds and mutant creatures. Join Tomas on his adventure through space!

Ill Met in Lakhmar/The Fair in Emain Macha


Fritz Leiber - 1985
    His knee lifted to drive into Donnan's crotch. As the man bent over in pain, Colum struck him a savage blow across the back of the neck with a closed fist. Donnan dropped like a felled ox and lay still.But colum wasn't done with him yet. Still cursing, he grabbed a fistful of red hair and raised Donnan's head, meaning to pound it into the ground.Suddenly, it was Fergus he saw lying under him. This was no contest of champions. It was a blood-feud between the Ard-righ and himself - which could only end with the spilling of blood.'Stop.'The word lashed Colum, piercing the red-mists that bound his mind. He lifted his head and saw a tall manshape from whose brow twelve-tined antlers sprung. The eyes that fixed their gaze on Colum were ageless, deep and knowing. Silently they spoke to him.'Would you break Fair-truce, Colum, Donal's son, and so be outlawed in truth?'The mist cleared from Colum's gaze - quickly and sudden, like the long grass of Kerry's plains parting before a storm wind. The Fair in Emain Mancha originally appeared in Space and Time #68 in 1985. It was later released in 1990 as part of an omnibus: Ill Met in Lankhmar/The Fair in Emain Macha

Archangel Down


C. Gockel - 2015
    They’re wrong.Commander Noa Sato plans a peaceful leave on her home planet Luddeccea ... but winds up interrogated and imprisoned for her involvement in the Archangel Project. A project she knows nothing about.Professor James Sinclair wakes in the snow, not remembering the past twenty four hours, or knowing why he is being pursued. The only thing he knows is that he has to find Commander Sato, a woman he’s never met.A military officer from the colonies and a civilian from Old Earth, they couldn’t have less in common. But they have to work together to save the lives of millions—and their own.Every step of the way they are haunted by the final words of a secret transmission:The archangel is down.

Spinward Fringe Broadcast 0: Origins


Randolph Lalonde - 2008
    He is employed by Freeground station as a port traffic controller, a job he took after completing a tour in the military. His only real joy in life is his participation in true-to-life military simulations with a cadre of friends who come together regularly to defeat challenges made to test the brightest military cadets and officers alike. These restricted scenarios stand as an addictive preoccupation that is so enticing that they ignore the potential repercussions of breaking in to participate. When someone betrays their identities to the Freeground Fleet Admiralty, Jonas and his friends are faced with a far greater challenge: to venture out into the more populated regions of the galaxy to acquire technology and knowledge. They are tasked with laying the groundwork for the Freeground Nation in their efforts to reconnect with the rest of humanity, and to secure the armaments they might need to defend themselves from encroaching enemies. Spinward Fringe Broadcast 0: Origins is a collected trilogy that chronicles the early adventures of an ambitious crew. Their leader, Jonas Valent, has the least to lose and everything to gain as he tells the tale of his first tour as Captain of a ship tasked with making allies and discovering new technologies for the good of his people. This simple mission becomes more complicated as the crew ventures further into the settled fringes of the galaxy. This trilogy spawned the best selling Spinward Fringe eBook series. This is where it all began, when one man was challenged to aspire for more than an idle life. A Space Opera Adventure enjoyed across the globe by all ages.

Oath of Fealty


Elizabeth Moon - 2010
    But as Moon’s devoted fans know, she started her career as a fantasy writer. The superb trilogy known as The Deed of Paksenarrion is widely judged to be one of the great post-Tolkien fantasies, a masterpiece of sustained world-building and realistic military action. Now Moon returns to this thrilling realm for the first time in nearly twenty years. The result: another classic in the making.Thanks to Paks’s courage and sacrifice, the long-vanished heir to the half-elven kingdom of Lyonya has been revealed as Kieri Phelan, a formidable mercenary captain who earned a title and enemies in the neighboring kingdom of Tsaia. Now, as Kieri ascends a throne he never sought, he must come to terms with his own half-elven heritage while protecting his new kingdom from his old enemies and those he has not yet discovered.Meanwhile, in Tsaia, Prince Mikeli prepares for his own coronation. But when an assassination attempt nearly succeeds, Mikeli suddenly faces the threat of a coup. Acting swiftly, Mikeli strikes at the powerful family behind the attack: the Verrakaien, magelords possessing ancient sorcery, steeped in death and evil. Mikeli’s survival and that of Tsaia depend on the only Verrakai whose magery is not tainted with innocent blood.   Two kings stand at a pivotal point in the history of their worlds. For dark forces are gathering against them, knit in a secret conspiracy more sinister and far more ancient than they can imagine. And even Paks may find her gods-given magic and peerless fighting skills stretched to the limit and beyond.

Stones: Data


Jacob Whaler - 2013
    Genghis Kahn. Julius Caesar. Attila the Hun. Mao. Stalin. For thousands of years, the Stones have been hidden among us, giving a privileged few the power to rule over masses, destroy old empires and create new ones. Now it's near the end of the 21st century. On the eve of a trip to Japan, Matt Newmark finds a dark rock in the shape of a claw, and it changes everything. With the help of a Shinto priest, he discovers it’s a Stone, a piece of ancient alien technology that gives him a sweeping view of history and control over time, matter and energy. But Matt is not alone. Mikal Ryzaard, a survivor of the Nazi death camps, has a Stone of his own and a burning vision to eliminate suffering and bring back Paradise. With all the resources of the world's largest multinational corporation behind him, he tracks down Matt and makes him an offer. Join me or die. This is the first book in the Stones series, a new techno-thriller quadriligy by Jacob Whaler.

The Stars, Like Dust


Isaac Asimov - 1951
    A radiation bomb planted in his dorm room changed him from an innocent student at the University of Earth to a marked man, fleeing desperately from an unknown assassin.He soon discovers that, many light-years away, his father, the highly respected Rancher of Widemos, has been murdered. Stunned, grief-stricken, and outraged, Biron is determined to uncover the reasons behind his father’s death, and becomes entangled in an intricate saga of rebellion, political intrigue, and espionage.The mystery takes him deep into space where he finds himself in a relentless struggle with the power-mad despots of Tyrann. Now it is not just a case of life or death for Biron, but a question of freedom for the galaxy.

The First Blade of Ostia


Duncan M. Hamilton - 2014
    In Ostenheim, a city obsessed with duelling, it is one that nobody forgets. Bryn’s earliest memory is of watching duels in the arena. His earliest dream is of taking his place there. Amero has no dreams. His life has been about fulfilling the expectations of others. In search of a path of his own, the dreams of others are too tempting to resist. After years of sacrifice and hard work, Bryn is finally a professional duellist. Becoming the First Blade of Ostia no longer seems the childish fantasy it once did. To find the man standing in his way is also his best friend will test him in ways he would never have believed. The First Blade of Ostia is a stand alone novel set in the Middle Sea World of the Society of the Sword Trilogy.

City of the Falling Sky


Joseph Evans - 2011
    But the worms aren’t the only thing that he finds. Staring at him through the darkness, with wide, innocent eyes, is something that makes Seckry’s heart almost stop.A girl.She’s shaking, petrified, and has no recollection of who she is or what she’s doing there.Floodlights bleach the area and Seckry has no choice but to grab a hold of the girl and escape with her.Suddenly the question of what Endrin were doing with a few worms becomes the last thing on Seckry’s mind. What were Endrin doing with a human?

The Year's Best Science Fiction: Seventeenth Annual Collection


Gardner DozoisRobert Silverberg - 2000
    John HarrisonHunting mother/ Sage WalkerMount Olympus/ Ben Bova Border guards/ Greg Egan Scherzo with tyrannosaur/ Michael SwanwickA hero of the empire/ Robert SilverbergHow we lost the moon, a true story/ Frank W. Allen & Paul J. McAuleyPhallicide/ Charles Sheffield Daddy's world/ Walter Jon WilliamsA Martian romance/ Kim Stanley RobinsonThe sky-green blues/ Tanith LeeExchange rate/ Hal ClementEverywhere/ Geoff Ryman Hothouse flowers/ Mike Resnick Evermore/ Sean Williams Of scorned women & causal loops/ Robert GrossbachSon observe the time/ Kage BakerHonorable mentions: 1999

Planet Bound


R.A. Mejia - 2018
    Unfortunately, the transport ship he chose is attacked by pirates and he ends up stranded on an unknown planet where the very air is toxic to him. Now John has to team up with the ship’s AI and the two have to survive on this hostile alien world and figure out some way to get off the planet or get a message out for help. Can they overcome their dwindling resources, alien life forms, and hostile space forces? Or will they die together, planet bound? This is a sci-fi survival story with augmented reality, a snarky AI, upgrade mechanics, resource gathering, crafting, alien creatures, and space pirates.

Storm Portal


Michael R. Stern - 2014
    Lee resting in the woods on the day after the surrender at Appomattox. A lover of history, Fritz finds his sudden time trip to the past both a gift and a chance for great adventure. But when the classroom door opens to the Oval Office, he realizes that his time portal might also be put to serious purpose. Hired by the president to help on behalf of national security. Fritz does not believe he will be endangered by using his door to travel across time and space. But will Fritz’s own government consider him expendable, if he cannot solve the mystery of the portal?