The Games


Ted Kosmatka - 2012
     NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY PUBLISHERS WEEKLYSet in an amoral future where genetically engineered monstrosities fight each other to the death in an Olympic event, The Games envisions a harrowing world that may arrive sooner than you think.   Silas Williams is the brilliant geneticist in charge of preparing the U.S. entry into the Olympic Gladiator competition, an internationally sanctioned bloodsport with only one rule: no human DNA is permitted in the design of the entrants. Silas lives and breathes genetics; his designs have led the United States to the gold in every previous event. But the other countries are catching up. Now, desperate for an edge in the upcoming Games, Silas’s boss engages an experimental supercomputer to design the genetic code for a gladiator that cannot be beaten.   The result is a highly specialized killing machine, its genome never before seen on earth. Not even Silas, with all his genius and experience, can understand the horror he had a hand in making. And no one, he fears, can anticipate the consequences of entrusting the act of creation to a computer’s cold logic.   Now Silas races to understand what the computer has wrought, aided by a beautiful xenobiologist, Vidonia João. Yet as the fast-growing gladiator demonstrates preternatural strength, speed, and—most disquietingly—intelligence, Silas and Vidonia find their scientific curiosity giving way to a most unexpected emotion: sheer terror.Praise for The Games   “Blends the best of Crichton and Koontz.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)   “Outstanding . . . very like something Michael Crichton might have written . . . [a] bold mix of horror and SF . . . Expect big things from [Ted] Kosmatka.”—Booklist (starred review)   “Kosmatka successfully captures the thrill of groundbreaking technology. . . . The pleasure of his polished, action-packed storytelling is deepened by strong character development. This near-future SF thriller . . . seems destined for the big screen.”—Library Journal (starred review)

The Demon's Possession


Kiersten Fay - 2011
    Their passion will ignite the stars.As captain of the merchant ship Marada, Sebastian has only one goal: keep his family and his crew safe while they deliver a curious parcel to a ruthless pirate. But when a bewitching young woman mysteriously appears on his ship, he finds it impossible to focus on the job...and to keep his hands off her.Analia has known only one life: enslavement. In a bid for freedom, she escapes onto a craft led by a fearsome demon captain. If she is to maintain her freedom, she must gain Sebastian's trust while concealing her true nature.Together they contend with the hazards of open space, but what no one knows is her secrets are more dangerous than anything they have encountered before.

Gravitational Attraction


Angel Martinez - 2012
    They may need to save far more than each other.A mysterious distress call draws the crew of the Hermes to what appears to be an empty, drifting ship. Empty, except for the gore-spattered corridors and one survivor locked in a holding cell. Drawn to the traumatized man, the crew's comm officer, Isaac Ozawa, makes Turk his responsibility, offering him kindness and warmth after the horror he experienced.Turk longs for Isaac, a desperate, hopeless ache he'll always carry with him.But Turk’s brain harbors dangerous secrets, a military experiment gone wrong. When an amoral, power-hungry admiral kidnaps Isaac to convince Turk to become the weapon he's hungered for, it will take Turk’s strength, the Hermes crew’s ingenuity, the enigmatic Drak'tar’s help, and Isaac's own stubborn will to save them.

Mercenary Instinct


Ruby Lionsdrake - 2014
    But Ankari Markovich needs a few archaeological samples for her latest business venture, a venture that might prove lucrative enough to move her family off the impoverished planet where she grew up. Unfortunately, she has no sooner collected her samples than she’s captured by a band of brawny mercenaries. The captain might be handsome, but he’s intent on turning her over to some finance lord who has, for reasons unknown, put a bounty on her head, a ridiculously large one at that. If she can’t figure out a way to escape before she’s delivered to the lord’s home world, she could be forced into a life of indentured servitude—or worse.Captain Viktor Mandrake doesn’t usually take on piddling bounty hunting gigs, but when his intelligence officer informs him of a criminal on a nearby planet, he decides it wouldn’t hurt to take a shuttle down to collect the woman. But Ankari Markovich is trouble from the start, nearly eluding his elite forces, then fighting and tricking his people left and right. He finds himself admiring her spirit, but according to her warrant, she’s a criminal. The safest thing is to keep her in the brig and ignore her until she can be handed off to the man who wants her.But the situation grows more complicated when other bounty hunters show up, wanting to claim Ankari for themselves. Thanks to this woman, Viktor’s ship is in danger, his crew members are going missing, and he’s fighting enemies he never asked for in a jungle in the middle of a hurricane. He’s either going to strangle Ankari… or fall in love. Either scenario could get him killed.Mercenary Instinct is a full-length, stand-alone novel of 90,000 words. It is part of the “Mandrake Company” series of science fiction romance stories and is recommended for readers who enjoy space-based adventure (such as Firefly) and steamy love stories (in the style of Linnea Sinclair).

Information Cloud


Peter James West - 2012
    Information Cloud is the first novel in the series, mixing elements of military science fiction, adventure and hi-tech action with an epic tale that travels through a vast land. After the Iridium Wars, a cataclysmic event that killed the vast majority of Megarothia's human and animal populations, the planet has been left to ruin. Only Lord Hades, the Techno Prophet, foresaw this event and was able to save a few thousand survivors beneath a powerful structure that became known as the Dome Shield. Major Rachel Henson is a soldier in the Security Forces, a military organisation that now governs the fragmented land. She's combat trained, and highly effective, but it's becoming increasingly obvious that there's something very wrong with her. She isn't like other people, and she's developing a reputation for being more capable than anyone can explain. Lord Hades has been absent for many years, driven to desperation by his tormented visions of the Second Black Day. He fears that technology will be the end of man, but whatever he tries, he is powerless to stop the factions of the Orange Zone from destroying each other. The race is on to create ever more disturbing machines to win yet another war.

Star Brigade: Quartet (Star Brigade Books 1-4)


C.C. Ekeke - 2018
    Ekeke's bestselling Star Brigade Series At the dawn of the 25th century, Star Brigade was an elite military unit in the Galactic Union, and Habraum Nwosu one of its best soldiers. Until a deadly ambush massacred his team and Star Brigade’s reputation. BUT THE UNION STILL NEEDS HEROES Extremist threats and old enemies return from the fringes of space to threaten the Galactic Union’s inhabitants. FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION Now Habraum must rebuild the Brigade from scratch with a dwindling roster of untested recruits, all while fighting to protect the Union he serves with his own shoot-first, punch-next brand of justice. The Star Brigade Quartet contains the FIRST FOUR books in the series, a prequel novella and several exclusive short stories for a discounted price. 300+ five-star reviews, 1500+ pages of space battles, supersoldier combat, and heart-pounding intergalactic intrigue. Find out why readers are so enthralled by this riveting science fiction saga.

Lake Ness: Extinction Is About To Be Redefined


Cherie Mitchell - 2020
    Not quite sure what he's let himself in for, he slowly adjusts to the isolated environment of Lake Ness and the challenges of living with a bunch of often erratic and unpredictable teenagers.However, it's not long before their best-laid plans start to unravel. Some of the kids aren't too good at obeying the rules of the camp, Gerry finds himself dragged back down into memories he's been trying to avoid, and Marnie and Jim have had a falling out. The FBI is also sniffing around and everyone knows that they don't generally like to spend money unless it's money well spent.On top of everything else, there's something large and dangerous living in the lake and as impossible as it sounds, Gerry is starting to think they've discovered some long-extinct aquatic dinosaurs living in this isolated waterway, creatures who are rapidly developing a taste for human flesh. Someone is going to have to step up to be a hero before more lives are lost and it looks like Gerry is that man. Unfortunately, volunteering to be a hero was never one of Gerry's preferred career choices.Lake Ness - extinction is about to be redefined.

Elite Dangerous: Premonition


Drew Wagar - 2017
    Disturbing encounters with unknown ships. Three great superpowers manoeuvre against each other. But are their destinies their own, or are they merely the puppets of some greater power? Since the loss of the Prism system in 3300, Lady Kahina Tijani Loren has operated on the fringes of Imperial society. Led by clues from a woman once thought dead, she is drawn into a conspiracy at the heart of humanity. To uncover the truth she must contend with dangerous enemies, navigate murky political waters, and – with the help of her friends – uncover the secret of the Formidine Rift. Premonition is the new story set in the Elite: Dangerous galaxy, shaped by player actions in the game.

Tropic of Kansas


Christopher Brown - 2017
    Broken into warring territories, its center has become a wasteland DMZ known as “the Tropic of Kansas.” Though this gaping geographic hole has no clear boundaries, everyone knows it's out there—that once-bountiful part of the heartland, broken by greed and exploitation, where neglect now breeds unrest. Two travelers appear in this arid American wilderness: Sig, the fugitive orphan of political dissidents, and his foster sister Tania, a government investigator whose search for Sig leads her into her own past—and towards an unexpected future.Sig promised those he loves that he would make it to the revolutionary redoubt of occupied New Orleans. But first he must survive the wild edgelands of a barren mid-America policed by citizen militias and autonomous drones, where one wrong move can mean capture . . . or death. One step behind, undercover in the underground, is Tania. Her infiltration of clandestine networks made of old technology and new politics soon transforms her into the hunted one, and gives her a shot at being the agent of real change—if she is willing to give up the explosive government secrets she has sworn to protect.As brother and sister traverse these vast and dangerous badlands, their paths will eventually intersect on the front lines of a revolution whose fuse they are about to light.

True As Steel


Regine Abel - 2021
    Today, he is condemned to a life sentence for rebellion. When a series of explosions rock the transport ship taking him to the prison colony, it’s a race for survival to any means of escape. In the process, he irrationally rescues an injured female he doesn’t even know. Her fierceness as their vessel collapses all around them catches his eye. But her loyalty, strength, and determination during their journey awaken in him feelings he hasn’t experienced in the six years since his transformation.Stranded on a mercenary planet with a powerful, but emotionally closed-off Cyborg, Tamryn’s world is completely turned upside down. With both their faces branded as rebels and bounty hunters on their trail, she must silence her mistrust of Jarog and join forces with him to reach her contact on the planet—the mercenary cartel leader of Satos. Along the way, the tormented soul Tamryn discovers beneath the Cyborg’s controlled façade stirs her in an unexpected fashion.When presented with a chance at redemption off-world with other Cyborgs, Jarog is torn by his growing feelings for Tamryn. How can he leave her behind when escalating violence in the region threatens the one woman who reawakened the man in the machine?

Her Alien Prince


Presley Hall - 2020
    This wasn’t a peaceful mission at all. The women on board were meant to be sold in exchange for alien tech.2. There’s no way we’re getting off this planet.3. Our odds of survival are laughably low.When I’m accidentally separated from the other women, I’m pretty sure my chances of survival drop to zero. That is, until I fall—literally—into the lap of a gorgeous alien warrior with metallic blue skin and cat-like eyes.I don’t know who this man is, and I can’t even ask him since we don’t speak the same language. I don’t know why my body craves his touch, or why something deep inside me draws me toward him.But I do know this: he’s the best shot I have at finding a way back home.The only problem is, the more time I spend with him, the less certain I am that I want to leave.Her Alien Prince is a full-length standalone sci-fi romance featuring blue-skinned alien warriors, a heroine who learns what love truly is, and a rebel prince who would move the stars for his fated mate.If you like sexy aliens, steamy romance, and thrilling adventure, you’ll love this series. No cheating, no cliffhanger, and a happily ever after guaranteed!Note: each book in the series can be read as a standalone, but for maximum enjoyment, it’s recommended that the series be read in order.

Arena


Holly Jennings - 2016
    She's died hundreds of times. And it never gets easier...The RAGE tournaments the Virtual Gaming League's elite competition where the best gamers in the world compete in a fight to the digital death. Every kill is broadcast to millions. Every player leads a life of ultimate fame, responsible only for entertaining the masses. And though their weapons and armor are digital, the pain is real.Chosen to be the first female captain in RAGE tournament history, Kali Ling is at the top of the world until one of her teammates overdoses. Now she s stuck trying to work with a hostile new teammate who s far more distracting than he should be. Between internal tensions and external pressures, Kali is on the brink of breaking. To change her life, she ll need to change the game. And the only way to revolutionize an industry as shadowy as the VGL is to fight from the inside

The First Conception: Rise of Eris


Nesly Clerge - 2018
    I’m the one who altered human conception around the world in an unimaginable way, unimaginable to all but me—a seed planted while I was young. People had to be punished for what they did. The punishment had to be specific. I became a medical doctor, researcher, and vindicator of the verbal, physical, and sexual assaults perpetrated against women by men for eons. Including me. I’m not alone in my work. A great number of women share my ultimate goal. All except one. I’ll find the betrayer. Until then, men are beginning to pay for their sins against us. And I’m just getting started. Dr. Katherine Eris Barnes—remember my name. Although, I don’t know how you’ll be able to forget it.Reviewers and bloggers can email me at clergebooks@gmail.com for a digital copy.

Encrypted


Lindsay Buroker - 2011
    When enemy marines show up at her family’s plantation, she expects the worst. But they’re not there to kill her. They need her to decode mysterious runes, and they ask for help in the manner typical of a conquering empire: they kidnap her, threaten her family, and throw her in the brig of their fastest steamship. Her only ally is a fellow prisoner who charms her with a passion for academics as great as her own. Together, they must decipher mind-altering alchemical artifacts, deadly poison rockets, and malevolent technological constructs, all while dodging assassination attempts from a rival power determined the expedition should fail. As if the situation weren’t treacherous enough, this new “ally” may turn out to be the last person Tikaya should trust. Those runes cloak more than mysteries, however, and he’s the only one who can help her unravel them before their secrets destroy the world.

Vaant


Layla Nash - 2016
    When he finally does, Isla's big break turns into chaos and panic as she and all the female crew members are traded to an alien ship in exchange for the Argo's safe passage. The giant Xaravian warriors are intimidating, covered in scales, and... way too attractive. Isla and her friends won't surrender quietly, but it seems like the Xaravians are looking forward to that kind of fight...The moment Vaant sees the beautiful, sassy interpreter, he knows he can't leave her in danger. She thinks he's a pirate and a dangerous rebel - and that he bought her and her friends. Vaant must prove his honourable intentions, even as her flashing eyes and curvy figure drives him mad with desire. He'll even endanger his ship and go to the edge of the universe to keep her safe!When her former captain frames Vaant for destroying an innocent ship and murdering another crew, Isla must face that the Alliance she served so proudly is not what it seems. Starting a new life as a rebel with Vaant sounds more and more appealing, but first they'll have to fight through half the Alliance fleet, escape a crumbling space station, and find love among the stars.