A deadly challenge. The fate of the world is on Astra’s shoulders.Twenty-five-year-old Astra Ching has never sought the spotlight. So when a mysterious black orb appears with a challenge for Earth and selects her to compete in its strange—and very public—game, she’s not pleased to find herself a sudden superstar.The rules are bewildering, and there are no second chances for losers. Yet while Astra fights to stay alive and save the world from imminent destruction, the people of Earth are more interested in tabloids and gossip, like whether or not she’s engaging in a scandalous love affair with a fellow contestant . . . or the mysterious alien known only as Eleven.In her struggle to survive, Astra forms tentative alliances with a handful of trustworthy friends. But as the global gossip seeps into the game and contestants are eliminated with each round, Astra’s celebrity threatens to become infamy and the line between friend and foe blurs.Will she emerge from the arena a hero, or just another headline?

     Critical Dawn Some mysteries should stay buried. A centuries old plan unfolds. Archaeologists Pippa Quinn and Charlie Jackson find advanced technology in undisturbed 16th Century graves. A portent, the discovery precedes thousands of giant sinkholes opening up across the globe as extreme weather threatens the population. Charlie suspects the two are related. Pippa, Charlie, and the rest of humanity will have to fight for survival, sacrificing the life they’ve known to protect Earth from an ancient and previously dormant enemy. Even that might not be enough as this new enemy exacts a plan that will change the course of humankind forever. Critical Dawn is an apocalyptic ride to the very edge of human existence. Factions will battle for control of the Earth—if they can avoid the threat of extinction. Critical Path Destroying the croatoan’s seat of power has grave consequences. Earth faces destruction, unless bitter enemies can work together. Earth is recovering after Denver and his group managed to stamp out the immediate alien threat. Now, Denver and his team, stationed in a liberated croatoan farm, plan to restore humanity as the dominant force. But when shocking information comes to light, they set off on an immediate mission north. The team encounter a hybrid city, where humans and croatoans live and work together. It’s here in this strange new civilisation that Denver discovers there’s a bigger threat to the planet than the aliens already on the surface: something far more terrible is coming. It’ll be a race against the clock to defeat this new threat and Denver will need all the help he can get. Critical Strike A fight for survival in an alien world. Revenge is planned against Unity. Denver, Charlie and Layla are trapped in the middle of a galactic conflict which has spanned across many millennia. With no immediate allies on either side, they must use all of their skill and strength to stay alive and find a way back to Earth—if there is one. An old enemy of Unity is intent of making them pay for his humiliating treatment. He's gathering forces to the south with vengeance in mind. Mike and Mae must work together with the citizens of Unity to find a way of repelling Augustus' force, or face extinction at the hands of the old emperor. Critical Strike is the exciting third and final instalment of the Critical series.

    Seconds later it's gone, and no one knows what happened. Normal life resumes. BBQs continue, and kids play in backyards. No one notices the screams coming from one backyard.Everyone believes it to be a fluke. But it doesn't just happen in Carthage, it happens all over.While delayed, the after effects of the event are brutal to all those who were exposed to the flash, and horrifying to behold.Those not exposed, like Alana Cross, are helpless to do anything. All they can do is witness humanity self-destructing right in front of their eyes.

    But when a terrified woman falls through his bathroom ceiling, he's forced back into a life of gunfights, double agents and paranormal research. The secret he's been keeping for nearly four decades might reunite him with his lost love, or kill millions.This new short story by John August falls into the genre of paranoid "spy-fi" popularized by writers like Jorge Luis Borges and shows like The Prisoner and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.== What Others Say =="I really dug the story. Gave it a glance just to see, got totally hooked, and blazed on through to the end."-- Michael Chabon (The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, The Yiddish Policemen's Union) "The Variant" is both a good, fun, smart story and an interesting experiment in indie self-publishing for fiction."-- John Gruber, daringfireball.net== About the Author ==An excerpt of The Variant is available at johnaugust.com/variant About the AuthorJohn August is the screenwriter of eight feature films, including Go, Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Corpse Bride. He wrote and directed the 2007 movie The Nines.He can be found on Twitter, @johnaugust

    After they recover an NBN executive’s PAD at a protest in Broadcast Square, it seems Lana Rael and her friends, Johnny and Tim, might finally have their chance to discover the truth behind NBN’s saccharine and explosively popular franchise, Sunshine Junction.But when the aspiring activists stumble into the corporation’s all­ seeing eye, they find themselves in the limelight—and not in the way they hoped.As camdrones begin to follow them through the megacity and broadcast their every move on live threedee, Lana and her friends will have to ask themselves just how much they’re willing to sacrifice to fight the corps. Is making a difference worth risking their privacy, their lifestyle, or their lives?Fans of media giant NBN, its colorful programs, and its high-profile characters gain unparalleled access to the megacorp's HQ in Leigh Alexander's Monitor. As the media-focused megacorp responds to the threat posed by a trio of wannabe activists, we learn more about such popular characters as Jackson Howard, Victoria Jenkins, and Dinosaurus.Meanwhile, as the protagonists have their privacy stripped away, they lose control of their lives. Their actions become increasingly desperate and surprising. As they look for ways to retaliate, will their lives spiral into total anarchy? Will they regain control of the context that defines them? And who is responsible for their suffering? In Monitor, the truth is malleable, and learning how to shape it is paramount.In addition to its 96 pages of fiction, the hardcover edition of Monitor comes with a sixteen-page full color insert with setting information on activism in the Android future, NBN's Global Adaptive Entertainment, MegaBuy, and the future of marketing.

    But he returned changed, he had lost one of his AI to rampancy after fighting an Xeno AI Wraith, and his greatest AI, his confidant Commander Sprite had chosen to leave him. He didn't return to civilization alone however. He brought with him over a hundred precious sleepers, officers and enlisted personnel ready to help rebuild the Federation once more, along with petabytes of precious blueprints and data, designed by some of the greatest minds of the Federation. But before they can begin to forge a new fleet they have to stop the rampaging Horathian Empire in it's tracks. Rear Admiral Amadeus White has been assigned to push the enemy back and keep them back while Admiral Irons and Subert work on building new ships. Admiral Subert has his own problems to deal with in Pyrax. He needs time, time to adjust, time to clean up the mess. Time to build more ships. But the enemy within and without won't wait. Napoleon said it best, "You can ask me for anything but not time!" The Battle Lines have been drawn!

    His only pleasures; despite his post-war financial successes; are alcohol, tobacco, and the company of prostitutes. He is biding his time, waiting only for death, when his existence is suddenly and unexpectedly transformed. One lonely night a tremendous explosion high above his secluded estate leaves him comatose and gravely injured. He awakens to find himself healed, rejuvenated, and in the care of a mysterious band of alien, yet human, outworlders. In time, he also learns that he has landed in the midst of a galactic war, a war in which he may hold the key to victory or defeat. Yet despite his importance to both belligerents, one side views him as nothing more than a criminal who should never walk free, while the other would be more than happy to see him enslaved if not killed. No matter which way he turns, it is going to be a long, hard road for Hill O'Keefe.

    Hayden Kaine, a brash young cadet, thinks his family's influence has guaranteed his destiny as a future leader of the Earth Confederation. But falling on the wrong side of an Admiral is never a good idea, and he soon finds himself posted to an outdated military starship at the farthest reaches of the galaxy.What at first appears to be a routine mission turns south when an unforseen disaster traps Kaine and the crew of the Scimitar at the edge of charted space, with no means to return home.Little do they appreciate the dangers that lurk in the dead system, and soon they find themselves fighting an unknown alien species, not only for their survival, but for the future of the empire itself.

    Join Fleet Intelligence officers Jason McKay and Shannon Stark as they and their special operations team as they confront a ruthless, enigmatic enemy that threatens the very survival of the human Republic. As the story continues through the three books, they begin to wonder if the biggest threat to their interstellar civilization comes from without...or within.

    Generation after generation, survivors fight on enduring the world caused by their ancestors.In 2153, fledgling nations clash over land and resources. London is a veteran of the wasteland, struggling to protect his adopted daughter Rose as the world decays around them. Little does he know that both he and Rose will soon find themselves drawn into a warJust how far is London willing to go to protect Rose from a world full of violence, hate, and apathy?Fans of The Gunslinger and Mad Max will love E.T. Gunnarsson’s multi-award-winning book Forgive Us, a story readers call “thrilling, brutal, awesome, and completely unique.”

    Learn your past might not be what you remember. Take a bot into your marriage bed, and fall in love across an impenetrable divide.You’ll love this riveting cyberpunk-fuelled box set of science fiction novellas.This box set includes:Deep Ocean Blues – Yudhanjaya WijeratneIn the Bay of Bengal, no one can hear you scream.When Parul signed up to work on Rig #443 thousands of feet beneath the ocean, she expected to make it out unharmed. But bitter truths lurk in the depths … and soon Parul’s survival is at stake.The Memory Hacker – JT LawrenceBe careful what you remember.A robodoctor shocks Talia by telling her she's given birth before. Talia's sure the AI is glitching, but it's stirred something deep in her memory. Will she risk remembering?Melting Shlemiel – Jason WerbeloffWhat would you sacrifice to be free?Shlemiel discovers a way to melt his impenetrable skin, but at a terrible cost. How will he choose between sacrificing his happiness and the safety of those he loves?The Camille – Colby R. RiceSome toys just shouldn’t be played with.When tech genius and mogul Andrea Daanik Ramoni invited the sex bot into her marriage bed, she knew it’d be trouble. What she didn’t know was that it would also be murder.---"Imagine a future that is at once amazing, terrifying, and breathtaking… Imagine no more—the future is now. Welcome to 2054." — Samuel Peralta

    After a third failed mission on Mars, Nick returns to Earth heartbroken. But during the trip home he has an epiphany caused by a near-death experience on how to truly accomplish his dream. Nick launches a billionaire funded startup company that solves the interstellar travel problem. Transporting people in a spaceship without any people aboard. After Nick lands on his new, distant planet, he has to combat his greatest trials yet including raising children and goats while becoming a colony building survivalist. Fans of Andy Weir’s The Martian and Dennis E. Taylor’s We Are Legion (We Are Bob) will find familiar themes of innovative science fiction ideas with plenty of humor and pop-culture.

    An expert in all things extraordinary, she’s approached to lead the formation of a new team into the West Virginia wilderness to evaluate reports of a giant spider, but her quest for answers leads her to the discovery of an eight-legged monstrosity no one could have prepared for. Existing for eons beneath our earth, these aren’t your garden variety spiders. They’re bloodthirsty monsters that will rip apart anything—and anyone—in their path, and while a town fights to survive Emily and her team will have to do everything they can to beat back the terror before there’s a new species at the top of the food chain!

    Jericho, a brilliant scientist riddled with guilt, attempts to recreate his deceased wife and child, only to wind up in a drug-fueled haze in Caligatha. When the two meet and form a rocky relationship, they start to suspect something is not quite right about their reality. Meanwhile, in another timeline, survivors of the worldwide plague attempt to understand how it all went wrong, and survive in a near-future wasteland of high technology and chaos. The evidence they find brings them all together in a shocking conclusion. A thrilling exploration of the dark fringes of a derailed-singularity world: nanotechnology, genetic engineering, and artificial intelligence alter the rules of human existence. But human drives and motives remain unchanged at their best——and at their most terrifying.