So when Colonel Carl Butler answers the call from an old and powerful friend, he knows it's something big—and he's not being told the whole story. A high councilor's son has gone MIA out of Cappa Base, the space station orbiting a battle-ravaged planet. The young lieutenant had been wounded and evacuated—but there's no record of him having ever arrived at hospital command. The colonel quickly finds Cappa Base to be a labyrinth of dead ends and sabotage: the hospital commander stonewalls him, the Special Ops leader won't come off the planet, witnesses go missing, radar data disappears, and that’s before he encounters the alien enemy. Butler has no choice but to drop down onto a hostile planet—because someone is using the war zone as a cover. The answers are there—Butler just has to make it back alive…

    But the first aliens to come through, the Glatun, were peaceful traders and the world breathed a sigh of relief. Who Controls the Orbitals, Controls the World When the Horvath came through, they announced their ownership by dropping rocks on three cities and gutting them. Since then, they've held Terra as their own personal fiefdom. With their control of the orbitals, there's no way to win and earth's governments have accepted the status quo. Live Free or Die. To free the world from the grip of the Horvath is going to take an unlikely hero. A hero unwilling to back down to alien or human governments, unwilling to live in slavery and with enough hubris, if not stature, to think he can win. Fortunately, there's Tyler Vernon. And he has bigger plans than just getting rid of the Horvath.

    Progression. Ascension. On the world of Crucible, where humanity’s spiritual artists train to fight in a war of universal proportions, Aryc Tal Venn has the potential to be one of the gods.But when he accidentally unleashes heretical powers during his Challenge, he is forced to flee his home or face the wrath of the Inquisition. With his sister by his side, Aryc begins a quest to uncover the truth of his own existence. Only to discover a terrible secret.A secret with the power to destroy humanity. Will Aryc master his unnatural powers in time to save the people of Crucible or will he be the harbinger of humanity’s destruction?Awakened – Book One of The Quintessence: Crucible is the first novel in a new epic LitRPG cultivation universe by C.M. Carney, author of the The Realms that began with Barrow King.The book is full of Qi cycling, measurable power progression, immortal gods, intriguing characters, deadly mysteries and universe shattering threats. It is perfect for all fans of progression fantasy, including lovers of LitRPG/GameLit, western cultivation, wuxia and xianxia.

    The team, introduced in Book 4 of the A Galaxy Unknown series, and with small roles in subsequent books, is now featured in their own story as this AGU: SCI series kicks off. This story is a mix of low-tech and high-tech as shootouts in saloons and city streets vie with spaceship chases and space battles to dominate the pages of this book. Space Command Intelligence operates to the full width and breadth of Galactic Alliance space— and sometimes beyond. Intelligence gathering is a dangerous profession, and most agents operate alone, or with a single partner, but there are exceptions. Trader Vyx, originally a lone field agent, was saddled with two information gatherers when he left the Gollasko Colony, but mutual bonds of respect soon grew between the three men. When two female operatives were rescued from Tsgardi slavers by Vyx, Byers, and Nelligen, SCI temporarily assigned the women to Vyx's team. Now, years later, the team is still together, and operating as one of the most effective groups in SCI.With the defeat of the Uthlaro Dominion, their former territory has fallen into anarchy. Space Command doesn't have adequate resources to bring the region under control while facing other enemies on multiple fronts in Regions One and Two, so SCI agents have been sent in to do what they can.Trader Vyx and his team are on the planet Bleadalto, two hundred light-years from Uthlarigasset. Their mission is to assess the situation there and learn everything they can about the slavery problem, but the once out-of-control-violence situation on Gollasko seems like a tea social compared to everyday life on Bleadalto. Within hours of arriving on the planet, Vyx is forced into a gunfight with a Brotherhood thug. The large crime organization is not pleased.

    

    A gamer who's grown up in the web of virtual illusion woven from hundreds of phantom worlds. His biggest dream is to dump the real world for good.His desperate hunger of new experiences forces him to take a risk and become one of the first proud owners of a neuronet implant. The new gadget becomes part of him - but soon it's not enough. If only he could finally burn all his bridges and make a step beyond the real world!He soon gets this opportunity. A new universe, overflowing with mystery and unimaginable, mind-blowing authenticity, opens up before him.This is Phantom Server. The game of the future where your pursuit of an adrenaline rush soon turns into a battle for survival. But the most terrifying mystery lies ahead when you gradually start to realize: this is a road of no return. Your every decision may become your last. Your every step leads you further along the abyss between life and death.

    What could possibly go wrong? After saving the Arcadian Confederate from certain destruction, Kevin's consciousness is cast back to Earth. Victory is sweet, but life on Earth is boring. It doesn't take long for him to start missing his galaxy-trotting adventures. But you should be careful what you wish for: when a Kregan operative bent on revenge shows up to hunt Kevin down, everything starts to unravel. The galaxy's in grave danger, and it looks like Kevin's the only one who can save it. Not to worry! The Arcadians have sent their best engineer to help Kevin in his quest...who also happens to be a talking cat with a less than ideal attitude. If Kevin can't whip this motley crew into shape, the galaxy's doomed. Which means Earth is doomed...and as boring as it is, Kevin's starting to realize there's no place like home.

    One woman will transform herself to gain power. And no one will emerge unscathed . . .Thorvald Spear wakes in hospital, where he finds he's been brought back from the dead. What's more, he died in a human vs. alien war which ended a whole century ago. But when he relives his traumatic final moments, he finds the spark to keep on living. That spark is vengeance. Trapped and desperate on a world surrounded by alien Prador forces, Spear had seen a rescue ship arriving. But instead of providing backup, Penny Royal, the AI within the destroyer turned rogue. It annihilated friendly forces in a frenzy of destruction, and, years later, it's still free. Spear vows to track it across worlds and do whatever it takes to bring it down.Isobel Satomi ran a successful crime syndicate. But after competitors attacked, she needed more power. Yet she got more than she bargained for when she negotiated with Penny Royal. She paid it to turn her part-AI herself, but the upgrades hid a horrifying secret. The Dark AI had triggered a transformation in Isobel that would turn her into a monster, rapidly evolving into something far from human.Spear hires Isobel to take him to the Penny Royal AI's last known whereabouts. But he cheats her in the process and he becomes a target for her vengeance. And as she is evolves further into a monstrous predator, rage soon wins over reason. Will Spear finish his hunt, before he becomes the hunted?"

    Despite the powers of the Jedi and the military prowess of their clone army, the sheer number of fatalities is taking a terrible toll. And when Dooku orders the massacre of a flotilla of helpless refugees, the Jedi Council feels it has no choice but to take drastic action: targeting the man responsible for so many war atrocities, Count Dooku himself.But the ever-elusive Dooku is dangerous prey for even the most skilled hunter. So the Council makes the bold decision to bring both sides of the Force's power to bear—pairing brash Jedi Knight Quinlan Vos with infamous one-time Sith acolyte Asajj Ventress. Though Jedi distrust for the cunning killer who once served at Dooku's side still runs deep, Ventress's hatred for her former master runs deeper. She's more than willing to lend her copious talents as a bounty hunter—and assassin—to Vos's quest.Together, Ventress and Vos are the best hope for eliminating Dooku—as long as the emerging feelings between them don't compromise their mission. But Ventress is determined to have her retribution and at last let go of her dark Sith past. Balancing the complicated emotions she feels for Vos with the fury of her warrior's spirit, she resolves to claim victory on all fronts—a vow that will be mercilessly tested by her deadly enemy . . . and her own doubt.