Even with our modern technology, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis cannot be treated or cured. I've been bed or chair bound since I was a kid. The advent of Virtual Reality technology has given me a chance for a new life. Or rather dozens of them. Heh. I'm an avid gamer, and I wouldn't have it any other way. In the games I could be what I wanted to be, who I wanted to be. A mighty warrior, a powerful spellcaster, the charming rogue. The crafter. The builder. All of those and more have helped to greatly alleviated my problems. But a new game is coming out; one with the power to change the world. It uses a brand new technology, based around the first ever deep immersion Dive Pod. With it there is no more game lag or graphical limits. It is being heralded as the greatest breakthrough in Virtual Reality technologies since its founding. And the first and only game for it: Universe Online. No longer will players be stuck on a single large world to explore. No longer will there a limit to what you can do, what you can be. Fly spaceships between the stars, conquer planets, create custom technology. Mine, Build, Destroy. Explore. Rule. This is my story, and my path in Universe Online.

    As grateful as Priloe might be, he can't imagine why Hoffen would give up his family to go careening around the stars, when family is all he's ever wanted.A chance encounter with Silver, Liam's mother, offers Priloe a new life on the family's asteroid mining operation. He seizes the opportunity, not realizing that trouble is just around the corner. Before he has his feet under him, he's dragged into a mystery at an abandoned mining claim.Though just a kid, Priloe has a lifetime of difficult decisions behind him, but those he faces now could well separate him from the family he's desperate to join. When another's life hangs in the balance, he must make a choice, no matter the consequences.Life of a Miner is a quick, enjoyable read that was originally conceived, written, and released on Jamie McFarlane's blog at fickledragon.com.Interview with the AuthorQ - What exactly makes the Privateer Tales series special?A - When I set out to write Privateer Tales, I wanted to create a modern take on the SF books I read as a teenager and that I still love reading today. My focus is, therefore, space opera with a heavy emphasis on starships, pirates, space combat, inter-galactic travel and exciting, sometimes unexpected technology, all with a strong sense of exploration and discovery.Privateer Tales stories have a strong component of evolving relationships between the members of the crew and the people they encounter. Throughout the series, we continually pick up new crew members; some stick around while others are only aboard for a short time.Mostly, I want to feel like I'm right there with my characters - exploring new worlds, interacting with alien species and sailing through the deep dark of space on an important mission.Q - What order should I read the books in?A - While each story is written to be a complete, no-cliffhanger adventure, following the numeric series order will be helpful. We're constantly adding crew, switching ships and discovering new planets and species. There are several shorter stories that are quick reads and focus on specific events outside of our hero's view. The following order is recommended: Rookie Privateer Fool Me Once Parley Big Pete (order is unimportant) Smuggler's Dilemma Out of the Tank Cutpurse Buccaneers A Matter of Honor Give No Quarter Q - So, why should readers give these books a try?A - Privateer Tales stories are a great mix of space opera, exploration, fleet combat, colonization and just plain old action and adventure. Listen to what other readers have said:"The books are well written, highly entertaining, and the plots are both interesting and imaginative." - Amazon Reader"Fun stories, interesting characters, action and best of all, some fun to go with the drama and serious situations. " - Amazon Reader"Good basic science fiction which is hard to come by these days." - Amazon ReaderQ - Can readers try the series before fully committing?A - Sure.

    The Royal Navy needs a forward operating base in their war against the alien race known as Apex, who has vowed to exterminate all sentient life in the quarter. Catarina’s expedition soon draws the attention of Scandian marauders, driven from their home worlds by plague and war in search of plunder. Enraged by the intrusion into their territory and greedy to seize her fleet and supplies, they mount a fleet of star wolves to destroy her base before it can get a toehold. The first book of the new sci-fi trilogy by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Michael Wallace, Queen of the Void is an exciting space opera for both new readers and fans of the bestselling Starship Blackbeard universe alike.

    A secret research colony has fallen silent and the forces sent to investigate were never heard from again. A new enemy has come to the Empire bringing with it dark powers that were abandoned long before the Empire was born. Powers that were thought to be legends and myths. It's up to Vydor to keep this force at bay and protect the Empire, but it may come at the cost of his faith and shake the foundations of the Empire itself. The Lost Tales of Power is an open-ended series of Sci-Fi/Fantasy books set in a vast multiverse featuring a mixture of traditional fantasy and science fiction elements. Lost Tales Series: Volume I - The Enemy of an Enemy Volume II - The Academy Volume III - Rise of Shadows Volume IV - Resurgence of Ancient Darkness Volume V - The Sac’a’rith Volume VI - Spectra’s Gambit Volume VII - The Sac'a'rith: Rebirth Volume VIII and beyond - TBA

    Monster hurricanes … freak sandstorms … roasting wildfires. Species disappear every day. Is humanity next?Though some believe our future lies among the stars, the American President funds the Lazarus Protocol—a last-ditch attempt to reverse Earth’s climate crisis through geoengineering. But the New Earth Order—a mysterious league of reactionary activists with sleeper agents around the world—pursues another outcome: the subjugation of mankind to nature itself.A brilliant billionaire who wants to save the world. A lunar engineer called home to bury her father. A disgraced veteran haunted by yesterday's mistakes. A US Army colonel, desperate to save as many people as possible.Four lives. One planet. And one last chance to save it…

    Their aim, nothing less than the total destruction of humanity. All that stands in their way, five officers, a handful of ships… and the human need to survive!

    As a newly commissioned officer in the Celostian Navy, his goal was to serve well until the day he could retire. Then disaster strikes on his first cruise aboard the CNS Wolfhound, and he will have to display all the courage, skill and determination he has in order to keep the remaining crew members out of danger. Because if he does not, the only ones to tell the tale will be prisoners of war—if there are any left at all.

    The age of star formation is long past. Yet there is life here, feeding off the energies of the stellar remnants, and there is mind, a tremendous galaxy-spanning intelligence each of whose thoughts lasts a hundred thousand years. And this mind cradles memories of a long-gone age when a more compact universe was full of light... The 27th century: Proxima Centauri, an undistinguished red dwarf star, is the nearest star to our sun. How would it be to live on such a world?

    In an America turned authoritarian, a desperate race against time begins. To send a starship to a distant planet, where the remains of humanity can survive.However, while the government wants to recreate the society it has engineered, there are those who secretly conspire to let the starfarers choose their own destiny. As mankind on Earth faces its final blow, the selected few set course for Aurora, more than 40 light years away.Follow Maria Solis, the billionaire daughter, Kenneth Taylor, Harvard professor of psychology, and Tina Hammer, a scramjet pilot and officer, through the selection and preparations for the adventure of a lifetime - and a final chance for a doomed civilization.

    In Worlds, Worlds Apart, and Worlds Enough and Time, the acclaimed Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author of The Forever War imagines a near future rife with exhilarating and terrifying possibilities, when hundreds of thousands of human beings have abandoned the Earth’s surface to live in man-made habitats orbiting the troubled planet.   Haldeman’s science fiction saga follows Marianne O’Hara, a young inhabitant of the World known as New New York, from her arrival on Earth as a student who becomes seduced by radical politics, through her coming of age amid the Worlds’ war and the habitats’ devastation, and ultimately to Marianne’s emergence as a leader—and possibly the last hope of the human race as it heads toward the stars.   Stephen King said of the first book in Haldeman’s trilogy, “There are scenes in Worlds I will remember forever.” These gripping novels will enthrall anyone interested in the future—that of our planet and of the human race.

    Together with hundreds of other test pilots, they hope to defend Earth from a destruction. The Roth—a lizard-like warrior race—has nearly wiped humanity from the face of the universe and are on the way to finish the job. The test pilots have just seven days to train and prepare themselves.

    But before Earth can benefit from the advanced technologies offered by the other cultures, it must form a united world government. Old habits are hard to break and it doesn't take long before things begin to unravel.Jay Kauffman, mathematical genius and creator of the stardrive, believed his invention would free mankind. Instead, it has made war inevitable.Translight is the first book of the Galactic Alliance series. It is a hard military science fiction space opera that has been compared to E.E. 'Doc' Smith's famous Lensmen and Skylark series.

     With hydraulics, armor and advanced vision, Navigators are soldiers of the future, and in the game of survival of the fittest, they become the only hope man has to fight for their right to dominate. Enemy Lines After nearly being executed in a war zone, Staff Sergeant Leon Shield finds himself urgently recalled from deployment, and lands back home to a defeated country. In a matter of days, and without a single shot being fired, a new species has taken over the world. Determined to survive Armageddon, the only chance to fight back is to find a man called Ark, and use an untested technology to become Navigators. Blind Sighted Leon and Ark elect to train their new Navigator squad outside the wire, while Bill works with the weapons engineers to solve the bigger problems. The medical team are taking the critters apart, desperately looking for anything that will give them an edge. Killer Edge Our team match the enemy by creating a little critter magic of their own. New forces join them, and survivors add their weight to the fight, further changing what becomes possible. First contact is made, and believing they are running headlong into failure, Ark learns to take the lesser loss. Broken Arrow The aliens take a step too far and Ark decides it's time to go all in. Sending all of their Navigator battle teams to the nests, they uncover unexpected allies in a final showdown that will determine which side will rule earth.

    Imprisoned for mass-murder, he escapes with the help of two strange men and a mysterious benefactor. Unfortunately for Drake, they don’t just want a piece of the action. They want it all. Gift Horse: Mutilated by rival convicts, Marco Vance is brought back from the brink of death. Outfitted with the latest cybernetic enhancements, he returns to the Regional Atlanta Metroplex as the conquering criminal kingpin. But, his savior demands that he deliver a message to repay his debt. A message that no one will forget.Money Is Everything: Street gangs hunt a deposed crime boss carrying a case of cash. Pursued and friendless, he can trust no one. Except someone he can buy. Luckily, Noose the genetically engineered dwarf mercenary is always for hire. But, what is his price?Total length about 15,000 words.Includes a free 8000 word excerpt of the full-length novel DEAD DWARVES DON'T DANCE.

    A chance encounter, on his last mission, sends him hurtling through space on the Unity exploration ship XES01. Surrounded by aliens, Zade must quickly learn to interact with the non-soldiers on the crew. As he tries to earn his place amongst the ship, Zade’s combat prowess quickly earns him a spot as the security officer of the ship. A seat left vacant because of a fatal exchange between the former security officer and the wildlife of a far planet. As Zade begins living the adrenaline filled life of a space explorer, he has to ask himself some very important questions. How does he get back to earth? Does he even want to? Disclaimer: The main character is a combat veteran, so there is some rough language throughout the book.