Maybe my last.They made their presence on Earth known thirteen years ago.Providing technology and scientific insights far beyond what mankind was capable of. They became indispensable advisors and promised even more gifts that we just couldn't pass up. We called them Gurus.It took them a while to drop the other shoe. You can see why, looking back.It was a very big shoe, completely slathered in crap.They had been hounded by mortal enemies from sun to sun, planet to planet, and were now stretched thin -- and they needed our help.And so our first bill came due. Skyrines like me were volunteered to pay the price. As always.These enemies were already inside our solar system and were moving to establish a beachhead, but not on Earth.On Mars.

    See far-flung worlds, they said. Meet interesting creatures, and kill them all. Soldiers fighting aliens in unforgiving landscapes, where every breath could be their last. Featuring stories by Weston Ochse, Mike Resnick, and others. From near-future to far-future, featuring some of the best writers working in the field today.

    Original.

     Spartan is a living legend, a veteran of the Alliance Marine Corps, victor of a multitude of military campaigns including the horrific Biomech War. He is both loved and reviled by friend and foe alike, and now lives out on the fringes of the Alliance. He has fought for money, for his people and for the very survival of his species, and lost everything in the process. But when two of his closest friends are captured supplying weapons to the desperate Byotai settlers of Karnak, the fight becomes personal. The Great Biomech War left millions dead, colonies burned, and cities turned to ash. Millions more continue to endure in the harshest of conditions. The Alliance attempts to restore order, yet already new enemies have begun to strike at will, encouraged by their weakness. Border planets succumb to the raids of warlords, and many doubt how long the peace will last, after it was won at such cost. Since the end of this war, Spartan and his friends have worked to create an elite fighting force based at Taxxu, for use by the Alliance. Using the latest high-energy weapons, armoured fighting suits and a prototype Confederate-class warship, it will be a force unlike any the Alliance has seen before. Spartan will use this and every other asset at his disposal to save his friends. Nothing, not even the entire might of the invading Anicinàbe clans and their fearsome clan leaders, can stop him, even if it means starting his own private war. Lords of War is a futuristic military sci-fi adventure that continues to expand the vast universe of the Star Crusades series that includes Star Crusades: Uprising and Star Crusades: Nexus. Essential and unmissable reading for enthusiasts of the Military sci-fi genre.

    A dire warning from futures past... A desperate search for salvation… Captain Mitchell “Ares” Williams is a Space Marine and the hero of the Battle for Liberty, whose Shot Heard ‘Round the Universe saved the planet from a nearly unstoppable war machine. He’s handsome, charismatic, and the perfect poster boy to help the military drive enlistment. Pulled from the war and thrown into the spotlight, he’s as efficient at charming the media as he was at shooting down enemy starfighters. After an assassination attempt leaves Mitchell critically wounded, he begins to suffer from strange hallucinations that carry a chilling and oddly familiar warning: They are coming. Find the Goliath or humankind will be destroyed. Convinced that the visions are a side-effect of his injuries, he tries to ignore them, only to learn that he may not be as crazy as he thinks. The enemy is real and closer than he imagined, and they’ll do whatever it takes to prevent him from rediscovering the centuries lost starship. Narrowly escaping capture, out of time and out of air, Mitchell lands at the mercy of the Riggers - a ragtag crew of former commandos who patrol the lawless outer reaches of the galaxy. Guided by a captain with a reputation for cold-blooded murder, they’re dangerous, immoral, and possibly insane. They may also be humanity’s last hope for survival in a war that has raged beyond eternity.

    It’s coming back to do it again and again… When the alien Gitai invade, Keiji Kiriya is just one of many raw recruits shoved into a suit of battle armor and sent out to kill. Keiji dies on the battlefield, only to find himself reborn each morning to fight and die again and again. On the 158th iteration though, he sees something different, something out of place: the female soldier known as the Bitch of War. Is the Bitch the key to Keiji’s escape, or to his final death?

    The military sci-fi classic in a striking new packageFelix is an Earth soldier, encased in special body armor designed to withstand Earth's most implacable enemy-a bioengineered, insectoid alien horde. But Felix is also equipped with internal mechanisms that enable him, and his fellow soldiers, to survive battle situations that would destroy a man's mind.This is a remarkable novel of the horror, the courage, and the aftermath of combat--and how the strength of the human spirit can be the greatest armor of all.

    He’d done everything by the book, but when the Tahni had attacked him and his crew, there was no choice but to return fire and destroy the first alien vessel humans had ever encountered. Excoriated in the press, his career in shambles, Travis is exiled to a long patrol of the outer colony worlds. Forgotten, except as a bad example…until the Tahni prove him right by declaring war on the human Commonwealth. Now, Travis Miller is the tip of the spear. Humanity’s best hope for turning back an overwhelming assault on human space. Because to the Tahni, humans are infidels and this is a holy war…

    Years ago, he proved victorious against a band of aliens. His ongoing fight with his own alcoholism however remains a stalemate. And suddenly, Pirates have appeared on the RIM. They have kidnapped the passengers of many craft and sold them into slavery and Scott is ordered to find them and rescue them. But the pirates aren't acting alone. They are sponsored by a powerful Royal with ambitious plans, and she isn't about to let some Navy captain stand in the way of her mining empire. Scott must rescue the slaves while simultaneously navigating the treacherous space of interstellar politics. If he fails, a Royal will gain more power, the entire Confederacy may unravel, and Scott's alcohol addiction will be the least of his worries…”

    Lieutenant Alex Hopper, an officer aboard the USS John Paul Jones, is ordered to investigate the ominous-looking vessel—which turns out to be part of an armada of ships that are stronger and faster than any on Earth. And that’s when the Navy’s radar goes down. Ambushed by a ravenous enemy they cannot see, a small U.S. fleet makes their last stand on the open ocean, armed with little more than their instincts, to defend their lives—and the world as we know it.   The official novel of the blockbuster film! Based on the screenplay by Erich Hoeber and Jon Hoeber

    First he visited his wife's grave. Then he joined the army.The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce-- and alien races willing to fight us for them are common. So: we fight. To defend Earth, and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate. Far from Earth, the war has been going on for decades: brutal, bloody, unyielding.Earth itself is a backwater. The bulk of humanity's resources are in the hands of the Colonial Defense Force. Everybody knows that when you reach retirement age, you can join the CDF. They don't want young people; they want people who carry the knowledge and skills of decades of living. You'll be taken off Earth and never allowed to return. You'll serve two years at the front. And if you survive, you'll be given a generous homestead stake of your own, on one of our hard-won colony planets.John Perry is taking that deal. He has only the vaguest idea what to expect. Because the actual fight, light-years from home, is far, far harder than he can imagine--and what he will become is far stranger.

     A ship for every city. An invasion force beyond our comprehension. Max Edwards has always felt like something was wrong with the world. Like something was…off. Like his entire life was a lie being told by the people around him. Then, it begins. From his friend’s acreage outside Oklahoma City, he witnesses a giant saucer descend from the sky to hover over the city. Countries all around the world report the same thing – mysterious vessels that refuse all attempts to communicate. As the world comes apart at the seams, Max realizes everything that’s ever happened to him was leading up to this. And as impossible as it seems, he may be the only one with the ability to save humanity. Mere survival won't be enough. Humanity stands to lose everything. To fight the invaders, Max must forget everything he thought he knew.

    On Venus, where the survivors of Earth live in underwater cities, Johnnie Gordon dreams of joining the mercenary fleets and fighting battles on the surface of the planet's vast ocean

    Without warning. Without mercy. We were not prepared. Hundreds of millions perished. Dozens of cities burned. We nearly lost everything. Then, the aliens abruptly left. We rebuilt. We armed ourselves. We swore: never again. But the aliens never came back. Until now. With overwhelming force the aliens have returned, striking deep into our territory, sending Earth into a panic. Our new technology is useless. Our new ships burn like straw. All our careful preparations are wasted. Now, only one man, one crew, and the oldest starship in the fleet stand between the Earth and certain destruction: ISS CONSTITUTION

    Extraterrestrial alliances. Unpredictable enemies.Colton Beck has six months to live. He works for the Angor near Los Angeles, aware that any day could be his last.The Angor arrived 20 years ago, resolved to help mankind survive, but not everyone believes their motives are honorable.When the Angor offer humanity a colony world, Colton is determined to see another planet before his final breath. He’s been diagnosed with Xeno, a rare disorder that surfaced with the Angor’s arrival, but he won’t let this stop him.With the help of his old friend Indie Hart, now the single most powerful human on Earth, he joins the Expedition to Dicore. They access the River, an alien technology that allows nearly instantaneous travel between worlds, and their universe is quickly expanded. What they find on Dicore is far from idyllic, and Colton struggles to navigate their new existence while coping with his impending death.First Life is a gripping science fiction adventure tale from the best-selling author of The Event, Lost Contact, and Final Days.