Daniel Arenson

They say the world used to turn. They say that night would follow day in an endless dance. They say that dawn rose, dusk fell, and we worshiped both sun and stars....

The universe is dangerous, wondrous - a vast canvas upon which humanity sketches its hopes for the future. In this anthology, you'll find 17 tales of conflict and heroism, exploration and discovery, endurance and triumph. Flee the apocalypse of modern-day Earth, fly a fighter in the cold...

We hide in shadows. Our planet is lost. We are the last humans, and we must go home. Two thousand years ago, aliens destroyed Earth. Our fleets shattered. Billions died. The last humans fled a burning planet, heading to the stars. Today we are still refugees. Hungry. Afraid. Our enemies hunt...

They came from deep space. They came to destroy us. Fifty years ago bloodthirsty aliens devastated the Earth. Most of humanity perished. We fell into darkness. But now we rise....

In an ancient world just rising from darkness, weredragons are everywhere. They hide in forests and caves, shunned, afraid, and alone...until a group binds together and stands tall....

Not long ago, the starship Freedom was a museum ship. A relic of a bygone era. A rusty old warship converted into a tourist trap. Then the aliens attacked. Now, once more, the legendary Freedom flies to war....

They came from the lands of light. They came with torches, with lanterns, with the banners of the sun. The children of endless day - they came to banish the darkness. And they came to kill....

Dinosaurs. Majestic giants. They’ve captured our imagination for generations. On planet Mintari, they live again. Mintari is far from Earth. Wild. Pristine. A world where triceratops herd across grasslands, pterosaurs soar over golden mountains, and T-rexes prowl the misty forests....

The galaxy burns. The enemy, a race of alien scorpions, storms from star to star. Planets smolder in their wake. Across the galaxy, they hunt humans. Long ago, we humans had a planet of our own. Long ago, we could have resisted the scorpions. But today we are refugees. We are lost in darkness...

We've faced aliens before. But nothing like this. This enemy is stronger, smarter, and crueler by far. And they want to kill us all....

Across the ruins of Earth, we rise in rebellion. In the depths of space, we seek allies. And our last warship prepares for one final battle....

The marauders, terrors from deep space, hit us hard. Our starships shattered. Our armies collapsed. Our cities crumbled. As Earth smolders, the marauders imprison us in camps....

They emerge from shadows. Hungry for flesh, they scurry forth. They are the marauders, the galaxy's deadliest predators. And they crave Earth....

Earth burns. We call them the scum. They came from deep space. Creatures of claws and endless malice, they ravage the world. As the war flares, as cities crumble, Private Marco Emery....

Riff and his crew have never faced anything like the skelkrins before. As these cosmic killers invade our solar system, will Riff be the one hunting aliens...or will aliens hunt him?....

It's all-out war. Our cities fall. Millions die. The scum, these cruel aliens from deep space, are determined to kill us all. So we must kill them. Humanity musters its greatest fleet....

The starship Freedom was once a mighty warship. Today, she's a tourist attraction. The space wars ended long ago. The Freedom is now a flying museum; the tourists love it. Then, on Christmas day, the aliens attack....

For years, Earth's heroes fought united. They faced alien armies in war. They defended Earth as friends. As a fellowship. Now they break apart. Lailani de la Rosa, heroine of the Alien Wars, aligns herself with a new enemy....

Long ago stood the kingdom of Requiem, a land of men who could grow wings and scales, breathe fire, and take flight as dragons. Requiem ruled the sky....

They walk among us. They look just like us. They plot our doom. Some call them the scummers. Hybrids. Humans with alien DNA. Years ago, they hatched in alien labs. They came to Earth as sleeper agents. Since then, they’ve been mingling with our society....