Epic Space Fantasy

Michael Chatfield and Dawn Chapman present Book 5 of the Maraukian War series.

As Cluster opens, the alien envoy Pnotl of Sphere Knyfh seeks help from Sphere Sol in a shared galactic-level crisis: Galaxy Andromeda has discovered the secret of energy transfer and intends to use it to steal the basic energy of the Milky Way Galaxy.

Knyfh offers the secret of aura transfer on the understanding that Sphere Sol will spread the technology to help create a galactic coalition to find and defeat agents of Andromeda.

The Oracle has Seen the end of Civilization, and the end of the Haosa, too. Reactions to this are—mixed. On the one hand, foresight is a notoriously erratic Gift. On the other, can Civilization—or the Haosa—afford to assume that the prophecy is an error? And if the Oracle has Seen truly—is it possible to alter the future?

The second book in author Jo Clayton’s phenomenal Diadem science fiction space opera series continues the adventures of Aleytys, blessed and cursed by an alien power that has both marked and altered her, as she crosses the galaxy on an epic fantasy quest that rivals anything imagined by Andre Norton or C. J. Cherryh.

CONTENTS: Introduction; I Just Make Them Up, See; Someday; The Feeling of Power; Living Space; Satisfaction Guaranteed; The Last Question; Jokester; The Immortal Bard; Spell My Name With an "S"; The Ugly Little...

An unabridged audio collection spotlighting the "best of the best" hard science fiction stories published in 2016 by current and emerging masters of the genre, edited by Allan Kaster, as narrated by top voice talents.

Keeping up-to-date with the most buzzworthy and cutting-edge science fiction requires sifting through countless magazines, e-zines, websites, blogs, original anthologies, single-author collections, and more - a task accomplishable by only the most determined and voracious readers. For everyone else, Night Shade Books is proud to introduce the latest volume of The Best Science Fiction of the Year, collecting the finest that the genre has to offer, from the biggest names in the field to the most exciting new writers.

Diplomacy is the bane of Bud's life these days.

As riots rage across the Human Federation space, what he'd been told on Sanctuary accelerates. Everyone wants his help.

The consequences of losing your temper for a moment grow with your power.

But is this a good thing or bad? Only time will tell, but suddenly everything seems to be happening at once.

A complicated war is about to get a lot more complicated. And Bud's brought it on himself. There's no end in sight to either the Rawtenuga or Trixone wars. And the search for the dinosaur home world is proving just how big the galaxy is, especially where it's not properly mapped. The enemy keep popping up in too many places, and as fast as the sensor network expands, they seem to have expanded faster.

Barcus is a working stiff looking for a good paycheck. When the Ventura and its crew enter orbit for a scheduled planet survey, the ship activates an automated defense system protecting the planet. Although the Ventura is destroyed in the attack, Barcus alone survives the harrowing fall to the remote planet surface. He struggles to remain alive and sane and to discover why everyone he knew and loved on the Ventura was deliberately murdered.

Triana Moore, maintenance bot technician on Station Kelly-Kornienko, prefers life in orbit where the air is purified, the commute is short, and nature doesn’t get all over you. But when a minor infraction gets her sent to remedial training dirtside, she doesn’t complain. Who wouldn’t enjoy a few days of sitting in the sunshine, eating gourmet burgers, and drinking too much Jager Hula?

There cannot be shadows without the light. Samantha and her black ops team continue their romp across the universe to defeat the mind-controlling Scrapulent, defeat the armada of space pirates, and save the Three Kings of Orion. She might also finally learn who her father is. Join the Shadow Corps as they destroy their enemy and ensure the safety of all that is good, while leveling out their sword and weapons to match the hard core skill tree attacks they've attained through leveling up.

Deicide is one-part public service, one-part revenge . . . or at least that's why Lilith does it. An operative of the multiverse-spanning Eifni Organization, she travels to new worlds to clear out the local deities before they can eat everyone's souls. It's a tricky process, requiring advanced sociological science and an arsenal of tools weaponizing meaning itself. But a god once tried to eat her, and she's not one to easily forgive. When Lilith deploys to pre-industrial Theria, she finds their gods aren't willing to go quietly.

Paladins are supposed to exist in stories and games, right? That’s what galactic space smuggler Guy Sutherland thought, too. Now he’s a Paladin. It started when he held an ancient sword, brimming with strange magic. Things got weird after that, like stat screens listing his nifty skills and attributes. The planet of Faeheim is undergoing the same change. A wave of energy is changing the world, assigning classes and levels to the fae, turning animals into monsters, and spurring the empire to commit multiple atrocities.

Carina Lin grew up alone and friendless, a slum brat afraid of revealing her mage power. Her life changed when she was picked up by a merc band and taught how to kill. The band’s next mission is a doozy: rescue a kid taken hostage by one of the most powerful clans in the galactic sector. When Carina takes part, she finds she faces an impossible decision. To save the kid, she must cast, but if her secret gets out, she faces slavery and torture. She rolls the dice, opening possibilities she’d never dreamed of, but only if she survives the fallout.

Stella Ainsley leaves poverty behind when she quits her engineering job aboard the Stalwart to become a governess on a private ship. On the Rochester, there’s no water ration, more books than one person could devour in a lifetime, and an AI who seems more friend than robot. But no one warned Stella that the ship seems to be haunted, nor that it may be involved in a conspiracy that could topple the entire interstellar fleet.

On the distant world of Cersi, Om'ray Aryl Sarc and her supporters have been exiled from the rest of their people. Finding refuge in the mountains, they work to rebuild the ruined village of Sona, even as they try to discover what happened to the original Sona Clan. But Sona has a history among all three of Cersi's races - a history that may soon threaten the future of Aryl's newly founded clan....

For Arthur, home isn't what it used to be. The threat his people are now obsessing about is gone, thanks to Merlin. And Arthur isn't the only one unhappy with their current assignment, which is partly based on the fact Merlin has vanished again. However, you should be careful what you wish for.

The Ganog have arrived. Their fleets are endless. Their will implacable. They cannot use magic, but that isn't stopping them from wiping out mages. Behind them lurks a worse foe, the Gorthians, those holding the Ganog's leash. They have devoured countless galaxies, harvesting them over and over to create more monstrosities.

Dark Empathy is the fourth book in a series that tells the tale of Nameless as he enters a new chapter in his life: Aegis training. But he has much to learn, and the world isn't waiting for him to finish….