Human Space

Wildcat colonies are illegal, unauthorized, and secret - so when an injured stranger shows up at the wildcat colony New Seattle, the colony leaders are understandably suspicious of who he is and what he represents. His story of how he’s come to their colony is shocking, surprising, and might have bigger consequences than anyone could have expected. Walk the Plank is a tale from John Scalzi's The Human Division, a series of self-contained but interrelated short stories.

CDF Lieutenant Harry Wilson has been loaned out to a CDF platoon tasked with secretly removing an unauthorized colony of humans on an alien world. Colonial Ambassador Abumwe has been ordered to participate in final negotiations with an alien race the Union hopes to make allies. Wilson and Abumwe’s missions are fated to cross - and in doing so, place both missions at risk of failure.

We Only Need the Heads is a tale from John Scalzi's The Human Division.

Captain Sophia Coloma of the Clarke has a simple task: Ferry around representatives from Earth in an aging spaceship that the Colonial Union hopes to sell to them. But nothing is as simple as it seems, and Coloma discovers the ship she’s showing off holds suprises of its own...and it’s not the only one with secrets. "Tales from the Clarke" is a tale from John Scalzi's The Human Division, a series of self-contained but interrelated short stories set in the Old Man's War universe.

More than 30 years ago, Frank White coined the term "overview effect", to describe the cognitive shift in awareness that results from the experience of viewing Earth from orbit or the moon. He found, that with great consistency, this experience profoundly affects space travelers' worldviews - their perceptions of themselves and our planet and our understanding of the future. White found that astronauts know from direct experience what the rest of us know only intellectually: We live on a planet that is like a natural spaceship moving through the universe.

Adam Cain: Bounty Hunter, Mercenary, Bodyguard. In his line of work, Adam makes a lot of enemies. The problem: Enemies have long memories. And when someone comes after Adam seeking revenge for his past deeds, things get a little dicey. The problem for Adam's enemies: They're going up against The Human. And because of that, Adam has only one question for them: "Do you feel lucky? Well, do you, punk?" That's right. Adam isn't your ordinary target, and now it's a game of back and forth between the hunter and the hunted, with the roles changing in rapid-fire succession.

In this epic conclusion to the first series in the Human Chronicles Saga, Adam Cain and his band of Human warriors are presented to the Supreme Leader of the Galaxy. With only minutes to live, Adam convinces the Juirean leader that Humans are not the enemy, but that both their races have been part of a diabolical plot for galactic domination orchestrated by the Klin. And yet just when the truth dawns on the Juireans, the planet Juir is attacked by Kracori forces, which leads to a whole new set of problems for Adam and his band of Human Super-Men.

A secret backdoor meeting between Ambassador Ode Abumwe and the Conclave’s Hafte Sorvalh turns out to be less than secret, as both of their ships are attacked. It’s a surprise to both teams - but it’s the identity of the attacker that is the real surprise, and suggests a threat to both humanity and The Conclave. "A Problem of Proportion" is a tale from John Scalzi's The Human Division, a series of self-contained but interrelated short stories set in the Old Man's War universe.

Normally, it doesn't take a lot to piss off Adam Cain (AKA: The Human). That's why 'Collateral Damage' is his middle name. But occasionally, something happens that pushes him over the edge. And in that case, there isn't a place in the galaxy where you're safe. In I Am Entropy, Adam brings chaos to order, an order that never should have existed in the first place. All pretense of civility is gone. And now the damage isn't so much collateral as it is intentional. Worlds will crumble when Entropy knocks on the door.

In an effort to improve relations with the Earth, the Colonial Union has invited a contingent of diplomats from that planet to observe Ambassador Abumwe negotiate a trade deal with an alien species. Then something very bad happens to one of the Earthings, and with that, the relationship between humanity’s two factions is on the cusp of disruption once more. It’s a race to find out what really happened, and who is to blame. "The Observers" is a tale from John Scalzi's The Human Division, a series of self-contained but interrelated short stories set in the Old Man's War universe.

Adam Cain is back as the head of Cain's Crusaders, a small band of super-secret agents working for the head of the galactic Expansion, doing the dirty jobs no one else wants to do. Adam's latest mission is to rescue Arieel Bol, an important religious figure from the planet Formil, who just happens to have supernatural powers, or so it seems. And to top that, she's also is the most beautiful alien in the galaxy. Yet when a 30-million-credit bounty is placed on their heads, Adam and Arieel will have to use all of their combined "powers" to survive.

The Colonial Defense Forces usually protect humanity from alien attack, but now the stability of the Colonial Union has been threatened, and Lieutenant Heather Lee and her squad are called to squash a rebellion on a colony world. It seems simple enough - but there's a second act to the rebellion that finds Lee captive, alone, and armed with only her brains to survive.

Adam Cain has pursued his nemesis Nigel McCarthy to the Milky Way's sister galaxy - The Large Magellanic Cloud - using the revolutionary technology of the concentrated-array gravity-drive. This is virgin territory for the Humans - an entire galaxy that knows nothing of the special abilities of the people from Earth.

At last, the Earth and the Colonial Union have begun formal discussions about their relationship in the future - a chance for the divisions in humanity to be repaired. The diplomats and crew of the Clarke are on hand to help with the process, including Ambassador Ode Abumwe and CDF Lieutenant Harry Wilson, both of whom were born on Earth. But not everyone wants the human division to be repaired.... And they will go to great lengths to make sure it isn’t....

CDF Lieutenant Harry Wilson has one simple task: Watch an ambassador’s dog while the diplomat is conducting sensitive negotiations with an alien race. But you know dogs - always getting into something. And when this dog gets into something that could launch an alien civil war, Wilson has to find a way to solve the conflict, fast, or be the one in the Colonial Union’s doghouse. "The Dog King" is a tale from John Scalzi's The Human Division, a series of self-contained but interrelated short stories set in the Old Man's War universe.

The Conclave is a confederation of 400 alien races - many of whom would like to see the Colonial Union - and the humans inside of it - blasted to extinction. To avoid a conflict that neither side can afford, Conclave leader General Tarsem Gau appoints Hafte Sorvalh to resolve an emerging diplomatic crisis with the humans, before the only acceptable solution is war. "The Back Channel" is a tale from John Scalzi's The Human Division, a series of self-contained but interrelated short stories set in the Old Man's War universe.

United States Diplomat Danielle Lowen was there when one of her fellow diplomats committed an unthinkable act that had consequences for the entire planet. Now she’s trying to figure out how it happened before it can happen again. Putting the puzzle pieces together could solve the mystery - or it could threaten her own life. "The Gentle Art of Cracking Heads" is a tale from John Scalzi's The Human Division, a series of self-contained but interrelated short stories set in the Old Man's War universe.

Mars, a mysterious dust-ridden place, is most like Earth in its climate and seasons. Of all the possible destinations in space to travel, Mars is the most likely for humans to reach. According to esteemed scientist Louis Friedman, it may be the only destination outside the moon to ever see human footprints. Far from diminishing our future in space, Human Spaceflight lays out a provocative future for human space travel. The noted aerospace engineer and scientist says that human space exploration will continue well into the future, but space travel by humans will stop at Mars.

As all the great forces in the galaxy gather for one final, epic battle to determine who will rule the Milky Way, massive star fleets from the Juireans and the Humans converge on ground zero - the Kracori homeworld of Elision. Against such overwhelming firepower, it's a given that Elision will be destroyed - unless the Kracori and their reluctant allies, the Klin, can mount a surprise end-around defense of the planet. At stake in this galactic free-for-all is nothing less than the survival of the all the species involved. Fail...and your race dies as well.

Having placed a bounty on the heads of the alien Klin and Kracori races, humanity must now face the desperate wrath of mankind's worst enemies, who have once again joined forces for a preemptive strike against the Earth. Their plan is brilliant...and only the special abilities of ex-Navy SEAL Adam Cain can save the planet. It's a frantic race against time, as Adam and Sherri Valentine arrive on Earth just in time to help mount a ragtag defense against the Kracori fleet. But will it be enough?

Albert Birnbaum was once one of the biggest political talk show hosts around, but these days he’s watching his career enter a death spiral. A stranger offers a solution to his woes, promising to put him back on top. It’s everything Birnbaum wants, but is there a catch? And does Birnbaum actually care if there is? "A Voice in the Wilderness" is a tale from John Scalzi's The Human Division, a series of self-contained but interrelated short stories set in the Old Man's War universe.