Litrpg Space Opera

Blaze is a highly trained astral marine, fighting demons and saving lives, so he should know better than to bed his latest client. And yet, when she puts a hex on him, suddenly women find him irresistible. Even his ex-wife is eyeing him, which is a problem, because she's an evil witch. Literally. Together, Blaze and Mara form an uneasy alliance with a misfit crew of aliens and monsters to track down demons, snare ghosts, and destroy hellish creatures bent on murder - all while trying to close the gates of hell forever.

The best of the year's science fiction and fantasy stories as selected by the multiple award-winning editor Jonathan Strahan. Distant worlds, time travel, epic adventure, unseen wonders, and much more! The best, most original and brightest science fiction and fantasy stories from around the globe from the past 12 months are brought together in one collection by multiple award winning editor Jonathan Strahan.

Devon Walker has had it rough lately. She kinda saved the game world - or, at least, earned the citizens of Aventalia a small respite from the demon attacks - but the wild magic she used had some devastating consequences, starting with a shattered landscape and the apparent vanishing of her settlement. Now, it's up to her to fix the problems, save her NPC friends, and lay plans to take the attack to the demon forces.

When a reality-crushing anomaly called the Cosmic Squeeze begins collapsing digital and physical worlds into a single point, the lines between player and code shatter. Cassidy Delgado, sharp-tongued commander of the USS Rammedass, finds herself dragged into a cosmic contest where game admins conspire, Al fleets wage holy war, and sentient code hungers for more than just data. What started as interstellar chaos becomes a battle for the fate of existence itself.

On Earth, Shad Williams was a soldier in the US Army, protecting and defending his country. Now, he's a champion for Earth itself, engaging in combat against monstrous creatures on a distant planet. Humans are just one of several species taken from their homeworlds to serve powerful aliens. Tasked with obtaining a Reality Engine—a supercomputer capable of producing unimaginable technological creations—for their new overlords, they're forced to wage war against one another.

After arriving back to civilization Sylvas and the others scramble to discover what to do next. Do they return to the Ardent and stand fast against the eidolon incursion? Do they answer the council’s call and return to the core worlds, saving what lives they can? Or do they leave the Empyrean Alliance behind and pursue the legacy of the Aions? Whatever they choose, they must choose quickly.

To gain his Master Class, John Lee made a deal with the Erethran Empire. Now, the empire has come to collect on the debt, forcing him to appear in their capital after his last fight. Thrown into Galactic politics of a militarized, system-based society, John will have to weigh consequences of the decisions he's been asked to make and confront the warped reality of a system-created empire. When politics, self-interest, and a human's stubbornness collide, the very stars are threatened.

By the time Grey had come back with an army of new allies, the Legion had been defeated. Many an Incarnator had fallen as heroes, leaving the City on the brink of destruction. Thousands of souls still trapped inside the Cube are trying to break free from their extradimensional prison while the Star watches impassively from its celestial heights.

Benning Kidd is a Drone, the lowest class of humanity. She exists without memory, purpose, or more than the most basic awareness of herself and the world around her. An accident changes all that, and Benning becomes a Citizen of the Collective, the first Drone to do so in history. She is uniquely talented and unscrupulously driven, choosing a path of battle and glory that will take her from arena to arena and out among the stars themselves.

When Shaun takes a chance on an all-new developmental therapy to improve his mental well-being and lose some weight, he is thrust into the ride of his life. Fighting through an all too real fantasy land, with the assistance of another, often-difficult participant, he is able to realign his outlook on life - which turns out to be more important than he could have dreamed, as they are thrust into a real-world battle for survival that will resonate across the galaxy.

We put an end to the war with the Dark Faction, but still humanity's problems are far from over. More than half of the game's promised tong of safety has elapsed, and yet humankind is no closer to forming a unified front. We've just begun building one of the 12 planetary shield generators necessary to give Earth complete protection, but we don't have enough construction materials, players, or time. Should we ask the parallel magocratic world for help? After all, an invasion from outer space would hurt them just as bad. The mages, though, have plenty of problems of their own.

Elderly military veteran Volper had no idea what to expect when he entered the virtual world of Alpha Rome. But he now realizes that it’s not a game, after all. The number of times you can respawn by replicating in special capsules is limited and might one day run out. Volper has also had to take on a group of teenagers and has managed to turn them into a lethal combat squad. However, their success has not gone unnoticed, and the team has caught the attention of some powerful corporations.

There are cowboy boots on his feet, pop-up hints appearing in his vision, and, oh yeah, there’s a mariachi band in his head. The world's not going to slow down and let him catch up though, no, it's going to throw a chrome hover car at him and hope he gets the picture.

Captain David Rice has a new ship, a new crew, and a new set of Jump Mages to carry him between the stars. All he wants is to haul cargo, make money and keep his head down. His past, however, is not so willing to let him go. An old enemy is reaching out from beyond the grave to destroy any chance of peace or life for Captain Rice - and old friends are only making things more complicated!

Simon, one of the last of his kind, seeks otherworldly treasures to change the card fate has dealt him. When he discovers Penumbra Springs, a secret haven for mythics, he's determined to join. But the haven hides more than just a community of strange beings.

After failing the most important exam of his life, Kyle is forced into a VR war. Now, he fights on the front lines as cannon fodder for what he always assumed was the government, losing a little part of his memories with every virtual death. When the mission he’s on goes wrong, Kyle is stranded on a planet far from his original destination. Finally given a chance to make an impression in the organization, Kyle will have to risk his mind for a chance at salvation. If he fails, he'll lose all will to resist: making him the perfect soldier.

Ich war in meiner Garage, als die Weltraumelfen die ganze Welt ansprachen. Sie nannten sich natürlich nicht Weltraumelfen. Die meisten Menschen hatten Mühe, Khjurhnalva auszusprechen, also entschieden wir uns für die einfachere Version. Sie hatten eine Nachricht für uns: Kräfte, die die Männchen ihrer Spezies ausgerottet hatten, waren nun auf dem Weg zur Erde.

Lang erwartet, heiß begehrt – die Foren glühten, als die Entwickler verkündeten, dass der Alpha-Test des Spiels "Imperium" „geschlossen“ ablaufen würde. Es würde bis zur ‚Beta‘ keinerlei Spieler-Accounts geben. Keine Sneak Peaks waren zugelassen, kein Firmenfremder würde die bahnbrechende Immersionstechnologie der „Britzel Corp“ vorher in die Finger bekommen.

Gnat is on his voyage with the Shiamiru, all the while trying to find backup for humanity among the great spacefaring races. After all, based on what he's already seen, he knows not to count on the good sense of his own kind. Even facing an external threat, the people of our Earth cannot see past their internal squabbles and come together to fight as one. Gnat does not expect gratitude from his leaders for taking such matters into his own hands, but when have laws and rules ever stopped our intrepid hero before?

The year is 2085, and humanity has spread throughout the solar system, a stable lunar colony is agitating for independence, and lunar tourism is on the rise. Against this background, professional "Close Protection" specialist Scotty Griffin, fresh off a disastrous assignment, is offered the opportunity of a lifetime: to shepherd the teenaged heir to the Republic of Kikaya on a fabulous vacation. Ali Kikaya will participate in the first live-action role playing game conducted on the Moon itself.