Science Fiction War

At a time when Humans were just starting to venture forth into the Galactic Union as mercenaries, Martin Quincy survived long enough to do something no one else had - he retired. There was only one problem: He got bored. After battling aliens for many years - killing aliens and getting paid - retirement didn’t suit him, and he decided to strap on the combat armor and go back to the stars. Along with his old friend Kal, Martin joined Cartwright’s Cavaliers, humanity’s best merc company. Life was exciting! But he got bored. Again.

At long last, humanity has moved beyond Earth and begun seeding new worlds. Colonies extend across the solar system, from Luna to Mars to Saturn's satellite Titan. Even Jupiter's moon Europa has become home to a couple thousand brave souls willing to risk their lives adapting to its frozen and deadly landscape.

At the height of the Vietnam War, a search and rescue team known as Vulture Squad is sent to an isolated jungle valley to uncover the fate of a missing Green Beret platoon. As Vulture Squad hunts through the primordial depths of the valley, they discover ancient horrors that not only threaten to unravel their minds, but to end their lives, as well.

William Mandella is a soldier in Earth's elite brigade. As the war against the Taurans sends him from galaxy to galaxy, he learns to use protective body shells and sophisticated weapons. He adapts to the cultures and terrains of distant outposts. But with each month in space, years are passing on Earth. Where will he call home when (and if) the Forever War ends?

New research has uncovered deeply buried military secrets—both the Allied and Axis special operations during WWII included monsters. Did the Soviets use a dragon to win the Battle of Kursk? Did a vampire fight for the Canadians in Holland? Did the US drop the second atomic bomb on a kaiju? This collection takes real events from World War II and injects them with fantastical creatures that mirror the “unreality” of war itself. Each story—and two poems—feature mythical, mystical, and otherwise unexplainable beings that change the course of history.

After the arrival of the multiversal monopoly BuyMort, life got brutal. All systems were through BuyMort. All currency was through BuyMort. All sales were through BuyMort. You could resist, you could compete, but it didn’t really matter because in the end you used BuyMort—or you perished. BuyMort be praised. But not everyone’s happy with the new system. Some, even, want to see it destroyed. It’s quick. It’s convenient. And it will help people kill you and your family as readily as it will help them sell you knickknacks for a quick mortie.

Jack Bennet returns from the war to find the life he left behind has moved on without him. The only option he has to make ends meet lies in a military surplus junkyard starship. What’s a former Combat Search and Rescue soldier to do? Fix up the ship, hire the cheapest pilot—a notorious drunk—and take the first contract that comes up: collect a bounty on one of the most ruthless killers in the Pirate Worlds, a place crawling with thieves, cutthroats and con artists whose primary language is violence. Jack must abandon his nice guy persona, or exploit it, if he is to survive.

With my clan threatened, I don’t have time for romance with a pesky Earth female. Until I meet Piper. She and her youngling son are part of our planet’s new settlement. Soon, I find myself helping her plan her home and talking about odd Earthling activities. What is a square dance, and must I do it? She’s soft and lush in all the right places, and I could pick her up and carry her around with one arm. And her son…I ache to show him how to tame a mighty winged trundier. Piper may say she doesn’t need love, but I'll do whatever it takes to win her heart.

With The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume 3, award-winning editor Neil Clarke provides a year-in-review and 27 of the best stories published by both new and established authors in 2017.

The city of Kingspass burns and Calen Bryer’s world has been shaken to its core. With Valerys at his side, Calen must battle his demons and push forward. There are people who need him, people who need what he must become, and he will not let them stand alone. In Loria, Ella struggles to understand the ancient power that flows through her veins. The world is changing around her, and she is changing with it. Her journey has only just begun.

Tor Leonne - the heart of the Dominion of Annagar, where the games of state are about to become a matter of life and death - and where those who seek to seize the crown will be forced to league with a treacherously cunning ally.... Tor Leonne, ancestral seat of power, where Serra Diora Maria di'Marano - the most sought-after beauty in the land, a woman betrayed by all she holds dear - may strike the first blow to change the future of the Dominion and Empire alike....

Millennia ago, the great empire of the Lazax brought the galaxy to heel, but now their ancient doctrine of strength and peace is failing. In the shadows, other factions begin to move against each other and their authoritarian masters. To rule themselves they must first tear down the crumbling regime they are forced to serve. When the Barony of Letnev, supplier of the Lazax's grand fleet, blockades a crucial wormhole to force the empire to listen to its demands, the spark of war is ignited and Zara Hail, an official for the Federation of Sol, is caught in the middle.

* HUGO AWARD WINNER: BEST NOVELLA * NEBULA AND LOCUS AWARDS WINNER: BEST NOVELLA * “[An] exquisitely crafted tale...Part epistolary romance, part mind-blowing science fiction adventure, this dazzling story unfolds bit by bit, revealing layers of meaning as it plays with cause and effect...

Harmon Waite is the son of the most powerful angel in the universe. He will undergo 12 trials by fire in an unrivaled hero's journey. If he is to survive, Harmon must discover his power to fight evil on the immense stage of the Celestial Wars.

Humanity has been banished to a distant star. Left to fight over resources rationed to them by mysterious machine-overlords known as Wardens. Commander Rylan Holt labors against inter-colony arms trafficking when an informant gives him horrific news. The ruthless cartel boss, Lilith, has stockpiled outlawed weapons of mass destruction. Worse, she claims to have permission from the Wardens to unleash them upon the system.

His academy razed to the ground, Arik barely survives a deathly fall out of a cliffside window and a vicious attack by winged wolves. Imprisoned by slave traders, battered and bruised, Arik decides to fight back or die trying. He escapes and joins forces with an irritable water spirit, one who can guide him through new lands. Together, they head to the realm of the enemy in search of answers and revenge. But Arik will need more than a powerful companion to stop the advance of the nefarious Crimson Realm.

First published by H. G. Wells in 1898, The War of the Worlds is the granddaddy of all alien invasion stories. The novel begins ominously, as the lone voice of a narrator intones, "No one would have believed in the last years of the 19th century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's."

Eco-terrorists unleash the worst attack the world has ever seen. Over 25,000 autonomous combat drones are released in Manhattan. Hundreds of thousands are dead, and the entire island is evacuated and quarantined in just a few days' time. Ten years later, Manhattan is still empty of humans, with the exception of the salvage specialists of the most watched reality show in history: Zone War. Produced live and unedited, the show follows five teams of armored vehicle specialists who brave the active drones to recover lost riches and collect bounties on dead ones.

At the close of the 24th century, a series of revolutions has caused the galaxy to descend into chaos. With the Galactic Union’s army stretched thin, mercenary units have arisen for those who have the need - and the means - to hire them. Captained by former Detached Guerrilla Forces Colonel R. A. "Rags" Cutter, the Cutter Force Initiative is one of the best. A specialized team consisting of both aliens and humans, the Cutters offer services ranging from combat training and protection to extraction and assassination - as long as the target deserves it and their employer makes good on payday.

1983. The US nuclear submarine USS Roanoke embarks on a classified spy mission into Soviet waters. Their goal: to find evidence of a new, faster, and deadlier Soviet submarine that could tip the balance of the Cold War. But the Roanoke crew isn't alone. Something is on board with them. Something cunning and malevolent. Trapped in enemy territory and hunted by Soviet submarines, tensions escalate and crew members turn on each other. When the lights go out and horror fills the corridors, it will take everything the crew has to survive the menace.