Science Fiction War

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.

It is said that all who live belong ultimately to the Undying King. In the shadowy lands of Shyish, Nagash, God of Death, calls forth his soulless legions to reassert his dominion. His dread advance begins with the free city of Glymmsforge, bastion of Azyr in the Realm of Death. Standing between Nagash and his prize are the brooding Anvils of the Heldenhammer, an ancient host of Stormcast Eternals, and Lord-Castellant Pharus Thaum, guardian of the Ten Thousand Tombs. As battles between the living and the dead rage throughout the Mortal Realms, the War of Heaven and Death begins anew.

The war that Star Force has always dreaded begins. The V'kit'no'sat have committed the full might of their empire, minus the troops on the Hadarak border, to conquering and absorbing the rogue empire. One way or another, Crusader or Warden, the war with Star Force will end, and the Crusaders intend to prove Mak'to'ran wrong and bring Star Force to heel by force before they can grow into a Uriti-backed power too large to contend with.

Some say that in the city of Orlyn, godhood is on sale to the highest bidder. Thousands flock to the city each year, hoping for a chance at immortality. Lydia Hastings is a knowledge sorcerer, capable of extracting information from anything she touches. When she travels to Orlyn to validate the claims of the local faith, she discovers a conspiracy that could lead to a war between the world's three greatest powers. At the focal point is a prisoner who bears a striking resemblance to the long-missing leader of the pantheon she worships.

The new United States in central Germany launches a one-plane Doolittle Raid on Paris, France. The target: their arch-enemy, Cardinal Richelieu. Meanwhile, an ambassador from the Mughal Empire of northern India is being held captive in Austria by the Habsburg dynasty. Mike Stearns decides to send a mercenary company to rescue him, led by two 17th-century mercenary officers: an Englishman and a Irishman, who seem to spend as much time fighting each other as they do the enemy.

Zac was the most senior REV alive, a miracle of science and a legend in the Corps. His job was to be the battering ram for the Marines, the first in while revved up on NT-4. During a Run, he was a mindless killing machine, dangerous to both foe and friend alike. But something was happening to Zac. Long after most other REVs were dead, burned out or "retired", Zac was growing stronger, more powerful. He was also doing what no REV had ever done before during a Run. He was beginning to think.

With over 10 million copies sold, The Expanse has become one of the biggest science fiction phenomenons of the decade. The fifth book in the New York Times bestselling Expanse series, Nemesis Games drives the crew of the Rocinante apart, and as they struggle to survive, the inner planets fall...

With over 10 million copies sold, The Expanse has become one of the biggest science fiction phenomenons of the decade. The sixth book in the New York Times bestselling Expanse series, Babylon's Ashes has the galaxy in full revolution and it's up to the crew of the Rocinante to make a desperate...

Forged in the fires of the lawless wasteland, Clay, Alex, and Joe have finally earned the unimaginable power of Incants. All they want now is to settle down, drink a few beers, and carve out a new life west of the containment wall. Not everyone in the IZ has such noble goals at heart, however. When the Jaeger Squad learns that another group of magic-slinging Incants are enslaving homesteaders to farm gold and harvest enchanted items to sell on the black market, they can’t just turn a blind eye. Especially since Clay and the others are the only ones with the power to make things right.

The people of Earth now know that the human Colonial Union has kept them ignorant of the dangerous universe around them. For generations the CU had defended humanity against hostile aliens, deliberately keeping Earth an ignorant backwater and a source of military recruits. Now the CU’s secrets are known to all. Other alien races have come on the scene and formed a new alliance - an alliance against the Colonial Union. And they’ve invited the people of Earth to join them. For a shaken and betrayed Earth, the choice isn't obvious or easy.

Earth has long ago expanded into space, found, fought, and befriended aliens, and expanded across the galaxy to dominate most of it, but one of the semi-immortal warlords who founded it is about to have a revelation as the "Endgame" that has been whispered between various advanced civilizations lands squarely on his shoulders. The Empire knew this was coming, but they had no idea the scope of it. Lightside civilizations are always hounded and attacked by those who revel in evil, but when the Endgame starts, it's a beatdown like no other coming from outside the galaxy.

Idealistic Navy Lieutenant Jacob Grimm just wanted to honor his mother’s sacrifice in the last great war. When he’s forced to return fire and destroy a squadron of ships to save his own, he thinks he’s the hero...until they discover the ships are full of children. Disgraced and denied promotion, Jacob’s career is over. That is until the head of ONI needs a disposable officer to command a battered destroyer on the rim.

Daelissa's attack on Queens Gate dealt Justin and the resistance a serious blow. The loss of his home and one of their strongest allies seems to mean certain defeat. Justin isn't about to give up. He embarks on a mission to bring the houses of Daemos to his side and seeks help from Fjoeruss, Mr. Gray himself, even if the odds of success are slim. As if the pressure isn't already high enough, Justin discovers something even more troubling. Daelissa is already in Seraphina.

Clay Jaeger finally has the chance to become the spellslinger he always wanted to be—the one his family needs him to be to survive the dangers of the wasteland. A teacup pig claiming to be a cursed Great Blue Wyrm has offered them a quest to take out a Dungeon Lord with the exact power set Clay’s been looking for. There’s just one problem. The Dungeon Lord can steal the souls of his enemies and summon them to fight his battles for him. Clay is more than willing to lay down his life to protect his family, but is he willing to risk his eternal soul on a gamble that might not pay off?

The invasion of the Milky Way has begun, and the Empire is winning easily, but when it becomes clear that the war with the Asferja will be nowhere near ending before the next invasion arrives and forces them to split their focus, Paul is tapped to lead a small team to the nearby galaxy of Andromeda where the Asferja intergalactic "threads" are tethered, with more being created as the war goes on.

An official prequel novel to World of Warcraft: Midnight Arator the Redeemer was born to heroism. The son of High Exarch Turalyon and the legendary Alleria Windrunner, Arator has long borne the weight and expectations of their legacy . . . a legacy he inherited as a babe, the day his parents...

Veteran mech operator Sergeant Major Shaw spent his career fighting huge monsters known as Sentinels. He never expected that he would be piloting them. But as a new war unfolds, Shaw finds himself and his team using this unorthodox technology in a desperate attempt to save the New World Republic from destruction. The Principality of the Seven Sons has control of an ancient Progenitor dreadnaught rumored to have the power to enslave and destroy empires. No one is safe. Not even Shaw and his Deadmen.

Lee is a quiet and unassuming office worker who leads a life of solitude, comfort, and routine. Day in and day out, he shuts off his brain, keeps his head down, and goes about doing his job and minding his own business. That is, he does until a drunken god shows up randomly one day and whisks him off into another world, demanding that Lee serve as his pawn in a game between the gods. Now, trapped in a completely different world full of danger, magic, and creatures, Lee has to figure out how to stay alive long enough to make it back home.

War looms on the horizon, but Selene’s training as a wizard must begin...even though her age makes success nearly unattainable. Will searches for a solution, but their only hope may be a dangerous bargain with the king. The fate of two nations lies on his shoulders, and the future is paved with violence. With few options, he needs the aid of uncertain allies and dubious friends. Traitors lurk among them, and soon he will be forced to choose who to trust - and who to sacrifice. For a terrible power has arrived in Darrow, and the price of victory will be paid in blood.

What would you do if America and the world were invaded tomorrow by a relentless and brutal enemy? In an alternate 2015, a US Army Special Forces Team, part of the legendary black ops unit "Delta", is in midtown Manhattan to take out a Chinese spy and his handlers, sending a message short of outright conflict. All goes smoothly until they find themselves in a full-blown shooting war through the canyons of the City.