Space Exploration Fiction

Jacques McKeown is the most celebrated author of star-pilot fiction in the galaxy. He's rich, famous, and living in luxury, and his universe-wide fanbase eagerly awaits any news of his next book. There's just one small hitch. He's not Jacques McKeown. He's Dashford Pierce, star pilot and con artist, and if only the impatient calls from his publisher were the worst of his problems. There's also the last vestige of the Henderson crime gang, trouble brewing in the retired star-pilot community, and a small matter of somebody trying to kill him.

Van and his crew have killed an empire. The problem is the empire doesn’t know it’s dead. Moving among the stars, the Peacemakers are faced with their greatest challenge—removing an evil so vast, it has a presence in every known star system. To that end, they’ll need to move quickly. To do so, they must be mobile, and that means big changes in their tactics. . . and their crew. With the help of a shadowy figure known as the Body Thief, Van will continue his policy of justice and freedom for all citizens, even if they began life on a computer chip.

The Imperium does not take it lightly when its slaves revolt. Earth's population has been decimated, and Captain Bill Henderson is fleeing imperial attack dogs with his crew and two million refugees—the last of humanity. Starship Omega could be the answer to turning the tide and finally ending the Imperium's tyranny. But not in its current form. The Omega is capable of so much more—but to unlock the enormous ship's true power, Bill must lead those under his command into the heart of empire space.

When Ben Murdock receives a text message offering a fully operational starship for sale, he’s certain it has to be a joke. Already trapped in the worst day of his life and desperate for a way out, he decides to play along. Except there is no joke. The starship is real. And Ben’s life is going to change in ways he never dreamed possible. All he has to do is sign the contract. Joined by his streetwise best friend and a bizarre tenant with an unseverable lease, he’ll soon discover that the universe is more volatile, treacherous, and awesome than he ever imagined.

Kyran Loyal is the last heir to the lost throne of a forgotten planet, the figurehead of a nomadic people fleeing the galactic tyranny of a brutal regime. Davia Sifane is the unrecognized daughter of an imperial despot. When happenstance pits them against each other in battle, neither expects the outcome: they are the only two people to survive. Marooned on a barren moon, their only hope of survival is to rely on each other, but what they learn will either kill them or change the galaxy forever.

From the acclaimed author of New York 2140 and Red Mars, this NYT bestselling novel tells the story of a future where humanity has populated miraculous new habitats engineered across the solar system -- and the one death that triggers a precarious chain of events that could destroy it all. The...

Calamity, the digital plague, is spreading, and where it strikes is both ruthless and random. Fearful of the Earth being ravaged, Van and the crew go on high alert to keep his homeworld free of galactic influence. That vision is shattered when Tony Burgess captures an alien ship... in Wisconsin. The ship isn't just a stray workboat. It's the opening ploy of a group that sees humanity as a business opportunity too big to pass up. Advancing in rank, Van is torn between two duties—to his crew and to his home.

Disturbing the established order will mean kicking over a fair number of rocks, although Mark, Valint, and the others might be surprised by what scurries forth underneath—and what uniform it's wearing when it steps into the light. Mark Tudor will make the title Peacemaker mean something once again, but to do that, he'll have to face the worst the galaxy has to offer. Death waits in the quiet moments. And sometimes, it is a soldier's loved ones that pay the greatest price.

The first mission to Europa – Jupiter's enigmatic moon – has landed, and humanity’s darkest fears are about to awaken. For years, mankind has speculated that this frozen world harbours a hidden ocean twice the size of all Earth’s oceans combined – an ocean potentially teeming with life. Driven by this tantalising mystery, they venture forth to unlock its secrets. But what they discover in the abyssal depths is far beyond anything they could have imagined.

The star cluster is awash with the blood of those whose lives have been spent by two men maneuvering fleets like pieces across a chessboard. Only one man can come out on top: Thatcher or Moll.

Some people are convinced they can do anything; Evan Orgell is one of them. So when his company president sends him off-world to investigate a breakdown in communications from a small research station on a newly discovered planet, he's all in. The planet's resources could mean massive profits for the company-and a successful mission could mean massive advancement for Evan. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

What comes after boarding school for an evil lord? The military academy, of course! Liam's subordinates arrange the perfect overpowered patrol fleet for his post-academy training period, but the Guide is hungry for revenge against the young evil lord and takes this as an opportunity to strike! Will the Guide succeed? And will Liam ever notice that the Guide isn't actually trying to help?

With the Nexus up and running, Van and crew become interstellar players in the fight for Earth, but their enemies aren't just from out in the black. Sensing massive profits, the scramble to exploit humanity pits Van against his own people—and Yotov, whose plans have finally come to fruition.

Adam must once again brace himself to contend with the shadow organizations controlling the eastern nations, and rumors of a miraculous elixir abound amidst news of multiple disappearances. Meanwhile, new threats and familiar foes seek to further complicate his life at Varidan. All the while, Adam’s search for his eternal foe unravels more secrets of the world.

Nova is a lonely planet. It has been on its way to the Andromeda galaxy for ages. And yet, it is inhabited by people who have never known anything other than the caves beneath the surface that protect them from the vacuum and cosmic radiation. A surprising encounter changes everything. The planet gets visitors who seem to have their own agenda, and are so alien that communication seems futile. But they, too, have unexpected existential problems.

Months after Inara leaves Serenity, Mal and the crew finally learn the reason for her sudden departure: She is dying of a terminal illness. Expert Esau Weng is said to have developed a means to treat Inara’s condition, but he has been disgraced and incarcerated for life on a notorious Alliance prison planet. On Atata planet, inmates are abandoned with no guards and left to survive as best they can. What’s more, terraforming the planet did not take properly, so the world is a frozen wasteland. To save Inara, the Serenity crew must infiltrate the prison....

A walk around the block, a quick drive, before shutting down your PC ? these short story collections are perfect for when you only have a few minutes to listen."

Ariock Dovanack never asked to be a hero, let alone a demigod. But when a prophecy deemed him "The One," he dutifully amassed thousands of messianic followers in the sun-starved civilization beneath the Torth Empire's capital. Now, destined to lead the cave-dwelling Alashani people into the light of other worlds, he and a small army must first annihilate the formidable telepaths who guard the city's spaceport. By Ariock's side is Thomas Hill. A Torth/human hybrid, Thomas may be physically vulnerable, but he's also a telepathic supergenius.

They say you can’t go home again… …especially if you’re the governing mind for an interstellar military starship. It's official: Sergeant Henry Morgan has now spent more time as a starship than he spent dead. His mission is more than a century old, but in some ways, he feels like it's just begun. A desperate distress call from Earth has brought him back to his old cosmic stomping grounds, for your standard save-humanity-from-extinction-by-alien-constructs operation.

A collection of the year’s best science fiction and fantasy short fiction selected by New York Times bestselling author of the Silo series Hugh Howey and series editor John Joseph Adams. “These are dangerous stories. The kind that warp reality and threaten to change the world” warns guest...