Space Exploration Fiction

This year’s selection of science fiction and fantasy stories, chosen by series editor John Joseph Adams and bestselling author of the Divergent series Veronica Roth, showcases a crop of authors that are willing to experiment and tantalize readers with new takes on classic themes and by exchanging the ordinary for the avant-garde. Folktales and lore come alive, the dead rise, the depths of space are traversed, and magic threads itself through singular moments of love and loss, illuminating the circulatory nature of life, death, the in-between, and the hereafter.

Worlds will collide and fates will be rewritten in the thrilling conclusion to the Devoured Worlds space opera trilogy by award‑winning author Megan E. O’Keefe. Naira and Tarquin have found a new home on Seventh Cradle. But the peace they’ve built is short-lived as mysterious assailants...

The planet Vok is holding its first free elections after years of oppressive military rule. Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the Starship Enterprise have been dispatched by Starfleet to serve as impartial observers, but remaining neutral proves a challenge, as Kirk confronts a tangled web of scandal, conspiracy, and assassination plots - with the stability of an entire sector at stake. To make matters worse, Dr. Leonard McCoy has vanished while on a mission of mercy to Braco, a nearby planet only a system away.

Commander Joe Pikeman is on a mission he didn’t ask for…and wasn’t ordered on. Then again, he isn’t in the mood to sit back while Fairfax takes over the galaxy, either. Fairfax’s power stretches across the stars, and he’s calling in all his favors. From sparking a bot rebellion to engineering godlike monsters to crush his enemies, he seems determined to ruin Joe’s day. But he made one mistake: he screwed with Joe’s family. And as messed up as they are, that simply isn’t something Joe can allow.

Captain Caleb Card and his crew are on a mission to investigate a transmission believed to be from the lost ship. Ambushed upon arrival, they immediately fear the worst. But the beacon isn’t only active, it’s on the move, and where it leads will change everything they thought they knew about the universe. Cast into a distant galaxy brimming with unknown dangers, they’ll need to adapt quickly if they want to survive long enough to help the missing colonists.

Autistic scientist Yasira Shien has developed a radical new energy drive that could change the future of humanity. But when she activates it, reality warps, destroying the space station and everyone aboard. The AI gods who rule the galaxy declare her work heretical, and Yasira is abducted by their agents. Instead of simply executing her, they offer mercy - if she'll help them hunt down a bigger target: her own mysterious, vanished mentor. With her homeworld's fate in the balance, Yasira must choose who to trust: the gods and their ruthless post-human angels, or a rebel scientist....

Entre Seul sur Mars et Dark Matter, un thriller de science-fiction inventif et trépidant, bientôt adapté au cinéma par Bong Joon-ho (Parasite) ! Mourir n'est pas une partie de plaisir... mais c'est une manière de gagner sa vie. Mickey7 est un Consommable : un employé jetable d'une expédition humaine envoyée sur Niflheim, un monde de glace, pour le coloniser. Dès qu'une mission paraît trop dangereuse - voire suicidaire -, l'équipage se tourne vers lui. À la mort d'une version, un nouveau corps est régénéré, sa mémoire pratiquement intacte.

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.

Welcome to Cachalot, a planet made almost entirely of water, an ocean refuge for Earth's marine mammals, rescued from near extinction at the hands of humans thousands of years ago. Free from predators and human impact, the whales thrive in their new home, growing in size and intelligence. Everything is perfect. Until humans decide to establish floating towns on Cachalot, drawn by the planet's abundant natural resources.

Lors de sa première mission sur Encelade, satellite de Saturne, la jeune scientifique Sorany Desvœux découvre par accident une nouvelle matière aux propriétés étonnantes. Très vite, avec l'appui de son mentor, l'éminent professeur Henri Stern, se dessine le projet Arca : il s'agit de bâtir une arche propulsée par ce que l'on nomme désormais l'Artefact d'Encelade. Un échantillon d'humanité est ainsi sélectionné pour effectuer un voyage vers La Griffe du Lion, où l'attend une exoplanète aux caractéristiques prometteuses.

An entire sector in turmoil...neighbors who appear unconcerned...a favor asked of an old friend...sacrifices made for the good of humanity.... Before they can challenge the Dusahn and prevent them from expanding their empire further, the Karuzari must first gather much-needed resources. But doing so could be more difficult than anticipated.

A cease-fire that has lasted seven years... Worlds half-destroyed that have been rebuilt anew... Friends and crewmates scattered light-years apart... New leaders that would be kings... The Jung threat has been renewed, in ways not imagined. It will take a new savior to inspire the masses, and once again lead those willing to fight against oppression. But who will the new savior be?

The Earth Cruiser Agamemnon is destroyed in combat, and the search for answers begins. The veteran crew of Borag gets the assignment, and the race is on. Sgt. Starn of Red Company must visit the disaster site, perform a search and rescue mission, and return to Mars alive. What kind of technology could destroy an Earth warship so easily? Why is a single life-pod found floating, transponder pinging away—with no one aboard? Most important of all, what is the prowling alien super-ship going to do next?

This dazzling anthology includes epic interstellar adventures, tales of space and wonder, from some of the brightest names in science fiction.

They banned him from space. But someone has offered him a way back. Can he afford the price? Famed engineer and test pilot Jericho Fox has been grounded for reasons he'd rather put behind him. But a political leader from a rival party offers to send him back to space. Fox finds himself stuck between working for the enemy and doing what he loves again. Meanwhile, high above Earth on Astraea Station, decorated astrophysicist Dr. Evelyn Park is on the verge of a scientific breakthrough that could make history.

Brady Garrett needs to go home. He's a conscripted recruit on Defender Three, one of a network of stations designed to protect the Earth from alien attack. He's also angry, homesick, and afraid. If he doesn't get home he'll lose his family, but there's no way back except in a body bag. Cameron Rushton needs a heartbeat. Four years ago Cam was taken by the Faceless - the alien race that almost destroyed Earth.

Quelque cent mondes composent la Confédération de Naflin, parmi lesquelles la somptueuse et raffinée Syracusa. Or, dans l'ombre de la famille régnante, les mystérieux Scaythes d'Hyponéros, venus d'un monde lointain, doués d'inquiétants pouvoirs psychiques, trament un gigantesque complot dont l'instauration d'une dictature sur la Confédération ne constitue qu'une étape. Qui pourrait donc leur faire obstacle ? Les moines guerriers de l'ordre Absourate ?

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.

The urge to explore and discover is a natural and universal one, and the edge of the unknown is expanded with each passing year as scientific advancements inch us closer and closer to the outer reaches of our solar system and the galaxies beyond them. Generations of writers have explored these new frontiers and the endless possibilities they present in great detail. The Final Frontier delivers stories from across this literary spectrum, a reminder that the universe is far large and brimming with possibilities than we could ever imagine, as hard as we may try.

Caleb Mitchell gave up everything to protect his home. Shunned by friends and family for abandoning the pacifist beliefs of their religion, abandoned by the love of his life, he left his home world of Canaan to go to the Commonwealth Military Academy on Earth and train to fight in the looming war against the implacable alien threat of the Tahni Imperium. When a training mission with a crew of cadets winds up caught in the middle of one of the worst battles of the war, Cal and his fellow students are officially declared dead.