Space Exploration Fiction

Damien Montgomery, Hand of the Mage-King of Mars, has dealt with pirates, conspiracies, terrorists, and space battles in the service of his King. A warrior-judge charged to maintain peace across the stars of the Protectorate, he is well overdue for a vacation. Most people's idea of a vacation isn't a murder investigation, but the Hands aren't most people. A quiet task on an isolated research base seems the perfect mission to Damien and his King alike—until the discoveries of that remote archeology site bring fire and death down on Damien and the scientists alike!

On humanity's first extra-solar mission, the exploration vessel Magellan, or, as she prefers, "Maggie", discovers an alien artifact. Deciding that finding advanced alien life is too important to ignore, Captain Allison Ridgeway chooses to return to Earth while ordering her crew to reverse engineer technology far beyond anything back home. Meanwhile, at mission control, the governments struggle to maintain the existence of aliens a secret while also combating bureaucracy, the military industrial complex, and everyone else who wants a piece of what could skyrocket humanity into a new technological age.

New York Times best-selling author Kylie Scott presents two stand-alone novellas in this must-listen collection. Colonist's Wife: She'll run to the far corners of space to avoid her violent history, hide her true identity, and pass herself off as a mail-order bride. But no one can escape their past forever. And as for her new husband...well, he's nothing like she expected.

Amid exhausting preparations for a battle to end all battles, Major General David Cohen celebrates a momentous event. At long last he’s tying the knot. The good news keeps coming as enmity between rival worlds of Sextans B has vanished, drawn together to confront the sinister swarm.

What could possibly be in Longbourn Crater that was worth their while?When damage to his ship forces Captain Darcy to land in an unexpected location on an alien world, he's not prepared for what he finds. He expected aliens, certainly, but he didn't expect a contingent of humans related to Earth's most notorious traitor, or for those humans to be his crew’s only chance to repair their ship and complete their mission. Brilliant and beautiful, the human women they meet seem poised to do more harm than good.

Comet Anduru skimmed the clouds of Saturn. Rather than being drawn into the gas giant, it skipped back out into space. With the comet heading for Jupiter, speculation is mounting it’s an alien spacecraft making its way to Earth. Lieutenant Colonel Nolan Landis and Dr. Kath McKenzie are caught between an angry public and an anxious President as they grapple with the scientific, social, and political implications of first contact.

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...

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....

Assigned to a new warship with cutting-edge technology, Jack Samson returns to the Frontier, determined to cast off the question marks over his previous conduct. The Navy ventures ever farther beyond the Frontier, with fantastic new discoveries becoming a daily occurrence. As humanity reaches for these technological riches, it enters a deadly contest with a lethal adversary, the very survival of the human race being at stake.

Twenty years after the elemental conflict that nearly tore apart the cosmos in The Saga of Seven Suns, a new threat emerges from the darkness. The human race must set aside its own inner conflicts to rebuild their alliance with the Ildiran Empire for the survival of the galaxy. In Kevin J. Anderson's The Dark Between the Stars, galactic empires clash, elemental beings devastate whole planetary systems, and factions of humanity are pitted against one another.

In a world where family secrets unravel and identities shatter, Troy’s life takes an unexpected turn. His home is no longer a sanctuary, and his family’s truths are nothing but a web of lies. Cast adrift with only a battered ship, a cryptic name, and a distant destination, Troy embarks on a perilous journey to unravel the mysteries of his past.

All I ever wanted was to explore new worlds, but when my sister vanished during a battle with a ruthless alien horde, my mission became clear—find her at all costs. My search for her leads me to join forces with a desperate blonde princess seeking help. Now, we’re both caught in a war that threatens not just her empire, but the entire galaxy.

Twelve-year-old twins Raz and Kiley are headed underground, along with everyone else aboard the asteroid station. Their home is about to pass through a band of deadly space radiation, and in the lower level they'll be safe. But soon, the kids spot ghostly figures flickering in the halls. Rooms suddenly appear abandoned and rundown.

As the leader of the moon's newest "dragon", Adriana has wrested control of the moon's helium-3 industry from the Mackenzie Metal Corporation and fought to earn her family's new status. Now, at the twilight of her life, Adriana finds her corporation, Corta Helio, surrounded by the many enemies she made during her meteoric rise. If the Corta family is to survive, Adriana's five children must defend their mother's empire from her many enemies - and each other.

Underestimating an opponent is a common mistake made by people wielding power. And when the most elite sect of assassins are involved, that blunder could prove to be a particularly fatal one. In times of subterfuge and plotting, though, it is clear they are not the only ones with tricks up their sleeves, and sometimes death is a two-way street.

Avalon was thriving. The cold sleep colonists from Earth had settled on a verdant, livable world. The fast and cunning predators humans named “grendels” were under control, and the mainland outposts well established. Avalon’s new mainland hydroelectric power station was nearly complete, and when on-line would compensate for the nuclear power systems lost in the Grendel Wars. Humans would have power, and with power came the ability to make all the necessities for life. They would survive. They would not survive as a spacefaring people.

This program includes original sound design. From science fiction visionary Annalee Newitz comes The Terraformers, a sweeping, uplifting, and illuminating exploration of the future. Destry's life is dedicated to terraforming Sask-E. As part of the Environmental Rescue Team, she cares for the...

A meteor makes landfall in South Africa, carrying a strange substance that alters plants, soil—and humans. Yet something much more dangerous is on a collision course with Earth—something that will change the future forever. In a Hail Mary attempt to save the planet from certain doom, the government sends a ship and its crew directly into the path of the oncoming threat. The crew’s daring plan might be the only way to save humanity.

When Kell and his team return to Earth many years after their departure, they find that their world has changed almost beyond recognition. Not only has a second wave of greenhouse flooding caused sea levels to rise, but society has been changed by the consequences of the climate shift. Few people want to face Jordan Kell's news. He must convince Earth's new rulers that the human race is in danger of extinction unless it acts to forestall the death wave coming from the galaxy's heart.

Lux finds traveling outside Earth's magnetic fields is possible with the gravity drive, but the military from the US and other nations begins to push hard for the tech. Could they use it to help mine the moon, asteroids, and the moons of other planets? Who controls the areas away from Earth when humans establish bases on different planets? Lux becomes known around Earth, and the fame may be too much. He finds he is a target for governments and corporations that want to control him and his knowledge.