Space Opera First Contact

Jinnifer Blue opens her eyes to find herself in a nightmare. Her plan to expose the horrific truth behind the government's secret Second Species programme has failed, and now she's being turned into a weapon by her worst enemy...her mother. At the other end of the galaxy Caspian Dax, ferocious space pirate and Jinn's sometime lover, is facing an even more terrifying fate. He's being forced to fight in the arena on Sittan, a pitiless, ruthless alien landscape where blood is the only prize that matters. They will use him, destroy him, change him.

Scorpia Kaiser has always stood in Corvus's shadow until the day her older brother abandons their family to participate in a profitless war. However, becoming the heir to her mother's smuggling operation is not an easy transition for the always rebellious, usually reckless, and occasionally drunk pilot of the Fortuna, an aging cargo ship and the only home Scorpia has ever known. But when a deal turns deadly and Corvus returns from the war, Scorpia's plans to take over the family business are interrupted, and the Kaiser siblings are forced to make a choice....

The great spheres and probes of Artifice, humankind's enemy, haunt every inhabited world near and far. The Omnians' long and arduous search for Artifice has ended. They've located Artifice's lair in the Talus system.

Deadly alien stowaways. A determined starship’s crew. The battle for Earth is on. Jas Harrington made it back to Earth after battling hostile aliens at the far reaches of the galaxy. What she doesn’t know is, the aliens have hitched a ride. When the crew disembarks, Jas parts company with the pilot, killing their budding romance. Oh well, never mind. Then comes the game changer; Jas realizes Earth is being invaded, and no one’s doing anything about it. The government’s trying to sweep the problem under the rug.

Ava lived her life on a spaceship in the stars. Now, she is a lone human in a world of others on Planet Xai. Despite the love around her, Ava is finding her heart is not as easily soothed. She still has questions about her past, and humanity, that remain unanswered. What does it mean to truly live? For someone who never had a chance to before?

Captain Markus "Spartan" Nicolos is one of the Golden Horde’s premier hackers and communication specialists, and a top-tier CASPer pilot. His experimental Hoplite scout CASPer aided significantly in thwarting an attempt by a Besquith general to wipe out the Golden Horde. Now, while most of the Golden Horde goes out on a major contract, Spartan has been given a small team of less than 30 mercenaries - all specialists - to teach a race that has just joined the Galactic Union how to defend itself. And, in his spare time, Spartan is to spy on the Merchant Guild.

When Zuul-led thugs attack members of the Queen Elizabeth’s Own Foresters leaving the Lyon’s Den, the battles on Cimaron 283133-6A and Peninnah become enemy action, not simply mercs fulfilling contracts. What the Foresters don’t realize is that these attacks have been planned for years as part of an even larger series of plots aided by members of the Mercenary Guild.

Thomas Baldwin has been appointed captain of the state-of-the-art cruise ship Constantine, named after his heroic grandfather. When their first diplomatic mission turns deadly, all signs point to the return of a former adversary, one the Concord claims to have defeated five decades earlier. No one has seen Baldwin's commander, Treena Starling, since her previous ship was destroyed in a gruesome battle, leaving her the sole survivor. Can her secret help them rescue one of their crew members from captivity at the enemy's hands?

Terminally ill salvage pilot Ash Jackson lost everything in the war with the alien Vai, but she’ll be damned if she loses her future. Her plan: to buy, beg, or lie her way out of corporate indenture and find a cure. When she and her crewmates salvage a genocidal weapon from a ravaged starship above a dead colony, Ash uncovers a conspiracy of corporate intrigue and betrayal that threatens to turn her into a living weapon.

Earth's days are numbered. Two very different women race to prepare for the battle to come. The future of Earth is in their hands. One struggles to resurrect her ruined ship so she can navigate the politics at the galactic core in a desperate bid to recruit allies. The other strives to master alien technology to supply the forces of Earth with the tools needed to defend themselves against the ravenous Swarm.

Taylor Van Zant has a lot on his mind. Like everyone in Jacksonville, North Florida, the early-20s bartender from Riverside saw his world upended when his brother, Terry, an interstellar mercenary and local hero, died suddenly in a freak starship accident. Five years later, having been stonewalled for answers, Taylor faced a choice: Honor his mother’s wish that he never go merc or defy it to save her life by resurrecting Terry’s company. That was 13 months ago. Now the newly reformed Eagles stand on the verge of a major milestone: owning their own flagship.

Three generations of people have been raised on Astra, a colony established by people escaping from the tyrannical government of Terra. Dalgard is embarking on his coming-of-age exploration of the unknown northern lands. In his canoe with a friendly merman native he travels north and discovers proof that Those Others, the evil master race that formerly ruled the planet, are still a danger.

United States Diplomat Danielle Lowen was there when one of her fellow diplomats committed an unthinkable act that had consequences for the entire planet. Now she’s trying to figure out how it happened before it can happen again. Putting the puzzle pieces together could solve the mystery - or it could threaten her own life. "The Gentle Art of Cracking Heads" is a tale from John Scalzi's The Human Division, a series of self-contained but interrelated short stories set in the Old Man's War universe.

Colonial Union diplomat Hart Schmidt is back home for Harvest Day celebrations - to a family whose members wonder whether its youngest son isn’t wasting his life clinging to the lowest rung of the CU’s diplomatic ladder. When his father, a legendarily powerful politician, presents him with a compelling offer, Schmidt has to take stock of his life and career. "This Must Be the Place" is a tale from John Scalzi's The Human Division, a series of self-contained but interrelated short stories set in the Old Man's War universe.

Edited by best-selling authors and universe creators Mark Wandrey and Chris Kennedy, Tales from the Lyon’s Den includes 18 all-new stories in the Four Horsemen universe by a variety of best-selling authors - and some you may not have heard of...yet.

An eccentric, trigger-happy captain and a level-headed commander vie for control of the starship Gemini, but are forced to mix their two very divided crews when they encounter a space barge full of militarized waste. They say it takes two to tango, but when facing this planet-destroying vessel and the rumor of an ancient, hidden foe in the Umbra, it takes the military might of Captain Skip Sutridge and the scientific genius of Commander Maggie Antwa to be in with a fighting chance.

Daniel Hunt has been many things in his life, but a commander in a full out military conflict has never been one of them. The Voy is a deadly opponent, and if humanity is going to have a chance, every faction must come together. Galactic Praetorians, Corporate Mercenaries, and the woman known as Madam Eternal will have to play all of their cards in order to survive.

War is on the horizon. Daniel Hunt has no desire to lead the first coalition of corporations the galaxy has ever known. This is exactly why he's perfect for the job. In the face of humankind's greatest threat, old enemies will find redemption and new allies will answer the call. If this wasn't enough, more mysteries are unraveled as Daniel finally finds answers to the fate of the woman he loves.

This is the warning delivered to Will Ryder by the alien spaceship that crash-landed in his backyard. But there is hope. With the ship's AI guiding him, Will must rebuild the craft in his barn and take to the stars to prevent the cataclysmic invasion.

Abducted. Forced to fight against her will. Darcy has a 10,000-year-old secret buried in her genetic code. The Druid Gene makes her a target, but it may also save her. As a second year medical student, Darcy's life revolves around classes, studying, and her boyfriend Adam - until she treks through the desert, touches some mysterious stacked stones, and a network of glowing blue lines radiates under her skin.