Space Opera Science Fiction

A private investigator is hired to look into a mysterious, high-profile death aboard the starship Halcyon in this fresh new science fiction masterpiece from the "mastersinger of space opera" (The Times) and the creator of the beloved Revelation Space universe. Strap in for a gripping murder...

The best science fiction and fantasy stories of 2021, selected by series editor John Joseph Adams and guest editor Veronica Roth. 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...

In the aftermath of Moldark's death and Soldark's creation, Magnus, Awen, and the rest of the Gladio Umbra must follow the sinister warlord back through the quantum tunnel into metaspace. Questions swirl around the enemy's ultimate intentions, as do the fates of those bound to serve the malevolent leader. What awaits the gladias, however, may prove to be more than they can handle. An otherworldly amalgamation of the Paragon's goals and the Luma's powers, Soldark gathers his forces for a final showdown against those who would thwart his plans.

Hadrian Marlowe is newly a knight of the galaxy-spanning Sollan Empire: a hero who they say slew the alien Prince Aranata Otiolo in single combat; a man they say no man or xenobite can kill. Acting on the Emperor’s orders, Hadrian has come to the desert planet Thagura and driven off the Cielcin invaders, rescuing in the process the Lady Gadar Malyan, Baroness of that entire world. But not all the fighting is ended.

Commander Dalton Reeves is a maverick officer with exceptional genetic strength and a dark family history—a history that will come back to haunt him. Punished for exceeding orders one time too many, he’s packed off to the "The Abyss"—the most dangerous space station in the galaxy. But a posting that should have led to five years in obscurity will propel Reeves into the center of an interstellar war against a long-forgotten alien adversary with a bitter grudge.

It's all come down to this. A war for control of all civilization, pitting organic life against an ancient evil that knows no fear, no kindness, and no limits. Calamity is loose, and it's been busy learning—from its time with Netty to running wild among the stars, the ultimate evil seeks nothing less than complete dominion over all space and time. And for Calamity, life is in the way.

Follow a core group of characters known as the Trailblazers as they use alien technology and knowledge discovered in Antarctic ruins to obtain limited immortality and lead humanity out into the galaxy. See them encountering, befriending, and fighting hundreds of alien races, all the while desperately trying to prepare Earth for the unbeatable threat at the core of the Milky Way that is destined to return and reclaim their lost colony...and their former human slaves.

Esper may dress the part. She has her own ship. She even carries a blaster - not that she ever uses it. But she violates the cardinal rule of the galaxy’s most cold-blooded profession: get paid. At least she's not alone. Her partner, Kubu, is an alien who gets mistaken for a dog. One is a wizard on the run from her past. The other is a lovable eating machine. Between them, they haven’t got a ruthless bone in their bodies. But when a client hires them, they’ll do whatever it takes to bring a target home safely. This time, it’s a teenage kidnapping victim.

Follow a core group of characters known as the Trailblazers as they use alien technology and knowledge discovered in Antarctic ruins to obtain limited immortality and lead humanity out into the galaxy, encountering, befriending, and fighting hundreds of alien races all the while desperately trying to prepare Earth for the unbeatable threat at the core of the Milky Way that is destined to return and reclaim their lost colony and their former human slaves.

Six million years ago, at the very dawn of the starfaring era, Abigail Gentian fractured herself into a thousand male and female clones: the shatterlings. Sent out into the galaxy, these shatterlings have stood aloof as they document the rise and fall of countless human empires. They meet every 200,000 years to exchange news and memories of their travels with their siblings.

For an overpopulated Earth, whose resources are strained to the breaking point, there is only one place to look for relief: straight up. With the successful completion of the Padrugoi Space Station, humanity has at last achieved its first large-scale permanent presence in space. Additional bases are feverishly being built on the Moon and on Mars, stepping-stones to the greatest adventure in all history.

After discovering a cache of Prothean technology on Mars in 2148, humanity is spreading to the stars---the newest interstellar species, struggling to carve out its place in the greater galactic community. On the edge of colonized space, ship commander and Alliance war hero David Anderson investigates the remains of a top secret military research station---smoking ruins littered with bodies and unanswered questions. Who attacked this post, and for what purpose?

Commanding a complex starship is the least of Mitch's worries. Using his buddy's starship to swoop to the rescue of beleaguered outposts or single-handedly blast his way through enemy squadrons is nothing new; Mitch has been doing that for weeks now. But dealing with the reckless—not to mention mutinous—scheme of the woman he trusts is a whole new challenge he hadn't expected.

Chip Connolly was a conscripted grunt in trouble. Here he was, stuck behind enemy lines with a bunch of cyber-uplifted rats and bats. Rats with human speech, but with rat values. Rats that knew what was worth fighting for: sex, food, and strong drink. True, they were holed up on a ruined wine-farm with enough brandy to swim in. Trouble was, there wasn't much food. And with shrew-metabolism the rats had to eat. He was next on the menu. The bats were no help: they were crazy revolutionaries planning to throw off the yoke of human enslavement with high explosive.

The enemy is coming. The enemy is already here. For years they’ve prepared, plotted, and planned. For years they’ve waited to strike from above and below. Earth is under siege. The enemy covers the landscape. Proxima is unharmed. But that’s about to change. No armies can stop this menace, and no defenses can slow the advance. We are scattered and isolated. We are ignorant and weak. No help is coming. No help remains...or does it? Old heroes will sacrifice everything. New heroes will rise.

When Lieutenant Iari hears screams in the night, she expects to interrupt a robbery or break up a fight. Instead she discovers a murder with an impossible suspect: a riev, one of the battle-mecha decommissioned after the end of the last conflict, repurposed for manual labor. Riev don't kill people. And yet, clearly, one has. Iari sets out to find it.

Legion Dark Ops calls upon Chhun, Wraith, and the survivors of Victory Company to form an elite Kill Team of legionnaires in the aftermath of the Battle of Kublar. Their mission is clear: find and eliminate those responsible for the Kublar disaster. Standing between them and their objective are a maze of corrupt Republic officials, a spy on the verge of losing himself in deep cover, and the Zhee - a murderous species that will stop at nothing. But the biggest threat of all might be the truth they seek to uncover - a truth that could ignite a revolution. And engulf the galaxy in flames.

Before she escaped in a bloody coup, Mephisto transformed Mariam Xi into a deadly voidwitch. Their training left her with terrifying capabilities, a fierce sense of independence, a deficit of trust, and an experimental pet named Seven. She’s spent her life on the run, but the boogeymen from her past are catching up with her. An encounter with a bounty hunter has left her hanging helpless in a dying spaceship, dependent on the mercy of strangers. Penned in on all sides, Mariam chases rumors to find the one who sold her out.

Hudson Powell and Tory Bellona are the galaxy’s top Star Scavengers. Travelling to distant planets, they hunt for valuable artefacts inside the wrecks of giant alien starships that mysteriously lie crashed and broken on every portal world.

Dr. Neil Anson Clemons was born at the very moment that men first landed on the moon and always strived to become an astronaut and reach the stars. Neil devoted his life to staying physically fit as any astronaut should be through martial arts and mentally fit by studying and becoming one of the world's foremost experts in quantum physics and gravitational theory. Now he and his team have achieved a breakthrough, both in building a warp drive, and finding a new energy source powerful enough to make the drive more than an interesting theoretical concept.