Space Science Fiction

When petty criminal Cal Carver is locked in a cell with a deranged, semi-naked cannibal, he suspects his life has hit its lowest point. He is mistaken. Abducted by aliens and whisked across the galaxy, Cal is thrown into a team of misfits and criminals and sent on a top secret mission for the president of Space. And that's when everything starts to go very, very wrong....

With The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume 3, award-winning editor Neil Clarke provides a year-in-review and 27 of the best stories published by both new and established authors in 2017.

The Space Warfare Group books are a new kind of space thriller with likeable characters, hardcore military action, dark political conspiracies, and compelling world building. Mac and the Space Warfare Group are back! Following the tragic events of Into the Darkness, Major Malcom “Mac” Lambert gets a second chance to hunt down the conspirators behind the ambush that started it all. Driven by vengeance and partnering with an old friend, Mac’s investigation leads to the planet Okuta, during the most important Galactic Coalition Summit in a generation.

After Isstvan, after Deliverance, the Raven Guard still endure. Their primarch Corvus Corax has rallied countless warriors to his banner, striking back at the forces of the Warmaster on every front - from the degenerate hereteks of the Mechanicum to the cruel legionaries of the Sons of Horus, none shall escape his wrath. But although Corax has managed to stall the physical corruption of his own Space Marines, what of their spirit? And what sinister end must await those who dwell forever in the darkness?

Captain Konrad Bradley commands the decommissioned battleship Oberon, the last remaining Titan of the fleet. Mocked as a flying museum-too expensive, too cumbersome, too old-Bradley and his crew of outcasts from a long-vanished colony lead a dull life on the farthest edge of human hegemony. Bradley's hope to go quietly into the night ends with the arrival of the legendary Strike Group 2 and the delivery of a secret so great it could end the war. That's why Lagunia was chosen for its construction.

Evan Marshall was a decorated Marine until a deadly mistake ended his career. Now he drifts between dead-end jobs and cheap motels, running from a guilt he can’t escape. When his estranged sister dies, Evan heads home carrying more regret than hope, uncertain whether anything of his old life can still be salvaged. A garage sale find. A cheap gift for the nephew who hates him. That’s all the toy starship was supposed to be. Instead, the simple peace offering opens the door to something far more unbelievable, extraordinary, and dangerous than he ever imagined.

In his previous life, Liam played by the rules and lost--this time, he'll rise to the top on the side of evil! After protecting Prince Cleo from Prince Linus's assassination attempts, another prince's actions are leading to something much worse: the Empire being invaded! Liam is caught in this brewing conflict and racks up enemies inside and outside the Empire, but two individuals step up to the plate to challenge him personally...while claiming to be fellow disciples of the Way of the Flash! Can Liam cut through these conflicts and still take care of his domain?

Rivka Anoa has a gift and a galactic mandate. She's a lawyer accused of a murder she did commit. She stands ready to accept her fate, even though her victim was a murderer. A second chance appears. Become more than a lawyer. Be one who judges and punishes the guilty. Could she look herself in the mirror after meting out justice? She's about to find out. Rivka heads to space to be the Judge, Jury, & Executioner. Criminals have nowhere to go.

From a New York Times bestselling and Hugo award-winning author comes a modern masterwork of science fiction, introducing a captain, his crew, and a detective as they unravel a horrifying solar system wide conspiracy that begins with a single missing girl. Now a Prime Original series. Humanity...

As Chinese and US spacecraft compete to be the first to land on Mars, a former astronaut, his cousin, and four teens from Florida decide to take matters into their own hands. If they can quickly build their own space-worthy ship using scrap metal, appliances, and power tools, they have a chance to come from behind - thanks to an inventive new power source that can propel them to the Red Planet within three days. No guts, no glory.

Decades after the last footprints were left on the Moon, the US was preparing to return to the Lunar surface in a new class of rockets, when the mission suddenly became much more urgent. It would have to be a rescue mission. Unbeknownst to the rest of the world China had sent its own Lunar expedition. A manned expedition. Until a distress call was received, no human outside of China even knew that the mission was manned - or that their ship had crash-landed and couldn't take off again.

When the world of Armageddon is attacked by orks, the Black Templars Space Marine Chapter are amongst those sent to liberate it. Chaplain Grimaldus and a band of Black Templars are charged with the defence of Hive Helsreach from the xenos invaders in one of the many battle zones. But as the orks' numbers grow and the Space Marines' numbers dwindle, Grimaldus faces a desperate last stand in an Imperial temple.

It is the dawn of the 21st century, and America is in trouble. Public schools breed apathy and ignorance, and politics has become the art of the quick fix. There is one woman, though, who has both the vision and the money to leverage change. Mariesa Gorley van Huyten, heiress to one of the great American fortunes, is determined to bring America, and the rest of the world, back on track. She founds an educational subsidiary in hopes of raising a new, less cynical generation.

Humanity finally reaches the stars—only to collide with new life in the most human way possible. War and politics. Crash McDuff, pilot and professional pain in the ass, is just a cog in the machine. He never expected more—until he's captured by the Trask Imperium. His captor, the reserved and enigmatic Kreemak, offers Crash a glimpse of something different. For the first time, survival isn’t the only goal. But adjusting to life behind enemy lines isn’t easy.

The Carryx—part empire, part hive—has waged wars of conquest for centuries, destroying or enslaving species across the galaxy in its conflict with an ancient and deathless enemy. When they descend on the isolated world of Anjiin, the human population is abased, slaughtered, and put in chains. The best and brightest are abducted, taken to the Carryx world-palace to join prisoners from a thousand other species. Dafyd Alkhor, assistant to a prestigious scientist, is captured along with his team.

Huron Blackheart is the lord of the Red Corsairs, master of the lawless Maelstrom and its piratical denizens—but oathbreakers and renegades can seldom rely on the loyalty of their followers. With the galaxy thrown into turmoil by the return of Roboute Guilliman, the former Tyrant of Badab faces a renewed Imperium and fresh challengers emerging within his own ranks. Huron must call on every trick he knows to stay in control—and alive.

The Custodian Guard have stood watch over the Emperor's Palace on Terra since the foundation of the Imperium. Charged with protecting the Master of Mankind from all threats, within and without, their fearsome resolve is renowned throughout the galaxy, and their golden armour is the last thing that a would-be assassin or saboteur will ever see.

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...

Terra is besieged. The outcome of the war lies on a knife edge. The Warmaster Horus’ bloody seven-year crusade has led to this – the cradle of humanity, where he is to kill his father, the Emperor. With the war at this critical juncture, Sanguinius, primarch of the loyalist Blood Angels, braves the horrors of the Warmaster’s flagship, The Vengeful Spirit, with a single purpose in mind – to slay his brother Horus, decapitate the Heresy once and for all, and stop the forces of Chaos from taking Terra.

The galaxy is burning. With the Cielcin united under one banner, the Sollan Empire stands alone after the betrayal of the Commonwealth. The Prophet-King of the Cielcin has sent its armies to burn the worlds of men, and worse, there are rumors … whispers that Hadrian Marlowe is dead, killed in the fighting. But it is not so. Hadrian survived with the help of the witch, Valka, and together they escaped the net of the enemy having learned a terrible truth: the gods that the Cielcin worship are real and will not rest until the universe is dark and cold.