Space Science Fiction

Lieutenant Xedro Farren is a Primaris Marine, stronger and more adept than even the Space Marines his brotherhood is sent to fight alongside. As the Dark Angels and the Primaris Marines fight a trauma-scarred force of T’au hellbent on destroying their former allies, the true quarry becomes clear - the shadowy instigator of a psychic curse that could plunge a string of Imperial planets into madness. As worlds burn in the fires of battle, an unthinkable pact is struck, with the Primaris Marines peeling back layer after layer of deceit to find the appalling truth.

Two centuries ago, the First Expansionary Fleet set off to the farthest reaches of the galaxy, hoping to explore, colonize, and conquer new worlds in the name of humanity. But when the fleet was violently and unexpectedly thrown off course, the colonists found themselves trapped in an unexplored region of the galaxy—and caught right in the middle of a bloody interstellar war. Now, after generations of relentless fighting, a tentative truce has finally ushered in an era of growth and prosperity.

The best of the year's science fiction and fantasy stories as selected by the multiple award-winning editor Jonathan Strahan. Distant worlds, time travel, epic adventure, unseen wonders, and much more! The best, most original and brightest science fiction and fantasy stories from around the globe from the past 12 months are brought together in one collection by multiple award winning editor Jonathan Strahan.

The AI known as Reynolds is traversing the universe in search of the elusive Kurtherians, but when he realizes he needs a crew, he finds himself out of his element.

As Earth's faster-than-light spaceship hung in the void between galaxies, Arcot, Wade, Morey and Fuller could see below them, like a vast shining horizon, the mass of stars that formed their own island universe. Morey worked a moment with his slide rule, then said, "We made good time." But suddenly, far off to their left and far to their right, they saw two shining ships paralleling their course....

A Fire Upon the Deep is the big, breakout book that fulfills the promise of Vinge's career to date: a gripping tale of galactic war told on a cosmic scale. Thousands of years hence, many races inhabit a universe where a mind's potential is determined by its location in space, from superintelligent entities in the Transcend, to the limited minds of the Unthinking Depths, where only simple creatures and technology can function.

For a decade, peace has reigned in interstellar space. A tripartite agreement between the Colonial Union, the Earth, and the alien Conclave has kept the forces of war at bay, even when some would have preferred to return to the fighting and struggle of former times. For now, more sensible heads have prevailed – and have even championed unity. But now, there is a new force that threatens the hard-maintained peace: The Consu, the most advanced intelligent species humans have ever met, are on the cusp of a species-defining civil war.

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.

The next adventure in the High Republic begins expanding the new era of Star Wars, with a story set generations before Light of the Jedi. It is an age of exploration. Jedi travel the galaxy, expanding their understanding of the Force and all the worlds and beings connected by it. Meanwhile, the...

The Starsplinters are aeldari corsairs, raiders and reavers of the void, and Baron Myrin Stormdawn is one of their greatest leaders. When his running conflict with the Badskab Bukkaneers of Uzgul da Magnificent escalates in unexpected ways, Myrin is forced into an alliance with Taenar Leotharan, an exiled admiral from his former home – the craftworld Ilmaren. As Taenar is forced to adapt to the unfettered life of the corsair, whose freedom is a double-edged sword, Myrin faces challenges of his own.

John Donovan is a Frontiersman: smuggler, pilot, and professional debtor. He'll haul anything for the right price—cargo, cattle, fugitives, even a preacher with secrets too big to pray away. When a desperate job takes him through the forbidden space of the warlike Peko, Donovan figures it's just another high-risk run. Between hostile aliens, scavenger pirates, and a haunted luxury cruiser adrift in the void, Donovan and his mismatched crew are in for the ride of their lives.

Crispin Marlowe grew up in his brother’s shadow, but Hadrian is gone, and his grandmother - the Duchess of Delos - is dying. Answering her summons, Crispin takes off on what should be a routine flight to the ducal palace from the castle at Devil’s Rest. But he is flying into a trap. There are whispers of treachery among the duchess’s many daughters, rumors of hidden knives in the planet’s court...if he can even make it there.

Merritt Alder is done with Earth. The planet is polluted and overpopulated, and its people are hungry. Earth's first colony, Galena, is a pioneer world 10,000 light-years away. It has clean air, unpolluted water, and continents of arable land. Anyone can start a new life…if they can get there. For Merritt, the journey is only the beginning. Obstacles arise every step of the way, forcing compromise and sacrifice. And not everyone on his ship is pure of heart.

Our universe is ruled by physics, and faster-than-light travel is not possible - until the discovery of The Flow, an extradimensional field we can access at certain points in space-time that transports us to other worlds, around other stars. Humanity flows away from Earth, into space, and in time forgets our home world and creates a new empire, the Interdependency, whose ethos requires that no one human outpost can survive without the others. It's a hedge against interstellar war - and a system of control for the rulers of the empire.

Matt Dodson reports to the Colorado base of the Interplanetary Patrol, a new cadet with a fierce desire to become a member of the Patrol, which for over a century has kept the peace throughout the Solar System. Matt and fellow cadets soon leave the Earth base for training on Terra Station, where they learn, among other things, astrogation, survival skills, alien languages and how to maneuver in outer space. Matt loves the Patrol and finds, upon returning for a visit to his family in Iowa, that his real “home” is no longer on Earth.

Once again, reluctant hero Commissar Cain is catapulted into glory in the fourth instalment of this tremendously popular series. Escaping from a disastrous space battle, the commissar and his malodorous sidekick Jurgen crash-land behind enemy lines. Even the sly Cain can't avoid a straight fight this time, as the only way out is to round up what few troops they can find and fight their way back to safety. Unfortunately, hundreds of thousands of barbaric alien orks stand in their way.

The first phase of the Indomitus Crusade is drawing to a close. Vast swathes of Imperium Sanctus are back under tentative Imperial control. Still the primarch Roboute Guilliman faces wars on every front. His desire to cross the Great Rift to save Imperium Nihilus remains strong, even as news of renewed assaults on Ultramar draw his attention home. The Avenging Son must delay his return home and head to the galactic south, taking a large part of the crusade with him, for the menace of the necrons is gathering strength.

In the stunning continuation of the epic adventure begun in Hyperion, Simmons returns us to a far future resplendent with drama and invention. On the world of Hyperion, the mysterious Time Tombs are opening. And the secrets they contain mean that nothing - nothing anywhere in the universe - will ever be the same.

Saint Sabbat has returned, and she is being hunted by the deadliest of assassins. Gaunt's Ghosts must fight to protect her - but can they defend against treachery from within? It's the culmination of a massive story arc that sees tragedy strike even as the Sabbat Worlds Crusade is given new hope with the reappearance of the Saint herself. Mysticism and warfare collide, with compelling results.

Removed from the concerns of the galaxy at large and regarding the Warmaster's unfolding Heresy with cold detachment, he has dedicated his hollow existence to the preservation of all the knowledge once held in the great libraries of Tizca, should mankind ever seek such enlightenment again. But his sons can see the change in their primarch - he is a broken soul whose mind and memories are slipping away into the tumult of the warp.