System Fantasy

Even centuries later, the final decades of the 20th century are still regarded as one of the darkest and most perilous chapters in the history of humanity. Now, as an ancient and forbidden technology tempts mankind once more, Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise must probe deep into the secrets of the past, to discover the true origins of the dreaded Eugenics Wars - and of perhaps the greatest foe he has ever faced.

Arthur Ward is no stranger to loss. Life has taken from him time and time again. With the descent of the Grand System, he almost believed things might have changed. Unfortunately, the world is not so kind a place. Arthur finally knows why he's been struggling so much with his magic, and the answer reveals a fate more dire than anything he could have ever imagined. Ether is the least of his worries when death itself looms on the horizon, the destruction of his very being.

In a world where deceit shaped its history, a new era of rifts dawns. Red rifts, harbingers of divine wrath, bring forth gods and monsters, challenging humanity's very existence. As anarchy rises, the remnants of humanity cling to survival, relying on the Hunters who brave these rifts to keep them at bay. Amidst the chaos, the so-called heroes maintain their rule over the fractured land, backed by the powerful Association that seeks to control the coming change. But change is inevitable, and Sloan will be at the heart of it.

It has been over two years since the System arrived on Earth, leaving survivors fighting to rebuild and save humanity. Thanks to the help of a creature thought to be a legend, Jason and his friends have a path to discovering the truth behind what has happened. The System has been stacked against them, but these quests give them a chance to level the playing field against those off-worlders trying to exploit Earth and its people. Although the team has never wanted to be in charge, they are now Earth’s best hope of remaining in control of their own destiny.

The U.S.S. Enterprise is the site for a wedding that will unite two powerful rival families of the Tizarin. But Captain Picard's happiness is soon cut short by the arrival of Lwaxana Troi, the nagging mother of ship's counsellor Deanna Troi, and the notorious, all-powerful Q, who has come to examine and challenge the human concept of love. Read by Majel Barrett and John de Lancie!

Thomas Grimshaw thought the hardest part of his day was going to be scaling a sheer wall in Yosemite on his climbing trip, but the inscrutable gods had other plans. In a flash, they terraformed the planet and imposed the rules of the Great Game. Why Earth? Why do the gods compete against each other? Do the human ‘players’ have free will, or are they mere pawns? Why was he given a special class option to select from?

A sliver of humanity abandons Earth, forced into the skies because genetically enhanced monsters rule the world. Four hundred years later, the Salvation Fleet returns, desperate to unload their overcrowded decks. Darcy—the AI mastermind who controls the fleet—uses competitions called the Reincarnation Trials to determine who becomes a council member and who earns the right to join the first colony.

Ominous Obelisks land on Earth with a single message: Join the Games to give humanity a fighting chance to survive... or roll over and die. Too bad for them, Warren isn't the rolling-over type. The Empire is up to something. Warren and his cohort of unlikely heroes have just discovered that the game has been stacked against them. Someone really wants to harvest Earth's resources... And Warren just might know what that resource is... Turns out that Earth has an abundance of a particular mineral that just might make it the richest planet... well, anywhere. If they survive the games, that is.

For John, death was merely the beginning. Transmigrating into a new world granted him an opportunity to change his view on life. With power and immortality as new goals, he is willing to pay any price. Unfortunately, there are those willing to take advantage of him and his unfamiliarity with a new world. Shadows behind the curtains, unwilling to reveal themselves, will trick him into doing their bidding.

Youth by Isaac Asimov is a clever and heartwarming science fiction short story that captures the boundless imagination of childhood against the backdrop of an alien encounter.

Is our sun behaving differently from other stars? When an amateur astronomer discovers something strange on telescopic solar pictures, an explanation must be found. Is it merely artifact? Or has he found something totally unexpected? An expert international crew is hastily assembled, a spaceship is speedily repurposed, and the foursome is sent on the ride of their lives. What challenges will they face on this spur-of-the-moment mission to our central star?

As a software developer from Texas, Tom thought he understood broken code. But when mysterious obelisks transform Earth into a glitch-riddled dungeon crawler, he discovers that debugging the apocalypse won't be as easy as turning it off and back on again. Their lifeline? Vending machines turned into miniature storefronts. These mechanical saviors dispensed everything from swords to shampoo—until they started dispensing death.

Qualityland, Marc-Uwe Kling's first book to be translated into English, is a brilliantly clever, illuminating satire in the tradition of Kurt Vonnegut, Douglas Adams, and George Orwell that offers a visionary, frightening, and all-too funny glimpse at a near future we may be hurtling toward faster than it's at all comfortable to admit. So why delay any longer? TheShop already knows you're going to love this book. You may as well head to the cash register, crack the covers, and see why that is for yourself.

Mark and the ones he loves are forced to explore an abandoned space resort until a connection is made that opens an alternate path. With the help of his Enthralled, he finally steps out of his ChronoMind immersion rig and back into the real world. The battlefield becomes much wider as Mark, Ahnix, Vale, and Roo must make new friends and face dangerous enemies across both digital and post-apocalyptic landscapes before they can hope to find the peace they deserve.

Das System ist da! Ein Großteil der Bevölkerung des Planeten wurde plötzlich in Zombies verwandelt. Alle anderen erhielten neue Fähigkeiten. Fähigkeiten, die es ihnen ermöglichen, vor den Zombies zu fliehen, sich zu retten, zu verstecken und zu versuchen, irgendwie zu überleben. Aber es reicht ein Biss. Denn der bedeutet fast immer den Tod. Als die Apokalypse hereinbrach, stand unser Held gerade in der Schlange. Er hatte Glück, denn zuerst steckte er mitten in einer Menschenmenge, dann versuchten die Zombies, ihn ins Bein zu beißen. Und diese Umstände verhalfen ihm zu neuen Fähigkeiten!

More potatoes for the Potato Lord! More workers for the potato plantations! I have mastered the Mage, resisted Temptation, and even learned to brew my own System Cider. But soon the curtain between System zones will fall. What waits behind it? People? People on boars?!

"Je m'énerve quand les humains ne valorisent pas mon travail, mais un excès de reconnaissance me perturbe aussi, c'est à ne rien y comprendre. La conscience, ça craint.". Thibaut Delmotte prête une nouvelle fois son timbre versatile à l'AssaSynth, plus humain que jamais.

There is a huge, bold black streak in the sky. Branches appear out of nowhere over North America, Southern Europe, and Central Africa. People who live beneath The Rift can see it. But scientists worldwide are distressed - their equipment cannot pick up any type of signal from it. The rift appears to consist of nothing. Literally. Nothing. Nada. Niente. Most people are curious but not overly concerned. The phenomenon seems to pose no danger. It is just there. Then something jolts the most hardened naysayers, and surpasses the worst nightmares of the world's greatest scientists.

It's been 10 years since Handry was wrenched away from his family and friends, forced to wander a world he no longer understood. But with the help of the Ancients, he has cobbled together a life, of sorts, for himself and his fellow outcasts. Wandering from village to village, welcoming the folk that the townships abandon, fighting the monsters the villagers cannot - or dare not - his ever-growing band of misfits has become the stuff of legend, a story told by parents to keep unruly children in line.

Ryan DeBruyn presents Book 1 in the New System, Who Dis? series.