System Fiction

Dr. Alfred Clarendon, once praised as a brilliant researcher, now spirals into darkness as his forbidden experiments unleash consequences he can no longer control. Isolated inside the California State Penitentiary, haunted by the failures of his fever research and manipulated by his mysterious assistant Surama, Clarendon descends into a psychological labyrinth where ambition eclipses ethics.

Getting dragged into an alien world was not high on Elias Critchley's to-do list. One moment, he's trying to avoid eye contact with people on the school bus. The next, he's suspended mid-air in a bizarre tutorial and dumped—naked—into a dangerous, System-bound world where survival is far from guaranteed. With nothing but his sarcasm, stubborn streak, dry wit and a few skills from his old life, Elias must navigate a world that feels like the games he used to play… only now, dying doesn't come with a respawn.

Colony 76 is silent. Distracted by civil war, its mother planet Kasian has been unable to reconnect. Until now. Catina, an Acolyte stuck within her Tests, spearheads a mission of mercy. Though each crew member has their own motives for being there, they must all band together to make it home.

Humanity has colonized over 500 planets under the not-always-benevolent administration of the Federation of Planetary States via the FED Army and Navy. Longstanding grievances over economic exploitation by Earth-based companies have grown into a full-scale rebellion, and attempted secession has been tried by many of the more successful colonies. The Rebels believe a peaceful separation is possible. The FEDs believe an easy and swift military resolution is available.

The Garden of Survival by Algernon Blackwood is a deeply introspective and emotionally resonant novel that explores the fragile boundaries between love, memory, remorse, and spiritual endurance. Written in the early twentieth century, this lesser-known work showcases Blackwood’s mastery of psychological depth and quiet metaphysical inquiry beyond his more overt supernatural tales.

Knells plans have begun to come together. His crew grows larger and more powerful with every passing day, and rumors of Captain Sorfina's death have already started to spread but not all attention is beneficial. A group who have lurked in the shadows for centuries are moving once more, and their leaders motives are just as shrouded as their past. More pieces enter the board of looming war, and Knells crew finds itself at the center of everything, whether they want to be or not.

SHOCKS Victoria lies in ruins. Claire defeated her best friend and biggest enemy. Now, she turns her eyes southward, toward the Olympic Peninsula, where the battle's survivors have fled. SHOCKS's director has an idea to weaponize Claire's power, and her best friend and father are traveling with them. Claire wants them back, and she wants that idea under wraps.

Everything is going according to plan. Ivan Susanin has successfully installed a beacon in the undead territory and returned home. The situation changes when the next mission to the city of goblins is delayed, while his home planet becomes the battleground. Monsters invade Earth, and Ivan must become one of the leaders and unite the players under his banner, albeit within the borders of his own country. If circumstances demand that he discloses his identity and cooperates with the authorities, so be it! Modern weapons and equipment, instructors, financing, and protection by law....

The first stage is complete. Ivan Susanin has managed to survive and, together with the other leaders, unite the various players into the Alliance. Yet this is only the beginning. A huge goblin army is approaching from the city outskirts, while the undead roam inside the city. The people from Earth are stuck between a rock and a hard place. The only way to escape another massacre is to capture the goblin fortress and hold out until the end of the mission - or to abandon their wounded and scatter, hoping to avoid getting killed.

Nobody Saw the Ship by Murray Leinster is a tense and quietly unsettling science fiction novelette that explores first contact from a chillingly indifferent perspective. When a small alien scout ship lands on Earth completely unnoticed, its lone occupant—an advanced being known as the Qul-En—begins a covert biological mission essential to its species’ survival. What follows is a methodical and increasingly disturbing search for a rare hormone, extracted through brutal experimentation on Earth’s wildlife.

The Other Now by Murray Leinster is a haunting and emotionally resonant science fiction novella that explores love, grief, and the fragile boundaries of reality itself. When Jimmy Patterson is left shattered by the death of his wife, Jane, his quiet mourning is disrupted by unsettling anomalies—familiar moments replayed out of sequence, a doorway that seems charged with meaning, and diary entries written in Jane’s unmistakable hand after her passing.

Beautifully read by Indira Varma and poignantly told, Marking Time is the second novel in Elizabeth Jane Howard’s bestselling family saga The Cazalet Chronicles, set during the onset of World War II. 'Compelling, moving, unputdownable . . . Maybe my favourite books ever' - Marian Keyes...

The Second World War has finally ended and so begins a new era of freedom and opportunity for the Cazalet family in Casting Off, the fourth novel in Elizabeth Jane Howard's magnificent Cazalet Chronicles. Read by Indira Varma (Game of Thrones, Luther and Oedipus at The Old Vic). 'Compelling...

When Mia Strong, proud geek girl and popular gaming blogger, auctions off her virginity online, she knows she'll make waves. But what she will not be making is a love connection. Her rules are set in stone: One night. No further contact.

Set in the height of the Second World War, The Cazalet Chronicles continues with the third in the series, Confusion, where chaos has become a way of life for the Cazalet family. Read by Indira Varma (Game of Thrones, Luther and Oedipus at The Old Vic) 'Compelling, moving, unputdownable...

Dennoch wird es für Hal Mason kein Kinderspiel sein, die System-Apokalypse zu überleben. Während er einen Kautionsflüchtling dingfest macht, unterbrechen ihn durchsichtige, blaue Fenster. Sie kündigen es an: Das System – eine Welle strukturierter mystischer Energie, die Galaxien umspannt, alle Elektronik zerstört und der Menschheit Fähigkeiten aus Videospielen verleiht.

Major Larry Randall has been called to Pluto to retrieve Dr. Aaron Mikelson. Mikelson, no longer human after a horrific accident, is now melded to an AI. His enhanced senses have detected an alien artifact on Pluto’s surface, and he’s not leaving without it. Transferred to the research vessel studying Pluto, Randall and the other scientists are stumped as to the artifact’s purpose and origin. Looking for similar signs of aliens they make their way to Pluto’s moon, Charon, where, buried deep under its icy surface, something stirs―and wakes.

Feeling the high of holding back the Punishment Squad, Clyde decides it is time to tackle down an adventure quest that glared at him on the log for a while: weaken Natalia’s curse. Something like this should be a walk in the park, right? Nobody thinks that. And a clusterf--k things became: a trip to the Monster Kingdoms that is hosted by Lilith the Supreme Demon Lord herself, the Bright Ones appearing for the first time, and an epic loli rematch that you don’t want to miss.

Proposing to tear has some very steep consequences. The supreme Demon Lord has sent her inquisition to retrieve the noble succubus. Clyde and Team Stone weren’t going to stand for it, but...perhaps they may have bitten off a bit more than they could chew. Doomsday. And one man’s stand against an inquisition of one hundred. Drop everything now because you don’t want to miss this. Clyde and his party is back in June 2019's issue, bringing the humor and fun, ass-kicking, and the rising from weak to completely unstoppable. And there may be an unexpected, but adorable surprise.

Jonah of the Jove-Run by Ray Bradbury is a poignant, thought-provoking science fiction novella that explores the fragile boundary between human intuition and machine precision in the age of space exploration. Set in a future where humanity has colonized Mars and pushes onward toward Jupiter, the story centers on Nibley—an aging, underestimated navigator whose instinctive grasp of cosmic movement defies the cold logic of computers.