Saturday, January 30, 2021

Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month for January 2021

Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month
It’s that time of the month again, time for “Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month”.

So what is “Indie Speculative Fiction of the Month”? It’s a round-up of speculative fiction by indie and small press authors (as well as the occasional Big 5 book) newly published this month, though some December books I missed the last time around snuck in as well. The books are arranged in alphabetical order by author. So far, most links only go to Amazon.com, though I may add other retailers for future editions.

Once again, we have new releases covering the whole broad spectrum of speculative fiction. This month, we have epic fantasy, urban fantasy, historical fantasy, gaslamp fantasy, sword and sorcery, paranormal mysteries, supernatural thrillers, technothrillers, science fiction thrillers, space opera, military science fiction, post-apocalyptic fiction, Cyberpunk, Steampunk, horror, LitRPG, speculative poetry, vampires, demons, goblins, muses, goddesses, haunted houses, mechas, first contact, interstellar wars, superheroes, dread worms, dark gods, barbarian kings, crime-busting witches, crime-busting ghosts, murderous artificial intelligences, death retired and much more.

As always, I know the authors at least vaguely, but I haven’t read all of the books, so Caveat emptor.

And now on to the books without further ado:

Speculate by Eugen Bacon and Dominque HecqSpeculate: A Collection by Microlit by Eugen Bacon and Dominique Hecq:

From what began as a dialog between two adventurous writers curious about the shape-shifter called a prose poem comes a stunning collection that is a disruption of language-a provocation. Speculate is a hybrid of speculative poetry and flash fiction, thrumming in a pulse of jouissance and intensity that chases the impossible.

One might describe some pieces as complex, relentless, but above all, speculating or crossing borders in the fantastic playground of language. We invite you to leap onto the stage of your own imaginings, plunge into what Henry James called the house of fiction.

This is how we envision ours:

A single detached house tossed out of Speculate settles across your dreams. Skin, paper-thin, desiccated and scripted like a collage, covers the absence of doors, thresholds, verandas, stairways and footpaths. But there are windows and louvers that look out to rain-licked grasslands. This is a house unsealed, with the sky art and earth art washed or rolled into each other on adjacent floors and walls. The roof, unlettered, is made of two sliding suns of creamed panels, foundation-like. Round the back is a rope ladder that will win you over. Up, up you go. Enter with care as you would any fiction that blurs the boundaries of genre, mode or form, that goes beyond the written and borrows from the unwritten. Together we can interweave art with language and watch it shape itself anew in an endless process of spontaneity and play because we can be here and there and away, all at once.

-Dominique Hecq and Eugen Bacon

The Plains of Shadow by Richard Blakemore and Cora BuhlertThe Plains of Shadow by Richard Blakemore and Cora Buhlert:

Long before Kurval became King of Azakoria, he was a guard captain in service to the tyrannical King Talgat of the land Temirzhan beyond the sea.

One day, Talgat orders Kurval to escort the condemned witch Aelisia to the Plains of Shadow and behead her, so her blood may feed the dark gods who dwell there.

However, Kurval does not want to execute the sentence, once he learns that Aelisia is innocent of the crimes of which she has been accused.

But if he lets Aelisia go free, Kurval will not only have to face the wrath of Talgat but also the fury of the dark gods who dwell upon the Plains of Shadow.

This is a novelette of 9800 words or approx. 33 print pages in the Kurval sword and sorcery series, but may be read as a standalone. Includes an introduction and afterword.

Worm Fodder by Richard Blakemore and Cora BuhlertWorm Fodder by Richard Blakemore and Cora Buhlert:

After a hunt, King Kurval of Azakoria and his entourage make camp at the village of Ogwall. However, something is not right in the village. All men of fighting age are away at a mysterious ritual and the remaining villagers are clearly afraid of something.

Kurval investigates and learns that the mysterious ritual in the woods involves sacrificing the young Celisa to the dread worm Thibunoth.

Kurval is furious, for he outlawed human sacrifice in the kingdom of Azakoria. And so he sets out to save Celisa, deal with the monster and punish those who would violate the ban on human sacrifice.

This is a novelette of 9600 words or approx. 32 print pages in the Kurval sword and sorcery series, but may be read as a standalone. Includes an introduction and afterword.

Blind Date with a Supervillain by H.L. BurkeBlind Date with a Supervillain by H.L. Burke:

Juggling life as a superhero with college and a social life is hard, but Shawn Park, AKA Surge, feels he's killing it. Things look even brighter when he makes a connection with the sweet but shy new barista at his favorite coffee shop. Maybe a guy really can have it all ... but appearances can be deceiving.

Apparition just wants her supervillain father to be proud of her, and she'll do anything to accomplish that: even disguise herself as mild-mannered coffee shop employee Nikki to get close to the superhero he's stalking. However, between his charming smile and kind words, she finds herself hopelessly drawn tp the good natured Shawn.

As the chemistry between Shawn and Nikki sizzles, the tension between Surge and Apparition grows. If he finds out the truth, they could be headed for something far more explosive than the average breakup.

Wherever Seeds May Fall by Peter CawdronWherever Seeds May Fall by Peter Cawdron:

The Prince of Darkness is coming. Comet Anduru skimmed the clouds of Saturn. Rather than being drawn into the gas giant, it skipped back out into space. With the comet heading for Jupiter, speculation is mounting it’s an alien spacecraft making its way to Earth. Lieutenant Colonel Nolan Landis and Dr. Kath McKenzie are caught between an angry public and an anxious President as they grapple with the scientific, social, and political implications of First Contact.

FIRST CONTACT is a series of stand-alone novels that explore the concept of humanity's first interaction with extraterrestrial life. Like BLACK MIRROR or THE TWILIGHT ZONE, the series is based on a common theme rather than common characters, allowing these books to be read in any order. Technically, they're all first as they all deal with how we might initially respond to contact with aliens, exploring the social, political, religious, and scientific aspects of First Contact.

The Brass Queen by Elizabeth ChatsworthThe Brass Queen by Elizabeth Chatsworth:

She knows a liar when she sees one.
He knows a fraud when he meets one.

In a steam-powered world, Miss Constance Haltwhistle is the last in a line of blue-blooded rogues. Selling firearms under her alias, the “Brass Queen,” she has kept her baronial estate’s coffers full. But when US spy J. F. Trusdale saves her from assassins, she’s pulled into a search for a scientist with an invisibility serum. As royal foes create an invisible army to start a global war, Constance and Trusdale must learn to trust each other. If they don’t, the world as they know it will disappear before their eyes.

If you like the Parasol Protectorate or the Invisible Library series, you’ll love this gaslamp fantasy—a rambunctious romantic romp that will have you both laughing out loud and wishing you owned all of Miss Haltwhistle's armaments.

The Fury of Angels by Julian M. ColemanThe Fury of Angels by Julian M. Coleman:

It's the late 1800s, and Sara's mother is a witch. It's the 21st century, and Sammy is trapped in prep school hell. The identical besties are doomed to immortality. It's their lethal rage that makes them efficient killers.

Scions of Humanity by M.D. CooperScions of Humanity by M.D. Cooper:

The Orion War is over and new peace is spreading...

It will take centuries for the legacy of the prior conflict to fade away, conflicts spurred on by diasporas and resource restrictions that will ripple through the Perseus, Orion, and Sagittarius arms of the galaxy.

Yet in the wake of those final battles comes a reprieve, a new peace maintained by the knowledge that total war is too devastating to even contemplate, that the weapons employed--should they come into common use--would lay waste to the galaxy.

Admiral Tanis Richards, the former Field Marshal, wishes nothing more than to retire to her lakehouse and stare out over the rippling waters for a year or two, but knows she cannot. For the greatest enemy that humanity and free AIs have ever faced waits for her at the galactic core. Epsilon, a powerful AI, his nodes filling an entire world, is has his mind bent on remaking the universe, and organic life is not in the blueprint.

Though they yearn to enjoy the fruits of their labors, Tanis and her allies must prepare for one final battle against the scions of the human race. They must prepare to fight The Ascension War.

The Cemetery Ghost by Amy CrossThe Cemetery Ghost by Amy Cross:

As she explores a snowy cemetery, Elizabeth Shaw is shocked to come across a strange little boy. Although he remembers his name, Patrick has no idea where he comes from, and a moment later he vanishes into thin air.

Meanwhile, a mysterious man moves into the nearby rectory. Determined to recover a dangerous book, Jerome Shand starts by torturing the spirits of a family who died many years ago. When that approach fails, however, Shand realizes that he only has one option left. He needs to find the last remaining ghost of the Munce family, a young boy named Patrick who disappeared after he and his family were murdered seventy years earlier...

Soon, Elizabeth and Patrick discover that leaving the past behind isn't as easy as they'd hoped. Dark forces are waiting in the shadows of the rectory, and an evil force is desperate to break free. Can Patrick stop Shand, or will the ancient Lochdale Book finally spill its evil secrets into the world?

Dawn Breaker by Pippa DaCostaDawn Breaker by Pippa DaCosta:

With Rafe missing, demons claiming half the night station, and the vampire queen closing in, Lynher and Kensey are left with nowhere to hide. Backed into a corner, they must fight.

But can two human orphans harness the magic of the night station to stand against the vampire queen?

California Demon by Debra DunbarCalifornia Demon by Debra Dunbar:

In New Hell, only the monsters survive.

Eden Alvaro is a licensed Vulture, picking through the aftermath of violence in demon-plagued LA, and fencing her finds to help support her family. But when a crooked cop reports her for a salvage she didn’t take, all hell breaks loose.

Stripped of her license, Eden finds herself with a price on her head. When the mercenaries hunting her raid her home, brutalize her family and abduct one of her sisters, Eden turns to the enigmatic Bishop—a man with a reputation for violence who, for the right price, can find just about anything or anyone.

With time running out to find her sister before she’s sold into slavery, Eden is determined to get her back—even if she has to slaughter her way through a gang affiliated with the traffickers and face down one of the powerful demons in control of the city.

She’ll need every bit of her burgeoning magical powers to bring her sister back alive—and she’ll need to put herself in debt to Bishop. But when it comes to her family, no price is too high for Eden to pay.

Muse Delusion by T.K. FlorMuse Delusion by T.K. Flor:

A lost manuscript. A woman determined to find it. A man who finds her irresistible.

In NYC, freelance consultant Jack Ellis – still grieving after the death of his beloved grandmother – finally starts to put his life back together. But his attempts to leave the past behind unravel when he meets Lisa, a storybook-beautiful woman who claims she came for a manuscript that Jack’s grandmother promised her. A manuscript Jack has never heard of.

Allured by her beauty and drawn to her impetuous personality, Jack joins Lisa in a search that takes them on an unexpected journey, casting the people he thought he knew in a whole new light.

There’s no doubt Lisa is a disruptive force, yet Jack cannot disentangle himself from her quirky and potentially dangerous intrusion. Lisa is all charm when it suits her, but can Jack accept her mysterious mental powers and embrace a woman who believes she is actually a muse from Mount Olympus?

Jotnar Snare by Rachel FordJotnar Snare by Rachel Ford:

A reclusive mountain race. A paradise under siege. A problem magic cannot solve.

When the Jotnar's mountain paradise is attacked by a seemingly all-powerful enemy, the race of giants must break their age-old rule and seek help from outsiders. They turn to the mage's university to understand the threat.

Apprentice Wizard Idun Wintermoon and blade-for-hire Liss Forlatt travel to the wintery mountain stronghold to aid the giantfolk. But to defeat a foe who turns the magic of his victims against them, they'll need to tap into strengths they didn't know they had.

To defeat a magic siphoning wizard, sometimes you need a magic-challenged sellsword.

The Dark lord Bert 2 by Chris FoxThe Dark Lord Bert 2 by Chris Fox:

How Does a 1 Hit Point Dark Lord Save the Real World?

Kit and her friends are gamers, but not the ordinary kind. It seems that Track Jick was right, and that people who play roleplaying games really are wizards and witches. Kit's game master uses a magical die to transport them to an alternate world where they can really become their characters, and forget all about the real world.

Unfortunately, during a power scuffle the d20 gets knocked into the game world. If they can't get it out then the game world will explode, and everything in it will die. Worse, to Kit's mind, their parents will be disbarred, and they'll never be able to play again.

Enter one tiny goblin with just a single hit point, but a heart large enough to save a fake world...if he can reach the d20 before the Dark Lord White 2.0. Along the way Bert will meet his fellow dark lords, and finally learn magic. Plus Boberton gets very large indeed.

The Valiant by J.J. GreenThe Valiant by J.J. Green:

King Arthur in outer space?

Endless warfare has ravaged Earth, and billions are desperate to escape. One of them is Taylan Ellis.

Driven from her home in the West Britannic Isles by an invasion and severed from her children, Taylan enlists with the Britannic Alliance, hoping she can help regain her homeland and find her kids.

But decades of internal conflict and terrestrial and space warfare have left the BA on the edge of collapse.

Then its battleship, the Valiant, picks up a distress signal. The rescuers break into a sealed chamber and find the apparently mummified remains of an Iron Age chieftain. Disappointed, they're about to leave when they discover the ‘mummy’ has a pulse.

Taylan suspects she knows who the mystery man is and what he’s capable of. If she’s right, can she convince her superiors and save the BA, her country, and her children?

The Valiant is book one in J.J. Green’s new space fantasy series, Star Legend.

Ghostly Wedding by Lily Harper HartGhostly Wedding by Lily Harper Hart:

Harper Harlow and Jared Monroe fell in love fast and hard. Finally, their big day is here.

They just need to solve a murder before they exchange their vows and take the next step to happily ever after.

Peter Humphrey, an insurance salesman from a neighboring town, appeared to be minding his own business when a woman came out of nowhere and struck him down while he was crossing the street. Harper witnessed the accident and vows to solve the murder before it’s time to leave on her honeymoon.

It might take more work than she realizes, though.

Peter was a normal guy, a father who doted on his daughter and was friendly with his ex-wife, and yet somehow he had a secret. His ghost points Harper toward Montgomery Manor, toward a woman who suffered her own tragedy almost two decades before.

On paper, Peter’s murder and the Montgomery tragedy shouldn’t be connected … and yet they are. It’s up to Jared and Harper to figure out how if they want to enjoy their wedding and what comes after … and they’re both determined to do it.

Some things are meant to be. Harper and Jared believe their union is one of those things.

Prepare yourselves, because this is one wedding you’ll never forget.

Alyx: An AI's Guide to Love and Murder by Brent A. HarrisAlyx: An AI's Guide to Love and Murder by Brent A. Harris:

Home is where the heart is. It’s where you go to feel safe with your loved ones.

But what if your home wanted you dead?

Tech-loving teen Christine makes fast friends with her home's AI, Alyx. But when a real-world romance threatens their bond, Alyx turns from friend to foe.

So Beckons the Abyss by Joel JenkinsSo Beckons the Abyss by Joel Jenkins:

The Cataclysm changed the face of the world, swallowing up modern cities and gleaming skyscrapers while vomiting up the ruins of ancient civilizations.Many governments and institutions collapsed, while others survived by reinventing themselves or reforming from the ashes of the old societies.During this time, a new sport of cutthroat cross-country vehicular racing developed and became an international sensation. The racers are worldwide celebrities, but dark and mystical forces are at work to control and use them.

On the Street Where Death Lives by Cate LawleyOn the Street Where Death Lives by Cate Lawley:

Skeletons in the closet

The living have them, but what about ghosts? Geoff's about to find out! He's convinced his ghostly neighbor Ginny was murdered. When he starts digging for answers, he unearths more than facts.

Join Geoff, his favorite bobcat Clarence, Sylvie and a gang of supernatural misfits as they investigate murders, both past and present!

Cooking for Cannibal by Rich LederCooking for Cannibals by Rich Leder:

Fountain of youth? More like murderous medication!

Carrie Kromer pushes the boundaries of science, not her social life. The brilliant behavioral gerontologist’s idea of a good time is hanging out with her beloved lab rats and taking care of her elderly mother and the other eccentric old folks at the nursing home. So no one is more surprised than Carrie when she steals the lab’s top-secret, experimental medicine for aging in reverse.

Two-time ex-con Johnny Fairfax dreams of culinary greatness. But when his corrupt parole officer tries to drag him from the nursing home kitchen, the suddenly young-again residents spring to his defense and murder the guy—and then request Johnny cook them an evidence-devouring dinner to satisfy their insatiable side-effect appetite.

As their unexpected mutual attraction gets hot, Carrie and Johnny find themselves caught up with the authorities who arrive to investigate the killing. But even more dangerous than the man-eating not-so-senior citizens could be the arrival of death-dealing pharmaceutical hitmen.

Can Carrie and Johnny find true love in all this bloody madness?

Cooking for Cannibals is a dark comic thriller with a heaping helping of romance. If you like fast-paced plots, unconventional characters, and humor that crosses the line, then you’ll have a feast with Rich Leder’s wild ride.

Buy Cooking for Cannibals and dig in to a side-splitting serving today!

Long, Hot, Witchy Summer by Amanda M. leeLong, Hot, Witchy Summer by Amanda M. Lee:

Life couldn’t be going much better for Hadley Hunter. She’s living the dream on Moonstone Bay with her boyfriend Galen Blackwood, plotting her next move as a witch for hire, and basically basking in happiness.

That all changes when a summer afternoon on the beach turns into a nightmare, an odd creature from the depths of the ocean surfacing and attacking Hadley on the beach. Her friend Lilac, a demon with a few issues, fights it off but it escapes … and becomes a problem for an island that bases its entire economy on tourism.

The all-powerful DDA isn’t happy. Lilac’s hair refuses to stop glowing red. Booker is struggling to help all his friends. Essentially, things turn messy quickly.

On top of that, Hadley’s father drops in out of nowhere and demands she return home. He’s not happy with what he hears about the island and decides it’s too dangerous for her to say. Hadley, of course, has other ideas and is determined to bring her father around to her way of thinking.

Between monsters popping up out of nowhere and her father’s inability to stop freaking out, Hadley has her hands full. The monsters keep popping up in the oddest places, and always their attention is on Hadley.

Monsters are nothing new for Hadley but the ones attacking now seem to be different. It’s up to Moonstone Bay’s newest witch and her motley crew of paranormal colleagues to solve a mystery and save the day. Again.

They just have to survive to do it.

Family Solstice by Kate MaruyamaFamily Solstice by Kate Maruyama:

The Massey family loves their house. It's been in the family for generations, and the land on which it sits has been with them even longer. In the summer everyone comes through to visit and the house is alive with family friends, barbecues and lobster boils. But come fall, the mood shifts as all of the kids start training for their turn in the basement.

Shea, the youngest Massey is training extra hard. She's thirteen and that means this is her year to battle on Solstice. Her older siblings won't tell her exactly what's in the basement, you don't know until you're fighting it. She's excited finally to be in the know.

She does know that whatever happens in the basement every December 21 makes it possible for the Masseys to spend the rest of the year enjoying their home and all that it brings. It is her family duty.

But something about this year is different. Mama's extra quiet this fall, and the house is breathing early.

Maruyama explores the dangers of tradition, inheritance, and the sins of the father in this horror novella.

Disposable Heroes by Gregory MattixDisposable Heroes by Gregory Mattix:

Boomer is a pretty simple guy for an alien hybrid. He runs on booze, caffeine, and junk food. He works as a bullet-resistant tank for a crew of street-running mercenaries. If someone needs hurting or something needs blowing up, he’s the guy to do it. It might not be the most glam life in Arutairu Megacity, but it’s his, and he’s rather attached to it.

When Boomer's team takes on a shady job with the promise of a stellar payday, the proverbial excrement quickly meets the fan, and hit squads come after him and his crew. Normally, a few amateur goons with guns would just make for good target practice, but he suddenly finds himself unable to protect his friends. His rapidly expanding list of problems soon includes double-crosses, femme fatales, a hybrid assassin wielding alien weaponry, and an army of mercs gunning for him and his rapidly dwindling crew. As if that mess wasn’t enough to deal with, he fears he might be losing his sanity as he blunders into the middle of a conspiracy so vast it will shake the foundations of the entire city.

What’s a dumb grunt like him to do? Get some bigger guns and fight back, of course. And make some bastards rue the days they were born.

Steel Rogue by Alex OakchestSteel Rogue by Alex Oakchest:

Rick is destined to become a legend.

But he doesn’t realize that yet. Right now, Rick is a young guy with a secret that will get him into trouble. He inherited forbidden magic from his mother, who disappeared before she could teach him how to use it.

When his father is murdered and Rick is stalked by a deadly bounty hunter, he gets his ass out of town. Searching for a way to use his secret powers, he finds himself in a tough new city where a bunch of thieves become his mentors.

Soon, he’s at the bottom of the ranks of a sect of magic users. Fueled by his wish to grow stronger, he finds ways to exploit his new powers. Tested to his breaking point by his new teachers, he gains abilities that he never knew existed.

With a desire for greatness and magic of infinite potential, so begins Rick’s rise to legend.

Null Identity by Sean Platt and Johnny B. TruantNull Identity by Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant:

From the bestselling authors of Invasion and Yesterday's Gone comes Null Identity, a new stand-alone novel written in the world of The Tomorrow Gene. This is a disturbing philosophical exploration of what can happen when our scientific advancement outpaces our ethics.

Cassandra Knight is trying hard to believe that she is safe and sane. Living with an adoring billionaire in his luxurious secluded mansion, she should have everything she needs to recover from the mental breakdown that drove her to attempt suicide.

And yet, she is haunted by vividly recurring nightmares of the moment she tried to take her life and the persistent feeling that something just isn't right.

What happened on that hazy night when she hit rock bottom, and why does it seem like everything and everyone around her are conspiring to keep her from remembering?

Null Identity is a compelling mix of Ex Machina meets The Invisible Man in the story of one woman's struggle to unearth the truth and understand her own past.

Grave Mistake by Christine PopeGrave Mistake by Christine Pope:

When you pull up stakes, make sure you don’t get stabbed in the back.

Self-taught in the arcane arts, hedgewitch Selena Marx is comfortable doing divination for West Los Angeles’ anxiety-ridden housewives, lawyers, and aspiring actresses. Her biggest challenge? Avoiding Lucien Dumond, leader of the Greater Los Angeles Necromancers’ Guild, who views her as fresh meat to add to his harem of slavishly devoted groupies.

Selena’s not interested in the slimy, celebrity-schmoozing sorcerer, but nobody turns Lucien down without consequences. When he threatens to fit her with magical cement shoes and drop her off the Santa Monica Pier, Selena’s Tarot cards point her to Globe, Arizona, for a new home, a new shop, and a cursed pet cat.

Just as she’s settling in and meeting the locals — including Calvin Standingbear, hunky chief of the San Ramon Apache tribal police — Lucien tracks her down…and promptly disappears. When his body turns up on tribal lands, it’s up to Calvin to investigate. Starting with Selena.

And when one of Lucien’s acolytes is killed, traces of dark magic and cryptic warnings from the spirits send Selena and Calvin in a race against time — before a too-close-for-comfort evil cuts her own life short.

At the Gates and Other Stories by Patrick SamphireAt the Gates and Other Stories by Patrick Samphire:

A ghost searches for revenge in ancient Egypt. A boy unearths the bones of a dragon. A girl risks awakening a dark god to save her dog…

He reached out a hand and touched Grace’s cheek. The touch made her shiver. “You can’t save everyone, Grace.”

“I don’t want to,” Grace whispered. “Just her.”

At the Gates and Other Stories is a collection of sixteen fantasy short stories.

Luck Be a Lady by Chris H. StevensonLuck Be a Lady by Chris H. Stevenson:

Mason Hart has just lost his job, fiancé, and car in less than 48-hours. A short time later he accosts a cop and ends up in jail. He finally lands in a hospital as the result of a jailhouse brawl. He’s helpless to quell this downhill slide into calamity. Since he believes all is lost at this point, suicide seems the only alternative left…

Until the figure of Felicity Fortune, the Roman Goddess of Luck, interrupts Mason’s suicidal plans in the nick of time. It seems Felicity Fortune was hampered by the bird flu and few other appointments, so she must apologize for her tardy appearance. She tells Mason that he’s ripe for a cosmic alignment, and that his 15-minutes of fame and wealth are finally at hand. He is allotted six chances via the roll of the golden dice for his deserved share of the “Great Cornucopia.”

Beshaba, the Maid of Misfortune, has ear-marked Mason at the exact same time, to heap upon him the bad luck part of the equation. She is the evil incarnate daughter of Felicity, and now covets Mason for her own devious alignment. Everything that Beshaba represents is in stark contrast to her mother. It is a deliberate ploy to spite the good works of her mother, thus laying down a challenge of cosmic power.

Their simultaneous claim to Mason forces the two Goddesses into a mythological cat fight in hell. When this push and shove reaches a fevered pitch, even the destiny of mankind in called into question. Mason must find the solution and tear away the veil of darkness that could upset the divine balance between good and evil. What he doesn’t know is that the final key to the solution is himself.

Equilibrium by Glynn StewartEquilibrium by Glynn Stewart:

Peace forged on the edge of civilization
Lies forged in the heart of mankind
A legend rises to the final challenge

Exile to the Syntactic Cluster has been good for Kira Demirci and her friends. Once elite pilots of the Apollo System Defense Force, they now own the most powerful mercenary warship in the entire star cluster. Working with the carrier-for-hire Conviction and her Captain John Estanza, they have helped the King of Redward usher in a new era of hope for the entire Cluster.

That hope is nearly shattered when Estanza’s old enemies in the Equilibrium Institute strike directly at Redward’s king. Revenge and money bring the mercenaries into an allied fleet—one intended to neutralize the last threats to the peace.

But the Institute’s plans for the Syntactic Cluster are intricate and deep. Even as the mercenaries and their employers move against the enemies they see, shadows gather in the Cluster, bearing whispers of a forgotten name: Cobra Squadron.

Necrogarden by Bryon VaughnNecrogarden by Bryon Vaughn:

Death has seeped into The Garden, black and oily.

A sickness is spreading through The Garden threatening to destroy everything that neuro-cognitive genius Brenna Patrick has built at NeuralTech. World domination will have to wait, at least for now.

Adversaries will become allies. New enemies will upset the balance of power. People will die.

In an epic struggle for control of a system that can topple governments, turn peasants into rulers, and make even the darkest, most sadistic miscreant into a god, only the resilient will survive.

NECROGARDEN is a roller-coaster ride of a thriller, one that will have readers pondering the nature of memory, and of reality, long after they've read the last page.

Metal Warrior: Hard As Steel by James David VictorMetal Warrior: Hard As Steel by James David Victor:

The only way to save Earth may be to take the fight outside of the solar system.

A military sci-fi adventure from Amazon All-Star author James David Victor

Dane and the mech fighters of the Mechanized Infantry Division have taken the fight to all enemies, alien and human alike. When they discover a portal to other solar systems, they have the means to end the invasion or take the fight across the galaxy. If they can defeat the overwhelming forces defending it. In the end, nothing less than humanity’s place in the galaxy is on the line.

Metal Warrior: Hard as Steel is the fourth book in the Mech Fighter series. If you like fast-paced space adventures with engaging characters and exciting battles, you will definitely want to see how the Metal Warriors save mankind, or if they can.

Download Metal Warrior: Hard as Steel and continue this epic space adventure today!

The Wind in My Heart by Douglas WynneThe Wind in My Heart by Douglas Wynne:

Miles Landry is trying to put violence behind him when he takes up work as a private detective focused on humdrum adultery cases. But when a Tibetan monk hires him to find a missing person, things get weird fast.

Charged with tracking down the reincarnation of a man possessed by a demonic guardian from the Tibetan Book of the Dead, Miles is plunged into a world of fortune-tellers, gangsters, and tantric rituals. The year is 1991 and a series of grisly murders has rocked New York City in the run up to a visit from the Dalai Lama.

The police attribute the killings to Chinatown gang warfare. Miles–skeptical of the supernatural–is inclined to agree. But what if the monster he's hunting is more than a myth?

Proudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from the Darkest Depths.

 

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