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 newly published this month, though some September 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 urban fantasy, epic fantasy, historical fantasy, fantasy mysteries, fantasy romance, paranormal mysteries, paranormal romance, space opera, military science fiction, near future science fiction, horror, space marines, lost starships, immortals, demons, guardian angels, ghosts, crime-busting witches 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:
Recon Marine by Jonathan P. Brazee:
Anxious to forge her own path away from her father's shadow, the newly minted Second Lieutenant Esther Lysander jumps into her first command, an infantry platoon. Driven to excel, she's not going to let anything get in her way as she climbs to the top.
Leading a pack of Marines, however, requires more than just courage and understanding the tactics of war.
She has to lead, not merely command.
As much as she wants to succeed in her own right, it isn't that easy. For good and bad, everyone knows who she is and the legacy she carries.
She can't escape the Lysander name.
Sentinel of Time by Lindsay Buroker:
Kaylina must dodge assassins and kidnappers while revelations about her past, and power she never knew she had, stun her to the core.
She has the support of Lord Vlerion, the ranger she’s developed feelings for, but he has problems of his own, and an insidious plot threatens to take him from her forever.
A starship lost. An enemy revealed. A galaxy on the precipice of extermination.
Soren hasn’t found his daughter, but the terrifying truth of her disappearance has come to light, and with it knowledge of a threat beyond imagination. With the Federation woefully unprepared and the Wraith and her crew grounded, nothing can slow the coming storm.
Like his father, Alex refuses to give up, and he’s not about to let anything stand in his way. He’ll do whatever it takes to see Soren and the Wraith back in the fight.
Otherwise, there won’t be anything left to fight for.
All Heck Broken Loose by Rachel Ford
Halloween is finally here, which means it’s finally time for Marshmeadow’s festival to celebrate the opening of the all-new downtown. It also means it’s the time when the veil between the worlds of the living and dead is thinnest and most vulnerable.
Tennessee Evans couldn’t be more excited. Her big plans for the town have finally come to fruition, and Marshmeadow is buzzing. Little did she expect a group of rogue souls to take advantage of the same weekend to break out of the afterlife.
With the town flooded with malicious spirits intent on some serious haunting, it looks like her triumph might become a disaster.
Fortunately, her guardian angel is on the job, dispatching friendly ghosts to help round up the escapees.
Unfortunately, there’s something far more malicious than rogue souls prowling Marshmeadow. There’s also a killer haunting the busy streets…
The Hawthorne University Witch Series Collection by A.L. Hawke:
The Hawthorne University Witch Series, Books 4-6, is now available in this three-book collection. This trilogy is a standalone series that can be enjoyed without having read the previous books.
Witch Mirror, Book 4:Reflections of a wicked witch. Cadence Hawthorne's love life is threatened by a demon-witch, but she has her teacher’s magic to protect her. Actually, not only does she have her magic, she has Alondra’s spirit inside her, possessing her.
Ravens, Book 5: When evil lands on my doorstep. Cadence’s friends believe she is fighting a curse. But Cadence feels like she has to do whatever it takes to save the town, even if it means teaming up with her archenemy witch, Enora. Evil empowers Cadence, but her dark spellcasting threatens to drive a stake right through her heart and the heart of Hawthorne University.
Shadow Cast, Book 6: You can't cast shadows in darkness.Enora claims Cadence is haunting her coven’s dreams. A séance is performed. But during the séance, Cadence doesn’t just see ghosts or spirits, she sees evil. Her new revelation might be enough to protect Bryce and her unborn baby—or save her greatest adversary.
Content warning: The Hawthorne University Witch Series is a new adult college paranormal romance containing profanity, sexual scenes, adult situations, and, of course, witchcraft.
Luna Thorn was happy being a witch. Being a traveler is another thing entirely. Just when she thinks she’s ready to wrap her head around her new reality, though, things fall apart.
Again.
Absolute chaos descends on Detroit when a federal investigator focuses his attention on Luna…and he seems determined to take her down.
Paranormal problems are one thing. Being considered a suspect in the death of a man masquerading as a police officer is another. Wherever Luna goes, the Feds follow…and it’s seriously cramping her style.
The last thing she needs is another problem. So, of course, the past she can’t remember comes back to haunt her at the exact wrong time.
With her powers going haywire—the past overlapping with the present at regular intervals—Luna is in big trouble. It’s the sort of trouble a jail cell won’t help.
Between mob bosses, gorgons, federal agents, and a past that just won’t quit, Luna is in over her head.
Then the mage and god come to town and make things worse.
Strap in for excitement, because Luna’s world is about to explode. Will she survive to rebuild it yet again?
The Starlight Contingency by Kyoko M.
Orphaned siblings Scarlett and Duke Nam have had it rough. Cast aside by society, they've managed to stay afloat as thieves on the streets of Alexandria, Virginia. Things plunge straight to hell when a heist goes wrong and they're on the run from the cops, but after they stumble into a nearby home to escape, something seemingly impossible happens - the house transforms into a spacecraft and leaves the Earth's orbit.
Scarlett and Duke awaken to find that they are now prisoners aboard the Titan International Spaceship. The Earth has been destroyed by the Bergleute des Todes, AKA The Miners of Death. Scarlett and Duke are given the chance to become soldiers to fight the alens who destroyed the world.
The only thing left for them is the hardest thing of all: Survival.
The Starlight Contingency is the new space opera from USA Today best selling author Kyoko M. (She Who Fights Monsters, Of Cinder and Bone).
The Dream Haunters by Megan Mary
Hannah Skye, a young woman in search of meaning, receives a cryptic letter from her missing and eccentric Aunt Jewelia. Her experience of a recurring powerful pumpkin patch dream unfolds into a spiritual journey to a mysterious island of eternal autumn, Maple Hollow, where she discovers the mystical Skye Manor and her magickal family legacy.
Haunted by shapeshifters bent on trapping people in their nightmares, Hannah, with the help of wise villagers and feline companions (including a talking cat dream guide), must solve the riddle, unlock her powers, and dive into the dream dimension to save her aunt by Halloween night, when the veil between the worlds is thinnest.
Escape into this metaphysical mystery of magick, where spells, music, and dreams converge in a vortex of secret societies and spiritual inheritance. Travel beyond time and space into a world of unexpected portals, ancient traditions, and dreamscapes.
Electric with compelling action and trenchant social commentary and perfect for fans of Nikki Erlick’s The Measure, this genre-straddling work of speculative fiction examines ageism from a new and challenging perspective.
In the year 2050, the man known as Zinn is on the run from the consequences of his greatest creation: an artificial genome that wildly increases the human lifespan. His “Methuselah gene” has gone viral, and he’s being hunted by Adele, a semi-retired CIA biowarfare specialist who hopes to find a way to reverse the genome’s effects before it’s too late.
As the longevity plague spreads, populations explode, economies are upended, and intergenerational resentments boil over. Adele searches for a cure while her former lover, Dan Altman, and his wife, Marion, wealthy political operatives both, become leaders of a movement of hundred-plus-year-old “lifers” and fight to create a sanctuary for the ultra-aged in the wilds of Colorado. Meanwhile, the Altmans’ son, Nolan, thinks he has the answer to the longevity crisis: a suicide pill that kills after one year, a death wish algorithm that will influence the super-aged to take it, and his beautiful daughter, Claire, who is a spokesperson for the growing anti-lifer backlash and the head of the federal government’s new Department for Longevity Management.
Combining a hugely topical premise with a vein of social-political satire, Lifers evokes a world where society’s ingrained ageism turns lethal and the fear of death is replaced by the challenge of living on . . . and on.
Point of Knives by Melissa Scott
Nicolas Rathe and Philip Eslingen are back, drawn together from opposite sides of the law to investigate a series of murders whose impact stretches deep into Astreiant’s underworld. Eslingen is now a professional knife working for a prominent crimelord while Rathe is an Adjunct Point, sworn to uphold the city’s laws. By rights, they should be wary foes, but instead they find themselves sharing an investigation as well as a bed as their search takes them into the heart of Point of Knives and at its center, the Court of Thirty-two Knives, the hub of Astreiant’s underworld. A single misstep could mean disaster, a single doubt could be the end of all their hopes.
The Demon by Victory Witherkeigh:
The Demon is now in full possession of the Girl's body, and she is starting her journey in Berkeley, California. She should be thrilled and ecstatic?the plan worked!
Except she doesn't remember the plan. The Demon has memories of the Girl's life and vague impressions of a deal made with the Filipino warrior LapuLapu. She reconnects with her former master, Death, and discovers that her bargain went against his will.
Death's punishment is beyond her comprehension - enduring the cruelties of mortality and leaving her imprisoned in the former Girl's university life. Life experiences, toxic friendships, emotional and physical attachments, and finally, heartbreak prove sadistic even for a Demon.
Can a demon have an identity crisis? What happens when the Demon shows more independence of thought and understanding of the cycle of dependency?
Death isn't the only one waiting to find out...
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