Every week, the Castalia House Blog spotlights some of the many new releases in independent, pulp, and web novel-influenced science fiction and fantasy.

End Watch (The Silent Wars #1) – Adrian J. Smith

In the future, freedom is for the modified.

Three centuries after the Genetic War divided humanity, the natural born are slaves. Fated to work in massive subterranean mines, they are expendable. Life is hell. Few escape.

Fugitive Recovery Agent Eli Miller and his partner Leylani Haru will never see the sun, breathe fresh air, or taste salt on the wind. They live for the thrill of tracking down criminals and bringing them to justice.

When a routine case uncovers a mysterious old journal, Eli is puzzled by its claims of being written prior to the catastrophic conflict and by clues pointing to a way of achieving liberty.

Before he can unveil its secrets Eli and his team are sent into the treacherous labyrinth of tunnels to capture the Mayor’s runaway wife and stop a precarious political fallout. Reluctant to go, he realises that it is another opportunity to locate the masked criminal known as — Simon. A man he holds responsible for the death of his niece.

Following the trail, Eli learns that the two cases are linked and there are those that would do anything to silence his team. But in the unforgiving darkness there’s something far worse waiting for him — something which threatens the existence of all natural born.

The Greater Good (The Pantheon Saga #9) – C. C. Ekeke

Aegis is back! But are the Paragons no more?

Fresh off a summer vacation to remember, Hugo resumes his role protecting the city of San Miguel. As a teen hero trying to make his way through a dangerous world, he’s been forced to reflect on the impact he’s making around him while juggling his ambitions and romances with his growing responsibilities as Aegis.

On top of all that, Hugo and his friends are now on the cusp of adulthood starting their senior year of high school.

However, the scars from Damocles’s reign of terror have not fully healed, with countless superheroes across America hanging up their capes for good. Hugo is also haunted by mistakes of the past, uncertain if he should continue leading the Paragons or even keep the team together.

But that doubt could prove fatal when a new threat emerges. One that wants absolute power at all costs and will slaughter any superhero who stands in their way.

That leaves Hugo with one choice. Rebuild the Paragons and be Big Damn Superheroes.

If he doesn’t, all of California will suffer.

Never Again (Blood and Armor #1) – Bill Fawcett

The best steel is forged by the hottest fires and under the greatest pressures. So too, have the Kurdish Peshmerga been shaped by thousands of years of warfare and oppression.

Now, for the first time in history, they have their own nation, and it’s a chance to live, grow, and develop as a unified people.

But they are surrounded by hostile dictatorships intent on the destruction of their young republic. Outnumbered and outgunned as armored columns swarm their borders, the Kurdish Republic’s only hope lies in a canceled DARPA project—an experimental, powered combat suit—and the business tycoon who refuses to allow the nascent nation to go under.

The only question is, will they be enough? Read More

Every week, the Castalia House Blog spotlights some of the many new releases in independent, pulp, and web novel-influenced science fiction and fantasy.

Darkspace Renegade – G. J. Ogden

Humanity depends on the star bridges. Hallam Knight must tear them down.

Hallam Knight is a Bridge Runner, one of the few people brave and stupid enough to crew armored tankers that travel between the Bridge Worlds and the Centrum, the galaxy’s only source of Randenite fuel.

As the galaxy’s rarest and most valuable commodity, Randenite maintains the interstellar network that supports billions of lives across a dozen worlds.

Without it, civilization crumbles.

Then when a bar brawl with infamous mercenaries, the Blackfire Squadron, almost costs him his life, Hallam is placed at the mercy of the Darkspace Renegades and their mysterious leader.

The Darkspace Renegades are anarchists and outlaws committed to destroying the bridge network. Or so Hallam thought.

Now, he knows a terrible secret, one that forces him to make an impossible choice.

To save humanity, the bridge network must fall. To save humanity, Hallam Knight must become a Darkspace Renegade.

Prince Dominator (The Prince of Britannia Saga #8) – Fred Hughes

Hazard King, AKA Prince Henry, was a prince with a problem. Oh sure, he’d defeated the Mordorians in the Sol System and had landed his Marines on earth. His landing parties had even found samples of the original virus used to develop Black Dragon, which—hopefully—could be used to develop an antidote, so the main objective of his mission had been fulfilled.

The problem was, he couldn’t leave just what was left of the human population of Earth to the Mordorians, and unfortunately, he didn’t have the resources he needed to reconquer the planet. Hazard would have to return to Britannia to get the troops and materials required, then he could return and kick the Mordorians out of the Sol System for good.

In order to return with the overwhelming force he needed to free Earth, he was willing to do anything—to pay whatever price his mother asked—and this time, Hazard would need to become… a Prince Dominator.

Rogue Stars #2: Divine Intervention – Jaime Castle

The Visitors have arrived…

To everyone’s surprise, the wormhole has reopened—albeit temporarily. What comes through, no one could have predicted.

A people with a mysterious past, with names no one truly understands, have decided to make Faebos their home.

Predaxes and Malik, working together, must keep peace while determining whether or not these new arrivals are the friends they claim to be, or the worst foes they’d ever encountered. With a man claiming to be the Prime Minister of Lenzaab among them, will this be salvation for the former residents of Purgatory, or yet another battle waiting to happen?

With the help of friends old and new, the fate of Faebos and the native Olyrii hangs precariously in the balance. Read More

Every week, the Castalia House Blog spotlights some of the many new releases in independent, pulp, and web novel-influenced science fiction and fantasy.

Best (Baneberry Hall #1) – Frederick Gero Heimbach

As he would be first to admit, Mason Best is a genius. He lied—oops, charmed—his way into Baneberry Hall, the nation’s top prep school, didn’t he? Angel Ferguson, the intimidating student body president, wants him at her side. The headmaster, the trustees, the top jocks: everyone wants a piece of him.

Mason wins at every game he tries—but being best is exhausting. Fortunately, Mason has a tower hideout he shares only with his friends:

• Miles Coffin: eccentric boy billionaire, addicted to candy cigarettes
• Sapphire Moon: glamour girl, born performer
• Eve Shepherd: matriarch of the hideout, with whom Mason is definitely not falling in love

Mason Best: political player – loyal friend. Can Mason be both kinds of person? Can he stay loyal when his political patrons demand he betray the people he loves, one by one?

Mason’s a smart kid. He’ll find a way to make it work. Of course he will. He’s sure of it.

Origin (Parallax #1) – Matt Conant and Lauren Cipillo

A conspiracy threatens everyone in the colonized worlds. Only they can stop it.

In a distant future where advancements in cybernetics and gene-splicing have resulted in a dozen different variants of humanity, three individuals find themselves entangled in a conspiracy that could doom everyone in the colonized worlds.

Paige Angstrom, a fierce and loyal Peacekeeper, yearns to shield her sister Volara from a life of corporate-indentured servitude.

Hemlocke Shaw, a gene-spliced engineer, tirelessly searches for his missing eco-activist wife.

And Emrald Re, a no-nonsense bounty hunter, embarks on a mission to find a vanished wastelander named Lewis DuCane.

Amidst deadly power outages, vanishing civilians, and stalled terraforming projects, the trio unearths a cover-up of epic proportions. The revelation sends shockwaves through their lives, forcing them to confront their own identities and become unlikely heroes in the struggle against the very architects of the Terran race.

Revelation (The Sol Saga #3) – James Fox

The solar system faces its darkest hour.

General Keith Brennan races against time to thwart the deployment of a city-destroying weapon of unprecedented magnitude. As the fate of millions hangs in the balance, Brennan’s resolve is put to the ultimate test.

Meanwhile, Edward McAaron grapples with a relentless internal struggle, torn between his thirst for vengeance and the weight of leadership. With Governor Chu’s fate in the balance and the lives of his followers on the line, McAaron must confront his own demons before it’s too late.

As Lisa Colt and Jonathan Spalding delve deeper into the conspiracy, shocking revelations come to light, shaking the very foundations of the system. President Trent, driven by desperation to end the war, faces mounting pressure from shadowy benefactors whose true motives remain shrouded in darkness.

As alliances crumble and betrayals unfold, the solar system hangs on the brink of destruction. Can Brennan and McAaron overcome their personal demons and unite against a common enemy? Or will the secrets they uncover tear them apart, spelling doom for all?

Shadows of the Earth (The Token #2) – Nathan Hystad

The Delta is assembled, but the threat is far from over.

Rory travels to the Moon, encountering her grandfather’s footprints from fifty years ago. She returns to her parent’s home, eager to forget about the last few weeks, but the Shadow persists.

Silas and Cody are covertly led to the Planetae laboratory, but quickly realize there’s more to the tokens than their initial assumptions.

Waylen struggles to maintain peace as the walls between organizations crumbles. When one of his closest allies betrays them, Waylen’s trust is shattered.

Who invented the Delta?

What are the Echoes trying to show them?

Can they prevent an invasion, or has it already begun?

The Wild Adventures of Sherlock Holmes #4 – Will Murray

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s immortal detective returns for ten puzzling cases ranging from his earliest career to his final bows.

“The Adventure of the Improbable American“ tells of Sherlock’s first U.S. friend, while “The Adventure of the Christmas Lesson” recounts Holmes’s and Watson’s first Christmas together.

Other cases depict the Great Detective endeavoring to untangle the struggle between mudlarks over a diamond ring of great value, and then unraveling the mystery of a nobleman found seated before his own fireplace––without his head!

The early 20th century finds Dr. Watson reuniting with the orderly who saved his life in Afghanistan, concluding with “The Disquieting Adventure of the Murmuring Dell,” reuniting Holmes with Algernon Blackwood’s enigmatic Dr. John Silence.

Every week, the Castalia House Blog spotlights some of the many new releases in independent, pulp, and web novel-influenced science fiction and fantasy.

Conscript – Scott Bartlett

The Scourge are back And the Corps needs recruits.

Desperate to free his younger siblings from debt slavery, Po Abbato turns to crime. He’s caught, and offered a choice: spend 25 years in a digital prison while his body rots…

…or join the Marines.

War has returned to the solar system, sooner than anyone expected. Po must learn fast what it truly means to fight alongside others.

That is, if he’s going to make it.

Dark Dreams of Nilztiria (Tales of Nilztiria #2) – D. M. Ritzlin

Nilztiria! An ancient land where daring swordsmen and unscrupulous sorcerers alike strive against unfathomable monstrosities in their personal quests for glory. Its eon-spanning history is not even fully known to the most studious scholars.

In Necromancy in Nilztiria, thirteen legends of this fabled land were revealed. In this new collection, nine more tales can be found, detailing the exploits of infamous heroes such as the cursed warrior Vran the Chaos-Warped, the freewheeling barbarian Avok Kur Storn, and the enigmatic wizard Xaarxool the Necromancer.

“With a diverse assortment of tales spanning the length of traditional sword-and-sorcery both light-hearted and solemn, to the tales of horror and wonder more akin to the old weird tales or the Dying Earth series, Necromancy in Nilztiria is a great collection of new S&S that will delight any fans of the genre. It manages to stay true to the genre’s roots while doing some innovation of its own, avoiding slavish imitation. For 2020 this is nothing short of miraculous.” (Age of Dusk

Holy War (Abner Fortis, ISMC #10) – P. A. Piatt

“Activate the travelers.”

With those three words, The Master, leader of the Kuiper Knights, unleashed a horrific terror attack on the United Nations of Terra that united the entire planet against them.

Major Abner Fortis takes command of Second Battalion of the First Regiment of the newly reconstituted Second ISMC Division and joins the force deployed to the Free Sector to mete out punishment to the evildoers. Using out-of-the-box thinking and old-school Space Marine attitude, Fortis recruits his best friend, Gunnery Sergeant Petr Ystremski, to serve as First Sergeant and whips the battalion into fighting shape in short order.

But when tragedy strikes during the combat drop, the regimental battle plan is thrown into disarray and the Kuiper Knights—many of them former Space Marines—are able put up a stiff resistance. With another battalion under siege and the chain of command stunned into inaction, it falls on Fortis and Second Battalion to take decisive action to head off disaster. Outnumbered five to one, with their enemy dug deep into a seemingly impregnable position, can Fortis and the Space Marines prevail and deliver the justice they’ve come to dispense, or will the Space Marines suffer a catastrophic defeat at the hands of the Knights?

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