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

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My Sister Suprema – Chuck Dixon and Anthony Gonzales-Clark

Randy is a bright young boy who devours comics and dreams of becoming a superhero. One day, he discovers a secret formula on the Internet that claims to provide an individual with superpowers. After assembling all the ingredients and technology required, he experiments with the process, but the whole thing goes terribly wrong. Somehow, by accident, his big sister Cecelia ends up with the very superpowers he’d been seeking for himself. And she has no idea what to do with them.

It falls to Randy to help her figure out what her powers are, select a costume, choose a superhero name, and teach her what it means to be a superhero. But while Randy and his sister are trying to figure things out and hide her new powers from their parents, the villain whose formula Randy inadvertently discovered is hunting for the thieves who stole his secret.

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Preservation (Battle Mage Farmer #6) – Seth Ring

Insane cult trying to undermine the stability of society? Powerful mage whose very presence unmakes the world?

John doesn’t care. He’s getting married.

After rescuing Katrine, sealing himself into a manaless state, and defending against the most dangerous beast tide the world has ever seen, John only has one thing on his mind. Getting married, and going on a honeymoon. Oh, and trying to figure out a way to keep the world in one piece.

That quest will take him to worlds unknown, and pit him against enemies beyond anything he has ever faced. Thankfully, he’s not alone, and between Ellie and Ferdie, he has the best companions a simple farmer could ask for.

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The Serpent Stairs (Essence Wielder #1) – Dan Michaelson and D. K. Holmberg

Dax Nelson was destined to protect the empire. When he’s gifted the power of an unusual essence, everything changes.

The Great Serpent grants a gift of powerful essence to those who come before him. The experience, and the gift, is unpredictable but all have a vision of the Great Serpent so they can understand the purpose of their essence.

Not Dax.

With his new essence, rather than learning from his father, he now must go to the Academy to learn to control his essence. It’s not fire as all in his family possess, but even the most powerful in the Academy don’t know what it is—or what it means for Dax.

And the only thing he remembers from his visit to the Serpent Stairs may be key to stop an attack on the empire, if he can understand his essence in time.

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Amaranth Angels – a Kickstarter campaign from Yakov Merkin

Saya Nishizawa was a starfighter pilot prodigy, flying alongside her big sister Kurenai in the Amaranth Angels performance squadron. where they conducted elaborate flying demonstrations and competed in mock battles–which they nearly always won.

Things were perfect, until tragedy struck, and Kurenai lost her life in a sudden accident. Scarred by this, Saya wanted nothing more than to run as far from a starfighter cockpit as possible. So she resigned from the squadron, and left Earth to start anew at a new school on a space station near the edge of the solar system.

However, fate has ways of forcing people back to their calling.

When the station comes under attack by an unknown alien force, Saya and her friends, caught completely unprepared, need to take flight in order to survive.  But when the smoke clears, the five of them are stranded far from home, and thrust into a far bigger fight than they could’ve ever imagined.

This crowdfunding campaign will remain open until 20 October, 2023.

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ANVIL: Iron Age Magazine Issue #2 – a crowdfunding campaign from IronAge Media

In this age of derivative and propagandistic mainstream media, creators across mediums and genres have begun pushing back. ANVIL celebrates and highlights those artists and authors drawing inspiration from the roots of comics and pulp. Heralding the rediscovery and refocus on quality over ideology which is already underway, and gaining momentum.

Published and organized by IronAge.Media, a site focused on connecting Iron Age creators with new fans, edited by Daniel P. Riley, of Whimsyland and supported by Jacob Calta of 365 Infantry as Designer. Issue #2 is upping the ante with more fiction and more comics than before, over one hundred pages of short fiction and comics will give you a taste of the best the indie sphere has to offer.

This crowdfunding campaign will remain open until 1 September, 2023.

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Saga of the Swordbreaker: Invincible Under Heaven – a crowdfunding campaign by Kit Sun Cheah

Previously on SAGA OF THE SWORDBREAKER, Li Ming entered the martial forest, filled with dreams of fighting evil and attaining immortality. He battled beasts and bandits, became ensnared in the schemes of the Five States and Ten Corporations, and discovered the dark undercurrents of the rivers and lakes. In the space of a year, all his delusions were stripped away, leaving him wondering what he should do with his life.

Now in the second half of the series, INVINCIBLE UNDER HEAVEN, Li Ming’s journey reaches its climax.

Follow Li Ming as he journeys to attain the apex of martial skill. Witness his rise through the ranks of martial cultivators. Fight beside him as he battles secret societies, powerful monsters, and devil cultivators.

And together, discover the true meaning of the ancient phrase ‘invincible under heaven’.

This crowdfunding campaign will remain open until 20 September, 2023.