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

The Dream Lords – Adrian Cole

Mankind and its empire spanning the Nine Worlds are ruled by a powerful triumvirate of long-lived dreamers: the Dream Lords!

The Dream Lords project a vision of utopia to obfuscate the alien hostility of Zurjah, the world long claimed to be the true seat of humanity. A vision that grows hazy as the power of the Dream Lords wanes.

Destroyed by ancient wars, Earth has become a backwater prison colony, and its native inhabitants are called “Barbarian” and enslaved to perpetuate a myth that Mankind came from the stars.

Galad Sarian, son and heir of one of the Dream Lords, discovers not only the truth behind the crumbling Zurjahn empire and faltering of the powers that maintain humanity’s grasp on alien worlds but also a plot by Daras Vorta, the Warden of Earth, to overthrow the Dream Lords with the aid of demonic forces.

This edition collects A Plague of Nightmares (1975), Lord of Nightmares (1975), and Bane of Nightmares (1976) in a single volume, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Adrian Cole’s Dream Lords.

Fracture (Lost Town #3) – Nathan Hystad

It’s hard to see the stars when the sky is broken.

Caesar and Amelia must part ways on crucial tasks to relocate their people from the incoming war. Milton is days away from reaching Lost Town, but is it enough time to prepare when he’s been training for this his whole life?

Harrison gets a second chance at redemption as he ventures to Earth to save the inhabitants of Arcadia. His optimism fractures when a rogue team of assassins is recruited to thwart his mission.

And what other secrets lay beyond Arcadia?

Ironheart Crucible (Will of the Immortals #3) – Jay Krauss

Ironheart Crucible takes Leon Jäger and his companions into the vast and merciless desert, where survival depends on more than strength—it demands resilience, strategy, and an iron will. At the heart of the endless sands lies Oasis, a bustling town built around a vital spring, where treachery and ambition thrive beneath the surface of its shifting sands.

Drawn by promises of opportunity and peril, Leon must navigate a dangerous path through both a treacherous dungeon and a martial tournament, where the stakes are nothing short of life and death. Faced with opponents who test his skill and enemies who surpass him in power- both in Cultivation and politics, Leon must find a way to endure and prevail.

But survival alone will not be enough. To face the trials ahead, Leon must break through to the elusive Qi Compression realm, a process that will push him to his limits and force him to confront the very nature of his cultivation—and his own concept of the truths behind Qi itself. Each step forward brings new revelations and challenges that will shape not only his future, but the fates of all who stand beside him.

Manifest Destiny (Wolfhounds #5) – John Van Stry

The Tomb has acknowledged Chase’s lineage, and declared him Emperor to the universe. But what good is being an Emperor if you don’t have an Empire? While the Wolfhounds have conquered, or perhaps liberated, a fair number of planets, the core worlds have not yet been touched. Furthermore, the crown jewel of them all, Cor Imperii, still stands under the control of Speaker Phillip K. Neill, and the rest of the members of the coup that seized control of the empire over a decade ago.

But Neill’s days are numbered, whether he fully realizes it or not, as his dictatorship is slowly dismantled, one piece at a time and he clings to whatever hopes he has left. While the road before Chase is still long, and still fraught with peril and a good many dangers. However, for Chase and the Wolfhounds, the end is finally within view – now it’s only a matter of time.

The challenges may be different, but they are by no means less than the ones he’s faced previously. In fact some of them he may find to be harder, now that he is no longer ‘pretending’ to be the prince, having proven to all his right to reign and having finally accepted the responsibilities that have now become his. 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.

Culmination (Battle Mage Farmer #9) – Seth Ring

They started the fight. John is going to end it.

Despite John’s best efforts to avoid getting pulled into a war, the Resplendent Empire is determined to crush John and Candle Scholar Tower. No sooner had he returned from the once a millennium magical competition than he discovers that the Empire has declared war, confident that they will be able to roll over John and his allies with little trouble.

Yet little do they know what sort of force they have provoked. No longer a man of two minds, John sets out to end things once and for all. As the Dragon Empress Kalmeric marshall’s her forces, John puts the lessons he learned on the battlefield all those years ago to work.

Venturing out from his beloved farm, John is intent on making this adventure his last so he can spend the rest of his days sitting on his porch watching his wheat grow next to those he loves.

The Hope Ornament – Nick Thacker

Harvey Bennett didn’t sign up for this Christmas adventure.

When a small-town holiday festival turns into a deadly game of cat and mouse, Ben and Julie are thrust into a chilling mystery buried beneath the snow-covered streets of Hope, Alaska. At the center of it all is a legendary golden ornament—a piece of local history said to hold the key to a fortune in lost gold. But someone else wants that fortune, and they’ll stop at nothing to claim it.

As a ruthless financier and his dangerous crew close in, Ben and Julie follow a trail of cryptic clues carved into tombstones and hidden in long-forgotten rail tunnels. Each step draws them deeper into Alaska’s wilderness—and closer to a treasure that’s as cursed as it is valuable.

With a massive storm bearing down and their enemies closing in, Ben and Julie must outwit their pursuers and uncover the truth behind The Heart of the Mountain. But the deeper they dig, the more they realize the gold isn’t the only thing at stake—their lives, the town’s legacy, and their chance at a peaceful Christmas with their daughter all hang in the balance.

Juggernaut (Starship Jericho #3) – Toby Neighbors

War has come to the Casa system, and the crew of the S.D.F. Jericho are stuck in the middle of it.

Surrounded by enemy warships, Captain Zeke Darius must lead his crew in what will certainly become the fight of their lives. Outnumbered in an alien star system, the future looks bleak. But in the massive, alien ship Renegade the crew has a fighting chance. And the Ashi Empire has never faced the indomitable human spirit!

On the planet Casasil a few brave Space Marines are preparing to make a last stand. With few resources and even less hope, the special operations team is right in its element. Doing the impossible is what they do best, and Master Sergeant Remmy Steel is prepared to give their alien enemies all the fight they can handle. 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.

The Assistant (Honor of the Fleet #3) – Felix R. Savage

A merciless evil is stalking the cities of the Moon. Only Siegn can unravel the mystery.

Assigned to break a VR smuggling ring, Siegn makes his first visit to the Moon—but his chief suspect is found dead. Now he must solve the murder before the killer strikes again. That’s not going to be easy. On the Moon, VR is a way of life, and no one wants a Martian prying into the reality beneath the glamorous fantasies.

But reality gatecrashes the party when hackers attack the Moon’s prized space elevator. Now the race is on to find the criminals before catastrophe strikes.

It’s Siegn’s darkest and strangest case yet. Throw in a bunch of long-lost cousins and a beautiful–but dangerous–VR celebrity, and Siegn will need all his luck and skill to stop the forces of evil… and that’s before we even talk about the cat.

Cirsova Magazine #21 / Winter 2024 – edited by P. Alexander

Fourteen tales of thrilling adventure and daring suspense, including:

Enraged by the death of his brethren, Sword-Superior tears his way through the Isshla and their caverns, seeking out the control device that will destroy Earth! The fate of the world hangs in the balance as Gigwanator-Superior pursues him!

Ottocar wishes he were anything but a turtle trainer…until a strange and lovely masked girl at a festival convinces him with a kiss: fix the turtle races for her!

A tenuous truce between a small village and a savage creature of fey has been strained to breaking! If there can be no peace, the only choice is to win!

Now in the presence of others like her, Kayla Blackmoon, a powerful psychic, must prove, to her mentors and herself, that she belongs and has a greater purpose!

Defiance of the Fall #14 – J. F. Brink

Years of struggle have left Zecia weakened in their war against the Kan’Tanu Cult.

Negotiating for peace is not an option when the System is in control. It can only be purchased through blood and steel. No one is spared from the winds of war.

Zac and his elite armies have been forced to the frontlines just as opportunity strikes. An ancient war fortress has risen from the dimensional depths.

Built by the Limitless Empire, it holds power and secrets far beyond what’s seen on the desolate frontiers. Seizing it could be the key to changing the winds of war. Zac finds himself in the heart of the struggle.

No matter what, he won’t let it fall into the Kan’Tanu’s hands.

The Departure (The Survivors #23) – Nathan Hystad

Actions have consequences.

Jules has retired from the Institute, and spends her days rebuilding the Academy on Haven Two.

Dean visits each Alliance partner, seeking to salvage a crumbling accord, and encounters a mystery deeper than the universe.

Nothing has prepared Dean Parker and family for this adventure, as the end of one story is just the beginning of another. Read More