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

Daughter Of The Night – Toby Neighbors

She didn’t ask to be taken

She didn’t go looking for power

Now she’ll have to choose a side and live with consequences… if she can.

Azree’el has nothing and knows very little of the world when she’s sold to a hunter for bait. The Heterrids were human once before their DNA was stolen and subjected to massive gene editing. Eventually, they were discarded on a planet to be hunted by the Vanj who drove them underground in search of safety. But Azree’el is about to be taken to the surface, to face mortal danger at the hands of their sworn enemies. But maybe she’ll surprise everyone. Maybe she’ll find a way off world and discover there’s much more to this Daughter of the Night than anyone ever knew.

Emissaries of Deceit (The Vanished #4) – Jay Barnson

Love, War, and Politics in the Land of Monsters

As their enemies circle ever closer to their hidden refuge of Alcort, Aiden and Lyselia must embark on a desperate secret mission to contact members of Lyselia’s noble family. The plots of ambitious nobles and military officers may prove more dangerous than the monsters lurking within the Frontier. Completely out of his depth, Aiden must rely upon Lyselia’s loyalty and skill in navigating political intrigue if either of them are to return to Alcort alive—let alone hold back the oncoming tide of an inevitable war.

Literary Outlaw #3 – edited by John Graves

What would you do if the Antichrist moved into your neighborhood? That’s the premise of The Man Who Did Nothing by New York Times bestselling author Karen Traviss. You don’t want to miss this perceptive tale from a modern science fiction master.

In The Summer of Grunge by John Graves, a young man finds a rare comic book in his late grandfather’s attic and dreams of the fortune that will soon be coming his way, but he soon discovers that life doesn’t always work out the way we plan.

This issue also includes classic stories by H.P. Lovecraft, Booth Tarkington, a serialized novel by Thornton Wilder, and 27 pages of uncanny comics! 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.

Defiance of the Fall #13 – J. F. Brink

War has arrived to Zecia.

Zac returns from the Perennial Vastness, finding Earth already embroiled in war. The Kan’Tanu Cult is pouring into the sector, determined to make it theirs. The System is fanning the flames with treasures and opportunities, using the conflict to choose candidates for its trial.

A strong arm and a sharp axe isn’t enough to keep Earth safe. Zac has to secure the resources and alliances necessary for his empire, all while dealing with the fallout of Leandra’s schemes.

But who can he trust? The appearance of the Ultom Courts has set the Multiverse astir. Powerful outsiders are flocking to Zecia in search of fortune, where the local Sealbearers are prey. One wrong move and it’s over.

The Fabricator’s Mask (The Queen’s Blade #6) – D. K. Holmberg

A strange land brings deadly new dangers. 

Surrounded by the power of fabrications, Zaren must protect Prince Dorian as he finalizes the trade agreement with Ardem.

When his apprentice is attacked, and Zaren finds a strange fabrication, he starts to question the real reason behind the trade.

All is not as it seems. Zaren may be the key to ensuring the success of the delegation—and saving all of Ardem.

But can they trust the Queen’s Blade?

Farthest Reaches – Brandon Ellis and Max Wolfe

Earth’s only chance for survival rests in the hands of one ship…

…None of its crew are prepared for what is to come.

Space Force’s first interstellar mission, Captain Scott Moore is set to lead the first starship to venture outside our solar system, the U.S.S Atlanta. Despite years of preparation, an unintended explosion takes Moore’s ship across the galaxy with no hope of returning.

Stranded in the void, Moore and his crew must discover a way home. But out amongst the stars, we are not alone.

When attempts to communicate with an alien race fail, a war begins… one that will spell the end of humanity.

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

Ghost Signal (Rift Warrior #2) – B. V. Larson

Acheron Colony was supposed to be humanity’s greatest windfall. Using long-range sensors, the planet tested out as a super-earth—but the reality is frightening. Instead of finding a green world bursting with life, the colonists find a dead rock covered in ash. Something has dismantled every organic molecule on Acheron—and no one knows how or why.

When a mysterious signal that defies explanation begins to pulse from an alien ruin, the colonists panic. Something ancient was here long before them, and the signal, like a heartbeat, won’t let them forget it.

Alien-built guardians arise, marching on the unsuspecting humans. Fearful they will be erased just like the last civilization, the colonists call to Earth for help. Special forces operative Dane Tanner of XCU responds to their pleas. Dispatched to Acheron with time running out, Tanner and the colonists must decode the Ghost Signal to either shut down the murderous guardians or harness their power.

A Grift Too Far (Rex Nihilo #6) – Robert Kroese

Join the galaxy’s most notorious con man, Rex Nihilo, and his ever-loyal, ever-exasperated robot sidekick, Sasha, in their craziest adventure yet! Marooned on a planet whose inhabitants have modeled their civilization on World War II movies, Rex and Sasha have only one hope of escape: unearth a secret cache of weapons that’s been hidden somewhere on the planet.

The war is make-believe, but Rex and Sasha’s predicament is all-too-real, and to get off Yurp the duo find that they have no choice but to beat the Yurpians at their own game. With Rex’s cunning schemes and Sasha’s dry wit, they’re prepared to turn the tide of history—over and over again.

Can Rex and Sasha pull off the ultimate grift and escape Yurp? Or will they become permanent fixtures in the planet’s never-ending wartime farce?

Phantom Whispers #1 – edited by Ian Nol

Spaceships, tanks fighting pig men, shapeshifting forest monsters, inter-dimensional cartoon characters, and psychic ghosts abound. Heed the whisper in your ear, step out into the void, and enjoy you’re journey into the zany, bizarre, disturbing, and otherworldly.

Phantom Whispers is a short story anthology magazine made by independent writers in the pulp tradition of old fantasy, sci-fi, and horror fanzines. We’re proud to announce our first volume, featuring stories by Ian Nol, JD Sauvage, Robert Garron, Hermann Morr, and Rawle Nyanzi, with wonderful hand-drawn art by the talented Scribbles n’ Bits.

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

Cirsova #19 / Summer 2024 – edited by P. Alexander

Fourteen tales of daring adventure and thrilling suspense, including:

Strange and disgusting fleshy masses begin to wash up near the University! Is it a dead body, biological waste, a chemical spill, or something much, much worse?!

Clive, a US Marshal, and his former Deputy are investigating a series of cattle killings at the Daniels ranch! But these don’t seem to be the work of ordinary rustlers!

With the help of itinerant Wild Stars princess Atlanta, Gigwanator-Superior has hijacked the Gravedigger 2! The Superior Grief’s plan is set in motion for a rendezvous at the Damocles Relay Station to evacuate a pack of deadly Sword Griefs!

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.

I, Starship – Scott Bartlett

As a Marine, Henry Morgan would have said it was more likely he’d die from enemy fire than from being struck by a flying lawnmower while at a baseball game.

But it was the lawnmower that ended up taking him out.

A century later, Henry wakes up as a reconstituted intelligence, and is promptly drafted to be the governing AI for America’s first military starship. After decades of model-trained AIs wreaking havoc across the globe, humanity is ready to try something a little more…human.

Henry is perfect. For one thing, as a reconstituted intelligence, he has no rights and can be forced to do the bidding of the powers that be. For another, he’s the only Heritage Mind™ with any military experience that survived the Great Power Surge of 2072.

So, Henry’s it.

Blastoff, good Henry! Our hopes and dreams go with you. Oh, and while you’re at it, could you take a look at the aliens setting up shop in our asteroid belt? They seem to be…multiplying.

Void Drifter – J. N. Chaney and Jason Anspach

The Amazon Rainforest holds a world-changing secret. A ship lost to time from another world.

College student Will Kaufman unearthed the biggest archaeological discovery in human history… he just needs to find a way back to Earth to tell people about it.

Four thousand years ago, a Federation bounty hunter Void ship crashed on a remote and primitive planet. There it remained until Will found it and accidentally reactivates it, launching him light years away.

With the crew—and its prisoners—awakened from cryo-sleep, Will has no choice but to go along with Captain Fera and her pilot-turned-holographic AI. Seen as a naïve primitive, Will must navigate complex alien cultures, explore the far reaches of the galaxy, and battle a tyrannical empire seeking to finish off a haggard and weary rebel faction just to be granted a ticket back to Earth.

But as Will shows an uncanny ability to navigate the mysterious realm of wormhole travel known as the Void, he begins to thrive in a galaxy not meant for humans.

Home is only a half-million light years away, but when life on a spaceship is this much fun… does Will really want to go back?

The Wages of an Assassin (The Last Eternal #7) – Jacob Peppers

The wages of a soldier are pain and regret his reward.

Soldier himself had told the wanderer that. Old words from another life but true words nonetheless. The wanderer knew this, for he still carried the scars such pain had brought, and a life spent on the run left a man little else but his regrets.

Yet of all the challenges the wanderer has faced, of all the dangers in a life full of little else, the worst lies before him. For he faces not a warrior or even some rampaging beast or monster.

He faces Assassin. The deadliest killer ever to walk the face of the world. She has come for him, for his friends.

Pain and regret may be a soldier’s rewards, but the creature who comes for him and his friends is no soldier. She is a lurker in the shadows, an assassin, and so she will have an assassin’s wage.

She seeks death…

The wanderer means to help her find it. Read More