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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Cloak of Titans (Cloak Mage #11) – Jonathan Moeller

The point of no return is here.

My name is Nadia, and I’m a Marshal of the High Queen of the Elves.

That means it’s my job to keep the peace between the humans, Elven commoners, and Elven nobles under my command.

So when one of the Elven nobles pushes things too far, it might mean civil war between the High Queen and the rebel nobles.

But the civil war is itself a trap because the malignant wizards of Singularity have been preparing for this moment for a very, very long time…

…and their deadliest weapons are ready.

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The Games We Play (Luke Preston Thrillers #3) – Nick Thacker

Luke Preston wants answers, and more specifically, he wants to know who’s orchestrating attempts on his life. The last twist he anticipates? The involvement of his own flesh and blood.

Ex-military, ex-law enforcement, a grieving widower, and an alienated son. Luke Preston’s life has been a series of labels and losses. With no immediate family, no connections tethering him to the world, he’s become a shadow taking on covert contracts for the government. But when irregularities arise from his recent assignment, the last thing Luke expects is an interrupting call from his estranged father. It’s not a reunion or an olive branch; it’s a stark warning: back off and let this mission lie.

The direness of the situation hits home when an explosion decimates his apartment, leaving Luke injured but alive. On the lam and nursing his wounds, he’s more determined than ever to get to the bottom of the sinister plot threatening him.

The deeper he delves, the higher the stakes become. After apprehending one of the attackers, Luke uncovers a nefarious arms deal in the works, poised to arm global terrorists with their sights locked onto the U.S. Tangled in this web of deceit is his father, somehow connected or controlled by these very terrorists. The decision he’s faced with is gut-wrenching: does he prioritize the family bond that’s been strained for years, or does he uphold the vow he took to defend his nation? Choices are a game, and in this lethal one, only one side can be the victor…

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No Fail (Blood and Armor #2) – Bill Fawcett and Casey Moores

Thanks to the General Ordnance Garment, or “GOG” combat suits, the Kurdish Republic’s military forces have defeated the Iranian armored columns. But now the theocratic dictatorship has a much more sinister plan to eradicate the newly formed Kurdish Republic.

Three elite GOG teams will have to launch on three desperate, high-risk, deep strikes.

And if even one of them fails, their home will be a radioactive wasteland, and their people will be gone forever.

“For fans of Tom Clancy and John Ringo, edge-of-your-seat near-future military science fiction with the verisimilitude that you’d expect from historian Fawcett and special-ops pilot Moores. Get set for a pulse-pounding adventure that hinges on plausible technology and a deep understanding of our precarious world situation.” — Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award-winning author of The Oppenheimer Alternative

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Resurgence (First Colony Book 16) – Ken Lozito

Dark secrets lurk among the stars. Are they ready for them?

General Connor Gates is leading a task force on the most ambitious exploration initiative to date. The crew aboard the ships are mix of military and civilian, and include his son, Ethan, who has grown into a well respected leader.

While exploring a strange alien world, the team investigating the wreckage of an alien ship is brutally attacked. The survivors barely escape and are now fighting for their lives and their sanity…including Ethan. They’ve been exposed to a dangerous contagion, and it’s going to spread.

Evidence surfaces that there are prisoners on the planet, and their fates are somehow linked to the survivors on the ship.

For Connor Gates, it’s all or nothing: rescue the people left behind and find a way to heal his son, or lose everything. But when a mysterious alien encounter presents an unthinkable choice, Connor’s decision will affect the future of humanity’s place in the galaxy.

They knew they weren’t alone in the galaxy, but no one could’ve predicted an encounter that would change all the rules.

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Starship For Rent #4 – M. R. Forbes

It only gets harder from here…

After barely making it out of their latest task alive, Noah, Ben, and the rest of Head Case’s crew are ready for a break.

The Warden has other ideas.

He orders them to another random planet to complete another random task, and while it’s easier than the one they just finished, it’s not going to get them any closer to going home.

But things have changed.

Armed with new capabilities, the team hatches a plan to both satisfy the Warden and make their first move to break free of his grip. When new revelations spiral into a deal with the devil, it may cost Noah much more than his soul…

It might cost him everything.

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I, Dragon – a crowdfunding campaign from Alien Books

Fiefdoms of the royal family, Rosentall Castle lives its darkest hours surrounded by a huge army. The leader who heads it is the bastard descendant of a lost royal line, and she has returned to reclaim her throne. A long and bloody struggle for power is about to begin. Meanwhile, inside the castle, a strange carnival woman gives birth to her first child…

One day in the early 90s, international guru Alejandro Jodorowsky chose him to take over the art of The Metabarons, that Moebius had been drawing until then. The gray-blue of the Metabarons gives the comics a more realistic look than the colorful pages of superheroes comics, or the one color ink of the manga. The Metabarons is a science-fiction story, but with knights and epic. Each volume is narrated by a robot called Tonto, relating the story of a member of a family of legendary warriors, who have to kill their predecessors, after being trained by them. At last, they must go out into the world after their fate, with incomplete bodies parched with the latest robotic technology.

Giménez touched his friends’ lives with his good humor and his passion for bikes (his friends and his wife enjoyed many rides with him). He also touched generations of artists, with his generosity and amiability, and with the legacy of his work.

After working on sci-fi for so long, Giménez desired to take up some personal projects. And that’s how I, Dragon, a medieval fantasy, came to be.

This crowdfunding campaign will be open through 14 June, 2024.

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Sword and Scandal – a Kickstarter campaign from J. Manfred Weichsel

The title Sword & Scandal is a play on the popular Italian sword and sandal genre of epic films. These will be stories with traditional historical and mythological settings from heroic fantasy, but with more gore, nudity, and sex than what you usually see published. They will be subversive without becoming grimdark and will retain the sense of fun you would want from a pulp adventure, and the sense of wonder you would want from a weird tale.

If you have read my books, then you know that I am an experimental author who takes big risks with everything he does. Unlike other publishers who tend to play it safe with their selections, I will be looking for the wild, strange, and outrageous. I want to publish off-beat and off-the-wall stories that would never otherwise get to see the light of day.

Humor is also a big part of what I do. I will actively look for stories that incorporate a similar sense of humor as mine: dry, sardonic, and satirical. I enjoy humor that is character-driven, dark, and surreal. But I also like farce.

Sword & Scandal is not an anthology for genre purists. It is for thrill-seeking readers who want something new and different. The tales in this book will be adventures to scandalize. So, if you want to see such a new market open up to writers, and if you want to help bring such a book into existence, and if you want to hold such a book in your hands and read it, then contribute to Sword & Scandal now!

This Kickstarter campaign will be open through 5 June, 2024.

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Ursula of Ulm (De re dordica #2) – a Kickstarter campaign from Pilum Press

“This next song is dedicated to Steven Miller, Esquire, Master Cataloger, from Krolok, eerie master of illusion. Krolok says, ‘To my brother in karnic arts, Fate has favored you. Together, we will wield great power and receive great rewards. Come to me, and let us share in the glory and riches of Yaat, our ancient kingdom. Our success depends on your skill and secrecy. Do not fail me. You know what you must do.'”

In this follow-up to the cult classic Shagduk, the mystery of Professor Sherwood’s disappearance deepens. As does Steven Miller’s involvement with Fort Worth’s occult underbelly and with his secretive colleague, Diane. Find out what happens when impish shenanigans go too far and when doors best left closed lead the fledgling sorcerer to the world’s very edge. Ursula of Ulm is the second book in the De re dordica saga.

This Kickstarter campaign will be open through 20 June, 2024.