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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Any Given Doomsday (Gladius Leagues #1) – Michael LaVoice

Humanity’s last hope is… a combat sports champion?

In the wake of humanity’s great expansion across the stars, war was a thing of the past, and its armies and navies were disbanded. Disputes were settled by the ancient practice of trial by combat in the Gladius Leagues, where elite athletes clad in advanced powered armor fought in front of millions. Their motto was, “We fight so others don’t have to.”

Nick “Warhorse” Landry, star Field Commander of the Foundry Warhawks, was content to live by that code—until everything changed. His home planet fell under a terrifying alien invasion while he was light years away. But when the invasion reaches his current system, humanity has a defense.

Unfortunately, that defense is Warhorse and his team of prima donna athletes. They’re stars of the arena, but they’re woefully unprepared for real war. With the guidance of the last surviving general from the Expansion Wars, these sports heroes are thrust into a battle for survival, and they’ll have to learn fast, or humanity faces total extinction.

Will Warhorse and his crew rise to the occasion—or fall in the final battle for humanity’s future?

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Here Be Dragons (The Starship In The Stone #2) – M. R Forbes

Thomas never expected to find Excalibur stuck beneath a Welsh lake. He never asked to be a hero. And he certainly never imagined standing between a tyrant and the fate of a galaxy.

Destiny doesn’t wait for permission.

From the mystical world of Avalyeth, Thomas’ journey will lead him and his growing crew into the heart of enemy territory, the halls of ancient dragons, and the path of knights who remember a time when hope still burned bright. Hunted by the Draconite and haunted by the past, they’ll need to risk everything to outmaneuver and overcome those who would see them destroyed.

As new alliances form and old rivalries re-ignite, Thomas must prove he’s more than just the captain of a legendary starship—he must become the leader others believe him to be.

Even if he still isn’t sure he believes it himself.

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Endings (Sleeping Gods #3) – Ralph Kern 

Trapped aboard the crippled starship Erebus, spiraling toward the crushing grip of a black hole, Inspector Layton Trent and his team face oblivion. Their only hope? A desperate alliance with the ship’s renegade crew. Bitter enemies must work together, or they’ll vanish into the abyss.

But survival comes at a price. When Erebus finally breaks free, they emerge 20,000 years in the future to a desolate galaxy.

Entire civilizations are extinct.

Humanity is gone.

An overwhelming, enigmatic force has swept across the stars, consuming entire worlds to fuel its relentless expansion. The last remnants of intelligent life have fled toward the galactic core, desperate to escape annihilation. With no way back and an unstoppable enemy hunting them, Layton and his crew have only one choice, to follow the survivors into the unknown.

What begins as a desperate flight soon becomes something far greater.

From the ruins of a dying galaxy to the final flickers of existence itself, Layton and his crew will push beyond the boundaries of time and space, searching for answers – about the force that hunts them, the fate of those who came before, and the ultimate mystery of what lies beyond the end of everything.

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First Command – Michael Simon

Fresh out of the Academy, Ensign Cole Jackson’s first posting to Freedom couldn’t have come at a worse time. All over the Alliance, planets and colonies are suddenly under attack by the vicious Coven Empire.

Freedom and her sister ship, Hood, are ambushed by alien warships, leaving Hood drifting dead in the void.

Cole is ordered to salvage parts from the powerless Hood, but when he arrives on the unpowered hulk, Freedom is called away, marooning him and a group of malcontent techs in deep space.

With the timer on survival ticking down, Cole must find the confidence to take control, whip his tiny crew into shape, bring Hood back to life––repairing communications, propulsion and even weapons.

He’s got one chance to transform the derelict ship into a combat-ready vessel. One he can take into battle and alterthe course of the war.

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Retribution (Starship Jericho #4) – Toby Neighbors

There’s something out there.  We’ve known about it for a long time.  No one knows where it came from or who sent it.  But one thing is certain: it wants us to find it.

With the galaxy under the control of a corrupt and evil empire, the crew of the highly advanced alien ship Renegade feels duty-bound to help. Their presence disrupts the imperial forces that hold sway over a thousand planets, but can one ship really make a difference?

As Captain Zeke Darius leads the ship into the unknown, Master Sergeant Remmy Steel must fight to ensure the safety of the crew. But no one could anticipate what the Space Marines will find. It’s a discovery that could change everything.

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Rebel Galaxy: Factions – J. N. Chaney and Jasper T. Scott

Run and hide, or fight for freedom.

Against all odds, Gideon saved his crew from the Draconians, and he even rescued the colonists—but they aren’t his colonists; they’re from a different Trailblazer. Now they’ve found refuge on a planet called Sanctuary, but their Draconian ally, Rolam, has informed them that their safe haven belongs to a powerful race of sentient machines, and it might not be as safe as it seems.

Gideon’s mission is clear: to escape and find their people. But with the leader of the colony forbidding anyone to leave, and Rolam pushing his own agenda, the path ahead looks treacherous.

While they are still deciding what to do, a chance encounter with a mysterious rebel faction presents a third option, and Gideon must decide who to trust. The stakes are high, and dark forces are conspiring from the shadows. Even the slightest misstep will mean death, or worse—enslavement to the Dracs.

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The Complete Mongoose and Meerkat – a Kickstarter campaign from Cirsova

He’s a brash young bravo, eager to prove his worth with a blade. She’s a mysterious rogue with a head for history and razor cunning. Together, they are the Mongoose and Meerkat!

Whether they’re looting haunted dungeons, fighting demons and necromancers, or just settling labor disputes, this swashbuckling duo is ready for anything! Mangos would love nothing more than to earn a name for himself and keep himself comfortably in coin. Kat, however, has more far-reaching plans for her wealth.

The City State of Alness has fallen to a band of mercenaries and brigands who have ravaged the north lands. Amidst the rumors that an Alnessi royal may have survived, the Mongoose and Meerkat must navigate all manner of intrigue and betrayal to win the fame and fortune necessary to restore the once-mighty city.

Originally serialized in 18 installments from 2017 through 2023 in Cirsova Magazine, Jim Breyfogle’s Mongoose and Meerkat became one of the iconic Sword & Sorcery teams of the Pulp Revolution. Now, you can have all of their adventures in a single gorgeous volume!

This campaign remains open until 3 March 2025.