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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After Us (The Abyss #3) – Nathan Hystad

The fate of the world is on the line. What will be left After Us?

Safety is obviously only temporary as the Static continues to show itself. With someone trying to open a new set of Rings, the group must separate to vanquish their enemies.

Blaze heads to the South Pole with Anand, to activate the Attractor.

Wyatt must stop Isabel’s father from continuing his destructive patterns, but is he actually working for the good of humanity?

When someone from the past returns, the teams are beckoned to New York where it all began

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The Russian Betrayal (Harvey Bennett Thrillers #15) – Nick Thacker

Deep in the icy terrains of the Russian Arctic, a new mystery unfolds.

A research facility barely a speck on the map hides secrets that could tip the balance of global power. When a distress call reaches Harvey Bennett’s team, they are plunged headfirst into a world of intrigue, betrayal, and life-threatening danger.

Zachary Bennett draws Harvey and his team into the seedy backstreets of Moscow, hoping to find answers as to who has stolen his research.

As they navigate treacherous terrains and unforeseen threats, they stumble upon a conspiracy much bigger than they imagined. Tied to a powerful manufacturing company and pursued by a merciless mercenary group, the team is caught in a whirlwind of treachery and deceit.

But Harvey Bennett isn’t one to back down.

With the cunning and resilience that his fans have come to expect, Bennett delves deeper, trying to unravel the mystery. And when a voice from the past joins the fray, Harvey realizes the challenge is not just about survival—it’s a race against time to prevent a global catastrophe.

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Shadow Watch: Kethurg War – Brandon Ellis and Max Wolfe

Hex Thorn, a hard-bitten veteran of the elite Special Operations Unit of the Dominion Empire, was content with retirement. He’d seen his share of firefights and bloodshed in a bitter war that ripped the galaxy apart.

But when an enigmatic stranger makes him an offer he can’t refuse–a chance to own a legendary Lancer ship–Hex is thrust back into the fray.

His mission?

Hunt down the elusive Dr. Attica Tharand, a person whose secrets could shatter the galaxy’s fragile balance of power.

Hex must reassemble his old Special Ops team, a ragtag crew of soldiers as skilled as they are unpredictable. But they soon find out they aren’t the only ones after the doctor.

With galactic tension on the razor’s edge, Hex will need all his grit, guile, and gunfire to uncover the truth about his target and those who wish him caught. An elite unit. A dark secret. Can they stop interstellar war before it starts?

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Under Siege (The Last Hunter #11) – J. N. Chaney and Terry Mixon

Only one world in the cluster remains in enemy hands.

Admiral Jack Romanoff and his crew have one remaining nut to crack before they can turn their attention to the people that overthrew the Confederation. The Vesuvius system has become a fortress, so it won’t be an easy fight, but it is one they cannot lose and survive.

When force alone won’t do the trick, add guile.

Since brute force won’t work, Jack must turn to guile to exploit the enemy’s weaknesses. Only then can he achieve victory without a tremendous loss of human life. And that’s before an unexpected complication threatens to undo everything they’ve accomplished and plunge the cluster back into brutal war with an enemy determined to exterminate or enslave them.

Confronted by stronger enemies, Jack has to turn their strength against them. Somehow.

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Adventurer Conqueror King System Imperial Imprint (ACKS II) – a crowdfunding campaign from Autaurch

The Adventurer Conqueror King System™ Imperial Imprint (ACKS II) is the new edition of the acclaimed bestselling fantasy role-playing game. Within the pages of ACKS II you’ll find everything you need to enjoy epic fantasy campaigns with a sweeping scope. Whether you want to crawl through dungeons, experiment with alchemy, crossbreed monsters, run a merchant emporium, raise an undead legion, or conquer an empire, ACKS II supports your playstyle.

If you spend enough time in online RPG communities, you’ll have seen someone post something like “They need to make a game that… has mass combat mechanics that work at every scale / keeps fighters competitive with mages / has figured out how to make thieves fun / has an economy that makes sense / could actually simulate my game world.” And someone will inevitably respond: “ACKS already does that. ” And it’s true.

Now, with ACKS II, we’re doing it even better.

This crowdfunding campaign will remain open until 22 November, 2023.

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Black Hops #6 – a crowdfunding campaign from Timothy Lim

It’s Iconic Comics X Antarctic Press as heroes from both worlds are recruited to fight evil!

CRYPTIQ and its leader, APEX MOTH, seeks to create, capture, and weaponize CRYPTIDS for nefarious means. In his latest bid for power, he’s sent some of his echelon to make a deal with Japanese gangsters while he hides out in the mysterious and deadly port of LONGHARBOR.

To fight CRYPTIQ on two fronts, the BLACK HOPS and SPEC HOPS teams find themselves enlisting some serious muscle:

• KAMEN AMERICA and the Kamen Corps: a quartet of henshin heroines imbued with elemental abilities that include lightning, fire, and water.
• SOULFINDER 79: the youngest recruit of the Vatican’s order of combat exorcists, trained to fight evil in the valley between the physical world and the world of the supernatural.
• VERSEMA: Bestowed with the abilities granted to the Daughters of Hercules, Jesse McGrath has the power to alter her physical appearance and is endowed with superhuman strength, flight, and durability.
• Regina “RAGS” Ragowski: A battle-hardened Marine who finds herself in strange situations with coincidental wardrobe malfunctions. Rags is paired with an unusual tactical unicorn onesie whose power limits have not been fully reached.

This crowdfunding campaign will remain open until 22 November, 2023.

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The Burned Book (The Arkwright Saga) – a crowdfunding campaign from Brian Niemeier

An outcast boy with a terrible secret …

A disillusioned priest seeking release from fate …

The restless son of a fading race seeking his destiny …

Thrown together by chance, their historic quest will span a continent. And change all worlds forever.

Zebrin wanders the human-dominated mainland, having fled his people’s rigid island refuge. Alone in barbaric lands, he yearns to find himself in those his race shuns.

But when an ambitious emperor drafts him for a harrowing mission to the farthest ends of the world, will he discover and embrace his divine calling? Or will the kingdom he was ordained to save fall?

The answer lies in the Burned Book.

This crowdfunding campaign will remain open until 2 December, 2023.