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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Call to Armor (Ember War: Terran Expeditionary Corps #1) – Richard Fox

A planet in danger. An impossible enemy. Only Armor can stand against the darkness.

The extra-galactic bridge between Earth and Terra Nova reopens after decades. Governor Hale calls for aide against an impossible alien threat known as the Inheritors, an advanced alien species with a mysterious connection to old allies. Hale needs the most powerful soldiers in the galaxy: Armor.

His son, Ely, finally reconnects with his family and will return to Terra Nova not as the scared kid who left the dwarf galaxy, but as the leader of an Armor lance.

When the Ibarra Nation joins the Expeditionary Corps, old wounds and older suspicions threated to drive a wedge between human factions.

Join the Terran Expeditionary Corps as it travels to new stars and stand against a terrifying new foe.

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Glory Seeker: Feast of Ghouls – Bruce Nesmith

A new world. An empire out to get him. He must earn Glory to survive… then thrive.

After an accident, Laran wakes up in a strange fantasy world governed by a System, with his only knowledge coming from his fiery tutorial assistant, Toot, a faerie who is more snarky than helpful.

Even worse, the Undying Empire is hunting him for reasons he doesn’t understand. That means hordes of undead soldiers, dark assassins lurking in every shadow, and worse.

The good news is that apparently he is considered a Glory Seeker here, meaning he’s able augment almost anything he does by using points of Glory, a resource earned through actions in the world—heroic or villainous.

Focusing his build on Shadow Magic, Stealth, and Tinkering, Laran will make himself as impossible to catch as he is deadly. And an affinity for inventing contraptions brings him the attention of the Mechanist Guild.

The empire may be out to get him, but Laran vows to get them first. He’ll learn fast, befriend worthy companions, and acquire the power necessary to destroy the lich emperor before it destroys him.

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Quaestor (The Outer Reaches #2) – Peter J. Aldin

In the year 5122, law and order across the Imperium’s vast reaches is a difficult thing to maintain. Enter the Quaestors. They are judges, law bringers, and when need be, executioners.

When imperial Quaestor Aurelia Cossea enlists Proselyti troopers to depose a corrupt governor, Sergeant Saito Shimada willingly accepts. A convert to imperial ways, he has devoted himself to a safer, more united galaxy.

But when the assignment is interrupted by betrayal and the bizarre appearance of two troopers from an earlier Prosyleti mission, Saito’s commitment to his Imperium masters is sorely tested.

Under-equipped and cut off from support, the hunters will become the hunted, forced to navigate the twisted maze of an ancient city in a desperate bid for escape, hampered by bad intel, the governor’s minions, and the two deserters who’ve returned from the dead.

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Shell Game (The Last Hunter #15) – J. N. Chaney and Terry Mixon

If you can’t hide the game, conceal the pieces.

Admiral Jack Romanoff and his people have located the system the Tardans are using as their command post for the invasion of the Confederation. Only they can’t simply attack militarily because of the stellar terrain, so they need to improvise.

When the stakes are high, leave no option unexplored.

With direct action off the table, they must infiltrate the system and get the information they need to defeat the Tardans and their Locust minions. For something this important, it’s an all-hands-on-deck exercise, and everyone must pitch in. With everything at stake, they need to throw a few jokers into the deck for the enemy and hope for some wildcards of their own.

Second place means death, so they must win at all costs.

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Star Wanderers – J. D. Cowan

Detective Ronan Renfield is a Galactic Enforcer sworn to protect the innocent and bring evil-doers to justice to maintain order throughout the stars.

The Agent is a nameless knight errant tasked with hunting the most brazenly wicked and blasphemous who threaten order and nature across the cosmos.

Alone, they face strange and diabolical horrors on backwater worlds and the corrupt and dangerous criminals who threaten civilization.

Together, they are the Star Wanderers!

This collection features eight thrilling tales of raygun adventure, swashbuckling sword fights, and cyberpunk mystery, including four never-before published adventures!

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The Hidden Emperor: An Ayla Rin Sci-Fi Graphic Novel – a Kickstarter campaign by Jon Del Arroz

Ayla Rin, Agent Of The Terran Imperium, returns to face a new sinister plot against the Imperium!

Something is amiss with the Emperor of Mankind. Ayla Rin discovers he’s been replaced by a clone who’s intentionally sabotaging the Imperium on behalf of the evil Scorpio Alliance! 

But worse, the Scorpio Alliance knows she knows. And that means blackmail. Ayla is forced to find a secret superweapon that could unleash devastation on the Imperium.

This Kickstarter campaign will close on September 16, 2024.

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The Venus Spectacular – a Kickstarter campaign by Rawle Nyanzi

Natsuru Machida, the Chief Witch of Venus, went to visit Akane Isesaki, an old friend she hadn’t seen in a decade. She had been overjoyed to receive a letter, so she went out right away, hoping to catch up.

But nothing prepared Machida for what she would find upon arrival.

A dock expanded well beyond its original purpose. A cavalry armed with arrows that blow apart everything in their path. The burnt skull of an infant, presented with pride by the very friend Machida went to see.

Isesaki had embraced child sacrifice, and she left Machida with one warning: if you try to stop us, you will face destruction. Childhood friend or no, Machida could never let grave evil go unpunished.

But how does one fight a war without an army?

This Kickstarter campaign will close on September 6, 2024.