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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The Dream Lords – Adrian Cole

Mankind and its empire spanning the Nine Worlds are ruled by a powerful triumvirate of long-lived dreamers: the Dream Lords!

The Dream Lords project a vision of utopia to obfuscate the alien hostility of Zurjah, the world long claimed to be the true seat of humanity. A vision that grows hazy as the power of the Dream Lords wanes.

Destroyed by ancient wars, Earth has become a backwater prison colony, and its native inhabitants are called “Barbarian” and enslaved to perpetuate a myth that Mankind came from the stars.

Galad Sarian, son and heir of one of the Dream Lords, discovers not only the truth behind the crumbling Zurjahn empire and faltering of the powers that maintain humanity’s grasp on alien worlds but also a plot by Daras Vorta, the Warden of Earth, to overthrow the Dream Lords with the aid of demonic forces.

This edition collects A Plague of Nightmares (1975), Lord of Nightmares (1975), and Bane of Nightmares (1976) in a single volume, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Adrian Cole’s Dream Lords.

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Fracture (Lost Town #3) – Nathan Hystad

It’s hard to see the stars when the sky is broken.

Caesar and Amelia must part ways on crucial tasks to relocate their people from the incoming war. Milton is days away from reaching Lost Town, but is it enough time to prepare when he’s been training for this his whole life?

Harrison gets a second chance at redemption as he ventures to Earth to save the inhabitants of Arcadia. His optimism fractures when a rogue team of assassins is recruited to thwart his mission.

And what other secrets lay beyond Arcadia?

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Ironheart Crucible (Will of the Immortals #3) – Jay Krauss

Ironheart Crucible takes Leon Jäger and his companions into the vast and merciless desert, where survival depends on more than strength—it demands resilience, strategy, and an iron will. At the heart of the endless sands lies Oasis, a bustling town built around a vital spring, where treachery and ambition thrive beneath the surface of its shifting sands.

Drawn by promises of opportunity and peril, Leon must navigate a dangerous path through both a treacherous dungeon and a martial tournament, where the stakes are nothing short of life and death. Faced with opponents who test his skill and enemies who surpass him in power- both in Cultivation and politics, Leon must find a way to endure and prevail.

But survival alone will not be enough. To face the trials ahead, Leon must break through to the elusive Qi Compression realm, a process that will push him to his limits and force him to confront the very nature of his cultivation—and his own concept of the truths behind Qi itself. Each step forward brings new revelations and challenges that will shape not only his future, but the fates of all who stand beside him.

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Manifest Destiny (Wolfhounds #5) – John Van Stry

The Tomb has acknowledged Chase’s lineage, and declared him Emperor to the universe. But what good is being an Emperor if you don’t have an Empire? While the Wolfhounds have conquered, or perhaps liberated, a fair number of planets, the core worlds have not yet been touched. Furthermore, the crown jewel of them all, Cor Imperii, still stands under the control of Speaker Phillip K. Neill, and the rest of the members of the coup that seized control of the empire over a decade ago.

But Neill’s days are numbered, whether he fully realizes it or not, as his dictatorship is slowly dismantled, one piece at a time and he clings to whatever hopes he has left. While the road before Chase is still long, and still fraught with peril and a good many dangers. However, for Chase and the Wolfhounds, the end is finally within view – now it’s only a matter of time.

The challenges may be different, but they are by no means less than the ones he’s faced previously. In fact some of them he may find to be harder, now that he is no longer ‘pretending’ to be the prince, having proven to all his right to reign and having finally accepted the responsibilities that have now become his.

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Pogue One – edited by Spearman Burke

The purpose of this anthology is not to denigrate pogues. On the contrary, we felt their representation in fiction (military SF or otherwise) a bit lacking.

What about the kid with the thirty-pound brain locked away in the vault, like in Gene Rowley’s tale of a lance corporal in the Cyber Corps?

The medical ninjas who’re willing to move heaven and earth to save one more life feature prominently in K. Anders’s story.

Chris DiNote shows us there are worse things lurking within the depths of the military machine than mere pogues.

In “The Troll,” Jim Curtis reminds us that the hardest working folks in the military just may be the apes whose job is to keep aircraft in the sky.

Wrapping up our ensemble of storytelling is Liska McCabe, who reminds us that no matter the MOS, we all endure check-out in the end.

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Tenure – Blaine L. Pardoe and Mike Baron

Push a Good Man Too Far…

Braxton Knox was a veteran, a university professor, a conservative family man—a good person, commanding the respect of those who knew him. Until the day when one innocent slip of the tongue brought down the merciless wrath of the woke social justice mob—ultimately costing him his career, his family, his home, and almost his life.

Unfortunately for the SJWs, they chose the wrong person to abuse. They expected Braxton to do what so many do: roll over and take it. It never dawned on them that he would fight back.

Braxton unleashes a war against those who sought to ruin him. His unique brand of vigilante justice is vicious, violent, vindicating, and fraught with risk…

… but at this point, he’s got nothing left to lose.

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Threshold: Stories from Cradle – Will Wight

Cradle isn’t over yet.

Lindon’s journey may have ended, but there are still more tales to tell.

The stories in this collection will show you the world after Cradle, those left behind, and even some legends from long ago. If you’ve read the main series but you still want more, these are for you.

Witness the first Uncrowned King tournament. Visit the Monarchs and their voyages in the lands beyond. Get to know the Abidan in their homes, and meet the people of new worlds as they cross paths with familiar faces.

And, of course, check in on some old friends.

See them once again…across the Threshold.

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The Wild Path (The Beastcaller Chronicles #1) – Dan Michaelson and D. K. Holmberg

The Call of the Beast summons. He fears answering.

Leo Stormrider has always been an embarrassment to his family. Barely able to communicate with animals, he dreams of becoming something more than just the village disappointment. But when a terrifying plague of parasitic creatures begins spreading through the realm, Leo discovers that his weak path may be the key to saving his world.

Aided by Shadowshine, a powerful Outer Wolf who becomes his unlikely Familiar, Leo must master the dangerous Call of the Beast. It’s an ancient power that grants incredible strength—but threatens to consume his very humanity.

He faces a choice: continue hiding who he is, or embrace his destiny as a Beastcaller and risk everything to defend a realm that would rather see him dead.

Leo will have to become something more than just a Beastcaller. He’ll have to become a legend.