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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Bright Red Line (Backyard Starship #22) – J. N. Chaney and Terry Maggert

When a running battle brings the Fafnir home to earth, it ends with the death of a trusted friend—and a new focus on what comes next for Van and his crew.

The Guild is rotten. It must be changed. It must be healed. But to do that, Van will have to marshal resources on a scale he’s never considered, and that means calling in favors from friends.

With the Schegith fleet in training, and the Conoku itching to get back into the fight, Van has a clear plan for what he has to do—which is the one thing he doesn’t want to do.

The time for war is here. The time for change is now.

A new leader is needed, and Van will discover if he can take control of Yotov’s criminal empire—and save the victims across known space.

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Bureau 42 (The Four Horsemen Universe: The Phoenix Initiative) – edited by Kevin Ikenberry and Mia R. Kleve

Peacemakers. The Galactic Union’s most capable enforcers and resolute negotiators, their name alone elicits fear and awe among the Union’s citizenry.

It doesn’t happen often, but when a Peacemaker can’t solve a case, it goes to the Peacemaker Archives, as all Peacemaker cold cases reside within “Bureau 42,” as it’s also known. Cases dealing with ghost ships, missing Peacemakers, mysterious killers, and even a few cases that aren’t even really cases can all be found in the files of Bureau 42.

Fourteen authors present thirteen all-new stories from the depths of Bureau 42. Take a look into the forgotten files of the Peacemaker Guild and find never-before-seen secrets, some of which herald the future of the Peacemaker Guild and even the Galactic Union itself.

These stories honor the threat, set the terms, and walk the knife edge between standing or falling. Step inside, Candidate, and see what our files hold…

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Go West: Frontier Adventures #1 – edited by Spenser Rudolph

The Western. Truly the American genre. Far away are the days where it dominated print, film, television & comics, yet there seems to be a longing among the public for it. A longing for the frontier spirit. A longing for heroism, adventure, romance, horror & grit.

We look to the past for inspiration. Specifically to the pulp writers that laid down the foundations for the mid-century Western explosion in American culture. We look to writers like Robert E. Howard, Louis L’Amour, Zane Grey, H. Bedford Jones, & Max Brand.

Taking those same foundations that were laid a century ago we hope to unleash a new wave of Western pulp.

Action, adventure, romance, mystery, wonder! All of this and more can be found in the inaugural issue of Go West: Frontier Tales.

It doesn’t end there, the magazine is also filled with to the brim story illustrations, pin-ups, photo splashes, and articles on real history.

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Supernova (Order of Scion #4) – Tony Neighbors

It’s never easy to do what’s right

Especially when The Fray wants to kill you for it.

The Order of Scion is under attack. On Pappisbad, thousands of light-years from Earth, the Order was savagely attacked. Mitch Murphy and his friends are on the run, hiding among the aliens on the trade world, hoping to find a way to escape. But there’s danger on every side, and orbit is crawling with Fray ships. The only way out of the Ventron system is with help and a lot of luck.

Leo Squad is on the hunt. After being abducted from New Terra, their only hope for survival is to fight. But they have no idea who they’ll be fighting or what surprises are in store for the trio of Marines. They’ll have to improvise, adapt, and overcome if they want to live long enough to find a way back home.

As our heroes scramble, the Fray is relentlessly hunting down the remaining members of the Order of Scion. It’s the beginning of a war that will stretch across the galaxy.

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Warlord of the Unraveling – Doc Spears

Warlord Benjamin Colt fights from the front.

Colt and his fellow Green Berets have slain barbarian armies, toppled government, dethroned gods, and forged the greatest fighting force to ever battle on the decayed and dying world of Vystara.

But an unknown enemy steals undetected into the heart of the flowering civilization they’ve sacrificed to build. This new enemy unleashes chaos and depraved murder. Their goal—complete and utter terror.

All evidence points to a ghost-like tribe of primitives thought long eradicated, driven by an ideology so foul it’s source could only be the planet Colt left behind—Earth. As their alliances and scientific innovations break down, the Green Berets and their peerless alien compatriots must find a fabled land known only though nearly forgotten writings…

Of all of Benjamin Colt’s many wars, this will prove his most challenging to win. But when all others are found wanting, a kingdom depends on the only man fit to bear the title—Warlord.

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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.