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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EngineMasters: Retribution – Gus Harris-Reid

A Nation divided. An endless civil war. A pilot who can end it all.

Newly graduated EngineMaster Dawn Fletcher is eager to take the fight to the rebel Islanders alongside her clan-mates. But when tragedy strikes, she has no choice but to team up with the proud, stubborn Cal Bassoli, a veteran Pilot who is no stranger to pain and loss.

With no time to prepare before the next Islander attack, Dawn and Cal must quickly set aside their differences and learn to trust one another if they want to master their battle engine, survive the engagement, and perhaps even discover what the Islanders are really up to.

If they fail, it could spell disaster for the entire Nation.

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The Forgotten Ship – J. N. Chaney and Terry Mixon

Somewhere in the universe, a forgotten starship is waiting.

Drake steals artifacts so they can benefit all of mankind. They belong in a museum, after all, not hoarded by a select few in their private vaults. It’s a dangerous life, but someone has to do it.

Then he learns of a map to the location of a lost mega-freighter once belonging to the ancient royal family. Drake, like so many before him, can’t resist the siren’s call. After all, it’s the find of a lifetime.

All he needs to do is steal the map, right?

Except nothing is ever easy for Drake. The map is housed inside a super vault, surrounded by guards ready to shoot on sight, and now there’s a woman with an eyepatch and a vendetta. And all of that could end up being the easy part.

Getting the ship and keeping it will be much more difficult.

Experience a riveting, brand new science fiction saga from USA Today Bestselling Authors J.N. Chaney and Terry Mixon. If you’re a fan of the Last Hunter, Renegade Star, or Backyard Starship, you’ll love this tale of science fiction intrigue, galactic exploration, and unfathomable discovery.

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Magus Reborn – Extra26 and T. C. Liyanage

A regression ritual gone wrong. A mage reborn in an ancient era. A world to rebuild.

Kai of the Sorcerer’s Tower was one of the last Mages left, barely surviving in a world contaminated with dead mana and ruled by creatures of the dark.

To save his world and fulfill his master’s last wish, he puts himself through a forbidden ritual, risking his soul being ripped into pieces to make his way into the past, to a golden era with abundant mana.

But things go wrong. He overshoots and finds himself in an ancient time thousands of years earlier, within the body of a young lord named Arzan.

All is not well, though. The young lord was murdered by mysterious forces before Kai took over, beasts are rampant, and even larger threats loom on the horizon.

There’s a lot to do for Kai to regain his former strength in this time of primitive technology. Then again, he might just be able to change that and makes things even better than they ever were.

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The Masked Marksman #4 – Emile C. Tepperman

Meet Ed Race who made his trade as a vaudeville gun-juggler supreme, known on stage as “The Masked Marksman” and for handling six loaded .45s to the delight of the crowds. But when this line of work became too tedious, Race took advantage of his multi-state P.I. licenses to solve crimes across the country. This collection includes :

• Murder Misses Its Cue: Those Jordane killers set out to ruin Blountsville’s first citizen, and kill his only son, to boot, but overlooked one little detail. Ed Race, the Masked Marksman, was performing hair-trigger tricks at the local theater-and was more than willing to give those thugs a command performance!
• The Corpse Takes a Curtain Call: As the Masked Marksman, on the stage, Ed Race had been called upon to perform miracles with his .45s-but none as hair-raising as the time, in real life, when he faced a killer who blasted men into eternity before he had even fired a shot!
• Top Billing for Murder: Ten thousand dollars was what “Lucky” Linsey planned to collect from a corpse’s check-until Ed Race, the Masked Marksman, horned in and canceled that check in hot lead!

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Shadow on the Moon (The Lunar Free State #12) – John E. Siers

The financial and economic crisis is over, and the Lunar Free State is beginning to pull out of the recession it suffered competing with the Confederated Nations over the Xanadu colonies. Now, however, the LFS is indebted to the CNE, and the new Lunar government is gradually falling under CNE’s influence. In a few years, the LFS will become just another puppet state under the CNE banner.

For the power players of the Invisible Hand, all is going according to plan, yet some of them are impatient. Why wait for the slow decline of the LFS when you can take it all by force? A bold, devastating attack, much like that on Pearl Harbor in 1941, is the answer.

But like so many in the past who failed to study history, they don’t stop to consider how Pearl Harbor worked out for the attackers in the long run, and it’s up to a few hard-core patriots in the LFS military to teach them that lesson.

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Vanguard (Rebel Galaxy #3) – J. N. Chaney and Jasper T. Scott

Caught between alien slavers and rebel soldiers, their only hope for freedom lies far beyond the war.

After narrowly surviving the battle of Alyrus, Captain Gideon Wallace and his crew seek refuge among the mysterious Vanguard, a powerful alliance of rebels and sentient alien machines that is fighting to topple the Draconian Empire. But trust is a fragile thing, and Vanguard has already broken Gideon’s by locking up one of his people and posting armed guards to watch their every move.

When Gideon uncovers Vanguard’s hidden agenda, he realizes that they must escape before they become casualties of the war. His mission: to find and unite the last free humans in the galaxy and found a colony far beyond the reaches of the Dracs and Vanguard alike. But first, he must track down Dr. Clark and the survivors of Trailblazer Six. Little does he know, he’s flying into a trap, and Clark is the bait.

Caught between Draconian warlords, Vanguard’s enigmatic “eternals,” and a traitor within his own ranks, Gideon must somehow chart a course that doesn’t end in death or enslavement for his crew—and while he’s at it, find a new home for the human race.

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Dracoheim Confidential – a Kickstarter campaign from Cirsova

Return to the magical realm of Dracoheim! For the city at the nexus of myriad strange and sorcerous alien worlds, magic and monsters have become just another part of everyday life.

Magic, which was once a novel and mysterious force, has been systematized, standardized, and turned into a vocational science, necessary for day to day commerce with the realms of Nightmare. It is the job of Magus Leonid Vetch, one of the last of the old breed of “wizards,” to prepare young men attending Leeshore Technical College for careers in magic.

And as magic has become part of everyday life, so too has it become a part of commonplace criminal activity. Erik Rugar, a special agent for the Committee for Public Safety, is tasked with investigating crimes involving magic and denizens of Nightmare visiting or residing in Dracoheim County.

Dracoheim Confidential collects 6 previously published stories from Misha Burnett along with two brand new tales!

This Kickstarter campaign will be open until May 5th, 2005.

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Kamen America Alpha: The Manga – a Kickstarter campaign from Timothy Lim

When Kamen America Volume 1 first debuted in 2020, no one could have predicted how successful it would be, or even if it would make it past one volume. The story had to be condensed to fit into 56 pages, with very little room to breathe.

If given enough time and pages, what story would have been told? What would be the quintessential adaptation of the original work? That question is finally answered in Kamen America: Alpha.

Charlotte “Carly” Vanders had high hopes of becoming a fashionista. On the advice of her agent, she joins the USO as a seamstress and entertainer with the promise that this would open up new opportunities for her.

As fate would have it, Carly’s destiny rested among the stars: literally, as her transport vehicle was impacted by cosmic debris.

Carly soon finds out that doing the right thing isn’t always fashionable: discarding her corporate overlords and the fast track to fame and fortune, she rebrands herself into a self-made, self-reliant henshin heroine known as KAMEN AMERICA!

This Kickstarter campaign will be open until June 3rd, 2005.