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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He Who Fights with Monsters #11 – Travis Deverell

Jason and his companions managed to forestall the inexorable undead, but their battle is far from done.

Both they and their enemies are scattered across a strange realm, one that someone must conquer if anyone is to get out alive. Territory by territory, factions fight to reunite their people and conquer the realm.

Jason must contend with alliances he doesn’t want, friends he cannot find, and enemies ranging from angelic despots to the power of an undead god. He must face a realm that has been warped by his own mind and find a way to save a friend whose sacrifice got them this far.

To have any chance against the enemies waiting for him, Jason will have to confront the power inside himself that he’s been unwilling to face, fearful of what he’ll become. Only by accepting the destiny that looms over him will he have the strength to face his foes, with no promise even that will be enough to defeat them.

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Remnants of Empire (Ashes of Entecea #4) – edited by Kacey Ezell

A group of militants searches for ancient technology. A young boy fights to survive as his world disintegrates. A thief steals a gem that carries more than just monetary value…

Born from the marriage of nanite-driven terraforming and corporate loyalty protocols, the Entecean Empire spanned hundreds of star systems and thousands of standard years before crumbling under the weight of barbarian incursions, political infighting, and bureaucratic decay.

But the Entecean nanoterraforming safeguards requiring certain DNA sequences remained. Generations of star monarchies rose to fill the power vacuum, charged with governing and preserving the habitable worlds left in the wake of the once great empire.

From murderous plots to disastrous evacuations, to the seeds of love amidst great upheaval, the tales that remain give us glimpses into the lives of the people who call these worlds home. Step into the mists of time and memory as fifteen authors explore the complex and diverse stories that make up the Remnants of Empire.

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Start Menu: New Game – Kos Play

Complete Quests. Earn Renown. Win.

Meet Alexander Krup, your average high school graduate turned video game beta tester. Working for a strange company nobody has ever heard of, he earns his pay by the achievement.

After a string of bad luck, including his girlfriend dumping him, he wakes up one seemingly average day and is suddenly faced with blue boxes of text that float in the air.

While coming to grips with the fact that he might by hallucinating, a representative of his mysterious employer communicates through the menu boxes to offer a fresh life in another world.

With nothing left to lose, Alexander takes the offer and is sent hurtling into a fantasy world both like and unlike any game he’s played before.

Now, he must choose an alignment.

Will he seek Renown or Infamy? One way or another, Alex will leave a mark… or will it be a stain?

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Strings of Sorrow (The Wayward Chronicles #2) – D. K. Holmberg

The Twilight Gates call to me with a song I must ignore, as it’s nothing more than the Song of Sorrow.

No longer traveling with the Wayward, Leo learns that finding his own way is its own adventure, and one he could never have experienced as one of the Wayward.

He joins a new caravan and befriends a young girl fascinated by the Twilight Gates, travels with one of the fae and learns of a danger to their realm, and makes an enemy of the Alley King.

Surviving the journey is only the first step. The Academy is the goal. Even then, he must still gain entry to the Academy—which proves more difficult than Benjamin led him to believe.

All will be worth it if he can infiltrate the Guild and get the vengeance he seeks.

The Wayward Chronicles continues this epic journey as Leo searches for his place in the world as he’s destined to become more than Wayward. He’s destined to become a part of the Song itself.

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The Vengeance (The Frontiers Saga: Fringe Worlds #12) – Ryk Brown

The Rangers are taking on missions daily…
The Free Fleet is becoming more widely known…
The ex-Korsan captains are forming their own alliances…
The Expedition-class ships have reached their destination…

Jorim Perona has been resurrected, and is looking for payback. With his advanced warship, the Vengeance, he is out to repatriate his fleet, or destroy them.

But his main focus is on the Aurora, and her captain. And he’ll sacrifice everything to destroy them.

“The Vengeance” is the 12th episode in Part 3 of the Frontiers Saga: Fringe Worlds.

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War Child (Wolfhounds #4) – John Van Stry

Speaker Phillip T. Neill has finally gotten his hands on Chase, and he’s definitely got plans. First there will be a little lesson taught. Then there will be a show trial! A big fancy show trial with all of the media there as it’s broadcast live across the entirety of the Democratic People’s Republic of Solaria!

While the outcome may be predetermined, it doesn’t matter to Speaker Neill, he knows that Chase is a fraud and the idea of destroying the little gutter snipe before the entire Republic makes him smile. Then, after he’s done and the fake prince has been sentenced to death, Speaker Neill has a show planned for the Morgan pretender that the people will remember for a long time.

Of course Chase has other plans about how this trail is going to proceed, even if the ending is predetermined. One of those is to go down swinging, while exposing Phillip for the stupid and vicious man that he really is.

And maybe, just maybe, there are other people out there who have plans of their own as well.

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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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Wild Stars: The Gold Exigency – a Kickstarter campaign from Cirsova Publishing

Following the bombing of the galactic summit on Ansa, the Artomique Corporation has become the dominant political power on Earth and throughout the rest of the galaxy! However, the immortal princess Phaedra has amassed a planet-sized hoard of gold, causing the value of the precious metal and any currencies backed by it to crash!

Unusual economic problems require unusual solutions: the Phileans are a race of bird people with brilliant gemstones growing on their skin–simply exterminate the aliens, harvest their skin gems, and corner the market.

Of course, all of this needs to be kept hush-hush. It would be bad if anyone found out Earth’s government was in league with the notorious space pirate queen Nefarimor or, worse, the vile lizard-like Black Star Reavers to engage in trafficking and genocide.

Enter Constable Conrock, who has been investigating abductions and disappearances of Philean women. In the principle of keeping one’s enemies close, the Artomique leader Achilles Hister deputizes Conrock to find the remaining Phileans to “place in protective custody,” look into the origins of the excess gold flooding the market, and track down a pair of wanted criminals.

Conrock, however, is too clever to merely be an unwitting pawn in the Artomique’s secret war against the Wild Stars… Keeping his cards close to the chest, the retired space cop will stop at nothing to uncover the truth and put an end to the insidious machinations of the Artomique Corporation!

This Kickstarter campaign will close on August 15, 2024.