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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An Outlaw’s Vengeance (The Last Eternal #6) – Jacob Peppers

Some shadows are not shadows at all but Death, watching, waiting.

Only sometimes, Death is not content to watch.

Sometimes, he comes with purpose.

And tonight, on this darkest of all nights, Death came not for the wanderer, as it had so many times, but for his friends. To save them, the wanderer will have to stand in the darkness and face down the shadows lurking there. Shadows trained by none other than Assassin, the greatest killer ever to walk the face of the world.

Wounded, the wanderer plays a dangerous game of cat and mouse through the streets of Celes, one that isn’t over until his corpse, or those of his pursuers, falls lifeless to the ground.

But those are just the beginnings of his troubles, for even should he survive the night, the darkness will return. Death will return—he always does.

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The Queen’s Blade – D. K. Holmberg

A soldier with a past meets a future he cannot ignore. The Queen’s Blade saga begins.

Zaren Joha, once a formidable soldier, now spends his days maintaining peace in a quiet tavern in Lavrun. No more military rigors. No more blind obedience. The job is uneventful, yet it allows him a semblance of normalcy.

But his tranquil life in Lavrun is about to change. An encounter with the mysterious Waleith, a man with deep connections to the queen, draws him into a world where his brawn is not enough. The tavern’s usual hustle, the sailors’ brawls, and the regulars are soon overshadowed by a brewing storm of magic and intrigue attempting to topple the throne.

As Zaren grapples with powers beyond his understanding and confronts the echoes of a magic-tainted past, survival in this new world demands more than physical strength. To protect those he has come to care for and to navigate the treacherous currents of royal politics and ancient magic, Zaren must embrace a role he never anticipated.

No longer a soldier, he must become the Queen’s Blade.

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The Shattered Construct (Essence Wielder Book 3) – Dan Michaelson and D. K. Holmberg

A unique connection to essence is key to protecting the empire.

Dax and his friends have settled into their roles at the Academy. They’ve stopped another attack, which has gained them notice, but also allows them a measure of freedom in their studies. With Desmond now serving as headmaster, they think everything will be different. Better.

But the flows of essence are changing.

Those who study such things don’t know what that means, but all agree it’s dangerous.

When asked to travel north during the term break, beyond the unclaimed lands, Dax has little choice but to go. What he finds changes everything he knows about essence—and what it means to wield it.

And it just might be the key to destroying the Order for good.

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The Shock Trooper (Forged in War Book 1) – Jayden R. Cox

Humanity has colonized the Milky Way and its first encounter with an old alien race has not been peaceful.

The merciless Seisossa, a lizard-like race, seem to have humans at the top of their menu. But the brave men and women of the Imperial Marines throw themselves against the attackers every day to protect the human colonies from the horrors that wait in the dark.

Among them is Captain John James Johnson. His preferred area of operation is the frontline. No mission is too hot for him, no obstacle too big. The word “impossible” does not exist in his vocabulary. With his renowned valor and straightforwardness, he is the Empire’s first choice for the hardest missions.

His life and that of his unit suddenly take a dangerous turn when the Empress sends them on a secret mission that will decide the fate of the Empire, and may just end the war with the Seisossa at the same time.

But there are other forces in the universe. Forces of which no human and no other species have a clue. And what John James Johnson doesn’t know yet, is that he and his comrades have been sent into a breach that could tear the whole galaxy apart.

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Wasteland Warlords #3 – James A. Hunter and eden Hudson

“If you’re not ready to lay it all on the line out here, you won’t make it a week. The wasteland’ll chew you up and spit you out.”

Clay Jaeger finally has the chance to become the spellslinger he always wanted to be—the one his family needs him to be to survive the dangers of the wasteland. A teacup pig claiming to be a cursed Great Blue Wyrm has offered them a quest to take out a Dungeon Lord with the exact power set Clay’s been looking for.

There’s just one problem. The Dungeon Lord can steal the souls of his enemies and summon them to fight his battles for him.

Clay is more than willing to lay down his life to protect his family, but is he willing to risk his eternal soul on a gamble that might not pay off? Time to roll the dice and find out…

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Wolf Emperor (The Last Marines #8) – William S. Frisbee

The Governance is falling apart as Mathison struggles to keep the Sol system from imploding. Stathis is learning more about the threat that Becket and the AI collective is becoming, and Sif has discovered that there are lethal flaws in the Alliance’s defenses.

Mathison must declare himself Emperor and reveal himself before it is too late, but he needs the support of the Vapaus Republic, and—as the vanhat assault intensifies against Sol—there are factions within the governance that see Mathison’s weakness as an opportunity.

Can Mathison and Stathis overcome the challenges they face, or is humanity doomed to become like the tomb worlds? An extinct species known only by the blasted ruins of their worlds.

Is this what happens when angels fall?