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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Aegeon #7 – edited by Brendan Heard

Sharpen your thoughts, late stage fructose-cows, the barriers of your prison shall soon crumble before you, like an atomic crab shedding its black-glass shell. Peruse these very pages and feel the itchy tingling in your pineal gland, worming out of your brain at the promised visions dangled before it like a roast beef dinner before a tapeworm-carrier’s posterior.

Bring those hammers crashing down, in bracered arms, onto the walls of your corn-syrup abbatoir. Free your mind to wander the God-granted plains of imaginative Elysium, and allow Aegeon to be the kratom reverie that deposits you, naked and derailed, upon the windy plane of THE NEW WORLD.

Do not be afraid! Soon the factory will close.

HOLD YOUR WARHAMMERS HIGH!

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Caravan of the Damned – Chuck Dixon

When Conan leads his desert raiders against a rich caravan from Khwarazm intended for the King of Zamora, they find themselves in possession of a beautiful and priceless treasure. But the House of Yildiz does not suffer losses gladly, and the elite guards of the King’s Own, merciless and mounted on camels, are quickly on the trail of the Cimmerian and the outlaws of the Zuagir. And the depths of the desert hold horrors beyond the imagination of any man.

Illustrated by Ademir Leal, CARAVAN OF THE DAMNED is the second volume in the Chuck Dixon’s Conan series, which is based on the public domain character of Robert E. Howard’s Conan.

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The Mighty Sons of Hercules – edited by P. Alexander

Long ago, in ages past…

There were men who travelled the world, seeking adventure, fighting injustice, defending the weak and the helpless, looking to right wrongs wherever they are found:

These were the Mighty Sons of Hercules!

Cirsova Publishing invites you to join eight of the Mighty Sons of Hercules on their daring adventures!

You’ll be amazed by their impressive feats of superhuman strength. You’ll be dazzled by the exotic and dangerous beauties who would seek their downfall. You’ll cheer as they save the innocent from peril and mete out justice to dastardly villains.

Wherever righteousness must have a champion, there you will find the Mighty Sons of Hercules! Whenever there is need and no mortal man can suffice, a Mighty Son of Hercules shall appear!

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The Sundered Path (The Tether Bond #2) – Dan Michaelson and D. K. Holmberg

Swamp rats must stop the Sundered from destroying all they know.

Now connected to Asherah and the drake, Neb struggles to understand what these changes mean for him. The link is a way to power, but who can teach him how with the tethers gone?

When the threat of the Sundered returns, Neb and his friends must lead the danger from Bastrop. Doing so puts them in danger, revealing a part of the power Neb had not known—but that his mother might have predicted.

The Sundered are not the only danger, as a betrayal may be more devastating to them all.

Even the power of the tether bonds may not be enough to save himself—and his friends—from complete destruction.

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Vran the Chaos-Warped – D. M. Ritzlin

Vran the Chaos-Warped is a man who will never break an oath or drop a grudge. When he discovers the despicable wizard Foad Misjak has committed the most foul of crimes against the population of Nilztiria, he swears to slay the evildoer or die trying. Vran confronts Misjak, who learns how the cursed swordsman earned the name “Chaos-Warped” when he casts a spell which has drastically different effects than intended. As a result of the uncontrollable magic, the pair of nemeses are swept away from Nilztiria to another dimension: a far-flung primitive world of ice!

Vran’s hunt for revenge takes him through multiple realms, acquiring allies and encountering dangers each step of the way. But Misjak, with his slick tongue and fearsome sorcery, has lured cronies to his side as well. When the two hated enemies finally face off, who will survive? And will the victor be able to return to Nilztiria?

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Amaranth Angels – a Kickstarter campaign from Yakov Merkin

Saya Nishizawa was a starfighter pilot prodigy, flying alongside her big sister Kurenai in the Amaranth Angels performance squadron. where they conducted elaborate flying demonstrations and competed in mock battles–which they nearly always won.

Things were perfect, until tragedy struck, and Kurenai lost her life in a sudden accident. Scarred by this, Saya wanted nothing more than to run as far from a starfighter cockpit as possible. So she resigned from the squadron, and left Earth to start anew at a new school on a space station near the edge of the solar system.

However, fate has ways of forcing people back to their calling.

When the station comes under attack by an unknown alien force, Saya and her friends, caught completely unprepared, need to take flight in order to survive.  But when the smoke clears, the five of them are stranded far from home, and thrust into a far bigger fight than they could’ve ever imagined.

This crowdfunding campaign will remain open until 20 October, 2023.

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The Burned Book (The Arkwright Saga) – a crowdfunding campaign by Brian Niemeier

An outcast boy with a terrible secret …

A disillusioned priest seeking release from fate …

The restless son of a fading race seeking his destiny …

Thrown together by chance, their historic quest will span a continent. And change all worlds forever.

Zebrin wanders the human-dominated mainland, having fled his people’s rigid island refuge. Alone in barbaric lands, he yearns to find himself in those his race shuns.

But when an ambitious emperor drafts him for a harrowing mission to the farthest ends of the world, will he discover and embrace his divine calling? Or will the kingdom he was ordained to save fall?

The answer lies in the Burned Book.

This crowdfunding campaign will remain open until 2 November, 2023.