This week’s roundup of the newest releases in science fiction features an intrepid reporter trying to discover the source of the bio-plague sweeping her galaxy, villainous secrets in a science theme park, and a starship of Neanderthal ancestors seeking sanctuary on Earth.

*     *     *      *      *

Forsaken (The Forgotten #2) – M. R. Forbes

Sheriff Hayden Duke was born on the starship Pilgrim, like his father, and his father before him. He expects to die any second.

He’s already been attacked by demonic aliens, rogue soldiers, and even the people he thought were his friends.

He’s survived. Barely.

Outcast. Forsaken. He’s entered a strange new world. A world he knows nothing about. A world he’s never stepped foot on before. A world where hope has been buried beneath the claws of monsters and the boots of a tyrant.

They took his wife. He has to find her. He has to survive. Another second. Another breath. He can never give up. He can never rest until she’s back in his arms.

They’ll try to stop him. They’ll try to break him.  Of course, they’ll try. It won’t be as easy as they think. A new hope is rising in an old world.

There’s a new Sheriff in town.

*     *     *      *      *

Ironclads – Adrian Tchaikovsky

Scions have no limits
Scions do not die
And Scions do not disappear

Sergeant Ted Regan has a problem. A son of one of the great corporate families, a Scion, has gone missing at the front. He should have been protected by his Ironclad – the lethal battle suits that make the Scions masters of war – but something has gone catastrophically wrong.

Now Regan and his men, ill-equipped and demoralised, must go behind enemy lines, find the missing Scion, and uncover how his suit failed. Is there a new Ironcladkiller out there? And how are common soldiers lacking the protection afforded the rich supposed to survive the battlefield of tomorrow?

*     *     *      *      *

A Memory of Earth (Children of Earthrise #2) – Daniel Arenson

The galaxy burns.

The enemy, a race of alien scorpions, storms from star to star. Planets smolder in their wake.

Across the galaxy, they hunt humans.

Long ago, we humans had a planet of our own. Long ago, we could have resisted the scorpions. But today we are refugees. We are lost in darkness. We haven’t seen Earth in two thousand years.

We, the last humans, must band together. We must resist. We must fight the scorpions. And we must find Earth!

Only Earth can unite us. Only Earth can kindle our hope. Only on Earth can we defend our species. Our homeworld calls us from beyond myth and shadow. We must find a way home.

Or the scorpions will kill us all.

Earth is but a memory. But we will not forget. Earth will rise again!

*     *     *      *      *

Netcast: 03 (Frontiers Saga: Fall of the Core #3) – Ryk Brown

NCN:World reporter Hanna Bohl’s investigation into profiteering by Earth’s mega-corporations in the wake of the bio-digital plague has taken an unexpected turn. She now finds herself in v-space, face to face with the mastermind behind the very virus that threatens to wipe out the human race.

At the request of Agent Oslo of Earth’s International Counter-Terrorism Agency, Hanna must now try to outsmart the madman, while trying to discover anything that might help humanity avoid complete annihilation.

But the truths that Hanna discovers are not what she expected, and now, she must decide who to trust.

*     *     *      *      *

The Nuclear Druid (Extinction Protocol #2) – Felix R. Savage

For centuries, humanity has viewed the sentrienza with wonder and reverence. They gifted humanity with technology and knowledge, teaching us the secrets of space travel. Until the Ghosts arrived, and everything changed. Among the slaughter of the Ghost invasion, humanity learned a horrible truth:

Every gift from the sentrienza comes at a price.

The price is our freedom.

Now humanity is fighting back, but it’s an uphill battle. We’re outnumbered, outgunned, and the sentrienza have the home-field advantage. But humanity may have one secret weapon: former Navy pilot Colm Mackenzie.

An unwilling participant in the CHEMICAL MAGE experiment, Colm has recently discovered untapped powers that could give humanity the upper hand in the war with the sentrienza. But first he must learn to understand and control his unique abilities, and that means finding allies among humanity’s greatest nightmare: the Ghosts.

*     *     *      *      *

Operation: Bug Spray (Argonauts #9) – Isaac Hooke

Rade and the Argonauts hunt a fugitive alien to a colonized world. Embedded within the most populous city, the rogue is hidden in plain sight.

Unable to obtain clearance from the local authorities, Rade and his team must sneak inside the city and quietly capture the rogue without alerting law enforcement.

The operation won’t be easy. The city’s security forces have drones and mechs watching on every street corner, and the alien fugitive himself is known for his cunning, resourcefulness, and cruelty. But Rade has considered every possible scenario, planned for every eventuality. The operation won’t fail.

Unfortunately, the alien has an unexpected surprise waiting for the team. One that not even all of Rade’s careful planning and ingenuity can account for. It will put his family and crew in grave danger.

Not to mention a billion innocent lives.

Welcome to Operation: Bug Spray.

*     *     *      *      *

The Paradise Key (Harvey Bennett Thrillers #5) – Nick Thacker

Paradisum is a science-based theme park. At least, that’s what everyone thinks. But there seems to be something sinister going on beneath the surface.

OceanTech Paradisum is the cutting-edge theme park from OceanTech, and they are hoping to capitalize on the growing trend of education-based vacation destinations.

The park’s CEO, Adrian Crawford, has spent his entire professional life working toward this goal, and he is excited to show it to the world.

Harvey Bennett and his team at the Civilian Special Operations are sent to Paradisum to investigate the security protocols at the new park.

But what they find there terrifies them…

*     *     *      *      *

Sanctuary (Neanderthal Alliance #1) – D. J. Proctor

Neanderthals, spaceships, cave lions, bio-robots, and snake men. The universe just got more complicated.

The thirty-year Centauran Rebellion is over, and Captain Thomas Dalton is war-weary and ready for retirement. His plans crumble when the Neanderthals, extinct on Earth for millennia, arrive out of nowhere seeking sanctuary. They’ve brought their enemies with them, and the Sol Alliance is thrown back into war.

The Sol Alliance and Neanderthals join forces. Massively outmatched and low on resources, it’s up to Dalton and the crew of the last Neanderthal warship in existence to find a weapon hidden millennia ago. It’s their only chance to fight off the imminent attack by a relentless snake-like alien race.

Dalton’s efforts are sabotaged by Centauran spies and double agents. Can he overcome the enemies from within in order to defend against those from without?