This collection of the latest new releases in science fiction features a space-based litRPG, future knights clad in mecha armor, a final confrontation against a conquering empire on an alien world, and, in time for Veteran’s Day, a collection of post-apocalyptic animal stories to support the charity Pets for Vets.
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Blood World (Undying Mercenaries #8) – B. V. Larson
A dirty deal was struck. Humanity was allowed to keep three hundred rebellious worlds. In return, we declared war on a powerful enemy from beyond the frontier.
A frantic build-up of forces has begun, but the task is hopeless. Seeking allies, Earth’s legions are sent to BLOOD WORLD. A planet on the fringe of known space, where the people only respect masters of combat.
Earth’s Legions must impress them, but other alien powers have been invited to join the contest. The prize consists of billions of loyal troops—Earth must win.
Fighting and dying and fighting again, the struggle is half-mad—but so is James McGill.
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Bunker: Book 5 – Jay J. Falconer
One Battle. One Man. One Mission.
The insurgents are dug in and ready for war. To them, it’s about guns, guts, and glory.
For Bunker, the flag and freedom are paramount. He’s prepared to fight, despite their overwhelming firepower.
As the final confrontation nears, Bunker knows death comes with it.
Some will perish so others can live.
But in the end, who will stand atop the rubble to claim victory and will there be anything left worth protecting?
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Chronicle Worlds: Tails of Dystopia (Future Worlds #17) – edited by Samuel Peralta and Chris Pourteau
1984 meets The Incredible Journey in thirteen dystopian tales by some of today’s most accomplished writers of science fiction.
In this title in the acclaimed Future Chronicles series of speculative fiction anthologies created by award-winning author Samuel Peralta, discover tales of dark futures, tragic pasts, and a present that’s run off the rails are presented in landscapes as varied as their authors’ imaginations.
Set in bestselling worlds fully realized by their authors, the stories of Chronicle Worlds: Tails of Dystopia unfold as seen through the eyes of animals — tamed and feral, domestic and savage — as they traverse a world of perdition where often their capacity for nobility and self-sacrifice transcends our own.
Enter these worlds with some of the most inventive authors writing today, including USA Today bestselling authors David Adams and Cheri Lasota, Wall Street Journal bestselling authors Daniel Arthur Smith and Ann Christy, and Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award winner Rysa Walker.
Dystopian deserts, post-apocalyptic mountain ranges, the medieval English countryside, the far reaches of the galaxy – in each of these and more, animals and their human companions discover heart-stopping adventure among the ruins – and you will, too.
Proceeds from this volume of The Future Chronicles help support the charity Pets for Vets, which rescues and re-trains shelter animals and matches them with military veterans in need of a companion animal.
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Cruel Stars (Ark Royal #11) – Christopher Nuttal
The Royal Navy never expected to fight a full-scale interstellar war. Everyone knew the Great Powers would never risk everything on armed conflict, when there was plenty of room for everyone in outer space. But when a hostile alien force stumbles across humanity’s handful of colony worlds, the Great Powers must set aside their differences and fight to preserve humanity from utter destruction.
Desperate for starships and manpower, the Royal Navy embarks upon an ambitious plan of converting freighters into makeshift carriers and recruiting reservists and criminals to fill the ranks. Classed as expendable, the small carriers will be given the most dangerous missions to slow a remorseless alien foe…
…And the pardons their crews have been offered will be meaningless if they die.
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Forged in Fire (Destiny’s Crucible #4) – Olan Thorensen
Joseph Colsco has survived what many would not have—cast naked on an alien planet amidst humans speaking an unknown language and with a different culture and history. Now, known to the people of Caedellium as Yozef Kolsko, he has risen out of despair to prominence and finds himself a central figure in the culmination of a struggle against an imperialist power bent on subjugation.
The clans of the Island of Caedellium must gird themselves for what is to come. If they can’t unite to a degree previously unimaginable, they will fall into the bottomless abyss of lost history. Their strengths are their determination, bravery, potentially new allies, and a single man with a mysterious history. The options are simple: victory, death, enslavement.
Yozef Kolsko may have transformed from who he had been on Earth, but did the trials he has undergone produced a savior some of his adopted people see him as or is he an illusion? The crucible of fate is about to yield a final product, but is the result enough against a formidable enemy?
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Showdown (Rise of Mankind #10) – John Walker
The decades long conflict comes crashing to a dramatic conclusion as the alliance faces off with their age old enemy to determine the fate of the galaxy. As the massive fleet launches for a final battle, The Behemoth and The Crystal Font are tasked with a dangerous mission to destroy a transmission facility which may well be the deciding factor in the outcome of the attack.
They’ve committed everything, heading into a situation which may well spell their end. Pilots, marines and crewmen alike look toward the moment that will make history regardless if they are victorious. A win means peace for the beleaguered alliance, a chance to heal from the wounds of war while a loss could lead to the destruction of their respective cultures if not civilization as they know it.
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To protect the crew against betrayal, Captain Cross sends the Stalwart on a training mission to Ecoma, a gas giant populated by evolved humans with dangerous empathic abilities.
The journey was supposed to be easy: Acquire training from the evolved humans, negotiate the use of magical devices that can protect the knights from mind control, and get a bit of R&R.
Of course, nothing is ever easy with the Stalwart, and Squire Nicholas Lyons soon finds himself battling for his life against sensual mind readers, hordes of bloodthirsty Grendels, enemy kingdom warriors, and a berserker knight named Olav.
“Fun and easy to get into. Great action and likable characters. Tons of fighting which is awesome.” – Amazon reader review
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The Complete Circuit Trilogy – Rhett C. Bruno
Earth is a dying planet. To survive, humanity founds the Circuit, a string of colonies across the solar system, dedicated to mining resources vital to preserving what remains of mankind.
The New Earth Tribunal, a powerful religious faction, rises to rule the Circuit. They believe a Spirit within the Earth will one day appear and welcome humanity back home. Following a string of seemingly random attacks, the Tribunal suspects its mortal enemy, the Ceresians, have again rallied to challenge their absolute rule.
Join an unlikely band of would-be saviors–the Tribunal’s best spy, a roguish Ceresian mercenary, a subservient android and a disgraced general–as they are drawn into a conspiracy destined to change the Circuit forever.
A new, sinister threat has arisen–and it plans to bring down the Tribunal once and for all.
This omnibus contains Executor Rising, Progeny of Vale, and Earthfall.
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The True Measure (Terran Armor Corps #3) – Richard Fox
The Ibarra Nation holds Roland prisoner. The armor soldier’s fate lies in the hands of the inhuman Stacey Ibarra.
Roland will face the truth behind the Ibarra rebellion and decide if his loyalties are to Earth, or his ideals.
While the Iron Dragoons recover from their last battle, dark forces are at work. Gideon is called as a witness to New Bastion, where the treaty that opened the stars to humanity may force all-out war with the Ibarras or turn the rest of the galaxy against Earth.
Beyond the edge of known space, an old enemy readies a vendetta that can only be ended with humanity’s extinction.
“This story (and these stories) bring the guts and the glory of the infantry back, with the added tie to the ancient and honored knights. One of the best military series I’ve ever read!”–Amazon Reader Review
Thanks for this article, I gave each book’s section a quick look and added most of them to my Amazon reading list. Recommendations from trusted sources are always valuable and appreciated.
Destiny’s Crucible is the best series I’ve read in a long time. I wish I knew what other names the author has written under.