This roundup of the newest releases in science fiction features a group of interstellar refugees who band together to return to Earth by any means necessary, an alien abduction to a planet full of dinosaurs, and a return to the universe of the Four Horsemen for another round of aliens, human mercenaries, and uneasy contracts.

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Astounding Frontiers #5 – edited by David Hallquist, Jason Rennie, and Ben Zwycky

Astounding Frontiers is a new pulp magazine from the minds at Superversive Press that will transport you to far off worlds of adventure! In Issue #5 of Astounding Frontiers we bring you more of the pulpy goodness with stories from Julie Frost, Arlan Andrews and Patrick S. Baker as well as continuing serials from Ben Wheeler, Corey McCleery and David Hallquist. We also have another article from Pulp expert Jeffro Johnson and a poem by Ben Zwycky

Please join us in travelling to Astounding Frontiers!

“Fun, well-written stories and three old-school-style serials, a quick read. Grab a beer or an ice tea, your copy of Astounding Frontiers, and hit the hammock or the beach for a few enjoyable hours. Wear sunscreen.”–Amazon reader review

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Forged in Space (Jack Forge, Fleet Marine #2) – James David Victor

Abandoned on a remote planet overrun by hostile aliens. The commanding officer is dead. A new squad of space Marines will be forced to prevail…or die.

Jack Forge has been deployed with his unit to a remote alien world on a simple mission. When their ship is attacked and the planet is overrun by Chitins, the Marine who never wanted to be will be forced to take a stand or watch those around him die, including the woman he has come to care for. If Jack can’t be forged into a true Marine, all will be lost.

Forged in Space is the second book in the Jack Forge, Fleet Marine series. If you like fast paced military science fiction, Jack Forge is the kind of hero you can root for.

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The Good, the Bad, and the Merc (Revelations Cycle #8) – edited by Chris Kennedy and Mark Wandrey

It’s the Twenty-Second Century. Humanity has taken its first steps into the galaxy, and we’ve found ourselves in a vast playground of alien races, environments, and cultures. As the newest players on the universal stage, though, our position is readily apparent—we’re at the bottom of the food chain.

Welcome back to the Four Horsemen universe, where only a willingness to fight and die for money separates Humans from the majority of the other races. While some of the stories inside deal with mercenaries, others introduce readers to the other guilds, organizations, and races that make up the landscape of the Four Horsemen universe, as well as providing additional insight into the characters of the mainline novels. What’s it like to be a medic on the beach or to learn how to kill from a mother not your own? Come find out!

Edited by bestselling authors and universe creators Mark Wandrey and Chris Kennedy, The Good, the Bad, and the Merc includes sixteen all-new stories in the Four Horsemen universe by a variety of bestselling authors—and some you may not have heard of…yet. In a galaxy this big, you’ll find that some of the races are good and others are bad, but only the best are mercs!

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Legacy (First Colony #3) – Ken Lozito

Hold the line.

After narrowly defeating the invading enemy fleet, there is evidence that the attack isn’t over.

Thousands have died and all that stands between human extinction and the invaders are the remnants of the colonial military.

Connor must find a way to rally the colony using every scrap of ingenuity to stop the invaders. But will he succeed when he finds himself pitted against mankind’s ultimate enemy? This could be mankind’s final hour . . . or its greatest victory.

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Tales from the Canyons of the Damned #20 – presented by Daniel Arthur Smith

This twentieth issue of Tales from the Canyons of the Damned consists of five sharp, suspenseful, thought provoking short stories—each from a different featured master of speculative fiction.

Eamon Ambrose shares a tale of First Contact
Jessica West gives us a glimpse from the moon
Rhett C. Bruno tallies colonial choices
Bob Williams relays the trials and tribulations of a girl on a distant world
And Daniel Arthur Smith furthers the adventure of the Off-World Kick Murder Squad

Tales from the Canyons of the Damned is a dark science fiction, horror, & slipstream magazine we’ve been working on since 2015. What is Dark Science Fiction and Horror? Think of it as a literary Twilight Zone, Night Gallery, or Outer Limits, it’s Netflix’s Black Mirror in the short story format. And it’s a bargain. Each monthly issue has three-to-five sharp, suspenseful, satirical tales from today’s top speculative fiction writers.

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Tamer: King of Dinosaurs – Brian King and Michael Scott-Earle

Victor Shelby ends each day wondering when his life is going to get better. His parents are dead, he struggles to pay rent, and his boss at the animal control shelter has him cleaning cages instead of working in the field. His dream of helping animals seems destined to end in a mop bucket.

Then Victor is abducted by aliens and deposited on a prehistoric world filled with hungry dinosaurs and beautiful alien women.

He doesn’t know why he is here or what his purpose is, but he finds himself fighting for survival. Most men would have been lizard kibble in a few moments, but Victor’s natural ability to empathize with animals has grown stronger, and he finds himself able to control the most docile of the terrible lizards.

Victor will have to use his taming powers to provide food, water, and shelter for the three women that he has sworn to protect. Success means they get to live another day, failure means a horrible death in the jaws of Earth’s most deadly predators.

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Zero Hour (Expeditionary Force #5) – Craig Alanson

United Nations Special Operations Command sent an elite Expeditionary Force of soldiers and pilots out on a simple recon mission, and somehow along the way they sparked an alien civil war. Now the not-at-all-Merry Band of Pirates is in desperate trouble, again. Their stolen alien starship is falling apart, thousands of lightyears from home. The ancient alien AI they nicknamed ‘Skippy’ is apparently dead, and even if they can by some miracle revive him, he might never be the same.