Fantasy First Contact Science Fiction

En route to far-off stars, Toby’s consciousness has a crucial mission: inhabit his clone long enough to repair a spaceship, then zip back to Earth. He’s done it a million times, more or less. OK, twelve times. It should only take a few hours. Until he wakes up in jail. And he’s not alone. His fellow prisoners: a cadre of alien soldiers. His prison: an ethereal boundary that will imprison their spirits until their bodies die. His jailers can’t even see him. But their pet cat (er, iguana cat?) can—and it’s got a serious case of the zoomies.

The United Nations of Earth sent out the Forerunner ships to explore and colonize the four most promising star systems within 50 light-years of Earth. Forerunner One left Earth under the command of Captain Clayton Cross, heading for Trappist-1. After a ninety year journey to reach it, the crew encountered not only a habitable world, but alien life already inhabiting it, and dark secrets lurking beneath the surface. The revelation of who these aliens are and what they want proves more terrifying than promising, and Captain Cross is forced to make tough decisions that will affect not only his crew, but the fate of the entire human race.

As a child Rose Franklin made an astonishing discovery: a giant metallic hand buried deep within the earth. As an adult she's dedicated her brilliant scientific career to solving the mystery that began that fateful day: Why was a titanic robot of unknown origin buried in pieces around the world? Years of investigation have produced intriguing answers - and even more perplexing questions. But the truth is closer now than ever before when a second robot, more massive than the first, materializes and lashes out with deadly force.

Earth has been invaded by a species that takes over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact. But Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away.

On Mars, a scientist experiments with a new engine that will one day become the drive that fuels humanity's journey into the stars. On an asteroid station, a group of prisoners are oblivious to the catastrophe that awaits them. On a future Earth beset by overpopulation, pollution, and poverty, a crime boss desperately seeks to find a way off planet. On an alien world, a human family struggles to establish a colony and make a new home. All these stories and more are featured in this unmissable collection of short fiction set in the hardscrabble world of The Expanse.

Knocking at death’s door. Bargaining for a second chance. Seems like a heck of a way to find out about an alien invasion.... Vietnam vet Albert Jenkins is battling a bulging waistline and a passion for drink. So when a towering pile of scrap rocket parts falls and crushes the stubborn curmudgeon, he thinks it’s finally the end. But just as he’s about to take one final breath, a snarky alien parasite offers him a deal: His life in return for sharing his body.

In a ravaged world, a former Army Ranger and his loyal golden retriever lead a desperate mission against an alien overlord, testing the bond between humanity… and their best friends.

It’s been eight years since an alien invasion drove a small surviving group of settlers to seek refuge in an underground shelter. Cut off from the rest of humanity, the ragtag band has maintained a narrowly functioning colony due to communal effort and salvage runs. Alex Archer has her own duties as a dog handler. While this off-world colony may be harsh, Ash, Alex’s black shepherd raised to sense threats, makes living in it a little nicer.

As part of the fabled S4, Lance Warder is stationed on Mars when first contact is made. The Galio have arrived. Lance is selected to act as diplomatic security and all appears to be going well between the two species until a radical group known only as the Veles rear its ugly head and decide conflict must follow.

Ten thousand city-state habitats orbit the planet Yellowstone, forming a near-perfect democratic human paradise. But even utopia needs a police force. For the citizens of the Glitter Band that organization is Panoply, and the prefects are its operatives. Prefect Tom Dreyfus has a new emergency on his hands. Across the habitats and their hundred million citizens, people are dying suddenly and randomly, victims of a bizarre and unprecedented malfunction of their neural implants.

In the midst of an interstellar war, Yun Tianming found himself on the front lines. Riddled with cancer, he chose to end his life, only to find himself flash frozen and launched into space where the Trisolaran First Fleet awaited. Captured and tortured beyond endurance for decades, Yun eventually succumbed to helping the aliens subjugate humanity in order to save Earth from complete destruction.

As the first humans allowed in Suevan space, there’s a lot riding on my all-woman team. Earth desperately needs their tech, and I’m determined to prove we can negotiate the price. Without their planetary defense systems, Earth is a sitting duck, ripe for invasion. Except the Suevan culture is nothing like ours. When I take part in what I think is a welcoming ceremony, I leave with more than I bargained for: a husband. A mate. Apparently, we’re there to marry them as payment—something the top brass on Earth doesn’t bother denying. Fantastic.

Something always goes sideways, but this is bigger than expected. Maybe it's not an entirely bad thing, though, as mana-infected animals spreading over the world would definitely make everyone more open to the idea of the apocalypse. The question is what was Silas supposed to do about it, though. He still couldn't tell anyone who wasn't inducted about the system. It was time to get creative. If that wasn't enough, though, he still had the wild hunt hanging over his head. Seven days to go, and then he'd be thrown into whatever twisted event the system had cooked up for him.

Astronaut Lee Rifkin's life is about to change. NASA has done the math. The space object named Cassandra 22007 is not behaving as expected. He will lead a team on a cutting-edge ship to get a closer look. But another group wants to get there first. Who is this shadow organization that seems to be one step ahead of them? Agent Jenna Haynes works to put together the pieces that will pull the veil off those who seem to have known about Cassandra's arrival since long before NASA spotted it. What is their goal?

Sikthand hadn't planned to take the stubborn little human hostage. But with political tensions at an all-time high, he had no choice. He would unflinchingly use her as a bargaining chip to secure better relations with the new Tremantian ruler. He would not, however, fall prey to her charms. When Sophia and Sikthand realize how far their enemies are willing to go to grab galactic power, they're forced into an unlikely alliance-and possibly a marriage of convenience-to protect their people. It's a good plan, too, if they don't do anything irrational along the way. Like falling in love.

Jim Atteberry is a single parent college professor, laboring over an endless pile of essays while indulging in his radio astronomy hobby. But when he hears an apparent distress call from the Ross 128 star system, he is hurled into a deadly mystery. And what he discovers could either save the world... or destroy it.

For small-time street hustler Cam Alvarez, the choice is simple. He has no family, no friends, no place in the world...nothing to lose. When his latest con results in the death of a cartel hitman, Cam opts to join the Marines and leave Earth to fight a vicious alien enemy.

Silas, now vastly more powerful than he ever anticipated, confronts a harsh truth: brute strength alone won't save his world. Beyond mere leveling up lies a complex path to salvation. Embarking on a rigorous training regimen under the guidance of a seasoned mentor, Silas hones his skills, spells, and crafting abilities alongside allies, old and new. Yet, as his prowess grows, so too does the scope of his challenges. Drawn into ancient feuds that span clans and corporations, Silas must navigate a treacherous web of alliances and enmities.

After traversing the dangerous Dead Zone, Zac has finally managed to save his sister and bring her back to Port Atwood. But Zac knows he can't relax. Not if he wants to keep her safe. The foreign factions keep spreading their influence, and ancient foes have set their sights on Earth. With his newfound abilities, Zac has joined the Limited Hunt to gain the strength needed to protect his family and his world. However, the System is unwilling to let Zac train in peace, and the hunt is not what it seems...

For five hundred years the robot waited to encounter a human. When it finally did, it probably wished it was a different human. Nelson Newman was destined to be the first person to set foot on Mars. Instead, he finds himself transported across the galaxy and pitched into a battle of wits against a ruthless enemy, who will do whatever it takes to safeguard their people and their power.