Fantasy First Contact

Thirteen hundred gates have opened to solar systems around the galaxy. But as humanity builds its interstellar empire in the alien ruins, the mysteries and threats grow deeper. In the dead systems where gates lead to stranger things than alien planets, Elvi Okoye begins a desperate search to discover the nature of a genocide that happened before the first human beings existed and to find weapons to fight a war against forces at the edge of the imaginable. But the price of that knowledge may be higher than she can pay.

Collected in one volume is all three books in C. J. Cherryh's epic The Faded Sun trilogy: Kesrith, Shon'jir, and Kutath.

He finally escaped the cycle of war and death only to find himself kidnapped, taken to a new universe where nothing makes sense. A world where nothing is familiar and insane robots, killer AI, and otherworldly beings he can hardly comprehend are the norm. He must learn to survive these constant threats to his very survival, all the while learning that these new experiences are changing him, molding him into something new...something extraordinary.

As a child, I was stolen by the lord of my planet’s invaders. He brought me to the chamber, where he held others he’d also taken. Through the years, me and my new brothers were twisted into beasts, each with a unique ability that shouldn’t exist outside of myth. We’re monsters. Any female who gazes upon us will run. Now, we’ve been entered into the Galaxy Games. It’s my chance to break free. But I’m paired with an Earth female who makes me see color for the first time, proving she’s my fated mate. I’ll finish this Game. I’ll free my brothers. And I’ll claim her.

First published by H. G. Wells in 1898, The War of the Worlds is the granddaddy of all alien invasion stories. The novel begins ominously, as the lone voice of a narrator intones, "No one would have believed in the last years of the 19th century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's."

Ashley Perrin is fresh out of college and starting a job as a community liaison for the Third District–the city’s only sector with more alien residents than humans. Ashley’s barely found where the paper clips are kept when she’s beset with constituent complaints–from too much noise at the Annual Lupidian Celebration Parade to a trip-and-fall chicken to a very particular type of alien hornet that threatens the very city itself. And if that’s not terrifying enough, Ashley is next up at the office karaoke night.

When Streaker - the first starship designed and crewed by dolphins - discovers a derelict ancient armada with evidence of the first sentient species ever, she sets off a war between dozens of galactic races eager to use the information for their own advancement.

For nearly a billion years, every known sentient species in the universe has been the result of genetic and cultural guidance - or "uplifting" - by a previously uplifted patron race. Then humans are discovered. Having already uplifted chimps and dolphins, humanity clearly qualifies as an intelligent species, but did they actually evolve their own intelligence, or did some mysterious patron race begin the process, then suddenly abandon Earth?

Late in the 21st century, Earth receives what looks like an urgent plea for help from planet Proxima Centauri b in the closest star system to the Sun. Astrophysicists suspect a massive solar flare is about to destroy this heretofore-unknown civilization. Earth's space programs are unequipped to help, but an unscrupulous Russian billionaire launches a secret and highly-specialized spaceship to Proxima b, over four light-years away.

A century ago, the Sentience Wars tore the galaxy apart and nearly ended the entire concept of intelligent space-faring life. In the aftermath, a curious tradition was invented - something to cheer up everyone who was left and bring the shattered worlds together in the spirit of peace, unity, and understanding. Once every cycle, the civilizations gather for the Metagalactic Grand Prix - part gladiatorial contest, part beauty pageant, part concert extravaganza, and part continuation of the wars of the past.

Gage Gage Grey is happily buried in his lab when folks in Alienn, Arkansas, suddenly start falling—literally—asleep and can’t be woken up. The big brain of the Grey clan better solve this problem in a hurry, because the seven-year Earth Colony inspection is looming. If everyone is asleep when the inspection team arrives, that might be the end of the Big Bang Truck Stop, abovestairs and below.

Amelia Charron is a neuroscientist researching brain disorders. She routinely uses astonishing mind-linking technology that allows her to enter the dream world of patients. Each night, Amelia acts as a guide through the bizarre wonderland of the mind-an assisted lucid dream. It's a technique that reroutes neural pathways to heal the brain, but it's not without psychological dangers for both the patient and the guide. Orlando Kwon will do anything to keep the frightening voices at bay. Alien voices, he's sure, but he has no idea what they are saying.

These aliens seem nice enough, but she needs to figure out how to communicate with them and get back to Earth. Her alien captor finds everything about his new pet adorable, from her tiny toes to her blunted claws to her shiny mane. He will do everything in his power to make sure that his cute little pet remains healthy and happy. But what happens when this giant tentacled alien finds out his lovely pet is a sentient person who wants more from him than pets and treats?

In the sleepy English village of Midwich, a mysterious silver object appears, and all the inhabitants fall unconscious. A day later the object is gone and everyone awakens unharmed - except that all the women in the village are discovered to be pregnant. The resultant children of Midwich do not belong to their parents: all are blonde, all are golden eyed. They grow up too fast and their minds exhibit frightening abilities that give them control over others and brings them into conflict with the villagers just as a chilling realisation dawns on the world outside....

Kathryn Janeway reveals her career in Starfleet, from her first command to her epic journey through the Delta Quadrant leading to her rise to the top as vice-admiral in Starfleet Command. Discover the story of the woman who travelled further than any human ever had before, stranded decades from home, encountering new worlds and species.

They are not human. They are not natural. They are not friendly. At a research station in Antarctica, five of the world's top scientists have been brought together to solve one of the greatest mysteries in human history. Their subject, however, is anything but human. Deep beneath the ice, the submerged ruins of a lost civilization hold the key to the strange mutations that each scientist has encountered across the globe. When a series of sound waves trigger the ancient organisms, a new kind of evolution begins. A long-extinct life form is reborn.

You'd think being abducted by aliens would be the worst thing that could happen to me. And you'd be wrong. Because now, the aliens are having ship trouble, and they've left their cargo of human women - including me - on an ice planet. And the only native inhabitant I've met? He's big, horned, blue, and really, really has a thing for me....

Persecuted refugees from six separate alien races have migrated to the idyllic planet Jijo. And despite their incredible diversity, the inhabitants live together in blissful harmony. However, settlement on Jijo is illegal - and it's only a matter of time before the residents of this forbidden paradise are discovered by the galactic powers-that-be.

I'm on a strange planet surrounded by blue aliens and women who clearly have Stockholm syndrome. I'm not content to pump out alien babies and have dinner cooking for my guy after he returns from a long day of hunting and gathering. Independence is great until my solitary exploration leads me right into the hands of a savage, horned alien who barely speaks but has no intention of letting me go. The worst part? His survival skills are actually kind of turning me on.

Bronwic, a recently retired ice hockey enforcer, is trying unsuccessfully to rebuild himself in the remote Milford Sounds of New Zealand when a Mana Influx hits Earth. Danger is everywhere as oversaturated Mana creates wormholes that bring dangerous creatures to Earth. Animals and vegetation are warped and forcibly evolved into a new hostile food chain, and humanity is no longer at the top.