Fantasy Opera

When Brad Mendoza and Jessica Lin discover a traitor among their closest friends, they’re devastated. But they’re also on a mission to rescue a duke’s little sister, so they don’t have time to deal with it right now. Until that mission proves to be anything but what they expected, and they find themselves caught between royalty, their sworn enemy, and a particularly annoying 17-year-old with visions of revolution. Now, the traitor in their midst might prove to be their only hope to get out this alive!

In this anthology, you'll find 17 tales of conflict and heroism, exploration and discovery, endurance and triumph. Flee the apocalypse of modern-day Earth, fly a fighter in the cold emptiness of deep space, and find new life on the distant shores of an alien world. You might even discover something about yourself as each author opens a window on the soul of mankind.

Two decades of bitter war between Earth and her furthest colonies is finally at an end. Captain Lee Saito's massive new starship is sent to seal the uneasy truce. But a series of terrorist attacks on Earth and the mysterious acts of a strange cult threaten to derail the fragile peace. When the mission goes awry, Saito must try to salvage what he can in deep space while his estranged son must navigate a conspiracy back on Earth that could implicate the highest levels of government.

Dropping out of subspace into the wrong galactic sector, Sethran Kada wakes up with a headache and an extraordinary alien aboard his ship. She implores him to help stop the abductions of her people, a newly evolved species emerging from subspace. Their dangerous potential has caught the attention of rebel factions as well as the ruling Commonwealth. When contact with her kind turns pilots into casualties, the Governors fear an imminent invasion engineered by their rebel enemies.

Dr. Neil Anson Clemons was born at the very moment that men first landed on the moon and always strived to become an astronaut and reach the stars. Neil devoted his life to staying physically fit as any astronaut should be through martial arts and mentally fit by studying and becoming one of the world's foremost experts in quantum physics and gravitational theory. Now he and his team have achieved a breakthrough, both in building a warp drive, and finding a new energy source powerful enough to make the drive more than an interesting theoretical concept.

Fleeing Earth after an alien invasion, the human race stands on the threshold of evolution. Their new home is Luna, a moon colony blessed with creature comforts, prolonged lifespans, digital memories, and instant sex changes. But the people of Luna are bored, restless, suicidal - and so is the computer that monitors their existence.

Raheiran Special Forces captain Gillaine Davré has just woken up in some unknown space way station, wondering where the last 300 years have gone. The last thing she remembers is her ship being attacked. Now it seems that while she was time traveling, she was ordained a goddess.... Gillaine's only hope of survival rests with dangerously seductive Admiral Mack Makarian, who suspects her of being a smuggler - or worse. But he can't begin to imagine the full extent of it.

When a running battle brings the Fafnir home to Earth, it ends with the death of a trusted friend—and a new focus on what comes next for Van and his crew. The Guild is rotten. It must be changed. It must be healed. But to do that, Van will have to marshal resources on a scale he's never considered, and that means calling in favors from friends. With the Schegith fleet in training, and the Conoku itching to get back into the fight, Van has a clear plan for what he has to do—which is the one thing he doesn't want to do.

Michael Wallace presents the first book in his Alliance Trilogy.

Tower 7 has gone completely dark, and security androids are killing civilians. No one knows what has become of the tower's 520,000 residents or who is responsible for the mysterious assault, but the priority of the mission is clear. Tycho and Gabriel must breach the tower, investigate the missing civilians, and locate the one responsible…all while trying to stay alive.

An escape pod drifts through deep space—inside is a broken pilot with a warning from another dimension. He’s Keith Maker, a preman escaped from the master race. In his universe, the New Men conquered the Commonwealth, enslaving everyone. Now the Dominion has breached the wall between realities to conquer this one. Star Watch has never faced an enemy so brilliant, fearless, and ruthless— armed with weapons that slice through shields. But these New Men have never faced Maddox. And he’s not about to let this dimension fall without a fight.

The planet Golgotha - supposedly lifeless - resides in a remote star system, far from those inhabited by human colonists. It is home to an enigmatic machinelike structure called the Blood Spire, which has already brutally and systematically claimed the lives of one starship crew that attempted to uncover its secrets.

An attitude? Why not? After all, what would you do if you were abducted by aliens and transported into a strange new universe away from your home, your family - everything familiar to you? Would it make you happy? Not likely! Now imagine you're stronger, faster, and more coordinated than every alien species you encounter. Would you start kicking some ass? Of course you would! This is the story of human superiority in the galaxy, a gritty, realistic profile of a young Navy SEAL who doesn't like aliens very much - and he makes them pay for the bad mood he's in.

The lines. No ship can traverse the void without them. Only linesmen can work with them. But only Ean Lambert hears their song. And everyone thinks he's crazy.... Most slum kids never go far, certainly not becoming a level 10 linesman like Ean. Even if he's part of a small and unethical cartel, and the other linesmen disdain his self-taught methods, he's certified and working. Then a mysterious alien ship is discovered at the edges of the galaxy.

Constantine had forsaken his family name and birthright. At 28-years old, he’d escaped Earth to help terraform Mars. An empire’s heir went missing just as the universe’s greatest threat announces itself. War Games will decide who represents humanity in this extinction level struggle. Constantine is summoned. With little training but abundant talent, can Constantine win these games? If he does, will he be a force in the coming war? Or is it already too late for humanity?

Years have passed since Earth encountered its first known interstellar object: Oumuamua. Now an even larger one has been discovered, following the exact same trajectory as its predecessor. Scientists around the world theorize that this can no longer be passed off as mere coincidence - the new contact must be an artificial construct of some kind.

With the invading aliens temporarily driven from Human-and-NeHaw-occupied space, all the races are using the pause to recover and rebuild, both friend and foe alike. For the NeHaw, that means pressuring the Earth to allow them to rebuild and rearm their fleet from the Wawobash shipyards, a risk that could easily backfire. For Jake, the lingering concerns of a lost crew with the un-activated Artificial Life installed in the captured saucer still dominate his thoughts.

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.

Thawed out after a century of cryogenic sleep, Captain John “Black Jack” Geary has led the Alliance fleet through Syndicate Worlds space, thwarting the enemy at every turn—even within his own ranks—during the long journey home. Alliance prisoners of war are being held at a labor camp in the Heradao Star System, which also happens to be the location of the majority of the surviving Syndic warships. Determined not to leave any of his people behind, Black Jack Geary orders the fleet to strike hard and fast to rescue the POWs with minimal Alliance losses.

In the conclusion of the Poseidon's Children saga, the Akinya family receives an invitation from across the stars - and a last opportunity to redeem their name.... "Send Ndege". The cryptic message originated 70 light-years away from the planet Crucible, where Ndege Akinya lives under permanent house arrest for her role in the catastrophe that killed 417,000 people. Could it be from her mother, Chiku, who vanished during a space expedition decades earlier?