Hard Space Opera

Murdered parents and a crippled spaceship. That’s what pirates left for thirteen-year-old Meriel Hope and the orphans from the Light Speed Merchant Princess. But according to the authorities, pirates didn’t exist, which defined Meriel as crazy. They buried the investigation and Meriel’s past with it. Ten years later, Meriel has struggled to build a life for herself as a Cargo Chief on the Tiger working a circuit between Procyon A and Wolf 359. She’s kicked the mandatory drugs that controlled the nightmares and flashbacks and trained to Marine-3. And with five other marines on board,...

The fate of the Foundation rests on young Arcadia Darell, only 14 years old and burdened with a terrible secret. As its scientists gird for a final showdown with the Mule, the survivors of the First Foundation begin their desperate search. They too want the Second Foundation destroyed, before it destroys them.

The Overlords appeared suddenly over every city - intellectually, technologically, and militarily superior to humankind. Benevolent, they made few demands: unify earth, eliminate poverty, and end war. With little rebellion, humankind agreed, and a golden age began.

Sometimes, the right man in the wrong uniform can make all the difference. Ethan, a lowly recruit with an oil-stained uniform and a spirit worn down by disappointment, finds his life forever changed by a twist of fate. Squinting at his reflection, he sees the sleeves of his borrowed jacket bore captain’s stripes. A grotesque emblem is embossed over the jacket's breast pocket—a roaring lion's head surrounded by a cluster of jagged broken bones—the symbol of the Special Operations Service. There is no way out. The ship is taking off because they think an elite SOS captain is on board to...

Sophie, a young woman burdened by oaths and family ties, finds herself caught in the crossfire of a brutal interplanetary war. When her brother, a renowned general, defies their king over a captured noblewoman, Sophie must navigate a treacherous path between loyalty and rebellion. As the conflict escalates, Sophie's unique bond with the Jupiter Coalition, an enigmatic peacekeeping force, becomes her only hope for survival. But with hidden agendas and betrayals at every turn, she must forge her own destiny amidst the chaos of war. In a world where technology reigns supreme and honor is a ...

Though she knows her brother holds her mother's favor, Ingrid is determined to at least be considered as heir to the family name. She hatches an audacious plan—free a thief from a prison planet from which no one has ever returned, and use them to help steal back a priceless artifact. But Ingray and her charge return to her home to find their planet in political turmoil, at the heart of an escalating interstellar conflict. Together, they must make a new plan to salvage Ingray's future and her world, before they are lost to her for good.

Arrogant warlords just killed one of his crew and destroyed his ship. He unleashes a torrent of human fed anger the likes of which they have never seen before. And, what is this Prophecy thing about humans, anyway. . . and why does he have to be involved? An addictive, heart-stopping, military science fiction and space opera thriller you just can’t put down, so, warn your family and friends you’ll be in another universe for a while… Grab your copy right now, put on your battle armor and web into your ship-couch as you join Captain Derek Hamilton and his warrior crew on the wild ride ...

Sometimes, the right man in the wrong uniform can make all the difference. Ethan Hawk faces an unexpected challenge when the real Elias Thorne confronts him upon the arrival of reinforcements at Janus. In a shocking twist, Thorne reveals that he has been working undercover to investigate a revolutionary faction threatening to destabilize the Imperium from within. Recognizing Ethan's unique position and the trust he has built with the crew of the Excalibur, Thorne enlists Ethan to continue the deception, allowing him to operate in the shadows. At the same time, Ethan maintains the illusion ...

The Phage War had been a devastating conflict for the Terran Confederacy. Even with the destruction of their terrifying, implacable foe, humanity is still reeling. Political alliances are crumbling, and their mighty fleet is in tatters. There is nothing to celebrate, even after such a complete victory. They soon learn that there are other stellar neighbors - and they've been watching the conflict with great interest. One species comes with an offer of friendship and alliance, but humanity is weary and distrustful.

Thousands of years ago, Earth's terraforming program took to the stars. On the world they called Nod, scientists discovered alien life - but it was their mission to overwrite it with the memory of Earth. Then humanity's great empire fell, and the program's decisions were lost to time. Aeons later, humanity and its new spider allies detected fragmentary radio signals between the stars. They dispatched an exploration vessel, hoping to find cousins from old Earth. But those ancient terraformers woke something on Nod better left undisturbed. And it's been waiting for them.

Throughout the Fourteen Worlds of humanity, no race is as feared and respected as the Dorsai. The ultimate warriors, they are known for their deadly rages, unbreakable honor, and fierce independence. No man rules the Dorsai, but their mastery of the art of war has made them the most valuable mercenaries in the known universe. Donal Graeme is Dorsai, taller and harder than any ordinary man. But he is different as well, with talents that maze even his fellow Dorsai. And once he ventures out into the stars, the future will never be the same....

Earth is locked in a dangerous arms race with Rigel. McGill’s efforts at diplomacy are disastrous. Events spin out of control and interstellar warfare consumes the outer provinces of the Empire. Great fleets are gathered, and troops are hurried aboard transports. Legion Varus is launched toward a secret target world. McGill leads an early strike against Rigel’s defenses, but his efforts are foiled at every turn. Who could be behind these betrayals? Could his own government be plotting his demise?

Magic flows through the Milky Way, and every citizen is scanned before birth. When a starship mechanic unexpectedly casts spells, he becomes the galaxy's most wanted outlaw. Under the oppressive rule of the Enchanters Bureau, Mackenzie "Mack" Rivera lives a quiet life as a starship mechanic. But when his friends are threatened, hidden magic bursts forth from Mack, marking him as an unsanctioned spellcaster and landing him in a bounty hunter's grip. Betrayed and sold to the ruthless pirate Blacktusk, Mack's memory is wiped, and he is forced to adapt to a new identity. As he navigates ...

A millennium into the future two advancements have altered the course of human history: the colonization of the galaxy and the creation of the positronic brain. Isaac Asimov's Robot novels chronicle the unlikely partnership between a New York City detective and a humanoid robot who must learn to work together. Like most people left behind on an over-populated Earth, New York City police detective Elijah Baley had little love for either the arrogant Spacers or their robotic companions.

Growing up, Travis Uriah Long yearned for order and discipline in his life...he two things his neglectful mother couldn’t or wouldn’t provide. So when Travis enlisted in the Royal Manticoran Navy, he thought he’d finally found the structure he’d always wanted so desperately. But life in the RMN isn’t exactly what he expected. Boot camp is rough and frustrating; his first ship assignment lax and disorderly; and with the Star Kingdom of Manticore still recovering from a devastating plague, the Navy is possibly on the edge of budgetary extinction.

From Joshua Dalzelle comes the follow-up to the number-one best seller Warship. Captain Jackson Wolfe survived the initial incursion of a vicious alien species into human space...barely. He had assumed the juggernaut that had devastated three Terran systems was the herald for a full invasion, but for the last few years it has been eerily quiet along the Frontier. Jackson now struggles to convince the Confederate leadership the threat is still imminent and needs to be taken seriously.

Long before Earth began conquering her neighboring stars, Legion Varus was deployed on Tau Ceti. Valuable and highly illegal treasures were stolen during the campaign, but McGill never gave it a second thought. The Tau haven’t forgotten him, however. For decades, they’ve hunted and plotted, and at last they’ve found the pirate who robbed them. Tau agents invade Earth seeking revenge and profit. Caught up in violence and intrigue, McGill is given the task of finding out where the loot has gone and who was responsible for the theft in the first place.

The Scavenger species are circling. It is, truly, provably, the End Days for the Gzilt civilization. An ancient people, organized on military principles and yet almost perversely peaceful, the Gzilt helped set up the Culture 10,000 years earlier and were very nearly one of its founding societies, deciding not to join only at the last moment. Now they've made the collective decision to follow the well-trodden path of millions of other civilizations; they are going to Sublime, elevating themselves to a new and almost infinitely more rich and complex existence.

In 3001: The Final Odyssey, Arthur C. Clarke brings the greatest and most successful science fiction series of all time to its magnificent, stunningly unforeseen conclusion. As we hurtle toward the new millennium in real time, Clarke brilliantly - daringly - leaps 1,000 years into the future to reveal a truth we are only now capable of comprehending. An epic masterpiece at once dazzlingly imaginative and grounded in scientific actuality, 3001 is a story that only Arthur C. Clarke could tell.

Lededje Y'breq is one of the Intagliated, her marked body bearing witness to a family shame, her life belonging to a man whose lust for power is without limit. Prepared to risk everything for her freedom, her release, when it comes, is at a price, and to put things right, she will need the help of the Culture....