Military Space Opera

Karen Drayson just got two shocks. And everyone is celebrating one of them. The hard ceiling is the one all cadets aspire to go through in their careers. But when you’ve done it, you find out why it’s so hard. The threat of being pushed back down into your place doesn’t help things either. When you stand as the gatekeeper to home, what is going on there is a step removed. There’s a line there you just don’t cross. But in Karen’s case, that line is also what separates her from the Soft Ceiling. The Hunter Imperium Universe Is best read in this order: The Spacemage Chronicle ...

For a decade, peace has reigned in interstellar space. A tripartite agreement between the Colonial Union, the Earth, and the alien Conclave has kept the forces of war at bay, even when some would have preferred to return to the fighting and struggle of former times. For now, more sensible heads have prevailed. But now, there is a new force that threatens the hard-maintained peace: The Consu, the most advanced intelligent species humans have ever met, are on the cusp of a species-defining civil war. This war is between Consu factions ... but nothing the Consu ever do is just about them.

From the dawn of history onward, commanding the most powerful ship around has been a dream of admirals, sultans, emperors, kings, generalissimos, and sea captains everywhere. For what the intimidation factor alone doesn't achieve, a massive barrage from super-weapons probably will.

Following their successful escape from Androchida Prime’s capital city, Sir Chuck and the rest of the Phantoms find themselves mystified by unsettling news. The leader of the Blood Guard resistance, famed General Cordan, has defected to the AE. But while many doubt the veracity of the development, more pressing intel awaits: the empire is planning to invade the Sci-Rung home world.

Soldiers of the Terran Armor Corps wage war across the stars. Wired into mechanized battle suits, they fight the terrifying battles that must be won, no matter the cost. Their deeds are legend, their reputation feared by the enemies of Earth and her allies, but how the Corps forges young men and women into mighty warriors is shrouded by mystery. Roland Shaw lost his parents to war; he volunteers for the Armor Corps to honor their memory and discover just how far he can push himself.

Black Widows: Season 1 includes the complete first season of six Black Widows episodes, previously only available separately: The Black Widows are an infamous, all-female mercenary unit. Aboard their heavily-armed ship Medusa, they embark on secretive missions throughout the crumbling Confederacy as it wages a terrible and bloody civil war. Each of the Widows is an elite operative, with skills and expertise that command a high price. Their very names spread fear and terror into the hearts of their foes. Episode 1 The lives of Syala and her twin sister Arana are changed forever on the day ...

Lyla Cowan just lost her command. And it’s not her fault! Now she’s cast adrift with a bunch of misfits. Being a senior fighter pilot was her achieved ambition, short lived as it turned out to be. So what sort of life purpose is there without that for someone like her? There are options, but how survivable are they without the latest tech she’s relied on for so long? The future looks bleak, and the chip on her shoulder is huge. And for right now, everything is just Unfair. [This book follows on from events in Nemesis Rising, Killer Bunny book 4.] The Hunter Imperium Universe Is best ...

The Terran Xenocide Event has hit the Terran Confederacy of Aligned Systems hard. Over 60% of their active duty military is down and dead, entire fleets are crewed only by a handful of beings, whole armies have just slumped to the ground. The Council/Confederacy Conflict has ensured that every planet is armed and ready, but the Atrekna are the wrong foe. Able to gate in troops and war material without the need for ships or vast logistics lines, the Atrekna appear to be an unbeatable foe who can manipulate space and time to ensure they always get the right outcome. With Hesstla being invaded...

The Dragons are going to war! Dragon kind has been hiding from the tigers for longer than anyone can remember. The tigers fear the dragons, but no longer know why they do. Everyone knows you never wake a sleeping dragon. But the Keerah have. The Imperium found them, brought them back together, and showed them hiding was not the answer. But now they know some of their kin have been enslaved. Knight General Willow has a mission. Find their kin, and liberate them from the tigers. But tiger space is vast, and the galaxy has forgotten that dragons once roamed at will between the stars. Beware ...

A century ago, the world fell - but the war never ended. Now, the survivors of the apocalypse are reunited, and a new fight begins. A century after the war that destroyed the planet, the UEC and GPS remain locked in a generational conflict. Split between a vast orbital space station and a base on the moon, neither faction can return to the scorched and irradiated planet.

WHEN IN DOUBT, WING IT. The Stellar Thief collects together the first four books in the Emberling series, a pulse-pounding, adrenaline-fueled space opera that will have you clinging to the edge of your seat! Slim Taggart has stolen plenty of things in his short life. That's what happens when you come from a family of planet-hopping thieves. But when he somehow finds himself in possession of a shard from an ancient alien tech known as the Emberling, the heat is suddenly cranked up to scorching levels. Before Taggart knows it, a half-dozen criminal syndicates are on his tail, desperate for ...

The Amazon rainforest holds a world-changing secret—a ship lost to time from another world. College student Will Kaufman unearthed the biggest archaeological discovery in human history… he just needs to find a way back to Earth to tell people about it. Four thousand years ago, a Federation bounty hunter Void ship crashed on a remote and primitive planet. There it remained until Will found it and accidentally reactivated it, launching him light-years away.

A ship under siege. A world on the brink of civil war. A distraught people seeking a new beginning. A battle weary crew that can barely hold it together. Even a legend can use a little help from time to time. The crew of the Aurora, the Karuzari, and the Corinairans must find a way to work together, or else they may all perish.

Earth is occupied. Its citizens living under the constant threat from the Coalition Fleet in orbit. On the surface, Doctor Keegan Beck prepares the final assault to liberate the planet. Meanwhile, Colonel Joe Hunt is with the Alliance, planning to retake the planet, knowing it will come at a cost. All the while, the ancient Zarosian fleet is on the move. It’s destination: Jupiter. MORE BOOKS BY DONALD B MCFARLANE The Earth Saga Series: Minus Epsilon Defiant Order Horizons Remnants of Empire Edge of the Vortex Condition Zero The Battle for Jupiter Standalones: Standish Love in a Time of ...

The Earth is gone. On the planet Focal Point, far from home, humanity must rebuild the society they lost. Under the leadership of Colonel Joe Hunt, there are two priorities: rescue the slaves held in bondage amongst the cosmos and ensure humans have a voice in the Grand Marshall’s new Empire. But all is not well. A last-minute diplomatic mission to the planet Axis reveals an unexpected threat that poses a risk to all life in the universe. To defeat this danger, humanity must join forces with Etelainen and Pohjois in one final battle for peace in the galaxy.

Lyla Cowan never understood what happened. One moment she was leading a squadron, the next she was waking up in a care unit with people angry at her. It set her on a path to what she has become, and what she now has. She was undone, and then came back from that. Or at least, everyone thinks so. Things seem to be getting even more chaotic, but it keeps her occupied. And dare she admit it, happy. But at the back of her mind is always the niggling doubt. Doubts about herself, and how she was undone once, without knowing why, or if it could happen again. Is the reason she can’t accept being ...

Vampires had been extinct for thousands of years, or so we thought. Captain Drake was the kind of smuggler that would take any job that needed to be done. That was as long as you had the credits and didn’t mess with his crew. Now one of those very crew members had been taken, and Drake would stop at nothing to find her. Samantha Ripley only wanted one thing, she wanted to get off Hyperion Four. For the last four years, she had dedicated herself to nothing but flight school. Her graduation was so close she could almost taste it. A chance encounter as she finished her shift at the diner was...

Lyla Cowan has just had a shock, but to everyone else it was inevitable. Her life is a roller coaster ride these days, but it feels like home to her now. As Halloween grips Haven Station, she’s thinking about the next mission. Out on the edge of the galaxy is a small cluster where people just want to be left alone. But that’s not happening anymore. And no-one knows what’s going on. One couple do, but they can’t do anything on their own. They need someone who will step up and help. But who’s going to help the Unseen? The Hunter Imperium Universe Is best read in this order: The ...

AN INVASION. A CONSPIRACY. ONE SHOT AT REDEMPTION. Three never-before-published books bundled together! The Lost Galaxy series follows the adventures of a lone lawman, his aging and possibly insane spaceship, and a trio of mercenaries, new recruits, and hardened criminals who are all swept together behind an alien invasion that could wipe out humanity. As Provincial Sergeant Jack Bowman and his ragtag group race to save themselves and warn humanity of the invasion force, they learn that there is more at stake than anyone—human or alien—could have guessed. A conspiracy could bring down ...

Keeping up-to-date with the most buzzworthy and cutting-edge science fiction requires sifting through countless magazines, e-zines, websites, blogs, original anthologies, single-author collections, and more - a task accomplishable by only the most determined and voracious readers. For everyone else, Night Shade Books is proud to introduce the latest volume of The Best Science Fiction of the Year, collecting the finest that the genre has to offer, from the biggest names in the field to the most exciting new writers.