Space Exploration Fiction

The return of humanity's oldest enemy... An alien prophecy that predicts our species' downfall... And a captain who's the only thing standing in the way of his starship getting mothballed. Wait, what? Imagine Captain Keyes’ surprise when the fate of the galaxy turns out to depend on him, his decrepit ship, and his oddball crew.

Hella is a planet where everything is oversized. The trees are mile-high, the dinosaur herds are huge, and the weather is extreme - so extreme, the colonists have to migrate twice a year to escape the blistering heat of summer and the atmosphere-freezing cold of winter. Kyle is a neuro-atypical young man, emotionally challenged, but with an implant that gives him real-time access to the colony's computer network. When an overburdened starship arrives, he becomes the link between the established colonists and the refugees from a ravaged Earth.

In a future where humanity has merged with technology, Alexander Prime awakens from stasis to a world he no longer recognizes. Transformed into a bio-machine and stripped of his legacy by distant relatives who have seized control of Earth, he chooses exile over subjugation. Accompanied by Veronica, a sophisticated quantum AI with a human-like persona, Alexander sets course for the uncharted territories of the HD 69830 system. As they traverse the cosmos, Alexander and Veronica forge an unbreakable bond, transcending the boundaries between human and artificial intelligence. Together, they ...

Mars is supposed to be dead. Bizarre quakes are rumbling over the long-dormant tectonic plates of the planet, disrupting its trillion-dollar mining operations and driving scientists past the edges of theory and reason. However, when rocks shake off their ancient dust and begin to roll seemingly of their own volition carving canals as they converge to form a towering structure amid the ruddy terrain, Lt. Jain and her JSC team realize that their routine geological survey of a Martian cave system is anything but. The only clues they have stem from the emissions of a mysterious blue radiation, and a 300-year-old journal that is writing itself.

There are worse ways to make a living than traveling the worlds killing men. Especially if you're a woman with a grudge and a gift. Like me. I am part of the Zyrnx, but apart from them, as well. They believe in rescuing slaves. I believe in killing slave masters. I am not a savior of helpless victims - I am a killer of monsters. But as Taal says, sometimes I see a monster where a man stands. And the monster I have come to kill, he believes we are fated mates. Lifemates. Born for each other. I do not believe in such things. I believe in sex, fighting, and death - not love.

Calista is happy with her life of scientific research. She doesn't need love, she has her books, her friends, and her work. Things are fine until her ship is attacked by space pirates and crash lands on a desert planet with heat so intense she and her friends can't survive without help. Ladon is a Zmaj warrior resigned to a life alone, who only desires to protect his treasures. His hopes for a mate faded long ago, yet when he meets Calista something stirs. It takes only one look to know that she belongs to him.

Aliens? Someone get her out of here! The strange storms that have been raging all over the world have only intensified in the past months. Some say the end of the world is coming, but Mikaela doesn’t believe in such nonsense. Although she’d like nothing more than to curl up in front of the TV when it rains, she has her small dog to take care of. Taking Tremor out for a walk, a lightning suddenly strikes her. She wakes up in a completely different world with hulky, purple alien barbarians. When one of them tries to grab poor Tremor, she fights back. Hell no, they’re not taking her dog!...

In a jungle of monsters, the real danger is falling for one... Cora A monster is chasing me through my home. On prehistoric planet Xren, where alien dinosaurs roam free, perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised. My home in a treetop was supposed to be safe. Nobody should know I’m here, a hundred feet off the ground. But this thing even knows my name. I think this is a caveman chasing me. He’s huge and terrifying, with spikes on his face and a big horn growing from his head. He has something even bigger under his loincloth. Yeah, I know their game on this woman-less planet: abduct Earth girls ...

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.

Science Fiction Stories 5 is a mesmerizing anthology that takes readers on a journey through the imaginative realms of science fiction. From dystopian futures to post-apocalyptic worlds and thrilling adventures in space, this collection explores the human condition and the mysteries of the universe with unparalleled depth. Embark on a Journey Beyond Imagination In "The Price of Beauty," follow Martin as he navigates the envy and resentment towards the advanced Earthmen and uncovers profound truths about humanity. Experience the psychological tension in "Weight of the Mind," where Amy Trout ...

Phssthpok the Pak had been traveling for most of his thirty-two thousand years. His mission was to save, develop, and protect the group of Pak breeders sent out into space some two and a half million years before.

Brennan was a Belter, the product of a fiercely independent, somewhat anarchic society living in, on, and around an outer asteroid belt. The Belters were rebels, one and all, and Brennan was a smuggler. The Belt worlds had been tracking the Pak ship for days, and Brennan figured to meet that ship first.

An entire sector in turmoil...neighbors who appear unconcerned...a favor asked of an old friend...sacrifices made for the good of humanity.... Before they can challenge the Dusahn and prevent them from expanding their empire further, the Karuzari must first gather much-needed resources. But doing so could be more difficult than anticipated.

Transported to another world with purple alien barbarians who don’t even speak English?! Strange storms have been raging all over the world for the past months. Some say the end of the world is coming, but for Ella, life goes on as always: stressing about work, her health problems, and now a broken car to top it all off. She tries to make her way home in the stormy weather when a lightning suddenly strikes her. She loses consciousness and when she wakes up, she finds herself in the middle of a TV production. Because giant purple aliens just can’t be real, right? Especially not when they...

After 25 years serving as the human Monitor of the Interstellar Ark, Hermes, Orion is scheduled to be placed back into hibernation with the other crewmembers. Knowing he'll die there and be replaced before the ship's voyage is over, he decides that he won’t — can’t — accept that fate. Whatever it takes, Orion will escape Hermes and see what's beyond, even if it means defying the regulations of his only friend — the ship-wide artificial intelligence known as Dan.

The war will come - it is inevitable. After centuries of struggle, the ISF Intrepid has finally brought its colonists to New Canaan, a star system better than any they imagined. They made landfall and began to build their new home, far from the troubles of Sol and the Inner Stars. Yet no one in the Orion Arm has forgotten that the colonists possess the most valuable technology known to humankind, least of all Tanis Richards - as she secretly prepares to defend New Canaan against any and all aggressors.

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.

Humanity has reached the stars, joining the vast galactic community of alien species. But beyond the fringes of explored space lurk the Reapers, a race of sentient starships bent on "harvesting" the galaxy's organic species for their own dark purpose. The Illusive Man, leader of the pro-human black ops group Cerberus, is one of the few who know the truth about the Reapers.

An extraordinary astronomical discovery, an international conspiracy and a rush to the truth. When she discovers an exoplanet with an unstable orbit around the nearby star Tau Sagittarii, Uma knows something is not right. Is this an opportunity or a threat to humanity? In her struggle to uncover the truth behind her discovery, Uma meets Abdo, a clever robotics specialist presenting her with an alternative and unsettling interpretation of what she has detected. Together, Uma and Abdo unmask a conspiracy entangling the scientific community and corporations. Their lives are at stake, while a ...

One Operator. One Kid. One Mission. They said it would be a simple job: collect the daughter of a high-profile dignitary and return her to the capital. But Val Standish knows that no mission survives first contact. Alone, without support, Standish finds herself up against multiple adversaries, with only her wits and skills to keep her cargo and herself alive.

Since fleeing the supernova chain reaction at the galactic core, the cowardly Puppeteers of the Fleet of Worlds have - just barely - survived one crisis after another: the rebellion of their human slaves, the relentless questing of the species of Known Space, the spectacular rise of the starfishlike Gw'oth, the onslaught of the genocidal Pak. Now fresh disaster looms, as though past crises have returned and converged. Who can possibly save the Fleet this time?