Space Military Fiction

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.

After seven years of bitter war, the end has come at last for the conflict known infamously as the Horus Heresy. Terra now lies within the Warmaster’s sights, the Throneworld and the seat of his father’s rule. Horus’ desire is nothing less than the death of the Emperor of Mankind and the utter subjugation of the Imperium. He has become the ascendant vessel of Chaos and amassed a terrible army with which to enact his will and vengeance. But the way to the Throne will be hard as the primarch Rogal Dorn, the Praetorian and protector of Terra, marshals the defences.

The basilisks, cruel alien serpents, attacked our world. They bombed us. Hunted us. Butchered us without pity. But now we will be the hunters. We will assemble a fleet. We will cross the vastness of space. And for the first time, we will strike the enemy on his own soil. It's a time for courage. A time for heroes. We will no longer hide in bunkers. We will no longer die like sheep. Freedom will be won with blood and fire. Freedom will be the legacy of Earth. We are the last humans. And we will win!

The A!Tol Imperium and their new human subjects have had 15 years of relative peace. New colonies have been founded, new worlds explored, new ships built. Formal and informal alliances have been built with the ancient powers of the Core, leaving humanity and the Imperium seemingly on the brink of a new dawn. The devastation of one of the newly-founded human colonies sends ripples of shock through the Imperium, and a battle fleet under Fleet Lord Harriet Tanaka is dispatched to the edge of the Imperium to find the culprits and bring them to justice.

With the Conclave on high alert and Twain on the move, Hank has to act fast. Things are looking dire, and Hank knows that he is going to need more support in the coming war. Joining the bounty hunter Council of Six would put him in a strong position to take on the resurging Cult. But doing that will be no easy task. Tracking down the biggest and baddest target in the universe will help his chances but it will also be their toughest job ever. And with Twain mobilizing, every second spent on the hunt is also one their enemy can use to strengthen his position.

With the battle for Earth over, Zax and Kalare are forced to deal with the repercussions of its outcome. They enlist their closest allies to take back the Ship from enemies both new and old, and along the way, they discover a most unexpected source of help.

With the galactic capital of Centris in the starship Crimson Tear's wake, and the lost colony world of Lakran in dire need of relief, the Bridger family has a stop to make on their way to the true depths of wild space and Lakran. Vucsa 5, a world on the galactic frontier recently conquered by Agenda Lilpaw—a pirate queen turned Undaunted privateer and now reigning as an actual queen—has sent word of an opportunity that promises mutual benefit. An intriguing proposition from a reformed pirate. With challenges martial, diplomatic, and logistic in front of them, one thing is for certain: ...

After the Renegade mission by the crew of the starship Flying Dutchman, the UN Expeditionary Force thought Earth was safe for hundreds of years, at least. After there was trouble on the home front and the president had to authorize a nuclear strike on an American city, UNEF decided they did need the Merry Band of Pirates again. So, the Flying Dutchman is sent out on a simple recon mission. But for the pirates, nothing is ever simple, and their mission will become Armageddon.

Terminal Lance Lucky Lee Savage likes his life. Sure, doing PT hungover is a pain, but no one can dodge responsibility like he can - or sweet-talk the cooks into giving out double rations.

Legion Dark Ops calls upon Chhun, Wraith, and the survivors of Victory Company to form an elite Kill Team of legionnaires in the aftermath of the Battle of Kublar. Their mission is clear: find and eliminate those responsible for the Kublar disaster. Standing between them and their objective are a maze of corrupt Republic officials, a spy on the verge of losing himself in deep cover, and the Zhee - a murderous species that will stop at nothing. But the biggest threat of all might be the truth they seek to uncover - a truth that could ignite a revolution. And engulf the galaxy in flames.

After saving the Arcadian Confederate from certain destruction, Kevin's consciousness is cast back to Earth. Victory is sweet, but life on Earth is boring. It doesn't take long for him to start missing his galaxy-trotting adventures. But you should be careful what you wish for: when a Kregan operative bent on revenge shows up to hunt Kevin down, everything starts to unravel. The galaxy's in grave danger, and it looks like Kevin's the only one who can save it. Not to worry! The Arcadians have sent their best engineer...who happens to be a talking cat with a less than ideal attitude.

On the 13th day of Secundus, the bombardment of Terra began. With the solar defences overcome through the devastating strength of the Traitor armada and the power of the warp, Horus launches his assault on the Throneworld in earnest. After withstanding a ferocious barrage of ordnance, an immense ground war commences outside the Palace, with every inch gained paid for in the lives of billions.

The Cadian Gate is broken, and the Imperium is riven in two. The might of the Traitor Legions, kept shackled for millennia behind walls of iron and sorcery, has been unleashed on a darkening galaxy. Among those seeking vengeance on the Corpse Emperor’s faltering realm are the Death Guard, once proud crusaders of the Legiones Astartes, now debased creatures of terror and contagion.

The battle-scarred star carrier Flying Dutchman is finally on her way back to Earth, after an exceptionally successful series of missions that have once again saved the world. The ship needs a serious refit, and her exhausted crew just wants a break from constant clandestine warfare against a vicious and superior enemy. Wishes come true, right? Not for the Merry Band of Pirates.

Things have gone bad among the colonies. Insurgents are building alien-hybrid armies and planet-killing weapons, threatening to upend the fragile balance of power in Province 921. There's not only trouble in the province—the Core Worlds are igniting as well. The Mogwa have asserted claims upon the Imperial Throne, causing their rivals to move against them. Earth's Hegemony and the rebels are pulled into a conflict that could tear the galaxy apart.

Rejected scientist Alexander Hawke is down to his last chance. Brilliant but sheltered, every banker in New York has refused to finance his ideas. Enter the Russian—charming, dangerous, and offering an Antarctic expedition that promises answers to all of his questions. Now, Alexander stands at the edge of a bottomless chasm. With a helpful shove from his foreign benefactor, he plunges into adventure. Landing in darkness, Alexander finds a portal to destiny—weirder than New York, colder than Russia, and filled with the ruins of an empire that once spanned the galaxy.

The remnants of the Expeditionary Force stranded on the alien-controlled planet "Paradise" get a chance to prove themselves, in a simple off-world training mission with a ship full of teenage alien cadets. When the mission goes horribly wrong and the survival of everyone on Paradise is at risk, the Merry Band of Pirates may have to come to the rescue. Unless they get killed first....

Contains books 1-3 of The Forgotten. Sheriff Hayden Duke was born on the Pilgrim, and he expects to die on the Pilgrim, like his father, and his father before him. That's the way things are on a generation starship centuries from home. He's never questioned it. Access points to the ship's controls are sealed, the systems that guide her automated and out of reach. Until a malfunction forces his engineer wife to the edge of the habitable zone to inspect the damage. Until she contacts him, breathless, to tell him she found a body, and it doesn't belong to anyone on board.

When the UN invaded the Freehold of Grainne, the intent was simple: Force a noncompliant star nation back into the collective. What the politicians hadn't accounted for was that the Freehold had spent 200 years as the haven for every independent, rebellious, self-reliant adventurer in human space. Its military are scattered remnants, its bases smoking ruins, its cities occupied. But Grainne and its space habitats have resources beyond measure.

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.