Space Science Exploration

Mostly, he's accomplished this antisocial feat by exterminating them because they posed a threat to galactic peace or common decency. As with any action, there can be an equal and opposite reaction. Now, a fundamental force of existence named Xyándor is after Jon. You see, Xyándor's sole purpose is to spawn chaos. So he's dead set on killing Jon because our hero snuffs out chaos on a routine basis. Most likely, this Xyándor character must've had a really troubled childhood, right?

When Noah sees an advertisement offering him a chance to rent a starship, he’s convinced it has to be a trick. Already having the worst day of his life, he’s willing to do anything for a distraction, including following a random stranger’s directions to the middle of nowhere to see a ship he doubts exists. Except there is no trick. The starship is real. And Noah’s life will never be the same.

From the Solar System itself, Imperator James Calvin Walkingstick prepares the remaining fleets of the Commonwealth for a desperate and brutal campaign to retake their borders and unify humanity one more. On the other side of the Commonwealth’s seceding star systems, Dictator Kaleb Periklos gathers his fleets to avenge their humiliation. To the mercenary Admirals of the Stellar League, it doesn’t matter whether the worlds they conquer still kneel to Terra.

Shapeshifting powers, forbidden love, and a kingdom hanging in the balance. Arianna’s always been the perfect Truthspoken Heir, the obedient future ruler of her interstellar kingdom. But when Arianna’s royal shapeshifting abilities fail her publicly and disastrously at her engagement ball, she suddenly finds herself on the outside of the life she called her own. Dressa’s the perfect socialite, the opposite of her older sister’s rigid control. When her sister goes down with a mysterious illness and is sent away from court, Dressa’s thrust into a position she never wanted. She’s ...

Admiral Jack Romanoff and his people have seized control of Faust and now have a base of operations, though the people of that world aren't completely pleased by his presence or actions. That's okay because he doesn't have time to worry about them. He needs to strike the Locusts before they spread even more than they already have in the wreck everything humanity has built.

Jon Hunter is back. Whether he likes it or not! Be careful what you ask for. A higher being might be listening. It's been 2 days since Jon Hunter reset the timeline, by locking the Darkness away forever. 2 days of grateful rest. For him. For the rest of the team, it feels like a year has passed, and they're stuck in a limbo they cannot escape. Jane wants Jon to get back to work, and a higher power seems to want the same thing. But Jon isn't ready yet, and Jane thinks he only needs a wakeup call. But when has anything Jon Hunter related ever been as simple as a wakeup call? Weird is normal ...

It's the dawn of a new era - and we're ready to colonize Mars. But the company that's been contracted to construct a new Mars base has made promises they can't fulfill and is desperate enough to cut corners. The first thing to go is the automation...the next thing they'll have to deal with is the eight astronauts they'll send to Mars, when there aren't supposed to be any at all. Frank - father, architect, murderer - is recruited for the mission to Mars with the promise of a better life, along with seven of his most notorious fellow inmates.

Admiral Jack Romanoff and his people have located the system the Tardans are using as their command post for the invasion of the Confederation. Only they can't simply attack militarily because of the stellar terrain, so they need to improvise. When the stakes are high, leave no option unexplored. With direct action off the table, they must infiltrate the system and get the information they need to defeat the Tardans and their Locust minions.

The year is 2650. Seventy-five years ago, an alien fleet attacked Earth. Without warning. Without mercy. We were not prepared. Hundreds of millions perished. Dozens of cities burned. We nearly lost everything. Then the aliens abruptly left. We rebuilt. We armed ourselves. We swore: never again. But the aliens never came back. Until now. With overwhelming force the aliens have returned, striking deep into our territory, sending Earth into a panic.

This is a striking addition to the body of Culture lore, and adds definition and scale to the previous works by using the Earth of 1977 as contrast. The stories in the collection range from science fiction to horror, dark-coated fantasy to morality tale. All bear the indefinable stamp of Iain Banks's staggering talent.

A magic wielding astronaut fighting off an alien invasion with his dragon friend? Charlie thought they might actually pull it off...that is if Lady Luck decided to play nice for a change. Unfortunately, knowing his fortunes, the odds of that were slim to none.

NASA is about to launch Apollo 18. While the mission has been billed as a scientific one, flight controller Kazimieras "Kaz" Zemeckis knows there is a darker objective. Intelligence has discovered a secret Soviet space station spying on America, and Apollo 18 may be the only chance to stop it. But as Kaz races to keep the NASA crew one step ahead of their Russian rivals, a deadly accident reveals that not everyone involved is who they were thought to be. With political stakes stretched to the breaking point, the White House and the Kremlin can only watch as their astronauts collide.

Ralph could be described as a rogue on a good day. A bad day involved a lot of cursing, calling him a pirate, or sometimes even having a shoot-out. It wasn't really his fault of course, or so he would have you believe. It was the fault of those who wanted to get in his way of making as much money as possible as a smuggler. His family had been gifted with a letter of marque for the Terran Confed, one that is inherited and has been passed down to him. Essentially, it gives him a lot of loopholes and ways through regulations to be a fantastic smuggler. Or as a legal pirate, a Privateer.

A virus. A planet in danger. A race against time. When a deadly virus appears on a highly advanced world, questions will be asked. Where did it come from, is it a threat, and is there a cure? When a government official gets infected, the Alliance’s premier special forces team will be sent out to investigate. Val Standish and the Prime Team must deal with not only the virus, but local bureaucrats as they try and unravel the mystery before things spiral out of control.

Hannah is a fusion scientist working alone at a remote cottage off the coast of Scotland when she sees a figure making his way from the sea. It is a young man from a human settlement on Mars, traveling backwards through time to try to make a crucial intervention in the fate of our dying planet, and he needs Hannah's help. Hannah and the stranger are on the path towards a breakthrough—and then things go terribly wrong.

Get ready to experience two more origin stories in the Backyard Starship universe.

Hunted through system after system. Veronica Rose is gone. Frontier Security has fallen. And so goes Captain Thatcher’s last lifeline. Cut off from the rest of the star cluster, and surrounded by enemies, all seems lost. Thatcher must reach deep inside himself to find the resolve to keep fighting. The spacers under his command are counting on him to bring them safely home. In the darkest hour, someone must provide a light.

A crescent moon set against a jeweled field of stars gracefully slid into view. The thin arc of its crater-filled landscape drew Jack’s mind in. His eyes followed the long, inky shadows cast by jagged crater walls as they cut sharply into the pockmarked ashen terrain. Deeper within the jet-black lunar night-side were the lonely peaks of a smattering of mountain tops, catching a few last rays of sunlight. All Jack felt was a desire to escape; to be down there exploring...perhaps uncovering some new detail in the history of Earth’s nearest neighbor.

A good Gajur gave his life. Will that sacrifice help bring the galaxy back to balance? Or topple known space into a war to end all wars? Armagost wasn't the only light snuffed prematurely. The attack destroyed an irreplaceable piece of Valint's life, as well. Now, Mark must toe the delicate line between lawman and friend, partner and lover. With those in power divided, the work has only begun. The galaxy no longer needs a maker of peace, but a lobbyist and negotiator. In order to deconstruct the entombed and corrupt system, Mark and the gang must stack the deck in their favor.

They tried to kill or capture Yozef Kolsko. The possibility that Caedellium could have peaceful years going forward is refuted. The key is bringing down Narthon. But how? Caedellium is too small, despite innovations by Yozef Kolsko (Joseph Colsco) and Mark Kaldwel (Caldwell), humans cast away on the planet Anyar. Allies are needed. Campaigns to be planned. Risks to be taken. For Yozef Kolsko, it means assuming roles he never imagined or believed himself capable. Anyar will never be the same.