Showing results by author "Sami" in Science Fiction

Cal Kestis has built a new life for himself with the crew of the Stinger Mantis. Together, Cal's crew has brought down bounty hunters, defeated Inquisitors, and even evaded Darth Vader himself. More important, Merrin, Cere, Greez, and faithful droid BD-1 are the closest thing Cal has had to a family since the fall of the Jedi Order. Even as the galaxy's future grows more uncertain by the day, with each blow struck against the Empire the Mantis crew grows more daring.

This volume contains a variety of imaginative stories from both famous and not-so-famous science fiction writers.

One night. That was all it took. Creatures that once lived in the shadows, hidden from humankind, have risen, spreading like a plague across the globe over the course of a single night. Their numbers growing exponentially through infection, these seemingly unkillable creatures have swallowed up whole cities and collapsed unprepared governments.

The Purge decimated the planet almost a year ago, leaving small bands of humanity scrambling to find sanctuary from the hordes of unkillable monsters that reside in the darkness. Keo is one of the few who made it through that harrowing first night. Trapped in a small town in Louisiana, he finds himself joining forces with a group of strangers to make sense of what's happening.

This is the story of the first human being born on Mars: Rose Fuller, who saw a better future than the one that came to pass. And Dylan Ward, a woman raised in the vast wilderness of the frontier, who will find her way back to it. It's a story about a man who went missing, and the man who wants to find out what he knew. It's a story about what makes us human - and how we might live once we leave our home. The story of the first murder on Mars.

The Chrysallaman Empire made contact in 1947. Their mission was simple: find a suitable planet for colonization. Rich with land, minerals and water, Earth - HG-281- could boast only of a primitive race of defenders known as Humans, bugs who could be easily squashed by the might of a single Chrysallaman's mind. When a Chrysallaman ship is unexpectedly brought down in Roswell, New Mexico, the aliens return to their home planet to regroup, leaving behind a broken ship and a young alien boy.

After the climate wars, a floating city was constructed in the Arctic Circle. Once a remarkable feat of mechanical and social engineering, it is now rife with corruption, and the population simmers with unrest. Into this turmoil comes a strange new visitor - a woman accompanied by an orca and a chained polar bear. She disappears into the crowds looking for someone she lost 30 years ago, followed by whispers of a vanished people who could bond with animals.

Ray Bradbury - peerless storyteller, poet of the impossible, and one of America's most beloved authors - is a literary giant whose remarkable career spanned seven decades. Now 26 of today's most diverse and celebrated authors offer new short works in honor of the master; stories of heart, intelligence, and dark wonder from a remarkable range of creative artists.

Still stranded in the Louisiana countryside, Will, Danny, and Gaby race against the clock to get back to their friends, but the road home is treacherous, and enemies lie in wait. Meanwhile, Lara and the survivors at Song Island continue preparations for an inevitable attack. But what does a third-year medical student know about fending off a full-frontal assault?

In the not too distant future, on a decaying space-station from a high Venus orbit, a cantankerous and disgraced scientist awaits the delivery of a mysterious shipment. He hopes to use it to invent a new propulsion system and, in doing so, salvage his reputation. However, the station’s decommissioning crew, led by Chief O’Connor, are skeptical about his plans. They believe them to be nothing but drunken delusions, a theory which seems more than plausible given the bold and outlandish claims he has been making of late.

A post-viral planet. Annihilation approaches.Tom Evans and Ceri Lewis occupy a silent new world. Little more than a million people survived the Cleansing. They are spread out, weak, compelled by a force beyond their comprehension to remain where they are. Humankind teeters on the brink, its fate in the hands of the few who can resist the power that seeks to control them. But resistance may be futile. In the midst of deathly calm, a new threat arises, one that will finish the job started by the Cleansing.

Man is no longer at the top of the food chain. The Purge has devastated the globe, turning much of humanity into night-dwelling, bloodthirsty creatures (dubbed "ghouls" by the survivors), while small pockets of remaining humans have managed to carry on. Will learns that a larger war between survivors and ghouls is raging in the rest of the country, but before he can join the fight, he must first ensure the continued survival of his group at all costs.

Seven billion people inhabit this planet in blissful ignorance of imminent annihilation. Destruction comes, not from meteors or nuclear holocaust, but from a source no one even knows exists. The architects of doom have long moved among us, hidden in plain sight, waiting for the signal to trigger our extinction. A handful of survivors - traumatized, bewildered - must come to terms with the new reality. Quickly. For the Cleansing is only the beginning....

Every journey has an ending. He's survived the Purge and battled overwhelming odds, but now Keo is back on the road and more determined than ever to fulfill a promise made nearly half a year ago. What he didn't expect - or want - was to end up in another bloody conflict. With the help of some old friends and some dangerous new ones, Keo must figure out a way to keep everyone he cares for alive.

Separated, but not out of the fight. Gaby has been captured by a familiar figure from her past. Some might take captivity lying down, but they aren't Gaby. Will and Danny are close on Gaby's trail, but their rescue mission is detoured in a city under siege by a very dangerous new breed of ghouls. The reunited ex-Army Rangers will face their toughest fight yet if they want to get out alive.

Killing has never been something Keo shieded away from, but the events of the last year have made him rethink his bloody past. Now, Keo has embraced his old ways and set his sights on a new target - and there is nothing more dangerous than a man with nothing to lose. For Lara and those on the Trident, an encounter with a new group of survivors pulls them even further off course. It doesn't seem to matter how hard Lara tries to steer clear of Mercer's war on the ghouls; fate seems intent on drawing her into the conflict.

After a five-year sabbatical following the tragic death of his wife and fellow agent, Alysha, Keona Rause returns to the distant colony world of Magenta to resume service with the Magentan Intelligence Service. With him he brings an artificial re-creation of his wife's personality, a simulacrum built from every digital trace she left behind. She has been constructed with one purpose - to discover the truth behind her own death - but Keona's relationship with her has grown into something more....

My name is Sam Ryder. I was abducted from Earth and brought to a planet called Tor, a world of dying goddesses and deadly monsters. I was leveled up - twice now - transformed from a slightly overweight gamer with no real career prospects into a man-beast capable of slinging a massive hammer around like it's made of feathers and cotton. At this point I've already faced one of the massive demon overlords known as the Morgoss - those who are responsible for the overthrow of the Three goddesses and the predicament we find ourselves in. But I survived, along with several of my allies.

My name is Sam Ryder. I was abducted from Earth and brought to a planet called Tor, a world of dying goddesses and monsters. I was leveled up - four times now - turning me from a slightly overweight gamer into a man-beast demigod charged with the unfortunate tasks of kicking demon ass and getting busy with gorgeous goddesses and exotic alien women. At this point in the tale, we’re about to be attacked by a massive army of shadow monsters conjured from the depths of the underworld (yeah, that part sucks), but don’t worry, there’s hope. Because we’re awesome.

In a remote city, a renowned performance artist commits suicide on video; from a long-abandoned space station comes impossible footage of a dead body; and in an isolated outpost, a secretive cult believes they are communing with the ancient alien Masters. How are they connected? Inspector Keon is trying to investigate, but once again his life has been flipped upside down. His wife, Alysha, is alive. His long search is over. Or so he thinks.