Science Fiction books

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Elam Vandreren arrives on Cabot’s Landing expecting to become the planet’s Resident and caretaker. Instead he finds himself investigating a grisly crime and uncovering even more disturbing secrets.

When Elam finds the prior Resident murdered, he thinks the Resident’s spouse did it. Sigurd van Dorstadt, the investigator from the transport ship Zuiderkruis, thinks Elam did it. They both think no one else is on the planet.

It turns out they’re both wrong—about everything.

Although Elam and Sigurd don’t like each other, they join forces with a team from Zuiderkruis to find the truth. The evidence soon points to unknown criminals hiding out in the ruins of an ancient military base—and they’re not the planet’s only other inhabitants.

When part of their team is taken hostage, Elam and Sigurd barely escape with their lives. To survive and rescue their friends, they must rely on each other and make an alliance with a secretive group called the Left Behind. But the more of Cabot’s Landing’s secrets they uncover and the more their feelings for each other grow, the more fraught their decisions become. With duty and honor at odds with their hearts, can Elam and Sigurd strike a balance they can live with?

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Quand le contrebandier interstellaire Haz Taylor perd tout, vaisseau, argent et réputation, il sombre dans l’alcool sur une planète misérable.

Mais alors, la Coalition lui propose un contrat pour rapatrier un artefact religieux. Sur le papier, le contrat semble simple, mais les arcanes de la politique sont parfois mortels – et l’artefact lui-même ne tient pas particulièrement à retourner chez lui.

Haz ne s’attendait pas au rôle de geôlier chargé de rapatrier un prisonnier, mais le voilà pris entre un canon laser et un vide intersidéral. Pourtant, il apprécie son captif, aussi le laisse-t-il libre de se déplacer à sa guise sur le vaisseau, de manger quand il a faim… et d’agir normalement. Du moins, jusqu’à ce qu’ils atteignent leur destination. Haz a conscience que la Coalition détesterait cette attitude, ce qui est à ses yeux une raison suffisante.

 

Puis il découvre ce qui attend Mot à son retour et tout à coup, le vide ne paraît plus aussi hostile. Haz n’est pas un héros, mais il refuse d’abandonner Mot à son destin. Sous son épaisse cuirasse d’égoïsme, il garde encore une conscience. Il risque de se faire tuer, d’accord, mais quelle importance ? Après tout, qu’a-t-il qui le retienne à la vie ?

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A Victorian automaton that seems all too real...

A cursed book that infects the beloved family dog...

An old mill building haunted by workers killed in a fire...

Ghosts, werewolves, and aliens lurk in the twilight, at the edge of the shadows—the penumbra—in this collection of stories from Jamie Fessenden. 

 

This volume consists of previously published novellas.

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World Warden

Wurl | Book Two

Now that colonists Elias Trost and Tristan MacLeod have learned of the existence of another intelligent species on this planet, their life on New Skye has become even more perilous. Dresde, the ruthless wurl queen, has kidnapped Elias’s brother, Oscar, along with the egg of a rival queen.

Oscar Trost finds danger and privation under Dresde’s reign, but he isn’t alone. A small group of humans from the original colony ship, long lost from memory, live on the eastern continent as slaves to Dresde’s horrific whims. In order to survive, Oscar must find his courage and prove himself to these others while he awaits the rescue he is sure will come.

Elias and Tristan have to find Oscar and the egg, and fast. Every day their search becomes more desperate. But sprawling between them and Dresde’s lair is the untamed alien wilderness, teeming with threats from ground and sky. And in the vast ocean they must cross lies something else—something ancient that should not be disturbed….
 

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When interstellar smuggler Haz Taylor loses his ship, his money, and his tattered reputation, drinking himself to death on a backwater planet seems like his only option. Then the Coalition offers him a contract to return a stolen religious artifact. Sounds simple enough, but politics can be deadly—and the artifact’s not enthusiastic about being returned.

Haz didn’t sign up to be prisoner transport, but he’s caught between a blaster and hard vacuum. Still, that doesn’t mean he can’t show his captive some kindness. It costs him nothing to give Mot the freedom to move about the ship, to eat when he’s hungry… to believe that he’s a person. It’s only until they reach Mot’s planet. Besides, the Coalition would hate it, which is reason enough.

Then he finds out what awaits Mot at home, and suddenly hard vacuum doesn’t look so bad. Haz is no hero, but he can’t consign Mot to his fate. Somewhere under the space grime, Haz has a sliver of principle. It’s probably going to get him killed, but he doesn’t have much to live for anyway….

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Twelve Heroes

The Elusive Spark | Book Four

A Harmony Ink Press Title

The Elusive Spark: Book Four

The end of the world is coming.

On the run from the Paragon Academy, James, Falling Star, Lumen, and the rest meet up on their alien father’s spaceship on the shores of Venus. Together they must travel to the Hidden Mountain and face a test to determine which of them are members of the Twelve Heroes, a band of super beings charged with protecting the universe.

With the Eye of the Keeper, the Twelve Heroes wield the power to heal the Earth… but if the amulet falls into the wrong hands, that power could destroy everything. The Star Children must keep the Eye out of the Paragon Academy’s nefarious clutches—or risk the possibility of demons running free, plunging humanity into chaos and darkness. But they will have to work together. After all, no one has ever saved the world by themselves….

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2022 Goldie Award Finalist - Science Fiction/Fantasy

Finding the right romantic partner is always a challenge—especially when your first spouse turns out to be a greedy, business-obsessed hardass who winds up on her CEO office floor with a bullet through her brain. 

After the murder of her first wife, Elaine is ready for a vacation and a solid relationship with a woman who only has time for her. Thanks to some found alien technology, Elaine can get what she wants… sort of. Okay, so a computer-generated tangible holographic image of a twentieth-century film star is about as far from “solid” as it gets. But as her themed pleasure cruise on a passenger starliner progresses and an additional plot to murder Elaine reveals itself, she finds herself inexplicably drawn to her fantasy companion.

Ricky might be the result of exceptional programming, but she proves to be more than the sum of her particles. She shows Elaine more affection, and eventually more protection, than any so-called “real” woman in her life ever has, leaving Elaine to wonder—are Ricky’s feelings for her truly artificial? Or is this REEL TO REAL LOVE?

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Life Seed

Wurl | Book One

Wurl: Book One

They came to New Skye in search of a better future. The colonists, descendants of the brave people who set out to reach a new planet, found a beautiful world, rich beyond their wildest expectations.

Except for one thing. Crops will not grow in the soil of New Skye—not the way they should—and humans cannot eat the native animals. Desperate feats of botanical engineering have kept the colony alive, but time is running out as food becomes more scarce.

Elias Trost will not sit idly by while his colony starves. The one hope for a solution is the Life Seed, a dormant plant organism kept under lock and key at the heart of the colony.

In desperation, Elias steals the Life Seed to return it to its rightful place, making him an outcast in the unforgiving winter world. Pursued by colony soldiers armed to the teeth, including his former best friend, Tristan MacLeod, Elias soon runs afoul of a far greater threat. The wurl, the deadly reptiles that besiege the colony, are tracking him too, and they appear to be more intelligent than the colonists ever knew….

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Who Knows the Moonlight

The Vigilante | Book Three

The Vigilante: Book Three

Vigilante Nox Boyet won’t rest until he brings down the man who has destroyed his beloved New York City and now threatens the people he loves. But once he’s taken prisoner by the monster behind the carnage, Nox needs help.

Cade Creel has come a long way from his days as a high-priced rent boy, but he never expected to join the Vigilante on a high-stakes quest, never mind fall in love with him. Now it’s time to step up.

Separated and desperate, Nox and Cade have their work cut out for them. With the help of new friends and old enemies, they must identify the man who has turned New York City into a dystopian nightmare and get the hell out before a raid by the Feds turns the city into a warzone. But first they must find their way back to each other.

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Woven

Storm Fronts | Book Three

Storm Fronts: Book Three

What if the mirror does reflect what’s inside?

Mercenary Vick Corren is steadfast in her love for empath Kelly LaSalle. When it comes to her love of herself, not so much.

After an acidic-lake dunking on a distant moon shows Vick what’s really beneath her synthetic skin, it doesn’t matter that she heals. All she can see is the metallic shell of the soldier she once was. It’s a cruel reminder that she’s a cyborg. An AI. Less than human.

And that's not Vick's biggest problem. Her clone, the sadistic VC2, is on the loose and on the hunt. Her mission? Eliminate Vick and make Kelly her own.

Can Vick resolve her crippling identity crisis in time to defeat VC2—a terrifying version of herself that she might have been if not for Kelly’s love?

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Mean Machine

Perchance to Dream

For a boxer ravaged by guilt and in deep denial of his desires, a fight beyond the ring might yield his greatest prize.

In a dystopian UK devastated by austerity and ruled by corporate interests, Brooklyn Marshall was a happily married London police officer—until an accident resulted in the death of a protester connected to a powerful family. Now he takes out his anger and pain on his opponents, fighting for the company that took him into stewardship after his conviction and disgrace—and which all but owns him.

Wealthy barrister Nathaniel Bishop fulfills his dream of a family when he adopts a daughter. He can’t resist researching her allegedly violent criminal father, but Brook isn’t at all what he expects. He’s fascinating… and maybe worthy of redemption. Through legal sleight of hand, Nathaniel thinks he can overturn Brook’s conviction.

Brook has learned the hard way not to trust anyone, let alone a privileged man who’s purchased his “time.” But as they get to know each other, he allows himself to hope.

With his fights getting deadlier, hope might be the only thing to carry Brook through.

Third Edition
First Edition previously published as Counterpunch by Storm Moon Press, in 2011. Second Edition previously published as Counterpunch in 2014.

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The Titan

Chrysalis Corporation | Book Two

Chrysalis Corporation: Book Two

The Titan. The largest battleship to exist and the place where fighter pilot Damion was sure he’d die beside his lover, Requiem, a human-AI hybrid. Their ship is set to explode in seconds—but when the countdown ends, they find themselves at the mercy of the rebel leader, Athena. She offers help, but Damion knows it won’t come for free.

What is he willing to do to ensure Requiem’s survival and liberate him from the Corporation that holds his fate in their hands? In the belly of the Titan, Damion faces the worst parts of himself and must finally decide what to do about his feelings for Requiem. If he accepts the resistance leader’s offer, his path could lead him places he never expected—or to a bloody end.

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Patchwork

Storm Fronts | Book Two

Storm Fronts: Book Two

Empath Kelly LaSalle means everything to cybernetic soldier Vick Corren—and Kelly deserves a partner who can love her in a romantic way.

For the first time since receiving her robotic enhancements and an AI that makes her faster and stronger than the average merc, Vick thinks she can be that person.

Vick wants Kelly for life, and she’ll do whatever it takes to be worthy. A holiday on a tropical planet seems the perfect time for Vick to demonstrate her commitment.

And she has big plans.

But the best intentions unravel when they’re pursued by a rival mercenary company that wants Vick’s technology—with or without her cooperation. A competitor for Kelly’s affection is determined to tear them apart, and a lover from Vick’s past has depraved plans of her own. Vick might not be able to save their lives without giving herself over to the machine she’s trying so hard to transcend.

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A Harmony Ink Press Title

Welcome, Motor Heads, Rally Girls, and Hangers-On! It’s another wild ride here at the Gathering—the underground world of fast cars, crazy drivers, and partying all night long. If you’re here, it means you’ve broken curfew. Not something the ruling Mob of Terra One encourages, but we’re all in the same boat, so let’s rock it! As long as you’ve paid off your local Associate, you’ll be fine. Maybe.

Tonight’s race features racing royalty, ladies and gents! Let’s welcome seventeen-year-old Rebecca “RC” Camille, third in the Driver’s Index. She lives to race. Nothing but motor oil running through her veins, folks. Her aim? To be number one, beating out two of the boys she grew up with at the Open Arms orphanage. She’s lethal in her GT500KR. Nothing gets in her way. Not a sense of brotherhood. Not even love.

Her challenger tonight? A psychotic serial killer willing to stop at nothing to eliminate the competition. Can RC stop him before he kills his way to the top? Or will she need reinforcements from the authority we all love to hate? Remember, children, the Mob never gives away their help for free.

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Accuracy

New State

A Harmony Ink Press Title

New State: Book One

Life is cheap in the new American Republic, as officer-in-training Lailani Harris knows well. Any who break the oppressive government’s rules end up as live target practice, and one day Lai sees a face she recognizes in her sights. Since she can’t bring herself to execute her cousin, she recruits her best friend, and they undertake a daring rescue that lands all three of them on the run. As they uncover the true depths of corruption in the government and stumble into a resistance movement, Lai’s destiny unfolds. It’s hard to believe a single person can stand against such a powerful adversary, but she might be the one to turn the tide.

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Assassin meets innocent. 

Kicked out of the Assassins Guild for breach of contract, hunted by its members for killing the Guild Leader, and half hooked on illegal narcotics, Cor Sandros could use a break. Down to her last few credits, Cor is offered a freelance job to eliminate a perverse political powerhouse. Always a sucker for helping the helpless, she accepts.

The plan doesn’t include Cor falling in love with her employer, sweet and attractive Kila, but as the pair struggles to reach the target’s home world, pursued by assassins from the Guild, Cor finds the inexplicable attraction growing stronger. There’s a job to do, and intimate involvement is an unwelcome distraction. Then again, so is sexual frustration.

Second Edition
First Edition published by Torquere Press Publishers, November 2015.

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Threadbare

Storm Fronts | Book One

Storm Fronts: Book One

All cybernetic soldier Vick Corren wanted was to be human again. Now all she wants is Kelly. But machines can’t love. Can they?

With the computerized implants that replaced most of her brain, Vick views herself as more machine than human. She’s lost her memory, but worse, can no longer control her emotions, though with the help of empath Kelly LaSalle, she’s holding the threads of her fraying sanity together. 

Vick is smarter, faster, impervious to pain… the best mercenary in the Fighting Storm, until odd flashbacks show Vick a life she can't remember and a romantic relationship with Kelly that Vick never knew existed. But investigating that must wait until Vick and her team rescue the Storm’s kidnapped leader.

Someone from within the organization is working against them, threatening Kelly’s freedom. To save her, Vick will have to sacrifice what she values most: the last of her humanity. Before the mission is over, either Vick or Kelly will forfeit the life she once knew.  

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Absolute Heart

Infernal Instruments of the Dragon

A Harmony Ink Press Title

Infernal Instruments of the Dragon

As the British Empire builds power based on new clockwork and steam technology, Ireland draws its might from its potent magical traditions. Only two boys with little in common can end the fighting between the two nations and prevent a terrible worldwide war.

Gavin Haveland’s dreams are in the sky with the airships, while his reality as a High Councilman’s son means hiding secrets that will get him executed if revealed.

Orion of Oberon is not just a powerful mage, he’s the nephew of the Irish queen, and the one she’s sent him on a quest for the ancient Dragon Stones that will bolster her fading power. In the process, he might restore his family to their rightful place in society.

With enemies determined to stop them by any means necessary and war or peace hinging on their success, Gavin and Orion must find a way to work together, despite the centuries of mistrust between their nations.

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