For centuries, mankind has searched for nonhuman civilizations in the cosmos. These lost alien societies have finally been discovered—but they were destroyed long ago. Devin Starn starts off as a lowly rock rat aboard Borag, a mining ship working the dangerous end of the asteroid belt. Slowly, he gains prestige and purpose. When an alien base is uncovered, however, he must risk everything to protect his ship and her crew. What wiped out all the civilizations that came before humanity?

In the 20th century Earth sent probes, transmissions, and welcoming messages to the stars. Unfortunately, someone noticed. The Galactics arrived with their battle fleet in 2052. Rather than being exterminated under a barrage of hell-burners, Earth joined their vast Empire. Swearing allegiance to our distant alien overlords wasn't the only requirement for survival. We also had to have something of value to trade, something that neighboring planets would pay their hard-earned credits to buy. As most of the local worlds were too civilized to have a proper army, the only valuable service Earth could provide came in the form of soldiers....

Po Abbato turns to crime in a desperate attempt to free his younger siblings from debt slavery. He's caught, and offered a choice: Spend 25 years in a digital prison while his body rots...or join the Marines.

Jason Burke was a man hiding from himself in a small cabin high in the American Rocky Mountains when his simple, quiet life was shattered one night by what he first assumed was an aviation mishap. But when he investigates the crash, what he finds will yank him out of his self-imposed exile and thrust him into a world he could have never imagined.

My history is unknown. My present is violent. My future may be more dangerous still. I use my unique skillset in one of the Moon’s many watering holes. Here, miners can spend their hard-earned money to forget that they’re not among the wealthy elite in the paradise colony on Mars. When a known crime boss walks in, events will begin to unfold hinting at a dark past and an even murkier future.

For years, pilots who merely looked like soldiers were adequate. They filled the mechs. They filled roles. They supported Spann and his genetic offshoot of pure-blooded warriors known as the Superba. Spann's dream of absolute power ends with a single, crushing blow as a new enemy strikes at the Realm, leaving no survivors—followed by a mad dash to find fighters who can stand up in the old ways, using the mechs gifted to humanity by their oldest allies. Even in the midst of war, there is hope.

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.

Acheron Colony was supposed to be humanity's greatest windfall. Using long-range sensors, the planet tested out as a super-Earth—but the reality is frightening. Instead of a green world bursting with life, the colonists find a dead rock covered in ash. Something has dismantled every organic molecule on Acheron—and no one knows how or why. When a mysterious signal that defies explanation begins to pulse from an alien ruin, the colonists panic. Something ancient was here long before them, and the signal, like a heartbeat, won't let them forget it.

When Ben Murdock receives a text message offering a fully operational starship for sale, he’s certain it has to be a joke. Already trapped in the worst day of his life and desperate for a way out, he decides to play along. Except there is no joke. The starship is real. And Ben’s life is going to change in ways he never dreamed possible. All he has to do is sign the contract. Joined by his streetwise best friend and a bizarre tenant with an unseverable lease, he’ll soon discover that the universe is more volatile, treacherous, and awesome than he ever imagined.

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

A news journalist arrested for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, Liv Reyes now serves as a war correspondent in a war where anyone can be drafted and everyone is expendable. It's a war we're losing. Badly. Outmatched, outsmarted, and outmaneuvered—humanity is running out of options when it comes to the Raptors. They destroy anything and anyone we send their way. Our last line of defense never even made it through basic training.

When the research starship Galileo vanishes without a trace, the powers-that-be are quick to bury the incident, eager to prevent escalating tensions that could lead to war. As a former POW, Soren refuses to give the ship up for lost. His daughter is one of the missing. Taking matters into his own hands, Soren starts pulling strings and calling in favors, determined to launch a clandestine mission to bring Galileo home. When an old friend offers him a ship for the operation, he expects a rusty relic headed for the scrapyard.

We were fighting on the wrong side of a war we couldn't win. And that was the good news. The Ruhar hit us on Columbus Day. There we were, innocently drifting along the cosmos on our little blue marble, like the native Americans in 1492. Over the horizon come ships of a technologically advanced, aggressive culture, and BAM! There go the good old days, when humans only got killed by each other. So, Columbus Day. It fits. When the morning sky twinkled again, this time with Kristang starships jumping in to hammer the Ruhar, we thought we were saved.

James Sutton was an average guy—he couldn’t afford college and didn’t really know what he wanted to do with his life. But when his sister Holly goes missing, he finds out he’s been living in a fantasy: An alien really did land in Roswell and the US has had a secret alliance with them ever since. They are symbiotes—capable of bonding with hosts, enhancing their strength, agility, and stamina. Now mankind finds itself in the middle of an alien civil war between two symbiote factions—those who would be our allies…and those who would subjugate us into slavery.

In the wilds of a jungle planet, the Legion fights in brutal combat as Republic marines fly their SLICS from one tragedy to the next. H292, a repurposed warbot, shows the heart of a hero as he wades into the battle not to destroy - but to save.

Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission - and if he fails, humanity and the Earth itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn't know that. He can't even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he's been asleep for a very, very long time. And he's just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

Two astronomers have detected a strange, pulsing signal from deep space. Within hours, the US government goes into lockdown, restricting airspace and scrubbing scientific data. Was the signal an intercepted communication revealing alarming plans for an enemy’s military strike? Or has humanity at long last found proof of extraterrestrial life?

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive - and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet.

Inheriting your uncle's supervillain business is more complicated than you might think. Particularly when you discover who's running the place. Charlie's life is going nowhere fast. A divorced substitute teacher living with his cat in a house his siblings want to sell, all he wants is to open a pub downtown, if only the bank will approve his loan. Then his long-lost uncle Jake dies and leaves his supervillain business (complete with island volcano lair) to Charlie. But becoming a supervillain isn't all giant laser death rays and lava pits.

It’s 1984, and life has changed beyond recognition. Airstrip One, formerly known as Great Britain, is a place where Big Brother is always watching, and nobody can hide. Except, perhaps, for Winston Smith. Whilst working at the Ministry of Truth, rewriting history, he secretly dreams of freedom. And in a world where love and sex are forbidden, where it’s hard to distinguish between friend and foe, he meets Julia and O’Brien and vows to rebel.

Acheron Colony was supposed to be humanity's greatest windfall. Using long-range sensors, the planet tested out as a super-Earth—but the reality is frightening. Instead of a green world bursting with life, the colonists find a dead rock covered in ash. Something has dismantled every organic molecule on Acheron—and no one knows how or why. When a mysterious signal that defies explanation begins to pulse from an alien ruin, the colonists panic. Something ancient was here long before them, and the signal, like a heartbeat, won't let them forget it.

For centuries, mankind has searched for nonhuman civilizations in the cosmos. These lost alien societies have finally been discovered—but they were destroyed long ago. Devin Starn starts off as a lowly rock rat aboard Borag, a mining ship working the dangerous end of the asteroid belt. Slowly, he gains prestige and purpose. When an alien base is uncovered, however, he must risk everything to protect his ship and her crew. What wiped out all the civilizations that came before humanity?

In the 20th century Earth sent probes, transmissions, and welcoming messages to the stars. Unfortunately, someone noticed. The Galactics arrived with their battle fleet in 2052. Rather than being exterminated under a barrage of hell-burners, Earth joined their vast Empire. Swearing allegiance to our distant alien overlords wasn't the only requirement for survival. We also had to have something of value to trade, something that neighboring planets would pay their hard-earned credits to buy. As most of the local worlds were too civilized to have a proper army, the only valuable service Earth could provide came in the form of soldiers....

The soldiers of the 11th Bretton Infantry knew they were being dropped into a combat zone on Dharien. But they didn’t know just how bad things really were, with the entire planet about to fall to the rebel Flags. The orders from the Highest are clear: make their way to Tabuk and keep the city under the banner of the Hegemony. For Mason Tellec, it’s one more combat mission—with a difference. Noah, his younger brother, is along for the ride this time, and Mason has promised his mother and father he’ll keep an eye out. Noah’s green, but he’s got the makings of a good soldier.

The extra-galactic bridge between Earth and Terra Nova reopens after decades. Governor Hale calls for aid against an impossible alien threat known as the Inheritors, an advanced alien species with a mysterious connection to old allies. Hale needs the most powerful soldiers in the galaxy: Armor.

Ten thousand years ago, a single alien super-ship survived a desperate battle. The vessel's dying crew set the AI on automatic to defend the smashed rubble of their planet. Legend has it the faithful ship continues to patrol the empty battlefield, obeying its last order throughout the lonely centuries.In the here and now, Earth needs a miracle. Out of the Beyond invade the New Men, stronger, faster and smarter than the old. Their superior warships and advanced technology destroy every fleet sent to stop them.

As a century of war and bloodshed closes upon the earth, another opens with no end to the slaughter in sight. The Empire of Europa and the Russian Tsardom are engaged in perpetual warfare. Each vies for absolute control over the earth's most coveted resource: the Ichor ore that lies deep in the valleys of the high north, the caves of the Orient, and running through the veins of a select few called Ichor Hearts, employed by the European Empire as the holy weapons of never-ending conquest.

Buckle up for an explosive ride into the heart of battle with 'Contested Landing' – the ultimate anthology of military science fiction that'll leave you on the edge of your seat! Get ready to dive headfirst into the fray as fearless defenders clash with relentless invaders in heart-pounding actions across the cosmos. From pulse-pounding firefights to jaw-dropping heroics, these adrenaline-fueled tales will thrust you into the heart of interstellar conflict like never before.

For years, pilots who merely looked like soldiers were adequate. They filled the mechs. They filled roles. They supported Spann and his genetic offshoot of pure-blooded warriors known as the Superba. Spann's dream of absolute power ends with a single, crushing blow as a new enemy strikes at the Realm, leaving no survivors—followed by a mad dash to find fighters who can stand up in the old ways, using the mechs gifted to humanity by their oldest allies. Even in the midst of war, there is hope.

In the shadowed world of Castlianova, where electricity flickers like a dying candle, Goddess Amekia gifts Professor Coveland Nocht a book of forbidden knowledge. The city’s blackouts are not mere inconveniences—they are harbingers of chaos. As the feared and hated mages become more common, they are ruthlessly hunted and enslaved by the Riddere’s secret police.

What if the human body could heal itself? In the 21st century genetic editing went from science fiction to reality. Zarkon Pharmaceuticals is a biotech company that specializes in regenerative medicine. Martin, an eager neuroscientist at Zarkon, realizes that by studying animals capable of regrowing and regenerating their bodies, they could soon transfer those traits into humans. His research is on the cusp of curing Alzheimer’s, brain damage, severed nerves, spinal cord injuries, and even missing limbs.

Po Abbato turns to crime in a desperate attempt to free his younger siblings from debt slavery. He's caught, and offered a choice: Spend 25 years in a digital prison while his body rots...or join the Marines.

Betrayed and banished by the capricious Elemental Gods who gave him his magic, Saul awakens in a new body, a new time, and a new life. One he never wanted. Saul was at the peak of his power. As Archmage of Keldor and Commander of the Emperor’s military might, he carved a bloody path of victory across the whole of the known world, uniting the warring factions into the greatest empire the world had ever seen.

The Dwellers of the Rock. They could create matter with the power of their minds. Any element, any molecule, any form; they could call it into being with a thought. Even living flesh. They could travel to the edge of their universe, without ships to carry them, and send their minds to visit other worlds without moving a step. All knowledge and learning was theirs for the taking. They never tired, never hungered. They had peace and purpose and, eventually, fulfilment. And they knew where they would go when, at last, they died.

One starship will either save Earth or destroy her. A century ago our star erupted, destroying Earth's wormhole network and closing off trade with her colonized planets. After being out of contact with the younger worlds for so many years, humanity is shocked when a huge ship appears at the edge of the solar system. Our outdated navy investigates, both curious and fearful. What they learn from the massive vessel shocks the planet.