Alien Contact Fiction

Commander David Bryce returned from his mission, successful, with a derelict alien ship that wasn’t as empty as predicted. With the assistance of an old ally, David is hell-bent on stopping the invasion before it begins. There’s just one problem; the Signal is hidden somewhere on Earth. Atlas Donovan is the only man capable of helping them, and it’s unclear whether he can trust the ORB employees. One thing is clear: Aliens have been to Earth, and from the looks of it, not just a single race. There were two.

As one of the few humans stranded on the ice planet, I should be happy that I have a new home. Human women are treasured here, and one alien in particular has made it clear that he wants me. It's hard to push away the sexy, flirtatious Aehako when all I want to do is grab him by his horns and insist he take me to his furs. But I've got a terrible secret - the aliens who abducted me are back, and thanks to the translator in my ear, they can find me. My presence here endangers everyone...but can I give up my new life and the man I want more than anything?

A Fire Upon the Deep is the big, breakout book that fulfills the promise of Vinge's career to date: a gripping tale of galactic war told on a cosmic scale. Thousands of years hence, many races inhabit a universe where a mind's potential is determined by its location in space, from superintelligent entities in the Transcend, to the limited minds of the Unthinking Depths, where only simple creatures and technology can function.

As a newcomer to the alien tribe, I've struggled to find my place. It might be because I'm a tad headstrong at times. And yes, I might have thrown a few things at people's heads. But I had a good reason to pitch a fit - my shy sister was stolen away right under my nose. Of course, now she's back and mated. Everyone's happy...except me. I need...affection. Attention. Okay, I'm lonely. Really lonely. Strangely enough, the only person that I think understands what I'm going through is the same blue-skinned brute that stole my sister. It's wrong to hook up with him, even as a mindless fling.

Sikthand hadn't planned to take the stubborn little human hostage. But with political tensions at an all-time high, he had no choice. He would unflinchingly use her as a bargaining chip to secure better relations with the new Tremantian ruler. He would not, however, fall prey to her charms. When Sophia and Sikthand realize how far their enemies are willing to go to grab galactic power, they're forced into an unlikely alliance-and possibly a marriage of convenience-to protect their people. It's a good plan, too, if they don't do anything irrational along the way. Like falling in love.

On a little-known planet, Archmage Varic Vallenar casts a grand spell to empower himself with the magical abilities of his alternate selves. The ritual works too well, granting Varic not only the magic but also the memories from six lives. Including their gruesome deaths. Now, Varic has power greater than any wizard in galactic history, but he knows that won’t be enough. The enemies he faced in those alternate lives were apocalyptic in scale. Terrors of technology and magic. Nothing that he, or anyone, can defeat.

When Ellen Ripley finally returns to Earth, she learns that the planet LV-426 - now called Acheron - has been colonised. But LV-426 is where Ripley and the crew of the Nostromo found the original Xenomorph - the killing machine known as the Alien. Protected by the Colonial Marines, the colonists seek to terraform the storm-swept planet. Two such residents are Anne and Russell Jorden, seeking a fortune that eluded them on Earth.

Van Lopez and his brother Andy have enough to do keeping their truck running and the local criminal gang happy to be concerned about nuclear tests. Van has dreams, or-he's not sure what to call them-that he cannot explain or forget, but when he sees mysterious lights in the sky, he struggles to make sense of what now feel like his earliest memories.

Earth seceded from its suzerains' state and declared independence. Naturally, such a bold move did not go unnoticed by its powerful neighbors in space, who had aggressive plans for the inhabitable yet overly self-reliant planet. With black clouds gathering and the term of safety growing ever shorter, positive lines of the probable future for Earth's humanity and its allies were nowhere to be seen despite all Gnat the Devourer's efforts and unique abilities.

In the far reaches of the solar system, the outer planets - billions of miles from Earth, unknown for millennia - are being settled. Neptune, the ice giant, is swathed in clouds of hydrogen, helium, and methane and circled by rings of rock and dust. Three years ago, Ilona Magyr’s father, Miklos, disappeared while exploring the seas of Neptune. Everyone believes he is dead - crushed, frozen, or boiled alive in Neptune’s turbulent seas.

Two years after first contact, Astral forces have established their fragile kingdom around the globe. Motherships occupy the cities. Shuttles patrol the lawless outlands. The pacifist class of Astrals known as Titans assist humans in running their alien empire while bloodthirsty Reptar peacekeepers ensure that order is kept. And unseen in the ships above, a third class of visitor calls the shots - the unseen Divinity, worshipped and feared by citizens in equal measure.

I might be the only unmated female in my tribe, but it doesn't mean I've given my heart. I'm waiting. I want resonance, and I won't settle for anything less. But when an alien ship lands and a handsome stranger steps out, I know he's the one. His name's Mardok, and he's fascinatingly different - and distractingly appealing. But Mardok can't stay on the ice planet, and he says he can take me with him.

Seasons ago, I resonated to the quietest of tribesmates, a male content to love me from afar while I was the center of attention. We could have been happy. Despite our differences, I loved him, and he loved me. But then a terrible thing happened...and my world was never the same again. Now, resonance is giving us a second chance, but...I'm afraid. What if what I have with my mate is too broken to be fixed? What if there's no hope left for us at all?

Tabitha Mathews has never had much luck with men. Her past relationships only left her heart aching and her self-esteem beaten down. But who needs them? She’s doing just fine on her own. She has a booming home business, an adorable, mischievous dog, and she just became a first-time homeowner…right next door to the hottest man she’s ever seen. Oh, did she mention that he happens to be an alien? An alien with dreamy, glowing eyes, wicked fangs and claws, and a tail. But she’s not supposed to know that.

I've never spent a day without my mate since arriving on the ice planet. I'm happy and in love, and we have a beautiful child together. All that changed when the world shook. My mate nearly died. He wakes up from his coma...and he can't remember me. Or our son. Every memory of the past two years is gone. And that changes everything between us. How can I love someone that doesn't remember me? How can I not, when I know he's still my mate underneath it all?

After thousands of years searching, humans stand on the verge of first contact with an alien race. There are two human groups: the Qeng Ho, a culture of free traders, and the Emergents, a ruthless society based on the technological enslavement of minds. The group that opens trade with the aliens will reap unimaginable riches.

When Kaide declares - in front of the whole village, no less - that we’re fated mates, he acts like that’s the end of it. Like it’s all been decided, and we’ll just live happily ever after. Uhhh...not so fast, buddy. I barely know the guy. And even though I have to admit his gorgeous smile and cocky attitude turn me on, that doesn’t mean I’m ready for a lifelong commitment. But when I tell him I’m not interested in letting some mystical bond make my decisions for me and would rather fall in love the old-fashioned way, Kaide doesn’t even bat an eye.

In December, 1999, a multinational team journeys out to the stars, to the most awesome encounter in human history. Who, or what, is out there?

Her name is Binti, and she is the first of the Himba people ever to be offered a place at Oomza University, the finest institution of higher learning in the galaxy. But to accept the offer will mean giving up her place in her family to travel between the stars among strangers who do not share her ways or respect her customs. Knowledge comes at a cost, one that Binti is willing to pay, but her journey will not be easy. The world she seeks to enter has long warred with the Meduse, an alien race that has become the stuff of nightmares.

The Shongairi conquered Earth. In mere minutes, half the human race died, and our cities lay in shattered ruins. But the Shongairi didn't expect the survivors' tenacity. And, crucially, they didn't know that Earth harbored two species of intelligent, tool-using bipeds. One of them, long-lived and lethal, was hiding in the mountains of eastern Europe, the subject of fantasy and legend. When they emerged and made alliance with humankind, the invading aliens didn't stand a chance. Now, a select few blood-drinking immortals are on their way to the Shongairi homeworld.