Hard Science Fiction Space

Few writers have successful blended hard science and speculation with fully realized characters as Gregory Benford has in his critically acclaimed novels. Now he draws us into a vortex of mystery and danger at the heart of the galaxy in his dazzling epic drama, Furious Gulf.

Poised to reconquer humanity's home, Captain Absen and Conquest are confronted with a new enemy that upsets the balance of power and changes everything EarthFleet expected. Their struggle to free Earth becomes instead a desperate battle for sheer survival as they contemplate the unthinkable: total annihilation.

The Wilding is the long-awaited sequel to C.S. Friedman's epic, In Conquest Born. The Braxaná were created to become the ultimate warriors. The Azeans were raised to master the power of the mind. The two civilizations are fighting an endless war over a long-forgotten cause. Now, after a century and a half, the legacy of their greatest military leaders threatens to tear apart both empires.

Millennia of conflict between humans and mechs have driven the human race to near-extinction. Now, as the fierce AI mechs begin their final assault on mankind, it soon becomes apparent that three men – three generations in a family of voyagers – are their targets. Toby Bishop, his father, Killeen Bishop, and his grandfather, Nigel Walmsley, each carry a piece of the lethal secret that can destroy their enemies. But hunted through space and time by relentless assassins, they have no idea that they possess the only weapon that can save humanity.

When 17-year-old Toby McGonigal finds himself lost in space, separated from his family, he expects his next drift into cold sleep to be his last. After all, the planet he' s orbiting is frozen and sunless, and the cities are dead. But when Toby wakes again, he' s surprised to discover a thriving planet, a strange and prosperous galaxy, and something stranger still - that he' s been asleep for 14,000 years. Welcome to the Lockstep Empire, where civilization is kept alive by careful hibernation. Here cold sleeps can last decades and waking moments mere weeks.

It is the dawn of the 21st century, and America is in trouble. Public schools breed apathy and ignorance, and politics has become the art of the quick fix. There is one woman, though, who has both the vision and the money to leverage change. Mariesa Gorley van Huyten, heiress to one of the great American fortunes, is determined to bring America, and the rest of the world, back on track. She founds an educational subsidiary in hopes of raising a new, less cynical generation.

After barely fending off the insectoid Scourge, Admiral Absen frantically prepares for another attack while dealing with politics and treachery from within, even as Spectre pursues his own hidden agenda. Can EarthFleet save humanity once more, and will a bold counterstrike by an elite force of AI-equipped ships buy time, or merely invite disaster?

Luck has always run in both directions for Naval Commandant Nicholas Seafort. While he has managed to save the Hope Nation colony from alien attack, he and his friends have paid a heavy price. Most recently his exploits have earned him a dignified position as an instructor at the United Nations Naval Academy. But as Seafort suspects, trouble isn't far behind. A return to Earth means a return to his roots, some of which he wishes would remain buried.

While recovering from the physical and emotional wounds he sustained in Challenger's Hope, Nick Seafort is named as the liaison between the wealthy planters of Hope Nation and the United Nations Navy. The lurking, acid-spewing, fish-shaped aliens are a real threat, and everyone is on edge. When the fleet returns to Earth, dissent grows among the people of Hope Nation, who feel abandoned by the military and left at the mercy of the alien horde.

Armed with alien technology and a complete refit, Henrich Absen captains Conquest on a voyage to take back what humanity has lost. Along the way he must confront a new form of life as well as his own demons in this shocking episode of the Plague Wars/Stellar Conquest saga.

When an enormous and potent alien ship appears in the colony system of Gliese 370, EarthFleet's Marines must investigate. What they find within will change the course of humanity's future yet again, as they face Desolator. The risks are high and so is the price in blood - and the payoff: new technology far ahead of their own, which may provide the key to fight the alien Meme Empire

Chaos has erupted throughout the known galaxy, threatening countless colonies and orbital habitats - as the Associative struggles vainly to keep the peace. Extreme measures are called for in these times of dire crisis, and the Star Marines are awakened from their voluntary 850-year cybe-hibe sleep. But General Trevor Garroway and his warriors are about to discover that the old rules of engagement have drastically changed.

Everyone knows Nick Seafort as The Fisherman - the hero who stopped the merciless, fishlike aliens when they attacked Earth. Voices of Hope picks up with Seafort decades later, after he's retired as the secretary general of the United Nations. Despite his trappings of power, he has been unable to aid the so-called transpops, desperate people who live in the dangerous lower levels of New York City.

The generation ship Peerless is in search of advanced technology capable of sparing their home planet from imminent destruction. In theory, the ship is traveling fast enough that it can traverse the cosmos for generations and still return home only a few years after they departed. But a critical fuel shortage threatens to cut their urgent voyage short, even as a population explosion stretches the ship’s life-support capacity to its limits.

2040: Ruins of ancient civilization uncovered on Mars reveal startling truths about the creation of humankind. 2042: In the gray dust of the Earth's Moon, an extinct enslaving race left behind more answers, more questions...and a grim warning. 2067: As Earth's warring factions clash in space for scraps of alien technology, a strange artifact lies trapped beneath the ice-locked oceans of Europa: a machine that holds the key to the final human destiny. It is called "The Singer" for the eerie tone it emits.

Jax and the crew of the Lightning Runner have narrowly escaped Sinclair and her DSA fleet, but their troubles are far from over. The flight from Iydra Station has depleted their antimatter reserves. Without resupply, they’ll have limited options should they run into trouble again - which they fully intend to do. With numerous parties hunting for their ship, Jax must choose their haven carefully.

The operation aboard the Daedalus was a success, but the aftermath threatens to undo everything the Jax and his team have achieved. Separated from his ship, he is forced to work with Penny, the agent of a notorious black-market arms dealer. Their lifeboat has taken serious damage, and the only way they can survive the maelstrom is to journey to its center. Safety lies aboard an ancient ship. However, Jax immediately finds himself facing a new challenge at the behest of a new master - all the while avoiding the prior ones who want their pound flesh...and credit.

Within the L, a tri-star system located inside the Aquilian Nebula, Jax makes a living trading and smuggling whatever goods pay the best. So far, he’s avoided being caught with anything too damning in his ship’s holds, but when he takes a job for Korinth, an infamous arms dealer, all that changes. The haul is worth 10 times his ship, and when the contents gets him embroiled in a tug of war between the major political factions of the L, Jax has to keep the criminals he works for from discovering that he’s playing both sides.

A world of eternal day and everlasting night, burning deserts, and frozen wastes. A people exiled, seeking the truth about their past, long lost in vague, yet disturbing, myth and legend. Technology lost, then found again. A realm of priestesses with remarkable powers and implacable purpose who worship a powerful god; a star that blazes unchanging in the skies above. A star which is poised to unleash devastation upon them all.

Deep in the heart of an alien mountain range, I.C.C. has lain dormant, its ships silent, for eons. Now, after 100,000 years, the AI is awakening. Someone is roaming the convoy's halls - someone that isn't human. This planet, Noumenon - created by the megastructure known as the Web - is too young and brutal to have evolved intelligent life. Its surface is bombarded by unusual meteors. Crystal trees abruptly and violently arise from its bedrock. Its solar system is surrounded by a frightening space-time anomaly. So where did these visitors come from? What do they want?