Human Space

This wasn't like Adam Cain—AKA: The Human for Hire. He wasn't supposed to be compassionate and caring. But for some reason, he'd taken the former Third-Generation Human John Martinez under his wing and was now determined to show him what the real Human race was all about. As a 3G, Martinez had been raised by the Klin to believe a completely false narrative about his native race. But having never been to Earth—and after only a few tragic encounters with other Humans—what was Martinez to believe?

In an effort to improve relations with the Earth, the Colonial Union has invited a contingent of diplomats from that planet to observe Ambassador Abumwe negotiate a trade deal with an alien species. Then something very bad happens to one of the Earthings, and with that, the relationship between humanity’s two factions is on the cusp of disruption once more. It’s a race to find out what really happened, and who is to blame. "The Observers" is a tale from John Scalzi's The Human Division, a series of self-contained but interrelated short stories set in the Old Man's War universe.

Ex-Navy SEAL Adam Cain and his band of intergalactic Raiders are fighting a behind-the-lines insurgency against the Juirean Expansion. In the meantime, the Human Fleet is now ready to take on the forces of the Expansion in massive head-to-head battles among the stars. But not all is as it seems, as the puppet-masters - the Klin - soon learn the Humans - and Adam Cain in particular - are aware of their behind-the-scenes manipulations of the Human-Juirean War.

United States Diplomat Danielle Lowen was there when one of her fellow diplomats committed an unthinkable act that had consequences for the entire planet. Now she’s trying to figure out how it happened before it can happen again. Putting the puzzle pieces together could solve the mystery - or it could threaten her own life. "The Gentle Art of Cracking Heads" is a tale from John Scalzi's The Human Division, a series of self-contained but interrelated short stories set in the Old Man's War universe.

Once, Dan Randolph was one of the richest men on Earth. Now the planet is spiraling into environmental disaster, with floods and earthquakes destroying the lives of millions. Martin Humphries, fabulously wealthy heir of the Humphries Trust, also knows that space-based industry is the way of the future. But unlike Randolph, he does not care if Earth perishes in the process.

Albert Birnbaum was once one of the biggest political talk show hosts around, but these days he’s watching his career enter a death spiral. A stranger offers a solution to his woes, promising to put him back on top. It’s everything Birnbaum wants, but is there a catch? And does Birnbaum actually care if there is? "A Voice in the Wilderness" is a tale from John Scalzi's The Human Division, a series of self-contained but interrelated short stories set in the Old Man's War universe.

Probes can explore the depths of space in ways that would kill human beings. The information they provide can spur countless innovations here on Earth. Learn how probes work and the exciting possibilities that their discoveries may inspire.

The gang is back, and this time pitted against the most-dangerous enemy the galaxy has ever faced. Among the challenges our heroic trio encounters are a 5,000-year-old mutant genius and a one-trillion-strong race of ravenous trans-dimensional invaders. Once again Adam, Riyad, and Sherri find themselves neck-deep in an epic struggle to save the Milky Way from an evil that doesn't play favorites. And uniting against the invaders are the Humans, the Juireans, and even the Klin...to show just how serious the threat has become.

For Mason Guthrie, a sudden arrest, railroad trial, and quick conviction for the "vandalism" of fixing things around his tenement building come as a shock. For Rosa Fuentes, it's just more confirmation that, to Earth's rulers, they're nothing but commodities to be bought and sold. Together - along with Rosa's disturbingly capable AI - they break out and make their way off Earth to start a new, free life. Unfortunately, the folks they stole a billion credits from along the way would like those back.

Captain Sophia Coloma of the Clarke has a simple task: Ferry around representatives from Earth in an aging spaceship that the Colonial Union hopes to sell to them. But nothing is as simple as it seems, and Coloma discovers the ship she’s showing off holds suprises of its own...and it’s not the only one with secrets. "Tales from the Clarke" is a tale from John Scalzi's The Human Division, a series of self-contained but interrelated short stories set in the Old Man's War universe.

For at least 20,000 years, we have led not just an earthly existence, but a cosmic one. Celestial cycles drove every aspect of our daily lives. Our innate relationship with the stars shaped who we are - our art, religious beliefs, social status, scientific advances, and even our biology. But over the last few centuries we have separated ourselves from the universe that surrounds us. It's a disconnect with a dire cost.

Jackson ”Jax” Caruso inherited a ship from his parents. They’re dead, and they don’t need it. The unification wars happened a while ago, Jax’s parents' fought for the losing side. Now he takes the jobs he can get—smuggling, bounty hunting, hauling cargo. If it pays, he’ll do it. When Jax is approached with a job that seems too good to be true, he should have known better, he should have walked. He didn’t. Now, he and a few friends are in it deep; imperial entanglements are the least of their concerns with organized crime on their tails.

We've all asked ourselves the question. It's impossible to look up at the stars and NOT think about it: Are we alone in the universe? Books, movies, and television shows proliferate that attempt to answer this question and explore it. In Out There, Space.com senior writer Dr. Michael Wall treats that question as merely the beginning, touching off a wild ride of exploration into the final frontier. He considers, for instance, the myriad of questions that would arise once we do discover life beyond Earth (an eventuality which, top NASA officials told Wall, is only drawing closer).

Welcome to the world of Adam Cain, AKA: The Human, the closest thing to a superman in the galaxy. As the most famous employee of Starfire Security, The Human is in popular demand. But he has to be careful that his past doesn't catch up to him. You can't go around kicking alien butt without ruffling a few feathers . . . or scales . . . or whatever the alien du jour happens to have for skin. And when Adam later teams up with another famous bounty hunter, things really begin to go south.

Copernicus Smith, everyone's favorite starship repairman, scoundrel and deep-cover spy, has stumbled upon a conspiracy of galactic proportions. It has also gotten him beat up, near death and a captive of the secretive Ryness Cartel. And they will continue to torture him until he reveals what he knows. The problem: He knows nothing. Now Adam Cain, Sherri Valentine and Riyad Tarazi are on the hunt for their friend and on-again, off-again teammate. But just when our heroes think they have the mystery figured out, something new jumps up that throws all their assumptions into a tailspin.

The Klin. It's a name that has invoked fear throughout the galaxy for over four thousand years. Now the evil aliens are back and more powerful and deadlier than ever. And this time it's the Klin against the entire galaxy, not just the species who have pissed them off. Leading an army of billions of killer robots and a fleet of invincible starships, the Klin are determined to be the last species standing in a war that reaches from one end of the Milky Way to the other.

Having returned from the Andromeda Galaxy as heroes, the team soon learns that the remaining Nuoreans in the Milky Way aren't too thrilled with the fact that the Humans destroyed their homeworld of Nuor. Now they're going to make Adam and his friends pay for it. After placing an exorbitant bounty on the heads of each team member, nearly every creature in the galaxy becomes a hired killer. Although Adam's never been one to run from a fight, this may be too much for even him.

Adam and his crew are faced with the ultimate challenge: to save the Milky Way Galaxy from the Nuorean invaders. This time their backup will be two-and-a-half MILLION light-years away. They knew this could be a one-way trip, but the stakes were too high not to try. Someone had to step up and be the hero, and Adam's eclectic mix of humans and aliens have been there before. Yet even in victory, they could lose, trapped in a far, distant galaxy with no way to get home. But first things first, Adam Cain and the gang have to cut off the Nuoreans' link to the Milky Way before it's too late.

The Scorched Earth in the title doesn't refer to the Human's homeworld. Rather it describes the path of death and destruction that Adam Cain burns on his way from Earth to the planet Juir as he seeks revenge for the killing of one of his closest friends. But there's more. Sherri and Arieel have been taken prisoner by the Juirean leader, with a date for their execution already set. The aliens may have thought Adam was dangerous before, but they ain't seen nothing yet.

When last we left our intrepid heroes, Adam Cain had been taken captive by the new mutant queen of the flesh-eating Sol-Kor invaders, while his trusty sidekick Riyad Tarazi made it safely back to the Milky Way. Now Riyad sets out on a desperate mission to rescue Adam. His task appears impossible, as Adam is being held in another universe cut off from our own. The only person who can help Riyad is the immortal mutant genius Panur, who's disappeared somewhere in the galaxy with Adam's daughter Lila.