Space Opera First Contact

The McCormacks have been trying to keep a low profile so they can complete their plan to bring Earth to the club of spacefaring civilizations without creating a world war over the technology. But it’s hard to keep a low profile while building a space station, what with lifting all the material they need, designing new shuttles, and harnessing asteroids. Without any other choice, they go public.

Assigned to a new warship with cutting-edge technology, Jack Samson returns to the Frontier, determined to cast off the question marks over his previous conduct. The Navy ventures ever farther beyond the Frontier, with fantastic new discoveries becoming a daily occurrence. As humanity reaches for these technological riches, it enters a deadly contest with a lethal adversary, the very survival of the human race being at stake.

Meet Doctor Jens. She hasn’t had a decent cup of coffee in 15 years. Her workday begins when she jumps out of perfectly good space ships and continues with developing treatments for sick alien species she’s never seen before. She loves her life. Even without the coffee. But Dr. Jens is about to discover an astonishing mystery: two ships, once ancient and one new, locked in a deadly embrace. The crew is suffering from an unknown ailment and the shipmind is trapped in an inadequate body, much of her memory pared away.

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.

The counterattack into enemy territory proved the aliens were far stronger than the humans thought. Whilst many got on with their lives in the hope the aliens would not return, Colonel Mitch Taylor knew better. No longer seeking to occupy Earth, the enemy Lord Demiran wants revenge. This time he means to obliterate Earth with a terrifying new weapon of mass destruction that will mean extinction for the human race.

After the end of the Enterprise™'s five-year mission, Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, and Dr. McCoy struggle to establish new lives apart from one another and the starship. The newly promoted Admiral Kirk is placed in charge of a specially created Starfleet division and attempts to defuse a critical hostage situation; Mr. Spock, who, in the midst of a teaching assignment on Vulcan, finds the one thing he least expected; and Dr. McCoy, whose unerring instinct for trouble lands him smack in the middle of an incident that could trigger an interstellar bloodbath.

Zack Quick has been on the move for 10 years, hacking big corporations and exposing their secrets. Then he stumbles upon one of the biggest discoveries that will forever change the world - and possibly get him killed. Kaylan Farrow is the pilot for Earth's most advanced spaceship, whose maiden voyage is supposed to take her crew to Titan, but newly released images from a deep space probe threaten to cancel the mission.

The McCormacks have a starship, and now, they need a safe place to start harvesting the technology. They’re starting with a place in the Cook Islands, but to succeed, they have to avoid spies, figure out how to manufacture the new technology using Earth-based tools, and then introduce it without getting into too much trouble with the governments and big corporations of Earth.

The planet of Azure is nearly idyllic: There is a high standard of living, industry is booming, and the two races — Human and Wrogul — get along well with each other most days. But underneath it all, there is tension between the races. Despite having no reason for it, the Humans don’t always trust the Wrogul, and there is a faction within the Wrogul community that doesn’t want its young growing up “Human.”

Deathworld: a planet that has evolved to kill all humans. Jason dinAlt, a so-so psionic gambler, is made an offer he can’t refuse - go to Deathworld and tame it. So begins Harry Harrison’s classic science-fiction tale of alien adventure; and Jason discovers that the reason behind Deathworld’s aggression is as shocking as the violence on the surface.

The Conclave is a confederation of 400 alien races - many of whom would like to see the Colonial Union - and the humans inside of it - blasted to extinction. To avoid a conflict that neither side can afford, Conclave leader General Tarsem Gau appoints Hafte Sorvalh to resolve an emerging diplomatic crisis with the humans, before the only acceptable solution is war. "The Back Channel" 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.

During the Alpha Contracts, 100 of Earth’s finest mercenary organizations went to the far reaches of the galaxy to fight for credits. Only four returned. The rest, tens of thousands of humanity’s best warriors, were gone. Unbeknownst to most, a small, unconventional group chose a different path. Their foresight and unique talents set the stage not only for the long-haul shipping company of the present day, but of something else.

Year 2522. Lyra Daniels is dead. Okay, so I only died for 66 seconds. But when I came back to life, I got a brand new name and a snazzy new uniform. Go, me! Seriously, though, it's very important that Lyra Daniels stays dead, at least as far as the murdering looters know. While dying is the scariest thing that's happened to me, it morphed my worming skills. I can manipulate the Q-net like never before. But the looters have blocked us from communicating with the rest of the galaxy, and now they believe we've gone silent, like Planet Xinji (where silent really means dead).

Natalie Chan gained her corporate citizenship but barely survived the battle for Tribulation. Now corporate has big plans for Natalie. Horrible plans. Locked away in Natalie’s missing memory is salvation for the last of an alien civilization and the humans they tried to exterminate. The corporation wants total control of both - or their deletion.

A chance encounter with a strange creature puts Nathan on the trail of a lost civilization that predates everything else in the galaxy. For thousands of years, many have abandoned the deadly search, but there are powerful forces that will do anything to possess the promised technological marvels that will change everything. Determined to uncover the truth, Nathan joins the hunt, but when the race for the ultimate prize turns deadly, it will test the loyalty of his crew.

Former Marine Will Hawthorne has defeated the Gates of the Golden Staff, but the remnants of the cult have escaped with the tools he needs to finally save his adopted world. Searching for their last stronghold, he and three of his closest wives - fox-girl Merindra, cat-girl Narilora, and bat-girl Mereceeree - must trek deep into the Taitalan wilderness in hopes of destroying the cult once and for all.

The BSR crew have worked hard, getting the Slow Boatmen settled. They deserve a little time off at home in the Holler. Just kicking back, watching the world go by. Their shepherd has other ideas, of course.

Get the Flight of the Javelin box set, featuring all three books in the Amazon best-selling series. Space opera action perfect for fans of Jay Allan, Jennifer Foehner Wells, and JN Chaney. Books included in the set: Black Sheep, Free Station, and Rogue Planet.

CDF Lieutenant Harry Wilson has one simple task: Watch an ambassador’s dog while the diplomat is conducting sensitive negotiations with an alien race. But you know dogs - always getting into something. And when this dog gets into something that could launch an alien civil war, Wilson has to find a way to solve the conflict, fast, or be the one in the Colonial Union’s doghouse. "The Dog King" 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.

Julie E. Czerneda's acclaimed Web Shifters series continues with the story of Esen - the last survivor of a unique alien race. Able to take on the form of any creature she observes, Esen has long since broken the cardinal rule of her species: noninterference.