System Fiction

In its oppressive atmosphere of fog, mist, and mud, nothing conjures up the dreary days of November and its "implacable" weather like the celebrated opening of Bleak House. The plot concerns a long-running legal dispute (Jarndyce and Jarndyce) that has far-reaching consequences for all involved. Dickens' assault on the flaws of the British judiciary system is based in part on his own experiences as a law clerk.

Vor fast sieben Jahrzehnten ist der Astronaut Perry Rhodan als erster Mensch auf Außerirdische getroffen. Seither hat die Menschheit ihren Einflussbereich ausgedehnt und ferne Sonnen­systeme besiedelt. Allerdings kommt es im Jahr 2102 zu einem Konflikt mit den Kolonien. Der Notfallplan Laurin wird eingeleitet - und geht schrecklich schief. Die Erde und der Mond stranden im ­Kugelsternhaufen M 3, rund 34.000 Lichtjahre von der Heimat entfernt.

The school cultural festival trope has finally come. The group is out to have fun, eat, and compete in the activities. It’s a shame that it cannot be easy for Clyde. From winning the festival just to protect Noona from perverts, to facing off with someone’s evil mother. Oh...did we forget to mention the crusader champion’s arrival, the Wind’s arrival, also Dark. Ladies and gentlemen: We’ve got a clusterfuck day.

Twenty-one-year-old narcoleptic Angel Duet knows her father harbors secrets. He loves and protects her, but his suspicious refusal to discuss her mother's death drives Angel to worship an image created from the little history she does have: her father's sketchy stories and her mother's treasured photography, studies of clouds that have hung in the their foyer for more than twenty years. When her father's girlfriend moves in, the photographs come down, and Angel's search for truth becomes an obsession.

A bounty hunting survivor. A Galactic dark elf. A woman who has given up her humanity to become something more. These stories and more are available in the first short story anthology for the System Apocalypse, covering year one on Earth. When the world ends, humanity steps up, finding new ways to survive in a world with Classes, magic and monsters. The anthology features exciting, new stories by five new writers and a new, never publicly released short story by Tao Wong.

A hundred millennia has passed since the events of Iron Gods. The Spin is dying, and its few inhabitants live unknowingly in the relative paradise of one of hundreds of virtual realities - "vrealities" - or they scrape a living out of remains of the real world. As the vrealities drain the last resources of the Spin, a rebellion which could kill millions sparks and gains momentum. In a remote star system, an ancient insectoid called Skarbo the Horologist has studied The Spin for several lifetimes. Himself near to death, he makes a final journey to see the object of his studies.

A space cloud of unknown composition is on a collision course with Earth as the world holds its breath. The anomaly sails through the solar system, and the International Space Station, along with three astronauts and one cosmonaut, are thrown back to the Cretaceous period, where dinosaurs roam Earth hunting prey and great pterosaurs patrol the skies.

Die Terranisch-Imperiale Liga führt seit Jahren Krieg gegen die Drizil. Als die Drizil schließlich eine erfolgreiche Invasion des Sol-Systems durchführen und ihnen nach erbittertem Kampf sogar die Erde in die Hände fällt, scheint alle Hoffnung verloren. Vielerorts bricht der organisierte Widerstand zusammen. Lediglich einige wenige, isoliert liegende, menschliche Kolonien entgehen dem Zugriff des Feindes. Eine dieser letzten freien Enklaven der Menschheit ist der abgelegene Planet Perseus die Heimatbasis der 18. Legion.

Discover a classic of Golden Age science fiction in The Vortex Blaster by E.E. “Doc” Smith—a pulse-pounding adventure across the stars. When brilliant scientist Neal "Storm" Cloud loses his family in a tragic explosion, he dedicates his life to eradicating deadly space vortices threatening entire planets. Armed with his unmatched intellect and raw determination, Storm becomes a one-man weapon against chaos, navigating interstellar intrigue, alien technologies, and galactic warfare.

The solar system has fallen, and the galaxy awaits. The Sol system has now gained admission to galactic society, a junior member held in little esteem, with obligations mounting. Emma and Anna seek to hold their society together as they come into new conflict with the Scythe, find new SCIENCE that needs doing, and establish themselves as a force in galactic politics. The threats and opportunities surrounding them have never been so great, and the answers to some long unanswered questions will finally reveal themselves.

Immortality comes at a steep price. Faced with a heartrending loss, Lox walks down a dark path. He knew there would be a cost for immortality, but he didn’t know he would have to face it so soon.

Kiras Sorgen haben gerade erst begonnen. Sie hat eine frischgebackene Allianz mit Außerirdischen zu pflegen, eine Siedlung zu leiten und Fähigkeiten zu erlernen, und das alles, während sie sich mitten in einer Apokalypse mit ihren Kindern rumschlägt.

Um seine Meisterklasse zu erhalten, hat John Lee eine Abmachung mit dem Erethra-Reich getroffen. Jetzt fordern die Erethraner eine Gegenleistung und zwingen ihm, nach seinem letzten Kampf auf ihrem Hauptplaneten zu erscheinen. John muss sich in der galaktischen Politik einer militaristischen, vom System erzeugten Gesellschaft zurechtfinden. Dabei muss er die Auswirkungen seiner Taten sorgfältig abwägen und wird mit der bizarren Realität eines systemgenerierten Reichs konfrontiert.

Broad-shouldered US military operative Michael Bekker was looking forward to his first field assignment with the CIA. But while hunting a source of terrorist funding in Baghdad, the new mission goes suddenly, horribly wrong. Blamed for an explosion that he barely escapes, Bekker’s life is shattered: he’s drummed out of the military, loses his dream girl, and is framed for a murder he didn’t commit.

Cadel Piggott has a genius IQ and a fascination with systems of all kinds. At seven, he was illegally hacking into computers. Now he's 14 and studying for his World Domination degree, taking classes like embezzlement, misinformation, forgery, and infiltration at the institute founded by criminal mastermind Dr. Phineas Darkkon. Although Cadel may be advanced beyond his years, at heart he's a lonely kid.

The president orders Captain Deke Mallory to penetrate a mysterious brotherhood of Neo-Nazi billionaires. They've financed a coup d'etat in Central America to begin their takeover of the Global Monetary System.

The old writer witch was dead. Nadia Oswald watched him die. She held his hand until the light left his eyes. She was a human, but in that moment as he passed from life to death, she inherited his power. A power she hides from her family who hates magic and all who possess it. Aidan Montgomery was born a witch. He was born with the rarest form of witchcraft, a fact he keeps hidden to protect himself. As an anchor witch he couldn’t feel more disconnected from his abilities if he tried. His power feels opposite to who he is. How can he anchor the world if he can’t even anchor himself?

You are cordially invited to the wedding of the decade. Adam Drake and Emilia Kimberly Strong have chosen a date to solidify their love in the bonds of matrimony. Join them on their exotic destination wedding. Visit with their friends and loved ones. But hold the champagne toast. Fate has a few last tests for our couple on their way to the altar.

It’s been four months since Janelle Tenner stopped the Earth’s destruction with the help of Ben, the boy who resurrected her after she died. Ben is gone now - disappeared through a portal to his home world. Even though Ben broke her heart, Janelle refuses to believe it when Interverse Agent Taylor Barclay tells her Ben is suspected of running a human-trafficking ring across several universes. She vows to uncover the true culprit and rescue the people who have been sold into slavery on alternate Earths - not to mention find Ben and prove his innocence.

Two days before the start of her junior year, 17-year-old Janelle Tenner is hit by a pickup truck and killed - as in blinding light, scenes of her life flashing before her, and then nothing. Except the next thing she knows, she's opening her eyes to find Ben Michaels, a loner from her high school whom Janelle has never talked to, leaning over her. And even though it isn't possible, she knows - with every fiber of her being - that Ben has somehow brought her back to life.