System Fiction

With more than 10 stories from exciting new voices and a few veterans of the universe, the second anthology highlights the lives and struggles of humanity's best and worst years after system advent.

Qualityland, Marc-Uwe Kling's first book to be translated into English, is a brilliantly clever, illuminating satire in the tradition of Kurt Vonnegut, Douglas Adams, and George Orwell that offers a visionary, frightening, and all-too funny glimpse at a near future we may be hurtling toward faster than it's at all comfortable to admit. So why delay any longer? TheShop already knows you're going to love this book. You may as well head to the cash register, crack the covers, and see why that is for yourself.

Marc's home from college on break, spending his time laughing about some of the crazy news stories he's found online, and gaming. When a message appears in his line of sight, blocking out absolutely everything else, he nearly freaks out. The message warns that the world has been in a variant Natural Laws beta test for millennia and that it's about to revert to the norms.

The elves took everything. Following a bloodied slaughter of her whole race, and struggling to stay alive, she had no choice but to survive on her own. That was until the world changed. Her entire planet; a whole cluster was introduced to the vast universe by The System, or perhaps God. A universe filled with endless beings and civilizations that fought for power and dominance. After the integration, Blair finds herself in a forest surrounded by unknown beasts, peril lurking, alone. Alone and with nothing but the mentality to survive, she will have to get stronger in this unforgiving world.

When the end comes for Fool and Jackal, they’re going out with style. Past plans set in motion ago are coming to a head faster than expected. The Foundation has sent Fool and Jackal to Vancouver on another easy, simple mission. It's anything but. A mystery. A new enemy, stronger than both of them combined. Little grey aliens. Secrets revealed. And at the center of it all?

Finding his way back to Earth through a portal, John returns to a very changed world. The shackles of galactic control have bound Earth and humanity ever tighter to the system. Now, John has to find a way to free Earth from galactic control while battling stronger, more powerful enemies. And worst of all, he will need to indulge in politics. Good thing he's got a new class and new allies.

After revealing the deception spread by the Galactic Council and the hidden aspects of the System, John Lee and his friends flee the council building on Irvina. Just escaping the capital planet will tax them to their utmost. Evading the full force of the Galactic Council and their minions might be more than they can handle. While old allies deal with the new truths, friends fracture under the increasing pressure, and all the while, the System Quest hangs over John's head, unfinished. Their only hope - their only clue - lies in the Forbidden Zone.

The fieldtrip to the planetarium is foiled when the museum turns out to be closed, but Ms. Frizzle saves the day. The Magic School Bus turns into a spaceship and takes the class on a trip zooming through the atmosphere, to the Moon, and beyond! With up-to-date facts about the solar system, revised for this edition.

Lieutenant Saru is a Kelpien, a member of a prey species born on a world overrun by monstrous predators...and a being who very intimately understands the nature of fear. Challenged on all sides, he is determined to surpass his origins and succeed as a Starfleet officer aboard the U.S.S. Shenzhou. But when Saru breaks protocol in order to prove himself to his crewmates, what begins as a vital rescue mission to save a vessel in distress soon escalates out of control. Forced into a command role he may not be ready for, Saru is caught between his duty and two conflicting agendas.

After the discovery that the encampment outside of his Safe Zone is full of friendlies, Marc and his group finally have a chance to try to grow stronger again. The addition of an administrator for the Safe Zone as well as someone to coordinate its defenses finally allows Marc to feel like he can go out and do other things.

After saving the world and defeating his enemies, Sloan has gained an incredible title and unmatched power in the system. Enjoying a decade of peace, his calm life is suddenly disrupted, pushing him towards a new journey and a new mission. A new enemy, known only as the Architect has emerged, causing chaos and breaking the balance. As new rifts appear, Sloan must explore unknown realms, find strong allies, and learn ancient secrets to stop the Architect's plans.

Jebediah Trapper is a ticking time bomb. After sort of saving the day months ago, he's got a nuclear bomb attached to him in the Fate Dimension, where magic and potential collide. Jeb just wants to defuse himself before he collapses into a sickly pile of green goo or ignites in a city-destroying blast. There's just one problem: The world doesn't slow down because you've got a nuclear hangnail. Mab, Queen of the Fae wants him for unknown, yet most likely sinister reasons. A mysterious, abhorrent entity is making him an offer he can't refuse, and the undead are getting organized.

To gain his Master Class, John Lee made a deal with the Erethran Empire. Now, the empire has come to collect on the debt, forcing him to appear in their capital after his last fight. Thrown into Galactic politics of a militarized, system-based society, John will have to weigh consequences of the decisions he's been asked to make and confront the warped reality of a system-created empire. When politics, self-interest, and a human's stubbornness collide, the very stars are threatened.

In Journey Through The Solar System, you can join the experience of a lifetime without leaving your home. Get ready for an unforgettable space holiday! You're about to launch on a voyage beyond your wildest dreams, touring the marvels of our Solar System (the sun, planets, comets, and asteroids) and the mysteries of the cosmos.

Captain Picard has never encountered an opponent more powerful than Q, a being from another continuum who is dangerous, obnoxious, mysterious, and seemingly all-powerful. But now, Trelane has tapped in to an awesome power source that makes him more powerful than the entire continuum. Q warns that Trelane has become unspeakably dangerous - this time the stakes are all of creation. Read by John de Lancie.

With the System States Union now crushed and Trojan's new Empire on the rise, former foes become allies in a desperate attempt to prevent not only the collapse of human civilization but also the complete extermination of humanity at the hands of a diabolical new power player. Is salvation really possible, or was it all just rumors?

With the galaxy thrown into chaos by mutual breaches of the Two Hundred Years' peace, what seemed like an isolated incident on the Thelicosa/Merida border has become an epidemic. In the midst of this chaos, the Thelicosan and Meridan fleets on their respective borders have come to a sort of tense peace after the events in Book II, but now it's clear: Somebody wants war. And it's not the Free Systems of the galaxy.

The Commander of Champions thrives in this environment. His powers can only grow stronger from here. Commander Jay Luckrun has a lot of names. One of those names is Beheader of the 72 Immortals. Everywhere he goes, many people and creatures are afraid of him for what he's achieved with his overpowered magic. Their fear is so great that Jay and his pantheon are facing the greatest fight Earth has ever witnessed—A war with the USA.

I, Q is a wild and witty voyage through the secret soul of creation as only the enigmatic Q can tell it! Co-written and read by John de Lancie, who portrayed Q on television for more than a decade!

An ancient alien artifact could cost Captain Kirk and his crew their minds and their lives...and Spock must solve ages-old mysteries before his captain and crewmates are lost forever! Featuring a dramatic reading by Walter Koenig and enhanced with sound effects and an original score.