Showing results by publisher "-emdashery books-" in Science Fiction

Decades from now, two women sit around a fire on Beltane, May Eve, and reflect on their life stories. Activist Lucy's earliest memories are of living with her grandparents during the 2020 pandemic, and discovering her grandmother's love of birds. Filmmaker Hester, born on the day of the Chornobyl explosion, visits the plant in 2021 to film its feral dog population, and encounters the wilded Exclusion Zone—and a wolf-dog.

A recent release from a glorified prison system, Jeraldine Adelric wants nothing more than to live as legally as possible so she’s never sent back to Joab. As she buys her ship and works toward being an owner and proprietor, she also finds a potential new love in Arloa, an older woman, an aristocrat, and someone way out of her league. As her crew takes their first job, problems arise. Not only are they ill-prepared for the work, but the virus that rages through their planet hits her crew, and Jerry has to make a choice. Who will she save and who will she kill?

My name is Lilith Mae Madison and I am captain of the Phoenix. There is something strange happening on my ship, something that cannot be explained. On the other side of the known universe, we are waiting for a wormhole to open so we can return home with news that could save the human race, but someone, or something, has other ideas. My crew are being picked off one by one, and whoever is responsible is very, very strong, and very, very clever. I'm struggling to hold onto my sanity while also maintaining control of my ship and crew.

This short story prequel sets up the world of the Rift Jumpers, the pioneers of interstellar space. Follow the story of Commander Jane Henningsly in her research ship, Dauntless, as she develops the first Faster Than Light (FTL) drive. Her and her crew set the groundwork for mankind's expansion into the void, making us an interstellar species. The future of the Rift Contingent will never be the same with the development of the first Rift Jumper-class vessel in space.

It's 2050, and humans are an endangered species. Lieutenant Robert Sutton has survived the collapse of civilization by luck, his wits, and a chance mutation that makes him immune to the nanovirus that has wiped out millions. Now, his compound of survivors is surrounded by the infected, who are driven by the need to spread the contagion through sex. It is only a matter of time before they attack. So when Sutton is assigned to interrogate a prisoner who claims to have overcome the infection, he immediately suspects a trap.

Always outnumbered, always outflanked. That’s the motto of the Justified, the small band of mercenaries who are determined to set the universe to rights after accidentally unleashing a cataclysm upon it. But they’re not the only people who are trying to change the order of the universe. A group of psychotic beings, the Cyn, seem determined to stop the Justified. This little band of heroes are going to have to travel to the farthest reaches of the universe in order to stop the Cyn and save the world.

A meteorite fragment cures a teenaged trans girl’s schizophrenia, but leaves her with visions of ancient warring gods annihilating each other in space. As the Earth hurtles toward the cloud that is the shattered bodies of those eternal enemies, their eons-old conflict is rekindled on Earth to divide and destroy humanity.

In the not too distant future Darcy Loras and Milah Johaness have been in a bi-coastal relationship for the last two years. Their relationship is perfect. They were friends for years before they started dating, they communicate so well because they talk all the time, and they can’t imagine their lives without each other. The only thing in their way is the distance. Now that’s a thing of the past! Instant teleportation has finally been unlocked and there is nothing standing in their way of being together. Or so they thought.

Don't make waves. Don't get attached. Don't let anyone see the tattoos. Those rules have kept Tory Arknett alive, alone, and on the run for years in a country eager to put his healing hands to work on the front lines of a brutal war. When a desperate display of magic outs him to the authorities, Tory flees - right into the hands of cold and competent Sena Vantaras. Caged in a cruel training facility and implanted with a magical tracker, Tory needs to get out before he gets dead. There's just one thing he has to do: make Sena pay.

This exciting and groundbreaking fiction anthology showcases a number of new and emerging 2SQ (Two-Spirit and queer Indigenous) writers from across Turtle Island. These visionary authors show how queer Indigenous communities can bloom and thrive through utopian narratives that detail the vivacity and strength of 2SQness throughout its plight in the maw of settler colonialism's histories.

In this genre hybrid between historical fiction and sci-fi, Naavalah, a scrupulous mechanic aboard the starship Reynolds, crash-lands on the Lost Colony of Arciel, where she must choose between signaling for help—thereby bringing the imperialistic Federation to conquer this unsuspecting world—or trying to survive on her own. Before she can decide, she is found by a local genderfluid clothier named Melis-te, who rushes her away from her crash site to avoid capture by the local feudal lord.

As a child, Angela Mathers was the victim of a top-secret experimental program that implanted neural chips in children to correct disorders and enhance intelligence. Shunned by society, she, and others like her were locked away in camps. Now an adult Luman, she is both brilliant and calculating. Her quest for redemption brings her to DC, where she works to get a government bill that would free the Lumans passed into law.

Xander and Jameson thought they’d fulfilled their destiny when they brought the worlds of Oberon and Titania back together, but their short-lived moment of triumph is over. Reunification has thrown the world into chaos. A great storm ravaged Xander's kingdom of Gaelan, leaving the winged skythane people struggling to survive. Their old enemy, Obercorp, is biding its time, waiting to strike. And to the north, a dangerous new adversary gathers strength, while an unexpected ally awaits them.

A little blue world, the third planet from the sun. It’s home to seven billion people with all manner of faiths, beliefs and customs, divided by bigotry and misunderstanding, who have been told they are not alone in the universe. Anyone watching from the outside would pass by this fractured and tumultuous world, unless they had no other choice. It’s been a little over a year since Todd Landon’s life changed with the arrival of the Nentraee.

Jumping to alternate realities sounds great, if you're in control. But what if you're not? What if you're propelled away from the people and places you love the most in the blink of an eye? And what if these involuntary journeys happen because your neurochemistry is different, and your brain works differently? Beautiful, compassionate, and resourceful as she is, this is Rea's problem. A latina trans woman and an academic, she is beloved by a tight circle of friends, who fully accept her without knowing the cause of her disappearances.

In the aftermath of a category 6 hurricane in Puerto Rico, aspiring journalist Vero Diaz leads an effort to rebuild his community, reviving ancient Taíno traditions to survive the storm's aftermath and their island's new colonizers. Still gripped by tradition, many do not accept Vero, a trans man, as their leader, driving him to start a new life abroad.

It's a destiny thrown upon her too soon, and one she's not even sure she wants. After killing her uncle, Hyde, and capturing his rebels, Trinity must repair relations between Humans and Angorians. She must find a way to ease their fears and assure them that Angorians will not cause them harm.

Biker gangs known as regulators rule the streets of a war-torn city with hate and pain -- their cruelty is etched into every inch of Dae's battered body. He has never known anything but hurt from the hands of men ... until he meets Coby.

Winter is over and Lena is ready to leave the relative safety of Pearl Two, a closed community in Portland. A member of her party is missing. The woman they trusted for months is lying. She can’t be sure of anyone. With each step, she confronts the physical threats lurking in the wilderness and struggles to hold onto her dream of creating alliances to heal their future. Haunted by memories of the past and driven by the hope for a better future, she searches for the strength to built unity from the growing anarchy.

Tea Leaves presents 16 speculative short stories that place queer characters in larger-than-life situations to emphasize the surreal experience of marginalization. A queer romance spans multiple incarnations, but only in doomed cities. A gay medieval scholar must testify for his life to the otherworldly octopus who traps him in a cafe bathroom. Ignoring their better judgment, a witch brings their mortal partner on a hunt for a dangerous sorcerer and must cope with the dire consequences.