Showing titles in Hard Science Fiction

When Kyle Wimberly, the hands-on president of Full Cycle Solar, Inc., investigates a unit failure, he finds an alien shuttle has crashed into it. The shuttle's captain is grievously injured, his crew dead. Then, to Kyle's surprise, the captain asks for help, speaking perfect English. Kyle and colleague Alexandra Reyes carry the captain to the shuttle's medical bay for treatment by its auto-doc. This simple act of compassion launches the two down a path that will change their lives and the world forever.

Los Angeles lies in ruins. While the city is sealed off to contain an unknown contamination, the survivors battle strange anomalies under the toxic dust cloud. Among the survivors are Lee and Branson. The astronaut must find a way out in order not to miss his flight to Cassandra, and the captain is faced with a terrible truth that he can no longer deny.

A ship stranded halfway across the galaxy. A difficult and lengthy journey home. A homeworld in urgent need of their return. And now they are running out of food. The crew of the Aurora must now trust their new allies in order to survive. But their situation may be far more serious than they imagined. And their actions could have repercussions across the galaxy. Their journey home may just have gotten slightly more complicated.

Separated from her ship, Major Trace Thakur is stranded on the reeh-occupied world of Rando. The native corbi have suffered beneath reeh tyranny for 800 years, and many have given up hope. But Trace needs the data stored in the reeh’s genetic technology and command center - the Rando Splicer - if she’s to learn how to save humanity from impending disaster, and is planning an assault against overwhelming odds. She’ll need help from the UFS Phoenix, though, which is caught in a ritual medieval battle to change the croma leadership.

Fifty-six hard years after the events of The Machine Crusade, after the death of Serena Butler, the bloodiest decades of the Jihad take place. The human worlds begin to hope that the end of the centuries-long conflict with the thinking machines is finally in sight.

In the aftermath of the destruction, Shaun finds himself trapped by the winter. With little other choice, he joins a group of survivors doing the best they can. His idea of "best" isn’t always shared by the group, though. But before the weather breaks, when he wants to resume his journey, they all face conflict. Miles away, doing the best that she can, Abbie is adapting to life without power; her own situation is far from ideal. After the sound of the falling bombs fade, as the dark world they live in tries to recover, they have to find a way to adapt to their new reality.

A ship in the hands of their enemy...A liberation gone wrong...A chance to double their ranks...A bold and daring plan...Their support from the Pentaurus cluster dwindling fast, the Alliance faces new and unpleasant realities in the Sol sector. But, as they soon discover, untoward changes have the potential to bring unexpected opportunities. The trick is in how you use them.

Herland takes the listener on a fascinating journey into a utopian society comprised entirely of women. A society with no men also means no conflict, resulting in a war-free existence. It is a perfect world, but only if you are female. Three men set out on a journey into uncharted territory to discover for themselves if the legend of an all-female society is a myth or actually a reality. Tracking down the mythical realm of women poses plenty of challenges, but what they ultimately find is both enchanting and frightening.

Apollo 32, commanded by career astronaut Vivian Carter, docks at NASA's Columbia Station in lunar orbit en route to its main mission: exploring the volcanic Marius Hills region of the Moon. Vivian is caught in the crossfire as four Soviet Soyuz craft appear without warning to assault the orbiting station. In an unplanned and desperate move, Vivian spacewalks through hard vacuum back to her Lunar Module and crew, and escapes right before the station falls into Soviet hands.

The fate of humanity lies on the shoulders of Burt Radcliffe, the new head of NASA's Near Earth Object program. He's been rushing the completion of DefenseNet, a ring of satellites that are both part of an early-warning system, as well as the means to eliminate incoming threats. Yet Burt knows that despite the world's best efforts, nothing can be done about the alert he's just received. Coming out of deep space is a danger that's been approaching since the dawn of time. A black hole. An unstoppable threat that promises death for all in its wake.

No one has ever ventured deeper into space than the four astronauts of Shepherd-1. The aim of their mission is to witness the creation of the cosmos. Using the sun as a lens, they are to align a flock of probes in such a way that the moment of the Big Bang becomes visible. For astronomer Christine, this is a dream come true. So she is bitterly disappointed when the first images are obscured by a kind of veil that prevents any insight. She works obsessively to find a solution, but when she finally succeeds in lifting the veil, she sees something that would have been better kept hidden...

Sergeant Ted Regan has a problem. A son of one of the great corporate families, a Scion, has gone missing at the front. He should have been protected by his Ironclad - the lethal battle suits that make the Scions masters of war - but something has gone catastrophically wrong. Now Regan and his men, ill-equipped and demoralised, must go behind enemy lines, find the missing Scion and uncover how his suit failed. Is there a new Ironclad killer out there? And how are common soldiers, lacking the protection afforded the rich, supposed to survive the battlefield of tomorrow?

A corporation controls the portal that leads from Earth to the land of Lost Eden. They intend to exploit the incredible richness of that world. But there is a small team on the other side, fighting to survive against incredible odds. Nearly everything they meet tries to kill them. The members of that team have different ideas about what should happen with Lost Eden. But there is a seemingly ancient monk named Tokin who holds the secret to everything. With the portal to Earth seemingly closed, will the team be able to find a way home, or will they truly be stranded, marooned—exiled?

Kira Miller is a brilliant genetic engineer who discovers how to temporarily achieve savant-like capabilities in all areas of thought and creativity. But what if this transcendent level of intelligence brings with it a ruthless megalomania? David Desh left the special forces after his team was brutally butchered in Iran. Now he has been reactivated for one last mission: find Kira Miller, the enigmatic genius behind a bioterror plot that threatens millions.

In the mid-23rd century, Darwin, Australia, stands as the last human city on Earth. The world has succumbed to an alien plague, with most of the population transformed into mindless, savage creatures. The planet’s refugees flock to Darwin, where a space elevator—created by the architects of this apocalypse, the Builders—emits a plague-suppressing aura.

The Republic, the Opters, and a strange Crystalline race of unknown origin all meet in a series of titanic battles. Commodore Straker summons thousands of ships, but he soon learns he’s technologically outclassed by the enemy. With traditional victory impossible, the race is on for each side to destroy the key worlds of the other. Billions die, entire planets are destroyed. Even while the war rages, dark suspicions grow. There are traitors in the midst of the chaos. Straker realizes the worst enemy is the one you believed to be your ally....

Restoring the empire that had been destroyed 45 years earlier, Emperor Colin finds problems in the genocidal Achuutani and in his children, Sean and Harriet, who have been marooned on a hostile planet.

It is near the end of the 21st century. Persistent war, overpopulation, and climate change have caused poverty and natural disasters like mankind has never known. When a signal offering assistance reaches Earth from an alien entity calling itself the Foundry, humanity plans a mission to the stars for first contact. In the midst of this, Milo Hughes is just another five-year-old boy who wishes nothing more than to doodle with crayons and dig in the dirt, while his parents secretly plot to join the mission—whether they were invited or not.

Breathable air on Earth is running out and no one knows why. A mysterious discovery nearly 30 million years old may hold the answer. To find it, a glaciologist and the inventor of a cutting-edge brain implant will need to work together. But can they unlock its shocking secrets in time to save humankind? Filled with stunning twists and turns, Augmented is a technothriller that will leave you breathless!

Stranded on the moon after a global economic crash, Nick Morrison and his friends must take decisive action to secure their supply chain before they starve to death. The capture of a space station wins them some breathing room. But the powers that be on Earth cannot tolerate an independent, thriving lunar colony. Amidst a high-stakes arms race, Nick and his friends struggle to hold off the entire might of Earth. At the same time, Nick must also fight his old nemesis, Joe Massad, for control of the lunar base.