Showing results by publisher "Spoken Realms" in Space Opera

The science vessel Hermes has been urgently recalled from its mission to survey the moons of Saturn, just as First Officer Miranda Lee receives bad news from home - her mother is dying so she must leave the ship and return to Earth - for good. Commander Scott McNabb is so distraught by her sudden decision to leave that he pays little or no attention to the parameters of the new mission being requested by the Council of Europa. Big mistake. Powerful forces on Earth are now moving to resume inter-AI communications, risking the development of an all-out war.

An errant encounter with a passing star has flung Earth away from its old Solar System into the dark and cold of deep space. With the entire atmosphere frozen as chemical snow dozens of feet deep, one last family struggles to survive. But what are they to think when they see figures moving in the city ruins? Are Earth's dead coming back to life?

"Storm" Cloud, the only man who could destroy the ravening nuclear vortices that struck and killed at random. The Vortex Blaster was also the name of Cloud's space-ship, an incredibly advanced arsenal of modern science, in which Cloud and his crew of colorful space castaways hunted the source of the lethal vortices, battled a criminal mastermind, developed unheard-of sciences, and made an ultimate discovery of shattering importance to the destiny of the Universe!

They were four of the greatest minds in the Universe: two men, two women, lost in an experimental spaceship billions of parsecs from home. And as they mentally charted the Cosmos to find their way back to earth, their own loves and hates were as startling as the worlds they encountered.

The Masters had ruled all space with an unconquerable iron fist. But the Masters were gone. And this new, young race who came now to take their place - could they hope to defeat the ancient Enemy of All?

When a Terran outpost is destroyed by the menacing insectoid Throgs, two human (and two wolverines) survivors must find a way to survive being hunted on a hostile planet. Only an unlikely alliance with the telepathic saurian inhabitants—and the wisdom to distinguish between dreams and reality—will lead them out of darkness and towards a united future.

Two planets are about to engage in a nuclear war that will destroy one of them. Millions will perish. Brion Brandd, who lives on neither planet, has been recruited by the Cultural Relationships Foundation to stop the war from happening. He is the only person in the galaxy who can do it, but can he?

With days to stop Arran’s execution and the stoic guardian, Sirius, as her constant shadow, Kesh must weave her lies deep within Faerie’s courts where magic and whispers combine and conspire. Soon, Kesh learns there is more at stake than Arran’s life. Faerie is dying. Oberon’s reign is crumbling. The time to strike against the fae is now. But with Talen, Kellee and Sota a thousand light-years away, Kesh cannot succeed alone...

Thuvia, Princess of Ptarth, is betrothed to Kulan Tith, Jeddak of Kaol, in an arranged marriage. She spurns the advances of a suitor, Astok of Dusar, who then plots to abduct Thuvia and frame Carthoris, son of John Carter, for the crime, igniting a war between Kaol, Ptarth, and Helium.

Under the double moons of Barsoom, an invisible flier sped to the mysterious city of Jahar where Sanoma Tora, the kidnapped princess of Helium, had been taken. Hadron of Hastor was at the controls, hatching a rescue plan that required unusual daring and great ingenuity. For invisibility alone was not a great enough weapon against "The Death." And should Hadron succeed, what fate would await him at the hands of the madman whose very genius had created the means of that rescue?

Tara of Helium, daughter of John Carter, becomes lost in an unknown area of Mars when her single-seat flier is caught in a rare Martian hurricane. She is first captured by the bizarre and hideous Kaldanes, and then the brutal Manatorians, for whom she is the prize in a tournament of Martian chess, jetan, that is played by live game pieces, and to the death!

Kendro, King of the Aonise, can do nothing to prevent their sun from collapsing, consuming their home planet, Letháo, in a single fiery blast. Running out of time and options, he evacuates the entire population, setting off into the unknown galaxy in four crowded ships. Under constant danger from their ancient enemy, the Zefron, treasonous dissent seeps into his inner circle. Threatened inside and out, Kendro struggles with whom to trust, until a mysterious vision finally brings hope to the distraught king.

Riordan, a ruthless and wealthy hunter, needs one more kill to fill out his bucket list. He's faced down and brought home the wildest beasts on Earth, Venus, and even Neptune. But what he really craves is the hide of a Martian, and he'll pay any price, endure any obstacle, to hang that trophy on his wall.

Nova is a rogue adventurer who needs money - fast - or she'll be hauled to a labor camp. One cargo could solve all her problems, but there's a catch: The goods aren't legal. Now, Nova must choose: cave to criminals or do the right thing and risk being killed?

Humans from the inner planets and robots from the outer planets have engaged in a planetary war in which no side won. Both sides have retreated to their respective zones, searching for a superweapon that will allow them to annihilate the other. Robots believe they have a plan and only one man can stop them.

In book two of this metaphysical space thriller trilogy, Detective Rhea Hawke continues her quest for truth and justice in a world that is not what it seems. Rhea’s search takes her to the far reaches of the known universe from the Weeping Mountains of Horus to the blistering deserts of Upsilon 3. Amidst the turmoil of an imminent extra-galactic war, Rhea holds the key even as those she trusts betray her. No one is what they seem.

When Galactic Guardian Rhea Hawke investigates the genocide of an entire spiritual sect, she collides not only with dark intrigue but with her own tarnished past. Her quest for justice catapults Rhea into the heart of a universal struggle across alien landscapes of cruel beauty and toward an unbearable truth she’s hidden from herself since she murdered an innocent man.

It was August 19, 2037. The United Nations was just 50 years old. Televisors were still monochromatic. The Nidics had just won the World Series in Prague. Com-Pub observatories were publishing elaborate figures on moving specks in space which they considered to be Martian spaceships on their way to Earth....

This early novella by Clifford Simak includes many elements which have become staples in science fiction literature: alien invasion, time travel and the multiverse. The future entire Earth is threatened by the invasion of a phantasmal force known as the Black Horror, which appears to be impervious to all weapons developed by man. To where will Dr Silas White turn for the rescue of the planet?

This short story is one of those things that literally took a village to accomplish. From bouncing around ideas to coming up with the characters to listening to me ramble on and on and on about it. In itself, it is a fun little piece that the author fell in love with while trying to flesh out a few of the main characters of his fLUX Runners series.