Every week, the Castalia House Blog spotlights some of the many new releases in independent, pulp, and web novel-influenced science fiction and fantasy.

Battlefield Diplomacy – L. L. Richman

A fragile alliance. A stolen weapon. A war for Humanity’s future.

Special Forces operator Matt Whitaker survived the Oniki War — but only just. Now the war is over, and a tenuous peace has been struck.

When weapons plans are stolen from an Oniki shipyard and all evidence points to human involvement, tensions flare, threatening that hard-won peace. Whitaker is the only person with the knowledge and experience to uncover the truth.

Still recovering from his injuries, he is forced to face his demons, and charge back into the fray.

His orders are clear: uncover the truth and exonerate humanity. But the mission unearths more than just stolen plans, and what Whitaker discovers is worse than anyone could have imagined.

Now, the fate of both civilizations rests on his shoulders… and time is running out. Can one soldier save humanity from a second, and final, war?

Corporal (Conscript #4) – Scott Bartlett

He Chose the Marines Over Jail

The solar system is a time bomb

For centuries, humanity thought it was alone in the universe. Three “first contact” events later, and now the system is starting to feel a little crowded.

Po Abbato and his brothers are coming out the other side of a war that nearly destroyed the Marine Corps. But the system’s problems are far from over, and the Powers That Be have only one solution in mind:

Them.

Reunion (Kingdom Lost #1) – Chris Kennedy

Sixteen years ago, during a pause in the Algarian War, Duke Alessio Valente implemented a coup in the Star Kingdom of Narantea, killing King Altan Kotaro and Queen Brooke Kotaro. Before he died, though, the king gave his four children, Kellye, Yoshi, Jonatan, and Jayme Kotaro, to four trusted advisors and told them to take them to where they’d never be found.

The war has continued during this time, with neither side gaining an upper hand. Meanwhile, despite the best efforts of his much-feared Enforcers, now-Emperor Valente has been unable to find the children, and they have grown to adulthood.

In order to reclaim their birthright, the children–now adults–will have to come together and take it back. Unfortunately for them, none of them know where the others are, and there are billions of stars in the galaxy… Read More

Every week, the Castalia House Blog spotlights some of the many new releases in independent, pulp, and web novel-influenced science fiction and fantasy.

The Atlantis Equation (The Traveler #7) – Vaughn Heppner

Ever want revenge so bad you’d cross the galaxy for it?

U.S. Marine Jake Bayard does. After a telepathic killer executes his pregnant wife, he hunts the psycho through warp gates—straight to Atlantis.

This Atlantis is an ocean world drowning in secrets. Under the waves lurk genetically altered horrors, airship-riding reptilian warriors, and relics of Nazi U-boats. Worst of all, something vast and hungry stirs in the deepest trenches—a cosmic evil the Atlanteans once sank their whole civilization to contain.

Now Bayard faces an impossible choice: keep chasing his wife’s murderer or stop an ancient horror from escaping its watery prison. One wrong move could doom humanity to cosmic annihilation.

Chaos Terrain – Joel Gaines

Alien life awaits humanity in the deepest of cold…

Propulsion scientist Dr. Todd Cunningham was an astronaut headed for outer space, until budget cuts killed the mission—and his lifelong dream. Now he’s just an obscure expert in fusion-powered space travel, a professor buried in an ever-increasing pile of work.

But when a daring mission is approved to travel to Europa, Jupiter’s frozen moon, Cunningham is thrust back into the spotlight by the very man he blames for ending his NASA career, and he finds himself joining the ranks of NASA astronauts on a groundbreaking journey to challenge humanity’s understanding of life in the universe.

As the crew ventures into the unknown, their mission to uncover alien life beneath the icy surface quickly turns perilous. Battling treacherous terrain, unforeseen threats, and the ghosts of his own past, Cunningham must navigate a deadly landscape where survival is anything but guaranteed.

The Dreaded Return (The Beastcaller Chronicles #3) – Dan Michaelson and D. K. Holmberg

The Call of the Beast summons. He fears failing.

Leo Stormrider never expected to be humanity’s last hope. When the Supreme Realm Lord becomes infected by an Unbeast parasite, Leo volunteers for a desperate mission to the Silent Grave—a legendary burial ground where the realm’s darkest secrets lie buried with its dead.

But what begins as a quest for salvation becomes a race against time when Leo discovers the true threat: the followers of a tyrannical Beastcaller from the past seek to use Leo’s body to resurrect their master. With his Familiar Shadowshine at his side and the ghost of an ancient hero as his guide, Leo must master a forbidden combination of life and soul magic that hasn’t been attempted in a thousand years.

As the Supreme Realm Lord battles the parasite consuming him and the servants of the long-dead Beastcaller plot their master’s return, Leo faces an impossible choice: risk everything on an untested theory or watch as both the realm’s greatest defender and Leo’s humanity slip away forever.

In a graveyard where every shadow holds a secret and death itself is not the end, Leo must prove that a Beastcaller can do more than speak to animals—he can change the very nature of life and death itself. Read More

Every week, the Castalia House Blog spotlights some of the many new releases in independent, pulp, and web novel-influenced science fiction and fantasy.

Any Given Doomsday (Gladius Leagues #1) – Michael LaVoice

Humanity’s last hope is… a combat sports champion?

In the wake of humanity’s great expansion across the stars, war was a thing of the past, and its armies and navies were disbanded. Disputes were settled by the ancient practice of trial by combat in the Gladius Leagues, where elite athletes clad in advanced powered armor fought in front of millions. Their motto was, “We fight so others don’t have to.”

Nick “Warhorse” Landry, star Field Commander of the Foundry Warhawks, was content to live by that code—until everything changed. His home planet fell under a terrifying alien invasion while he was light years away. But when the invasion reaches his current system, humanity has a defense.

Unfortunately, that defense is Warhorse and his team of prima donna athletes. They’re stars of the arena, but they’re woefully unprepared for real war. With the guidance of the last surviving general from the Expansion Wars, these sports heroes are thrust into a battle for survival, and they’ll have to learn fast, or humanity faces total extinction.

Will Warhorse and his crew rise to the occasion—or fall in the final battle for humanity’s future?

Here Be Dragons (The Starship In The Stone #2) – M. R Forbes

Thomas never expected to find Excalibur stuck beneath a Welsh lake. He never asked to be a hero. And he certainly never imagined standing between a tyrant and the fate of a galaxy.

Destiny doesn’t wait for permission.

From the mystical world of Avalyeth, Thomas’ journey will lead him and his growing crew into the heart of enemy territory, the halls of ancient dragons, and the path of knights who remember a time when hope still burned bright. Hunted by the Draconite and haunted by the past, they’ll need to risk everything to outmaneuver and overcome those who would see them destroyed.

As new alliances form and old rivalries re-ignite, Thomas must prove he’s more than just the captain of a legendary starship—he must become the leader others believe him to be.

Even if he still isn’t sure he believes it himself.

Endings (Sleeping Gods #3) – Ralph Kern 

Trapped aboard the crippled starship Erebus, spiraling toward the crushing grip of a black hole, Inspector Layton Trent and his team face oblivion. Their only hope? A desperate alliance with the ship’s renegade crew. Bitter enemies must work together, or they’ll vanish into the abyss.

But survival comes at a price. When Erebus finally breaks free, they emerge 20,000 years in the future to a desolate galaxy.

Entire civilizations are extinct.

Humanity is gone.

An overwhelming, enigmatic force has swept across the stars, consuming entire worlds to fuel its relentless expansion. The last remnants of intelligent life have fled toward the galactic core, desperate to escape annihilation. With no way back and an unstoppable enemy hunting them, Layton and his crew have only one choice, to follow the survivors into the unknown.

What begins as a desperate flight soon becomes something far greater.

From the ruins of a dying galaxy to the final flickers of existence itself, Layton and his crew will push beyond the boundaries of time and space, searching for answers – about the force that hunts them, the fate of those who came before, and the ultimate mystery of what lies beyond the end of everything. Read More

Every week, the Castalia House Blog spotlights some of the many new releases in independent, pulp, and web novel-influenced science fiction and fantasy.

The Feasting of Vengeance (The Four Horsemen Universe: The Phoenix Initiative #16) – Rob Howell

The hunt for Kukuluki continues.

In a galaxy where treachery and double-dealing is the normal way of conducting business, Kukuluki is in a league of his own. And if you get on his bad side, like the Queen Elizabeth’s Own Foresters have, he’ll use those skills to make sure you regret it.

The time has come for vengeance. The Foresters and their allies are arming themselves to rid the galaxy of his evil.

But first, they have to find him. Then avoid all the traps he’s surely set in their path. And then defeat all the mercs one of the richest beings in the galaxy can afford.

Both sides know the stakes. The time has come to end this once and for all. It’s time to be tenacious and versatile.

Oath of the Survivor – James Meyer

Stranded on an alien world. Surrounded by enemies. He must learn to fight… or die.

When the apocalypse strikes the world Kyle Mayhew calls home, he is thrust into a struggle for survival.

Alongside his Central Health Autonomous Diagnostic Drone (C.H.A.D.D.), he will have to overcome mutated creatures, ruthless marauders, and his grandfather’s legacy to carve out a new home.

He might even find that he belongs…

Stormvoice (The Celestial Path #2) – D. K. Holmberg

Where celestial power shapes destiny, Roran Los has become a voidheart. Can Roran find an even greater purpose?

As he struggles to control his unique gift, Roran finds himself thrust into a dangerous journey beyond his isolated basin.

Pursued by powerful forces and accompanied by unlikely allies, Roran must navigate treacherous landscapes and uncover ancient secrets. With the threat of the Astralin looming, Roran’s growing abilities may be the key to igniting long-dormant relics and reshaping the balance of power.

But as Roran delves deeper into his voidheart nature, he faces a crucial choice: will he use his power to protect those he loves, or will he become the very threat he seeks to overcome?

The Complete Mongoose and Meerkat – a Kickstarter campaign from Cirsova

He’s a brash young bravo, eager to prove his worth with a blade. She’s a mysterious rogue with a head for history and razor cunning. Together, they are the Mongoose and Meerkat!

Whether they’re looting haunted dungeons, fighting demons and necromancers, or just settling labor disputes, this swashbuckling duo is ready for anything! Mangos would love nothing more than to earn a name for himself and keep himself comfortably in coin. Kat, however, has more far-reaching plans for her wealth.

The City State of Alness has fallen to a band of mercenaries and brigands who have ravaged the north lands. Amidst the rumors that an Alnessi royal may have survived, the Mongoose and Meerkat must navigate all manner of intrigue and betrayal to win the fame and fortune necessary to restore the once-mighty city.

Originally serialized in 18 installments from 2017 through 2023 in Cirsova Magazine, Jim Breyfogle’s Mongoose and Meerkat became one of the iconic Sword & Sorcery teams of the Pulp Revolution. Now, you can have all of their adventures in a single gorgeous volume!