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

Ghost Signal (Rift Warrior #2) – B. V. Larson

Acheron Colony was supposed to be humanity’s greatest windfall. Using long-range sensors, the planet tested out as a super-earth—but the reality is frightening. Instead of finding a green world bursting with life, the colonists find a dead rock covered in ash. Something has dismantled every organic molecule on Acheron—and no one knows how or why.

When a mysterious signal that defies explanation begins to pulse from an alien ruin, the colonists panic. Something ancient was here long before them, and the signal, like a heartbeat, won’t let them forget it.

Alien-built guardians arise, marching on the unsuspecting humans. Fearful they will be erased just like the last civilization, the colonists call to Earth for help. Special forces operative Dane Tanner of XCU responds to their pleas. Dispatched to Acheron with time running out, Tanner and the colonists must decode the Ghost Signal to either shut down the murderous guardians or harness their power.

A Grift Too Far (Rex Nihilo #6) – Robert Kroese

Join the galaxy’s most notorious con man, Rex Nihilo, and his ever-loyal, ever-exasperated robot sidekick, Sasha, in their craziest adventure yet! Marooned on a planet whose inhabitants have modeled their civilization on World War II movies, Rex and Sasha have only one hope of escape: unearth a secret cache of weapons that’s been hidden somewhere on the planet.

The war is make-believe, but Rex and Sasha’s predicament is all-too-real, and to get off Yurp the duo find that they have no choice but to beat the Yurpians at their own game. With Rex’s cunning schemes and Sasha’s dry wit, they’re prepared to turn the tide of history—over and over again.

Can Rex and Sasha pull off the ultimate grift and escape Yurp? Or will they become permanent fixtures in the planet’s never-ending wartime farce?

Phantom Whispers #1 – edited by Ian Nol

Spaceships, tanks fighting pig men, shapeshifting forest monsters, inter-dimensional cartoon characters, and psychic ghosts abound. Heed the whisper in your ear, step out into the void, and enjoy you’re journey into the zany, bizarre, disturbing, and otherworldly.

Phantom Whispers is a short story anthology magazine made by independent writers in the pulp tradition of old fantasy, sci-fi, and horror fanzines. We’re proud to announce our first volume, featuring stories by Ian Nol, JD Sauvage, Robert Garron, Hermann Morr, and Rawle Nyanzi, with wonderful hand-drawn art by the talented Scribbles n’ Bits.

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

Cirsova #19 / Summer 2024 – edited by P. Alexander

Fourteen tales of daring adventure and thrilling suspense, including:

Strange and disgusting fleshy masses begin to wash up near the University! Is it a dead body, biological waste, a chemical spill, or something much, much worse?!

Clive, a US Marshal, and his former Deputy are investigating a series of cattle killings at the Daniels ranch! But these don’t seem to be the work of ordinary rustlers!

With the help of itinerant Wild Stars princess Atlanta, Gigwanator-Superior has hijacked the Gravedigger 2! The Superior Grief’s plan is set in motion for a rendezvous at the Damocles Relay Station to evacuate a pack of deadly Sword Griefs!

When the station comes under attack by an unknown alien force, Saya and her friends, caught completely unprepared, need to take flight in order to survive.  But when the smoke clears, the five of them are stranded far from home, and thrust into a far bigger fight than they could’ve ever imagined.

I, Starship – Scott Bartlett

As a Marine, Henry Morgan would have said it was more likely he’d die from enemy fire than from being struck by a flying lawnmower while at a baseball game.

But it was the lawnmower that ended up taking him out.

A century later, Henry wakes up as a reconstituted intelligence, and is promptly drafted to be the governing AI for America’s first military starship. After decades of model-trained AIs wreaking havoc across the globe, humanity is ready to try something a little more…human.

Henry is perfect. For one thing, as a reconstituted intelligence, he has no rights and can be forced to do the bidding of the powers that be. For another, he’s the only Heritage Mind™ with any military experience that survived the Great Power Surge of 2072.

So, Henry’s it.

Blastoff, good Henry! Our hopes and dreams go with you. Oh, and while you’re at it, could you take a look at the aliens setting up shop in our asteroid belt? They seem to be…multiplying.

Void Drifter – J. N. Chaney and Jason Anspach

The Amazon Rainforest holds a world-changing secret. A ship lost to time from another world.

College student Will Kaufman unearthed the biggest archaeological discovery in human history… he just needs to find a way back to Earth to tell people about it.

Four thousand years ago, a Federation bounty hunter Void ship crashed on a remote and primitive planet. There it remained until Will found it and accidentally reactivates it, launching him light years away.

With the crew—and its prisoners—awakened from cryo-sleep, Will has no choice but to go along with Captain Fera and her pilot-turned-holographic AI. Seen as a naïve primitive, Will must navigate complex alien cultures, explore the far reaches of the galaxy, and battle a tyrannical empire seeking to finish off a haggard and weary rebel faction just to be granted a ticket back to Earth.

But as Will shows an uncanny ability to navigate the mysterious realm of wormhole travel known as the Void, he begins to thrive in a galaxy not meant for humans.

Home is only a half-million light years away, but when life on a spaceship is this much fun… does Will really want to go back?

The Wages of an Assassin (The Last Eternal #7) – Jacob Peppers

The wages of a soldier are pain and regret his reward.

Soldier himself had told the wanderer that. Old words from another life but true words nonetheless. The wanderer knew this, for he still carried the scars such pain had brought, and a life spent on the run left a man little else but his regrets.

Yet of all the challenges the wanderer has faced, of all the dangers in a life full of little else, the worst lies before him. For he faces not a warrior or even some rampaging beast or monster.

He faces Assassin. The deadliest killer ever to walk the face of the world. She has come for him, for his friends.

Pain and regret may be a soldier’s rewards, but the creature who comes for him and his friends is no soldier. She is a lurker in the shadows, an assassin, and so she will have an assassin’s wage.

She seeks death…

The wanderer means to help her find it. Read More

Fifteen years of radio. Thirty films. 156 television episodes. Countless comics. 

The Cisco Kid rode across the air waves, the silver screen, and the small screen for a century as the Robin Hood of the Westerns. But his first ride, in the short story “The Caballero’s Way” by the legendary O. Henry, was at odds with how fans would come to know him.

And, like many a dark tale, it starts with a woman.

The Cisco Kid had killed six men in more or less fair scrimmages, had murdered twice as many (mostly Mexicans), and winged a larger number whom he modestly forbode to count. Therefore, a woman loved him.

This baby-faced rider, whom few expected to live to his next birthday, loved Tonia Perez, who O. Henry describes as half-Carmen and half-Madonna. But when Lieutenant Sandridge, in the law’s pursuit of the Cisco Kid, arrives at her house, Tonia is smitten. 

The lieutenant and his beloved scheme to remove the sole obstacle to their love:

The Cisco Kid.

When the Kid discovers Tonia in the arms of a ranger, the Kid watches, waits, and hatches his own scheme. And, for those familiar with O. Henry’s twists, this will not end well for any involved. One case of intentionally mistaken identity later, and the Kid departs, leaving behind a body and a heartrending wail.

For the Cisco Kid might be deadly with his gun, but he is deadlier with his cunning. And betrayal deserves reprisal.

And a wail of despair is a far cry from the laughter that the Kid’s future adventures would end on.

Until then, O. Henry tells the tail with a carefree style, not quite a wink or a nod to the audience, but building up how the heroic Sandridge will win the girl from the wicked Kid. A perfect contrast to the ending, and one that heightens its impact. Coming from a century’s remove, where the Western has codified itself into black hats and white hats, this tale of revenge feels closer to El Mariachi than Silverado. 

How this cunning murderer got elevated into the Robin Hood of the Rockies, I do not yet know. But if you’re looking for a Western morality play that does not end with the routine triumph of the white hats shooting the black hats, remember “The Caballero’s Way”.

And stay away from the Kid’s girl.

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

Invincible Under Heaven (Saga of the Swordbreaker #6) – Kit Sun Cheah

The unthinkable has finally occurred.

Driven mad by the relentless pursuit of power, a martial prodigy turns against the rivers and lakes. Behind him is the Shadow Horde, a group of devil cultivators with immeasurable powers at their command. Hellbent on restoring the Yue Dynasty, they carve a swathe of destruction through the Five States and Ten Corporations.

The world trembles beneath their boots. No army can stop them. With every strike, they come ever closer to overturning the world order.

The rivers and lakes calls for heroes. Li Ming, accidental immortal and reluctant champion, answers. Together with his fellow warriors, he must put an end to the Shadow Horde’s reign of terror, battling beasts, demons, terrorists—and his greatest rival, his dearest friend, the man he once called brother.

And at the edge of the world, with steel and fire, both men will discover who is worthy of the title Invincible Under Heaven.

Sagewood: Restore the Farm – Blake Arthur Peel and Kimberly Ann Peel

A Magic Ring. A Farm on another World. Only he can restore the Harvest Goddess.

Traditions of Courage (Grimm’s War #7) – Jeffery H. Haskell

Join the fight for freedom on Alliance’s newest member.

When Cordoba fell and his officer was murdered, Jacob T. Grimm vowed the fight wasn’t over. With the help of DesRon 12 and the stalwart spacers of the USS Interceptor, he’s going to bring the Guild to their corporate knees.

On Cordoba, things aren’t going well for the Marines. Local infantry are eager to attack, while refugees are forced out of the capital city on the verge of winter. The Spanish planet is in trouble. However, not all is as it seems.

The ground forces aren’t Guild and they have more advanced tech than the Alliance Marines. Gunny Jennings and Bravo-Two-Five will need to muster every ounce of courage to fight overwhelming odds in a battle they never planned for.

As the fate of the planet unfolds, ex-spy Nadia Dagher and a ragtag group of former Interceptor crew must infiltrate the Guild and find the true location of their home planet.

Jacob faces off against a superior enemy, one as ruthless as he is compassionate. If he can’t find a way to win, all the people on Cordoba will pay the price.

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