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

Apocalypse Arena: Mortal Gauntlet – J. Pal

The multiverse is watching. He’ll be damned sure to give them a show.

Saving an innocent from a drug-crazed superhuman should’ve left Nil broken. Instead, it wins him the Nexus’ attention.

Nil is done feeling small and watching his family scrape by. He now has the opportunity to make a difference.

Apocalypse Arena holds the key; where the multiverse’s champions battle and keep the Scourge at bay. Pain, death, and heartbreak await all who run the gauntlets, but Nil has what it takes to grapple his way to the top.

The stronger his opponent, the harder he hits. Perhaps even knock out a God.

Battlestations (The Iron Fleet #1) – Daniel Gibbs

Lt. Colonel Arthur Hanson suffers from imposter syndrome. While grateful for promotion to second-in-command of the CSV Margaret Thatcher, he’s still a nerdy engineer at heart. The CDF’s presence in the Orion Spur is to project strength and maintain peace among the former League-held settlements. Confronting minor skirmishes is a cakewalk compared to open war.

But freedom demands a price.

Without warning, coordinated terrorist strikes across the Spur leave the fleet limping on life support. The Margaret Thatcher herself narrowly escapes destruction—at an unspeakable cost.

With the fleet decimated and backup stalled behind political power plays, Colonel Hanson is forced into shoes he feels ill-qualified to fill. But as ranking officer, survivors look to him to lead the charge against terrorists who wantonly rape and murder with no regard for the innocent.

Now Arthur must steel his spine and rise to the challenge of his namesake ship.

Because the Iron Lady does not turn from the fight.

Commerce Emperor #3 – Maxime J. Durand

The Devil is purchasing godhood, and Robin has to outbid her.

The Lord of Wrath Belgoroth lays defeated, but his fellow Demon Ancestors proceed with their own plans. The Devil of Greed, wealthy from her hoard of damned souls, now schemes to forge a divine crown that will allow her to rule the world; all while the Shadow of Envy plots behind stolen faces.

Only the chosen Heroes stand between the world and its destruction, but they are far from united. The Archer and the Assassin are at each other’s throats, the Monk struggles with her own demons, and the Wanderer is not to be trusted. Robin Waybright now faces the difficult task of uniting and leading them into their final battle. It is a race against time, but a Merchant always has a plan…

This will be his final sale, and the world his prize.

The Primal Hunter #12 – Zogarth

With only one Challenge Dungeon Left, Nevermore is quickly winding to an end…

The Nevermore Leaderboards competition has gathered more attention than perhaps in any era prior, with gods getting both directly and indirectly involved to see who will eventually come out on top.

Jake, who has so far been performing above all expectations, enters his final Challenge Dungeon before it’s time to meet up with his party once more. Together, they’ll make a final push to try and climb as many floors as possible before time is up and, hopefully, in the end, find their names atop the Nevermore Leaderboards.

However, the competition is tough. Jake and his party aren’t the only ones performing far above expectations. Ell’Hakan, the self-proclaimed rival of Jake, has set himself up to rival or even shatter all records prior, aiming for the top spot himself.

In the end, who will prove themselves the top C-grade of their generation?

And, perhaps more importantly to Jake, will there be a forced after-party following the Leaderboards reveal?

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

Beginnings (Lost Town #4) – Nathan Hystad

Cause and effect are a universal truth.

Most of Carmichael’s population made it home, but not everyone wants to return. Both parties must start again, and life as they knew it has changed forever.

Caesar and Ameila are recruited by Harrison to bridge the gap between Arcadia and Earth, while Anders is hired to rescue John and Lillian from whatever distant planet they now occupy.

The journey begins at Wayward, the renamed town that Milton had once tyrannized. Milton may be a distant threat, but Duffy, wounded and outraged, still lurks in the shadows.

The Black Ships – G. P. Hudson

The Union is the most powerful civilization in the galaxy. But its greatest threat is yet to come—and only one man can stop it.

Captain Max Knight thought his mission was simple: eliminate an arms dealer and head home.

No big deal.

But when unknown forces put all of humanity at risk, he’s forced into a desperate quest beyond known space in search of a legend that may not even exist.

Can Max succeed in his mission? Or will humanity face annihilation?

Blightwood (The Celestial Path #3) – D. K. Holmberg

In a city of hidden powers and ancient relics, can Roran master his growing abilities before war engulfs Blightwood?

Deep within Blightwood, where celestial relics fuel the ambitions of powerful faction leaders, Roran Los seeks guidance from the enigmatic Curator. But his unique voidheart ability is evolving, granting him an unprecedented connection to falling celestial relics that even his mentor can’t explain.

As the mysterious Veland gang grows bolder and ancient powers stir, Roran must navigate the delicate balance between the city’s warring sections. His newfound ability to call down relics from the sky makes him a valuable asset—and a dangerous target.

With the High Lord’s attention turning toward the Curator’s secret domain and the Astralin’s schemes unfolding in the shadows, Roran’s choices could either preserve the fragile peace or ignite a war that will consume them all.

Cirsova Magazine #22: Spring 2025 – edited by P. Alexander

11 tales of thrilling adventure and daring suspense, including:

The Wild Stars hope to find some sign of their distant cousins beyond the Milky Way, humanoid races descended from other extragalactics! Rather than friends or allies, however, an ancient enemy lies in wait at the scene of a long-ago bloodbath!

After her family is killed by merfolk, Aelia, a young diver, seeks out a legendary sunken treasure that is said to have the power to restore both emperor and empire!

Things may not be all they seem on a routine escort gig when a mysterious woman approaches Galactic Enforcer Stone with a glowing gem and an offer of a side job!

Mickey Vance is due for a tune-up on his illegal military-grade wetware, but his doctor is dead! Can he and his doctor’s assistant evade a bounty hunter on his trail?

…and more! 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.

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