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

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Celtic Adventures – edited by D. M. Ritzlin

Out of the past, in Dagon’s Cave, there is Conan of the Reavers.

What dreadful doom was preparing for the infamous Clan MacGreggan?

The Irish worship beauty—and fighting. Grana, it was certain, had the first, and had promised to supply the second

The rich history and folklore of Ireland and Scotland is a bottomless well of inspiration for imaginative authors to draw from. The stories in this collection run the gamut from purely historical to the fantastic to the weirdly horrific, with some combining elements of all three genres. Whether your blood is Celtic or not, these action-packed thrill-tales are guaranteed to get it pumping!

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Cul-de-sac Carnage (Discount Dan’s Backroom Bargains #2) – James Hunter

With the shadow of the Flayed Monarch looming ever closer, Dan must prepare the store and himself for the battle to come. To stand a chance, he’ll need to expand his operations, broker a precarious trade deal with the Delvers of Howlers Hold, and transform his stash of relics into an arsenal of magical war crimes.

But first, he’ll need to carve a bloody path through the heart of the 24th floor—Eternal Suburbia. A hellish, never-ending labyrinth of tidy lawns, cookie-cutter houses, and homicidal homeowners. Few survive the lawnmower men, the feral Karens, the ever-ravenous Kannibal Kids, or the tyrannical HOA, which reigns supreme with an iron fist of petty rules and bloodstained bylaws. With a gaggle of increasingly untrustworthy allies, and dangers lurking behind every perfectly trimmed hedge, Dan will need to do the impossible if he wants to beat the system and live to fight another day.

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Isekai Exorcist – Dosei

Not all monsters can be defeated with a sword.

Ryūta is suddenly transported to a new world, where he is assigned the dangerous role of Exorcist and has to quickly adapt to a life of constant danger. In order to survive in this new world, he’ll hunt and exorcise ghosts, revenants, demons, and other supernatural beings that cannot be defeated with normal weapons.

To aid him in his exorcisms, he’ll summon apparitions to his side as familiars, and he must learn to utilise special Exorcist tools and occult ritual magic.

But it is not just monsters that Ryūta comes up against, as corrupt adventurers scheme to destroy everything he is trying to protect.

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Primal Fate (The Starship In The Stone #6) – M. R. Forbes

Returning to Avalyeth in hopes of saving Halvy, Thomas and the crew of Excalibur uncover a secret that could shake the foundations of the Druid order. Hidden beneath the forest canopy, dangerous alliances and forbidden technologies threaten to ignite a conflict that could spread far beyond the trees.

Some truths refuse to stay buried.

While Thomas navigates a maze of suddenly shifting loyalties, Turquine advances a darker agenda that may soon become the greatest threat Avalon has ever faced.

With fragile hope resting on uneasy alliances, Thomas must decide who he’s willing to trust and how far he’s willing to go to build a future worth fighting for.

Because the cost of leadership isn’t victory. It’s who you become to achieve it.

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Wreck Jumpers – Jason Anspach and Nick Cole

Mack Banes is the first face you want to see in the last place you’d want to be…

Wreck Jumpers are highly specialized soldiers trained for search and rescue deep behind enemy lines. They are the special forces operators sent in when things have already gone from bad to worse.

Malcolm “Mack” Baines and his Recovery Team are the best of the best. When a Special Orbital Assault Regiment School nestled inside an asteroid belt suddenly goes dark, Mack and his team of Wreck Jumpers are tasked with putting eyes on the target.

Their mission: recon the site and turn the comms back on.

What they find is a base in chaos with survivors desperately holding out for rescue amid oceans of floating rock and an unknown enemy determined to make the Wreck Jumpers part of a growing body count.

Just one wrong move could mean a crushing end in the cold vacuum of space and the death of everyone relying on Mack and his operators…

But that’s why Mack became a Wreck Jumper in the first place.

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Ken Lizzi’s Cesar the Bravo – a Kickstarter campaign from Cirsova

Welcome to a world of magic and intrigue!

Cesar, a sometimes-condottiero and a bravo by trade, has earned a reputation as one of the best swords for hire in the city of Plenum. If you need a foe humiliated before a cheering crowd, he’s your man!

There’s good money to be made—at least enough to pay for fine clothes and cheap wine—but Plenum is a dangerous city filled with corrupt nobles vying for power, crooked merchants and conmen looking for marks, and every manner of hired muscle looking to cozy up or make a name for themselves… not to mention the occasional rampaging demon loose in the streets!

At the heart of power in Plenum is the Collegium: an exclusive aristocratic body of mages who hold a monopoly on magic. Cesar finds himself inexorably drawn into the city’s power struggles, as one of the most pre-eminent members of that esteemed collective finds he has a use for the bravo!

This collection includes 5 previously published adventures plus an all-new full-length novel!

This campaign will be open until Friday, 1 August 2025.

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Nethereal 10th Anniversary Special Edition – a Kickstarter campaign from Brian Niemeier 

We’re issuing a deluxe, Kickstarter exclusive edition of Nethereal to commemorate the lasting mark this unique story has made on genre fiction. 

The last son of a murdered race, fighting for revenge. 
A precision killer inspired by his captain’s dream. 
A woman like no other who longs for acceptance.

The Sublime Brotherhood of Steersmen holds the Middle Stratum in its iron grip. Jaren Peregrine, last of the Gen, raids across fringe space with Nakvin—his best pilot and only friend—her apprentice Deim, and mercenary Teg Cross.

Hunted by the ruthless Master Malachi, Jaren and his crew join a conspiracy to break the Guild’s monopoly with an experimental ship. But when its maiden voyage goes awry, the Exodus flies farther off course than its crew could have imagined. 

Jaren must contend with the powers of Hell to save himself and his crew. But can he face the soul-crushing truth that entwines them?

This campaign will be open until Friday, 25 July 2025.

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Steelhearts – a Kickstarter campaign from Joseph Chaput

From the imaginations of five contributors to the fantasy fiction community on Substack come tales of wonder, terror, love, and courage, whether in the face of overwhelming odds or fear of the unknown:

A young man bereft of kin and hope braves subterranean horrors and ancient evils in the fae world.

The lords of humanity’s last refuge plunge into battle against an infinite horde of ravenous orcs.

Two brothers stalk winged fiends through the primitive jungle in a hunt for vengeance.

A young woman must choose between her life of protected seclusion and the perils of love and prophecy.

The fate of a treachery-ridden kingdom falls on a young country duke and an old wizard.

Every page of Steelhearts will stir the blood in your veins—and inspire you, too, to take up the swords of valor and truth in the face of evil.

This campaign will be open until Friday, 1 August 2025.