Lost intergalactic secrets, interstellar pit stops, and heavy metal sword & sorcery fill this week’s list of new releases.

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Awaken Online: Hellion – Travis Bagwell

Jason’s back! And he’s ready for some revenge!

Roughly a month has passed in-game since Thorn’s attack on the Twilight Throne. In that time, the dark city has managed to recover and rebuild – growing the ranks of Original Sin at the same time.

Which is good, because that brief respite is over. The Avatar of Flame has risen within the depths of the northern desert and has thrown down a digital gauntlet to Jason – with a gate piece hanging in the balance. Even worse? His opponent is none other than Finn Harris, the ‘father of modern AI.’ The same man that may have been behind Thorn’s attack on the Twilight Throne.

And in the wake of recent events – the committee hearing back in the real world and the attack on his people – Jason is no longer content to just react; to wallow in the safety of his kingdom. If he’s to be painted the villain… well, then it’s long past time he fully embraced that role.

Because now it’s personal. And there’ll be no holding back…

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The Chronicles of Caylen-Tor Volume II – Byron A. Roberts 

The Wolf of the North Returns!

Caylen-Tor, the mightiest warrior of a savage, time-lost age surges back into the fray, carving an ensanguined path to his grim destiny in a new collection of thrilling sword & sorcery tales by famed Bal-Sagoth vocalist/lyricist Byron A. Roberts.

From the desolate deserts of a war-torn empire to the shadow-haunted forests of the northern clans, join the legendary Lord of Wolves as he pits his strength, his courage and his cold, hard steel against a legion of fearsome foes, ultimately facing the malefic avatars of the Elder Darkness at the ersatz heart of the Hollow Earth!

All hail Caylen-Tor…

Mercenary, corsair, warlord, king!

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Erebus Dawning (Seven Stars Saga #1) – A. J. Super

Everyone wants the Star of Erebus. Space-pirate Nyx Marcus is no exception. With it, she can prove to her father that she is worthy of his legacy.

But she’s come up empty-handed aboard the space-ship Thanatos and now Malcam, her father’s First Officer, is mutinying. As Nyx flees with a loyal skeleton crew, she discovers that the planet-killing weapon, named after one of the seven gods, is more than what it seems.

Erebus isn’t a simple weapon. It’s an ancient AI and a technological god.

With the oppressive Queen of the Protectorate and new pirate captain Malcam searching for the Thanatos and Erebus, the AI god has more surprises for Nyx. Waking dormant AI code in Nyx’s blood, Erebus reveals they are family and Nyx is the head of the Seven Stars pantheon. Now Nyx must learn to control her power without sacrificing her own humanity or give her enemies a new way to oppress the known universe and lose the family she holds dear.

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Junkyard Veterans (Junkyard Pirate #4) – Jamie McFarlane

With a price on their heads, grumpy old vets will risk everything to bring alien assassins to justice.

Someone is killing off the old team of vets who repelled Earth’s first Korgul invasion. With the end of a war precious few even knew was happening, life’s been peaceful. Of course, Albert Jenkins isn’t a bit surprised when that peace is shattered by the sounds of rocket propelled grenades fired over the Georgia swamps. To make matters worse, when he reports the alien’s foiled attack to the Army, he’s ordered to keep things quiet and stop causing trouble.

The problem is AJ has only one gear and avoiding trouble isn’t in his makeup. So instead of sitting around and waiting for the next RPG to be tossed his way, he takes to the stars and starts tracking bounty hunters the only way he knows how – up close and personal.

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The Lost Secret (Lost Starship Series #14) – Vaughn Heppner

Long ago, the Builders ruled the stars, using a unique super-science to create marvels and wonders. But the Builders vanished—no one knows why—leaving many of their treasures hidden throughout the galaxy.

Now, Captain Maddox and arrogant New Men learn about the fabled Library Planet. Legend holds it’s an ancient repository of Builder knowledge. The side that plunders the planetary vaults first will surely become the premier power in the Orion Spiral Arm.

The race is on, but with many unforeseen dangers including deadly ghost-ships, possible time-travelers and cunning spies—others desire what lies inside the Library Planet.

This will prove a desperate struggle as puny humans led by Captain Maddox try to wrench an advantage for Star Watch, and as a grim menace of unparalleled horror slowly unfolds before them.

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Paragon (Cade Korbin Chronicles #3) – Jasper T. Scott

Cade Korbin is playing for keeps this time. If he doesn’t find a way to eliminate Nadine Zabelle once and for all, she will be the death of him and everyone he cares about.

Armed with a suit of armor from the long-dead Priors and a mysterious sample of sentient, self-replicating nano bots, he accidentally discovers what killed the Priors—

Omnipotence.

But Nadine isn’t an easy woman to reach, and she’s determined to break Cade along the way.

But the shocking truth of what lies beyond the Gateway could spell the end for everyone else. Ultimately, Cade will have to choose between using his newfound power to save the people who matter most to him, or saving the innocent multitudes who will die if he doesn’t intervene.

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StoryHack Action & Adventure #7 – edited by Bryce Beattie

StoryHack is back with another batch of thrilling stories in a variety of genres. StoryHack is a short fiction magazine heavily inspired by the great pulps of yesteryear.

After discovering a human upon a worn-torn planet, an alien commander is betrayed by an ambitious underling.

How do you catch a criminal who uses magic to erase the memory of the item he stole?

Muriel gave her voice to marry her true love and gain a human soul. But has it cost her more than she can pay?

The search for a missing archeologist on a long-dead planet leads the Last Star Warden into conflict with an ancient galactic threat, and may uncover the origins of the human race.

A selfish diversion to the Martian desert attracts some outlaw trouble — and leads to a revelation in the hills!

…and more.

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The Voidburned Queen (Zack Lancestrom #2) – D. J. Bodden

A broken ship. A legacy tainted. A path into the dark.

Zack’s crew survived running a Federal Fleet blockade only to fall into the clutches of an unscrupulous space captain. They have minutes to take over a ship three times the size of their shuttle before they get marched out of an airlock, and they’re outnumbered eight to one. To make matters worse, the ship is carrying cargo for the biggest criminal organization in the star cluster, the Venturi Cartel, and no one has crossed them and lived.

Not every problem can be solved with a gun. The Federal Fleet is still after them. The Cartel is everywhere. Their AI has been infected with a deadly virus, and the planet they’re heading toward is suffering from not one but two pandemics.

The simplest thing would be to give Desdemona Venturi what she wants, but this time she picked a fight with the wrong crew.

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Hoopee Do (Bob and Nikki #16) – Jerry Boyd

Bob thought he was doing fine on his own. Then the love of his life fell out of the sky.

It turns out that strange saucers have strange people flying them. The new fella’s attitude makes things hard, and the crew has their work cut out for them, to get along with him. Finding a nice, clean planet makes it all worthwhile. Come see how the folks at Bob’s Saucer Repair fix this one up.