Today is the fourth and final Self Published Sci-Fi Saturday, and it’s been a pleasure to introduce you to some new authors, and hopefully add plenty of reading material to your TBRs! Here are the previous posts, do check them out if you missed any: Week #1, Week #2, Week #3. With this final installment, I want to give a big thanks to all the authors who participated. I will also be including links to all these posts in my SciFiMonth wrap up on Monday.
S.R. Algernon
Warming Season (Cygnus #1)
On Cygnus, a moon of exoplanet 16 Cygni Bb, long icy winters give way to summers hot enough to melt lead.
For 365 years, Cygnus has fallen short of its founders’ vision of a crucible for a new humanity. Interstellar travel has withered. Corruption, stagnation and violence have left Cygnus teetering on the brink of collapse. This Winter’s End, the vestiges of hope survive in the darkest places. An inventor lies dead in an icy alleyway. In the right hands, his prototype has the power to transform Cygnus, and perhaps save it… but whose hands are those?
Cygnan Power Corporation, which has sustained – or corrupted – Cygnus for three centuries?
The rebel Peng-lai movement, which aims to restore Cygnus to its founding ideals?
Fixer Jimmy Fergus, who wants the prototype for himself and is willing to fan the flames of revolution to obtain it?
Officer Deepankar Varanasi vows to thwart Jimmy Fergus and the rebels. Can he keep the fabric of Cygnus from unraveling before his world goes up in flames?
Buy the book: Amazon
Find S.R.: Website
C.G. Hatton
The Thieves’ Guild Series
No one messes with the Thieves’ Guild. Except someone just did. Blackmail, murder, betrayal and the highest bounty in history set the Thieves’ Guild at the centre of a conflict that sparks a galaxy-wide war. And that’s just the beginning… problem is, it’s not the war anyone was expecting.
Starting with Residual Belligerence (which is free to download in all eBook formats), the Thieves’ Guild series is renowned for fast-paced action adventure scifi. There are six books in the main series so far, as well as two in the YA Origins series which add in to the main story. The latest Origins book, the third in the series, is due out in 2021,
and the next in the main series, Book Seven, is due out after that…
Buy the books: Free on Amazon | Free on Apple Books | Harvey Duckman Presents on Amazon
CG HATTON is a scifi writer, editor and publisher based in the North-East of England. She has a PhD in geology and a background in journalism, As well as writing the Thieves’ Guild series, she also edits the Harvey Duckman Presents series of scifi, fantasy, steampunk and horror short story anthologies. She loves meringue, supports Tottenham Hotspur (through thick and thin), drinks rum and listens to Linkin Park, has climbed active volcanoes, walked on the Great Wall of China and been mugged in Brazil. She is married with two young daughters and is currently working on the next book in the Thieves’ Guild series.
Find CG: Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Bookbub | Instagram | Pinterest | Linkedin | Amazon
Al Hess
Mazarin Blues (Hep Cats of Boise #1)
Introvert Reed Rothwell is part of a subculture of art deco era enthusiasts, pushing back against bland mainstream society and its mandated technology. Stuck with an AI assistant in his head is bad enough, but when he’s inflicted with a forced upgrade to a new beta version, named Mazarin, the navigator starts to take on feelings and opinions of his own.
When rumors spread of beta navs turning on their pilots, Reed is determined not to become a victim. Mazarin hasn’t become violent yet—the AI is sympathetic and understanding—but with beta participants coerced into slitting their own throats, it’s only a matter of time before Reed is next.
The AI megacorporation already has an unhealthy interest in Reed, and all the beta testers who have sought help for their navigators have disappeared. The swingin’ cats of the deco scene have the means to illegally terminate Reed’s AI. But Mazarin has never tried to harm Reed—he loves Reed.
Grappling with ridding himself of intrusive technology, the morality of hurting his self-aware AI, and avoiding the attention of a company that wants to sweep Reed’s existence under the rug might be too much for one hep cat to handle.
Sable Dark (Hep Cats of Boise #2)
Mazarin has everything an AI could want: a hep holographic body, a joyfriend she’s dizzy for, and asylum from Wave, the shady AI megacorporation that once held her captive. In their clutches, she’d been confined to the anxious brain of her host, Reed, serving as his navigator. Now separate, they enjoy a friendship and the knowledge that Wave’s lead engineer, Phil Rice, who terrorized them for months, is locked away in a court-ordered hospital stay.
But when Rice escapes, Reed’s stress skyrockets. Though Mazarin is no longer in Reed’s brain, their connection lingers, and she can’t resist the desire to stick close and protect them both from Wave. If Rice abducts Reed, it means certain death, and there’s no telling what the megacorp would do to Mazarin if she’s captured.
Reed’s sudden nosebleeds, paranoia, and skewed sense of perception lead Maz to believe more is at play than his galactic anxiety. With Rice on the loose, she can’t be too careful. Desperate for a solution to Reed’s deteriorating health, Mazarin risks her safety venturing into the company of untrustworthy AI, decoist gangsters, and even Wave themselves, to find help for her beloved pilot before it’s too late.
Buy the books: Amazon – Book #1 | Amazon – Book #2
AL HESS lives in the middle of the Nevada desert, and when not hunched before a computer screen, can be found hunched over an art desk.
Author of the post-apocalyptic Travelers Series and the 1930s flavored dystopian series, Hep Cats of Boise, Al writes cozy and uplifting stories in normally gritty genres.
Find Al: Website | Amazon | Goodreads | Twitter
N.A. Rossi
Rockstar Ending
London. 2027. An ordinary woman discovers she is capable of extraordinary things. When Lexi finds out people are being coerced into genocide by stealth, she vows to take on the sinister corporation behind the ultimate Rockstar Ending.
It’s hard to resist their invitation to a pain-free suicide with a glamorous spin, a seductive soundtrack, and a killer inheritance tax exemption. After her best friend’s mother books a one-way ticket, Lexi sets out on a rescue mission that takes her deep into the heart of the death factory. How can an unconventional band of unlikely heroes stop the killing – before it’s all too late?
Rockstar Ending is the first book in a chilling dystopian series that will get you thinking about the social and political dilemmas that overshadow the 2020s. If you are a fan of speculative fiction such as Nineteen Eighty-Four, The Handmaid’s Tale and Black Mirror you’ll love this book.
‘If her predictions come true, we’re all in deep trouble.’ Christopher Fowler
‘An all-too persuasive vision of the future.’ The Idler
‘A disturbing story.’ Fortean Times
Buy the book: Buy link for multiple outlets
Award-winning author N. A. (NICOLA) ROSSI has lived in London most of her life, moving there from the seaside town of Southport in the early ‘80s. After university she flirted briefly with journalism, and then began a 30-year career in communications management, eventually running international teams for big technology companies.
In 2017 she earned an MA in Digital Media from Goldsmiths University. That was when the trouble began. She started to write about surveillance, data ownership, consent and the potential for people to be manipulated without their knowledge.
Her debut novel, Rockstar Ending, started life as a short story, ‘One Last Gift’, which won a dystopian fiction award from the Orwell Society. The judges described it as ‘highly original, macabre and very funny’. It was published in the Journal of Orwell Studies.
Nicola is a regular blogger on technology, society and the arts. She has lectured in universities on leadership, PR, ethics and sustainability. Her media appearances include BBC Radio 4 Today, BBC local radio, and she has written for numerous media outlets including The Independent, Time Out, Louder Than War and Influence. She lives in south east London with her husband and two adult children.
Mazarin Blues is going on my tbr! Thanks for introducing me!
I’m glad you found something that sounds good:-)
I love the sound of Mazarin Blues! What a great premise – I also love the sound of the Thieves Guild, too:)). This has been a wonderful meme, Tammy – thank you!
I’ve had a lot of fun, it’s nice to know there are lots of self published sci fi authors out there.
Damn… Rockstar Ending has such a cool cover!
Stephanie @ Bookfever recently posted…Blog Tour | Review: Charming Co-Worker by Jeannine Colette & Lauren Runow
I agree! It’s very well done.
These all look interesting. Really intrigued by Rockstar Ending. Thanks for highlighting these!
That cover grabs you, doesn’t it?
Another interesting mix here. The Thieves’ Guild Series sounds intriguing. That’s a trope I’ve always enjoyed (grew up with Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, granted not sci-fi).
This is a nice mix of different stories:-)
This was a great feature, hope it makes its return next year!
It was a ton of work, but I would like to do it again:-)
Mazarine Blues and The Thieves’s Guild series seem intriguing!! Thanks for sharing!!
It’s a really cool segment, thank you for doing it!
Rockstar Ending has such an amazing cover! 😀
Maryam recently posted…Sci-fi Month Wrap-Up & December Reading Plans
That cover for Rockstar Ending is superb.
And I echo what Mogsy said. This has been a fantasy series of posts that I hope you do again next year.
Lynn