Netherspace
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SPACE ACCESS POINTS (SAPs)
what for a while were called “space ports”. Areas where SUTs take off and land.
UPDOWN-FIELD GENERATOR
an anti-gravity unit provided by the Gliese in a form that cannot be opened or tampered with. The generator only “elevates” an SUT in a perpendicular direction. Horizontal travel is gained by use of jet propulsion, or by sailing with the wind.
VIRTSCRIP (OR “SCRIP”)
the virtual currency originally developed by intergalactic corporations for purposes of trade. At a time when many colony worlds and city states have their own currency, virtscrip has become the default one. Rates of exchange are fixed quarterly (Earth years) by three heavily defended AIs located in the Asteroid Belt. These AIs represent EarthCent; major corporations; and the colony worlds. They also oversee the settlement of intergalactic banking and trade deals. There have been numerous outside attempts to fix the exchange rates, either with false data or a computer virus. None have succeeded. Many of the people who tried are dead.
WILD, THE
politically amorphous and ambiguous areas between the city states. The Wild is usually populated by those people who do not follow orders well, don’t like AIs and/or prefer a libertarian existence. City staters may visit out of curiosity. Many never return. It is known that the Wild trades independently with aliens and, via the free spacers, with the colony worlds. GalDiv is powerless to prevent this, but likes to pretend it can.
WORLDMESH
the loose affiliation of city state AIs that allows the free flow of data around the world as well as negotiating trade agreements and facilitating currency transfers.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
ANDREW LANE is the author of twenty-nine books and multiple short stories, television scripts and audio dramas. He is perhaps best known for his Young Sherlock series, which has sold to forty-two countries. He has also written three well-reviewed adult crime novels under a pseudonym, the first of which has been optioned as a US TV series. He is currently writing another series featuring Doyle’s Professor Challenger. He lives in Dorset.
NIGEL FOSTER began as an advertising copywriter, first in the UK and then North America. He moved on to television and radio factual programming before co-founding a successful movie magazine. Back in the UK highlights include developing and launching OK! Magazine; an international non-fiction bestseller about the Royal Marines Commandos; and six of the most popular Bluffer’s Guides, worldwide.
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KOKO TAKES A HOLIDAY
KIERAN SHEA
Five hundred years from now, ex-corporate mercenary Koko Martstellar is swaggering through an easy early retirement as a brothel owner on a tropical resort island. Koko finds the most challenging part of her day might be deciding on her next drink. That is, until her old comrade Portia Delacompte sends a squad of security personnel to murder her.
“A jet-powered, acid-fueled trip of
pure, rocking insanity.”
Stephen Blackmoore
“Breakneck pace… great fun.”
Booklist (starred review)
“Altered Carbon with a dash of
Tank Girl attitude.”
Library Journal
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KOKO THE MIGHTY
KIERAN SHEA
Koko Martstellar (ex-corporate mercenary) and Jedidiah Flynn (depressed former sky-cop) are back running a saloon/brothel on The Sixty Islands—the world’s most violent and decadent resort. But when bounty agent Jackie Wire comes to collect the price on Koko’s head, it’s time for her and Flynn to make tracks. Things only go from bad to worse for our heroes... but, hey, that’s the 26th Century for you. Buckle up, buttercup. Only the mighty survive.
“[A] futuristic wild ride.”
Booklist (starred review)
“A vivid and brutal old-school (in the best sense)
cyberpunk headkick.”
Richard Kadrey, New York Times bestselling
author of the Sandman Slim series
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THE RACE
NINA ALLAN
A child is kidnapped with consequences that extend across worlds… A writer reaches into the past to discover the truth about a possible murder… Far away a young woman prepares for her mysterious future…
In a future scarred by fracking and ecological collapse, Jenna Hoolman lives in the coastal town of Sapphire. Her world is dominated by the illegal sport of smartdog racing: greyhounds genetically modified with human DNA. When her young niece goes missing that world implodes… Christy’s life is dominated by fear of her brother, a man she knows capable of monstrous acts and suspects of hiding even darker ones. Desperate to learn the truth she contacts Alex, a stranger she knows only by name, and who has his own demons to fight… And Maree, a young woman undertaking a journey that will change her world forever.
“Every now and then, a debut novel knocks you
blind… The Race will, as the best action should,
have your compass spinning.”
Strange Horizons
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NEW POMPEII
DANIEL GODFREY
In the race to control renewable power, an energy giant stumbles on a controversial technology: the ability to transport matter from the deep past. Their biggest secret is New Pompeii, a replica city filled with Romans, pulled through time just before the volcanic eruption. Nick Houghton doesn’t know why he’s been chosen to be the company’s historical advisor. He’s just excited to be there. Until he starts to wonder what happened to his predecessor. Until he realizes that the company has more secrets than even the conspiracy theorists suspect. Until he realizes that they have underestimated their captives…
“That rare science fiction novel that reads
like a thriller. Astonishing.”
Alan Smale, Sidewise Award winner
“Impressive. In the tradition of Michael Crichton
and Philip K. Dick.”
Gareth L. Powell, BSFA Award winner
“Smart, inventive and action-packed.”
Tom Harper, bestselling author of The Lost Temple
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VIRTUES OF WAR
BENNETT R. COLES
Lieutenant Katja Emmes is assigned to the fast-attack craft Rapier, joining a mission to investigate weapons smuggling activity between the Terran colonies of Sirius and Centauria. If true, this act of rebellion could escalate rapidly, and lead to all-out war.
When combat does erupt, its ferocity stuns the Terran forces, and pushes them to their limits. It tests the abilities of Lieutenant Emmes, as well, along with Sublieutenant Jack Mallory and Lieutenant Commander Thomas Kane, commanding officer of the Rapier. But failure is not acceptable.
They must defeat the enemy… by whatever
means necessary.
“Coles writes with veracity, with a delicious
streak of subversion.
For anyone in the hunt for top-notch military SF.”
Steven Erikson, New York Times bestselling
author of Gardens of the Moon
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