Name: The Space Machine
Rating: 3.40 (755 reviews)
Author: Christopher Priest

Cast Under an Alien Sun

★ 4.16

Olan Thorensen

What if you were thrown into a foreign society, never to see home again? What would you do and could you survive?

A story science fiction in premise, adventure in execution. A cross-genre adventure with elements of science fiction, history, hard science, epic fantasy, time travel, romance, alien contact, and space colonization.

Joe Colsco boarded a flight from San Francisco to Chicago to attend a national chemistry meeting. He would never set foot on Earth again.

On planet Anyar, Joe is found unconscious on a beach of a large island inhabited by humans where the level of technology is similar to Earth circa 1700. He awakes amidst strangers speaking an unintelligible language, and struggles to accept losing his previous life and finding a place in a society with different customs, needing a way to support himself, and not knowing a single soul. His worry about finding a place is assuaged when he finds ways to apply his knowledge of chemistry—as long as he is circumspect in introducing new knowledge not too far in advance of the planet’s technology and being labelled a demon.

As he adjusts, Joe finds that he has be dropped into a developing clash between the people who cared for him, and for whom he develops an affinity, and a military power from elsewhere on the planet, a power with designs on conquest.

Unaware, Joseph Colsco has been poured into a crucible, where time and trials will transform him in ways he could never have imagined.

The Lady Astronomer

★ 3.64

Katy O'Dowd

Lucretia's quiet life as an astronomer and hat-maker is quickly turned on its head by her brother. He is commanded by the king to build the grandest telescope in the land. Unfortunately for Lucretia, she is introduced to his majesty as her brother's assistant. Her nights spent on rooftops gazing at the stars are replaced by adventure and danger. In a race to build the Forty-foot telescope on time for the king, her misfortunes take their toll. When Lucretia finds herself held hostage at the Clockwork Court, the innocent country girl doesn't know who to trust. The lady astronomer finds court life to be more dangerous than she could have ever imagined. Even if her brothers manage to build the telescope on time, she might not live to earn her freedom.

With the help of her brothers, Freddie and Al, and her constant companions Leibniz the Lemur and Orion the Eagle Owl, Lucretia embarks on a journey that could change her life forever. Can she find the strength inside to balance her new life and overcome the obstacles threatening her destiny? Only the stars will tell.

* * *
Special Note:
We are proud to publish our first novel from an author who lives outside of North America. Katy hails from Ireland. When reading this novel, please keep in mind that English is not spelled the same everywhere! Because she is from Ireland and her characters also dwell in Europe, we maintained her uses and spellings. Enjoy!

The Sisters of Saint Nicola of The Almost Perpetual Motion vs the Lurch

★ 3.92

Garth Nix

A new short story from Garth Nix, best-selling author of the Old Kingdom series.

In this raucous, steampunk tale a sacred order of scientist nuns battle against vicious Invaders from Mars and their murderous machines in an ongoing conflict that has lasted centuries.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The Aunt Paradox

★ 4.11

Chris Dolley

HG Wells has a problem. His Aunt Charlotte has borrowed his time machine and won’t give it back. Now she’s rewriting history!

Reggie Worcester, gentleman’s consulting detective, and his automaton valet, Reeves, are hired to retrieve the time machine and put the timeline back together. But things get complicated. Dead bodies start piling up behind Reggie’s sofa, as he finds himself embroiled in an ever-changing murder mystery. A murder mystery where facts can be rewritten, and the dead don’t always stay dead.

This 100 page novella is the third instalment in the Reeves and Worcester Steampunk Mysteries.

"A fun blend of P.G. Wodehouse, steampunk and a touch of Sherlock Holmes. Dolley is a master at capturing and blending all these elements. More than fascinating, this work is also rip-roaring fun!" - SF Revu

El mapa del caos

★ 4.03

Félix J. Palma

Cuando la persona que más ama muere trágicamente, el protagonista de esta historia hará todo lo posible para hablar con ella una última vez. Necesita confesarle el secreto que le atormenta y no se atrevió a contarle en vida.

En el Londres victoriano, en pleno apogeo del espiritismo, una sesión con el mejor médium de la historia se presenta como la única solución, pero en ella se desencadenarán fuerzas más terribles de lo que nadie podía imaginar. El mundo entero está en peligro, y su salvación reside en las páginas de un misterioso libro titulado El mapa del Caos. Si nuestro protagonista no lo recupera, jamás podrá llegar hasta la persona amada, pues incluso el Más Allá dejará de existir.

Pero no estará solo en esta aventura. Contará con la inestimable ayuda de Arthur Conan Doyle, el padre de Sherlock Holmes, de Lewis Carroll, el autor de Alicia en el País de las Maravillas, y por supuesto de H. G. Wells, cuyo Hombre Invisible tal vez haya escapado de las páginas de su famosa novela, para sembrar el terror entre los hombres. Solo ellos pueden descubrir la forma de salvar el mundo. Solo ellos pueden encontrar el camino para reunir a los amantes separados por la muerte. El camino a través de los espejos…

El mapa del Caos es una aventura trepidante, en la que el autor, con la magistral escritura y el fino humor al que nos tiene acostumbrados, mezcla amores imposibles, acción a raudales, fantasmas verdaderos y mediums falsos, en un explosivo coctel que atrapará a los lectores de todo el mundo. O como diría el misterioso narrador de esta novela, de todos los mundos posibles.

The Mercy of Gods

★ 4.16

James S.A. Corey

How humanity came to the planet called Anjiin is lost in the fog of history, but that history is about to end. The Carryx – part empire, part hive – have waged wars of conquest for centuries, destroying or enslaving species across the galaxy. Now, they are facing a great and deathless enemy. The key to their survival may rest with the humans of Anjiin.

Caught up in academic intrigue and affairs of the heart, Dafyd Alkhor is pleased just to be an assistant to a brilliant scientist and his celebrated research team. Then the Carryx ships descend, decimating the human population and taking the best and brightest of Anjiin society away to serve on the Carryx homeworld, and Dafyd is swept along with them. They are dropped in the middle of a struggle they barely understand, set in a competition against the other captive species with extinction as the price of failure.

Only Dafyd and a handful of his companions see past the Darwinian contest to the deeper game that they must play to learning to understand – and manipulate – the Carryx themselves. With a noble but suicidal human rebellion on one hand and strange and murderous enemies on the other, the team pays a terrible price to become the trusted servants of their new rulers. Dafyd Alkhor is a simple man swept up in events that are beyond his control and more vast than his imagination. He will become the champion of humanity and its betrayer, the most hated man in history and the guardian of his people. This is where his story begins.

The Prince Has No Pants

★ 4.06

Matthew Howry

A comedy.

All life on Earth has been stolen away by The System, transported to another world at the behest of a distant galactic empire, who lived in terror of humanity's potential.

Ben was a normal, slightly above average man, and had been about to go on the first real vacation of his adult life. Now he must contend with danger and mystery in a world of monsters, magic and treasure, armed with nothing but his wits, and the special item given to him by The System.

This is his adventure.

Welcome to The World.

The Monster In The Mist

★ 3.91

Andrew Mayne

It's 1890 and the citizens of Boston are beginning to go missing in the fog.

The police are confounded. The public is frightened. The city is on the edge of hysteria.

It's up to the mysterious Smith, inventor and adventurer, to figure out what's going on with the help of his assistant, April Malone. They'll have to face off against a secret society, corrupt policemen and a mad psychologist hell-bent on dissecting Smith, in order to solve the mystery of what's going on and to save the city from an even more sinister threat.

It’s the first story of Smith, a hard science fiction time traveler with more than a enough quirk to last him several centuries.

A fast-paced 45,000 word tale of scientific adventure combines elements of DOCTOR WHO, SHERLOCK HOLMES and TONY STARK set against turn-of-the-century Boston’s soot-stained streets.

The Space Machine

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