Showing results by author "Joe Vasicek" in All Categories

The ultimate voyage of discovery ends with the truth about yourself. Michael Anderson never thought he would set foot on an Earthlike world. Born on the farthest edge of the solar system, he studies planets from afar. But when his parents open a wormhole and discover signs of intelligent life on the other side, Michael is the only planetologist young enough to voyage to the alien star. He is not alone, but Terra, his sole mission partner, is no more of an adult than he is. Soon after their arrival, she begins keeping secrets from him. But she doesn't realize that her darkest secret is one ...

They wander the stars in search of a home. Finding it will change them forever. The Outworlds: an endless frontier of uncharted systems and unexplored planets. A vast, unsettled stretch of space where generations can pass without outside contact. Torn from their homes by failure and famine, drawn to the stars by fortune and faith, a band of unlikely friends must navigate a universe of pirates, empires, and pioneers as they strive to build a future on the Outworld frontier. Star Wanderers is the first book in the Outworld Trilogy, an epic far-future space opera. If you love authors like ...

Honor, love, and destiny clash in an interstellar empire that has forgotten its holiest legend: the story of Earth. He is sheikh’s sole heir, a young man raised by desert tribesmen after falling from the stars. She is the sheikh’s most beautiful daughter, promised his hand in marriage—but only if she can convince him to stay. Together, they must travel to a land where glass covers the sky and men traverse the stars as easily as tribesmen cross the desert. At the ancient temple dedicated to the memory of Earth, they hope to find the answers that will lead them home. But the call of the...

The ultimate redemption can only be gained after you confront the past. When the scientists at Heinlein Station punched a wormhole through the stars, they created a temporal paradox with dire ramifications for the future of humanity. Now, Estee and Khalil are trapped in the product of that paradox: an ancient, alien ghost ship that has wandered the stars for millions of years, biding its time for the final day of reckoning. Her family broken and her homeworld shattered, Estee struggles to care for her younger sisters as they search for a way back home. But Khalil carries wounds of his own. ...

The ultimate truth requires you to sacrifice your innocence. Sixteen years ago, Estee's parents abandoned their scientific mission to the planet Icaria and made the new world their home. They thought it would be decades before anyone else came to this rugged, edenic paradise. They were wrong. Young, fearless, and free, the only other people Estee has ever known are her own immediate family. So when a military expedition arrives from Earth, she is innocently drawn to all the interesting new people, their large, noisy vehicles, and their strange weapons. But her parents have a secret. There ...

Only he can unlock the power—if they don’t overpower him first. After dropping out of the King’s Fleet, Samuel didn’t think he would amount to much. Though he possesses the gift of magic, he will lose it if he ever cuts his hair, giving him a disheveled appearance that makes him a social outcast. But when an ancient and secretive cult comes after him, he learns that his particular kind of magic sets him apart. An ancient lost artifact known as the tidecaller’s amulet is the key to unlocking a great evil, and Samuel is one of only a few people who can use it—or destroy it. As the...

Ten brutally honest and politically incorrect stories for times such as these! This is the second volume of the collected short stories of Joe Vasicek. It contains: The Paradox of Choice If post-birth abortions are legal, when does life actually begin? Payday A near future sci-fi thriller about the perils of a universal basic income. Utahraptors at Dawn When the meme wars are fought on the digital field of honor, no weapon is too ridiculous to be awesome. Sex, Life, and Love Under the Algorithms In a world bound by algorithms and AI, the greatest liability is the human spirit. Welcome to ...

Without redemption, there is no peace. Without forgiveness, there is no redemption. Reva never asked to be the queen of an alien-human hive mind, but she never shirked from it, either. Now, she and the survivors of Star's End share a telepathic bond that allows them to think and feel as one. But unity will not come easy. Isaac fears her growing power, and Tomas fears that if the others awake from cryo, their murderous natures will drag everyone down to their level of depravity. The only path back to civilization is held by the very same pirates who want them all dead. Gulchina commands them...

She gave up everything to keep her daughter safe. But she cannot do it alone. When Elara fled to the wilderness to raise her magically gifted daughter, she thought she had turned her back on the civilized world forever. With famine and pestilence plaguing the land, the most she dares to hope for is a lonely life on her homestead, protecting her daughter from the evil men who want to exploit her gifts. But Elara knows that they cannot hide forever. She also knows that when the evil men find them, she'll need help to protect her daughter from them. So when a grizzled and world-weary veteran ...

Not long from now, in our own Milky Way… The name's Sam Kletchka. Perhaps you've heard of me: captain of the Star Runner, military contractor for Earthfleet, and interstellar privateer. But before all that, I was a hired gun, freelancing across the galaxy one gunslinging job at a time. This, my friends, is how I went from being stranded in the armpit of the galaxy to becoming the luckiest human being in the universe. Not that it was easy, of course. I've looked death in the face so often, he's practically an old buddy of mine. But when all your worst enemies are immortal, that's a buddy ...

Only those who rise to their calling discover why they were chosen. A thousand years ago, an order of twelve magic swords kept the world at peace. Each sword had a personality, a mind, and a memory. Through the bonds they shared with their bearers, the wisdom and skill of generations was preserved. But the swords became corrupted. They turned on each other, shattering the order and plunging the world into war. The twelfth sword went into hiding until the day of prophecy, when the last sword bearer would free the world of men. That day has come, and the sword bearer of prophecy is a mere ...

Ten more stories to heal the divide between man and machine. This is the sixth volume of the collected short stories of Joe Vasicek. It includes: Quantum Worlds Will AI herald the death of human creativity, or its startling rebirth? Bloody Justice (by J.M. Wight) The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed… A Mother's Last Goodbye When the living and the dead collide, a single act of selflessness ripples across generations. The Princess and the Professor When a kingdom is terrorized by a dragon, only Jordan Peterson’s 12 Rules for Life stand between chaos and salvation. The ...

Fate has brought them across time and space, but war will drive them farther. For countless ages, Reva Starchild has slept in perfect cryostasis. Frozen in secret to escape a catastrophic death, she awakens only to find herself the sole survivor of a people whom history never remembered. Light-years from her homeworld, among a culture she finds both perverse and obscene, she must somehow build a new life for herself where misplacing her trust could be fatal. With nowhere safe to run, she finds refuge on a small starship with a mysterious young man who seems to be fleeing something as well. ...

My name is Jane Kletchka, and I'm here to set the record straight. Jane Kletchka here. By now, I'm sure you've heard how my dear husband Sam saved the Gorinal star cluster and stopped the Immortals from throwing the galaxy into chaos. Unfortunately, he didn't thwart their plans; he only accelerated them. As the galaxy fell into chaos, Earthfleet commissioned us to find out what was happening before Earth became the next planet to fall. Little did we know, it wasn't just the Immortals we had to contend with, but an enemy from beyond the Milky Way. I never expected to be out there on my own. ...

Where were you on the day the Earth disappeared? So there I was, on an awkward first date with my secret crush, when the colonies went into revolt. They nuked the moon and hijacked half of Earthfleet—and that was just the opening salvo. Then I learned that my date was one of the terrorists (or patriots, depending on your political beliefs), and I had to make a choice: join her, or spend the next few days stuffed in an EVA suit locker. I chose the former, and that's the only reason I'm still here. The name's Rex Carter. On the day the Earth disappeared, the civil war had just broken out, ...

From captive slave to star queen. Zlata always yearned to see the stars, but when a raiding party of starfaring nomads carries her off captive, she can't help but wonder if this is more than she bargained for. When their captain, Lord Khasan Valdamar, shows an unusual interest in her, Zlata quickly finds that she can leverage that to her advantage. But the more time she spends among his people, the less she wants to escape. Determined to save herself and her friend Sonya from being sold as slaves, Zlata must rely on her wits, her resourcefulness, and her Machiavellian ruthlessness to rise ...

"After Dinner Conversation" Magazine - July 2022 Acceptance: A man sinking in mud refuses help. I Never: A man of diminished mental capacity is accused of murder when he's found holding a bloody knife. Sort of Polarity: A new disease hits the earth that causes very selective blindness in humanity. Reginald's Party: A female interloper crashes an "emotions" wine tasting. Left To Lose: A young woman is tricked to trade important pieces of her life to help a rebel group. In The Beginning: A retelling of Adam and Eve's fall from grace, with a cosmic twist. Farewell, Odysseus: A genetically ...

"Everyone secretly wants to be a slave. Those who deny it simply haven't found the right master." With those words, Tamara finds herself plunged into a dark and treacherous world where she must question everything she thought she knew in order to restore her faith in humanity. Determined to rescue her sister from brutal slavery, she must decide carefully whom she can trust, because everyone has their own agenda—and not every slave wants to be free.

To boldly go where no Earthfleet Academy Xenolinguistics major has gone before. Jane Carter never thought she'd be the first human in the galaxy to be sold at an alien slave auction. As a xenolinguics major, she always wanted to explore new frontiers, but not like this. As the bid price rockets to staggering heights, it becomes increasingly clear that only one man can rescue her: the one who sold her out. Thankfully, there are alternatives to being rescued.

Those who will not work to build the new world will burn the old one. In a post-apocalyptic world where humanity teeters on the edge of extinction, one lone scout for a snowbound tribe stumbles upon a pristine dome preserving the last remnants of civilization. Frozen in perfect stasis, the survivors await the birth of the new world. But the watchers have all fled, leaving one young woman behind to keep the lonely vigil. If she leaves, the survivors will be lost—unless one of their own will take upon himself the responsibility. Unfortunately, there are only two kinds of people in the world...