Readers' Choice 2023 - Science Fiction - Stories

Arad Ansari is a homeless street slug in the Grey District A-5 colony. Work is hard to come by and he has to compete with the animal/human hybrids called DemiShou, forcing him to make his way in less than savory methods. Getting off-planet sounds like a godsend, but fate has a way of complicating the best opportunities of a man with little luck.

The world had ended in the middle of the night. For Richie Kincannon and a small group of young survivors, it was the beginning of a struggle for life, against an unknown force that had altered their world, seemingly forever. Now, two years after the Changes, the group must once again fight for their right to life, against an enemy of incredible ability - one they didn't understand, but knew once had been human...

Facing a life-changing medical procedure, 14 year old Shay approaches it with the same detachment, confusion and dread that has haunted his emotions for as long as he can recall. Yet what follows instead is something that he could not have anticipated in his craziest dreams, and everything he knows is about to change forever.

Stolen from the lab that created him and crushed under the overwhelming guilt of the death of a beloved uncle, Casey seeks what little peace he can in the only place that accepts him--the ocean. Arriving at his family's old cottage, Shawn senses something odd about his neighbors--Martin outright tells him to f-off and the young Casey is terrified of his uncle's retribution. Shawn's determined to get beneath the currents of Casey's fears and find the man he knows is hiding there

Wirrin shares his life with two friends on one of the great space habitats.This story is part of -Tales of the Terran Diaspora.

Ryker thought he volunteered for an experiment that would help his government in a war against an alien planet. He didn't know he would become the experiment, or that he'd end up on a planet full of aliens that killed humans on sight. He wasn't exactly human anymore though.

Sergeant Liam Jacks has made a life for himself on the cargo vessel the Santa Claus to escape the memories on civil unrest on Alpha Centauri.

Life should be simple enough, but one mysterious passenger can unravel the quiet in ways he hadn't imagined.

***NOMINATED FOR BEST PROMISING AUTHOR STORY IN THE 2013 READERS CHOICE AWARDS***

Kyle does not want to leave his home behind, but he has no choice. He is assigned to a remote scientific outpost on the planet Tantalus where he meets Jim, the xenobiologist in charge of researching the indigenous species. Almost as soon as he arrives, though, strange things start happening. Things that could compromise Kyle's future, or even his life...

A lone man picks up a battle standard cast down three hundred years before. beginning a journey that will lead him to find the lost fleet, and a forgotten ship at the edge of nowhere. Darien Taine must accept his role, guiding his crew on the long road to free their people from Amsus tyranny. Uncovering along the way the sins that led to humanity's downfall, and reforging alliances long thought forgotten. Three hundred years of slavery, of persecution and of tyranny are at an end.

Alex Walker is your average Kid, he loves computers and conspiracy theories. On a normal Saturday, he and his brother are wrenched from their lives and hidden in an underground bunker for six months. Alex must find out why he and the other children have been put down there and survive to emerge from the bunker. With strange happenings and a saboteur, Alex has his hands full with the group of teens he must now lead.