NP Novellas Volume 1 through 12
Eric Brown - David Gullen - Paul di Filippo - Tim Major - Hari Sperring - Emma Coleman - Daniel Bennett - Ida Keogh - Stephen Deas
Mark West - Stewart Hotston - Emma K. Leadley
An Exciting new series of high calibre fiction in concentrated narratives from some of the most accomplished writers around.
Universal Language (The Airlocked Room Mystery) - Tim Major
Tim Major launches the new line of independent novellas with a short novel (44,300 words) that presents an intriguing murder mystery, paying homage to Asimov’s seminal robot stories and also to the classic detective tale.
Investigator Abbey Oma is dispatched to a remote and failing Martian colony tasked with solving the murder of scientist Jerem Ferrer. The killing took place in an airlock-sealed lab, and the only possible culprit is a robot incapable of harming humans...
Abbey soon discovers the case is by no means as open and shut as she might have hoped, with political and commercial interests at stake and local resentments threatening both her work and her very life.
Abbey soon discovers the case is by no means as open and shut as she might have hoped, with political and commercial interests at stake and local resentments threatening both her work and her very life.
Worldshifter - Paul Di Filippo
Inventive high-octane SF reminiscent of Jack Vance at his best in its sweep and imagination, but wholly Di Filippo in its execution.
Klom is a big, simple man who works in the salvage yards on the planet Asperna as a shipbreaker. One day, while deep in the bowels of an antique ship, Klom discovers an active organic stasis pod. He splits it open and out tumbles a large quadruped that seems friendly, harmless, but non-sapient. Klom adopts it as a pet and names it Tugger. Little does he imagine the deadly danger Tugger represents.
Klom is forced into a desperate chase across the stars, encountering many colourful worlds and cultures, as the most powerful beings in the galaxy hunt him down and vie for the secrets he has unwittingly discovered.
May Day - Emma Coleman
Emma Coleman, whose first published short story caught Ellen Datlow's eye and was included in the recommended reading list in Year’s Best Horror, makes her long-form debut with this, the third of our stand alone novella series.
May is just seventeen when the factory goes up, killing her parents and her sister in their home. In a split second May has been rendered an orphan.
The war is at its height and May has no option but to relocate to the country, moving in with her father’s sister, a strict churchgoing woman who never did approve of May’s mum with her heathen ways. Despite Aunt Celia’s disapproval, May continues to practice the superstitions her mum drummed into her.
Until the one time she doesn’t; at which point something dark and deadly arises and proceeds to invade her life, determined to claim her as its own...
Requem For An Astronaut - Daniel Bennett
Established short fiction writer Daniel Bennett makes his NewCon Press debut with this, the fourth volume in their NP Novella series: an intriguing SF adventure set in a dystopian near future.
Thirty years ago, Joan Kaminsky disappeared during a test flight of an experimental spacecraft powered by alien technology. Now, the glowing figure of Joan has begun to appear in the skies above East City, becoming a focus for the anti-tech cults that wage war beyond the city walls.
After abandoning the city and relocating to the badlands, Bart, a scientist who knew Joan and had worked on the experimental space programme, determines to solve the mystery of what happened, convinced that her manifestations are not random. When a young woman, Cal, arrives on his doorstep following an attack on a nearby organ farm, Bart has no idea of the danger she represents, nor that the encounter will bring him closer to solving the puzzle of the missing astronaut and her enigmatic reappearances.
Rose Knot - Karl Sperring
The fifth entry in Newcon Press' novella series is presented by historian and award-winning fantasy author Kari Sperring. Set in the same Arthurian milieu as the excellent Serpent Rose (NewCon Press, 2019), Rose Knot once again delivers a powerful, richly textured tale featuring some of the lesser known members of King Arthur’s court. The sons of Lot, the Orkney royal family.
Following the violent death of their mother, Gaheris finds himself the reluctant focus of sibling tensions and squabbles; the suspicion of guilt hangs over him, not least because he will offer no explanation or defence. When Gaheris is tasked with escorting his brother’s wife, Llinos, home from court, neither suspect the tragic consequences that will result, as they lose their way and become stranded within an enchanting and beguiling forest.
Told by Llinos of Kinkenadron, wife to Sir Gareth of Orkney, this is a gripping saga of love, infidelity, loyalty, misguided intentions and the price of nobility.
On Arcturus VII - Eric Brown
This, the sixth entry in Newcon's novella series, is the latest creation of award-winning author Eric Brown. On Arcturus VII is a fabulous slice of planetary romance, traditional in style but wholly contemporary in its delivery.
Former pilot and planetary pioneer Jonathan James is tempted out of retirement by an offer he can’t refuse. It means going back to the one place he vowed never to return to: Arcturus Seven. A Closed Planet; a hothouse world where every plant and animal is hell-bent on killing and consuming you; the place that cost him the life of the only woman he has ever truly loved.
Jonathan knows the wealthy tycoon seeking to recruit him cannot be trusted, but he has no choice. If he doesn’t do it, someone else will, and Arcturus Seven has a secret, one which must never be disclosed, so Jonathan accepts the mission even though it means facing memories he has spent years denying.
A sparkling tale of romance, intrigue, and adventure; comforting in its setting, brilliant in its execution.
Fish! - Ida Keogh
The seventh release in our stand-alone novella series.
How does the government react when confronted with a vast influx of displaced people fleeing the horror of war? It's a dilemma that tests both resources and humanitarian commitment to the limit, but in the end will it be compassion or self-interest that prevails?
When a previously unsuspected race of Merfolk start to appear on our shores seeking respite, seeking safety, seeking asylum, how will humanity respond?
Ida Keogh, the 2021 winner of the BSFA Award for best short fiction and the British Fantasy Award for best short fiction, creates an all too believable tomorrow, one that never shies away from major issues. In a gripping tale told from multiple viewpoints, the reader is shown the full gamut of human reactions; by holding us close to each narrator, the author tells a story of grand scale in a very intimate, personal way.
FISH! is a tale of intolerance and exploitation, but also of compassion and sympathy, of rigid official policy offset by the warmth of human empathy. It is a story of prejudice and hatred, but also of understanding and love. A big story in a small book, above all this is a story of wonder.
My Mother Murdered the Moon - Stephen Deas
The eighth release in the stand alone novella series.
A tense mystery of sabotage and murder with far-reaching repercussions set upon a small space station orbiting Saturn's moon Epimetheus.
Roxy took this job to escape her past, specifically to escape her mother. That's hard to do, however, when every feed from Earth is dominated by news from the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which is determined to uncover the truth of what really happened on the fateful day of the Sea of Tranquility Massacre, when humanity's lunar colony was destroyed; the day Roxy's mother murdered the Moon.
Things start to get very real when one of her two companions - the mission's commander, Major Nakita Subaru - dies in what appears to be a freak accident, and Roxy suddenly finds herself summoned back to Earth in a remarkably swift manner. Of course, she can't actually begin that return journey until the fast-approaching ship the Cronos arrives. Until then, Roxy is alone with her surviving colleague, Karl, her anxieties, her guilt, and her mounting suspicions...
Stephen Deas delivers a gripping slice of high-tension hard SF packed within a deftly crafted novella; epic in scope, precise in its execution.
Visions of Ruin - Mark West
The ninth release in our stand alone novella series.
A week in a seedy caravan at 'The Good Times Holiday Park' is not exactly the holiday sixteen-year-old Sam has been dreaming of, but he knows his mum is struggling and doing the best she can. At least he meets someone his own age to hang out with – Polly – but neither of them is prepared for the strangeness that ensues.
Beautifully paced and full of deft touches that bring the 1980s setting to life, Visions of Ruin is set during a rainy weekend at a caravan park on the edge of rundown seaside town. The author conjures a tale of subtle horror, of quiet horror. There is no gore or melodrama here, though plenty of tension. This isn’t a story that seeks to shock at every turn, but one that steadily unsettles, with a sense of mounting foreboding, as we witness the effects of unexpected events and disquieting phenomena on a cast of fully believable characters fumbling their way through life. The climatic denouement is skillfully handled, with an outcome that might just surprise you.
The Enbtropy of Loss - Stewart Hotston
The tenth release in our stand alone novella series.
Sarah Shannon is a scientist working at the cutting edge of black hole research. She is also a woman seeking to cope with the impending death of her wife, Rhona, the love of her life. Unable to come to terms with this inevitable loss, she has embarked on an affair with her work colleague, Akshai; and that’s only the start of things getting complicated.
Something has gone wrong with Sarah and Akshai’s ground-breaking simulations of black holes. When they are able to correct the errors the system abandons their simulations, instead spitting out equations as if demanding a response. When they answer, the system takes over their lab and starts to transform their equipment - forcing them to flee. They are left suspecting the impossible: First Contact.
As Sarah's employer steps in and seeks to take control, she risks losing access to her own work. Worse still, when they fled the lab she and Akshai had to leave Rhona behind, and Sarah will do whatever it takes to get her back.
Stewart Hotston delivers a fast-paced and fully plausible tale of science, science fiction, and first contact.
Note: Novellas 11 and 12 are a Double Novella and contained in one book.
The Telling of Bees - Emma K. Leadley
In the near-future, two strangers interrupt Sarah’s idyllic rural existence, confronting her with knowledge of a life she has entirely forgotten, insisting she’s a missing part of their hivemind. Their appearance leads her to an abandoned beehive and the strange, transparent cube that lies within. The cube contains memories, that much is certain, but are they her memories?
When corporate soldiers invade her home, Sarah is forced to accept that something is going on and that these two strangers – Brea and Blake – know far more about it than she does. Her only option is to decode the cube, reclaim her memories, and rediscover a life she has tried so hard to avoid. But where exactly will that leave her, and why did she run from it in the first place?
The Blackhart Blades - David Gullen
On their way to laying their fallen leader, Dante Blackhart, to rest, the Blades – a highly atypical mercenary band – accept a job offer. It soon becomes clear, however, that their employer has a hidden agenda and is being far from honest with them. Before they know it, the Blades are embroiled in sorcerous shenanigans and the disappearance of a queen, which leads to them defending a besieged city against an invading army in the face of impossible odds.
Fortunately, they have a trick or two up their collective sleeves, but will that be enough?
In The Blackhart Blades, David Gullen delivers a novella of swashbuckling adventure and duplicity, told with wry humour; a fantasy of found family, dangerous magic, good food, war, heroism, betrayal… and terrible poetry.
Signed hardcovers - being sold as a set only
| Publisher | NewCon Press |
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