Part of Series
Welcome to the 22nd century where humanity has just reached out to the stars and now finds itself challenged by contact by five (or is that four?) very different (yet very realistic) alien species whose motivations are as unusual and arresting as their physical forms. Of course, planet Earth still has plenty of problems, injustice, and inequities of its own to deal with. The novels of the Terran Republic series are a deep dive into the high-stakes exploration, statecraft, and warfare—both with other species and among ourselves—that churn and change our post-contact world. The title character—Caine Riordan—is part of a diverse cohort that has been tasked with juggling these rapidly shifting challenges, often at odds with their superiors as they bring fresh solutions to these novel situations. However, no world is defined by a mere handful of experts and heroes. Rather, just as our own world is full of different people and perspectives, Lost Signals expands the universe of the Terran Republic by bringing together new voices and new stories in a unique format that intentionally blurs the line between fact and fiction. The first part of Lost Signals is faux wire copy, features, and brief articles from the world of 2122 AD. But just as there is always the truth behind the news, the stories in the anthology then reveal what was really going on behind those sanitized accounts of Earth's most desperate hours. The untold stories revealed in Lost Signals * Delta Parvonis Three is home to primitive aliens, 20,000-year-old mosaics, and quasi-Greek ruins. Will a cultural archaeologist's work strengthen the link between Earth and this distant planet, or spark a destructive panic among her fellow humans? * The crew of a lone frigate, having drawn the tedious job of picketing a nowhere system—just a way-point between here and there—laments the lack of action. Until an enemy shift carrier brings the war to them. * When Indonesia’s corporate clone-soldiers are ordered to slaughter civilians, many of them resist—and rediscover an ancient every slave rebellion gives rise to a Spartacus. * When N’Erkversh, First Voice of the First Family, realizes that his invasion of Earth is crumbling, he does the only thing a noble Hkh’Rkh can fight to the death. But there are others, eager for him to live, who fight to ensure his safety. * "Follow the money" takes on a whole new meaning for reporter Della Monroe when she decides to track down thirty-six missing Space Fleet sailors and Marines. * On a contested world of scant resources, the Arat Kur stumble upon a gift to offer humanity, even though it may permanently upset the balance of power in the Accord. But only if humanity can cooperate in turn.
Authors
Mike Massa has lived an adventurous life including stints as naval officer (1130), an investment banker, an entrepreneur, a corporate security specialist and a university researcher. In addition to the usual military deployments, he has lived outside the US for several years as a civilian, mostly in South American and Europe. Mike's last major trip was to Bolivia, evaluating the resiliency of large scale industrial activity to natural disasters. Mike gets out to several Science Fiction and Fantasy conventions annually, including Libertycon in Chattanooga, RavenCon in Colonial Williamsburg and DragonCon in Atlanta. First published in 2016, Mike is continuing to write novels and contribute to anthologies. His debut novel, cowritten with John Ringo, became a National Bestseller. Mike is married and enjoys the challenges that three sons and a growing cohort of grandsons bring. They check daily to see if today is the day they can pull down the old lion. Not yet... Mike can be followed at https://www.facebook.com/MassaWrites and http://thegeniuswar.com
Jean Marie Ward writes fiction, nonfiction and everything in between. Her first novel, With Nine You Get Vanyr (written with the late Teri Smith), finaled in two categories of the 2008 Indie Book Awards. Her short stories appear in numerous anthologies, including the award-winning Hellebore and Rue, The Modern Fae’s Guide to Surviving Humanity, and Tales from the Vatican Vaults. Her short story “Lord Bai’s Discovery”, which appeared in the Eppie-nominated anthology Dragon’s Lure, was shortlisted for the Washington Science Fiction Association’s Small Press Award. She is also known for her art books, Illumina: The Art of J.P. Targete and Fantasy Art Templates. She edited the web magazine Crescent Blues for eight years and now writes for other online venues, including BuzzyMag.com. Ms. Ward has written for daily and weekly newspapers, and published government journals. She served as the public relations officer for the Defense Finance and Accounting Service for five years, and managed the development of some of the first Department of Defense web sites. Her resume also includes a stint as an assistant producer for the local access cable program Mystery Readers Corner. A Washington DC native, Ms. Ward now lives in Virginia with her cartoonist husband Greg Uchrin (creator of Intravenous Caffeine), a very gracious cat and hordes of ninja squirrels. More information, links and free fiction can be found at her website: JeanMarieWard.com),
Joelle Presby is a fantasy and science fiction author, and a former surface warfare officer in the United States Navy. She went to school in Ohio and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2003. She has lived in various countries, including France, Cameroon, and Japan. She and her husband, the submarine officer, live in Virginia and prefer living with hurricanes to moving again. Presby is the author of several Honoverse short stories, one of which was published in the sixth Worlds of Honor anthology, Beginnings. She also contributed to House of Steel: The Honorverse Companion. Outside of the Honorverse, she is also co-authoring (with David Weber) new books in the Multiverse series, taking over for Linda Evans.
Lawrence M. Schoen holds a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology, is a past Astounding, Hugo, and Nebula, nominee, twice won the Cóyotl award for best novel, founded the Klingon Language Institute, and occasionally does work as a hypnotherapist specializing in authors’ issues. He is a chimeric cancer survivor. His science fiction includes many light and humorous adventures of a space-faring stage hypnotist and his alien animal companion. Other works take a very different tone, exploring aspects of determinism and free will, generally redefining the continua between life and death. Sometimes he blurs the funny and the serious. Lawrence lives near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with his wife and their dog.
Alex Shvartsman is a writer, editor, and translator from Brooklyn, NY. He's the author of The Middling Affliction (2022) and Eridani's Crown (2019) fantasy novels. Kakistocracy, a sequel to The Middling Affliction, is forthcoming in 2023. Over 120 of his stories have been published in Analog, Nature, Strange Horizons, and many other venues. He won the 2014 WSFA Small Press Award for Short Fiction and was a two-time finalist (2015 and 2017) for the Canopus Award for Excellence in Interstellar Fiction. His collection, Explaining Cthulhu to Grandma and Other Stories and his steampunk humor novella H. G. Wells, Secret Agent were published in 2015. His second collection, The Golem of Deneb Seven and Other Stories followed in 2018. Alex is the editor of over a dozen anthologies, including the Unidentified Funny Objects annual anthology series of humorous SF/F.
