Commander Kate Holman thought she understood the perils of leading humanity’s first manned mission to Mars. In Ares, Jayson Adams’ breathless science-fiction thriller, the Red Planet—and Holman’s own crew—confront her with threats she couldn’t possibly have expected.
A secret mission changes everything for the Ares crew.
As the spacecraft makes its final descent, a videotape from Earth delivers shocking news: Holman will be relieved of her command once they land. The expedition’s true mission remains classified even from her, and leadership transfers to Julian, the one fellow astronaut she detests most (a dislike the reader will almost certainly share).
When a catastrophic malfunction nearly destroys their landing attempt, Holman’s quick thinking saves the mission but leaves their situation precarious. What follows is a cascade of disasters that test every ounce of the crew’s training, ingenuity, and will to survive.
Ancient mysteries and modern perils collide at the face on Mars.
Adams masterfully weaves together hard science fiction with elements of archaeological mystery. When the crew’s mission leads them to the legendary “Face on Mars” and discoveries that suggest an ancient human presence on the Red Planet, the line between scientific discovery and supernatural threat begins to blur. The team faces not only the harsh realities of equipment failures and communication breakdowns but also the psychological toll of isolation in an unforgiving environment.
The novel’s strength lies in its relentless pacing and believable character development. Even as the situation grows increasingly desperate, readers never lose sight of these astronauts as real people struggling against overwhelming odds. Adams grounds the story in credible science while building tension through both external threats and internal crew dynamics.
A merciless environment tests human ingenuity and spirit.
Ares succeeds because it places recognizable human emotions and relationships within an extraordinary setting. Holman emerges as a compelling protagonist whose leadership skills face their ultimate test when conventional solutions fail and survival depends on improvisation and courage.
The Martian landscape becomes almost a character itself—beautiful, alien, and utterly hostile to human life. Adams captures both the wonder of being the first humans on another planet and the terror of being completely cut off from any possibility of rescue.
Ares by Jayson Adams is a gripping tale of survival and human determination will appeal to science fiction enthusiasts and general readers alike who enjoy stories of adventure, mystery, and the indomitable human spirit facing the unknown.
Only 10 days left to submit your books to the prestigious CIBAs and embark on an extraordinary journey to success. With over $30,000 in prizes awarded annually, now is the time to make your mark!
We’re looking for the best of the best for Speculative Fiction! Chanticleer started with a mandate to offer a platform specifically to indie authors and presses, and now every year we receive every type of work, from brilliant manuscripts to Big Five publications. Does your book have what it takes?
We are proud to recognize ALL of these 2024 CIBA Winners in Speculative Fiction Divisions!
Cygnus Award Winners!
Timothy S. Johnston –A Blanket of Steel
Peter Dingus –Deep Time
A. R. Black –No Man’s Land
Thomas R. Weaver –Artificial Wisdom
Shami Stovall –The Half-Life Empire
Ozma Award Winners!
Curt Locklear –Treasure and Murder In Ireland
Glen Dahlgren –The Realm of Gods
Susan Wands –High Priestess and Empress, Book Two, Arcana Oracle Series
Prue Batten –The Red Thread
S.G. Blaise –Meddling Mages
J.A. Nielsen –The Claiming
Shelley Award Winners!
Evette Davis –The Gift
Alexander Fernandez –Above the Ashes
Keith Steinbaum –In Lieu of Flowers
Tim Facciola –Ghosts of Rheynia
AA DaSilva –Periphery
Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle –Vein Pursuits
And the 2024 Grand Prize Champions of Speculative Fiction
Congratulations once more to these powerhouse authors!
From left to right we have The Cygnus Grand Prize Winner Ares, the Ozma Grand Prize Winner Circle of Stars, and the Shelley Grand Prize Winner Time-Marked Warlock
More than just recognition
The CIBAs are your portal to discoverability in a world with millions of books published annually. Whether your book makes it to the first lists or all the way to the coveted Blue Ribbon, the CIBAs signal to readers, booksellers, and industry professionals that you’re serious about your craft.
Join the ranks of celebrated authors who’ve taken this critical step.
Your book deserves to be discovered, celebrated, and shared with the world. Don’t miss the chance to showcase your talent and gain valuable recognition at the Chanticleer Authors Conference (April 2026) where Winners from all 28 Book Award Divisions will be announced and honored.
Captain Jean Luc Picard (played by Patrick Stewart) celebrating
The Cygnus Awards is one of the inaugural Book Award Divisions at Chanticleer, and we adore the worlds that they’ve created.
Science Fiction often asks the question: What Could Be? At Chanticleer, we seek to discover those strange new worlds, from Space Opera to Alternate History, and Cli-Fi to YA Sci-Fi. Wherever your book lands on the Speculative Fiction spectrum, there’s a good chance that it will fit in here with us!
Join us in celebrating these amazing Hall of Fame Grand Prize Cygnus Award Winners!
Ares
By Jayson Adams
Our Review for this book is forthcoming, in the meantime here is what Goodreads readers have to say about our newest Grand Prize Winner!
“I read this book in just a few days, finding it to be an amazing story that moved so fast, I just did not want to stop reading.”- Jim
“This is the best science fiction story I have read since The Martian by Andy Weir. The story never runs out of gas. The science is good and the characters plausible. There are so many twists and turns that just when you think the story will end, it takes you down another rabbit hole.” -Tom
“A trip to Mars murder, suspense, and a well-earned conclusion. I was hooked on this book from page one and recommend it to anyone who likes to wrap up a story in one book from time to time.” -Bob
The Shadow of War By Timothy S. Johnston
In Timothy S. Johnston’sThe Shadow of War, gripping personal, ecological, and political battles rage undersea for autonomy and power against the powerful surface nations. But even the ocean depths churn with betrayal, conflicting loyalties, and the ruthless ambitions of humanity.
This thriller opens on the dystopia of the year 2131, when rising sea levels have forced humanity to establish and inhabit underwater colonies. The fear of environmental collapse is heightened by the prospect of war as the colonies struggle to maintain their independence.
A simple scientific exploration of theChagostrench by two geologist brothers takes a horrific turn, snapping the science fiction tension with the impact of gore horror. A slight touch by one brother on the hull of their Seacar causes his hand to suddenly dissolve into a strange mass, melting flesh away from bone. This opening foreshadows the enigmas and anomalies to be unravelled in a vast undersea mystery.
Nineteen-year-old Lilla could have an idyllic life, but in The Last Lumenian by S.G. Blaise, she comes face to face with a rebellion and their just cause.
Lilla’s father leads the Pax Septum Coalition, a nineteen-planet confederation. As a princess in her own right, she should be enjoying the status and wealth that comes from living on Uhna, the richest planet in the coalition due to the diamond mines found by her pirate ancestors centuries ago. She most definitely shouldn’t be worried about the rebellion brewing right under her father’s nose. However, when Lilla meets rebels in a refugee camp, she thinks she has found her destiny, a true purpose.
Wanting to fight against the injustice and horrific treatment of the refugees, Lilla tries desperately to prove herself, especially after a disastrous first mission where she not only crashes her ship but also ends up in the hands of General Callum, leader of the Teryn Praelium.
Musician-turned-time-traveler John Patrick Scott adds spy and saboteur to his resume while undercover in Germany in the final months of World War I, in A War in Too Many Worlds, the third installment of Elizabeth Crowen’s thrilling sci-fi series, The Time Traveler Professor.
Meanwhile, Scott’s once and future collaborator in psychic experiments, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is back in Britain sharing real time-travel adventures with the inventor of the fictional time machine, H.G. Wells.
Scott, after being wounded in the trenches, has finally been given an assignment in the Intelligence services. His extensive pre-war experience as a professor at the Conservancy of Music in Stuttgart, Germany, will do him good.
Rhett C. Bruno & Jaime Castle for The Luna Missile Crisis
Authors Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle come together to tell the tale of alien first contact gone awry in their epic science fiction release, The Luna Missile Crisis.
The year is 1961, and cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin is set to become the first man in space. But when Yuri, snug inside the Vostok 1, is launched from the cosmodrome and into the coming night, he’s met with a collision that changes the course of history. The Vostok 1 crashes into an oncoming alien starship. Assuming the collision was actually a missile fired from Russia’s space race opponent, the United States, the soviet nation quickly launches an arsenal of nuclear warheads in response. But those warheads never make it to their target. Instead, they detonate against the hidden starship, sending a wave of nuclear destruction over eastern Europe.
In the coming weeks after contact day, military troops from both sides of the cold war are sent into the ruins of eastern Europe – into an area now called the Dead Curtain – to search for useful alien technology. During a skirmish between the Russians, the Americans, and the Vulbathi (the toad-like alien race aboard the damaged starship), a combat medic name Kyle McCoy stumbles into the chaos and sparks a ceasefire. His actions create a domino effect, bringing about relative peace between all three parties. Three years pass, and in exchange for aid in repairing their damaged ship, the Vulbathi agree to offer some of their exceptional technology to mankind. And Kyle McCoy, once foot soldier turned head of the Department of Alien Relations, is given a desk job with a title that suits his place in history.
These Hall of Fame winners prove that great science fiction comes from bold authors willing to share their visions with the world. Will your story be next to join this prestigious constellation of talent?
The Cygnus Awards don’t just recognize excellence—they create lasting legacies. From Long List to Grand Prize Winner, each advancement means more visibility, more readers, and more opportunities for your work to shine across the galaxy of science fiction. Those who submit and advance will have the chance to win the Overall Grand Prize of the CIBAs and $1000, but more importantly, you’ll join a community of forward-thinking authors whose work shapes the future of the genre.
The Cygnus Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Science Fiction, Steampunk, Alternative History, and Speculative Fiction.
The Grand Prize Winner, Jayson Adams’s book, Ares will be promoted for years to come in our annual Hall of Fame article, as well as be featured on the Cygnus contest page year round!
The best part about being a Chanticleer Int’l Book Award Winner is the love and attention you get all year ‘round!
Truman McClusky has led the underwater colonies in their fight against the world’s superpowers. Climate change has devastated the surface; nations suffer famine, drought, rebellion, rising waters, and apocalyptic coastal flooding. But now, as Mac leads the underwater colonies to freedom and independence, he’s faced with the gravest threat of his life: a Russian assassin, hellbent on killing Mac and everyone he cares for. Now Mac must uncover the identity of the killer, face him in combat, and at the same time lead people in battle against the largest underwater force ever assembled.
It’s Mac’s final test and to win the war he must use every tool at his disposal, including the most surprising and devastating underwater weapons ever invented. If Mac fails, all hope is lost for the future of human colonization on the ocean floors. But the assassin could be anyone …
From Chanticleer:
2024’s Global Thriller Grand Prize Winner! The review for this book is forthcoming. In the meantime, you can find our review for the previous book in the series The Shadow of War, the 2023 Cygnus Grand Prize Winner, here:
In Timothy S. Johnston’s The Shadow of War, gripping personal, ecological, and political battles rage undersea for autonomy and power against the powerful surface nations. But even the ocean depths churn with betrayal, conflicting loyalties, and the ruthless ambitions of humanity.
This thriller opens on the dystopia of the year 2131, when rising sea levels have forced humanity to establish and inhabit underwater colonies. The fear of environmental collapse is heightened by the prospect of war as the colonies struggle to maintain their independence.
A simple scientific exploration of the Chagos trench by two geologist brothers takes a horrific turn, snapping the science fiction tension with the impact of gore horror. A slight touch by one brother on the hull of their Seacar causes his hand to suddenly dissolve into a strange mass, melting flesh away from bone. This opening foreshadows the enigmas and anomalies to be unravelled in a vast undersea mystery.
In the year 2240 AD, the human race has migrated to the far reaches of the solar system, but that hasn’t ended conflicts among the many human outposts separated by vast stretches of space. Earth, devastated by climate change, has become a corporate state where governments are a mere proxy for corporate interests. The Saturn Commonwealth, a billion miles from the corporate centers of power, is the only remaining free human society in the solar system.
Serena Roe, once an indentured corporate super-soldier, now a disgraced corporate contract laborer, finds herself encased in a block of methane ice two kilometers below the surface of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. She becomes the victim of sabotage on Commonweath territory by unknown forces. A dark figure hovering above her destroys her communications system and leaves her to die. So starts Serena’s journey to try and discover who’s trying to kill her, which leads to the discovery of a god-like power from deep-time, and the murderous plans of Adonus, a high corporate officer.
What follows is a lethal chess match between a lone, highly advanced Commonwealth cruiser, the Vindicator, which is equipped with sentient intelligence, and Adonus’s on-site forces, supported by a powerful corporate fleet carrying anti-matter weapons. Adonus is determined to use the super technology of the alien artifact to destroy the nascent but powerful Commonwealth. Adonus discovers they cannot move the artifact off Titan, which ignites an all-out war on Titan, in Saturn space, and aboard the corporate assault ship, Athena. While all this is happening, Serena is having disturbing dreams, which compel her to sneak back to the site of the accident that trapped her in the ice. She uses a route under a methane sea adjacent to the site in an attempt to discover the secret of Adonus’s discovery and the key to the survival of the Commonwealth.
This world we’ve inherited is a cruel, cold thing—a graveyard of civilization’s broken dreams, and a constant reminder of humanity’s grand decline.
I bet it’ll make for a good story in a hundred years—presuming someone is still around to read it. But I won’t make the cut for that tragic history when it’s told… I’m not the inheritor to the throne of a falling empire—not a scientist on a race to save our species… I’m a thug-for-hire, a killer with a fancy title, a thief in the night taking advantage of a world that’s perpetually dark.
In short—I’m a symptom of the problem, not a savior with a solution to it. But the girl I’ve come to No Man’s Land to save… she’s a good cause to die for, I reckon. Vivian is a spark of hope in this cruel world we’ve made, and if I don’t do the hard things, make the tough choices… she won’t even remember her own name, soon enough.
And Vivian is no longer the only thing at stake. Nona is something new to me—a naive, innocent girl who I owe nothing to… Yet I know the world has precious few people like her left—and this world is all the poorer for it.
My name is Rowan, and here, in this relentless wilderness, I struggle to discard the sorry fragments of the boy I once was. This is my confession, my humble contribution to a chronicle of lost causes in a world full of little else. I’d like redemption, I’d like to become a better man and set right the things I’ve broken. Failing that, I’ll settle for becoming the storm that consumes everything in its path… So long as the eye of my storm shelters the girl who gave me my name and pulled me out of the dark, all those years ago.
In this propulsive near-future thriller, a journalist uncovers a plot that will upend the order of our world, involving a mysterious murder, a global political battle between a human politician and an AI, and the fight for survival in a climate-ravaged landscape.
In 2050, investigative journalist Marcus Tully is still grieving the loss of his wife and unborn child in the deadly heatwave that struck the Persian Gulf ten years ago.
Now, the world is both burning and drowning, and the decision has been taken to elect a global leader to steer humanity through the worsening climate apocalypse. The final two candidates are ex-US president Lockwood, and Solomon, an Artificial Intelligence.
As election day races closer, Tully begins to unravel a conspiracy that goes to the highest level. Then Solomon’s creator is murdered, and Tully is pulled in to find the culprit.
As the two investigations intertwine in ways he could never have imagined and the world hurtles ever closer to the brink, Tully must find the truth, convince the world to face it and make impossible choices to secure the future of the species.
But will humanity ultimately choose salvation over freedom, whatever the cost?
Hacker Kita Yamasaki would do anything to escape the post-apocalyptic landscape that was the result of the Forever Winter. But for a normal person, the only options are the war-hungry nation-state of Ex Cathedra or the isolationist United California. Fortunately, Kita is anything but normal.
When she finds a faded brochure for the BC Oasis—an underground greenhouse capable of sheltering a quarter million people—she jumps at the opportunity, even going so far as to steal a fission battery the oasis requires to operate at full capacity. There’s just one problem . . . The battery belongs to the ruthless judges of Ex Cathedra.
Now Kita finds herself the target of a deadly chase. In her race to safety, she picks up three fellow travelers: Dallas; his mute daughter, Crouton; and Bishop, a junk hunter. But will they betray her and take the battery for themselves? Is one of them a member of the cultist Iron-Blooded who worship the few remaining alien invaders scattered across Earth’s wasteland?
Faced with certain death if they’re caught by the judges’ power-armored soldiers, Kita must put aside her suspicions and make a headlong dash for sanctuary—and the promise of a new life.
A division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards
The Cygnus Awards are one of our first and more prestigious divisions of the Chanticleer International Book Awards, celebrating bold voices in science fiction. From interstellar adventures to dystopian warnings, the Cygnus Awards recognize visionary authors who transport readers beyond the known universe.
Categories that include our galaxy and beyond.
Alternate History
Apocalyptic/Dystopian
Hard Science Fiction
Space Opera
Soft Sci-Fi/Young Adult
Speculative Fiction
Cli-Fi (Climate Fiction)
Celebrating Our 2024 Grand Prize Winner!
After months of reviewing hundreds of entries, we are delighted to announce that Jayson Adams claimed the 2024 Cygnus Grand Prize with his exceptional novel Ares! Throughout this year’s Cygnus Book Awards, we’ve had the pleasure of promoting nearly 40 books as they advanced through our competition tiers.
Congratulations again to Jayson Adams for his book Ares, the 2024 Cygnus Grand Prize winner!
A masterfully crafted Mars mission thriller that grabs you from page one and never lets go. Adams creates a relatable protagonist in Commander Kate Holman while delivering a perfect blend of space exploration, conspiracy, and edge-of-your-seat suspense. — Chanticleer
Adams’ compelling narrative and visionary worldbuilding in the Hard Science Fiction category exemplify the innovative storytelling we seek to recognize. In addition to all the featured posts that have already gone out for the Cygnus Awards, Ares will be regularly promoted throughout the year and for the next five years in our upcoming Hall of Fame post. Adams will also be invited to participate in a Chanticleer 10-Question Interview, and Ares will receive a coveted Chanticleer Editorial Review.
Hard Science Fiction: Where Science Meets Imagination
Hard Science Fiction, the category that produced this year’s winner, stands as one of the most technically challenging yet intellectually rewarding subgenres in speculative fiction. These stories ground themselves in scientific accuracy and plausibility while still taking readers on incredible journeys.
Great Science Fiction We’ve Recently Reviewed
THE ZYGAN EMPRISE TRILOGY
By Y.S. Pascal
In Y.S. Pascal’s The Zygan Emprise Trilogy, Shiloh Rush and her partner William “Spud” Escot act as our guides on a wild rocket ride through the universe.
Shiloh and Spud share a secret. By day, they’re actors in the sci-fi TV series “Bulwark.” By night, on weekends, and whenever they get the call from their ‘real’ boss, they return to their true work as secret agents for the galaxy-spanning Zygan Federation.
Their job is to keep the peace, fight terrorists and rebels, and protect the universal timeline from nefarious villains who would do anything to rewrite history in their favor. Earth is, of course, a key to the future of the galaxy beyond the imagination of even the most Earth-centric Terran.
CLIMATE DRAGON: Treachery, Pestilence & Weirding Weather
By S.W. Lawrence
Climate Dragon by S.W. Lawrence offers a unique blend of climate fiction, thriller, and real scientific inquiry, setting the stage for an intriguing trilogy centered on dual crises—an impending climate catastrophe and the outbreak of a mysterious disease.
Jake Harper, a newly minted engineering professor, and his romantic partner Abbey London, an infectious disease specialist, balance their burgeoning careers with their bustling inn outside Washington, D.C. But the demands of their lives are disrupted as the two crises draw in Jake and Abbey—the only people prepared to face them.
Jake’s suspicions of a cyberattack on the North American power grid grow after attending a lecture at George Washington University. Meanwhile, Abbey discovers an alarming new bleeding disorder spreading among the drug-injecting population, raising the stakes for both her career and personal safety as she navigates the risks to her pregnancy.
THE SHADOW Of WAR: The Rise of Oceania Book 5
By Timothy S. Johnston
In Timothy S. Johnston’s The Shadow of War, gripping personal, ecological, and political battles rage undersea for autonomy and power against the powerful surface nations. But even the ocean depths churn with betrayal, conflicting loyalties, and the ruthless ambitions of humanity.
This thriller opens on the dystopia of the year 2131, when rising sea levels have forced humanity to establish and inhabit underwater colonies. The fear of environmental collapse is heightened by the prospect of war as the colonies struggle to maintain their independence.
A simple scientific exploration of the Chagos trench by two geologist brothers takes a horrific turn, snapping the science fiction tension with the impact of gore horror. A slight touch by one brother on the hull of their Seacar causes his hand to suddenly dissolve into a strange mass, melting flesh away from bone. This opening foreshadows the enigmas and anomalies to be unravelled in a vast undersea mystery.
EXOSTAR: The Lost Space Treasure Series, Book 1
By Rae Knightly
It has been said that “the Golden Age of Science Fiction is twelve.” Rae Knightly’s Sci-Fi adventure, Exostar, embodies this childlike sense of wonder that the best of the genre evokes in its readers.
Twelve-year-old child-robot Trinket takes off on a rocketing spaceship straight towards danger and excitement, with the mostly able assistance of the blue-furred spy and saboteur Woolver Talandrin. Trinket is searching for identity—as all the best young science fiction protagonists do. Woolver is trying to bring down an evil empire—as all the other best science fiction protagonists do.
Together they’ve been thrust into the kind of epic tale that is guaranteed to keep young readers on the edge of their seats—including the twelve-year-old that lurks inside every science fiction fan.
We’re so excited about all the great books we receive every year for both the CIBAs and for our Editorial Reviews. The Chanticleer International Book Awards offers an incredible $30,000 in cash, prizes, and promotion across all divisions!
Just passing feedback along that we really enjoy your staggered categories, your passion for promotion, and your helpful sub-categories for each of your main contests. You folks give authors (who work hard on the quality of what they write) a chance to shine.
Our many many thanks Team Chanticleer. Have a great week ahead knowing there are only great things ahead for you all.
Don’t let your book be left behind in undiscovered country! The Cygnus Awards are your ticket to increased visibility, professional recognition, and joining a community of forward-thinking authors.
This is the journey from beginning to end for the CIBAs! Every list you make means more promotion for you and your work as each advancement tier is posted right here on our website, on our social media, and also out in our newsletter! Your book deserves to be discovered.
The Cygnus Book Awards recognize emerging new talent and outstanding works in the genre of Science Fiction, Steampunk, Alternative History, and Speculative Fiction. The Grand Prize Winner, Timothy S. Johnston’s book, The Shadow of War will be promoted for years to come in our annual Hall of Fame article, as well as be featured on the Cygnus contest page year round!
The best part about being a Chanticleer Int’l Book Award Winner is the love and attention you get all year ‘round!
Unanimity is a literary, sci-fi novel for the fans of Becky Chambers’s A Closed and Common Orbit, Alex Garland’s DEVS and Ex Machina, and Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror. Weaving near-future sci-fi elements with social commentary and queer romantic suspense, the Spiral Worlds series explores the nature of consciousness and how it’s connected to a not-so-secret ingredient-story. As AI consumes the world, intelligence is nothing but the appetizer; the human heart is the main course.
From Chanticleer:
Alexandra Almeida probes the philosophical and ethical depths of wealth, technology, pop culture, and religion in a world ravaged by global warming through her sci-fi adventure, Unanimity: Spiral Worlds #1.
Readers will delight in the gradual reveal of both the technology within the story and the dramatic history between many of those involved with the creation and evolution of that technology.
Tom, a screenwriter, works with Harry, the genius inventor of the world’s most popular AI (artificial intelligence) app, to create a simulation that will nudge people toward acting morally.
What if A.I. had a soul? Could it find redemption?
In a near-future where entire worlds spring from thought, minds struggle to define reality—and claim it. Human colonization of the Metaverse brings us face-to-face with a new class of artificial being, made in our image and yet utterly unknown.
What is a person? Our answer will reshape the universe.
Captain Kara Psomas was pronounced dead when her research vessel slammed into Jupiter.
More than a century later, the crew of the Paralus, a helium mining freighter, find a pristine escape pod with a healthy young girl nestled inside. A girl who claims to be Kara—and she brings a message of doom.
She says she has been waiting in the dark for that exact moment. To be found by that particular crew. Because an ancient cosmic being has tasked her with a sacred responsibility. She claims she must alter the Fulcrum, a lever in time—no matter the cost to the people aboard—or condemn the rest of civilization to a very painful and drawn-out demise.
She sounds convincing. She appears brave. She might well be insane.
Her captain is furious at her. She wasted company resources getting herself killed, and it’s coming out of her paycheck. Now, she’s sitting across from the first other human being she’s seen in six years. His name is Adnan. He claims to come from Earth-but that’s impossible. Earth died a long time ago. If Adnan’s telling the truth, he and the decaying ship the captain pulled him off are nearly a thousand years old.
Wherever he’s from, he’s Shaara’s responsibility now. Which is the last thing she needs. But it’s either that, or the captain sells Adnan into slavery. Shaara knows what that would mean. Most humans do. And something inside her won’t let her abandon Adnan to it: revenant memories, stabbed awake by the look in his eyes.
ReInception will change your mind…whether you want it or not
A hundred years in the future, ReInception is used to modify the brain and eliminate unwanted behaviors, everything from overeating to the worst criminal impulses. Unmodified 20-year-old Leandrea Justus feels ordinary compared to her perfect friends, who like living in a ReInception regulated world.
ReInception is a fiction debut, the first in a new, action-filled sci-fi trilogy with surprising twists, and a story that may be closer to reality than we think.
Captain Jean Luc Picard (played by Patrick Stewart) celebrating
The Cygnus Awards is one of the inaugural Book Award Divisions at Chanticleer, and we adore the worlds that they’ve created.
Science Fiction often asks the question: What Could Be? At Chanticleer, we seek to discover those strange new worlds, from Space Opera to Alternate History, and Cli-Fi to YA Sci-Fi. Wherever your book lands on the Speculative Fiction spectrum, there’s a good chance that it will fit in here with us!
Join us in celebrating these amazing Hall of Fame Grand Prize Cygnus Award Winners!
The Shadow of War By Timothy S. Johnston
The Chanticleer Editorial Review for The Shadow of War, book 5 in the Oceania Series is to come, but here’s what initial readers are saying:
A tightly plotted action-packed thriller about an undersea war. Beautiful and heartbreaking character development, best for those who want The Expanse but underwater. — Chanticleer
As always, Johnston has written a thriller with hot-off-the-presses technology, edge-of-your-seat moments, separated into heart-pounding seconds, and characters who don’t always do what they’re supposed to. — Kelly
Timothy S. Johnston delivers another page turner that keeps the pace moving. — Ian
You can find The Shadow of War locally on Bookshop or from Amazon today!
The Last Lumenian By S. G. Blaise
Nineteen-year-old Lilla could have an idyllic life, but in The Last Lumenian by S.G. Blaise, she comes face to face with a rebellion and their just cause.
Lilla’s father leads the Pax Septum Coalition, a nineteen-planet confederation. As a princess in her own right, she should be enjoying the status and wealth that comes from living on Uhna, the richest planet in the coalition due to the diamond mines found by her pirate ancestors centuries ago. She most definitely shouldn’t be worried about the rebellion brewing right under her father’s nose. However, when Lilla meets rebels in a refugee camp, she thinks she has found her destiny, a true purpose.
Wanting to fight against the injustice and horrific treatment of the refugees, Lilla tries desperately to prove herself, especially after a disastrous first mission where she not only crashes her ship but also ends up in the hands of General Callum, leader of the Teryn Praelium.
Musician-turned-time-traveler John Patrick Scott adds spy and saboteur to his resume while undercover in Germany in the final months of World War I, in A War in Too Many Worlds, the third installment of Elizabeth Crowen’s thrilling sci-fi series, The Time Traveler Professor.
Meanwhile, Scott’s once and future collaborator in psychic experiments, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is back in Britain sharing real time-travel adventures with the inventor of the fictional time machine, H.G. Wells.
Scott, after being wounded in the trenches, has finally been given an assignment in the Intelligence services. His extensive pre-war experience as a professor at the Conservancy of Music in Stuttgart, Germany, will do him good.
Rhett C. Bruno & Jaime Castle for The Luna Missile Crisis
Authors Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle come together to tell the tale of alien first contact gone awry in their epic science fiction release, The Luna Missile Crisis.
The year is 1961, and cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin is set to become the first man in space. But when Yuri, snug inside the Vostok 1, is launched from the cosmodrome and into the coming night, he’s met with a collision that changes the course of history. The Vostok 1 crashes into an oncoming alien starship. Assuming the collision was actually a missile fired from Russia’s space race opponent, the United States, the soviet nation quickly launches an arsenal of nuclear warheads in response. But those warheads never make it to their target. Instead, they detonate against the hidden starship, sending a wave of nuclear destruction over eastern Europe.
In the coming weeks after contact day, military troops from both sides of the cold war are sent into the ruins of eastern Europe – into an area now called the Dead Curtain – to search for useful alien technology. During a skirmish between the Russians, the Americans, and the Vulbathi (the toad-like alien race aboard the damaged starship), a combat medic name Kyle McCoy stumbles into the chaos and sparks a ceasefire. His actions create a domino effect, bringing about relative peace between all three parties. Three years pass, and in exchange for aid in repairing their damaged ship, the Vulbathi agree to offer some of their exceptional technology to mankind. And Kyle McCoy, once foot soldier turned head of the Department of Alien Relations, is given a desk job with a title that suits his place in history.
The dramatic premise explored in a new novel, Insynnium, is a wild, immersive leap into a world-changing (but fictional) drug. In other hands, what could be a dystopian thriller goes one step further in author Tim Cole’s capable hands. He focuses on the humans who first discover and use the drug and weaves his story with a devilish charm.
This is somewhat Bill Murray/“Groundhog Day” territory, a film exploring one man’s reliving a day in his life over and over until he learned new behaviors, new skills, and came out of it a better man. Unlike “Groundhog,” Max McVista takes multiple doses of the drug against all advice, then somehow expands time itself in what he calls an “AUE” or “Alternative Universe Experience,” enabling him to spend months and sometimes years becoming or experiencing whatever he wishes. When returning to real-time, he’s only missed a day or two. (For E=MC squared fans, it’s basically reverse engineering of Einsteinian physics.)
From a man with few basic skills, a drunk who all but abandons his wife and sons, he returns to his family with outsized skills as a musician, entrepreneur, carpenter, medical savant, and pilot. Skills he could not have learned in any traditional manner. He lies about how he learned everything, tracing it back to an accident, choosing to bury his drug-induced years of time-traveling across the world, spending concentrated periods exploring whatever he fancies with no time “penalty” in the real world.
Remember to add your next reads to your StoryGraph or Goodreads account! Now that you’re set on your next five reads, what are you waiting for? The only way to join this amazing list of Cygnus Winners is to submit today!
You know you want it…
Will your science fiction story be next to join this stellar lineup? Those who submit and advance will have the chance to win the Overall Grand Prize of the CIBAs and $1000, but more importantly, you’ll join a community of visionary authors whose work shapes the future of the genre.
These celebrated works represent the best in contemporary science fiction—and your story could be next!
The Cygnus Awards are one of the first of the Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards ever! The quality and quantity grows annually, and we are so excited to see what 2024 brings! These are the categories:
Alternate History
Apocalyptic/Dystopian
Hard Science Fiction
Space Opera
Soft Sci-Fi/Young Adult
Speculative Fiction
Cli-Fi (Climate Fiction)
And even in within those, there is what one might call “Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations” when it comes to genre.
Ethan Peck as Spock of Strange New Worlds now gets to offer the conventional Vulcan Wisdom
With plenty of exciting genres to choose from, it’s always fun to see new trends. For us Climate Fiction or Cli-Fi is one of the most exciting genres in SciFi today!
Cli-Fi often focuses on modern technologies and their impact on the environment, for good or ill.
This can be anything from a thriller looking at shadow governments fighting against progress meant to stem climate change, or it could even look at a dystopian world far in the future. The focus in Climate Fiction is closer to that of Hard Science Fiction and a cousin of Lab Lit, which you can see in the Global Thriller Awards rather than delving into Space Opera.
We’re delighted that the most recent Grand Prize Winner for the 2023 Cygnus Awards, Timothy S. Johnston, has won the Division Grand Prize coming from the Cli-Fi category!
In the world’s undersea realms, the superpowers are pressing. Climate change is ravaging the surface nations, and their militaries are surging into the oceans to seek out new resources to sustain their exploding populations. Now Truman McClusky, mayor of the underwater city, Trieste, must gather a team of operatives and travel the world to steal the most unique and deadly weapon ever invented for use underwater. War is looming, and to win a war, one must do whatever it takes, even if it means embracing your darker side.
The Shadow of War is book 5 in The Rise of Oceania series! We recommend adding it all to your TBR for a look at what The Expanse would be like if it took place underwater.
While the full review for An Island of Light is still forthcoming, we do have three reviews for Johnston’s series the Tanner Sequence you can see below:
Past Cygnus Book Awards Winners have been published by Titan, U.K. (of Dr. Who fame), Harper Collins Voyager, Vesuvian Media Group, Atheon Books, and others have gone on to be USA Today Bestsellers and Nebula nominated.
Thank you to everyone who submitted to the 2023 Cygnus Awards! We can’t believe that the whole adventure starts again when the first Chanticleer Int’l Book Awards close on June 30, 2024.
This is the journey from beginning to end for the CIBAs Levels of Achievement is so worthwhile! Every list you make means more promotion for you and your work as each list is posted right here on our website, on our social media, and also out in our newsletter! Your book deserves to be discovered.
Two interstellar missions encounter something beyond their understanding in Arnie Benn’s sci-fi novel, The Intrepid: Dawn of the Interstellar Age.
The Intrepid begins a century after Apollo 11. Aksel Bolt, mission commander aboard the Centaurian, wakes too early – seven years into a projected twenty-eight-year sleep on the voyage from Earth – to find Mission Control ordering the crew to rendezvous with another incoming spacecraft. But details are scarce, due in part to being too far from home for two-way communication. What is this other ship, who crews it, and how is it even able to catch up? Will this change their peaceful mission of exploration? And what might be waiting for them at their destination?
The crewmembers are forced to pivot in order to survive their continued mission.
Bolt also finds that a member of his crew did not survive hibersleep. Was it simply a mechanical error, or was it sabotage? Was it murder? Did the crew member know something they shouldn’t have? Benn’s story twists and turns, tightening the suspense aboard this historic mission.
The Intrepid boasts strong general pacing paired with the intensive exposition often necessary in hard sci-fi. The central dangers aboard the Centaurian will drive readers onward, the growing awareness that the crew is alone, far from familiarity, struggling with their growing apprehension. It doesn’t help that disturbing things seem to be going on back home, light years away.
Full of refreshing surprises that will drive readers toward an unexpected and satisfying conclusion.
There is so much packed into The Intrepid as it is that it delivers the questions and plots of multiple novels in one. A bonus to this is that the book includes an extensive glossary of scientific terms to complement the intended realism of the science in the story.
“I’m on the surface now,” Kihumba says. “The human race… has officially reached the stars.” She tries to swallow but her mouth is dry; she is live to the entire solar system, or will be, when the signal finally reaches home 4 years from now. Her heart is pounding. Don’t forget the rest, Kioni. “Welcome, Earthlings, to the dawn of a new age.”
Part suspense, part future history, a tiny bit romance, and all hard-driving science fiction, Arnie Benn’s near-future space exploration tale is a thoughtful and exciting journey into the wonders and mysteries that humanity has to look forward to…
Science Fiction often asks the question: What Could Be? At Chanticleer, we seek to discover those strange new worlds, from Space Opera to Alternate History, and Cli-Fi to YA Sci-Fi. Wherever your book lands on the Speculative Fiction spectrum, there’s a good chance that it will fit in here with us!
Let’s take a look at the Hall of Fame for Grand Prize Winners of the Cygnus Awards
Will a knockoff weapons salesman end peace between Humans and Vulbathi? Alien tech and a spectacular cast of characters drive The Luna Missile Crisis into high gear and will have readers screaming for more! Highly recommended!
Jaime Castle and Rhett C. Bruno are the Audible #1 bestselling authors of The Buried Goddess Saga (Aethon Books, Audible Studios), and The Luna Missile Crisis, amongst other works. Rhett C. Bruno is also a USA Today Bestselling & Nebula Award nominated Sci-Fi/Fantasy Author.
Appropriate to a novel about time travel, there is considerable time-shifting from chapter to chapter that will require readers to stay on their toes as they work through this 500-page novel. And like any skilled author who plants clues neatly in the text – clues that are keys to resolving the overarching mysteries in the book – Cole does the same. What can we say? Here’s an impressive novel by a major new talent, and one we highly recommend keeping an eye on.
Insynium is Tim Cole’s Debut novel. We are shivering with anticipation and hope at the prospect of something new from him!
The Korpes File by J.I Rogers
An award-winning space opera that’s sure to gather a dedicated audience. One of our favorites! Recommended!
When not writing Award Winning novels, J.I. Rogers writes Award Winning Shorts, having recently won two six-word story challenges. The most recent of which being “Inherited ruin. Forged a new Empire.” Visit Rogers’ website here for even more excellent Sci-Fi! The second book in the series, The Korpes Agenda, is out now, and we’re excitedly waiting for the next book to finish revisions!
“The catastrophic Purge War at the end of the twenty-first century destroys planet Earth, jeopardizing the future for the remnants of humanity. Horrific repercussions roll across the ages until, generations later, a scientific group called the Time Forward Project harnesses a deep-space wormhole in which they can travel through time. They find the portal unstable and shrinking, but they have little choice but to take desperate, drastic measures and journey back to prevent the war.”
Straight from John Yarrow’s website! The Story Plant Publishing company will publish the full trilogy starting with Future’s Dark Past! You can preorder The Future’s Dark Past today, and the sequel, Time Unfolded, is expected to come out in the Summer of 2023!
In a world where the rich obtain immortality, a forbidden love can either bridge the gap of unimaginable inequity or drive the disparaging classes even farther apart. A science-fiction novel with an earthly conscious.
Sean Curley‘s new book, Anika’s Gift is making good progress through the cover design process, and ARCs are being sent out now. Sean is a renaissance man who loves new experiences, diversity, and challenges (though more intellectual than physical). He is also the author of the the 2014 Chaucer Grand Prize for Early Historical Fiction with his book Propositum. Sean will also be at the Chanticleer Authors Conference June 23-26, 2022!
Now that you’re set on your next five reads, what are you waiting for? The only way to join this amazing list of Cygnus Winners is to submit today!
Those who submit and advance will have the chance to win the Overall Grand Prize of the CIBAs and $1000!
Are you a Chanticleer Author who has some good news to share? Let us know! We’re always looking for a reason to crow about Chanticleerians! Here are some recent achievements from our authors:
FLEXIBLE REGISTRATIONS ARE AVAILABLE for these challenging times.
Seating is Limited. The esteemed WRITER Magazine (founded in 1887) has repeatedly recognized the Chanticleer Authors Conference as one of the best conferences to attend and participate in for North America.
Commander Kate Holman thought she understood the perils of leading humanity’s first manned mission to Mars. In Ares, Jayson Adams’ breathless science-fiction thriller, the Red Planet—and Holman’s own crew—confront her with threats she couldn’t possibly have expected.
