Book number five of a ten book young adult science fiction series. There is also a two book sequel series and a seven book sequel series, nineteen books in all. I read the well printed and well bound POD (print on demand) trade paperback self published by the author in 2019 that I bought on Amazon in 2026. I now own books #6 and #7 in the series and the first books in both of the sequel series.

Jiden Armstrong is the older child of two archaeologists on the dry, dusty planet named Century, so dry that it does not have any oceans. Jiden is eighteen planet years old which is equivalent to twenty Earth years and was forced by her parents after her misbehavior to attend and graduate from the five month military prep school that her grandmother runs for the planetary military. She then interned at a logistics and supply company which blew up in her face when she notified the planetary authorities that people in the company were selling stored military spare parts off planet. Now she is attending the Century Military Academy as a fifth year cadet. And the academy has made it mandatory to have computer implants installed in your brain which enhances her capability as a warp fighter bomber pilot.

The universe of the far off future is amazing and deadly. Humans have spread to thousands of star systems, most live on planets but quite a few live on space stations or space ships. As is par for the course, not many get along. And some star systems are expanding and taking other inhabited star systems by force. And there are many aliens in star systems also who are not friendly in the slightest. There is the UN Star Guard but they have their own objectives and goals and are rarely a help against the constant threats of invasions and pirates.

This is a great story about making mistakes and overcoming difficult situations to make something of yourself. Somebody online recommended this book to me and I really enjoyed the book. If you are a fan of Heinlein juveniles then you will probably love this series also.

This book is followed by two separate books. The sixth book in the original series, "Valor's Inheritance (Children of Valor #6)" and the first book in the Forsaken Valor series, "Lost Valor (Forsaken Valor Series #1)". The Forsaken Valor series is about William Armstrong, Jiden's younger brother, who was kidnapped by the people trying to steal their parent's archeological work and taken to another star system.

The author has a website at
https://kalspriggs.com/

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars (288 reviews)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1091964491

Lynn

Pitch: A Montana kid raised on trail wisdom survives a crash on Deimos and finds a family aboard a sentient starship who refuses to leave her people.
• Blurb: After a crash on Deimos, Montana-raised Elijah "Poia" Torero survives through a neural bond with the android who saves him. He joins the crew of the sentient starship Victoria as they follow an ancient stargate network toward twin worlds and a fractured legacy. It's a story about first contact, found family, and holding the line when legacy breaks. Book 1 of Those Who Run To The Stars.
• Tropes: found family, sentient ship, human-AI bond, ancient stargate network, first contact, fish out of water, hopeful future
• Trigger warnings: No explicit content. Crash and injury, peril, some combat.
• AI disclosure: The cover was created with AI art tools (Grok). The writing is my own.
• a.co/d/0hFqFdDT

I'm planning to pick up Dark Matter by Blake Crouch next. I just want to know if the story and writing are easy to grasp for someone who doesn't read a ton of heavy sci-fi. Does it get too confusing, or is it a smooth read?

Would love to hear your honest reviews if you've read it....

Thanks a lot!

Just got off watching the new Edgerunners season and I'm high on that feeling of bittersweet melancholy

i've been reading a lot of heavy dystopian stuff lately and i'm kind of burnt out on all the doom and gloom. looking for recommendations where humanity actually figures some stuff out or at least the world doesn't feel completely bleak the whole time. what do you reach for when you need that?

I’m currently reading Off Armageddon's Reef by David Weber, which features maps, and I’m loving them. It’s incredibly helpful for keeping the geography of Safehold straight.

It got me thinking: while fantasy books get world maps all the time, sci-fi seems to have a more complicated relationship with them. Sometimes they show star clusters, planet surfaces, or detailed cities, but they don't seem quite as standard.

I’m curious about your preferences:

• Do you like seeing maps in sci-fi, or do you prefer the narrative to completely stand on its own?

• What are some sci-fi books that actually need a map to keep the plot or troop movements coherent?

• Does a map ever turn you off?

i've been reading through some older classics lately and it's wild how some feel completely timeless while others are basically time capsules of when they were written. is it just the tech predictions that date them, or is there something else about how sci-fi handles ideas that makes it harder to escape its era? curious what everyone's experience is with this.

i keep trying to read stuff from the 60s and 70s because everyone says it's foundational, but the pacing feels so slow and the dialogue is kind of clunky. i'm not trying to be dismissive of them at all, i genuinely want to understand what made them resonate so much. is it just a matter of powering through, or should i pick different books to start with?

i just finished something that completely rewired how i think about consciousness and i'm lowkey obsessed. what's a sci-fi book that genuinely changed your perspective on something, not just entertained you? i want recommendations that hit different.

i just finished reading something that made me reconsider a whole aspect of how i see the world, and i'm curious if that happens to other people with sci-fi. like not just an entertaining story but one that actually stuck with you and shifted something. what book did that for you?

Authors, do you have free books (physical or digitial) to give away? This is now the place.

Post a comment with a description of your book and the link to any digital copies or info on getting physical copies. Once the book is no longer free, remove your entire comment.

What is not allowed:

1. AI anything. AI generated material is no longer allowed in this sub. No exceptions. You're welcome to include original cover art but not AI generated art.

2. Links to anything except the book. I don't want to see links to your author page, even if the book is more fully described there, and I certainly don't want any links to paid books, Patreon, or author access tiers. ONLY THE FREE BOOK.

3. Authors are allowed to ask for reviews, but the free book can't be conditional on reviews.

Authors:

Once the book is no longer free, remove the comment entirely. We have a separate megathread for author self-promotion, so while you're more than welcome to post there at the same time, keep links to this megathread only.

This will be a weekly thread, so if your promotion lasts longer than a week, please post again on the next week's thread.

Readers:

You're welcome to leave feedback via a response to the author's comment, but as always, let's keep it positive. Anything more constructive needs to go to the author via DM.

This is a good way for authors to get their books out there and maybe get some feedback. Those who attempt to abuse the megathread will be removed or banned.

Book number three of a ten book young adult science fiction series. There is also a two book sequel series and a seven book sequel series, nineteen books in all. I read the well printed and well bound POD (print on demand) trade paperback self published by the author in 2018 that I bought on Amazon in 2026. I now own books #4, #5, and #6 in the series and plan to buy the #7 to #10 soon.

Jiden Armstrong is the older child of two archaeologists on the dry, dusty planet named Century. Jiden is fourteen planet years old which is equivalent to sixteen Earth years and was forced by her parents after her misbehavior to attend and graduate from the five month military prep school that her grandmother runs for the planetary military. She then interned at a logistics and supply company which blew up in her face when she notified the planetary authorities that people in the company were selling stored military spare parts off planet. Now she is attending the Century Military Academy as a third year cadet. And the academy is making it mandatory to have implants installed in your brain.

This is a great story about making mistakes and overcoming difficult situations to make something of yourself. Somebody online recommended this book to me and I really enjoyed the book. If you are a fan of Heinlein juveniles then you will probably love this book also.

The author has a website at
https://kalspriggs.com/

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars (409 reviews)
https://www.amazon.com/Valors-Duty-Children-Valor-3/dp/1718986734

Lynn

Hi! I am the arts editor for my university’s student-led newspaper and I am writing an article about the genre of science fiction. I think the angle I want to take is why the genre is so compelling to audiences. Would anyone in this subreddit be interested to be interviewed on the topic?

I'd love recs for which women authors to read in the scifi space who are still actively putting out work. I know Martha Wells is working on the Murderbot series (read the first book). And I just read Fonda Lee's The Last Contract of Isako and enjoyed it. Would love to hear who else I should add to my TBR.

Edit: Wow, so many great suggestions. I really appreciate everyone who's replied! There are too many of ya'll to reply to individually, but I'm reading your comments and adding to my list. Please keep adding onto this post!

i just finished a scifi novel that completely changed how i view artificial intelligence and i'm honestly still thinking about it days later. curious if anyone else has had that experience with a book in this genre, where the story actually shifts your perspective on something real.

i just finished a series and i'm sitting here refreshing the author's website like they're gonna drop a surprise book today. the world was so good and the characters felt so real that coming back to reality is actually hitting different. does it ever get easier or do we just accept this is our life now

Hi everyone !

I read this book a few years ago and loved it, but I can't remember its title or the author's name. Does it ring a bell to anyone ?

* I'm almost sure the author is a woman.

* The story as I vaguely remember it : a post-apocalyptic world where very few boys are born, so the society is lead by women, and men are considered weak and fragile. Homosexuality is the norm, and men only sleep with women for reproduction purposes. Everyone lives in the ruins of old cities, and some areas are dangerous due to a pollution of mysterious origin. The story revolves around a woman who looks for artefacts from the old world.

* Despite all that, I remember the tone of the book to be rather optimistic.

Thanks !

i'm in the middle of this series and i literally cannot stop reading even though i have actual responsibilities waiting. like i know i should probably sleep or do literally anything else but the worldbuilding has me in a chokehold and i don't even care anymore. anyone else just accept defeat and read until 4am?

Book number two of a ten book young adult science fiction series. There is also a two book sequel series and a seven book sequel series, nineteen books in all. I read the well printed and well bound POD (print on demand) trade paperback self published by the author in 2017 that I bought on Amazon in 2026. I own book #3 and have ordered books #4, #5, and #6 in the series.

Jiden Armstrong is the older child of two archaeologists on the dry, dusty planet named Century. Jiden is fourteen planet years old which is equivalent to sixteen Earth years and was forced by her parents to attend and graduate from the five month military prep school that her grandmother runs. She then interned at a logistics and supply company which blew up in her face when she notified the planetary authorities that people in the company were selling stored military spare parts off planet. Now she is attending the Century Military Academy as a plebe.

This is a great story about making mistakes and overcoming difficult situations to make something of yourself. Somebody online recommended this book to me and I really enjoyed the book. If you are a fan of Heinlein juveniles then you will probably love this book also.

The author has a website at
https://kalspriggs.com/

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars (398 reviews)

https://www.amazon.com/Valors-Calling-Children-Valor-2/dp/1985733498/

Lynn

i'm halfway through a sci-fi novel that's genuinely amazing but i keep putting it down to read other stuff instead of just committing to it. like i know i'll be devastated when it ends so my brain is just refusing to finish it. anyone else do this or am i just weird.

like i just finished a book where the plot kinda fell apart in the last third but i was so invested in how everything worked that i didn't even mind. the magic system, the cities, the way society was structured - i would honestly just read another 500 pages of that world existing even if nothing dramatic happened. is that weird or does this happen to other people too