Grid Failures, Grumpy Robots, and a Murder on Olympus Mons: This Week's Free Sci-Fi

by T. L. Payne

Seven books in one download, starting with an EMP that strands college freshman Maddie Langston in a Chicago airport. It sits at about 4.5 with over 400 ratings, which is solid for a series this long. One reviewer says it isn't the best of the genre but still a good story. Another notes it covers a full year and gets very eventful, including a 15 and 16 year old getting married, so expect melodrama alongside the survival stuff. Good pick if you want a long prepper-style binge.

“Audible--good story, but not the best of this genre I've listened to. I hope we don't have an EMP in my lifetime--I don't think I'd do very well! When an EMP attack wipes out the nation’s power grid and communications, college freshman Maddie Langston is forced to run for her life. Stranded in a Chi”

by Simon Haynes

Hal Spacejock is a broke cargo loader about to be evicted and bullied by a human-hating robot supervisor who only knows him by his employee number. Then he ends up flying someone else's spaceship, and learning on the job goes about as well as you'd guess. Readers have it at around 4.3 with nearly 300 ratings, and one said they read the whole thing smiling. Light and silly, and a nice palate cleanser after the EMP series.

“In this humorous tale, Simon Hayes explains why Hal Spacejock, lowly cargo loader, known to his robot supervisor only by employee number, hates robots so much. It's not because they are evil overlords--although as a guess, that wouldn't fall as wide of the mark as you would like--but they make prett”

by Kevin Kane

Think The X-Files meets Dungeon Crawler Carl, set in the Backrooms, with John Doe hired to clean up the mess reality leaves behind when it gets sloppy drunk. It's at just over 4.0 from a bit more than a hundred ratings, and a lot of the reviews come from NetGalley early readers who found it strange in a good way. The humor is crude and surreal, so it's not for everyone. If that blurb made you grin, you'll probably be fine.

“I got the audiobook arc from netgally. I was instantly intruiged by the book, it had a diffrent cover on netgally, and by the blurb. It was a strange bit very fun story. Even tough so much happens and a lit of strange and quirky things it never felt to much. 3.5 stars rounded down. While I enjoyed t”

by Ivy Woods

Heads up, this is dark YA fantasy rather than science fiction, so go in expecting elves and elemental magic. A captive and a mysterious elf attempt a prison break that could kill them both. It holds a 4.03 from a few dozen ratings, and reviewers mention a slow burn, a calculating female lead, and a world where trust is dangerous. A good fit for fans of fierce-girl fantasy who don't mind it landing on a sci-fi list.

“Thank you to the author and Iris Influencers for this arc! High stakes Elemental magic YA fantasy Slow burn If you love stories about fierce girls dismantling oppressive systems—with a dash of reluctant allyship—put this at the top of your TBR.”

by Richard B. Byte

A stubborn cop named Max finds a dead man in an impossible pose on the summit of Olympus Mons, which makes it the first murder on the surface of Mars. The rating is a high 4.6, though only 15 people have rated it, so treat that with a grain of salt. Readers describe a classic whodunit in the style of 1970s TV mysteries, moved to a future Martian city, and one says it beats the other prequel. If you like your sci-fi with a detective and a short read, start here.

“This Was a Better Tale than the other Prequel (‘Mystery of the Missing Marshall’) This is Prequel #1 (? of 2 ?), intended to be followed by the ‘Mystery of the Missing Marshall’ novella. Like the other sequel to this series, ‘A Murder Mystery on Mars’ was definitely little more than a fast-paced Mur”