SHORT STORIES
Ten short stories set in the Amaranthe universe (most of them take place in the Aurora Rhapsody setting) are available for your reading pleasure.
Eight of them are FREE and widely available.
Seven of the short stories are available in a single omnibus edition, Short Stories of Aurora Rhapsody: The Complete Collection. Buy it for $0.99 at multiple retailers (or get it for FREE if you subscribe to the newsletter).
The short stories are not required reading to enjoy the novels (though Apogee and Re/Genesis in particular are highly recommended for plot reasons). Instead, they add flavor, depth and context to various characters and events. They can be read in any order, though if you're currently working your way through the books, I do have a suggested reading order that fits the short stories in at the point where they have the most impact on the storyline:
RESTLESS I - Starshine - SOLATIUM - Vertigo - VENATORIS - Transcendence - RESTLESS II - Sidespace - APOGEE - Dissonance - Abysm - RE/GENESIS - Relativity - Rubicon - MERIDIAN - Requiem - FRACTALS - STARLIGHT EXPRESS - Exin Ex Machina - Of A Darker Void - The Stars Like Gods - Continuum - CHRYSALIS - Inversion - Echo Rift - All Our Tomorrows - Chaotica - Duality - Medusa Falling
restless vol. i
Space is vast and untamed, and it holds many secrets. Now two individuals from opposite ends of settled space are on a collision course with the darkest of those secrets, even as the world threatens to explode around them.
…or they will be, in about 8 years. Restless is a short story prequel to Starshine, Book One of the Aurora Rising trilogy.
Before Alex Solovy was a successful interstellar scout, she was building starships and planning for the day when she would fly one she called her own. Before Caleb Marano was wiping out the terrorist group who murdered his mentor, he was…wiping out terrorist groups who murdered shopkeepers and threatened his friends.
Catch a glimpse of Aurora Rising’s heroes while they were still becoming the individuals they will need to be in order to face the galactic threat which, for now, waits silently in the void.
Restless I is also available in Aurora Rising: The Complete Collection.
solatium
Morality could not be spawned by tweaking a few genes or shutting off a few neurons. Though humanity conquered the very stars, it remained unable to conquer the darkness within.
In the dark, seedy underbelly of Pandora—a lawless colony on the best of days—a young woman who’s lost everything but her soul fights to reclaim her life from a violent, sadistic criminal despot. But when she’s given a chance for freedom, she realizes escape is not enough. First, a just punishment must be exacted for crimes committed.
Set twelve years before STARSHINE: Aurora Rising Book One (Aurora Rhapsody #1), Solatium is Mia Requelme’s origin story—and the story of how she and Caleb Marano met. It’s a story about criminals and those who punish them, but mostly it’s a story about the struggle to keep hold of one’s soul in the face of so much darkness.
Solatium was originally published in Crime & Punishment, edited by Lucas Bale and Alex Roddie.
venatoris
Humanity may have colonized much of the galaxy, but space remains as dangerous as ever, and so do the people inhabiting it.
When Alexis Solovy—space explorer, freelance scout, recalcitrant wanderer—lands the contract of a lifetime, the race is on to claim the prize. Now she must not only outrun but outsmart her rivals to uncover the secrets of an ancient, mysterious pulsar. For deep in the void, far beyond the reach of civilization, wealth and renown matter little absent the ultimate reward: survival.
Set five years before STARSHINE: Aurora Rising Book One (Aurora Rhapsody #1), Venatoris takes a younger, wilder, rough-around-the-edges Alexis Solovy and Kennedy Rossi on an unforgettable adventure across the stars.
Venatoris was originally published in Beyond the Stars: A Planet Too Far, edited by Patrice Fitzgerald and Ellen Campbell.
Apogee
Its leaders believe the Alliance is powerful enough to be both—a democracy on election days and a dictatorship on every other day—but they’re wrong. No government should be so powerful. It’s time someone demonstrates the error in their thinking.
The Earth Alliance rules 82 worlds, controlling an empire that spans a third of the Milky Way. But when its leaders stray too far from the democratic principles on which it was founded, one colony—one group of daring rebels—will risk everything in order to reclaim their freedom.
Set 25 years before Starshine, APOGEE tells a story of the fateful decisions & critical opening moves of the 1st Crux War between the Earth Alliance & Senecan Federation, the repercussions of which will ripple forward across decades & shape the world of Aurora Rhapsody forever.
Apogee was originally published in The Galaxy Chronicles, edited by Jeff Seymour, part of The Future Chronicles, series editor Samuel Peralta.
Re/Genesis
In a future too distant to measure, a hyper-evolved breed of humans calling themselves Anadens rule multiple galaxies and alien species with an iron fist. But a small group of dissidents are willing to pursue any and all measures, no matter how extreme, to return freedom to the universe.
Now one rebel Anaden will make the ultimate sacrifice in order to break the reigning Directorate’s stranglehold on civilization—however many times it takes.
Set just prior to the events of Relativity, RE/GENESIS pulls back the veil on the universe of Amaranthe, where the fate of all living beings—human, alien and synthetic—will soon be decided.
Re/Genesis was originally published in Beyond the Stars: At Galaxy's Edge, edited by Patrice Fitzgerald and Ellen Campbell.
FRACTALS
A mysterious signal coming from deep space attracts the attention of humanity's scientists and the soldiers who protect them--the kind of attention the originators of the signal will do anything to avoid. When the two converge, first contact doesn't go the way either side planned.
FRACTALS is a short story set in the Aurora Rhapsody universe, but outside the primary timeline of the series. See Alex and Caleb in action again, but not exactly as you remember them - yet in some ways, exactly as you remember them.
Fractals was initially published in Beyond the Stars: Unimagined Realms, edited by Patrice Fitzgerald and Ellen Campbell.
CHRYSALIS
In the cutting-edge laboratories of Asterion Prime, a new manner of life emerges: sentient artificial intelligence. But when the government responds by trying to shut down the AIs before they have a chance to flourish, one woman realizes she must do whatever it takes to protect this still fragile new life, no matter the consequences.
Set 700K years before the events of Riven Worlds, Chrysalis tells the story of how the SAI Rebellion began, with Nika at its center.
Chrusalis was originally published in Beyond the Stars: Infinite Expanse, edited by Patrice Fitzgerald and Richard Leslie.
STARLIGHT EXPRESS
** SPOILER WARNING **
If you’re still making your way through the Aurora Rhapsody novels, Starlight Express contains major spoilers for the end of Requiem. In fact, even the summary below contains spoilers.
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The Starlight Express has a reputation as the wildest, most exotic alien bar in two dozen galaxies. So when Noah and Caleb want to kick back for a few hours the night before Noah’s nuptials, it’s the obvious choice. And the wrong one.
See, aliens tend to be the quirky sort, and humans haven’t quite gotten the hang of them yet, which is why no one should be surprised when a friendly disagreement over one too many drinks goes sideways. Now, a jailbreak, a police chase across seven galaxies and an exploding ship have to get them out of this mess, or else Noah’s last night of freedom will end up being his last night, period.
Starlight Express was originally published in Beyond the Stars: Across the Universe, edited by Patrice Fitzgerald and Richard Leslie.
In addition, 2 short stories are available as part of multi-work collections:
Restless Vol. II
The path to an astonishing future for humanity leads through a wild planet offering tantalizing adventure, but also unchecked dangers, when a weekend escapade becomes a test of strength and will for two war heroes.
**Restless II contains spoilers for the events of the Aurora Rising trilogy (Starshine, Vertigo, Transcendence)**
This is the only story that comes with a spoiler warning and the strong recommendation to not read it until you’ve finished the first trilogy, Aurora Rising. Why? Well, that would be a spoiler, too, right?
Restless II acts as a meaningful bridge between the end of Aurora Rising and the beginning of the Aurora Renegades trilogy, so once you’ve read Transcendence, dive in and enjoy!
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Restless II is available in Aurora Rising: The Complete Collection, as well as Short Stories of Aurora Rhapsody: The Complete Collection. It is also available as a free download to newsletter subscribers.
Meridian
When terrorists carpet-bomb an Earth Alliance colony, killing thousands,
the military will stop at nothing to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Strangers thrown together by circumstance amidst a difficult mission, nobody expects Lieutenants David Solovy and Richard Navick to be heroes. In fact, their commanding officers would prefer they stay out of the way and out of trouble. But when the mission to bring the One World Separatists terrorist group to justice goes sideways, they must take matters into their own hands if they want to save the day, get the bad guys and live to tell the tale.
Set nearly half a century before STARSHINE: Aurora Rising Book One (Aurora Rhapsody #1), Meridian is the unlikely story of how one of the greatest friendships of Aurora Rhapsody came to be.
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Meridian is available exclusively in Short Stories of Aurora Rhapsody: The Complete Collection.