The Heroes Fall - When War Calls

The Heroes Fall - When War Calls, by Zy Rykoa, free

Our history was lost in World War III, we'll remember in World War IV.

After learning of the catastrophic continental shifts, powerful energy-wielding people roaming the planet and an illness that will kill him, Jaden realises that he has decisions to make—decisions that could mean the life and death of millions as he joins World War IV.

He is torn between the side of perceived-good, selfish revenge and the love of his life, and he is given power like few others; yet his heart simply wants to return home, to be free of it all. But no matter how powerful he becomes, there will always be things outside of his control, and he'll have to fight until the end to hold onto what he loves most.

Banded

Banded, by Logan Byrne, free

In dystopian Manhattan, society is divided into six zones, with each one representing a citizen’s benefit to society: Stalwart (strength), Astute (intelligence), Collusive (greed), Radiant (beauty), Quixotic (no life direction), and the Altruistic (willingness to help others). On a citizen’s sixteenth birthday, a computer suggests a new zone for them based on their inherent benefit to society. When Kalenna Slater is sorted out of her home zone Quixotic and into Altruistic, she thinks things can’t get worse. Life looks dismal until she meets Gavin, a boy also just sorted into Altruistic who becomes the light needed on her cloudy days.

During sorting she receives a device known as ‘The Band’. It’s a large watch-like device that never comes off, and it measures a citizen’s karma on a scale from one to one hundred. If a citizen does good, they gain points. If a citizen does bad, including breaking laws, they lose points. When your number reaches zero, the band acts as judge, jury, and executioner, and you are injected with toxins that kill you within minutes.

After sorting, recruits are taken to a three month long mandatory school named HQ. It’s at HQ she meets new friends from different zones, and finally begins to feel at ease. Everything goes well until a rare trip home makes her discover that her father, who has been missing for a decade, may have taken part in a terrible program that stands to shake the fabric of society.

George Goes to Mars

George Hughes, Book 1, George Goes to Mars, by Simon Dillon, free

When George Hughes discovers he has inherited the planet Mars, he goes from poverty to becoming the richest boy on Earth overnight.

Accompanied by his new guardian, a mysterious secret agent, and a crew of astronauts, George makes the voyage to Mars to sell land to celebrities wanting to build interplanetary holiday homes. But sabotage, assassination attempts and the possibility of an alien threat plunge him into a deadly adventure...

The second book in the series, George Goes to Titan, is available.

Strandline

Strandline, by Tamsin Showbrook, free

In this contemporary urban fantasy, connections are made and lives become interlocked in the strangest of circumstances. Seren Ymor's life is already tainted by death and abuse, and complicated by a supernatural ability she has always kept secret. Shortly before her sixteenth birthday, she makes a discovery on a beach near her North Yorkshire home which makes things even more tangled. Through it, she becomes linked to a mysterious people on the brink of war, both amongst themselves and with us. She also finds herself the target of unwanted attention from a covert organisation who say they want to help and protect her, but who she can’t bring herself to trust. And at the same time, she manages to find herself at the centre of a bizarre love triangle. 

As Seren begins to change in ways that shouldn’t be possible, she begins to question everything she thought she knew and who she really wants to be. The choices and discoveries she makes will affect not just her and those she loves, but the rest of us too in the dark times ahead.