John Wilker grew up watching Star Trek TNG with his parents. No one spoke, and you held it until the end. He tells rip roaring stories about misfit crews in way over their head saving the day. Sometimes they save the galaxy, other times they save a hacker pulling a space version of the Superman III banking software hack. He loves characters at having nothing in common but their circumstances.

He lives in Denver with his wife and two furry adventure buddies. His best writing happens at the local craft brewery where he hopes one day a beer will be named after his work. John Dreams big!

Space Rogues 1-2 & Grand Human Empire 1-2 by John Wilker

Exclusive to StoryBundle, this special collection features the first two books of John's Space Rogues saga (12 books in all, so far!) and the first two books in his Grand Human Empire series (5 books so far!)

The Space Rogues series follows a bunch of misfits led by the only human to have left our solar system as they bumble from one job to the next. More often than not they find themselves in way over their head, but since no one checks references anymore, hey.

Grand Human Empire: Jax lost his parents in the civil war. They left him a ship and two droids. All he's ever wanted was to keep flying; He takes the jobs he can get and doesn't ask questions. That all changes the moment he finds himself with a an unwanted business partner and on the wrong side of the job he's being paid to do.

The Grand Human empire series follows Jax and a cast of characters as they make their way through the newly formed empire, taking whatever jobs they can find. It's hard to be picky sometimes.

CURATOR'S NOTE

There's something about John's work that resonates far beyond the usual idea of adventurous science fiction. Hiding within those pages of action-packed scenes and impossible to navigate scenarios are these moments of clarity and heartfelt earnestness. The characters remain raw and realistic, balancing a tight rope act between driving the action forward and giving you a reason to care about them. - Dave Walsh

 

REVIEWS

  • 1."Best yarn since 'Fuzzy Nation.' I can't wait to read more about Wil and his fascinating crew!"

    – Reader review

  • 1."An epic sci-fi tale that is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat."

    – Literary Titan

  • 1."a solidly entertaining sci-fi adventure..."

    – Publishers Weekly Booklife Prize
 

BOOK PREVIEW

Excerpt

"Attention, unregistered vessel." The voice came over the overhead speaker. "You have violated restricted space. Prepare to reverse course and return to Orbital Twelve."

Jax reached over and flipped the switch, shutting the comm system off. "Dumb conversation." He pushed the throttle control closer to the top. The nimble Valerian Co-op Infiltrator lurched a bit as her powerful engines roared.

"They are locking weapons." The ceiling speaker announced. Skip, the ship's managing intelligence, intoned. A warning tone sounded.

Jax pushed, pulled, and twisted the flight controls, sending the small craft into a series of erratic maneuvers. The target lock tone fell silent.

"See." He said.

The tone returned.

"Yes." Skip replied.

Jax growled and checked the small tactical readout. Three Imperial corvettes were converging on his location; two from orbit near the station he had just left, not really a threat. The third, however, was coming from outside the planet's gravity well. It was a threat.

"Welp, this is how we go out, I guess." Rudy said.

Jax didn't acknowledge him. Instead, he adjusted their course again, bringing them into a direct collision course with the oncoming imperial corvette.

"Captain…" Skip said.

The weapons lock alert got louder. The Imperial ship was getting larger and larger through the transparent titanium view screen.

"Jackson…" Rudy whined.

Moments before collision, Jax threw the flight controls hard over while mashing a foot down on one of the pedals below the console. The lithe ship twisted and shot under the much larger vessel, barely twenty meters between them. The two ships' shields touched, causing both to glow orange as they ground against each other.

The moment the two ships parted, the weapon's lock tone silent, Jax powered up the wormhole generator.

In minutes the small ship was billions of kilometers away, racing through a wormhole.