Podcast Categories: Literature

Scott Sigler reinvented the alien-invasion story in his bestselling novels Infected and Contagious… rebooted the biotech thriller in Ancestor…now, in his most ambitious, sweeping novel to date, he works his magic on the paranormal thriller, taking us inside a terrifying underworld of subterranean predators that only his twisted mind could invent.

Homicide detective Bryan Clauser is losing his mind.

How else to explain the dreams he keeps having—dreams that mirror, with impossible accuracy, the gruesome serial murders taking place all over San Francisco? How else to explain the feelings these dreams provoke in him—not disgust, not horror, but excitement?

As Bryan and his longtime partner, Lawrence “Pookie” Chang, investigate the murders, they learn that things are even stranger than they at first seem. For the victims are all enemies of a seemingly ordinary young boy—a boy who is gripped by the same dreams that haunt Bryan. Meanwhile, a shadowy vigilante, seemingly armed with superhuman powers, is out there killing the killers. And Bryan and Pookie’s superiors—from the mayor on down—seem strangely eager to keep the detectives from discovering the truth.

Doubting his own sanity and stripped of his badge, Bryan begins to suspect that he’s stumbled into the crosshairs of a shadow war that has gripped his city for more than a century—a war waged by a race of killers living in San Francisco’s unknown, underground ruins, emerging at night to feed on those who will not be missed.

And as Bryan learns the truth about his own intimate connections to the killings, he discovers that those who matter most to him are in mortal danger…and that he may be the only man gifted—or cursed—with the power to do battle with the nocturnals.

Featuring a dazzlingly plotted mystery and a terrifying descent into a nightmarish underworld—along with some of the most incredible action scenes ever put to paper, and an explosive, gut-wrenching conclusion you won’t soon forget—Nocturnal is the most spectacular outing to date from one of the genre’s brightest stars.

In Alive, Scott Sigler introduced readers to an unforgettable young heroine and a mysterious new world reminiscent of those of The Hunger Games, Divergent, and Red Rising. Now he expands his singular vision in the next thrilling novel of this powerful sci-fi adventure series.

“If it’s war they want, they messed with the wrong girl.”

M. Savage—or Em, as she is called—has made a bewildering and ominous discovery. She and the other young people she was chosen to lead awoke in strange coffins with no memory of their names or their pasts. They faced an empty, unknown place of twisting tunnels and human bones. With only one another to depend on, they searched for answers and found the truth about their terrifying fate. Confronted by a monstrous enemy, they vowed never to surrender—and, by any means, to survive.

The planet Omeyocan may be the sanctuary Em and her comrades seek. But the planet for which they were created turns out not to be a pristine, virgin world. Vestiges of a lost civilization testify to a horrifying past that may yet repeat itself. And when a new enemy creeps from the jungle shadows, Em and her young refugees learn there’s nowhere left to run. They face a simple choice: fight or die.

In the midst of this desperate struggle, their unity is compromised from within—and a dangerous zealot devoted to a bloodthirsty god moves to usurp Em’s command, threatening to lead them all down a path to violent doom.

“While so many have pondered the future of pro football, none have rendered it quite like this. Thrives as both a sports book and as a work of sci-fi.”
— L. Jon Wertheim, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED Senior Writer

Seven centuries in the future, the sport of American football has never been bigger, never been faster, never been more lethal. Trillions of fans from all over the galaxy watch six unique races battle in contests so violent that deaths are part of the stat sheet.

Star quarterback Quentin Barnes has led his beloved Ionath Krakens to glory on the gridiron and become the most-recognized individual in history, but it is off the field where his world crumbles around him. Over four seasons with Ionath, he’s picked up powerful enemies: one of which drove his sister into the Portath Cloud, a place from which no ship returns. Because his enemies include his team owner — a possessive crime lord who treats players like property —and the ruling government that controls the shipping lanes, Quentin and his friends must hide from the media spotlight as they search for a way to rescue his sister.

The GFL series melds star-spanning scifi, brutal crime fiction and intense sports action into a smash-mouth extravaganza unlike anything you’ve read before.

In this podiobook: Scientists struggle to solve the problem of xenotransplantation — using animal tissue to replace failing human organs. Funded by the biotech firm Genada, Dr. Claus Rhumkorrf seeks to recreate the ancestor of all mammals. By getting back to the root of our creation, Rhumkorrf hopes to create an animal with human internal organs. Rhumkorrf discovers the ancestor, but it is not the small, harmless creature he envisions. His genius gives birth to a fast-growing evil that nature eradicated 250 million years ago — an evil now on the loose, and very, very hungry.Also by Scott Sigler – Earthcore.Technorati Profile

“A summer blockbuster movie in print. If you’re a sports fan, a sci-fi reader — or both — this book is a touchdown of a read.”
— Lars Anderson, Sports Illustrated senior writer and author of “Carlisle vs. Army”

THE ALL-PRO is the third book in the Galactic Football League series, following on THE ROOKIE and THE STARTER. Seven centuries into the future, aliens and humans compete for the greatest prize in the universe: the Galaxy Bowl trophy. Quarterback Quentin Barnes enters his third season at the helm of the Ionath Krakens.

He’s re-shaped the team in his image, and the time for excuses is over — it’s win, or be replaced. Quentin’s championship quest carries he and his teammates across the galaxy in a brutal twelve-game season fraught with injury and death. But he faces more than just on-field challenges. As he enters a free-agent year, several franchises vie for his services.

Will he play for a new team, or will he remain with his beloved Krakens. And then there’s the slight distraction that someone, somewhere, is trying to assassinate him – and he doesn’t know why.

“While so many have pondered the future of pro football, none have rendered it quite like this. Thrives as both a sports work and as a work of sci-fi.”
— L. Jon Wertheim, Sports Illustrated senior writer

The sequel to THE ROOKIE, THE STARTER is a star-spanning coming-of-age space opera combined with the gritty world of organized crime, all set against a backdrop of a far-future professional football league. Nineteen-year-old second-year quarterback Quentin Barnes has overcome racism and unified his team. He led the Ionath Krakens to a lower-tier championship, a championship that earned them promotion into the meat grinder known as “Tier One.”

Now, Quentin and his teammates have to compete against the greatest football teams ever assembled, and do far more than just survive each game. As he rebuilds the team in his own image, Quentin’s true quest for a Tier One championship begins.

From the acclaimed author of Infected comes an epic and exhilarating story of humanity’s secret battle against a horrific enemy.

Across America, a mysterious pathogen transforms ordinary people into raging killers, psychopaths driven by a terrifying, alien agenda. The human race fights back, yet after every battle the disease responds, adapts, using sophisticated strategies and brilliant ruses to fool its pursuers. The only possible explanation: the epidemic is driven not by evolution but by some malevolent intelligence.

Standing against this unimaginable threat is a small group, assembled under the strictest secrecy. Their best weapon is hulking former football star Perry Dawsey, left psychologically shattered by his own struggles with this terrible enemy, who possesses an unexplainable ability to locate the disease’s hosts. Violent and unpredictable, Perry is both the nation’s best hope and a terrifying liability. Hardened CIA veteran Dew Phillips must somehow forge a connection with him if they’re going to stand a chance against this maddeningly adaptable opponent. Alongside them is Margaret Montoya, a brilliant epidemiologist who fights for a cure even as she reels under the weight of endless horrors.

These three and their team have kept humanity in the game, but that’s not good enough anymore, not when the disease turns contagious, triggering a fast countdown to Armageddon. Meanwhile, other enemies join the battle, and a new threat — one that comes from a most unexpected source — may ultimately prove the most dangerous of all.

Catapulting the reader into a world where humanity’s life span is measured in hours and the president’s finger hovers over the nuclear button, rising star Scott Sigler takes us on a breathtaking, hyper-adrenalized ride filled with terror and jaw-dropping action. Contagious is a truly grand work of suspense, science, and horror from a new master.

“An inventive, amped-up yarn . . . full of pressure-cooker mind games.”
—Entertainment Weekly

“A marvel of gonzo, in-your-face, up-to-the-minute terror. Sigler is masterful
at grabbing the reader by the throat and refusing to let go.”
—Lincoln Child, New York Times bestselling author of Deep Storm

“Fraught with tension . . . Invasion of the Body Snatchers meets The Hot Zone.”
—Rocky Mountain News

“Part Stephen King, part Chuck Palahniuk . . . a pulpy masterpiece of action, terror, and suspense.”
—James Rollins, New York Times bestselling author of The Judas Strain

“Riveting . . . leads the reader from one startling detail to the next . . . a terrifying page-turner.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Powerfully written . . . [with] an unforgettable central character. You’ll never listen to Cole Porter’s ‘I’ve Got You Under My Skin’ the same way again.”
—Dallas Morning News

“Once begun, not easily put down . . . leaves the reader’s heart still racing when
the last page is turned.”
—Roanoke Times