Subsumption

Trusting an alien is hard. Figuring out which alien to trust might be impossible. Marcus Adams was supposed to be a normal college student. Instead, he's one of the chosen few in an alien-run education track preparing humanity for war. The Federation calls him special - an ideal candidate to help Earth survive the coming conflict with the rival Confederation. Now they've selected him for their most secretive program yet: a classified research Cohort that will determine how humanity is "integrated" into the galaxy. The experiments plunge Marcus into simulated realities so convincing they blur the line between engineered experience and lived memory. Each trial pushes him further - physically, mentally, emotionally. Every choice he makes becomes data. And the Federation insists that data is the only thing standing between Earth and enslavement. Marcus wants to believe them. His best friend Jordan doesn't. As the simulations intensify, Marcus's personal life begins to fracture - his brother, his family's expectations, the future he thought he controlled slipping through his fingers. The deeper he goes, the harder it becomes to tell where research ends and manipulation begins. With the invasion clock ticking down and the truth buried inside the very trials reshaping his mind, Marcus must answer the question no one else can: Is he humanity's greatest hope - or the Confederation's most valuable asset? Because the power to choose may be the only weapon Earth has left. And everyone wants control of him. A recursive, metaphysical technothriller for readers who love the psychological intensity of Ender's Game and the cosmic scale of The Three-Body Problem.

Unraveling myths is messy. But some lies have to die for humanity to survive. Velia and Virgil have never met - yet their lives are moving along the same invisible track. Born a decade apart in different cities, both are restless teenagers trapped in families that can't see who they really are. Velia's mother suffocates her with love. Virgil's father believes violence builds strength. Neither fits the life they've been handed. Both sense they're meant for something more. They're right. They just don't know how dangerous "more" can be. A mysterious arcade game. A forced exile to a wilderness camp for troubled teens. What looks like punishment is something else entirely - a test designed by humanity's secret alien ally to determine whether they're ready for a role in a war they don't yet understand. To pass, they must survive brutal trials, outwit a sadistic one-eyed hunter determined to break them, and accomplish what trained soldiers have failed to do: capture a high-value target tied to an alien empire preparing to conquer Earth. But the most dangerous challenge isn't the mission. It's the truth. Everything they've been told - about their families, their identities, even their pasts - has been carefully engineered. And the deeper they dig, the clearer it becomes: the war isn't just coming. It's already shaping them. Coverted is the gateway to the Subsumption series - a coming-of-age science fiction thriller about identity, manipulation, and humanity's place between two warring alien powers. Perfect for readers who love the strategic intensity of Ender's Game and the eerie, character-driven atmosphere of Stranger Things.