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BA Gillies

2026 – Reasons for Optimism

Published about 1 month ago • 5 min read

2026 – Reasons for Optimism

(3-4 minute read)

A New Year begins quietly.

No matter how noisy the world feels, January always carries a moment of stillness, a short pause where the calendar resets and the future feels slightly less heavy than it did the day before. It’s a good moment to look back, briefly, and then look forward with something like cautious optimism.

Last year was a very good year for us. More readers found the books, the universe expanded, awards arrived that I never expected, and conversations with readers became one of the highlights of my working week. I’m deeply grateful for that.

This year already looks promising. There are new stories taking shape, a new series approaching, more books in familiar worlds, and a handful of shorter pieces that are itching to escape the notebook. I’m excited to share them with you as they’re ready.
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​Reasons to be Cheerful

But before diving back into fiction, I wanted to start the year by looking outward rather than inward.

Because something quietly remarkable is happening in science and technology right now, and it rarely makes the front page.

We tend to imagine progress as sudden and dramatic. Flying cars. Cure-alls. Overnight revolutions. In reality, the most important advances arrive gradually, through stubborn engineering, careful experimentation, and thousands of brilliant, determined people solving small problems that add up to something transformative. When you step back, though, a pattern begins to emerge. A future that is not perfect, but distinctly better than the one we inherited.

One example that caught my attention recently was the rise of manufacturing in space. Several companies are now building orbital factories designed to operate in microgravity, where materials behave in ways they simply cannot on Earth. Crystals grow without distortion. Heat flows differently. Chemical reactions become more precise. These factories are being designed to manufacture ultra-pure materials for computer chips, advanced fibre optics, and even pharmaceutical compounds. The payoff isn’t science-fiction spectacle. It’s quieter benefits: faster and more energy-efficient computers, purer medicines, and technologies that last longer and waste less.

Alongside this, a new generation of artificial intelligence is emerging that doesn’t just answer questions but plans and acts. These systems are already being used to manage complex supply chains, balance energy grids, monitor infrastructure, and assist medical professionals by flagging subtle patterns humans might miss. The real benefit isn’t automation for its own sake. It’s fewer errors, earlier warnings, and less human attention wasted on routine administration. When systems fail less often, everyone benefits.

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Tireless Researchers

In laboratories, another quiet revolution is underway. Robotic systems guided by AI are running chemical and biological experiments around the clock, learning from each result and adjusting their approach in real time. Some of these “robochemists” have already helped discover new materials and drug candidates at a pace no human team could match. What once took years can now take weeks. That speed matters when the goal is cheaper medicine, better batteries, or faster responses to pandemics and emerging diseases.

Medicine itself is changing shape in fascinating ways. Digital twin technology is allowing doctors to create virtual models of individual organs, and eventually entire patients, built from scans, genetics, and medical histories. Treatments can be tested in simulation before they are applied in reality. The result is fewer side effects, more personalised care, and better outcomes. This is medicine moving away from population averages and toward treating people as individuals.

And then there is biotechnology, which may prove to be the most quietly transformative field of all. Scientists are already engineering living cells that act as therapies, bacteria that regulate inflammation, and microscopic sensors that can detect disease markers long before symptoms appear. These systems blur the line between biology and technology. They don’t shout for attention, but they hint at a future where the body is monitored and supported continuously rather than patched up after something breaks. If you’ve read Return to the Galaxy, you might recognise this as the very earliest ancestor of something far more advanced. What fiction imagines often begins as a laboratory curiosity.

None of these technologies promise a perfect world. They won’t eliminate conflict, hardship, or human folly. But taken together, they suggest a future that is a little smarter, a little kinder, and a lot more capable. A future where mistakes are caught earlier, waste is reduced, and human effort is spent where it matters most.

That feels like a good note to start a new year on.

Thank you, as always, for reading, for your messages, and for being part of this journey. I hope the year ahead brings you curiosity, and at least a few moments of wonder.

There’s a lot more to come.

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If you’ve been following the journey so far, I’m very happy to say that the next chapter is almost here. Stand for the Galaxy, Book 6 in the Return to the Galaxy series, is now available for pre-order.

It will be published on January 15th.
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This is the book where many of the long-running threads finally tighten: Earth steps onto the galactic stage in full view, old alliances strain under impossible pressure, and the cost of freedom becomes something humanity can no longer debate in theory. Ewan has always known this moment was coming. In Book 6, he has to decide what survives it.
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Stand for the Galaxy

Book 6 of the Multi-Award-Winning Return to the Galaxy series
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​#1 Bestseller in Alien Invasion, Space Marines, Space Fleet, Space Opera, Galactic Empire, and more

Earth’s greatest fear has finally come true.

When humanity learns how to break gravity itself, the consequences are immediate and catastrophic. Rogue states unleash weapons that should not exist, cities burn in nuclear fire, and the fragile balance holding Earth together shatters overnight.

Admiral Ewan Scott always knew this day would come.

As governments mobilise against him, allies begin to doubt, and enemies close in from every direction. Ewan must decide how much freedom humanity can afford to lose if it is to survive at all.

Meanwhile, deep beneath an ancient asteroid, a long-forgotten super-civilisation awakens, one that may offer salvation, or demand human obedience.

Across the stars, ancient alliances fracture. Fleets vanish. Betrayal festers inside empires already on the brink of collapse. And on a forgotten world, a broken warrior fights to survive long enough to change the fate of civilizations.

Fast-paced, cinematic, and relentlessly tense, this is military space opera at its most ambitious.

Humanity is no longer asking for permission.

It will stand its ground.

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Pre-ordering doesn’t just help the book launch strongly. It tells Amazon, quietly but powerfully, that this series matters to real readers. Every early order helps the book reach new eyes in release week, which in turn helps the entire series continue to grow. If you’ve enjoyed the story so far, pre-ordering Stand for the Galaxy is the single most effective way you can support the universe and make sure it keeps expanding. I can’t wait for you to read this one; it’s bigger, darker, and more ambitious than anything that’s come before.
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I hope you have a happy, healthy and successful 2026!

Until next time,

Brian

BA Gillies​
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If you've been meaning to dive into the Return to the Galaxy Universe, now’s your chance!

Whether you're a new reader or just haven’t grabbed your copies yet, now’s the time to catch up on the award-winning series readers are calling “better than Scalzi” and “the best book since Heinlein died.” There is still time to catch up with the first book. You can also read the series free anytime in Kindle Unlimited:

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Discover More Sci-Fi Adventures

Each month, I’ll team up with a group of talented sci-fi authors to bring you an incredible selection of books. Whether you’re looking for thrilling space battles, deep space mysteries, or first-contact encounters, these books are packed with stories to fuel your imagination.

Author Spotlight:

BA Gillies

Hurrah for the Future!

I write high-speed, strategy-driven Military Sci-Fi & Space Opera, where cunning commanders, elite soldiers, and alien warlords fight for survival on the fringes of space. Subscribe to my newsletter for my latest updates!

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