The Lost Portal

Lost Starship #20

by Vaughn Heppner

The strategists of Leviathan are cunning and devious. They also fear Captain Maddox because of his unusual luck, his ability to turn sure odds into a disaster for them. Before Leviathan begins its invasion of the Commonwealth, they want Maddox neutralized.Thus, using elaborate deception, the strategists convince Star Watch that ancient doomsday weapons lie in the Aquila Rift. It’s a region of space 700 light years from Earth. Thick molecular clouds and dense gases hide its stars and planets.As expected, Star Watch sends Victory and Maddox into the rift. There, the trap springs, and Maddox finds himself battling ancient entities, while the crew faces interment that could last until the universe itself runs down.Leviathan has stirred dreadful forces in its effort to kill Maddox, forces that could mean the end of everything if Maddox and his crew fail to survive a lonely and haunted ordeal in underspace.THE LOST PORTAL is book 20 in the Lost Starship series, a star-spanning saga of deadly space war and planetary struggles as told by millions-bestselling author Vaughn Heppner.

Genres: Science Fiction, Audiobook

396 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 12, 2023

About the author

You can visit Vaughn at www.vaughnheppner.com

I was born in Canada and remember as a small boy crawling in my snow-fort. I closed my eyes, and when I tried to open them, they were frozen shut. I didn't panic, but wiped away the ice crystals, unglued my eyes and kept on building my tunnel. Those were great days! I moved to Central California before seventh grade and couldn't believe I lived in a land where oranges grew on trees and you could pick grapes from the vine.

I used to wonder what I wanted to do with my life, what kind of work specifically. I was miserable not knowing and bordering on desperate. Then one day a friend gave me his typewriter. I began working on a novel. A different person told me it was much easier on a computer, so I bought one and began getting up at 4:30 A.M. each morning before work, writing for three hours. My eyes were unglued once again as the pang of misery left my gut. I knew exactly what I wanted to do: write. So now that's what I do, I write, and write, and write, and I love it.

Reviews

[clifford h leighton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent story

I love the characters and the description of the various locations they find themselves in. But I think that the exploits of Captain Maddox should come to a end soon. It is getting to be humdrum, the Captain and friends keep getting into impossible situations with the future of normal humans at stake. And the Captain keeps pulling rabbits out of his hat and saves the day. It's just to predictable.

[Randy Pope · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mattox and Meta married mission

Once again Mattox fresh off being kidnapped and gone for 2 1/2 years Mattox can't rest has to save the commonwealth. Heppner weaves another tale of aliens, rogue super computers controlling demensions, planets out of phase and star system destroying killer machines. Throw in a pending war a few spacers and new men to stir the pot. The victory crew is fighting hard to do the mission and get back home.

[unknown · Rating 5 out of 5]

20 Books later, I am still captivated by this series

Thanks, Vaughn, for another excellent book on the adventures of Captain Maddox and the Victory. I am intrigued by some of the character developments, especially the good doctor. I'm hoping it's not a ruse as he could be a good ally and member of The Victory. Keep this story going. It's worth the read every time.

[Scott Farwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

New and amazing places

There are numerous amazing places Maddox and victory go to in an attempt to save humanity. Multiple threats face humanity and Starship Victory works to eliminate some.

[Kimberly Sparks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read...

It's always great to catch up with Captain Maddox and the crew. I can't wait to see where this goes with Ural and Margaret. What a great cliffhanger. I was glad to see Meta Back with the captain. I enjoy getting to read about all of the main characters again.

[Sidney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Read

The book had some weird plots, subplots, twists and turns. It took me a bit to warm up to it, but it all comes together answering some questions and opening new twists and turns.

[Cynthia Slaughter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Space opera

Maddox and Victory are sent to a rift by the supreme intelligence to investigate a vague signal which might lead to a prism drive. What ensues is a complicated series of events which they must unravel, with a lot enemies with different motivations.

[Carl Davison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great entertainment

Vaughn Heppner does it again. I love reading his stories because he always keeps you entertained. You always are wondering what will happen next. I can't wait for the next book to come out.

[Rebecca Rittenhouse · Rating 3 out of 5]

its ok

The characters are not that likable. The women are mostly vapid doormats and it just gets worse. Main character has gone from likable to killable. It ialso depressingly has a lot if Christian dogma and religious nonsense.

[ben selbitschka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun. Enjoyable

Quickly got my attention. Maddox and his crew are the best team.
The author thru this series has maintained a very good story line.

[Aaron Jackowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good on

Great addition to a fun series. I hope it continues.

Heppner’s one of my favorites. So glad it’s in Unlimited.

[Alan Wilkerson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Done with this series!

[Leland D Fielder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Captain Maddox never fails to amaze, and survive the perils he gets into on his missions to protect humanity I would like the series to continue Bravo Mr Heppner

[Dragan Gaić · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm glad the story is moving forward, but do we really need more useless world building?

[rnagy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dimension X

Adding a new dimension and sub spaces has further enhanced the appeal of this 20 book series. The adventures keep coming. I applaud the author and look forward to his next work. Thank you!

[dan rightmire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strange

This book almost seems to be written by someone else. It is hard to start but does get a bit better. Not typical vaughn hepner style.

[Mike Nemeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

In "The Lost Portal" Captain Maddox pursues another existential threat to humanity but must travel to the Aquila Rift, a haunted portion of space known to a very few. In the 20th installment of the Lost Starship series, author Vaughn Heppner appears to step a bit into the Twilight Zone, bringing to light some of the weirder concepts faced by those who explore the depths of space. Leviathan, a race of cyborg-like creatures, remains a threat. But Maddox discovers something more immediate. Complete destruction from a force so evil its power for destruction can only be imagined. Meanwhile, the New Men retain their ability to irritate the Commonwealth. And the Spacers also remain a threat. Maddox has realized the only way to seriously challenge the Leviathan threat would be to unite all of humanity's various factions. Yet, that concept doesn't look that likely. The adventure includes the Library Planet and the Supreme Intelligence. Maddox's uncle Ural also makes an appearance that looks likely to be more important in the next episode. Upon completing this book just minutes ago, I wanted more. Heppner has produced a couple other series I may just have to start reading. And since I'm trying to break 50 books this year, I may need page turners at the close of the year.