A New War

The Betaverse #3

by Menilik Henry Dyer

Astronauts fight for the survival of humanity against an alien species seeking to control their future among the stars in this science-fiction thriller.

They were humanity’s last hope. As the majority of Earth’s population uploaded their consciousnesses to embrace digital immortality—free from illness and death in the simulated Metaverse—the Beta Explorers were tasked with expanding their presence throughout the galaxy. They terraformed worlds and created colonies so that humans could live and thrive in physical environments.

But the influence of the Metaverse reached the colonial planets, infecting people with the desire to embrace a carefree artificial existence—a desire implanted as a virus by the Atua, an alien species convinced they are gods, destined to rule over every other race and keep them grounded from space exploration. Symbiotic in nature, the Atua have already bonded themselves with other alien life, controlling their very evolution. They view humanity as a threat to their order and are willing to wage an intergalactic war to destroy every colony and even Earth itself.

The Beta Explorers—Icarus Kishida, Angelique Komene, Atlas Tupu, and Trillion von Neumann—are not about to surrender to the demands of tyrants. However, the Atua are far from the only danger they face. Civil war has disrupted one of the colony worlds, giving rise to an authoritarian government. Now, the Betas must come up with a peaceful solution to one conflict even as they consider developing a planet-killing weapon to protect their race from another . . .

The third volume of the hit science-fiction adventure series—originally released on Royal Road and perfect for fans of Bobiverse and Children of Time—now available in paperback, ebook, and audiobook!

Genres: Science Fiction

399 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 14, 2025

Reviews

[Jesse Armstrong · Rating 3 out of 5]

These books are derivative, that goes without saying, but they are pretty skillfully done. I look forward to seeing Dyer write something that feels more original but has the same heart and attention to the characters that these books do. I think we are seeing the first effort of an author that could make a real contribution to sci-fi someday if he can break away from the need to crib from superior recent stories. My advice, if you really need to have a structure in place made by someone else, try modernizing something very old. Just look at Scalzi's Fuzzy Nation. He really improves an older text that was already very good. Might be an interesting experiment if you don't have a new story ready to roll.

[Onionboy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed all 3 of these books. I came to them because I am a fan of the Bobiverse. These are definitely inspired by that series. Some people may say they are not as good as the other series, but more correctly, they are different. They have more personalities and take the story in different directions. I think they are enjoyable too.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Personal notes:
The book was still a nice read with learning about the Atua and Penquins, but nothing amazing. Some of the writing felt like a child was writing it and sometimes it felt like the sentences were repeating themselves just in a different order or words. Glad this ended with a treaty with the Atua and happily

[Horia · Rating 5 out of 5]

100% spectacular

rich, captivating, rewarding, invested, smart, provocative, tense, fast paced, and sometimes even funny. I want more of this. so definitely looking forward to it (expansion, spinoffs, stories).

I know everyone compares Betaverse to Bobiverse (for all the good reasons). These two series overlap on so many topics, and it's a pleasure to enjoy both. reading the comments, it's not a matter of who wrote an idea first, as neither writers did it actually, and the vast majority of ideas in these books are rooted in other writings (scientific or fictional).

scifi, and fiction in general, are like a caleidoscope. you have some basic themes and ideas and the beauty comes from spinning the thing and getting mesmerizing results. these two series are using mostly the same basic materials, yet the results are captivating in their own particular styles.

I observed that I tend to like more between the two, as the series which I last read. In this case it's the Betaverse :))

(the cover is a giveaway #WinkWink)