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Orders of Magnitude
The Moon was once colonized. Now it lies silent—mostly.
When a mysterious radio signal echoes from the abandoned colony of Serenitatis, the Vatican dispatches an elite squad of space marines to investigate. Paladin-Captain Samuel Cohen’s mission is locate survivors, uncover the signal’s source, and get out. But beneath the sterile domes, something ancient stirs—an adversary that challenges not only the mission but the very foundations of his faith.
A gripping new novella that explores the resilience of the human—and holy—spirit in the darkness of the void. For fans of Event Horizon and Richard Paul Russo’s Ship of Fools.
When a mysterious radio signal echoes from the abandoned colony of Serenitatis, the Vatican dispatches an elite squad of space marines to investigate. Paladin-Captain Samuel Cohen’s mission is locate survivors, uncover the signal’s source, and get out. But beneath the sterile domes, something ancient stirs—an adversary that challenges not only the mission but the very foundations of his faith.
A gripping new novella that explores the resilience of the human—and holy—spirit in the darkness of the void. For fans of Event Horizon and Richard Paul Russo’s Ship of Fools.
- GenresScience FictionHorror
114 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 7, 2025
12 people are currently reading
84 people want to read
About the author
Yuval Kordov
9 books54 followersYuval Kordov is a chronically creative nerd, tech professional, husband, and father of two. Over the course of his random life, he has been a radio show DJ, produced experimental electronic music, created the world of Dark Legacies™, and designed custom mechs with LEGO® bricks.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
December 27, 2024
Orders of Magnitude is a fantastic, quick novella that literally gave me a delightful nightmare the night after reading it (a testament to the author's prowess in writing genuinely terrifying scenarios). As always, works in the incensepunk space explore science fiction through a religious lens that I find absolutely enthralling, despite not being religious myself. The core conceit (which I won't spoil here) is one you won't find explored elsewhere. Highly recommend.
January 10, 2025
A near-future, apocalyptic, sci-fi, with a distinctive voice and powerful themes.
An exploration of faith in the face of uncertainty. Dark and thought-provoking, Kordov writes from the depths of the heart, mind, and soul.
An exploration of faith in the face of uncertainty. Dark and thought-provoking, Kordov writes from the depths of the heart, mind, and soul.
January 13, 2025
This is a story that reflects mankind’s search of greater meaning in the universe and what can happen when a malevolent force replies. An intersection of technology and faith, where space marines rely on their beliefs as much as their weapons & armour. Whilst some these themes will be familiar to those who have read Yuval’s Dark Legacy series, they are presented an entire fresh setting in this thoroughly entertaining novella.
A wonderfully dark entry in the burgeoning Incensepunk genre, which has only cemented Yuval as one of my absolute "must read" authors
A more detailed review will follow
A wonderfully dark entry in the burgeoning Incensepunk genre, which has only cemented Yuval as one of my absolute "must read" authors
A more detailed review will follow
August 25, 2025
Do you like space marines like in Doom, Halo or Starship Troopers? Well what if they were commissioned by the Vatican and traveled with an exorcist as they go to investigate haunting spiritual portents that began an evacuation from the moon? This feels like a scifi version of “Hellmouth” by Giles Kristian, only much much better!
This is the hook for Yuval Kordov’s Orders of Magnitude, an excellent religious, scifi horror novella.
We follow a space marine named Samuel who is ethnically Jewish but converted to Catholicism as he and the other soldiers of the Order of St. Michael investigate what happened on the moon colony that caused a panicked exodus. While the book is religious scifi, it’s by no means didactic and certainly isn’t attempting to proselytize. This is also partially because in his authors note Kordov clarifies that he is not in fact Catholic but is Jewish, and is simply writing within a Catholic worldview for this novella.
This is also because the novella is a part of what is called the incense-punk movement. Rather than writing scifi that ignores serious religion in the far future as many authors have tended to do, incense-punk looks to deal with future problems through the ancient lenses of theology, using real world religions as their guide.
This is done to excellent effect in this novella. The marines pray, observe the rosary, ponder what God’s will is, and wrestle with their own sin nature. (All of which are uniquely religious experiences)
Overall I loved this novella. If this is incense-punk, count me in. This novella delivers more than a gimmick of “scifi + religion” and I’m glad that it does. It’s pretty trim, and I found hard to justify the cost for a story this short (as I often do with novellas) but it’s well worth the read and I definitely recommend it.
This is the hook for Yuval Kordov’s Orders of Magnitude, an excellent religious, scifi horror novella.
We follow a space marine named Samuel who is ethnically Jewish but converted to Catholicism as he and the other soldiers of the Order of St. Michael investigate what happened on the moon colony that caused a panicked exodus. While the book is religious scifi, it’s by no means didactic and certainly isn’t attempting to proselytize. This is also partially because in his authors note Kordov clarifies that he is not in fact Catholic but is Jewish, and is simply writing within a Catholic worldview for this novella.
This is also because the novella is a part of what is called the incense-punk movement. Rather than writing scifi that ignores serious religion in the far future as many authors have tended to do, incense-punk looks to deal with future problems through the ancient lenses of theology, using real world religions as their guide.
This is done to excellent effect in this novella. The marines pray, observe the rosary, ponder what God’s will is, and wrestle with their own sin nature. (All of which are uniquely religious experiences)
Overall I loved this novella. If this is incense-punk, count me in. This novella delivers more than a gimmick of “scifi + religion” and I’m glad that it does. It’s pretty trim, and I found hard to justify the cost for a story this short (as I often do with novellas) but it’s well worth the read and I definitely recommend it.
January 22, 2025
Orders of Magnitude is a quick read that delivers everything it promises without a moment wasted.
It embraces the cold, lonely dread that sci-fi/space horror is so well positioned for, complete with flickering lights and the knowledge that there is nothing on the other side of the glass but the dark vacuum of space... or worse still, perhaps there is.
Orders also captures the paranoia and questionable reality that cosmic horror lives to explore. From demonic holograms to a cult dedicated to a being from the underside of the void between stars, it's at home in the uncanny, asking us just how it is we know what is true.
Despite all the horror, which is plentiful, it is also a book that will please military sci-fi and space marine fans, complete with power armor, futuristic guns, and all the action and combat to make them useful. But what sets Orders apart from such settings as 40k is that the Catholic aesthetic which inspires it isn't just a borrowed veneer - it deeply informs the entire setting and story, without sinking into sermonizing or apologetics.
But the setting isn't just set dressing - the world building is core to Samuel's internal journey, one that brings him full-circle to his childhood, his calling, and his faith.
If you love space horror like Event Horizon or Alien, twisted cosmic threats like The Color Out of Space or Dreamcatcher, and space marine military sci-fi like Warhammer 40k or Starcraft, then this book is for you. And better still, it's all blended into a smoking thurible of high-church aesthetics and philosophy without descending into grimdark nihilism.
It embraces the cold, lonely dread that sci-fi/space horror is so well positioned for, complete with flickering lights and the knowledge that there is nothing on the other side of the glass but the dark vacuum of space... or worse still, perhaps there is.
Orders also captures the paranoia and questionable reality that cosmic horror lives to explore. From demonic holograms to a cult dedicated to a being from the underside of the void between stars, it's at home in the uncanny, asking us just how it is we know what is true.
Despite all the horror, which is plentiful, it is also a book that will please military sci-fi and space marine fans, complete with power armor, futuristic guns, and all the action and combat to make them useful. But what sets Orders apart from such settings as 40k is that the Catholic aesthetic which inspires it isn't just a borrowed veneer - it deeply informs the entire setting and story, without sinking into sermonizing or apologetics.
But the setting isn't just set dressing - the world building is core to Samuel's internal journey, one that brings him full-circle to his childhood, his calling, and his faith.
If you love space horror like Event Horizon or Alien, twisted cosmic threats like The Color Out of Space or Dreamcatcher, and space marine military sci-fi like Warhammer 40k or Starcraft, then this book is for you. And better still, it's all blended into a smoking thurible of high-church aesthetics and philosophy without descending into grimdark nihilism.
Read
January 1, 2025This review was originally posted on SFFINSIDERS.COM
In one of my favorite episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Buffy’s Watcher—Rupert Giles— utters the words, “There’s a demon in the internet.” Widespread access to the internet was maybe one of the largest societal upheavals wrought by the 1990s, and many writers of the era—like Ashley Gable and Thomas A. Swyden of Buffy’s S1E8 “I, Robot… You, Jane”—sought to put their own spin on how such a technology might impact a world that didn’t quite yet understand it. If the supernatural was real, could machines become possessed? What new frontiers in demonology might be opened up as the speed of technological advancement continues to increase? Could our sins follow us beyond this world? It’s an interesting notion that, at the time, hadn’t been seen much in similar genre fiction (Paul W.S. Anderson’s 1997 Event Horizon being the biggest contemporaneous exception, and if memory serves perhaps a couple episodes of Stargate SG-1). Exorcism stories of that time period and prior were typically a pretty simple affair: one or two clergymen in a single room with the possessed person; but now the internet was opening up the world, both for regular people and storytellers, to new possibilities—good and ill.
And as the world became more connected, globally and digitally, stories of the corruption of human souls continued to evolve, as new spins were put on the genre in ways that seemed to appeal specifically to me. I remember when I first saw the trailer for Neill Blomkamp’s then-upcoming 2021 film Demonic (a story about a woman who is asked to Neuromancer-style VR-explore her way through the mind of her comatose mother to figure out if her mother has or had been possessed) where there was this one line that stuck out to me more than any other: “The Vatican has been funding a black ops unit.” What an intriguing tease! Exorcists with machine guns and night vision goggles? Tactical vests with bulbs of holy water next to grenades? Sign me up! Unfortunately, in the final product, that little story nugget was deeply underbaked, leaving me hungry for someone else to pick up that thought and run with it; and it seems that Yuval Kordov read my mind.
But before we go much further, some brief disclosure: Yuval and I have both written for Incensepunk Magazine, with Yuval having just recently edited my debut short story for the publication. During that process, Yuval reached out to see if I wanted to read an ARC of Orders of Magnitude, to which I enthusiastically replied in the affirmative. I’ve loved all of Yuval’s previous books (the last of which—The World to Come—I reviewed here for SFF Insiders), and so had Yuval not offered an ARC to me I would’ve purchased it on day one anyway. And, like his previous works, this new novella more than earns the positive review you’ll read below. So let’s talk about it!
Orders of Magnitude is—as Kordov states in the Afterword—a sequel, directly and spiritually, to another Incensepunk Magazine short story: Jon James’ The See of Tranquility. The story of See involves an apparition of the Virgin Mary appearing to a nun living on the Moon; and the nature of the vision is dire: a warning for humanity to abandon the Moon, and all future extraterrestrial colonization. An evacuation is ordered, a solar storm hits the Moon, and life—for the evacuees—moves on back down on terra firma. Orders of Magnitude picks up in the aftermath of the evacuation. Someone remains on the Moon, which we learn because they’ve sent a mysterious signal back to Earth. The Vatican deploys one of their tactical units to investigate, and it is en route to the Moon that our story begins.
What follows over the course of the next 100+ pages is a propulsive journey into the heart of the lunar colony, fraught with horrifying discoveries along the way (we see the influence of Event Horizon more and more as the soldiers delve deeper into the colony). But while the journey of Samuel Cohen, the battle-hardened protagonist of Orders of Magnitude, is rife with external conflict, there is plenty of juicy internal conflict as well, as Samuel’s backstory is slowly revealed in the quiet moments between bursts of violence.
Aesthetically, Kordovs’s soldiers evoke the Space Marines of Warhammer 40K far more than Seal Team Six or the scattered moments of more contemporarily-space-suit-ed violence we’ve seen in recent works like For All Mankind or Ad Astra, where Kordov’s soldiers are adorned in heavy tactical armor emblazoned with giant, ornamented crests (the squad’s chaplain even has special armor with its own variety of ritualistic ornamentation). I love it. And we get all sorts of wonderful little sci-fi flourishes to add color to the story, like the idea that the Vatican soldiers aren’t allowed to connect their suits’ systems to the lunar colony’s systems because of the risk of digital corruption, which is—in this case—the potential for data corruption and spiritual corruption, since the Vatican doesn’t know who, or what, may have interfered with the colony’s computers in the days since the evacuation. They have, after all, brought an exorcist along with them on this mission. Why might that be necessary?
Like Kordov’s Dark Legacies books, Orders of Magnitude is not only full of pulse-pounding action, but also plenty of philosophical wanderings. In a moment of recollection, the childhood memory of Samuel Cohen asks his parents, “Where is God if not in the Heavens?” And it just so happens that this exact question has been on my mind for some time, well before reading the first chapter of Orders of Magnitude.
There is something about the vast reaches beyond our atmosphere that makes for an ideal canvas upon which to paint more philosophically-minded tales. Perhaps it is because the universe is, by its very nature, unknowable to us. We may understand parts or pieces of it in isolation; but the whole of the thing will forever be beyond our grasp. It is simply too large and too complex; and we are but one tiny sliver of it. Much of what we know about the cosmos is, in reality, how it existed millions or billions of years ago, as the light from distant stars is only just now reaching us (this idea is echoed in The See of Tranquility). It is remarkable that the lights we see in the night sky today may not exist any more. We might look into the night sky and see only ghosts.
But in that unknowable expanse is beauty and wonder and—in its darker, as-yet-unexplored corners—infinite possibility. There are many who look out to the stars and wonder if perhaps there is something supernatural out there, as Philip K. Dick wrote of—somewhat abstractedly—in The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, knowing that what we find in the dark might not be the benevolent creator we’d hoped for. Or, more optimistically, we might look to the stars and understand the task of space exploration the same way that American poet John Magee did of traditional aviation, that through it we might be able to reach out and, “[touch] the face of God.” (High Flight, John Magee Jr., 1941). Yet, given the nature of this story, Kordov inverts Magee’s perspective, veering closer to malevolence of PKD’s Three Stigmata and the brutality of Anderson’s Event Horizon. Kordov’s chaplain makes the comparison, as the Vatican soldiers explore the quiet corridors of the lunar colony, that this place—built so far from Earth, in such harsh conditions—is like the Tower of Babel, potentially a curse upon humanity rather than an approach towards a deeper connection to the Almighty; a feeling somewhat confirmed when we discover about truth of the antagonist of the story, as how when they reached out into the black of the night sky, they did not touch the face of God… but found something else.
And for those of you who admire the craft of writing in addition to the art of storytelling itself, Orders of Magnitude is chalk full of the same kind of rich, evocative prose that those of us who’ve read Dark Legacies have come to expect from Yuval Kordov. Nearly every other sentence was some specific couple of words or turn of phrase that made me think to myself, “Oh yeah, that’s good.”
So do I recommend it? Absolutely! I think one of Kordov’s great skills as an author is how he’s able to construct these stories that are packed so tightly to the gills with enough action and horror to keep fans of both genres immensely satisfied while not sacrificing the philosophical journey that forms the backbone of the whole story. And if you’ve not read Dark Legacies, Orders of Magnitude’s comparative length makes it a great jumping off point into the fiction of Yuval Kordov. You won’t regret it.
In one of my favorite episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Buffy’s Watcher—Rupert Giles— utters the words, “There’s a demon in the internet.” Widespread access to the internet was maybe one of the largest societal upheavals wrought by the 1990s, and many writers of the era—like Ashley Gable and Thomas A. Swyden of Buffy’s S1E8 “I, Robot… You, Jane”—sought to put their own spin on how such a technology might impact a world that didn’t quite yet understand it. If the supernatural was real, could machines become possessed? What new frontiers in demonology might be opened up as the speed of technological advancement continues to increase? Could our sins follow us beyond this world? It’s an interesting notion that, at the time, hadn’t been seen much in similar genre fiction (Paul W.S. Anderson’s 1997 Event Horizon being the biggest contemporaneous exception, and if memory serves perhaps a couple episodes of Stargate SG-1). Exorcism stories of that time period and prior were typically a pretty simple affair: one or two clergymen in a single room with the possessed person; but now the internet was opening up the world, both for regular people and storytellers, to new possibilities—good and ill.
And as the world became more connected, globally and digitally, stories of the corruption of human souls continued to evolve, as new spins were put on the genre in ways that seemed to appeal specifically to me. I remember when I first saw the trailer for Neill Blomkamp’s then-upcoming 2021 film Demonic (a story about a woman who is asked to Neuromancer-style VR-explore her way through the mind of her comatose mother to figure out if her mother has or had been possessed) where there was this one line that stuck out to me more than any other: “The Vatican has been funding a black ops unit.” What an intriguing tease! Exorcists with machine guns and night vision goggles? Tactical vests with bulbs of holy water next to grenades? Sign me up! Unfortunately, in the final product, that little story nugget was deeply underbaked, leaving me hungry for someone else to pick up that thought and run with it; and it seems that Yuval Kordov read my mind.
But before we go much further, some brief disclosure: Yuval and I have both written for Incensepunk Magazine, with Yuval having just recently edited my debut short story for the publication. During that process, Yuval reached out to see if I wanted to read an ARC of Orders of Magnitude, to which I enthusiastically replied in the affirmative. I’ve loved all of Yuval’s previous books (the last of which—The World to Come—I reviewed here for SFF Insiders), and so had Yuval not offered an ARC to me I would’ve purchased it on day one anyway. And, like his previous works, this new novella more than earns the positive review you’ll read below. So let’s talk about it!
Orders of Magnitude is—as Kordov states in the Afterword—a sequel, directly and spiritually, to another Incensepunk Magazine short story: Jon James’ The See of Tranquility. The story of See involves an apparition of the Virgin Mary appearing to a nun living on the Moon; and the nature of the vision is dire: a warning for humanity to abandon the Moon, and all future extraterrestrial colonization. An evacuation is ordered, a solar storm hits the Moon, and life—for the evacuees—moves on back down on terra firma. Orders of Magnitude picks up in the aftermath of the evacuation. Someone remains on the Moon, which we learn because they’ve sent a mysterious signal back to Earth. The Vatican deploys one of their tactical units to investigate, and it is en route to the Moon that our story begins.
What follows over the course of the next 100+ pages is a propulsive journey into the heart of the lunar colony, fraught with horrifying discoveries along the way (we see the influence of Event Horizon more and more as the soldiers delve deeper into the colony). But while the journey of Samuel Cohen, the battle-hardened protagonist of Orders of Magnitude, is rife with external conflict, there is plenty of juicy internal conflict as well, as Samuel’s backstory is slowly revealed in the quiet moments between bursts of violence.
Aesthetically, Kordovs’s soldiers evoke the Space Marines of Warhammer 40K far more than Seal Team Six or the scattered moments of more contemporarily-space-suit-ed violence we’ve seen in recent works like For All Mankind or Ad Astra, where Kordov’s soldiers are adorned in heavy tactical armor emblazoned with giant, ornamented crests (the squad’s chaplain even has special armor with its own variety of ritualistic ornamentation). I love it. And we get all sorts of wonderful little sci-fi flourishes to add color to the story, like the idea that the Vatican soldiers aren’t allowed to connect their suits’ systems to the lunar colony’s systems because of the risk of digital corruption, which is—in this case—the potential for data corruption and spiritual corruption, since the Vatican doesn’t know who, or what, may have interfered with the colony’s computers in the days since the evacuation. They have, after all, brought an exorcist along with them on this mission. Why might that be necessary?
Like Kordov’s Dark Legacies books, Orders of Magnitude is not only full of pulse-pounding action, but also plenty of philosophical wanderings. In a moment of recollection, the childhood memory of Samuel Cohen asks his parents, “Where is God if not in the Heavens?” And it just so happens that this exact question has been on my mind for some time, well before reading the first chapter of Orders of Magnitude.
There is something about the vast reaches beyond our atmosphere that makes for an ideal canvas upon which to paint more philosophically-minded tales. Perhaps it is because the universe is, by its very nature, unknowable to us. We may understand parts or pieces of it in isolation; but the whole of the thing will forever be beyond our grasp. It is simply too large and too complex; and we are but one tiny sliver of it. Much of what we know about the cosmos is, in reality, how it existed millions or billions of years ago, as the light from distant stars is only just now reaching us (this idea is echoed in The See of Tranquility). It is remarkable that the lights we see in the night sky today may not exist any more. We might look into the night sky and see only ghosts.
But in that unknowable expanse is beauty and wonder and—in its darker, as-yet-unexplored corners—infinite possibility. There are many who look out to the stars and wonder if perhaps there is something supernatural out there, as Philip K. Dick wrote of—somewhat abstractedly—in The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, knowing that what we find in the dark might not be the benevolent creator we’d hoped for. Or, more optimistically, we might look to the stars and understand the task of space exploration the same way that American poet John Magee did of traditional aviation, that through it we might be able to reach out and, “[touch] the face of God.” (High Flight, John Magee Jr., 1941). Yet, given the nature of this story, Kordov inverts Magee’s perspective, veering closer to malevolence of PKD’s Three Stigmata and the brutality of Anderson’s Event Horizon. Kordov’s chaplain makes the comparison, as the Vatican soldiers explore the quiet corridors of the lunar colony, that this place—built so far from Earth, in such harsh conditions—is like the Tower of Babel, potentially a curse upon humanity rather than an approach towards a deeper connection to the Almighty; a feeling somewhat confirmed when we discover about truth of the antagonist of the story, as how when they reached out into the black of the night sky, they did not touch the face of God… but found something else.
And for those of you who admire the craft of writing in addition to the art of storytelling itself, Orders of Magnitude is chalk full of the same kind of rich, evocative prose that those of us who’ve read Dark Legacies have come to expect from Yuval Kordov. Nearly every other sentence was some specific couple of words or turn of phrase that made me think to myself, “Oh yeah, that’s good.”
So do I recommend it? Absolutely! I think one of Kordov’s great skills as an author is how he’s able to construct these stories that are packed so tightly to the gills with enough action and horror to keep fans of both genres immensely satisfied while not sacrificing the philosophical journey that forms the backbone of the whole story. And if you’ve not read Dark Legacies, Orders of Magnitude’s comparative length makes it a great jumping off point into the fiction of Yuval Kordov. You won’t regret it.
January 24, 2025
I'm going to start this review with a big disclaimer. I had no idea what incensepunk was, and this book taught me more about this genre. My basic understanding is that it's a genre that shows how faith and sci-fi can be intertwined.
Now, I'm not a religious person, and I didn't have that upbringing, so this novella put me out of my comfort zone. I had to look up a lot of religious terminology, and that's all on me. Because of this, I found it difficult to connect with the characters and the story. Again, that's me realizing I was probably the wrong audience for this book.
Anyway, I thought it was fascinating with how Kordov puts science and religion together. I'm so used to seeing them on opposing sides, which is why it was refreshing to see how they can be compatible.
Kordov is also an excellent writer. There are so many scenes where tension is built. I also found it easy to visualize the moon colony and the various floors. Plus, the horrors these space marines discover.
Overall, it was a unique story that reminded me of Event Horizon and a more religious Warhammer story. The religious themes and language made it personally difficult for me to connect. I think those who have more of a religious upbringing will appreciate how Kordov intertwined faith in space. It also requires the characters to use faith to strengthen their resolve in a hellish situation.
Now, I'm not a religious person, and I didn't have that upbringing, so this novella put me out of my comfort zone. I had to look up a lot of religious terminology, and that's all on me. Because of this, I found it difficult to connect with the characters and the story. Again, that's me realizing I was probably the wrong audience for this book.
Anyway, I thought it was fascinating with how Kordov puts science and religion together. I'm so used to seeing them on opposing sides, which is why it was refreshing to see how they can be compatible.
Kordov is also an excellent writer. There are so many scenes where tension is built. I also found it easy to visualize the moon colony and the various floors. Plus, the horrors these space marines discover.
Overall, it was a unique story that reminded me of Event Horizon and a more religious Warhammer story. The religious themes and language made it personally difficult for me to connect. I think those who have more of a religious upbringing will appreciate how Kordov intertwined faith in space. It also requires the characters to use faith to strengthen their resolve in a hellish situation.
March 18, 2026
I do respect stories that keep me on the edge of my seat—still now, I cannot articulate what quite didn't work for me in "Orders of Magnitude", but I can only praise its unrelenting pace, the character work with Samuel Cohen and the atmospheric exploration of the setting. Maybe I just wanted more of the other characters, or pictured another ending, or a different threat; I also wanted to know more about the cult (though I could barely bear what we learn about it). There's also the fact that I'm not a fan of Event Horizon; few can stand those heights (or depths?) of the grotesque.
The discussion on the need for dark stories is fascinating. As evil is the lack of good, so the "dark" is the privation of light, and both don't have to be synonyms; to be "in the dark" can be a bad thing, but also something neutral, or even a good thing. In Scripture, being "in darkness" usually means being in the state of sin or lacking the light of faith; it can also mean (less frequently) to be enshrouded by the overwhelming light or power of God, as when He descends in a cloud over his Prophets or to work the miracle of the Incarnation through the Blessed Virgin ("The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you"). For St. John of the Cross, spiritual darkness was a clear sign of progress: the night of the soul, a darkness arising from the divine light of faith, purging our soul from our presumed human lights.
Darker stories frequently confront sensitive topics. They also address painful things about ourselves. Like taking someone to a sinister place they have never seen before, so they can learn more about themselves and the place from where they started. They recontextualize our own place in life and show us the things we still have, and how good doesn't always come from good things. Indeed, I would love to visit a lunar city with a cathedral and neon shops, but I wouldn't like to go there during a lethal solar outburst nor to feel in my body the side effects of being in outer space—I also prefer to be Catholic without becoming a space marine with reconstructed muscles.
It seems reasonable that we ought to consume both dark stories and bright stories, but some of the best works of all time have the best of both worlds: think of "The Lord of the Rings", "Father Elijah", "Perelandra" and so on.
That said, I resumed the reading of a light comedy after finishing "Orders of Magnitude"—maybe you should do the same.
The discussion on the need for dark stories is fascinating. As evil is the lack of good, so the "dark" is the privation of light, and both don't have to be synonyms; to be "in the dark" can be a bad thing, but also something neutral, or even a good thing. In Scripture, being "in darkness" usually means being in the state of sin or lacking the light of faith; it can also mean (less frequently) to be enshrouded by the overwhelming light or power of God, as when He descends in a cloud over his Prophets or to work the miracle of the Incarnation through the Blessed Virgin ("The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you"). For St. John of the Cross, spiritual darkness was a clear sign of progress: the night of the soul, a darkness arising from the divine light of faith, purging our soul from our presumed human lights.
Darker stories frequently confront sensitive topics. They also address painful things about ourselves. Like taking someone to a sinister place they have never seen before, so they can learn more about themselves and the place from where they started. They recontextualize our own place in life and show us the things we still have, and how good doesn't always come from good things. Indeed, I would love to visit a lunar city with a cathedral and neon shops, but I wouldn't like to go there during a lethal solar outburst nor to feel in my body the side effects of being in outer space—I also prefer to be Catholic without becoming a space marine with reconstructed muscles.
It seems reasonable that we ought to consume both dark stories and bright stories, but some of the best works of all time have the best of both worlds: think of "The Lord of the Rings", "Father Elijah", "Perelandra" and so on.
That said, I resumed the reading of a light comedy after finishing "Orders of Magnitude"—maybe you should do the same.
January 28, 2026
Orders of Magnitude is a religious science fiction thriller novella that that had me on the edge of my seat the whole way through. Yuval has created a dark yet hopeful story with Lovecraftian entities that will leave you wanting more!
March 10, 2025
Interesting ideas
4.5/5🌟. This novella is my first experience with Yuval Kordov who has created an intriguing world in this story. I understand that he and some friends have created a new genre of SF that they have termed Incensepunk -“the intersection of faith and SciFi” - that deals with religious themes. If this story is any indication of their work, I am interested to try more stories in this genre.
Kordov is Jewish and tells this story from the perspective of a soldier who is a convert from Judaism to Catholicism - one of the story’s primary political and religious powers. The main character, Samuel, has travelled to the Moon with his team of soldiers to extract important data from Earth’s colony that has recently undergone a catastrophe. We learn some about the current state of affairs on Earth, but not nearly as much as I would have liked, and some about Samuel’s backstory - very nicely done as part of the main narrative.
Kordov is a skilled writer. His prose flows easily as the story, and the action, moves along at a comfortable pace. It took me a few chapters to get into the story, as Kordov drops us in as the team is landing on the Moon, but once I did, I could not put the Kindle down. I look forward to reading more by this author and checking out more stories in the Incensepunk genre.
Highly recommended!!
4.5/5🌟. This novella is my first experience with Yuval Kordov who has created an intriguing world in this story. I understand that he and some friends have created a new genre of SF that they have termed Incensepunk -“the intersection of faith and SciFi” - that deals with religious themes. If this story is any indication of their work, I am interested to try more stories in this genre.
Kordov is Jewish and tells this story from the perspective of a soldier who is a convert from Judaism to Catholicism - one of the story’s primary political and religious powers. The main character, Samuel, has travelled to the Moon with his team of soldiers to extract important data from Earth’s colony that has recently undergone a catastrophe. We learn some about the current state of affairs on Earth, but not nearly as much as I would have liked, and some about Samuel’s backstory - very nicely done as part of the main narrative.
Kordov is a skilled writer. His prose flows easily as the story, and the action, moves along at a comfortable pace. It took me a few chapters to get into the story, as Kordov drops us in as the team is landing on the Moon, but once I did, I could not put the Kindle down. I look forward to reading more by this author and checking out more stories in the Incensepunk genre.
Highly recommended!!
March 8, 2025
Orders of Magnitude is a superb book!
A unique fusion of science fiction and religion, it was reminiscent of Event Horizon/Dead Space with a splash of Warhammer. The writing is excellent; no word or sentence feels wasted, it is imaginative and paints the dread and isolation of space supremely well. I pictured every story beat in my minds eye as these hulking soldiers explored the colony, their armour still no match for potentially what lay ahead of them. It builds up to a frenetic pace full of action and suspense.
The blend of religion and sci-fi elements is weaved skillfully, neither encroaches on the other, making the story unbelievable. This alternate reality is plausible, I hope Yuval Kordov writes in this genre of incense-punk again as I loved this concept.
Deeper themes also run throughout which I enjoyed, this isn't just a mindless action read; tests of faith and self-belief are vital to the character development of Samuel, I was rooting for him throughout.
Final thoughts: Orders of Magnitude is a first-class read for lovers of Sci-Fi and Action accompanied with deeper themes. I highly recommend it.
5*
A unique fusion of science fiction and religion, it was reminiscent of Event Horizon/Dead Space with a splash of Warhammer. The writing is excellent; no word or sentence feels wasted, it is imaginative and paints the dread and isolation of space supremely well. I pictured every story beat in my minds eye as these hulking soldiers explored the colony, their armour still no match for potentially what lay ahead of them. It builds up to a frenetic pace full of action and suspense.
The blend of religion and sci-fi elements is weaved skillfully, neither encroaches on the other, making the story unbelievable. This alternate reality is plausible, I hope Yuval Kordov writes in this genre of incense-punk again as I loved this concept.
Deeper themes also run throughout which I enjoyed, this isn't just a mindless action read; tests of faith and self-belief are vital to the character development of Samuel, I was rooting for him throughout.
Final thoughts: Orders of Magnitude is a first-class read for lovers of Sci-Fi and Action accompanied with deeper themes. I highly recommend it.
5*
January 11, 2025
Darkly beautiful tale of faith
My first foray into "Incensepunk." A powerful short novel showing the struggle of ancient faith with an increasingly modernized and networked world.
The characters, especially those of Samuel, Fr. James, and Sister Thea are wonderfully realized.
I read this book within just a couple of hours. I highly recommend it!
My first foray into "Incensepunk." A powerful short novel showing the struggle of ancient faith with an increasingly modernized and networked world.
The characters, especially those of Samuel, Fr. James, and Sister Thea are wonderfully realized.
I read this book within just a couple of hours. I highly recommend it!
June 3, 2025
Good!
Very fun novella, though the reveal/ending could have been a bit more fleshed out.
I really loved the authors writing style, and how he was able to make you see the story through the main character's (Samuel) eyes.
All in all, good story, and I'd love to see more in this setting.
Very fun novella, though the reveal/ending could have been a bit more fleshed out.
I really loved the authors writing style, and how he was able to make you see the story through the main character's (Samuel) eyes.
All in all, good story, and I'd love to see more in this setting.
June 28, 2025
Not one word longer than it needs to be, this efficient thriller also packs some serious theological musings. This is the reason you are going to be hearing about incensepunk more and more as time goes on.
January 21, 2025
Very fun, very creepy. It was like a mix of Dead Space and Mass Effect, along with the Catholic Church and demons. I will be reading his Dark Legacies trilogy asap.
4/5 ⭐️
4/5 ⭐️
February 19, 2026
A well-told story, but now that it is over I am finding it improbable even for the universe it was set in. Entertaining while it lasted.
May 2, 2025
Space Priest
March 23, 2025
I recommend this to anyone who likes 40k. It’s a short story with all the right elements. The Event Horizon vibes were nice and I enjoyed the ride.
June 2, 2025
Orders of Magnitude is a gripping novella that presents a chilling dive into the incensepunk subgenre. I have never read something like this, a subgenre blending science fiction with rich, religious aesthetics. The closest book I have read would be A Canticle for Liebowitz by Walter M Miller Jr.
In this novella, we get to experience the haunting loneliness of space horror, with flickering lights and the unsettling question of what lies beyond the vacuum, if anything at all.
The story expertly weaves paranoia and cosmic dread, from seemingly-demonic holograms to cults worshipping beings from the void, all while questioning the nature of reality itself. Fans of military sci-fi will relish the action-packed scenes featuring power armor and futuristic weaponry, yet what sets this story apart is its depth. The Catholic-inspired world-building is not just set dressing, but vital to the narrative. It shapes Samuel’s profound internal journey through faith, identity, and purpose, and explores his haunted past.
For readers who love the atmospheric terror of Event Horizon or Alien, the cosmic horror of The Color Out of Space, and the action of Warhammer 40k, this novella offers a refreshing blend of church aesthetics, philosophy, and horror. It’s a quick, intense read that sticks with you.
In this novella, we get to experience the haunting loneliness of space horror, with flickering lights and the unsettling question of what lies beyond the vacuum, if anything at all.
The story expertly weaves paranoia and cosmic dread, from seemingly-demonic holograms to cults worshipping beings from the void, all while questioning the nature of reality itself. Fans of military sci-fi will relish the action-packed scenes featuring power armor and futuristic weaponry, yet what sets this story apart is its depth. The Catholic-inspired world-building is not just set dressing, but vital to the narrative. It shapes Samuel’s profound internal journey through faith, identity, and purpose, and explores his haunted past.
For readers who love the atmospheric terror of Event Horizon or Alien, the cosmic horror of The Color Out of Space, and the action of Warhammer 40k, this novella offers a refreshing blend of church aesthetics, philosophy, and horror. It’s a quick, intense read that sticks with you.
January 12, 2026
“No one belonged on the moon. Not before the disaster and not after, and yet here they were.”
Orders of Magnitude is a Catholic space marine military sci-fi novella by Yuval Kordov, who is no stranger to mechs and military sci-fi. His Dark Legacy trilogy is an indie darling and Yuval has distinguished himself with a rich and atmospheric prose that lends itself well to the settings of his books.
This book introduced me to an sub-genre that I did not have much familiarity with: Incensepunk. A blend of science-fiction and religious underpinnings with the right touch of horror. If you’re familiar with some of the aspects of the Warhammer 40k setting, it’ll feel right at home. Instead of an undead Emperor being the focal point of worship, these are straight up Catholic space marines sent from the Vatican on earth.
The novella is straight forward in its premise: a colony on the moon thought to be evacuated in the wake of a disaster sends out a foreboding signal warning them to not return to the moon. What is not told to the public by the Vatican is that ghostly apparitions of the Virgin Mary were also spotted and thus they sent Catholic space marines and an exorcist chaplain to investigate.
Right away, the seemingly abandoned nature of the once-teeming space station elicits a lonely tension that only compounds as the novella goes on. The sense of forbidding and dread drips off every sentence, even with the squad going about their usual routines. Fans of 40k will find a lot to love with this blend of futuristic sci-fi, cosmic horror, and atmospheric tension. The liturgies and prayers sprinkled throughout their mission help build a spectre of terror at what awaits them–a true unknown that does not fail to deliver.
Samuel Cohen, the character that the book follows the most, is a man of stalwart duty and deeply seated faith–even in the face of the horrific dangers they face. If there’s one thing I must say is a drawback to the book, it's that the tension is drawn out just a little too long for my taste. The book isn’t long by any stretch of the imagination, but by the time the plot really kicked into high gear, I’d wished it had happened a little sooner.
The battle scenes are tense and heavy, not merely a spectacle for spectacles sake. The stakes are well established before the first shot is fired, so when the powder keg finally goes off, it carries a heavy sense of dread with it. No one is having fun when the bullets start flying and this distinction makes the book feel less like the gung-ho spectacle of 40k and more like a trek into hell itself.
The build up to the finality of the story was remarkable to read, reaching a height of fearful and cosmic horror that only the most faithful could possibly enter and withstand. Cohen as a cipher for the reader is a fantastically faithful yet deeply human character you can’t help but throw your prayers to as he marches forward for faith and duty.
While the book has some dark elements with battle, violence, and supernatural horror, readers of a faithful heart can take note that there is no profanity, violence is not glamorized, nor are there any subversive aspects to the elements of faith presented. A refreshing change from what comes out of Hollywood these days.
I highly recommend Orders of Magnitude for any fan of science fiction, space marines, and cosmic horror. You can find links to Yuval Kordov’s work below.
Orders of Magnitude is a Catholic space marine military sci-fi novella by Yuval Kordov, who is no stranger to mechs and military sci-fi. His Dark Legacy trilogy is an indie darling and Yuval has distinguished himself with a rich and atmospheric prose that lends itself well to the settings of his books.
This book introduced me to an sub-genre that I did not have much familiarity with: Incensepunk. A blend of science-fiction and religious underpinnings with the right touch of horror. If you’re familiar with some of the aspects of the Warhammer 40k setting, it’ll feel right at home. Instead of an undead Emperor being the focal point of worship, these are straight up Catholic space marines sent from the Vatican on earth.
The novella is straight forward in its premise: a colony on the moon thought to be evacuated in the wake of a disaster sends out a foreboding signal warning them to not return to the moon. What is not told to the public by the Vatican is that ghostly apparitions of the Virgin Mary were also spotted and thus they sent Catholic space marines and an exorcist chaplain to investigate.
Right away, the seemingly abandoned nature of the once-teeming space station elicits a lonely tension that only compounds as the novella goes on. The sense of forbidding and dread drips off every sentence, even with the squad going about their usual routines. Fans of 40k will find a lot to love with this blend of futuristic sci-fi, cosmic horror, and atmospheric tension. The liturgies and prayers sprinkled throughout their mission help build a spectre of terror at what awaits them–a true unknown that does not fail to deliver.
Samuel Cohen, the character that the book follows the most, is a man of stalwart duty and deeply seated faith–even in the face of the horrific dangers they face. If there’s one thing I must say is a drawback to the book, it's that the tension is drawn out just a little too long for my taste. The book isn’t long by any stretch of the imagination, but by the time the plot really kicked into high gear, I’d wished it had happened a little sooner.
The battle scenes are tense and heavy, not merely a spectacle for spectacles sake. The stakes are well established before the first shot is fired, so when the powder keg finally goes off, it carries a heavy sense of dread with it. No one is having fun when the bullets start flying and this distinction makes the book feel less like the gung-ho spectacle of 40k and more like a trek into hell itself.
The build up to the finality of the story was remarkable to read, reaching a height of fearful and cosmic horror that only the most faithful could possibly enter and withstand. Cohen as a cipher for the reader is a fantastically faithful yet deeply human character you can’t help but throw your prayers to as he marches forward for faith and duty.
While the book has some dark elements with battle, violence, and supernatural horror, readers of a faithful heart can take note that there is no profanity, violence is not glamorized, nor are there any subversive aspects to the elements of faith presented. A refreshing change from what comes out of Hollywood these days.
I highly recommend Orders of Magnitude for any fan of science fiction, space marines, and cosmic horror. You can find links to Yuval Kordov’s work below.
December 26, 2024
Yuval Kordov has become one of my favorite writers, not just of speculative fiction but of any genre. I still remember the first time I read his debut novel, The Hand of God--it felt like encountering a friend and fellow traveler. And sure enough, that is what he has turned out to be.
Kordov is at the forefront of the Incensepunk movement in science fiction--basically an attempt to portray authentic struggles with faith and doubt in near future settings. Mainstream si fi tends to dismiss religion altogether, either pretending that humanity has outgrown it or that it never existed as a meaningful part of the human experience. So-called "religious" sci-fi tends to get preachy and too frequently eschews the darker side of faith--the doubt, the loneliness, the estrangement, the difficulty in reconciling scientific understanding with the notion that the universe might, in fact, have some purpose. The former offers little more than nihilism and an aesthetic of existential dread. The latter, comforting half-truths persuade no one but those already convinced.
The beauty and wonder of Orders of Magnitude, like Kordov's larger series (Dark Legacies) is that it sticks to the perilous, narrow path between these two extremes. The story centers around Samuel, a converso Catholic space marine, as he carries out a mission on an abandoned lunar colony. The pace is thrilling, and there are plenty of extraordinarily well-done action scenes. But the real meat of the story is in Samuel's interior struggle and his past.
One of the most remarkable things about the book is how accurately Kordov has managed to portray a future Roman Catholicism. Because I know him, I know that he is a devout and committed Jew. And yet I see in his writing my own faith depicted so artfully and in such loving detail, that it takes my breath away. It takes not only great imagination to do this, but a generosity of spirit that is all too rare.
As in all of Kordov's other books, the prose itself is wildly inventive and original. He is an artisanal writer, and his craftsmanship with the English language perfectly complements his gifts as a storyteller.
Anyone who enjoys classic, metaphysical science fiction will love this novella, as I did.
Kordov is at the forefront of the Incensepunk movement in science fiction--basically an attempt to portray authentic struggles with faith and doubt in near future settings. Mainstream si fi tends to dismiss religion altogether, either pretending that humanity has outgrown it or that it never existed as a meaningful part of the human experience. So-called "religious" sci-fi tends to get preachy and too frequently eschews the darker side of faith--the doubt, the loneliness, the estrangement, the difficulty in reconciling scientific understanding with the notion that the universe might, in fact, have some purpose. The former offers little more than nihilism and an aesthetic of existential dread. The latter, comforting half-truths persuade no one but those already convinced.
The beauty and wonder of Orders of Magnitude, like Kordov's larger series (Dark Legacies) is that it sticks to the perilous, narrow path between these two extremes. The story centers around Samuel, a converso Catholic space marine, as he carries out a mission on an abandoned lunar colony. The pace is thrilling, and there are plenty of extraordinarily well-done action scenes. But the real meat of the story is in Samuel's interior struggle and his past.
One of the most remarkable things about the book is how accurately Kordov has managed to portray a future Roman Catholicism. Because I know him, I know that he is a devout and committed Jew. And yet I see in his writing my own faith depicted so artfully and in such loving detail, that it takes my breath away. It takes not only great imagination to do this, but a generosity of spirit that is all too rare.
As in all of Kordov's other books, the prose itself is wildly inventive and original. He is an artisanal writer, and his craftsmanship with the English language perfectly complements his gifts as a storyteller.
Anyone who enjoys classic, metaphysical science fiction will love this novella, as I did.
February 9, 2025
A BONE-CHILLING, INSTANTLY MEMORABLE RELIGIOUS SCI-FI HORROR TALE.
Disclaimer: This story has a deeply religious core, and as such I talk about my own faith in my review as it was part of how I connected with the story. However, it is CERTAINLY far from necessary to believe the same things in order to enjoy this novella! I simply want to provide this disclaimer so that those who might be bothered by that are aware.
I picked up this novella on a whim after a buddy of mine in a reading group I’m in told us about it. I’m Christian myself, so the idea of a sci-fi horror novella about Paladins serving the Catholic Church heading to a hurriedly abandoned (or so they think) lunar colony after picking up a strange transmission was intriguing enough that I wanted to give it a try.
What followed was a visceral, heart-pounding action thriller full of artificial demons, possession, and SOMETHING else, something almost eldritch, behind it all.
I was equal parts horrified by what the protagonist finds on his mission through the colony, and impassioned by the heart of this story. It was a deeply religious connection for me, but in a broader, more approachable sense for those who do not believe what I, or the writer of this novella (who is himself of a different faith than I), do: in the face of darkness, cling to the light, wherever you might find it.
If you’re a fan of science fiction and the pulse-racing impact of horror, this is absolutely a story worth reading.
Disclaimer: This story has a deeply religious core, and as such I talk about my own faith in my review as it was part of how I connected with the story. However, it is CERTAINLY far from necessary to believe the same things in order to enjoy this novella! I simply want to provide this disclaimer so that those who might be bothered by that are aware.
I picked up this novella on a whim after a buddy of mine in a reading group I’m in told us about it. I’m Christian myself, so the idea of a sci-fi horror novella about Paladins serving the Catholic Church heading to a hurriedly abandoned (or so they think) lunar colony after picking up a strange transmission was intriguing enough that I wanted to give it a try.
What followed was a visceral, heart-pounding action thriller full of artificial demons, possession, and SOMETHING else, something almost eldritch, behind it all.
I was equal parts horrified by what the protagonist finds on his mission through the colony, and impassioned by the heart of this story. It was a deeply religious connection for me, but in a broader, more approachable sense for those who do not believe what I, or the writer of this novella (who is himself of a different faith than I), do: in the face of darkness, cling to the light, wherever you might find it.
If you’re a fan of science fiction and the pulse-racing impact of horror, this is absolutely a story worth reading.
July 29, 2025
My first foray into the Incensepunk space and boy, this was quite the book. While the book tends to evoke Event Horizon for most of its run, I found this book much closer in spirit (see, what I did there) to the Brad Pitt-starrer Ad Astra (in a way poetic, given the colony on the moon where this book is set is meant to be the gateway to the stars and universe)
This is a deeply atmospheric book (man, the puns just keep on coming on this one) that has a Vatican-approved special forces team on a mission to the abandoned/ lost colony on the Moon following a mysterious, sombre signal. This team lead by Sam Cohen, a Paladin-Captain accompanies by a group of space marines and a priest. Sam is burdened with faith even as he is a survivor of a religious nuclear war back on Earth - Sam accepts faith but has flashbacks to his religious past as well and that ties in with the overall morbidity of the mission on Moon
There is tension that builds once the team lands on the colony and this overwhelming sense of tension ties in wth the rise of unexplainable forces and a prophecy - what follows is rather terse and jumpy and keeping in with the dense atmosphere the author infuses. The book is quite terrifically written with the terse plotting co-existing with some unhurried descriptive writing that does tell a lot but hides even more. For a novella, this builds a proper start to end narrative while teasing out possibilities - I did feel the ending needed to be a bit more fleshed out
This is a deeply atmospheric book (man, the puns just keep on coming on this one) that has a Vatican-approved special forces team on a mission to the abandoned/ lost colony on the Moon following a mysterious, sombre signal. This team lead by Sam Cohen, a Paladin-Captain accompanies by a group of space marines and a priest. Sam is burdened with faith even as he is a survivor of a religious nuclear war back on Earth - Sam accepts faith but has flashbacks to his religious past as well and that ties in with the overall morbidity of the mission on Moon
There is tension that builds once the team lands on the colony and this overwhelming sense of tension ties in wth the rise of unexplainable forces and a prophecy - what follows is rather terse and jumpy and keeping in with the dense atmosphere the author infuses. The book is quite terrifically written with the terse plotting co-existing with some unhurried descriptive writing that does tell a lot but hides even more. For a novella, this builds a proper start to end narrative while teasing out possibilities - I did feel the ending needed to be a bit more fleshed out
January 10, 2025
The Moon has been evacuated following a dire warning, possibly supernatural in origin. Soldiers tasked with investigating a mysterious signal return to the abandoned facilities...to find the colonies may not be deserted, after all. Are they dealing with a mass psychotic event or something more powerful and sinister?
Playing off the premise of a short story by Jon James, “See of Tranquility,” Kordov takes James' idea and steers it in a Lovecraftian direction that runs straight to “Aliens” and “Event Horizon” territory.
Among Kordov's many talents are the abilities to evoke a palpably menacing atmosphere, punctuated by effective jump scares, while fleshing out a relatable protagonist.
Samuel Cohen is a trustworthy yet deeply scarred man—physically and spiritually--who leads his men into potentially reality-shattering hazards while battling his own ghosts of a previous apocalypse.
As expected from a member of the nascent “Incensepunk” literary movement, Kordov delivers stellar pacing and prose while seamlessly blending religious and existential themes into what is a horror tale in a way that goes far beyond including simple sermons or scripture quotes.
The results are a tight, atmospheric military sci-fi that can be devoured in one or two sittings.
Playing off the premise of a short story by Jon James, “See of Tranquility,” Kordov takes James' idea and steers it in a Lovecraftian direction that runs straight to “Aliens” and “Event Horizon” territory.
Among Kordov's many talents are the abilities to evoke a palpably menacing atmosphere, punctuated by effective jump scares, while fleshing out a relatable protagonist.
Samuel Cohen is a trustworthy yet deeply scarred man—physically and spiritually--who leads his men into potentially reality-shattering hazards while battling his own ghosts of a previous apocalypse.
As expected from a member of the nascent “Incensepunk” literary movement, Kordov delivers stellar pacing and prose while seamlessly blending religious and existential themes into what is a horror tale in a way that goes far beyond including simple sermons or scripture quotes.
The results are a tight, atmospheric military sci-fi that can be devoured in one or two sittings.
March 11, 2025
Let’s start with the obvious. Orders of Magnitude is a book firmly ensconced in the Incensepunk genre, so exploring themes of religion, belief and faith within a science fiction context. For those that find that a turn off, stop right there. Why? Because Kordov is a superb author of skill and dark verve, who takes you on a ride that you will never forget. Park your concerns aside, pull on your big pants and get ready for a ride that will have your heart thudding in your hollow chest. This novella packs a punch. An exploration of dark, shadowed themes on a surreal moonbase full of holo-demons, wicked priests, staunch nuns and the Vatican’s Space Marines. Yeah – you read that right. This is a planned exorcism in space, and it certainly isn’t pretty or straightforward, with the author’s powerful turn of phrase and skill for both action and fear-filled introspection forging a novella of creepy style, and dare I say it, gothic horror in space. In Samuel, we have a character who recognises his own flaws, and faces a hidden enemy who seeks to exploit them at every turn. His strength lies in the rigorous order he belongs to, his past, and acknowledging his flaws. A superb, quick read and it comes highly recommended.
July 22, 2025
If you're a fan of Warhammer 40k, Event Horizon, Hellraiser, and Lovecraft then 'Orders of Magnitude' by Yuval Kordov is the book for you. A fast-paced, sci-fi action horror novella firmly in the incensepunk genre - high tech and high faith is the best way to describe it. Kordov's prose is dense and cinematic at the same time and he keeps things moving. A group of Vatican space marines, along with an exorcist, have been sent to an outer colony to investigate a distress signal that's been sent. We've seen this a dozen times before and it plays out exactly as you think it will, but Kordov delivers it with style. 'Orders of Magnitude' is a really fun read and I found myself wanting more of this world as soon as I finished. Definitely seeking out his 'Dark Legacies' trilogy.
January 14, 2025
Space Marines - check
Exorcism - check
Creepy claustrophobic scenes - check
Religious overtones - check
Excellent prose - check
This novella has so much going for it. Loved the idea of some hi-tech marines going into a space colony to find... well, I'll leave that for you to read. The religious worldbuilding was something I hadn't seen before with this type of story so that was really really neat. I thought Samuel was a great protagonist and his backstory really fulfilling in how this story played out. The climax was super dark and had some awesome character defining moments.
Definitely recommend for fans of space horror in tight spaces where God has forsaken our heroes.
Exorcism - check
Creepy claustrophobic scenes - check
Religious overtones - check
Excellent prose - check
This novella has so much going for it. Loved the idea of some hi-tech marines going into a space colony to find... well, I'll leave that for you to read. The religious worldbuilding was something I hadn't seen before with this type of story so that was really really neat. I thought Samuel was a great protagonist and his backstory really fulfilling in how this story played out. The climax was super dark and had some awesome character defining moments.
Definitely recommend for fans of space horror in tight spaces where God has forsaken our heroes.
February 25, 2025
At least 4.5 stars, I need to let it sit with me for a bit and it may get bumped up to 5.
Orders of Magnitude follows a familiar formula of a team sent to investigate a derelict space station but delivers it in a satisfying and uniquely adorned way.
I read this novella in a single, blistering sitting. It has a commendable economy of words but yet manages to paint a vivid world and even more vivid characters. Or more like character and a half. But you have to keep the scope limited in a work of this size.
The tech was believably written and the looming dread was built continuously in exactly the way you want for a derelict space station disaster story.
Orders of Magnitude follows a familiar formula of a team sent to investigate a derelict space station but delivers it in a satisfying and uniquely adorned way.
I read this novella in a single, blistering sitting. It has a commendable economy of words but yet manages to paint a vivid world and even more vivid characters. Or more like character and a half. But you have to keep the scope limited in a work of this size.
The tech was believably written and the looming dread was built continuously in exactly the way you want for a derelict space station disaster story.
February 15, 2025
A tale of creeping horror and shaky faith. This was an amazing read that, from the first chapter, had me filled with a creeping dread as Yuval Kordov lays out in detail all the unsettling elements of an abandoned Lunar colony. If you're looking for something to send shivers down your spine, but also make you introspective, read Samuel's journey through Serenitatis. I binged it in two sittings only broken up because I had to work, and then rushed home to finish it! Fans of science fiction and horror will love this one! An easy five stars!
January 30, 2025
While there were a lot of inspirations here that call to mind Warhammer 40k, Halo, Dead Space, and others) - the story is brief and ends on a high note. While it took a moment to get "off the ground" Kordov offers an inner exploration of trauma and the journey of faith for our solider, Samuel Cohen.
Interested to see what a longer work would be like, but the prose would have to be tightened up in future editions.
Interested to see what a longer work would be like, but the prose would have to be tightened up in future editions.
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