Voidverse

by Damien Ober

Dune meets Wool in this high-octane quest through the void, where two eternal forces are about to collide in an epic showdown.

When The Sinker was a child, her home was destroyed by The Construct, a floating machine that consumes all in its path. To survive, she fled into the void, a seemingly infinite nothingness filled with floating, vertically stacked rocks. While most are afraid of traveling through this void, The Sinker is not. Some rocks are giant magnets, some rocks burn with eternal flame, and some are influenced by the presence of seemingly magical objects—anomalies that defy physical laws.

For half a lifetime, The Sinker has wandered the void on a quest for knowledge, for understanding, and for peace. But when rumors reach her that The Construct is near again, she knows fate has come full circle. With the help of Crooked Arm—the heir to a shattered throne who happens to possess the most powerful anomaly of all—the two of them set out on a mission to end the tyranny of The Construct forever.

Genres: Science Fiction, Adult

336 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication March 10, 2026

Reviews

[Gabby · Rating 3 out of 5]

This definitely was giving Wool with the anxiety driven claustrophobia of the silos but instead it’s endless void. The setting was very unique with civilization found on vertical floating rocks and The Construct destroying said rocks for fuel (corporate America, is that you (again)?) some parts of this were lagging and confusing. I had to use both brain cells to figure out what friction (in context to the book), Far machine, liquid mirror, and axiom were but once you get past that it was an intriguing read that ended on QUITE the cliff hanger🫣

[Chandra Summers · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was so bizarre for me.
I greatly enjoyed the setting, the floating rocks populated in an endless void, I found it very intriguing. Unfortunately, the landscape of the book was the only thing that held my interest; the characters were very shallow and the plot felt slow to progress.
There was also something of Ober’s writing style that just did not hit for me.
I think the story being sold as “Lord of the Rings meets Mad Max” set me off with the wrong expectations; they were not met and I am left disappointed. I don’t quite understand the comparisons.

Realising this book is part of a series 40 pages from the end was very upsetting too.

[Nyalise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This review is based on an uncorrected proof, and quotes/page numbers may not match the final published edition.


Damien Ober’s Voidverse doesn’t just give you a glimpse into the Void, the Void looks back at you. This book successfully merges the core concepts of science fiction in what feels like a whole new way.

Voidverse centers on the Sinker, a mysterious woman who travels the enigmatic Void like she’s a part of it, and Emery, a woman plagued by dreams and urges she doesn’t yet understand but feel like the answer to it all. Both women are faced with constant danger from the Void, the Rocks and the people who live on them yet face it all with determination and a strong sense of the code of ethics at work within the Void. The core conflict lurks just out of sight, a legend, a myth to those who dwell on the Rocks within the Void. They are forced to confront their pasts and the future with friends and foes rising and sinking at their sides.

Voidverse starts with a slow-burn build-up that establishes the complex dimensional rules, before exploding into a breakneck second half. Ober's writing style manages to both lull the reader into a feeling of safety while also keeping them on the edge, wondering what the next Rock will bring. The worldbuilding, particularly the physics of the Void, is detailed enough to feel possible without ever overwhelming the reader. Everything clicks into place, creating a tense, relentless march toward the unknown.

Voidverse blends high-stakes adventure with profound questions about identity, family and ethics. The ending leaves you thinking about the implications long after you close the cover and looking for the next installment of the story. 

[Kelsey Rae · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took me a while to finish this, because I just could not bring myself to care about anything. The one that I’d typically find at least interesting wasn’t even that for me (Sinker). The concept of a mechanism devouring rocks that people call home without remorse sounds incredible, but it fell into boring surprisingly fast, because the characters and their actions were two dimensional at best. I mean, good lord, in the very beginning we have a mother who ran off to find a cure for her sick child (which is damn near taboo in her culture because sinking is worse than rising or whatever) and then didn’t even cry when he got absolutely pulverized after she decided to leave her family for good lol. Even as a reader I didn’t feel anything. Same with a few chapters in the future when you’re following another character and their wife kicks the bucket too. At least they felt something, it was too bad I did not.

I don’t know… it was just a whole lot of something, but not something that kept me interested.

Thank you NetGalley and Owlcrate for the opportunity to read this ARC.

[Fanna]

DUNE meets WOOL? say less.

[Jonathan Hawpe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Damien Ober's Voidverse pulls off one of the more original feats of world building I've read in a long time: a place of arcane cosmology and idiosyncratic customs, one where mythic prophecy and scientific naturalism seem to melt and fuse together into something altogether weirder. Readers may feel echoes of things like Mad Max & Furiosa's wasteland, Neo & Trinity's Matrix, the geometrical life of Edwin Abbott's Flatland, or the endless labyrinth of Susanna Clarke's Piranesi, but surrender to the Void and you'll be pulled into a nigh-on unique adventure where tragic destiny, brutal survival, and existential exploration collide into one unforgettably epic story. 8/10