What do you think?
Rate this book
Win a free print copy of this book!
3 days and 05:58:10
10 copies available
U.S. only
Voidverse
Not yet published
Expected 10 Mar 26Win a free print copy of this book!
3 days and 05:58:10
10 copies available
U.S. only
Named a Most Anticipated book for 2026 by Book Riot
Dune meets Wool in this high-octane quest through the void, where two eternal forces are about to collide in an epic showdown.
A HALF-FORMED UNIVERSE.
A POWERFUL ANOMALY.
A POEM THAT IS PROPHECY.
When the Sinker was a child, all she knew was violence. To survive, she fled into the Void—a seemingly infinite nothingness where people live on “rocks,” individual lands spread out in all directions, floating in the vast empty space. Some rocks are giant magnets, others burn with eternal flame, and some are influenced by seemingly magical anomalies with such great powers that evil forces would stop at nothing to possess them. And while most are afraid of traveling through the Void, the Sinker is not. With a sword on her back, she speeds through the darkness, running from a past that is quickly gaining on her.
Emery only knows the comfort of Fairviel, but when her son falls ill and the Sinker arrives on her doorstep, she ventures into the Void in search of a cure. When she returns, Fairviel is destroyed. With no home, Emery begins to sink, chasing a recurring dream that feels bigger than a dream, that feels like the key to everything.
But they are not alone in the Void. Mercenaries rise and fall around them, princes and kings guard their kingdoms, and a great machine fuels its ascent by consuming all in its path. With the Void destabilizing, Emery and the Sinker find themselves at a turning point in history, a moment when everything could collapse or realign, and the only thing that may save them exists at the bottom of it all. Or so legend says…
Dune meets Wool in this high-octane quest through the void, where two eternal forces are about to collide in an epic showdown.
A HALF-FORMED UNIVERSE.
A POWERFUL ANOMALY.
A POEM THAT IS PROPHECY.
When the Sinker was a child, all she knew was violence. To survive, she fled into the Void—a seemingly infinite nothingness where people live on “rocks,” individual lands spread out in all directions, floating in the vast empty space. Some rocks are giant magnets, others burn with eternal flame, and some are influenced by seemingly magical anomalies with such great powers that evil forces would stop at nothing to possess them. And while most are afraid of traveling through the Void, the Sinker is not. With a sword on her back, she speeds through the darkness, running from a past that is quickly gaining on her.
Emery only knows the comfort of Fairviel, but when her son falls ill and the Sinker arrives on her doorstep, she ventures into the Void in search of a cure. When she returns, Fairviel is destroyed. With no home, Emery begins to sink, chasing a recurring dream that feels bigger than a dream, that feels like the key to everything.
But they are not alone in the Void. Mercenaries rise and fall around them, princes and kings guard their kingdoms, and a great machine fuels its ascent by consuming all in its path. With the Void destabilizing, Emery and the Sinker find themselves at a turning point in history, a moment when everything could collapse or realign, and the only thing that may save them exists at the bottom of it all. Or so legend says…
Kindle Edition
Expected publication March 10, 2026
5 people are currently reading
4389 people want to read
About the author
Damien Ober
2 books17 followersDamien Ober is a novelist and screenwriter. He was a writer for the Netflix series The OA and has written scripts and developed TV shows for Paramount+, AMC, Netflix, and Warner Brothers. His work has appeared in The Rumpus, NOON, B O D Y Literature, The Baltimore City Paper, VLAK, and port.man.teau. He was a co-winner of the Sherwood Anderson Award, was nominated for a 2012 Pushcart Prize, and his screenplay Randle Is Benign was selected for the 2013 Black List.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 5, 2026
3.5 stars full review incoming soon!
The world was unique & fascinating. Ive never read anything remotely similar which was enough to keep me hooked. While the ending wrapped things up it felt a bit pat & there were too many questions left unanswered.
The world was unique & fascinating. Ive never read anything remotely similar which was enough to keep me hooked. While the ending wrapped things up it felt a bit pat & there were too many questions left unanswered.
August 15, 2025
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🫣
January 6, 2026
Wow this was a really strange one but very enjoyable. I’ll be thinking about it for a long time.
December 2, 2025
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.
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.
September 27, 2025
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.
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.
December 22, 2025
(4.5) One of the most unique pieces of sci-fi I’ve read in a long time!! I was captured by the image of rocks and bodies falling through the void, and found myself imagining what it would be like to fly like the Sinker, to lean off the edge of a planet and feel the friction rushing past your face. What a fun concept completed by in-depth worldbuilding and complex characters! I loved how the different timelines and characters were woven together, and the way all of the story converged in the end was extremely satisfying. Absolutely a 2026 must-read!
September 14, 2025
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.
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.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Want to read
August 5, 2025DUNE meets WOOL? say less.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Voidverse is one of the more unique works of speculative fiction I’ve read, a novel that refuses to hold your hand, choosing instead to let you sink through the void until you find your own footing.
The setting is a series of small rocks in perpetual free fall through an endless void, each one unique with their own mythology, culture and “codes”. The inhabitants sky dive between them, manipulating the “friction” to sink or rise, stopping at the next rock for a “rest” or two before moving on.
The novel’s structure and prose reinforce this feeling of isolation and impermanence with viewpoint characters that drift in and out of the story, cleverly mixing up first and third person narrative. While the prose is atmospheric and the pacing initially meditative, it is punctuated by sudden, visceral violence that eventually gives way to a high-stakes sprint toward the finish.
With a plot that is more mystery and vibes than tight character arcs and explanations, Ober delivers an ending as enigmatic as the world itself. Much like Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi, it is a story that refuses to be fully pinned down, haunting the reader’s thoughts long after the final page.
The setting is a series of small rocks in perpetual free fall through an endless void, each one unique with their own mythology, culture and “codes”. The inhabitants sky dive between them, manipulating the “friction” to sink or rise, stopping at the next rock for a “rest” or two before moving on.
The novel’s structure and prose reinforce this feeling of isolation and impermanence with viewpoint characters that drift in and out of the story, cleverly mixing up first and third person narrative. While the prose is atmospheric and the pacing initially meditative, it is punctuated by sudden, visceral violence that eventually gives way to a high-stakes sprint toward the finish.
With a plot that is more mystery and vibes than tight character arcs and explanations, Ober delivers an ending as enigmatic as the world itself. Much like Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi, it is a story that refuses to be fully pinned down, haunting the reader’s thoughts long after the final page.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Voidverse is the cosmological cousin of Piranesi, steeped in prophecy, religion, and myth. People skydive through space to small rocks, each one home to its own culture, beliefs, and codes, and no one truly knows how deep or wide the void is. That isolation sits at the core of the story. It starts almost gently, then escalates fast, sliding from floating cows on tethers into scenes of brutal annihilation before you even understand what or why it’s happening.
This isn’t a character-driven epic where everyone gets a neat arc. People drift through each other’s lives briefly, sometimes meaningfully, sometimes barely at all, and the story is far more interested in ideas than explanations. Prophecy and belief echo back on themselves through small, quiet moments that slowly converge. It’s bizarre and unique - the kind of book that stays lodged in your head long after you’ve fallen into the void.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher - Saga Press, and the author - Damien Ober for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This isn’t a character-driven epic where everyone gets a neat arc. People drift through each other’s lives briefly, sometimes meaningfully, sometimes barely at all, and the story is far more interested in ideas than explanations. Prophecy and belief echo back on themselves through small, quiet moments that slowly converge. It’s bizarre and unique - the kind of book that stays lodged in your head long after you’ve fallen into the void.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher - Saga Press, and the author - Damien Ober for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
November 10, 2025
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
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews