What do you think?
Rate this book
The End Times of Markusz Zielinski
What if you could save the universe?
Markusz Zielinski is trying, but what with being sacked, imprisoned, freed, kidnapped and threatened with death, no-one’s making it easy for him.
Trapped in the middle of a factional struggle for dominance on the last planet, it’s up to Markusz to save everyone despite themselves. Only problem is, he may be losing his grip on reality.
Markusz Zielinski is trying, but what with being sacked, imprisoned, freed, kidnapped and threatened with death, no-one’s making it easy for him.
Trapped in the middle of a factional struggle for dominance on the last planet, it’s up to Markusz to save everyone despite themselves. Only problem is, he may be losing his grip on reality.
286 pages, Paperback
Published October 1, 2025
About the author
Keith Stevenson
28 books61 followersI’m a speculative fiction writer, editor and publisher, born in Scotland and now living in Wollongong NSW.
My long fiction includes The End Times of Markusz Zielinski, a hopeful apocalyptic tale at the end of the universe, Horizon, a deep space exploration political and ecological thriller/ murder mystery, which was published by HarperCollins, and the three book Lenticular series – Traitor’s Run, Traitor’s Bargain and Traitor’s War – a galaxy-spanning space opera of species slaughter, subjugation and treachery.
My short fiction has appeared in Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, Aurealis Magazine, Oceans of the Mind and Agog! Fantastic Fiction.
I’m probably best known for being editor of Aurealis – Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine from 2001 to 2004 and publisher with multi-award winning Australian independent press coeur de lion publishing from 2006 onwards. I also hosted 30 episodes of the Terra Incognita Speculative Fiction (TISF) Podcast from 2008 to 2011, and edited and produced Dimension6 speculative fiction electronic magazine from 2014 to 2020. My book reviews have appeared in Aurealis Magazine, on the TISF Podcast and the Newtown Review of Books website.
I’m also on Bluesky and Instagram.
My long fiction includes The End Times of Markusz Zielinski, a hopeful apocalyptic tale at the end of the universe, Horizon, a deep space exploration political and ecological thriller/ murder mystery, which was published by HarperCollins, and the three book Lenticular series – Traitor’s Run, Traitor’s Bargain and Traitor’s War – a galaxy-spanning space opera of species slaughter, subjugation and treachery.
My short fiction has appeared in Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, Aurealis Magazine, Oceans of the Mind and Agog! Fantastic Fiction.
I’m probably best known for being editor of Aurealis – Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy Magazine from 2001 to 2004 and publisher with multi-award winning Australian independent press coeur de lion publishing from 2006 onwards. I also hosted 30 episodes of the Terra Incognita Speculative Fiction (TISF) Podcast from 2008 to 2011, and edited and produced Dimension6 speculative fiction electronic magazine from 2014 to 2020. My book reviews have appeared in Aurealis Magazine, on the TISF Podcast and the Newtown Review of Books website.
I’m also on Bluesky and Instagram.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 18, 2026
Totally enjoyed it! This is a well written and has well developed characters. The story is catching and with the strong characters makes for a very enjoyable read. Great Reading Everyone!
August 22, 2026
Firstly, shoutout to the author Keith Stevenson for generously gifting a copy of this book through an instagram giveaway!
I really enjoyed the story and the premise of this book! A futuristic civilisation facing the impending destruction of the universe on a completely grand scale (which was realised in moments throughout the story).
My dislikes of this novel all come back to the one point - it simply felt too short. Obviously this was a well-considered choice by the author and I’m sure he has very good reasons for keeping it short. In doing so, however, it felt like there was a lack of depth to the story. It was hard to fully grasp the background and the concept of the world and this could have been improved if the book was longer and these aspects could have been explored in more detail. In the same way, some characters felt a little shallow and more background to them could have helped.
My only other criticism is that the character of Helena didn’t add much to the story - in a longer novel this wouldn’t have been a problem, but in this it felt like she took time away from other characters and essential background.
Overall really great story but I would have loved some additional depth!
I really enjoyed the story and the premise of this book! A futuristic civilisation facing the impending destruction of the universe on a completely grand scale (which was realised in moments throughout the story).
My dislikes of this novel all come back to the one point - it simply felt too short. Obviously this was a well-considered choice by the author and I’m sure he has very good reasons for keeping it short. In doing so, however, it felt like there was a lack of depth to the story. It was hard to fully grasp the background and the concept of the world and this could have been improved if the book was longer and these aspects could have been explored in more detail. In the same way, some characters felt a little shallow and more background to them could have helped.
My only other criticism is that the character of Helena didn’t add much to the story - in a longer novel this wouldn’t have been a problem, but in this it felt like she took time away from other characters and essential background.
Overall really great story but I would have loved some additional depth!
November 29, 2025
The book was awesome. I loved it. It was very well written and kept me reading until I finished it! 5 stars!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews