Ep.#1 - "Deeper"

by Glenn Haddix, Ryk Brown

Episode 1

A courier heading home…
A lone tech in a mining facility…
A mega-corp with a hidden agenda…
A world long ago destroyed by the Jung…

An ancient weapon dormant for centuries is unleashed, forcing strangers to work together to survive. But trust doesn’t come easy.

Deeper is the first of episode of the Astra Nullus Saga, the first crossover series in The Frontiers Saga Universe.

316 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 24, 2025

Reviews

[Mike Nemeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jax is a lone mine operator on a desolate planet with an unbreathable atmosphere where the only companionship is with his artificial intelligence and a series of mining robots that keep the facility processing ore. Turns out the ore is explosive. Just about everything else is in "Deeper," a novel by Glenn Haddix and part of the universe created by sci-fi legend Ryk Brown. Astra Nullus is part of Brown's Frontier Saga, which already boasts scores of books about the adventures of Nathan Scott and his crewmates from the Aurora. Haddix isn't Brown. Not even close. He's got a distinct style. In Deeper, Jax almost immediately discovers that his day won't be good. He's facing an extinction event, as some ancient evil has been excavated without his knowledge from the many miles of mines beneath the corporate owned planet. Haddix is a good writer. In fact, the action in his debut Frontiers Saga novel doesn't let up. His characters must adapt to survive. At one point one tells the other, "This is the part in the horror flick where people start dying." Another character responds, "They already have." The book ends with a cliffhanger, so expect a followup.

[Trent · Rating 3 out of 5]

An addition to the “Frontier’s Saga”. The story takes place, primarily, on a mining colony where a worker discovers an old weapons system that awakens and runs amok. Again, this is a time when I wish I could give half star (3.5 instead of 3). It was a quick read and I appreciate the few nods/tie-ins to elements of the Saga as well as Haddix’s style of writing. I thought the action and drama was well paced and the characters were interesting. I’m definitely curious as to where this will go. My only criticism was in the editing. There were times when a break was clearly needed between paragraphs to indicate when a story line was changing over. A bit annoying but not to the point where I couldn’t pick up what was going on.

[mr.Saunders · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was hard to tell what was hapening

It started out interesting but then got very confusing. As far as I can tell there were at least 6 story lines that the book jumped from one to the other. I would read one or two pages of one story line and at the end of a paragraph the story jumped. And then maybe jumped again in another paragraph or two. I think the book could have been much better with just some organization.

[Dale A Roberts · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not really a frontiers saga book.

It was a nice try at Glenn Haddix trying to get into Ryk's work, to help him out (I guess). The only thing that attached it to the frontiers saga was a few mentions of company names. I tried really hard to read this book, but had to force myself to keep on reading, to give it a chance.. I wouldn't recommend it if you're a frontiers saga fan, as I have been.

[Michael S Siegel · Rating 1 out of 5]

very disappointed

One long battle against an unrealistic enemy. No character development. No real placement in the series universe - Until a hint in the last page of the story. But that final reveal was not worth the long slog that was this book.
Should have been a short story, not a novel.

[David J Arens · Rating 4 out of 5]

the Jung never left

If the Jung were so ruthless as to create AI killing machines then this happened in the 500 years when the aurora was not around. Puts an angle on the Ai control the alliance is pushing so good side story, just Also puts in perspective human nature under stress. We are emotional beings.