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Nether #2
Nether Vortex
Five years later, the eldritch mysteries uncovered at Nether Station remain unsolved. Its crew is missing. Earth hasn’t heeded their final warnings. And time is running out …
Karla Arkourian wakes from emergency cryosleep on a failing space station at the edge of the solar system. The last person she expects to see is Margot Noor, new head of NOOR industries, who has taken the reins when her brother Benedict failed to return home after all contact was lost with Nether Station.
Apparently the only survivor of that ill-fated mission, Karla carries an urgent warning not just for NOOR industries, but for all the horrific ancient enemy, the Agoc, are coming, and Earth must prepare every defense against this all-powerful cosmic horror.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the galaxy, the crew of the Neil Armstrong have survived their trip through the Nether wormhole, finding themselves thrown into the midst of a vast interstellar war. With their new alien comrades and under the careful watch of a lost member of the 1930 Miskatonic University expedition to the Antarctic, these refugees have been hardened into a crack team. This Alliance of many embattled races is commanded by the mysterious, all-powerful star beings against their mortal enemies, the Agoc. Truly, the fate of the universe is at stake.
But when an unexpected revelation puts Earth in the crosshairs, long-forgotten ancient mysteries rise again. Will humanity be able to stand against the Agoc? And can Cammie save her friends—and her entire species—from an even older, darker threat?
From New York Times bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson comes Nether Vortex, the sequel to Nether Station, another thrilling mix of epic science fiction and Lovecraftian horror.
Karla Arkourian wakes from emergency cryosleep on a failing space station at the edge of the solar system. The last person she expects to see is Margot Noor, new head of NOOR industries, who has taken the reins when her brother Benedict failed to return home after all contact was lost with Nether Station.
Apparently the only survivor of that ill-fated mission, Karla carries an urgent warning not just for NOOR industries, but for all the horrific ancient enemy, the Agoc, are coming, and Earth must prepare every defense against this all-powerful cosmic horror.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the galaxy, the crew of the Neil Armstrong have survived their trip through the Nether wormhole, finding themselves thrown into the midst of a vast interstellar war. With their new alien comrades and under the careful watch of a lost member of the 1930 Miskatonic University expedition to the Antarctic, these refugees have been hardened into a crack team. This Alliance of many embattled races is commanded by the mysterious, all-powerful star beings against their mortal enemies, the Agoc. Truly, the fate of the universe is at stake.
But when an unexpected revelation puts Earth in the crosshairs, long-forgotten ancient mysteries rise again. Will humanity be able to stand against the Agoc? And can Cammie save her friends—and her entire species—from an even older, darker threat?
From New York Times bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson comes Nether Vortex, the sequel to Nether Station, another thrilling mix of epic science fiction and Lovecraftian horror.
- GenresScience Fiction
492 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 27, 2026
About the author
Kevin J. Anderson
1,126 books3,215 followersYes, I have a lot of books, and if this is your first visit to my amazon author page, it can be a little overwhelming. If you are new to my work, let me recommend a few titles as good places to start. I love my Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. series, humorous horror/mysteries, which begin with DEATH WARMED OVER. My steampunk fantasy adventures, CLOCKWORK ANGELS and CLOCKWORK LIVES, written with Neil Peart, legendary drummer from Rush, are two of my very favorite novels ever. And my magnum opus, the science fiction epic The Saga of Seven Suns, begins with HIDDEN EMPIRE. After you've tried those, I hope you'll check out some of my other series.
I have written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and I'm the co-author of the Dune prequels. My original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series and the Nebula Award-nominated Assemblers of Infinity. I have also written several comic books including the Dark Horse Star Wars collection Tales of the Jedi written in collaboration with Tom Veitch, Predator titles (also for Dark Horse), and X-Files titles for Topps.
I serve as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest.
My wife is author Rebecca Moesta. We currently reside near Monument, Colorado.
I have written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and I'm the co-author of the Dune prequels. My original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series and the Nebula Award-nominated Assemblers of Infinity. I have also written several comic books including the Dark Horse Star Wars collection Tales of the Jedi written in collaboration with Tom Veitch, Predator titles (also for Dark Horse), and X-Files titles for Topps.
I serve as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest.
My wife is author Rebecca Moesta. We currently reside near Monument, Colorado.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Nether Vortex is the last book in the Nether series. Now did I know that going in? Absolutely not, I was just excited to read a sci-fi horror book and I had a fun time reading it. I loved getting to know the crew and immersing myself in the world. I of course think that I would have gotten more out of the characters had I read the rest of the series, I mean that is a given, but I don’t feel like I inherently missed out on a lot because I didn’t. I sometimes struggle with space opera books, but this one was fun and very well written. I got a kick out of the things that the author came up with and I chuckled a few times just with how wild some of the things were. But for me that is something I enjoy, and no, I have know idea why it works for me in sci-fi but not really fantasy – my mind is a mystery. The pacing on this one was fast and it really helped me get swept away and reading into the night.
If you’re looking for a fun sci-fi horror then I suggest you check out this series. The first book is called Nether Station.
Thank you to the publisher for my early copy.
If you’re looking for a fun sci-fi horror then I suggest you check out this series. The first book is called Nether Station.
Thank you to the publisher for my early copy.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
A continuation of Nether Station, this story takes place five years after the Neil Armstrong and its crew traveled through the wormhole.
Unfortunately, I found this installment very slow-going, without the sense of wonder and awe that made the first novel so compelling. It was also quite repetitive, returning to the same points again and again—almost as though the story were being stretched to fill the page count.
This also felt much more like space opera than horror, in my opinion. While it didn’t work particularly well for me, I would still recommend it to readers who enjoy slower-paced space opera.
Unfortunately, I found this installment very slow-going, without the sense of wonder and awe that made the first novel so compelling. It was also quite repetitive, returning to the same points again and again—almost as though the story were being stretched to fill the page count.
This also felt much more like space opera than horror, in my opinion. While it didn’t work particularly well for me, I would still recommend it to readers who enjoy slower-paced space opera.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
In NETHER VORTEX, trillionaire sister and now sole owner of NOOR Corporation, the vast Earth and Solar System industry, Margo Noor, founds a mission to the Nether Wormhole, five years after the seeming disappearance of her brother Benedict Noor and his crew. After years of Silence, they have to assume no one survived, but after discovering the shambles of Nether Station, which had been constructed from the mission ship Lethe, they are astonished to discover one cryopod survivor, Lethe's captain, and learn her astonishing information gleaned from the alien asteroid compounds. Her urgency to protect Earth isn't quite sufficient to convince Margo Noor, until the Captain reveals that the Asteroid can be flown to Earth orbit, just as a spaceship.
Meanwhile, the "missing" crew from the first mission have spent the past five years battling, together with several alien races, at the guidance of Star Beings, against the soul-devouring psychic Agoc. Weaving in not just Lovecraftian Cosmic immensity but actual Lovecraftian characters and settings and expanding on these, NETHER VORTEX (and Book 1, NETHER STATION), are unputdownable heart-in-mouth Space Opera excitement.
Meanwhile, the "missing" crew from the first mission have spent the past five years battling, together with several alien races, at the guidance of Star Beings, against the soul-devouring psychic Agoc. Weaving in not just Lovecraftian Cosmic immensity but actual Lovecraftian characters and settings and expanding on these, NETHER VORTEX (and Book 1, NETHER STATION), are unputdownable heart-in-mouth Space Opera excitement.
November 6, 2026
Star Rating: 4.5 stars
Date: 10/29/26 – 11/5/26
Note: This is the 2nd and final book in the Nether duology so this will not be an in-depth review to avoid spoilers.
As my followers may have noticed, I really love exploring more classic-leaning fantasy and science fiction as well as modern works (Both are great and fun; I don’t know why everyone bashes each other!), and that’s how I found Kevin J. Anderson through his contributions for the Dune universe (one of my other TBR takedown categories) and I enjoyed his writing there and wanted to try a series of his own so I searched and really want to try his Saga of Seven Suns and Saga of Shadows series, but I noticed that he had a new release coming out so I decided to start there and then branch into his other works. (AuDHD segway, sorry, I am also reading the Star Wars books so I will probably encounter him there too as he has written in that universe as well. I watched the movies and really liked them, and I have learned the books really add to the movies, so I wanted to read them. I don’t have Disney Plus and they haven’t released the TV shows on DVD so I can’t check them out from my local public library, so I haven’t watched those, but I will if they ever do😊.)
With that “housekeeping” out of the way, let’s move on to our discussion of Nether Vortex by Kevin J. Anderson, book 2 and the finale of the Nether duology. This book concludes the story of the Nether wormhole team that was started in Nether Station. In Nether Station, a wormhole was discovered in the Kuiper Belt, and a rich billionaire, Benedict Noor, wanted to see if he could use it as a gateway for long-range space travel and so he formed a team and went to explore, but things went wrong. Now, we join both the survivors of that catastrophe as well as new characters as they deal with the epic fallout from book one, and the scale is much bigger in this one, but except for some minor “plot holes” that my AuDHD mind was able to find, he handled the upscale flawlessly.
Everything, the vastness, awe, and sometimes terror of space, especially deep space, the new non-human characters we meet (how I won’t spoil), and particularly our “big Bad” are all handled with the appropriate atmosphere and tone to give them the effect and weight they need to have maximum impact, and the deep dives he did on what humanity’s reactions would be, good or bad, to the situation, the advantages and disadvantages to “big business” stepping in and pushing humanity further when inner and outer government squabbling and restriction are handicapping us, and the elitism and entitlement that forms in academia and how it can add to that handicap were handled with nuance and depth, fleshing out what could have been a one-off campy science fiction adventure into a narrative that I will enjoy returning to and will definitely been recommending.
Even the “plot holes” didn’t really detract from the narrative as they fed into the themes that he was discussing and exploring; it was more just humans making stupid decisions and making my overly logical AuDHD brain mad like the one where they literally see a ship come through a wormhole on Mars and are told that more, bigger ships are coming, but decide to build a exploration camp right in the way and then get mad when everything gets ruined when the ships that THEY WERE WARNED ABOUT start coming through or the one where they know that weird things are happening across the universe as the “big bad” gets closer, but they decide that increased seismic activity and weather patterns aren’t something they need to look into or my personal favorite, the autistic character (handled well otherwise) had to be told about the betrayal of another group, which again I won’t spoil, instead of being able to figure it out herself; mind to say, she had received multiple “data dumps” of “hidden knowledge” and they were using the very thing she was an expert in for their deceit. I mean I understand that she probably wouldn’t be able to determine by their actions, because of her disability (I wouldn’t either) and the fact they were non-human would make that worse, but she didn’t notice that something funny was going on with the wormhole that she had extensive background knowledge of and had spent years studying and start asking questions or trying to find out why, especially since her autism would make her pay special attention to that as it is a special interest of hers. These “plot holes” probably wouldn’t bother other readers so don’t let them detract from you picking up this book, but unlike the character in the narrative, I notice when something is wrong with the thing I spend the majority of my time doing and hyper focusing on 😊.
All in all, when I started this series, I thought it was going to be a fun one-off science fiction adventure, but as it progressed and he broadened his scope, I found myself much more invested in the narrative and was deeply impressed at his skill. If this is what he can do with a narrative that was never intended to be a space opera, I am excited to see what he does with one that is supposed to be from the jump. I can see why he was chosen to help Brian Herbert finish his father’s series now. 4.5 stars!!!!!!!
Date: 10/29/26 – 11/5/26
Note: This is the 2nd and final book in the Nether duology so this will not be an in-depth review to avoid spoilers.
As my followers may have noticed, I really love exploring more classic-leaning fantasy and science fiction as well as modern works (Both are great and fun; I don’t know why everyone bashes each other!), and that’s how I found Kevin J. Anderson through his contributions for the Dune universe (one of my other TBR takedown categories) and I enjoyed his writing there and wanted to try a series of his own so I searched and really want to try his Saga of Seven Suns and Saga of Shadows series, but I noticed that he had a new release coming out so I decided to start there and then branch into his other works. (AuDHD segway, sorry, I am also reading the Star Wars books so I will probably encounter him there too as he has written in that universe as well. I watched the movies and really liked them, and I have learned the books really add to the movies, so I wanted to read them. I don’t have Disney Plus and they haven’t released the TV shows on DVD so I can’t check them out from my local public library, so I haven’t watched those, but I will if they ever do😊.)
With that “housekeeping” out of the way, let’s move on to our discussion of Nether Vortex by Kevin J. Anderson, book 2 and the finale of the Nether duology. This book concludes the story of the Nether wormhole team that was started in Nether Station. In Nether Station, a wormhole was discovered in the Kuiper Belt, and a rich billionaire, Benedict Noor, wanted to see if he could use it as a gateway for long-range space travel and so he formed a team and went to explore, but things went wrong. Now, we join both the survivors of that catastrophe as well as new characters as they deal with the epic fallout from book one, and the scale is much bigger in this one, but except for some minor “plot holes” that my AuDHD mind was able to find, he handled the upscale flawlessly.
Everything, the vastness, awe, and sometimes terror of space, especially deep space, the new non-human characters we meet (how I won’t spoil), and particularly our “big Bad” are all handled with the appropriate atmosphere and tone to give them the effect and weight they need to have maximum impact, and the deep dives he did on what humanity’s reactions would be, good or bad, to the situation, the advantages and disadvantages to “big business” stepping in and pushing humanity further when inner and outer government squabbling and restriction are handicapping us, and the elitism and entitlement that forms in academia and how it can add to that handicap were handled with nuance and depth, fleshing out what could have been a one-off campy science fiction adventure into a narrative that I will enjoy returning to and will definitely been recommending.
Even the “plot holes” didn’t really detract from the narrative as they fed into the themes that he was discussing and exploring; it was more just humans making stupid decisions and making my overly logical AuDHD brain mad like the one where they literally see a ship come through a wormhole on Mars and are told that more, bigger ships are coming, but decide to build a exploration camp right in the way and then get mad when everything gets ruined when the ships that THEY WERE WARNED ABOUT start coming through or the one where they know that weird things are happening across the universe as the “big bad” gets closer, but they decide that increased seismic activity and weather patterns aren’t something they need to look into or my personal favorite, the autistic character (handled well otherwise) had to be told about the betrayal of another group, which again I won’t spoil, instead of being able to figure it out herself; mind to say, she had received multiple “data dumps” of “hidden knowledge” and they were using the very thing she was an expert in for their deceit. I mean I understand that she probably wouldn’t be able to determine by their actions, because of her disability (I wouldn’t either) and the fact they were non-human would make that worse, but she didn’t notice that something funny was going on with the wormhole that she had extensive background knowledge of and had spent years studying and start asking questions or trying to find out why, especially since her autism would make her pay special attention to that as it is a special interest of hers. These “plot holes” probably wouldn’t bother other readers so don’t let them detract from you picking up this book, but unlike the character in the narrative, I notice when something is wrong with the thing I spend the majority of my time doing and hyper focusing on 😊.
All in all, when I started this series, I thought it was going to be a fun one-off science fiction adventure, but as it progressed and he broadened his scope, I found myself much more invested in the narrative and was deeply impressed at his skill. If this is what he can do with a narrative that was never intended to be a space opera, I am excited to see what he does with one that is supposed to be from the jump. I can see why he was chosen to help Brian Herbert finish his father’s series now. 4.5 stars!!!!!!!
November 8, 2026
Kevin J Anderson does it again. What I mean by that is he makes me want to read his book. I will admit I never had the chance to read the first book in this series. I immediately found myself drawn in by what I will call the crisis. The main character wakes up from Cryogenic Sleep and immediately finds herself fighting for her life. Anderson not only runs one fight for life crisis, but he continues with another set of individuals on the opposite side of the galaxy trying to figure out what to do as they are pulled in the midst of a battle of life or death. The crisis makes this book enjoyable. However Anderson struggled I thought with giving adequate time to each part of the crisis. In every book I've ever read of Anderson's he brings into the story the so called bad guy(s) in this case an Ancient Alien Race who is headed back to earth to kill off the human race. Will the crew from the ship that went through the blackhole be able to make it back in time? Will the main character solve why the corporation that funded the space station sent another individual? What happened to the first crew of the space station? Read this book and you will find answers . I give this book a solid 4 stars I felt engaged and wanted to continue to read the book but their were moments where the moving back in forth amoung the two seperate crisis kind of confused me.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I loved the intrigue and horror and unknown elements of Nether Station. Seeing Nether Vortex was available for an ARC read, I knew I had to request it.
You’ll see new and familiar characters, take on galactic evil, and navigate complex human and alien dynamics.
It was still a good scifi tale, but I felt it was missing the terrifying and mysterious elements from the first book. Though I enjoyed where the tale went, it was a bit of a slog in the middle to get there. As another reviewer noted, this time around it definitely feels more like a space opera/epic and less of a horror story. Still lots of eldritch elements, which I loved.
Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Blackstone Publishing for a copy!
You’ll see new and familiar characters, take on galactic evil, and navigate complex human and alien dynamics.
It was still a good scifi tale, but I felt it was missing the terrifying and mysterious elements from the first book. Though I enjoyed where the tale went, it was a bit of a slog in the middle to get there. As another reviewer noted, this time around it definitely feels more like a space opera/epic and less of a horror story. Still lots of eldritch elements, which I loved.
Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Blackstone Publishing for a copy!
Review of advance copy received from Author
(Advanced Reader Copy provided to newpulptales.com)
A Bigger, Yet More Intimate Sequel
I tend to appreciate when the end of one book in a series lends itself to a very different sequel. And when the sequel can actually make that jump without falling back to the original story’s trappings, all the better. When Kevin J. Anderson left the crew of the Neil Armstrong at the end of 2024’s Nether Station, that story’s “haunted house in space” setup was already finished with. In the final pages, the stage is set for intergalactic war against a Lovecraftian enemy to take its place. Nether Vortex flies right into that new frontier and, for the most part, delivers on that escalation.
(Full review posted to https://www.newpulptales.com/nether-v...)
A Bigger, Yet More Intimate Sequel
I tend to appreciate when the end of one book in a series lends itself to a very different sequel. And when the sequel can actually make that jump without falling back to the original story’s trappings, all the better. When Kevin J. Anderson left the crew of the Neil Armstrong at the end of 2024’s Nether Station, that story’s “haunted house in space” setup was already finished with. In the final pages, the stage is set for intergalactic war against a Lovecraftian enemy to take its place. Nether Vortex flies right into that new frontier and, for the most part, delivers on that escalation.
(Full review posted to https://www.newpulptales.com/nether-v...)
November 5, 2026
First: I want to play this "game", now that they nuked Mass Effect, here is a script for your next indie game company wink wink.
The author has already proven he can deliver exciting, complex, and cinematic stories. It cooled down a lot in the beginning, a lot of Noor's sister and her Chef with recipes, but exciting action 70% and after.
Picking up this series is a matter of loving sci-fi, first contact, alien-invading-Earth stories.
Karla was super cool in this one. Great idea to make the asteroid at Earth's door into something more. A very human thing to turn out weakness or weapons into something for our benefit. For fans of Star Trek.
The author has already proven he can deliver exciting, complex, and cinematic stories. It cooled down a lot in the beginning, a lot of Noor's sister and her Chef with recipes, but exciting action 70% and after.
Picking up this series is a matter of loving sci-fi, first contact, alien-invading-Earth stories.
Karla was super cool in this one. Great idea to make the asteroid at Earth's door into something more. A very human thing to turn out weakness or weapons into something for our benefit. For fans of Star Trek.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Nether Vortex was definitely not what I was expecting after the first book (and the first book had zombie bug aliens). A lot more action, a lot more aliens, and plenty of space battles. I liked the mixing in of the Cthulhu/H.P. Lovecraft mythology that was used surrounding a lot of the alien creatures. Overall great story and enjoyable characters (for the most part). I was really entertained throughout the whole book. Nether Vortex makes for a great sequel to Nether Station. I would recommend to the average scifi reader.
October 29, 2026
Good. I did enjoy this, but..
Not as good as the first or second books in the series.
I absolutely loved the first one, but as usual when the story that I fell in love with and all the mystery and newness of the "situation", is gone, I find myself not as invested in it. Not just this series, but in most series. I really am a stand alone book lover I guess, especially when books are published so far apart.
This is a me thing, I think.
Not as good as the first or second books in the series.
I absolutely loved the first one, but as usual when the story that I fell in love with and all the mystery and newness of the "situation", is gone, I find myself not as invested in it. Not just this series, but in most series. I really am a stand alone book lover I guess, especially when books are published so far apart.
This is a me thing, I think.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Nether Vortex is the upcoming second novel in The Nether Series by New York Times bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson. Published by Blackstone Publishing, the 410-page epic is scheduled to hit shelves on Tuesday, October 27, 2026. Serving as the direct sequel to Nether Station, the book continues a fast-paced blend of massive, sweeping space opera and dark Lovecraftian cosmic horror.
November 4, 2026
Lovecraft for idiots
November 9, 2026
Excellent conclusion
Wow This book Held me in suspense up until the ending, A real page turner. All the space battles And lovecraftian monsters You would want.
Wow This book Held me in suspense up until the ending, A real page turner. All the space battles And lovecraftian monsters You would want.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews