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Viriditas Four: a 'Dark Elite' Novella
116 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 31, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 9, 2026
I really enjoyed the debut novella by Gordon Richards.
This is good old fashioned sci-fi,it reminds me of star trek where new worlds are explored,new creatures are discovered,and all the problems that occur visiting a new planet.
This maybe a novella but it packs a punch in all the areas you need as a sci-fi lover.
The book is so well paced,characters are all rounded out really well,and the planet you visit in the book is beautifully described,letting your imagination fill your mind of the beauty and peril of this new planet.
You follow a team of explorers,combining soldiers,and scientists on an expedition to the newly discovered planet after the first team sent there has seemed to disappear with no communication.
From the start of the novella the author guides you into the story arc,giving you a prologue before the story really begins,allowing the story to be set up so well.
The main character for me Captain Craig Albion is such a good strong character,he holds everything together,and is so well described you really begin to believe he really exists,and that's the thing with this Novella ,believability in a sci-fi is important and Gordon Richards achieves this so easily all the way through the book.
As a sci-fi story this excels in the way you would like a sci-fi to excel,it is a short story being a novella ,but this does not detract from a well written story,that draws you in,allows your imagination to flourish,and gives you exactly what your looking for in a sci-fi story.
This is good old fashioned sci-fi,it reminds me of star trek where new worlds are explored,new creatures are discovered,and all the problems that occur visiting a new planet.
This maybe a novella but it packs a punch in all the areas you need as a sci-fi lover.
The book is so well paced,characters are all rounded out really well,and the planet you visit in the book is beautifully described,letting your imagination fill your mind of the beauty and peril of this new planet.
You follow a team of explorers,combining soldiers,and scientists on an expedition to the newly discovered planet after the first team sent there has seemed to disappear with no communication.
From the start of the novella the author guides you into the story arc,giving you a prologue before the story really begins,allowing the story to be set up so well.
The main character for me Captain Craig Albion is such a good strong character,he holds everything together,and is so well described you really begin to believe he really exists,and that's the thing with this Novella ,believability in a sci-fi is important and Gordon Richards achieves this so easily all the way through the book.
As a sci-fi story this excels in the way you would like a sci-fi to excel,it is a short story being a novella ,but this does not detract from a well written story,that draws you in,allows your imagination to flourish,and gives you exactly what your looking for in a sci-fi story.
August 9, 2026
This engaging sci-fi thriller kept me wondering what was going to happen next. With a mix of intrigue and sympathy and ultimately devastation. It's a wonderful read and I can't wait to see what lies in store with Gordon's next novel.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Thank you to Gordon for the opportunity to ARC read this!
In Viriditas Four, we follow Craig Albion and a team of soldiers and scientists with their main goal being to find out what happened to the previous group that just seemed to have vanished. But what appeared to be a simple mission, it became an unexpected turn of events.
I really enjoyed reading this novella. I haven’t read much sci-fi, if any and it’s a great introduction to the genre. Fast paced and an easy to follow story, you won’t want to put it down. The world building is easy to follow and doesn’t overwhelm you, especially if you are new to this genre.
The character’s are described and written really well and you can picture who they are and what they’re doing. Whether it be the armour they are wearing or a machine they are using, you know exactly what’s going on. Their personalities are also written really well making them feel more real and the book more immersive.
You’ll feel a mix of emotions throughout this book. You’ll laugh, hold your breath and maybe even cry.
An amazing debut to the Dark Elite series, I’m excited to continue reading it.
In Viriditas Four, we follow Craig Albion and a team of soldiers and scientists with their main goal being to find out what happened to the previous group that just seemed to have vanished. But what appeared to be a simple mission, it became an unexpected turn of events.
I really enjoyed reading this novella. I haven’t read much sci-fi, if any and it’s a great introduction to the genre. Fast paced and an easy to follow story, you won’t want to put it down. The world building is easy to follow and doesn’t overwhelm you, especially if you are new to this genre.
The character’s are described and written really well and you can picture who they are and what they’re doing. Whether it be the armour they are wearing or a machine they are using, you know exactly what’s going on. Their personalities are also written really well making them feel more real and the book more immersive.
You’ll feel a mix of emotions throughout this book. You’ll laugh, hold your breath and maybe even cry.
An amazing debut to the Dark Elite series, I’m excited to continue reading it.
Review of advance copy received from Author
First of all, thank you to Gordon for providing me with an ARC of this novella.
As someone who has never read science fiction, I wanted to broaden my literary horizons, and this felt like the perfect place to start. I’m pleased to say it didn’t disappoint.
One of the things I appreciated most was how accessible it was. The technical aspects are explained clearly without ever feeling overwhelming, making it easy to follow the plot and understand what is happening throughout the expedition.
The story follows a team of soldiers and scientists as they travel to a un-evolved alien planet to investigate the disappearance of a previous crew. The pacing strikes a great balance between action and quieter moments, giving the reader time to absorb the world building and the scientific elements without slowing the story down.
Overall, this was a fantastic introduction to Gordon’s writing style. It’s clear a great deal of research, thought and personality have gone into creating this world, and I’m excited to see where it goes next.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Thank you for the ARC copy
This sci-fi novella is set on the unexplored planet of Viriditas Four, where Craig and his team of soldiers are sent to protect a group of scientists exploring the planet. Their mission is also to discover what happened to the previous landing party, which mysteriously vanished.
As they explore, they encounter strange indigenous lifeforms and must determine which are friend and which are foe if they hope to escape the planet alive… and unchanged.
I really enjoyed this story and am looking forward to reading more of the series.
This sci-fi novella is set on the unexplored planet of Viriditas Four, where Craig and his team of soldiers are sent to protect a group of scientists exploring the planet. Their mission is also to discover what happened to the previous landing party, which mysteriously vanished.
As they explore, they encounter strange indigenous lifeforms and must determine which are friend and which are foe if they hope to escape the planet alive… and unchanged.
I really enjoyed this story and am looking forward to reading more of the series.
Review of advance copy received from Author
A fantastic debut. I was completely engulfed into the story, the world building was great and the character development was excellent.
Being a science fiction novella I was expecting a lot of fancy hard words to be used to describe the world and the inhabitants of it but the author did a fantastic job of describing everything elegantly yet simply allowing my own imagination to be able to depict what everything would look like. The story flowed very episodic with the events that were happening not feeling too chaotic or displaced. The characters felt very human and delved into the what ifs very well.
This is a story I could easily see be depicted into a mini series of some sort and I would 100% be invested into watching.
Once again a fantastic debut and I look forward to reading more by this author.
PS I want one of those puppies
Being a science fiction novella I was expecting a lot of fancy hard words to be used to describe the world and the inhabitants of it but the author did a fantastic job of describing everything elegantly yet simply allowing my own imagination to be able to depict what everything would look like. The story flowed very episodic with the events that were happening not feeling too chaotic or displaced. The characters felt very human and delved into the what ifs very well.
This is a story I could easily see be depicted into a mini series of some sort and I would 100% be invested into watching.
Once again a fantastic debut and I look forward to reading more by this author.
PS I want one of those puppies
Review of advance copy received from Author
7.5/10
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews