Beyond the Atmosphere: A Military Sci-Fi Adventure

by Wayne McKinstry

When an asteroid mining rig triggers an extraterrestrial attack, newly-minted space-pilot Herbert Nordstrom is called upon to defend his planet.

Though Nordstrom aced training, little could prepare him for the intense scrutiny of his gruff commander. Now facing an enemy no human can understand, he also wrestles with the harsh realities of combat. The mounting pressure of the mission threatens to break him before the aliens can.

Can Nordstrom and a small band of others rescue humankind from annihilation? Download Beyond the Atmosphere and join the adventure.

137 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 4, 2022

About the author

Wayne has been an avid reader all his life. His favorite genre is probably sci-fi/fantasy, although he has read a LOT of fiction over the years.

Some of it has been very good, others make you think “I could do better that that.” So this book is Wayne’s attempt to “Do better than that”.

Wayne recently retired from a 40+ year career in IT, mainly as a programmer and developer. The field changes rapidly, to say the least. Now is a chance to move in new directions.

One of those new directions is writing and publishing fiction.

Wayne and his wife Loretta live in Springfield, IL. They enjoy travelling and visiting extended family.

Reviews

[Bookilarian Bookilarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a big sci-fi fan so I have big expectations when it comes to reading a book in that genre; it should remove you from your world and transport you somewhere totally different, keeping you in a state of suspended animation – Beyond the Atmosphere nailed that feeling. I was drawn in from the beginning and especially liked the way that the events at Roswell in the forties were woven into the story line. There’s a rich cast of characters, but it’s impossible (for me at any rate) not to have Nordstrom, the MC, as the favourite. He’s everything a hero should be and a pro at what he does, but facing huge challenges. This was real edge of the seat reading and the stakes are always high – Earth facing annihilation! Also worth noting is that the military references in this felt authentic – that’s not an easy thing for a writer to pull off, and I think that added to the overall excitement of the story.

[J.E. Rowney · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. Touted as a ‘Military sci-fi adventure’, it reads more like a comedy novel at times, or at least a book that’s trying to be a comedy. As with the previous book I read by this author I really failed to connect with the humour side.

One of my major issues with this novel is the author’s constant tendency to info-dump. There’s such a lot of telling and clunky exposition throughout that it makes the book very difficult to enjoy. Of course there’s a lot of detail to fill in for the reader in a space/alien novel, but there are better ways of doing it.

I wasn’t all that invested in the storyline. The Creepys didn’t grab me and none of the characters stood out enough to make me care about the plot.

[P.L. Tavormina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here’s a madcap military sci fi that, despite its sometimes capricious overtones, takes a serious approach on the tech angle. As a nerd, I really appreciate the care the author gave to this part of the worldbuilding. The story also feels earnest, like a passion project of sorts. I enjoyed several of the tropes, like the hotshot pilot.

The format of the book read like a log or a journal, with lots of headings before sections (sometimes just a few paragraphs each) to keep the reader oriented. This made the story feel almost epistolary, though that’s not quite the right word here. But it had that feel, and I appreciate when authors try new approaches. (I do think a more advanced writer would have handled ‘keeping things oriented’ differently, but it’s always interesting to read an unusual style.)

The author has room to grow in his craft, (who doesn't?), specifically learning to add depth and layers to both the story and characters. Doing so will help readers connect with the characters more fully. But he emphasized other parts of his storytelling, and he did those parts nicely.

[Cam Lang · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beyond the atmosphere has the bones of a solid story - a creative plot, a multitude of diverse characters and the stakes (i.e. earth's survival) are high, providing overarching uncertainty from beginning to end. I don't know very much about the military so I also enjoyed the inter-departmental rivalries between the army, air force, and marines that permeated the story and provided spot-humor throughout. As with any story about the survival of the human race, politics plays a role and with that, the decisions of presidents and governments are questioned, and those who disagree will strike out with covert plans of an overthrow.

Notwithstanding these bones, they didn't seem to be connected, and perhaps this is because this is the first book in the series and there will be more continuity as the series advances. There were numerous sub-plots but they didn't seem to have any relationship to the main one, which in and of itself was often hard to pinpoint. While there seemed to be an overall objective to preserve humanity, I often felt lost trying to figure out which species or characters were involved in this purpose. The book description has Herbert Nordstrom billed as the young hero fighter pilot, but he only makes a brief appearance once in the story, halfway through the book. I expected his re-emergence toward the climax or end but it never came. I also should have felt more suspense toward the end but there wasn't enough build-up of action and then suddenly, it was over.

I was able to quickly read the first 1/3 of the book but then I started to wonder why I wasn't more engaged with the story, and it gradually became apparent that there was more "telling" rather than "showing" or describing the action. Also, numerous repetitive passages removed some of the suspense and affected the pace and flow. For example: The instructor was giving them their first look at a ZXC-17X fighter. “Trainees, this a real, honest to goodness ZXC-17X fighter.” And then: It was a few minutes before seven and there were people heading toward the room in the back. Cynthia headed toward the back room.

I commend the author for building a very creative storyline and there are some very solid elements that I enjoyed but a solid content edit would have improved the overall reading experience.

[Alejandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Primero de todo quiero darle las gracias a Wayne, al ofrecerme el libro a cambio de una reseña completamente honesta. Primero de todo quiero pedirle disculpas dado que tardé en publicar la reseña dado que tenía exámenes, pero ahí va:

Tengo que admitir que soy una tremenda fan en cuanto a libros de ciencia ficción, así que siempre tengo grandes esperanzas de que el libro me vaya a gustar, a parte de creo que suelo ser más crítica de lo normal. Es decir, estos libros te transportan a otro universo completamente y la verdad es que Wayne lo consiguió.

La verdad que hay muchos personajes importantes y muy interesantes, pero Nordstrom fue mi favorito. La verdad es que en sí el libro me gustó bastante y como ya he dicho los personajes también.
Por otro lado, el formato del libro estaba muy chulo, y la letra era lo suficientemente grande para que no me quedase ciega leyendo jajaj.
En conclusión, un 3/5 principalmente porque me hubiese gustado que fuese más largo.

##REVIEW IN ENGLISH##

First of all I want to thank Wayne for offering me the book in exchange for a completely honest review. First of all I want to apologize since it took me a while to post the review since I had exams, but here goes:

I have to admit that I'm a huge fan when it comes to science fiction books, so I always have high hopes that I'm going to like the book, besides I think I tend to be more critical than usual. I mean, these books transport you to another universe completely and the truth is that Wayne succeeded.

The truth is that there are many important and very interesting characters, but Nordstrom was my favorite. The truth is that I liked the book itself quite a lot and as I said the characters too.
On the other hand, the format of the book was very cool, and the font was big enough so I didn't go blind reading hahahah.
In conclusion, a 3/5 mainly because I would have liked it to be longer.

[Richard Houlden · Rating 3 out of 5]

This sci fi adventure has a good plot to follow that takes the reader from Earth through an alien portal to our neighbouring solar system Alpha Centauri in a war that was accidentally activated by a miner who since disappeared.
Wayne explores the politics of an inter-species war and the different branches of the military, keeping the different settings from lingering too long.
I feel that there is a lot of potential for this to be taken further and strengthened with greater focus on just a few characters.
But, all in all, it was a good read.

[S. Jeyran Main · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘Beyond the Atmosphere’ is a military and science fiction book. The concept of the story revolves around Nordstrom and his friends saving the world from annihilation. An asteroid is attacking, and Nordstrom has to defend his planet. The author demonstrates excellent penmanship and storytelling. I was not a big fan of the book cover, but what consisted inside was an extraordinary tale of character introduction dynamic and interactive story.

If you are into science fiction and like to read books in a series, this one is for you. The ending leaves you with a cliffhanger causing you to want to know what happens next. I found this enjoyable to read and recommend to the creative and younger generation.

[C.R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Campy Fun

Beyond the Atmosphere reminds me of the Saturday morning serials like Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon that I watched as a child. With a stalwart hero, comic sidekicks, and aliens called Creepies, this first installment of a series called Earth Overwhelmed captures the campy spirit of those long ago pulp sci-fi favorites of kids across America. Suitable for your young adult, you may well find yourself reading the adventures of Herbert Nordstrom too. A simply fun introduction to a new series.

[David Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wayne McKinstry's Beyond the Atmosphere: A Military Sci-Fi Adventure was a very engaging and fast-paced work in the first installment of an apparent space opera series. As I read the work, I was reminded of some previous adventures I had watched like the X Files, Space Above and Beyond, and StarShip Troopers. If readers like those shows, they should like this book. The author leaves the reader wanting more with a cliffhanger ending. Outside of a few typos, this was a well-written work with strong characters and interesting plot points. I would recommend it for holiday or weekend reading.

[Mary Elizabeth Hughes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beyond the Atmosphere

Aptly described as a military sci-fi novel, Beyond the Atmosphere introduces a vast array of characters including members of the various American military branches, as well as two or perhaps three sets of beings from other worlds.

The book begins in the immediate post-WWII era, 1945 – 47, but after that the action takes place at some indistinct time in the future. It appears to be a future without computers or smart phones.

Traditional jealousies exist amongst the military characters. These men are mostly seen as highly competitive with a fair share being either arrogant or less than brilliant. None is especially memorable. But evidently it's the Americans who will save the universe from the Creepys, the amusingly named alien force that keeps attacking American space stations and settlements.

The requisite battle scenes are surprisingly conventional; computerized weaponry does not exist. One combat scene features trenches with some of the attacking elements being reminiscent of video game I kept seeing the sound effects being captured in cartoon-like balloons. Kapow!

And in the scenes on Earth, a reference to the “White House switchboard being flooded with calls” seemed old-fashioned for a country that has several orbital assembly stations and settlements on distant planets. In one such settlement the action takes place on a farm where the characters are having trouble with their tractor which is still run with fossil fuels. At a time of constant interstellar travel, this struck me as curious. Surely there should be solar powered robot tractors tilling the soil of Alpha Centauri. And do we really think there's tillable soil out there?

Occasionally the narrator intervenes, with comments like “try to imagine what your dad looked like when you put a dent in the car” to describe an army captain's stern countenance. This was a clue that the anticipated audience is young teens. Such comments also serve to connect with the reader.

As the first book of a projected series, Beyond the Atmosphere predictably ends with a cliff hanger. That also explains why so many plot lines and characters are introduced. But overall, Beyond the Atmosphere reads like a 1950s sci-fi comic book repurposed as a novel. From the striking front cover design onward, it would make a terrific graphic novel.

[Gina Karasek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Space opera with an interesting premise, a potentially good storyline, and a creative setting. Unfortunately, there was a lot of telling rather than showing, including the characters telling each other things just so that the reader will know something- but the conversations were unrealistic- people don't talk that way.
There were a lot of places where the narration announced things like "Now it's time to do this thing. And so they did this thing." It came across as juvenile and campy (perhaps that was the intent) and I had to reread the description of the book multiple times looking to see if it mentioned being geared towards middle school readers.
I also found there were way too many characters and points of view. It made it difficult to follow who was who and also difficult to feel "close" to any of the characters because they seemed very one-dimensional and flat. Again, I felt it read like a middle school level book at most and it seemed to get more so as the book went on.
Getting honest beta reader feedback from multiple people that are within the target audience would be incredibly helpful for rewrites. (as I said, I'm not sure who the target audience is- but the book does not match what I expected the audience to be based on the description) In addition, I highly suggest a good developmental editor (and stylistic editor) - they can help with most of the issues I found in this book.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beyond the Atmosphere is a fast paced Military SF novel. It’s a shortish novel.

I really liked the beginning especially the aliens’ surprise at discovering that the air pilots they’d abducted were all male and the author’s take on what really happened at Roswell. I loved that strict observance of job demarcation lines led to the spaceship’s crash.

I would have liked to have known the year that the story is set – how far into the future is it?

It’s a multi viewpoint novel – you see the action from the point of view of lots of different characters. It swaps between the characters pretty frequently both human and alien. I can see why the author wrote it this way, and it keeps the action going, but it made it hard for me to feel much empathy for the characters because you didn’t get to spend much time with any of them at any one time.

To me, the various alien races didn’t seem that different which, occasionally made it hard to follow which race was pro human and which weren’t, and who was doing what. I did wonder who is controlling the fifth columnists on Earth.

There were a few instances of “As you know, Bob” info dumps e.g., Joe the soldier saying “Any Citizen is trained on the basics of spacesuit operation.” (Although the author didn’t explain why citizens are trained if they live on earth). And a few instances where the author seemed to slip into the present tense when most of the story is in the past tense, which jarred a little for me.

It ends rather abruptly on a cliff-hanger, to encourage you to buy the next novel.

In summary, it’s an easy and entertaining read.

[Tristen Kozinski · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick, easy read, Beyond the Atmosphere introduces into a complex setting of warring species, internal intrigues, widely distinct cultures. This setting, the variety of the cultures in particular for me, is the book's strongest feature: from the insectoid Masters to the Founders who retreated to an entirely different dimension, it is an interesting setting rife with conflict and potential.
Unfortunately, the book's prose/writing style is too simplistic with the characters often bluntly expositing to one another, and being one-dimensionally characterized. This characterization has less to do with the characters themselves, because most of the POV characters are given solid foundations and internal conflicts, but more to do with the prose and the fact that not a lot of time is spent/given to allow the characters to express themselves. This is the length of a long novella with six or seven pov characters, and more ancillary scenes, in a break-neck narrative pacing. The result is that most scenes lack a feeling of substance or importance, existing only to progress the surface level plot.

[Eric Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book wasn't unenjoyable, but has an odd style to say the least. It reads a bit like a shooting script for a movie, though a little light on descriptions even for that. It was genuinely funny at times, and there's a compelling storyline forming, but it could use another 20k words just to describe the locations. This snappy sort of pace works for the prologue, but makes the rest feel rushed or unfinished. Not in an unedited sense, it seemed free of typos. So, the best aspect for me was the story setup, the explanation for alien grays, and the cause of the Area 51 crash. This had a tongue in cheek quality that made me commit to the whole thing. Many little breadcrumbs of story don't pay off in this one, but lead clearly to the next book.

[Loralee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story has the potential to be quite a good story. The foundation is there, and the characters are fun. The plot is rather campy and silly, the bad guys are stereotypical bad guys called Creepies, and the good guys, while trading banter a lot, are your Saturday morning good guys.

The writing could use some work with a lot more telling than showing. More of -This happened- rather than -this is what the character saw, heard, felt, tasted, and/or smelt in this scene while this was happening-

The story has great potential, and I feel if it were to be run by an editor for a content edit, it would strengthen the story.

[Dorothy Mbori · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book for me. I had never read a sci-fi Military Space adventure book before and I was really looking forward to digging into it. I enjoyed the beginning of the book. It was suspenseful and had me hooked. My only gripe is that I wasn't able to connect with any of the characters. I think it's because there were too many point of views that I didn't have enough time to connect with the characters. Also there was a bit of telling rather than showing. I think the plot was great and it was a good story. I would recommend this book for all sci-fi lovers. Very interesting read.

[Phillip Murrell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too short with way too many characters

I used Kindle Unlimited to read this because I only have a month left. I thought a good space marine story would be fun. I really wanted to like this. Unfortunately, the book was stuffed with characters. It only took about an hour to read, and I bet there are upwards of forty named characters. I couldn't care about any because they had mere pages of limelight each.

The prose and dialogue were also problems. It felt stilted. People spoke in either exposition or G-rated cutesy. A lot of dialogue went to people comparing ranks. Some of the scant words used should have been used to describe scenery instead. I often didn't know where exactly the action took place.

I did like the two prologues. All male captives don't make good breeding stock, and Roswell was used perfectly here. It just wasn't a long enough story to use such a robust cast.