Astra Inferna: Upward Bound

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Earth lost the war and was conquered without a fight, without even knowing it was at war. What to Expect:Have you ever read an HFY sci-fi novel and wondered, “How did humanity get this strong?” Wonder no more.Upward Boundis a coming-of-age story for an entire species. Planned as a multi-book series, it tells the story of humanity and its allies freeing themselves from oppression and becoming powers in their own right. It follows the POV of influential officers as well as scientists simply doing science. Great emphasis is placed on how the technology could realistically work, based on modern scientific understanding. ThinkStargate, but much farther into the future. If you enjoy grounded technology, alien politics, and humanity clawing its way toward greatness, this might be your next read.

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2025
Author: Mr Reese

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.7/ 5.0
Followers: 971
Views: 145,117

Chapters(81 total)

What readers say about Astra Inferna: Upward Bound

“The author at least tries to make things a little realistic, which I love. It’s not just “push this button and go instantly to the other side of the galaxy”, and it’s humanity fighting against overwhelming odds, against a technologically advanced species,…”
yankee gonna go boomRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“I've been wanting some HFY on here as its severely underepresented in comparison to litrpg. Some elements in particular that I like in this subgenre are: -A strong and united humanity -Interesting alien races with different cultures and the ways they intera…”
cleesoxRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(10)

yankee gonna go boomRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The author at least tries to make things a little realistic, which I love. It’s not just “push this button and go instantly to the other side of the galaxy”, and it’s humanity fighting against overwhelming odds, against a technologically advanced species, and that species is kind of like the REDACTED from halo, which makes it even more epic. TLDR: Makes the neurons in my 2 and a half brain cells start to get excited.
cleesoxRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I've been wanting some HFY on here as its severely underepresented in comparison to litrpg.
Some elements in particular that I like in this subgenre are:
-A strong and united humanity
-Interesting alien races with different cultures and the ways they interact with humans
-Technology shenanigans
This story has delivered on all of those particular likes of mine and then some. The wide cast of characters gives are engaging and gives a lot of opportunity to experience more of the imagined universe here.
Humanity Fuck Yeah
harleypigRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Nicely done story. I like how the science follows naturally from the initial assumptions, and the surprise discoveries don’t feel like a last-minute “Oh, shit, how do I fix this?” patch job. The progression feels intentional and grounded. The characters react in ways that make sense, and the worldbuilding supports the plot rather than distracting from it. It’s the kind of story that lets you relax and trust the author to have thought things through.
kromlirRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Seriously, read this.
I've just finished the first book and it hooked me from the start. The premise is interesting, it's HFY but with humanity just starting to be it, with good PoVs where you can see how it takes it's first baby steps into "don't poke the ape" legends.
One of the better written scify novels I've read, the story is interesting, the characters well written and the rithm is well-paced.
Drlove73Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is one of the best Space Operas I have read on Royal Road. I simply enjoy to read it.
It looks like author is influenced by First Contact, THE best Space Opera I ever read.
Science is excellent, caracthers well thought out, it has humour and ridicilous events, but everything is logical and structured.
FarnhamRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Seriously, give it a try. If you like HFY or Space opera, it's for you.The start might seem a bit bumpy for some, but it gets interesting from there.While reading, you really feel that the author gave great attention to worldbuilding, and for the most part, the universe feels extremely authentic and believable, even though large parts of the lore are told by epigraphs.Need More!!!
Kimchy0007Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I found this through HFY and I really like the story so far. The characters are fleshed out and real, the interactions are hilarious, the concept is very interesting, and the descriptions really immerse the reader. Mr Reese adds explanations for how things work so its not all hand-wavium tech, which I really enjoy thinking about.
Minor GrokRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This story has captured my attention as few of the best do.
Has plenty of surprises and action to keep one enthralled. If I could write half as well as the author this review would be more eloquent, but alas, I'm only a quarter as good a writer as the author is.
New IkarusRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Finally, a hyf where humanity has to raise itself up. Gives me the same feel as I had with Star Trek Enterprise. Or Stargate. Underdog fighting for their survival. The characters are distinct and feel real. I hope this stays in the later chapters.For a change, the aliens are not a stupid but large enemy that can be one-shot.Edit: After reading through most of the Book, I decided to change to an advanced review.The style changes quite a bit throughout the book. This might be because the Author got more experienced. In other cases, it mirrors the chapter's events. Battle chapters are more confused and rushed, reflecting the POV character's experiences, while exploratory chapters are more serene. I quite enjoy this styleAs others wrote, the book switches a lot between POVs. This helps you experience the large, partially deep story much better than one or two POVs could. But for people who NEED a main character, this could be difficult. I found it especially astonishing that all POV's are fleshed out with believable motivations and traits.Regarding Grammar, there are no exceptionally bad scenes, but sometimes the German mother tongue of the Author bleeds slightly through. But given the switching of POVs and styles of stories the different chapters tell, no obvious issues can be found.The story is a deep HYF tale with twists and turns, and it's obvious the Author actively avoids tropes. I won't write more since I like to avoid spoilers. Only that it seems the arch of the story is well thought out from the start, and events at the start of the book make sense at the end of the book.
SlyWolf62Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Stumbled across this story on the HFY subreddit and was immediately hooked, absolutely loved it so far and looking forward to the next chapters. I made a comment on reddit that i standby, i believe that if the author sticks with it this could easily become its own universe similar to SSB or NOP