Void Runner (Sci-Fi Survival Adventure)

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Janus Invarian spent twelve years scraping out an existence in Survivor’s Refuge.

He swallowed his pride andkept his family safe, no matter what. But a good man canonly keep his head down for so long.

After accepting the role of Aspirant, Janus is given a chance tocompete in a brutal raceacross theairless, irradiated wastes. A race that couldchange everythingfor him, and his family.

Janus will need touse his witsif he wants tolive to see the finish line. Because the odds arenot in his favor, and the competition isruthless.

With everyone depending on him,failure is not an option. Janus needs to do more than survive,he needs to win.

*Updates Monday, Wednesday, Friday*

What to expect:

Weak to Strong MC, Sci-fi Survival, Team Building, Lost Tech, Clever Villains, Loyal Companions, Space Monsters

Information

Status
Hiatus
Year
2023
Author
DBodden

Tags

ACTIONADVENTURESCI-FIMALE LEADCYBERPUNKSTRATEGYHARD SCI-FI

Royal Road Stats

Rating
4.5/ 5.0
Followers
842
Views
388,438

Chapters(174 total)

Reviews

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

Community Reviews(10)

  • TheLiesmithRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    Every so often, you find a book that stands head and shoulders above the others on Royal Road. Well written, thoughtful, with characters who are more than just cardboard cutouts or lists of numbers. A setting that makes sense and a central conflict that pulls you along. The kind of fantasy and sci fi you might have found in a bookstore and paid seven bucks for in the 90s, before we killed stores and books. This is one of those. It's a gem.
    The story is an adventure, a classic hero's journey where the hero goes into the unknown, culminating in the underworld, to retrieve wisdom and ultimately return a changed man. in this case, the journey is across an airless planet, travelling between dome cities which each have their own society and culture and are loosely tied together in a decaying social order. It's dope.
    The main character is a classic bildungsroman protagonist, a young man who has been prepared for something beyond what he expects, and through living out his destiny finishes growing from a boy into a man. this is not a particularly unusual plotline but it's done well and I like it here.
    The other characters resemble people, with thoughts and feelings that aren't focused on the protagonist. I'm amazed.
    There are moments of real, actual elegance in the writing. Mostly it's just solid, publishable material but some actually sparkles.
    The long and the short of it is, this book is really excellent, not just in the context of what it competes with, but on its own merits. Well done, authors.
  • Rupert GilesRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    At Chapter 13 of Book 2
    I started as enthralled and am now more highly interested. Why? A couple of reasons…. See below
    I binged the entire of Book 1 in 72 hours.The beginning of Book 2 felt a little disjointed from the end of Book 1 and I appreciate I’ve got a while to go but it’s just starting to feel a little too similar in story arc.
    The style of this writing is some of the best I have read here on RR - the pacing, character development and interactions are really detailed and believable and the author (s) keep you the reader fully engaged.
    Characters are reasonably deep in construct but I would like a little more explanation of the world context - just occasionally it feels just a little too much “just because that’s the way the mysterious xxxxx has always been “ - my OCD wants to know why something happens - but that’s just me.
    At the time of writing (B2Chp13) there are a few story arcs from Book 1 that haven’t been touched and are frustrating - but that’s a personal thing - I like all my story characters to be updated in parallel.
    Grammar is excellent and makes the read very enjoyable.
  • EmpireofTrustRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    The setting is very cool and the peoples that inhabit the story feel real with culture steeped in  history.
    The explaining is light, mostly information is experienced through the characters as is my preferred way to immerse in the story.
    At first I was a little weirded out by some of the interactions but then it became clearer as the story progresses of the tensions all of the characters are under in the story.
    I think that is all I can say before I start spoiling the story.
  • EndothermixRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    Good Sci-Fi with consistent logic, the characters are unique, complex and nice to read and the world building is phenomenal. The world of Irkalla is filled with life and tells the story of humanity barely hanging on in an environment that is hostile and poised to kill them. Janus's perspective is interesting and I like him as a character.
  • GrandpaRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    Lovely story that got me hooked. Good world building excellent character and it doesn't get bogged down. I can see this being a published novel in the years to come.
    We need more stories in this genre. A little bit more descriptors on the biomes/communities would be lovely. Maybe a more drawn out descriptor for some items because unless I'm mistaken I'm seeing a lot of sand in my mind's eye. Good background story with the avenues for expansion if you decide to progress more with the story.
    Good politics and foreboding. Hopefully it doesn't fall flat. Its still early in the story . Based on what I think is going on in the story.
    Friction is good between characters. I can almost imagine myself there with them. Certain technological elements are odd based on the situation in world barring external influence. Or plot devices.
    Certain situations could have been given more space in the story. Like the introduction of the MC into his role or his friends more introduced his family etc. A relatable MC regardless.
    Assuming world history will be created as and when the story continues with exposition on what is happening in the background with sol 3 and the expansion.
    Regardless I'm looking forward to seeing what you accomplish.
  • phenebeansRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    I think Void Runner is one of the best things I've read on RR. The characters resonate and feel real. There are a lot of hard sci-fi elements to this that feel like someone spent a lot of time thinking through this world and the challenges of living in this environment.
    More generally, the world building is excellent and with every revelation you feel like a new dimension of the world is being revealed to illuminate greater nuance than you had first imagined, and more secrets still yet to be revealed. Every major character feels like they've been reframed multiple times in ways that are surprising and compelling, and suggest profound and engaging progression in the future.
    I can't wait to see where this goes. It's really excellent, you should read it.
  • JohnKretchRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    Well written, well delivered, fun to read, thoughly pleasurable little gem.
    Sci-fi but not too hard, not too soft either.
    Let's see how it will develop but so far the things are good.
    Some of the plot devises are a little bit on the predictable side but nothing really bad.
  • KittyJinglesRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    If you liked The Martian, you'll like this hard sci-fi science all the problems adventure. It takes some time to get there, but if you like realistic portrayals of space life, it's a thoughtful look into dome life.
    The characters and world building are great. Janus is careful and hard working and the cast feels real. No one is annoying or flat. There are side characters that show the society without dumping exposition and slowing things down. They go into the sociology of it with problems in Janus's work or character interactions so you see it. Life in the space station setting is believable.
    It feels a bit more like a trad pub book than a RR serial, it's not exactly a dopamine hit parade. No sexy aliens or laser gun litRPG leveling. So far there's some class conflict and family drama, but no crazy tech or space battles or power struggle. It's well thought out hard sci-fi, we're talking waste heat and sewage and a guy just trying to live in the harsh realities of space
    Style wise it's well written with strong prose. There's some really great dialogue and the dramatic speeches really are dramatic. My main complaint is that there's not enough hints of future payoff policy in earlier scenes (I promise the Triliths are not rabbit sized)
    The grammar is excellent. Not must to say there
    There's no lazy YA cartoonishly evil adults in charge trying sort people in boxes
  • Eli FreyssonRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    Story: This is a hard sci-fi story that definitely puts a lot of thought into the technical details of the (terrifying) prospect of living under a dome on a lifeless world. The work to keep everyone from dying due to space is constant and vital and grimy; very blue collar, far from the shiny space opera laser shows. We open with a display of what happens when something goes wrong, and the consequences continue to reverberate for the rest of the story. This is less Star Trek, and more Alien without the xenomorph (so far, at least). The main character's struggles are sympathetic and understandable, and deeply personal. I like it.
    Style: Is solid. The author sprinkles the worldbuilding around in a digestible manner, and can make use of some really good phrases.
    Grammar: I didn't spot a single typo. Nothing more to say about it, because nothing needs to be said.
    Characters: Are a standout. They feel like real people, both the good and the bad. Janus, post time-skip, is a hardworking man with very relatable issues. You feel for the guy as he struggles against very familiar problems of prejudice, low social status, life-worries and petty enemies. His teenage sister is shockingly tolerable for a teenager; just enough of a brat to be believable, but no more. His cranky old man uncle is similarly well realised, and so is everyone else I've gotten to know so far.
  • WoodchipRoyal Road
    ★★★★★ 5.0
    A gritty, down to earth survival story with some light adventure elements The author knows how to demonstrate character and atmosphere even with just a few sentences to work with. Like the title says, it really did remind me of what a certain video game was supposed to feel like, and more importantly, I didn't have to pay 80 bucks for it. Looking forward to more reveals about the behind-the-scenes story! Give it a shot!