I have a weird one today. The Voidverse is the proclaimed first novel set in an entire Voidverse extended universe. The series aims to tell a collection of stories about a strange society trapped in a strange bubble with rules and norms very different from our own. The origin of this voidverse is left very intentionally vague, but in practice, it is a world that is constantly in freefall. Society as we know it is made up of a series of huge islands in a vertical line, trapped in an infinite plummet. Travel is not made overland, but by stepping off your island into the abyss and either falling faster or slower to reach islands above or below you.
This one simple change has far-reaching ramifications for the Voidverse as each island functions as a zoned city-state with its own set of laws and traditions. Communication and cartography become an immediate challenge as the land is literally moving at terminal velocity at all times. To make things even more complicated, relics litter the void in secret–each with the power and potential to warp the way physics work. Holding one of these relics can grant the wielder incredible power and influence in the void, so possession is hotly contested.
Our story is told through a variety of perspectives from different void islands. Each does an admirable job of demonstrating the varied and unique cultures of the different islands of the void, while also highlighting key universal truths that unite them. One POV focuses on a relatively backward island where the women live in unequal status and follows a single brave individual who defies tradition. Another tells the story of the second son of a powerful baron who controls a series of islands locked in a chain by a powerful relic. Another is a wanderer, surfing the void from island to island, looking for mysteries and answers to her many questions.
When it comes to post-apocalyptic stories like Voidverse, their make-or-break elements can often come down to three key questions: is the mystery of what happened to the world and how it changed things compelling? Are the lives of the characters trying to carve out a living in the story interesting? And is the plot of the book actually pushing the status quo of the world forward, or is it just treading water in the setup?
Normally, I find that the viral post-apocalyptic books that get really popular are very good at answering the first question, but commonly flounder on 2 and 3. There are a lot of interesting worlds out there, but a world is only as good as its ability to tell a story, and you don’t get points for just a cool idea. Impressively, I actually think that Voidverse does very well on all three categories.
The void is a genuinely mysterious and cool place for a setting. I love the physics of the islands and the way they change everything from aerial combat to the postal service is quite gripping. The relics never felt over the top or out of place, but their subtle effects on the world around them made the void feel like an endlessly unmapped wonderland with a sinister vibe. The characters add to this with their varied levels of education and wisdom. The book is wonderfully light on exposition, but is very good at using the personal narratives of all of its POV to give the reader a strong understanding of how the world works. To tie it all together, the plot actually felt compelling and drove the narrative forward.
Speaking of the plot, our story has many different angles, but the primary conflict surrounds an island that has started to eat its neighbors. There is a rumor going around the void: that the infinite plummet is not as infinite as it might seem. There is a legend of a floor to the void. A level plane on which every island is slammed to its complete and total annihilation. The architects of one of the void islands have taken this rumor to heart and have started consuming their neighbors for fuel in order to climb the void well and stay every out of reach of the mythological floor. How will this rampant imperialist consumption affect the fragile political landscape of the void?
The result is a book that I enjoyed a lot more than I thought I was going to. Post-apocalypse is absolutely not a genre I typically enjoy, and the Voidverse book looks more like a marketing stunt than a debut novel with its all-black design. Yet I found myself surprisingly delighted by this black box of mystery, and it defied genre conventions by having actual substance under its edgy exterior. If you like this kind of book, I think that the Voidverse is one of the coolest new entries into the space. If you are a hater like me, you will find yourself surprisingly having a lot of fun in spite of your hangups.
Rating: Voidverse – 8.0/10
-Andrew
An ARC of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The thoughts on this book are my own.
