Voidverse - by Damien Ober (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2026 by Book Riot

Dune meets Wool in this high-octane quest through the void, where two eternal forces are about to collide in an epic showdown.

A HALF-FORMED UNIVERSE.
A POWERFUL ANOMALY.
A POEM THAT IS PROPHECY.

When the Sinker was a child, all she knew was violence. To survive, she fled into the Void--a seemingly infinite nothingness where people live on "rocks," individual lands spread out in all directions, floating in the vast empty space. Some rocks are giant magnets, others burn with eternal flame, and some are influenced by seemingly magical anomalies with such great powers that evil forces would stop at nothing to possess them. And while most are afraid of traveling through the Void, the Sinker is not. With a sword on her back, she speeds through the darkness, running from a past that is quickly gaining on her.

Emery only knows the comfort of Fairviel, but when her son falls ill and the Sinker arrives on her doorstep, she ventures into the Void in search of a cure. When she returns, Fairviel is destroyed. With no home, Emery begins to sink, chasing a recurring dream that feels bigger than a dream, that feels like the key to everything.

But they are not alone in the Void. Mercenaries rise and fall around them, princes and kings guard their kingdoms, and a great machine fuels its ascent by consuming all in its path. With the Void destabilizing, Emery and the Sinker find themselves at a turning point in history, a moment when everything could collapse or realign, and the only thing that may save them exists at the bottom of it all. Or so legend says...

Review Quotes

"Damien Ober's foray into science fantasy is unique and satisfyingly strange. The kind of book a physicist on acid might write... if the acid was both good enough to make him hallucinate vivid worlds and bad enough to crack those worlds apart. I couldn't put it down."--Brian Evenson

"[A] fascinating, believable world with great characters."-- "Booklist"

"Absolutely outstanding. Takes sci-fi to a whole 'nother level. People are going to sit up and notice."---Robert Olmstead, author of Coal Black Horse

"Ober packs his heroine's immersive adventures with gorgeous, visceral descriptions and a sense of wonder. Combining impressive worldbuilding and thrilling action, including some fun twists and unexpected reveals, this is sure to please."-- "Publishers Weekly"

"This novel blends a critique of capitalism with mystery and adventure....Ober's unique sci-fi world recalls a locked-room mystery, challenging readers to imagine the impossible."-- "Library Journal"

"Awesome. This is some of the coolest world-building I've ever encountered. I've never seen anything like it."---Ben Loory, author of Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day

"Epic, dystopian fun loaded with the kind of ideas and stakes and characters that the best science fiction offers us--the chance to imagine new worlds, new ways of thinking, and opportunities to change the machineries and conventions that shape our lives."---Kelly Link, author of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize winning novel The Book of Love

About the Author

Damien Ober is a novelist and screenwriter. He was a writer for the Netflix series The OA and has written scripts and developed TV shows for Paramount+, AMC, Netflix, and Warner Brothers. His work has appeared in The Rumpus, NOON, B O D Y Literature, The Baltimore City Paper, VLAK, and port.man.teau. He was a co-winner of the Sherwood Anderson Award, was nominated for a 2012 Pushcart Prize, and his screenplay Randle Is Benign was selected for the 2013 Black List.