I received a free eARC of this book via NetGalley, and am leaving a review voluntarily.

Into the Lightning Gate is a good setup for a sci-fi series, with solid world-building and character development. It is written from the point of view of several different characters, but the plot mainly unfolds around the main character, Cam, who self-identifies as "a brown guy in a white world" in his mid-twenties with a knack for coding.

The plot was easy to follow and the pacing was good, with enough action scenes to keep my interest. I also found the friendships between Cam and the other characters to be fun and relatable, and Cam's struggle with feelings of not fitting in and trying to find himself were well-written. There were a couple of inconsistencies in the world-building that I found a bit jarring, but it didn't take away from the overall effect of the story.

While I wholeheartedly support the effort to be inclusive in representing a diversity of characters in terms of race, gender, sexuality, socioeconomic status, etc., especially in a genre that often falls short in this regard, it felt a little artificial at times and wished it was better incorporated. In contrast, the I found the bar fight scene to be particularly memorable and well-done in this regard, and wish there were more like it to demonstrate these themes.

Overall, I found the book enjoyable, and the series would be good for readers who enjoy fast-paced science fiction adventures with a diverse cast of characters.

Did somebody mention Stargate???

I just picked up Into the Lightning Gate today and now I'm somehow done with it. Oops.

What happens when you find out everything you know is a lie? Into the Lightning Gate is a fast-paced SciFi thriller that will have on the edge of your seat. This story never went exactly where I thought it would. Everytime I thought I had something figured out, I was wrong. It was frustrating. It was intriguing. Stargate meets Fast and Furious is literally the best way I can explain it. And I may have sort of figured out the 'twist' at the end but I'm excited to see where the storyline goes.


***Thank you to Netgalley, Jetspace Studio, and Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) for providing me with a review copy.***