In this novella, Gordon skillfully builds a story packed with exciting situations, good characters, and imaginative locations. The story is carefully developed and unfolds quickly.

Introvert Alex Rogers is content living alone with his dog MacGuyver, his hobbies, and his predictable job. When he starts having vivid dreams about floating in space and disappearing stars, he searches the Internet for insight. He finds a website that links his dreams to an ancient prophecy. Using the contact link on the site, he asks for more information and is surprised when he receives a message with a phone number. Little does he know that calling that number ends his life as he knows it and sets him on a trajectory to save the universe.

I enjoyed this book. It starts slowly with an aside about a skydiving event that left me scratching my head, but once Alex makes the phone call, the pace picks up quickly. I like relatable science fiction, and this book certainly is—there is no hard science involved--just a good, engaging story. The writing is good, if a bit overly descriptive, but nothing distracting. 3.5/5 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and Parker Publishers, for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

A.R. Beyond the Universe delivers an ambitious sci-fi adventure with strong character development, especially through Alex's personal growth. While the concept of DNA-based Travelers fighting a universe-devouring Void is intriguing, some superhero-like elements stretch believability. The pacing is solid, though the story occasionally drags. A tense, enjoyable read for fans of cosmic stakes.

A.R. Beyond the Universe by Gary W. Gordon is an ok read with a good story line that tends to drag on from time to time. It tackles a very ambitious plot of stopping entities that are destroying galaxies all while saving the universe. The writing can be somewhat flat, lacking the kind of vivid descriptions or tension that might elevate the story.

The protagonist, Alex, is well-developed and evolves meaningfully over the course of the story. He forms relationships with other characters that feel natural and it’s easy to become invested in his personal journey. Supporting characters also have depth, each contributing to Alex's growth.

If you appreciate good character development like I do, it’s worth a read.

Thanks to NetGalley and to the Author for providing this ARC.

A short and fast read, this was also very tense and was a well written story. The concept of the DNA being a solution to the void was interesting and worked very well for this plot. I definitely want to read more by this author!

This is a very interesting book! the way that a person's DNA may be a solution to help stop this Void from destroying the universe is crazy! It did feel too superhero for my liking because a person versus something so disastrous in nature is very unlikely, so there were lots of plot holes here. Overall, the characters were written well, and the pacing of the story was good too!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and especially the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review of the book!!

This was a tense and really well written scifi novel, it worked with the description and terrified me. I enjoyed how well everything worked in keeping me invested. It was a overall great story and thought the space is terrifying. I really felt for the characters and thought they worked wonderfully in this world. Gary W Gordon has what I wanted in a great scifi novel and can't wait for more.