Levort Aatra is a prospector on the planet Tayoxe. While scavenging the wastes of the abandoned world, he discovers a mysterious starship and stakes his claim on it.
Little does he know, he just put a big target on his back.

DOWN BELOW BEYOND is a sprawling sci-fi fantasy adventure filled with aliens, planets, and portals set in a universe crafted by T. A. Bruno, author of the award-winning Song of Kamaria trilogy.

Title: Down Below Beyond

Author: T.A. Bruno

Genre: Sci-Fi

Hardcover: 326 pages

Publication Date: 07/31/2023

Publisher: Independently published

Language: English

ISBN: 9798987571002

GOODREADS

My Review

I wasn’t wrong when I said I will read anything T.A. Bruno writes and if you haven’t picked up any of his novels, then it is time to remedy it, because there is wholesomeness to be found in all of them. As a fan from the beginning when I first read In The Orbit of Science, book one in the Song of Kamaria trilogy, I was eagerly awaiting where his next novel might take us. Down Below Beyond is the newest addition to T.A. Bruno’s list of written works and standalone Sci-fi adventure and it is pure gold! Check it out!

Here is what you’ll get into in Down Below Beyond

Portals, action, cool tech, and more portals. Did I mention portals?
Alien races otherworldly and well-imagined.
Friendships gained, lost, and betrayed. Disclaimer: Not in that order.
Scenes of beauty; tranquil but also hellish action. Keep a heart monitor for your own safety.
Bad guys! Yep!
Unique worlds and interconnected systems.

Here’s the scoop:

There is a familiarity that connects elements of the story to the Song of Kamaria in terms of the origin of human characters in the novel, but there is a whole set of alien races to be found due to an interconnective system of a linked universe in the Voyalten Web and BEYOND! The worlds in BEYOND to be more precise, but no knowledge of the prior novels is required!

Citizens of the Lodespace, where everything begins, come in all shapes, sizes, races, and genders imaginable. Our main character Levort Aatra and his best friend Byfo Niall in the story are human but with different upbringings in classes. Levort is a prospector for tech items left behind from an old galactic feud among other things. He’s tight on cash but always has a heart for the less fortunate and it comes clear right from the beginning as he helps a man in need. Byfo (that name sounds so beefed up, doesn’t it? ) is of an elite class and aspiring to command his own ship/fleet one day. On one of their missions, Levort disappears while investigating deep into the space of an old starship and ends up being portelled onto another planet where he finds Wolil, this really cool alien with 4 arms and a gateslinger. (This is where the portals come in, as in a cool gun-type gadget that slings portals of different kinds when you trigger it).

Time runs differently in the worlds one can portal to and from, and Byfo has been searching for Levort for a half cycle or more. In the meantime, his career is falling into place and he doesn’t grasp right away that he is becoming a pawn in the corrupt concealment of worlds or the BEYOND from the higher leaders up.

As Levort encounters danger where he is stuck and escapes via gateslinger action he doesn’t fully grasp the functionalities of yet, he encounters harrowing, amazing, beautiful or dark worlds in tumbling through space and time fashion till he ends up on Bloom. Along the way, he begins these friendships and creates a ragtag team of friendly Beyonders who want to help him get back to his fleet. While circumstantial resources are limited, they are taking their time to rebuild a ship but encounter different dangers in procuring materials, and this leads Byfo and his leaders through a trail onto their heels, only now, Byfo has been corrupted as to what to believe about his best friend. A test of loyalties Lavort never thought he’d have to prove in spine-tingling combatants and struggles ensue.

…

Where to begin?!

A novel that holds friendships or family found in high regard combined with awesome hair-raising battles in space. That’s what T.A. Bruno does best. Understanding people and their emotions, he has a way of connecting readers with characters symbiotically. And this book was a feast of races to behold. Levort’s ragtag team begins with Floem and Vobsii, who are just the most endearing but Sevodan, Kurnult, Skipper, and Piper are great additions to the team among other unique characters throughout. The worlds to which Levort travels and the systems or lack of them put in place, be it biomes, cultures, etc. are unique and interesting and Levort’s free-fall space battles had me bade my breath. I never thought it could get any worse and then it did. Of course.

There are graphics throughout the book and they adorn each chapter head, a recognizable trademark of T.A. Bruno by now and they never fail to be anything less than fantastic. There’s a map of the Voyalten map included as well as a glossary on planets, the cast, and races as well as a picture dramatis personae, which is just so cool.

This isn’t exactly what I categorize as a portal fantasy as in one travels and stays, but the choice of portals used like ropes in the jungle and was among my favorite parts. Not quite the same, but if you know the scene in the new D&D movie with the mirror portal on the wagon, it’s what I had to think of in moments. I stinking loved portalling through the worlds!

Another great novel, it’s all I can say and the cover and artwork are top-notch. Well done!

Pick it up. Now!

Find the author here for even more details!

WEBSITE FACEBOOK TWITTER INSTAGRAM GOODREADS

I received a copy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review.