Immensus by Vincent Piana

I was born in Toulon, France, in sunny Provence, before relocating to London in my early twenties, where I spent most of my life. As a musician, storytelling and songwriting sparked my passion for creative writing.

With a background in Tech, my writing delves into stories of self-realization within the frameworks of power and pervasive technology.

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★★★★★ “Deep, original, and unputdownable.” — Readers’ Favorite
★★★★★ “Utterly immersive and unforgivably addictive.” — Indies Today
★★★★★ “A literary gem that fuses high-stakes adventure with gripping drama.” — Book Viral

“For those who sense the future growing darker, unless we dare to imagine a brighter one.”

When a space corporation full of secrets breaks free from government control, two teenagers uncover how far the powerful will go to shape humanity’s future.

Brian, a brilliant but grieving teenager obsessed with the stars, dreams of escaping Earth. Electra is fierce, unyielding, and ready to challenge the world around her.

When their paths collide, a spark ignites, not just attraction, but recognition. Together, they glimpse how much they could shape the future — and how dangerous that makes them.

Deep in the halls of power, a secretive organization has already marked them as a threat, and will stop at nothing to crush them.

Not for what they’ve done, but for what they might become.

Perfect for fans of Ender’s Game, Scythe, and Interstellar, Immensus is a dark dystopian thriller set in a near-future world where ambition is dangerous, but staying small won’t save you.

Red Ribbon Winner — The Wishing Shelf Book Awards

Immensus, the first novel by author Vincent Piana is a thought-provoking YA sci-fi thriller that explores the emotional weight of grief, the ethics of power, and the future of humanity through the eyes of a gifted teenager navigating loss, ambition, and emerging identity. It isn’t just a tale about rockets and revolutions, it’s a profound meditation on who we become when the world we trust fails us, and what we dare to hope for when faced with the unknown.

At its heart, Immensus is the story of Brian, a 14-year-old prodigy grieving his mother’s death while drifting apart from his overworked father. This emotional core grounds the novel’s high-concept premise in something deeply human: the pain of loss and the longing for connection. Brian’s journey takes him from a cramped Chicago apartment to the dazzling world of ERE IMMENSUS, a futuristic space exploration company that promises technological utopia, but also harbours secrets that threaten to destabilize Earth’s geopolitical balance.

What sets Immensus apart from other YA dystopian or sci-fi narratives is its seamless weaving of personal trauma and global stakes. The story never loses sight of Brian’s emotional landscape, even as it expands to include space mining monopolies, PR warfare, and secret societies pulling the strings of democracy. This dual focus—intimate and expansive—lends the novel a unique tone: equal parts Interstellar and The Midnight Library, with flashes of Ender’s Game and Ready Player One in its sense of awe and rebellion.

Themes of trust, belonging, and moral complexity run through the narrative. ERE founder Killian Wells is no simple saviour; he’s visionary and ruthless, paternal and calculating. His daughter Electra, enigmatic and fiercely intelligent, serves as both a romantic and intellectual foil to Brian, challenging him to see beyond his pain. Their relationship—both fragile and electric—highlights the story’s larger motif: that emotional intelligence is just as critical to the future as technological brilliance.

Another standout element is how Immensus interrogates power. Rather than vilifying authority figures outright, it exposes the nuanced pressures they face: political sabotage, corporate manipulation, and the seductive promise of authoritarian “stability.” The novel’s antagonists aren’t cartoonish villains; they’re ideologues and pragmatists who believe the ends justify the means. The threat to freedom in Immensus is systemic, not just personal, and that’s what makes it chilling.

The novel grapples with representation and identity without turning them into slogans. Brian is a Black teen genius, navigating both systemic obstacles and internalised doubt. But Immensus never tokenizes him; instead, it honours his full humanity, intellect, and emotional range. His interactions with diverse peers at the ERE school, each with their own traumas and gifts—reflect a believable, inclusive future.

Ultimately, Immensus asks bold questions: Who controls progress? What is freedom in a world of surveillance and corporate influence? Can young minds shape a better world, or will they be shaped by the same forces that corrupted their elders?

The result is a novel that refuses easy answers. Instead, it invites readers to think, feel, and dream bigger—while staying grounded in the emotional truths that make us human.