By JD Kaess · Book One of the Quantum Step Adventure · YA Science Fiction
His nightmares lead him to a hidden labyrinth. What waits inside will change everything.
Sixteen-year-old Payton is tormented by unsettling visions of the forest behind his friend’s house. When these nightmares lead him to a hidden labyrinth beneath his quiet hometown, his ordinary life shatters.
Payton uncovers the truth about his past, his unexpected heritage, and a terrifying cosmic war tearing through parallel worlds. Now, as the reluctant heir of a parallel world, he must confront a powerful insurgency to save everything he knows, and ultimately, bring peace to his world and all others.
What Readers Are Saying
“This was my first sci-fi book that I had read. I was hooked in the first chapter. Easy read and very captivating. I can’t wait for the next book come out.”
Angelia K
August 27, 2026
“Great book! Must have!”
Holly M
August 16, 2026
“Got sucked in so fast. Can’t wait for the next part.”
Briana
August 8, 2026
About the Author
John Kaess is a science fiction author from Newark, Delaware. With a lifelong passion for science, reading, and adventure, John spent over 25 years as a Casino Surveillance Technician — a role that honed his sharp eye for detail and the unseen, skills that weave through his writing. The concept for Quantum Step first sparked in a dream in 1979. After decades of imagination, meticulous research, and intricate world-building, that enduring vision has finally become his debut novel. Happily married for over 29 years, John continues to draw inspiration from the strength of that partnership as he plans more thrilling journeys into the world of science fiction.
Read a Sample — Chapter 1: The Beginning of What Should Not Be
It is a late fall night, sometime after midnight. There is no moon visible in the ink-black sky above Lander. The air is brutally cold, a sharp Wyoming winter beginning to settle into the marrow of the earth, and I can see every frantic, ragged breath I take as a ghost in the dark. All the leaves and greenery have died off weeks ago, leaving little cover and absolutely no place for a boy to hide. I am barefoot, my soles stinging as they strike the frozen ground, running for my life through the dense forest behind JJ’s house. Several men are chasing me. I don’t know who they are, but they are relentless, shooting as they come.
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Suddenly, I see the entrance to “The Labyrinth” ahead — a yawning mouth of absolute darkness in the mountainside. It might be my only hope of losing these men.
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Beep! Beep! Beep! I open my eyes. The sound is my alarm clock, jarring and insistent. I am in my bedroom. It was all a dream. Today is November 25th. It is my sixteenth birthday.
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