Gateway to Adventure: The Stellar's Spirit Adventures

by Karen L. West

He wanted an adventure. He never expected to become a captain.

Left alone in Venice, fifteen-year-old Braxton “Coop” Cooper follows a mysterious doorway into a world beneath three alien suns. Waiting for him is a living starship, an unlikely companion, and a dying captain who intends to put him in command.
Coop has never flown a spaceship. He has never led a crew. Now he has precious little time to learn both.
Beyond the safety of their training ground, pirates prey on travelers, slavers steal lives, and distress calls force choices no lesson can prepare him to make. As strangers become the family he has always wanted, every decision carries more weight.

Then a mission left by the old captain draws them toward a planet missing from the charts, ancient minds trapped in darkness, and a gateway guarding secrets of its own.

Opening the first door was easy.

Keeping his new family alive will be another matter.

For readers who love the wonder of portal fantasy, the danger of space adventure, and the heart of found-family stories. Step beyond the familiar into a galaxy of unlikely heroes, living starships, and worlds waiting to be discovered.

Genres: Space Opera

620 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 18, 2026

About the author

Stories of survival, transformation, and hope.

Author Karen L. West creates immersive fiction shaped by resilience, courage, and the strength of chosen family. Her newest series, the Rose and Clive Search & Research Thriller series begins with The Girl in the Redwoods available now. The next two releases, Lost in Turkey Run and Beneath the Kentucky Hills are planned for 2027.

Born in Indiana and now living in the Southwest, she draws on a lifetime of experience, including service in the United States Navy, to craft stories where ordinary people are tested by extraordinary circumstances and discover who they truly are.

Now retired, Karen writes across fantasy, science fiction, shifter fiction, apocalyptic and dystopian worlds, as well as children’s picture books. Her novels explore hidden shifter communities, dragon rider adventures, collapsing societies, and young heroes learning to survive in changing worlds.

Her stories are known for emotionally grounded characters, immersive worldbuilding, and the belief that even when the rules of the world change—or disappear—courage and compassion still matter.

Discover her books and latest news at www.booksbyklw.com, and step into worlds where survival, transformation, and heart go hand in hand. Here is the link to my Press Kit: https://booksbyklw.com/press-kit.

Fantasy author | Survival thriller author | Shifter fiction writer | Dragon rider series author | Dystopian fiction author

Reviews

[Johnie C]

Good read.

I enjoyed reading this book and I recommend this book to anyone who likes space opera and AI characters and lots of action