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Stories I Had Always Wanted To Tell
KOA: Dark Systems follows the crew of a surveillance vessel into an unexplored star system, where they discover an ancient threat that could change entire worlds. What inspired the creation of the KOA universe?
I’ve always loved worldbuilding and the idea of creating a universe that readers could truly immerse themselves in. A few years ago, while helping bring together several of the world’s leading Christian film and media organizations, I kept hearing the same challenge: there is a growing need for high-quality stories that naturally reflect a Christian worldview without existing solely as a gospel presentation. That resonated with me and encouraged me to pursue the kind of stories I had always wanted to tell.
At the same time, I work closely with youth and young adults and saw a desire for action, suspense, science fiction, and even horror that didn’t rely on profanity, explicit content, or glorifying destructive lifestyles. The result became the KOA Universe. It’s inspired by my lifelong love of science fiction but built around the belief that compelling stories and meaningful values don’t have to compete. My goal is to create an expansive universe anyone can enjoy, regardless of their beliefs, while allowing a Christian worldview to naturally shape the characters, their decisions, and the world they inhabit.
How did you balance large-scale worldbuilding with the more intimate story of the crew’s survival?
That was probably the biggest challenge in writing KOA: Dark Systems. I’d spent years building the larger KOA Universe in outlines, notes, and future story ideas before this book ever came together. My early drafts tried to fit way too much of that into one novel. It all made perfect sense in my head, and to a small group of people who had been following along, but anyone picking up the book for the first time would have been trying to keep up with far too many characters, storylines, and moving pieces.
I eventually realized this story wasn’t about explaining an entire universe. It was about Sky, Julian, and one mission gone wrong. Everything else became supporting context rather than the focus. That meant introducing the larger world through brief glimpses while keeping the emotional heart of the story centered. The result was a more accessible introduction to the KOA Universe, one that hints at a much larger saga without asking readers to learn everything on the first page.
Faith is woven deeply into the story rather than remaining in the background. Why was that important to you?
Faith is a major part of my life, so it naturally becomes a major part of the world I am creating. My hope was to create an exciting science fiction thriller where young readers could immerse themselves in a bigger universe, wrestle with meaningful questions, and enjoy the adventure without feeling like they had to compromise the values that matter to them.
Which aspects of the KOA universe are you most excited to explore in future books?
I’m excited to continue both forward and backward through the KOA timeline. Readers have only experienced one mission in a much larger universe. I’m looking forward to exploring the origins of the KOA on Earth, the formation of the interstellar Alliance, the backstories of characters like Asa, Benjamin, and Tendi, and where Sky, Julian, and the rest of the crew go from here. My hope is that every new story expands the universe while standing on its own, giving readers another piece of a much larger picture.
Author Links: GoodReads | Website
KOA: Dark Systems is a young adult science fiction adventure filled with exploration, mystery, courage, and hope.
KOA: Dark Systems
Chris Bankus’s KOA: Dark Systems is a faith-centered science fiction adventure that blends superhuman abilities, covert military operations, alien diplomacy, and survival horror. The story follows Sky, Julian, Captain Nick, and the crew of the surveillance vessel as they investigate a Ravager fleet behaving in a way no one expects. What begins as a reconnaissance mission turns into a desperate struggle inside a star system where technology fails and an ancient biological threat is waiting. The novel is structured as a complete mission while also introducing the larger KOA universe, its alliances, divisions, history, and spiritual foundation.
Sky is the book’s most immediately engaging character. She’s young, extraordinarily powerful, funny, impulsive, and still disciplined enough to carry other people through a crisis. Her lightning abilities create some of the novel’s most energetic scenes, but her real strength is the way she keeps moving when fear, exhaustion, and loss begin to overwhelm the crew. Julian provides an effective counterbalance. He’s quieter, strategic, and constantly searching for patterns, which makes their partnership feel more substantial than a simple contrast between brains and power. Captain Nick also gives the central mission emotional weight, particularly as the crew’s losses transform the investigation into a fight for survival.
The book’s strongest section is the journey into the dead system. Bankus gradually shifts the atmosphere from adventurous curiosity to claustrophobic dread as the characters discover abandoned vessels, slaughtered Ravagers, failing equipment, and creatures that can turn darkness into a weapon. The action remains easy to picture, but the tension comes from the characters losing the systems they’ve learned to depend on. Faith becomes especially important here. It isn’t limited to background worldbuilding or ceremonial dialogue. For Sky and the others, it’s a practical source of courage, responsibility, and hope when their training can’t guarantee their safety. That combination gives the novel a distinct identity within its large-scale space-opera setting. The opening establishes this connection between exploration, gifted people, faith, and an expanding interstellar alliance from the start.
Readers of Brandon Sanderson’s The Reckoners series will recognize a similar enthusiasm for imaginative powers, specialized teams, tactical battles, and characters learning that control matters as much as raw strength. Bankus adds more military science fiction, interplanetary diplomacy, and openly Christian themes, making the result feel like a superhero story operating inside a broad space-opera universe. The novel moves quickly and often introduces its world through mission briefings, ability profiles, training scenes, and conversations between teammates. That direct approach keeps the story accessible even when the scale becomes enormous. KOA: Dark Systems ultimately works as both a tense survival mission and an invitation into a much larger saga, with Sky’s resilience giving its sprawling universe a lively, human center.
Pages: 169 | ASIN : B0H96N64H6
