The Forge

by Daniel James Clark

Best friends Zak Lockwood and Mark Alder are training to pilot massive war machines at the United Entities Mechanized Warfare Academy. They've just finished work on restoring their own mech when The Harbingers of The Fall, an organization bent on rendering society to ashes, forces them into conflict overnight. Zak, Mark, and a close-knit group of other cadets must figure out their place in a generational conflict that threatens to tear the world apart. As they fight through cities and race across the desert with nothing but their training mechs, their friendship and love are tested through vicious patterns of violence and loss. Questions rise about whether or not a system that causes this much pain is worth preserving at all.

Genres: Science Fiction

285 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 21, 2023

About the author

Daniel James Clark attended college at the University of Nevada, Reno where he received a Bachelor of Arts Degree with an emphasis in photography, and a minor in journalism. He lives in Henderson, Nevada with his family where he spends his time as a homemaker, photographing news events, maintaining a nonprofit web-site, and writing stories. His first short story, A Sky Made Black, was published in the Bell Press anthology Futures in November of 2021 and received a nomination for a Pushcart Prize. His first major publication is the From Rust trilogy of military science fiction mech novels from Vulpine Press and Podium Audio.

Reviews

[Meghin A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping story from start to finish - action packed with easy to feel emotions from the characters. Excited for book two!

[Snack Laskey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just read The Fall and had to come back to show my appreciation for this book which setup The Fall perfectly. The Forge was a great world building book and felt like I got invested in the characters, and then The Fall spins that on its head in book #2. I don’t want to give much more away than that. This was easily one of the better books I’ve listened to this year (I do audiobooks on my commute). And tbh I’m excited because the release time between the first two books in this series was only like 6 months. I’m looking forward to not having to wait 5 years for Part 3.

[Bee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah it was fine. Not bad, not great. Lacking the detail to make it actually engaging, but good enough to have pushed through and finished it. Probably not good enough to go find the sequel.

[Joe Jungers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is interesting enough for me to hunt down the sequels.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had a great time with this sci-fi book. It follows the story of two best friends, Zak and Mark, as they go through training to operate mechs. In an unexpected turn of events, the story takes a dark turn into war and conflict. It kept me gripped throughout, and I look forward to continuing the series!

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable sci-tech .

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredibly complex and entertaining story! It’s amazing that this is the author’s first full length novel. I can’t wait for part two to come out.
In Daniel James Clark’s high-tech science-fiction novel, The Forge (From Rust Book 1), we meet two best friends Mark Alder and Zak Lockwood, cadettes at the United Entities Mechanized Warfare Academy. With one year before they graduate, the training base is attacked by the rebel force, The Harbingers of The Fall. In the blink of an eye, our two heroes are thrust into actual combat and must use the incomplete training they have to not only defend themselves and their fellow cadettes but mount an offensive counter-attack to defend the nearby communities in the destructive path of the enemy.
The story is fast paced, but not so fast that character development was ignored. By the end of the book you are completely invested in the lives of not only Mark and Zak, but in the tragic life of the their rebel prisoner.
Daniel Clark is able to capture the true horror, suffering, and heartbreak of warfare, including the consequences to not only innocent civilians, but to all individuals engaged in actual combat. As I was reading this story, my mind kept going back to those suffering due to the current conflicts in the Ukraine and Israel.