Ice Born

Midnight War

by Adam Fernandez

"You can't sit wishing for the world you deserve and lament no one has given it to you. It is up to you to fight for it, to grasp it from the maw of the universe. The future is yours for the taking, if you're strong enough to hold it."

On the Saturnalian moon of Titan, Sergeant Arabella Smith, Republican Guard soldier turned revolutionary, is at a crossroad. Face to face with the shadows of her past and the promises of her future, she must make a embrace her new identity, or shatter it to reclaim her birthright.

Arabella was the daughter of two worlds and a resident of none. Her father came from the ruling elite and her mother from the marginalized Armanic people. Arabella’s privileged upbringing guarded her from prejudice, until her father’s murder sent her to the working-class districts. There she must take on a new name and avoid the bounty hunters who seek her family. Only by confronting her past, can she reimagine her future.

Ice Born is a standalone novel set in the award winning universe of the Midnight War series.

180 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 14, 2025

About the author

Adam Fernandez writes character driven stories set in gritty environments, where overcoming hardship is a daily occurrence. His Midnight War series explores what lengths people will traverse to create a better world.

Adam Fernandez is a first-generation Cuban American from New Jersey. When he isn't writing, he enjoys spending much of his free time outdoors- running, hiking and rock climbing through both local and National Parks. For more information on Adam’s writing, including updates on the next books in the Midnight War series, please visit his website.

Reviews

[Dave Lawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edit: this was a 3.5. I originally rounded down, but Arabella has stayed with me. I’ve been thinking about her as a character quite a bit, and Fernandez’s character work here pushes it to a 4.

Ice Born has a lot of positives going for it. Fernandez has great prose and he does really well with the character of Arabella. This is a very character focused story, and we follow Arabella throughout, meaning we get lots of nice character moments. The world of this story seems really cool, and I’m looking forward to learning more about it in the main series!
Fernandez is gifted on a technical level and he often gifts up with nice turns of phrase. I really love the politics in the background, and I’m looking forward to learning more!

This is my first foray into this series, and I did have a lot of world building questions. It’s possible if I’d started with the main series, I would have had a better feel for some aspects of the world. I also struggled with the pacing. The second half of the story moved more quickly than I would have liked: characters were introduced, there for a chapter or 2, then gone before I could really get to know them. I wanted things to be a little more fleshed out in the second half. I also felt the frame story and flashback at the beginning was a bit jarring.

[magen.irwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book, and as a sci-fi fan I was super excited. I was surprised because this book was not what I expected at all. It has world building, character development and is very much a story about a quest for revenge. I enjoyed being in this world and traveling to different planets, seeing the culture and ways of the people and how that shapes our main character Arabella. We follow her through the years as she exacts her plans and revenge, it was a very interesting story and easy to follow. I did feel that the book was a bit too fast paced and some details were forgotten or lost, but overall I enjoyed this quick fun read,

[Lia (Roman) Rusu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received the book as an ARC from BookSirens and I read it as a stand-alone short novel, excited to have access to a work of science fiction, without any prior knowledge concerning the characters or storyline.

I enjoyed the character building techniques and the importance granted to stories being lived and told, weaving the fabric of the book's reality.

Part bildungsroman, part revenge tale, part truth quest, part anti-racism manifesto, part tragic love story, the book is complex and its mysteries are unraveled - not in full - bit by bit and story after/before story. There is a bit of timeframe switching between present and past events and scenes, but the plot is easy enough to follow and rapidly enough paced.

I had expected more purely Science Fiction content, but that was limited to the space-travelling vessels, the weaponry, and the multiplanetary universe in which the characters lead their lives and fight their battles. The focus is on the psychological - emotional turmoil and development that the main character goes through, and much less on the scientifical or technical aspects of her world.

The book has an undoubtful to-be-continued type of ending, suggesting that unanswered questions will be dealt with in subsequent novels and novellas. And almost all questions remain unanswered by the end of the book, making Ice Born a tangible introduction to a series.

The writing is pleasant and aims for poetic literature when tackling personal musings and silent thinking.

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Memorable quotes:

"On the long journey from Luna, they shared the surface of their collective scars. He asked about the stories written in ink on her skin, and she silently read the stories written in scars on his."

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"My place is wherever I choose to be."

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"You can't sit wishing for the world you deserve and lament no one has given it to you. It is up to you to fight for it, to grasp it from the maw of the universe. The future is yours for the taking, if you're strong enough to hold it."

[Michael Vadney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ice Born is a fast, satisfying read that showcases Adam Fernandez at his best—both in storytelling and character work. This entry into the series offers a refreshing and immersive experience, perfect for new readers and longtime fans alike.

The real strength of Ice Born lies in its world-hopping narrative. Traveling alongside Arabella to different planets and witnessing the diverse cultures and customs that shape her journey is a joy. Each new setting is vivid and purposeful, revealing more about Arabella’s growth in subtle and meaningful ways. Fernandez’s ability to make these worlds feel alive enhances the emotional depth of the story.

This is, without question, his strongest character work yet. Arabella feels authentic—flawed, determined, and deeply human. And while the plot moves quickly, it still makes room for quiet, powerful moments, including a small but unexpectedly moving love story that adds emotional richness without overwhelming the core narrative.

Whether you're already invested in Fernandez's universe or looking for a new sci-fi series to dive into, Ice Born delivers. It's entertaining, emotionally resonant, and leaves you eager for more.

[Peter Baran · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ice Born is a standalone book in a space war series, which probably accounts for some of the jankiness I felt about it. It tells the story of the coming of age of Sergeant Arabella Smith, who I assume is an important character in the Midnight War series. The actions of the grown-up Smith bookend this tale, but mainly concern how she went from a slightly coddled colonial background to end up in the Republican Army. A solidly built story that takes parental weakness, and innate smarts from the young Arabella that turns her from a naive, slightly spoiled brat, to briefly an independent teenage smuggler. All of which works but since I didn't know who she would become when she joined the forces at the end of the book, I felt like I was hanging. So whilst it is perfectly true to say it is a standalone story, you still need a bit more context about the character to really care about the minutiae of her teenage survival years.

[Matthew Gill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a phenomenal book. The world building is fantastic, deep and delivered cleverly with beautiful prose and Arabella, the main character, goes on such a fantastic journey throughout. The emotion, the struggles, the grit, it makes her such a believable and deeply interesting character. Adam does a phenomenal job of creating such a wonderful world, with poetic descriptions and wonderful characterisations. The story is quick paced and punchy, but not too fast that you don't get to enjoy the setting. Honestly, this is up there as book of the year for me, I can't recommend it enough. If you're a fan of the vibe of Warhammer, the depth of Dune or gritty space opera in general, you should definitely pick this up, if you aren't... well you should still pick this up because I assure you Adam will quickly change your mind!

[Jacqueline Nyathi · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Ice Born* opens with something rather incongruous: a love scene in the middle of what seems to be a raid of some kind. Immediately after, readers are plunged into extended flashback to explain how Arabella Smith got there. It’s all in the blurb, so it won't be a spoiler: she’s essentially a princess whose family fell on hard times (for *reasons*); this is the story of those adversities and also the grand adventures that led to her being a soldier-turned-revolutionary.

What wonderful world-building! But that seems to come at a cost: the last chapters of the book telescope the story, leading to a really unsatisfying ending and a less-than-optimal reading experience. This is unfortunate, because the previous ⅚ of the book show so much promise. Possibly this could have been solved by spreading out the plotlines in this novel across a series (not something I’m a fan of, but it may have been worth doing)—suggested, anyway, by this novel ending on something of a cliffhanger.

So, again, much promise, but some problems with the execution. I loved all of the details of humanity’s reach across all of these worlds; however, it did feel like the reader was being dropped into something fully conceived in the author’s mind, and not always adequately explained. One other problem for me is that it feels like all of this could happen on just one planet; humanity’s spread across space is a conceit that’s not used to its fullest in this novel although, again, this could be coming in future novels).

Thank you to Clover Hill Press and NetGalley for DRC access.

[fred jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

An entertaining very human story. When her father is murdered Araballa and the remainder of her family have to leave a life of privilege and settle in the slums of Titan where they hide and struggle to survive. The writing is excellent full of vivid descriptions, gritty and with some emotion. Great characters and action. I really enjoyed this one. I received a complimentary copy from Booksirens and am leaving a voluntary honest review.

[Manda Simas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a great read. I loved the quick pace, deep characters and delicious plot. I listened and the narrators were fantastic, with a great range. The ending had me screaming in my car when it all came together. I need more of these characters and I think we may get some of that in the main series. All in all it's everything I want in a dystopian sci-fi novella from a series I already love.

[cameron ross paton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. The writing was very good and the story line was very good as well.
The novel could have been much longer. There seemed to be a big gap, regarding Arabella’s training that was missing. This is up to the author. I can see a lot of scope for a sequel or even a series.
Highly recommended, gave it five stars