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Ashen Light
John Allenbeck hates his job. Most days, it feels like the job hates him back.
His coworkers are idiots, his boss is a by-the-books hardass, and the company he works for is the largest in the world, which couldn’t care less about him. Beck is a Human Resources Investigator, and while other investigators are solving high-profile crimes for Synthetic Corporation, he deals with malfunctioning automata.
But when a murder case falls into his lap, Beck sees a rare opportunity to prove himself to his boss and former colleague Katherine Hegra, even if it means betraying her and the entire HR department. Yet as Beck digs deeper into the case and into the inner workings of SynthCorp, he finds himself confronting secrets about the company and his own past—secrets that might affect not only his career, but the fate of humanity itself…
Forgotten memories, synthetic foods, interstellar spacecraft, radio transmissions from Venus—Beck must deal with all of these in the new novel by Ian Young.
His coworkers are idiots, his boss is a by-the-books hardass, and the company he works for is the largest in the world, which couldn’t care less about him. Beck is a Human Resources Investigator, and while other investigators are solving high-profile crimes for Synthetic Corporation, he deals with malfunctioning automata.
But when a murder case falls into his lap, Beck sees a rare opportunity to prove himself to his boss and former colleague Katherine Hegra, even if it means betraying her and the entire HR department. Yet as Beck digs deeper into the case and into the inner workings of SynthCorp, he finds himself confronting secrets about the company and his own past—secrets that might affect not only his career, but the fate of humanity itself…
Forgotten memories, synthetic foods, interstellar spacecraft, radio transmissions from Venus—Beck must deal with all of these in the new novel by Ian Young.
- GenresScience FictionDystopia
337 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 31, 2025
54 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 12, 2025
4.0 Stars
After reading and loving the Automaton, I was eager to read whatever this author wrote next. This is an unrelated standalone that could certainly work as an entry point with this author.
My favourite aspect of this one was how it played with the familiar situation of a bad workplace. It's such a relatable experience. The mystery was enjoyable to unravel even if it wasn't the most complex. I enjoyed the intersection of two of my favourite genres.
I would recommend this one to readers looking for a sci fi thriller with plenty of fun and a good mystery plot.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the author.
After reading and loving the Automaton, I was eager to read whatever this author wrote next. This is an unrelated standalone that could certainly work as an entry point with this author.
My favourite aspect of this one was how it played with the familiar situation of a bad workplace. It's such a relatable experience. The mystery was enjoyable to unravel even if it wasn't the most complex. I enjoyed the intersection of two of my favourite genres.
I would recommend this one to readers looking for a sci fi thriller with plenty of fun and a good mystery plot.
Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the author.
April 25, 2026
A masterclass in dystopian world building that no longer feels all that removed from the society we currently find ourselves in. A detective thriller with more than enough philosophical elements to leave me processing! Loved it!
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November 25, 2025I am one of the judges of team Space Girls for the SPSFC5 contest. This review is my personal opinion. Officially, it is still in the running for the contest, pending any official team announcements.
Status: Yes
Read: 29%
This author's prior entrance book The Automaton was placed in my judging team last year and reached the quarterfinals. It was a shorter read that caused mixed votes among the judges where half enjoyed it immensely, and others felt there were stronger books. So my interest became piqued this standalone that is loosely within the same universe as The Automaton ended up in my team.
During the first 10% of the novel, I was not convinced this book would be capable of standing out in an increasingly tight competition where each year I am seeing nonstop books that could very well compete with trad published novels.
However, by the 20% of the story, things start 'clicking' and while this book shares the kinds of obligatory tropes commonly seen in detective thrillers and the Minority Report film, I do feel the author's writing skills have leaped from The Automaton to this book. I can only see any future books they write to be impressing me futher.
Expect the solid trope of disgruntled workaholic (and alcoholic) middle aged male detective getting in trouble with his higher ups due to a suspicious murder case... err... apparently cut & dry suicide non case (but things seem too calculated to be true). Similar to the I, Robot film with Will Smith, there are little breadcrumbs here & there, intelligent robots with impressive combative skills (that so far in this book haven't shown their true combat prowess), and female characters that are willing to help the detective.
I bet thriller readers could comp any plethora of books in their genre. Some Sci Fi books that I could comp are Luna 1 by Maurizzio Zamudio and to a much lesser extent, The Long Home of the Soul by J. Carl Denton. In certain ways, this book seems kinda slow burn like Denton's thriller is, with both books already reaching the true beginning of the plot around the same point.
I will certainly like to vote yes for this book to advance in the competition. I am intrigued to know what happens next.
Status: Yes
Read: 29%
This author's prior entrance book The Automaton was placed in my judging team last year and reached the quarterfinals. It was a shorter read that caused mixed votes among the judges where half enjoyed it immensely, and others felt there were stronger books. So my interest became piqued this standalone that is loosely within the same universe as The Automaton ended up in my team.
During the first 10% of the novel, I was not convinced this book would be capable of standing out in an increasingly tight competition where each year I am seeing nonstop books that could very well compete with trad published novels.
However, by the 20% of the story, things start 'clicking' and while this book shares the kinds of obligatory tropes commonly seen in detective thrillers and the Minority Report film, I do feel the author's writing skills have leaped from The Automaton to this book. I can only see any future books they write to be impressing me futher.
Expect the solid trope of disgruntled workaholic (and alcoholic) middle aged male detective getting in trouble with his higher ups due to a suspicious murder case... err... apparently cut & dry suicide non case (but things seem too calculated to be true). Similar to the I, Robot film with Will Smith, there are little breadcrumbs here & there, intelligent robots with impressive combative skills (that so far in this book haven't shown their true combat prowess), and female characters that are willing to help the detective.
I bet thriller readers could comp any plethora of books in their genre. Some Sci Fi books that I could comp are Luna 1 by Maurizzio Zamudio and to a much lesser extent, The Long Home of the Soul by J. Carl Denton. In certain ways, this book seems kinda slow burn like Denton's thriller is, with both books already reaching the true beginning of the plot around the same point.
I will certainly like to vote yes for this book to advance in the competition. I am intrigued to know what happens next.
spsfc3-4-5
February 6, 2026Disclaimer: I read this book as a judge (team Space Girls) for SPSFC5 - opinion and rating are my own.
I am giving Ashen Light a Y to moving forward. Whether it does move forward depends on the thoughts of the rest of the team.
I read this book straight after Artificial Selection and whilst there were a few similarities e.g set in a large corporate city/state with the MC's looking into a crime, Ashen Light is however a lot darker in tone than its fellow competitor.
Beck is a jaded HR employee who usually investigates problems with Automata but on this occasion he finds himself at a crime scene that on the surface looks rather innocuous, but with his knack for looking at smaller details, things are definitely not what they seem. Beck knows that Synthetic Corp is a terrible employer but what he finds out is that they will go to extreme lengths to hide their darkest and dirtiest secrets.
I am giving Ashen Light a Y to moving forward. Whether it does move forward depends on the thoughts of the rest of the team.
I read this book straight after Artificial Selection and whilst there were a few similarities e.g set in a large corporate city/state with the MC's looking into a crime, Ashen Light is however a lot darker in tone than its fellow competitor.
Beck is a jaded HR employee who usually investigates problems with Automata but on this occasion he finds himself at a crime scene that on the surface looks rather innocuous, but with his knack for looking at smaller details, things are definitely not what they seem. Beck knows that Synthetic Corp is a terrible employer but what he finds out is that they will go to extreme lengths to hide their darkest and dirtiest secrets.
June 1, 2025
His first book Automaton was pretty good, this is definitely better overall. The story felt like a combination of Blade Runner and Cyberpunk. It was more grounded and the world building was more quality over quantity. Although, I would say the first book was more emotional.
July 20, 2025
Thoroughly enjoyed this. The protagonist Beck battles an interstellar corporate hellscape with copious amounts of sarcasm and wit. Similar to The Automaton, the story navigates a future imperiled by climate change, human innovation, and late-stage capitalism (heavy on the capitalism with this one). As always, Young writes with a deep respect for the genre and the relatable humor of someone who has been badly burned by HR (lol). Highly recommend!
August 8, 2025
We proudly announce that ASHEN LIGHT by Ian Young has been honored with the B.R.A.G. Medallion (Book Readers’ Appreciation Group). It now joins the very select award-winning, reader-recommended books at indieBRAG. This award is a testament to this book's quality and its impact on readers.
January 28, 2026
Witty like Andy Weir with the detective space mystery of Leviathan Wakes, especially the Miller chapters. A page turner as you race to figure out where the story will lead and what new pieces of Ian Young’s The Automaton world you can glean from it. A pleasure from start to finish.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews