Drowned Steel

by Cameron Coral

Robots are walking into the ocean. Nobody knows why.

Block and Wally race to the Oregon coast after a distress call comes from Cybel—robots are marching into the waves, obeying a signal hidden in whale songs. The a military weapon buried forty meters beneath the bay.

Cybel can track the weapon’s signal, but salvagers loom. Block the CleanerBot struggles to protect the settlement. Only Wally's rewired neural pathways can answer the corrupted song with something the whales—and the robots—can finally hear.

Drowned Steel is a hopepunk, post-apocalyptic adventure about found family, misfit robots, and choosing who you become when the old world is gone.

Book 3 in the Robots and Ruins series—robot fiction for adults who want hope with their survival stories. Perfect for fans of Martha Wells, Isaac Asimov, Becky Chambers, and Adrian Tchaikovsky.

332 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 8, 2025

About the author

Cameron Coral is an award-nominated science fiction author. Her book Steel Guardian about a post-apocalyptic CleanerBot was awarded second place in the Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC).

Growing up with a NASA engineer in the family instilled a deep respect for science and for asking lots of questions. Watching tons of Star Trek episodes helped, too. Her imagination is fueled by breakthroughs in robotics, space travel, and psychology.

After moving around a lot (Canada, Arizona, Maryland, Australia), she now lives in Northern Illinois with her husband and a “shorty” Jack Russell terrier who runs the house.

Want a free novel, advance copies of books, and occasional rants about why robots are awesome? Visit her website: CameronCoral.com

Reviews

[Terry M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great adventure for Steel and Wally as they travel to help Cybel and Oxford with a serious problem. They find themselves in danger in more ways than one. An excellent storyline with plenty of action throughout. A must read. I received an advance review copy and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[The Cats’ Mother · Rating 5 out of 5]

Drowned Steel is the third book in the Robots & Ruins post-apocalyptic sci-fi series about a quietly heroic CleanerBot called Block and his adopted human daughter Wally, now a teenager. This series is a continuation of the Rusted Wasteland chronicles, but you don’t need to have read those to enjoy this one which is a standalone adventure.

Block and Wally have left their peaceful Minnesota settlement of Deer Valley to visit their friends Oxford and Cybel at Cascade Haven on the Pacific Coast, in the hope that Wally’s newly discovered abilities will help them understand a mysterious signal emanating from the ocean that is driving robots to throw themselves into the salt water that is deadly to their circuits. They arrive to find that the mistrustful mayor of the human village nearby is planning an attack that he hopes will drive the robots away. With time running out and tempers fraying, can Block and his friends save everyone?

I really enjoyed this instalment which had it all - intrigue, action, suspense, politics and even a little romance. We get reacquainted with characters from the earlier books, like Cybel the TrackerBot turned protector, as well as meeting new ones, human robot, and canine! You know with this author you’re going to get feelgood moments and a happy ending, hope, humour and pathos. The relationships between the characters continue to evolve and I look forward to finding out what happens next.

Thanks to Cameron for the ARC. Drowned Steel is available now.

[Peggy Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

****SPOILERS***

I have read all the books in this series as well The Rusted Wasteland series. I have enjoyed all of them. This book though? Meh, not so much. I looked forward to the ongoing story of Wally (and introduction of Marty) and Block. Most of it was good but the story quickly fell into the realm of unbelievable. Something about Wally's ability to communicate with animals, a system that was being broadcast using whale songs that caused robots to walk into the ocean. Then Wally's humming a song that changed this dangerous system and created a new song for whales to carry and save the robots??? It turned into a hot mess that just didn't make any sense at all. Maybe to the author this all made perfect sense, but that didn't translate to the story, at least not for me.

[Lynnette · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cameron Coral is one of my favourite authors and I love blocks story
But this time I hate to say it; it’s one of my lesser favourite books in the whole series
It didn’t glue my attention as much as the rest
I was disappointed that it took me longer to finish it than the rest of the rusted wasteland books and the drowned steel books
I really hope the next one to be better

[Mark P. Downey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably Cameron Coral’s best book yet in the series. Set mostly on the Pacific coast, the action involves on- and below-water action. The characters are good and a new main human character adds a nice new element.

[Francine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Drowned Steel Delivers Another Great Adventure - book 3 if Robots & Ruins

Wally, Block, Cybel Venatrix, and Oxford deliver a delightful new adventure and young love blooms in a story that kept my attention from start to finish! I never want this series to end!

[Kenneth Dreger · Rating 2 out of 5]

Spoiler alert, did not like the way the author changed walley

I really don't know why they think adding in peoples sexual preferences is needed in a book that kids could read! This is why I only gave 2 stars. Please don't continue to add in this type of context.

[T.M. Drechny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good entertaining story featuring Block and Wally. Characters are dynamic and well rounded. Decent Young Adult fiction.