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Mettle and Ice
When the Iron Chaplains heard of a star falling in the south, the plan became simple. Sail to the frozen wastes, obtain the star iron, kill the cultists and take the iron.
When the ship went through the ice… things got complicated.
Barduk is trapped in a frozen hell at the end of the world. The crew don’t know him, the cultists want him dead, and only a nameless stowaway is truly on his side.
Barduk’s legend is growing in his homeland, but it will take more than his renown to get him through this. With monsters beneath the ice, enemies atop it, and the never-ceasing threat of the cold, Barduk needs to get himself and the crew to safety. What makes matters harder is that he also needs to prevent the cultists from getting away with the iron from the fallen star, the power of which would give them all they need to conquer the world. The Iron Chaplains can’t allow this to happen, and Barduk is the only man who has a chance to stop it.
When the ship went through the ice… things got complicated.
Barduk is trapped in a frozen hell at the end of the world. The crew don’t know him, the cultists want him dead, and only a nameless stowaway is truly on his side.
Barduk’s legend is growing in his homeland, but it will take more than his renown to get him through this. With monsters beneath the ice, enemies atop it, and the never-ceasing threat of the cold, Barduk needs to get himself and the crew to safety. What makes matters harder is that he also needs to prevent the cultists from getting away with the iron from the fallen star, the power of which would give them all they need to conquer the world. The Iron Chaplains can’t allow this to happen, and Barduk is the only man who has a chance to stop it.
334 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 4, 2025
3 people are currently reading
7 people want to read
About the author
T.J. Dobson
1 book6 followersT.J. Dobson was born at a young age, to parents, in a hospital. It's mainly been downhill since there, and there are those who feel the whole thing has been poorly planned from the out. A childhood in Melbourne's inner north followed, and things ran as best as could be hoped for in a family of four boys and their mum.
A love of fantasy was instilled in youngling T.J. by his mother who introduced him to the worlds of Narnia, Middle Earth, Redwall, and Hogwarts in their nightly reading sessions. As is the case with many, high school English classes at times took the shine off reading, as books which wouldn't have made the TBR if they weren't on the booklist were analysed to within an inch of their lives in classrooms where varied reading levels meant that the pace was at best lacklustre, and at worst... the worst.
Some amazing English teachers need to be acknowledged and there were those who brough Shakespeare to life, illuminated Orwell, or did the introductions with Albert Camus' Stranger.
It was at college in North Carolina where a public speaking class run by a former NC poet laureate, and an American Literature class run by an amazing professor inspired T.J. to begin dabbling in poetry. Poetry expanded into mutant prose journal entries and eventually, the decision to write novels.
Five years into writing, a decision was made to self-publish his 8th novel, and the rest is... what in the future will be history.
A love of fantasy was instilled in youngling T.J. by his mother who introduced him to the worlds of Narnia, Middle Earth, Redwall, and Hogwarts in their nightly reading sessions. As is the case with many, high school English classes at times took the shine off reading, as books which wouldn't have made the TBR if they weren't on the booklist were analysed to within an inch of their lives in classrooms where varied reading levels meant that the pace was at best lacklustre, and at worst... the worst.
Some amazing English teachers need to be acknowledged and there were those who brough Shakespeare to life, illuminated Orwell, or did the introductions with Albert Camus' Stranger.
It was at college in North Carolina where a public speaking class run by a former NC poet laureate, and an American Literature class run by an amazing professor inspired T.J. to begin dabbling in poetry. Poetry expanded into mutant prose journal entries and eventually, the decision to write novels.
Five years into writing, a decision was made to self-publish his 8th novel, and the rest is... what in the future will be history.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
October 31, 2025
This book is fantasmical, the characters are so well developed and there is a lot of ice. I was very luckily awarded the chance to read it before it was published. it was amazing and the author is also a super cool guy :)
October 31, 2025
Got a goodreads account just to rate this. Havent read this yet but know this will be good :D
November 1, 2025
I haven't read this book yet, but I already know it's going to be a story which will be so good I will be physically unable to stop reading it until the very last page. And then, I might just do it again.
Also, the author is a very chill guy (you're just going to have to take my word for it).
Also, the author is a very chill guy (you're just going to have to take my word for it).
November 27, 2025
Really good quality for an indie novel, loved all the characters and read the majority of it in one sitting. The humour was on point as well. Hoping for more!
November 2, 2025
I finished it all in one night lol, it's really good. I normally don't read this kind of book but I enjoyed it. Honestly didn't realize how fast I was reading this till I saw 'The End' at 10.05 pm :'). I personally love the exploding bird poop scene (I was laughing sm during that scene lmaoo). I like Scamp, he's a cinnamon roll :) (spoiler alert: lowk got scared when I thought they would have to amputate his hand TOT). It's actually pretty fast paced, which I liked, especially towards the end. 10/10 highly recommended :)
January 5, 2026
Thoroughly Enjoyable
A great debut novel that keeps you interested all the way through. It's an easy read; there's some very good writing in there, drolly delivered.
A great debut novel that keeps you interested all the way through. It's an easy read; there's some very good writing in there, drolly delivered.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews