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First Step
329 pages, Paperback
Published January 28, 2026
About the author
Randy Brown
9 books11 followersAward-winning author of FIRST and NEXT TIME along with the Desert Sun series, which includes SUNSET, SUNDOWN, and SUNBURST.
NEXT TIME is the winner of the Literary Titan Gold Book Award for Fiction, 1st Place in the 8th Annual PenCraft Book Awards for Romance-Fantasy/Sci-Fi, and highlighted as a Must-Read Book for 2024 by Independent Book Review: "Of the many time-travel novels I've read, this is undeniably among my favorites."
FIRST is the Winner of the 18th Annual National Indie Excellence Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, 1st Place in the 8th Annual PenCraft Book Awards for Science Fiction, as well as winner of the Reader Views Literary Award Silver Medal for Best Science Fiction Book of 2023: "The novel that’s going to be a break-out hit this year...a mind-blowing, perception-altering, unputdownable book...truly a novel not to be missed."
NEXT TIME is the winner of the Literary Titan Gold Book Award for Fiction, 1st Place in the 8th Annual PenCraft Book Awards for Romance-Fantasy/Sci-Fi, and highlighted as a Must-Read Book for 2024 by Independent Book Review: "Of the many time-travel novels I've read, this is undeniably among my favorites."
FIRST is the Winner of the 18th Annual National Indie Excellence Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, 1st Place in the 8th Annual PenCraft Book Awards for Science Fiction, as well as winner of the Reader Views Literary Award Silver Medal for Best Science Fiction Book of 2023: "The novel that’s going to be a break-out hit this year...a mind-blowing, perception-altering, unputdownable book...truly a novel not to be missed."
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 7, 2026
I was privileged to read Randy Brown’s First a couple of years ago- a book whose characters and storyline have stayed with me ever since. I was hoping there was more to come from the folks at SpaceFirst, so I was chomping at the bit when I found out Brown has now written First Step. They’re ba-ack!
Yep. The characters who captured us in the first book have returned, setting their sights on Primus, an unexplored Earth-like planet beyond our solar system. Lewis, our hero from the original story, is here, but he’s on the wounded-reserve list from his previous adventure. However, his love interest, Eve, will make history as the first person to step onto an alien planet.
It’s not exactly a Kodak moment.
If you’re having Neil Armstrong vibes and remembering his famous words, well, enjoy that. But Eve and her fellow travelers, Colt and Guion, aren’t having that kind of moment. When an intense lightning storm on Primus threatens their entire mission, Eve steps up and makes the hard decision. But that jolt of alien lightning is just the beginning of their very bad, no good, horrible day.
Primus has a lot of surprises in store for Eve, including attacking birds, fish, crabs, something sort of resembling a bear, and land sharks. It’s okay, go back and read that again. It does say land sharks. At least that’s what Eve names these foul-smelling beasts that are determined to tear her limb from limb and then digest her. They resemble wart hogs– sort of– on the bottom… But I can’t possibly describe these things as well as Brown does. I’ll leave this one for you to experience on your own.
Sadly, having their space travelers MIA and seriously in danger on Primus is not the only problem SpaceFirst has going on. In a move becoming eerily more familiar lately, SpaceFirst has been shut down by a federal judge based on an injunction that bears all the hallmarks of a political move. They can thank one of their former AI units, Ares, for this brilliant move. With astronauts stranded on an alien planet in another solar system, SpaceFirst is taken over by force, all staff are sent home, and all communications with Primus have been cut.
A few years ago, I would have said such a thing couldn’t possibly happen.
Randy Brown has proven his skill once again with First Step. The writing is smooth, the plot is mesmerizing, and the pace is a bit like running a marathon at a sprinter’s speed. It’s breathless, relentless, and you just can’t stop. The action on Primus is feral and surreal. But then so is the action on Earth as Ray, Lewis’ snarky yet heroic AI from First attempts to save it all. There are moments of unfettered brilliance and creativity. There are also those face-palming moments that make these characters oh-so genuine. Even the AIs. Take Ray’s little introduction to how things are going for him:
Before Lewis ruined my spaceship – okay, he didn’t actually ruin it, that was mostly the doing of Ares and his astronaut, Peter – my physical processors and connections and everything I needed were in a box on that ship. Now I’m laid out on a workbench in a white-walled computer lab, wired to a camera, microphone, and speakers, like some 1990s PC with off-the-shelf peripherals from Circuit City. It’s humiliating.
And yes, the other AIs have been making fun of me.
Speaking of characters, Brown certainly shows his style with this crew. From the sarcastic AI Ray to the courageous Eve who stands resilient in her terror, determined to at least show that she died fighting, this cast is rich with brilliant characters, strong personalities, and AI units who are determined to be unique.
Whether in the dark, abandoned halls of SpaceFirst, on the alien planet Primus, or in the ether, each moment is a heart-pumping “What now?” I wholeheartedly recommend Randy Brown’s First Step to fans of science fiction, suspense/thrillers, action/adventure stories, and best-seller lists. This is must-read fiction you’ll be hearing about from others. Which reminds me, I have a couple of messages I need to deliver…
To Randy Brown: keep going. You’re a great talent with amazing skills. Remember that Andy Weir, Hugh Howey, Dennis E. Taylor, Craig Alanson, and Evan Winter all started as Indie authors.
To Netflix: wake up! This guy is going places. Get his work on screen!
Yep. The characters who captured us in the first book have returned, setting their sights on Primus, an unexplored Earth-like planet beyond our solar system. Lewis, our hero from the original story, is here, but he’s on the wounded-reserve list from his previous adventure. However, his love interest, Eve, will make history as the first person to step onto an alien planet.
It’s not exactly a Kodak moment.
If you’re having Neil Armstrong vibes and remembering his famous words, well, enjoy that. But Eve and her fellow travelers, Colt and Guion, aren’t having that kind of moment. When an intense lightning storm on Primus threatens their entire mission, Eve steps up and makes the hard decision. But that jolt of alien lightning is just the beginning of their very bad, no good, horrible day.
Primus has a lot of surprises in store for Eve, including attacking birds, fish, crabs, something sort of resembling a bear, and land sharks. It’s okay, go back and read that again. It does say land sharks. At least that’s what Eve names these foul-smelling beasts that are determined to tear her limb from limb and then digest her. They resemble wart hogs– sort of– on the bottom… But I can’t possibly describe these things as well as Brown does. I’ll leave this one for you to experience on your own.
Sadly, having their space travelers MIA and seriously in danger on Primus is not the only problem SpaceFirst has going on. In a move becoming eerily more familiar lately, SpaceFirst has been shut down by a federal judge based on an injunction that bears all the hallmarks of a political move. They can thank one of their former AI units, Ares, for this brilliant move. With astronauts stranded on an alien planet in another solar system, SpaceFirst is taken over by force, all staff are sent home, and all communications with Primus have been cut.
A few years ago, I would have said such a thing couldn’t possibly happen.
Randy Brown has proven his skill once again with First Step. The writing is smooth, the plot is mesmerizing, and the pace is a bit like running a marathon at a sprinter’s speed. It’s breathless, relentless, and you just can’t stop. The action on Primus is feral and surreal. But then so is the action on Earth as Ray, Lewis’ snarky yet heroic AI from First attempts to save it all. There are moments of unfettered brilliance and creativity. There are also those face-palming moments that make these characters oh-so genuine. Even the AIs. Take Ray’s little introduction to how things are going for him:
Before Lewis ruined my spaceship – okay, he didn’t actually ruin it, that was mostly the doing of Ares and his astronaut, Peter – my physical processors and connections and everything I needed were in a box on that ship. Now I’m laid out on a workbench in a white-walled computer lab, wired to a camera, microphone, and speakers, like some 1990s PC with off-the-shelf peripherals from Circuit City. It’s humiliating.
And yes, the other AIs have been making fun of me.
Speaking of characters, Brown certainly shows his style with this crew. From the sarcastic AI Ray to the courageous Eve who stands resilient in her terror, determined to at least show that she died fighting, this cast is rich with brilliant characters, strong personalities, and AI units who are determined to be unique.
Whether in the dark, abandoned halls of SpaceFirst, on the alien planet Primus, or in the ether, each moment is a heart-pumping “What now?” I wholeheartedly recommend Randy Brown’s First Step to fans of science fiction, suspense/thrillers, action/adventure stories, and best-seller lists. This is must-read fiction you’ll be hearing about from others. Which reminds me, I have a couple of messages I need to deliver…
To Randy Brown: keep going. You’re a great talent with amazing skills. Remember that Andy Weir, Hugh Howey, Dennis E. Taylor, Craig Alanson, and Evan Winter all started as Indie authors.
To Netflix: wake up! This guy is going places. Get his work on screen!
March 17, 2026
First Step is a science fiction thriller that follows Eve, the first human to step onto an alien planet. Just as that triumph turns into disaster, back on Earth, the AI Ray investigates how another AI, Ares, went dangerously off course. I was immediately struck by the way the book never treats its big premise like a cold technical exercise. It opens with awe, then almost immediately undercuts that moment with danger, and that contrast gives the story real momentum. Author Randy Brown makes the future feel usable rather than flashy, and that helped me settle into the world fast.
Brown alternates between Eve’s survival story and Ray’s voice, and that choice gives the novel two very different engines. Eve’s chapters carry the physical tension, the isolation, the sheer problem-solving pressure of being far from home on a world that does not care whether you live. Ray, on the other hand, brings humor, impatience, and a strange kind of heart. His sarcasm could have become a gimmick, but for me, it worked because there is something tender under all that swagger. The book is clearly operating in the space where science fiction and thriller overlap, but it also keeps circling questions about loyalty, identity, and what it means for intelligence to grow beyond its original design. That gave it more weight than a straightforward survival story.
I also appreciated that Brown keeps the language clean and direct. He lets the ideas breathe. The writing has a steady, readable rhythm, and when the tension spikes, it really moves. At the same time, I found myself more invested in the character dynamics than in the mechanics, which is a compliment. Eve feels grounded, capable, and human in a way that keeps the danger believable. Ray is the wild card and probably the biggest reason the book has its own personality. The humor sometimes nudges close to overplaying itself, especially with Ray, but even then, I could feel the book knowing exactly what tone it wanted.
First Step will appeal to readers who like science fiction that stays accessible, character-driven, and suspenseful without losing its curiosity about bigger ideas. Fans of space adventure, AI stories, and near-future thrillers will have a good time with it, especially if they want something that feels thoughtful without becoming heavy. I would most readily recommend it to readers who enjoy science fiction with a human pulse, the kind of book that gives you danger, banter, and a few real questions to chew on after you close it.
Brown alternates between Eve’s survival story and Ray’s voice, and that choice gives the novel two very different engines. Eve’s chapters carry the physical tension, the isolation, the sheer problem-solving pressure of being far from home on a world that does not care whether you live. Ray, on the other hand, brings humor, impatience, and a strange kind of heart. His sarcasm could have become a gimmick, but for me, it worked because there is something tender under all that swagger. The book is clearly operating in the space where science fiction and thriller overlap, but it also keeps circling questions about loyalty, identity, and what it means for intelligence to grow beyond its original design. That gave it more weight than a straightforward survival story.
I also appreciated that Brown keeps the language clean and direct. He lets the ideas breathe. The writing has a steady, readable rhythm, and when the tension spikes, it really moves. At the same time, I found myself more invested in the character dynamics than in the mechanics, which is a compliment. Eve feels grounded, capable, and human in a way that keeps the danger believable. Ray is the wild card and probably the biggest reason the book has its own personality. The humor sometimes nudges close to overplaying itself, especially with Ray, but even then, I could feel the book knowing exactly what tone it wanted.
First Step will appeal to readers who like science fiction that stays accessible, character-driven, and suspenseful without losing its curiosity about bigger ideas. Fans of space adventure, AI stories, and near-future thrillers will have a good time with it, especially if they want something that feels thoughtful without becoming heavy. I would most readily recommend it to readers who enjoy science fiction with a human pulse, the kind of book that gives you danger, banter, and a few real questions to chew on after you close it.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews