Fighting Iron

Fighting Iron #1

by Jake Bible

The Bloody Conflict is long over. The lands are now controlled by despots, crooked cattle barons, energy hoarders, and anyone with enough might to keep the local folks under control.

For Clay MacAulay, none of that matters as he roams the land in a war machine from a time gone by. He wants nothing to do with small desert towns or brutal dictators. He only has his sights set on a new life. Unfortunately for Clay, too many ruthless people want what he has. They want the war machine he pilots. They want the battle mech that shouldn’t exist anymore.

They want his Fighting Iron.

But they will have to pry Clay’s cold, dead body out of that pilot’s seat before they can take it from him. And he plans on fighting them every massive mech step of the way!

A far-future mech western, Fighting Iron is a rip-roaring scifi adventure filled with six-shooters, plasma canons, rough and rowdy saloon brawls, showdowns, corrupt landowners, and fifty foot battle machines ready to crush everything in their path!

Genres: Science Fiction, Horror, Audiobook, Post Apocalyptic, Science Fiction Fantasy, Westerns, Fiction

258 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 14, 2016

About the author

Jake Bible, Bram Stoker Award nominated-novelist, short story writer, independent screenwriter, podcaster, and inventor of the Drabble Novel, has entertained thousands with his horror, sci/fi, thriller, and adventure tales. He reaches audiences of all ages with his uncanny ability to write a wide range of characters and genres.

Jake is the author of the bestselling Z-Burbia series set in Asheville, NC, the bestselling Salvage Merc One, the Apex Trilogy (DEAD MECH, The Americans, Metal and Ash) and the Mega series for Severed Press, as well as the YA zombie novel, Little Dead Man, the Bram Stoker Award nominated Teen horror novel, Intentional Haunting, the ScareScapes series, and the Reign of Four series for Permuted Press.

Find Jake at jakebible.com. Join him on Twitter @jakebible and find him on Facebook.

Reviews

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fighting Iron
By: Jake Bible
Narrated by: J. Scott Bennett
Clay and his AI Gibbons need energy for the mech. Clay walks into an area and finds a large amount. After getting kidnapped, he finds how terrible these dictators are. They have to get out and away from these crazy and brutal people. The dictators call themselves service names like General and Commander. They hoard not only energy, mechs, cattle, and they get people to be slaves when the persons can't pay.I
There is a lot here and I don't want to tell too much.
The narration was great!

[Jennifer Wheeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the stars! Some of my favourite personalities from the Apex trilogy were actually Mech AI’s, so I was delighted to be introduced to another Mech AI in Fighting Iron. The main character is great, the bad guys are supremely despotic, and I love the setting, which is a perfect blending of Old West & Futuristic Sci-Fi. I don’t even mind the absence of zombies.

[Dennis Crotts · Rating 5 out of 5]

A new future were no countries just mini waring city states and regions a future after many major wars and fighting between the regions and large ranches that has risen from the ashes. The characters you meet are both good and bad, human and non-human and some who are part human and machine the the main character a battle machine and an advance AI. During the wars there were many types of AI`s and varies type of battle machine after the war most were destroyed as junk or sold to farmers to help them to start a new lives. The main character and his AI you travel with them thru many adventures both good and bad in the first book he is looking for fuel for his battle machine which is either thermal or grey which is radiation from of water. Most battle machines and other machines have been changed from the gray to thermal and some of the machines are now used for simulated battle were winner takes all and loosers are forced to provide for the winner for one year or till the next games a year later. In this book you meet two characters who own ranches one named Major and the other is Mister who are total enemies and will do anything to destroy each other anyway they can. They are both trying to this man and his AI to fight for them but in the end they both loose and and he is ran out of town.
It a bit hard to review this audible but it is a very interesting story and in some places little slow and hard to follow and you get lost but otherwise it is a very interesting story.

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fighting Iron really caught me by surprise with how good it was. Going by the synopsis, I was expecting a post-apocalyptic story. I was not expecting “Into the Badlands” starring Clint Eastwood’s ‘Man With No Name’ directed by Quentin Tarantino.

*mild spoiler ahead*

I love a good story with battle-mechs raising hell, but there just ain’t many to choose from. Fighting Iron seemed a good choice in a limited field and I was excited to listen to it. So imagine my dismay when the story opens with the mech running out of fuel. I thought I would be giving up on the story after 5 minutes. That’s where the story really starts and I was immersed in a very good old-west story seemingly adapted from the “Into the Badlands” series mentioned earlier. This is such a genre-bending story that I didn’t know what to think and just held on to the earphones as I was whisked away on this roller coaster ride. I was enjoying the surprisingly good story when I hit a speedbump of (what I thought was going to be) predictability. The hero beds the beautiful leader. I’m thinking “Ok, our hero becomes the new ‘Law of the Land’ and everyone lives happily ever after”. Frankly, I was 5 minutes away from turning it off again because of the upcoming cliché. I should mention I am still in the first hour or so of the audiobook. Well, I am happy to say that the beautiful leader proves very quickly to be a psychopathic torture freak and our hero is off doing hero things…like running away fast rather than staying to fight it out with the tyrant. Needless to say, the story is happily unpredictable and I found the actions of the characters, good and bad, to be realistic rather than idealistic. For example, running away when a weapon is pointed at you is always the smarter option, despite what Hollywood would have you believe.

What really caught me by surprise, more than anything else, was the “Old-West” feel of the story. I wouldn’t say I have read many westerns, but I enjoyed the story setting and the whole vibe leant itself well to the tale. Land barons doing battle in a wasteland, people just trying to survive, lawlessness… it all suited the unique story setting and, frankly, I am just “wowed” that the story was so unique and fresh, yet enjoyable and relatable. And the Mechs kick butt!

The narrator, J. Scott Bennett, really brought the story to life and provided the ambiance of this western. His “po-dunk” accents and affectations were the key element, in my opinion, of elevating Fighting Iron from “just another apocalyptic story” to a unique and enjoyable audio experience. His performance was simply masterful and integral to the overall feel of the story. Mr Bennett’s performance was key to me being blown away by Fighting Iron. I haven’t heard another of his performances before but he was the absolutely perfect choice for this book.

Bottom Line: This is an excellent “Old-West” story with 50ft battle-mechs fighting for and against all-powerful land barons amid a post-apocalyptic world. The great narration provides that rare “movie of the mind” experience that we all look for but rarely get. This genre-bending story has something for everyone and you will enjoy the plot twists and characters as much as the battle mech action.

I was provided a free copy of Fighting Iron in exchange for an unbiased and honest review.

[Rabid Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really enjoyable, exciting and funny story set a dystopic Western type future. Giant robots (Mechs), quirky characters, revolutionaries, dictators and some insane characters make this story both entertaining and thrilling. The narrator does a first class job of the various accents and personalties, both his male and female voices are believable and he is able to draw you into the story and keep you captivated, creating movie like images in your mind with his voice. This story has adventure, megabot battles, ruthless villeins, romance and a good few twists. The characters all have great personalties but I especially liked Gibbons, Clay McCauley's AI Mech co-pilot, he was sarcastic and amusing. The effects the narrator used gave him a more sci-fi than Western feel, which enhanced the futuristic side of the tale. I enjoyed the storyline, the characters and the narration in this futuristic Western, and I will look forward to listening to book two. I received the audiobook in exchange for my honest opinion

[PJ Lea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it.

Great story again. Action, gore and mechs make this a fast paced and exciting book. Plenty of people to love and hate, with a flawed hero fighting his way through a difficult future.

[chris wilcox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting concept to bad it's not a series would like like to know more of his story and how he ended up with a fully armed battle mech plus his travels around the world.

[R. Crimm · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a fan of the mecha "genre" since I was just a teenager, I came to the stark realization not long ago that I've never read a book with mechs in it. That seemed like an enormous oversight until I looked into it and realized there really aren't that many of them out there. So I poked around, found a few, and Fighting Iron ended up on my short list of things to read. And, well, I sort of wish it hadn't.

In the writing community there's a constant discussion regarding plotting/pantsing. For those unaware of this debate, it entails authors comparing and contrasting the various benefits and pitfalls of writing based on either detailed planning (plotting) or flying by the seat of your pants ("pantsing" which I find to be a thoroughly detestable and insufferable term... but I digress.) Despite what many would have you believe, both styles are equally effective—depending on the individual writer—and only truly present problems when they result in a work so inundated by the principles of either that it is rendered ultimately uninteresting.

Fighting Iron is one of those works.

The issue Fighting Iron suffers from more than any other is that it is very plainly written by a pantser. That is to say, an author who began their story, with little to no idea where it was going. As a result, the characters and plot, bounce from one random event to the next until the story ultimately concludes in a grand battle tournament which seems to last all of ten minutes. Whereas many successful "pantsers" often find a way to cohesively string their plots together, Fighting Iron does away with any sense of cohesion and instead focuses on dropping its main character—and the reader—into a brand new scenario every other chapter or so just to have random, seemingly insignificant events occurs, right up to the final conclusion where every decision, starting on page 1, is rendered relatively insignificant.

On its surface, Fighting Iron presents us with a setting that is not wholly original (but then again, what setting is?), with characters that you've seen before (but to be fair, what story doesn't?), and a conflict that is as tired as they come. These elements are not the death nail for a novel, after all for many readers, even the most tropey of characters and settings can still be fun and interesting provided the story moves quickly and provides enough thrills and surprises to keep you engaged under the hood. But alas, this is not the case here. Instead every element is as boilerplate as possible, with the exception of a bizarre sexual encounter early on in the novel.

Part of the problem is the lack of any nuance or precision. Each passage is perfectly serviceable, but never pushes into the territory of excellence. It quickly becomes tiresome to read when multiple sentences in a row exhaustively use the word "mech" (which is said, ostensibly 700 times over the course of the novel) and there are far, far, far too many lines that are meant to carry zing, but simply fall flat. It's never to a novel's strengths when the reader is bored enough by the plot to spend their time easily concocting lines that would have better fit a character's "witty repertoire" than what was written.

As of now, it’s going to seem obvious that I hated Fighting Iron, but I didn’t. The setting (as uninspired as it was) was handled well, and for those looking for a despotic sci-fi, grimdark take on a post-apocalypse-esque setting with mechs, this may fall in line with your tastes.

Ultimately I found Fighting Iron droll to read, but not painful. It is an experience akin to watching a child's cartoon while you wait for a doctor appointment--something to do, but certainly not truly enjoyable, nor anything one could recommend to another.

Rating: C

[Victor Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I want to list the good points; the writing style is good, the idea and setting very unique and well done and the Hero and his Companion have a great interaction. There's even a decent plot twist for the final conflict. It was pretty close to being pretty highly rated except for a few problems that drove me nuts. First, the dialouge ranges from fantastic to painfully bad. I know a book like this shouldn't take itself too seriously, but there were a lot of truly terrible dialogue choices. Second, there's a rape scene and it's 1) a rape scene (which kills enjoyment of anything), 2) probably the worst written scene in the book, and 3) is resolved by normal sex because apparently that how a man reacts to being raped. I will avoid ever rereading the book for that disaster alone.

The action is good and the mechs are pretty nice, but jeepers did this book need some content editing before publication.

[Trevor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clay MacAulay is a mech pilot, who finds himself in the middle of a dispute among rival land owners, he and his mech become pawns. This is a good book, after a slow start, it really comes into its own when Clay is reunited with his AI Gibbons.

[Ed · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much dystopia right now.

If might be the times (early '17); while this is a good story, I need something less depressing right now.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

This is a western in an apocalyptic setting. Good guys & bad guys fighting to survive & thrive. Interesting spin & a good story

[Keith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining and action filled just like all Jake Bible books.

[Yemic · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first book by Jake Bible and already he is in my favourite authors list. What a blast, I hardly read books about mechs find them boring, this made me a believer.
This is like Mad Max with fighting mechs, with proper character development and concrete and believable plot.

[Rowol · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a fan of the mecha "genre" since I was just a teenager, I came to the stark realization not long ago that I've never READ a book with mechs in it. That seemed like an enormous oversight until I looked into it and realized there really aren't that many of them out there. So I poked around, found a few, and Fighting Iron ended up on my short list of things to read. And, well, I sort of wish it hadn't.

In the writing community there's a constant discussion regarding plotting/pantsing. For those unaware of this debate, it entails authors arguing the various benefits and pitfalls of writing based on either detailed planning (plotting), or flying by the seat of your pants ("pantsing", though I really hate the term...) Despite what many would have you believe, both styles are equally effective and only truly present problems when they result in a story so inundated by the principles of one side that it is rendered ultimately uninteresting.

Fighting Iron is one of those works.

The issue Fighting Iron suffers from more than any other is that it is very plainly written by a pantser. That is to say, an author that began their story, with little to no idea where it was going. As a result, the characters and plot, bounce from one random event to the next until the story ultimately concludes in a grand battle tournament which seems to last all of ten minutes. Whereas many successful "pantsers" often find a way to string their plots together, Fighting Iron does away with any sense of cohesion and instead focuses on dropping its main character--and the reader--into a brand new scenario every other chapter or so, just to have random, seemingly insignificant events occurs, until the final conclusion where every decision, from page 1 on, is insignificant.

On its surface, Fighting Iron presents us with a setting that is not wholly original (but then again, what setting is?), with characters that you've seen before (but to be fair, what story doesn't?), and a conflict that is as tired as they come. These elements are not the death nail for a novel, after all for many readers, even the most tropey of characters and settings can still be fun and interesting provided the story moves quickly and provides enough thrills and surprises to keep you engaged under the hood. But alas, this is not the case here.

Part of the problem is the lack of any nuance or precision. Each passage is perfectly serviceable, but never pushes into the territory of excellence. It quickly becomes tiresome when three sentences in a row exhaustively use the word "mech" (which is said, ostensibly 700 times over the course of the novel) and there are far, far, FAR too many lines that are meant to carry zing, but simply fall flat. It's never to a novel's strengths when the reader is bored enough by the plot to spend their time easily concocting lines that would have better fit a character's "witty repoirte" than what was written. It is, after all, the novelist's job to thrill the author, not the other way around.

As a result, Fighting Iron is droll to read, but not painful and this alone saves it from a 2 star ranking. It is an experience akin to watching a child's cartoon while you wait for a doctor appointment--something to do, but not enjoyable, nor anything I could recommend to another.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book very much. It has mechs, an AI, and an interesting protagonist. Well written and entertaining, though there are some small editing problems. Will be reading the next one and adding Jake Bible to my list of good sci-fi authors.

[Brian's Book Blog · Rating 5 out of 5]

A futuristic western with huge robots and an even bigger story

4.5 out of 5 stars

Fighting Iron is a story about Clay and his Fighting Iron. They want it and he will do almost anything to prevent them from taking it. I wish I could explain it better than this line from the synopsis, but I cannot: “A far-future mech western, Fighting Iron is a rip-roaring sci-fi adventure filled with six-shooters, plasma canons, rough and rowdy saloon brawls, showdowns, corrupt landowners, and 50-foot battle machines ready to crush everything in their path!”

Fighting Iron was narrated by J. Scott Bennett who does a really nice job. The book sounded great, with no issues or problems at all. Bennett’s voice allowed this futuristic western play out just the way I think that Bible had intended it to.

This was an interesting book. Part science fiction and part western. Fighting Iron really had a lot going on. And it was coming from all fronts. The character development was really thought out allowing each important person to have their own backstory without taking away from the narrative too much.

The action was fast-paced and made sense, and there was a lot of it. Jake Bible knows how to write intricate stories like this that have lots of action without making it feel like there is too much action.

Western’s aren’t really my thing, but I still found myself really enjoying this. The way that Bible writes really draws you in and keeps you there.

[Eric Reeves · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really fun book to listen to/read. It was different from anything I've read before which was nice. I enjoyed imagining a scenario like this. The author depicted a very hard life, fraught with danger over every hill.

The idea of a "Mech" was very interesting and the way it was woven into the story was great. Not too much of a history lesson, but enough to give you a good idea of how they came about and how they were used.

Really got to like most of the characters. Got a good feel for each one, their moods, what made them tick, and so on. Again, not too much detail where you feel like it's droning on, but enough to get to know them pretty well and be satisfied without too many lingering questions.

Narration was very good. I really enjoy listening to J. Scott Bennett. He's got a bit of a southern drawl, and is pretty good with distinguishing the different characters using different voices. Pretty easy to tell who was speaking at any point in the dialogue.

Overall, I thought this was a very good book.

I received a free copy of this audio book for an honest review.

[Brian Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A man and his 'mech pass through a small territory in Mexico on their way to North America and end up in a heap of trouble.

Clay's mech is different to most, a relic from the Bloody War, and one of the last to still have an AI. Various factions want to get their hands on it, the head people having worked out a style of mech arena combat to gain the upper hand for a year.

Other groups want him to help them out by winning the tournament.

For a fairly short story, there's a lot going on and it moves along at a good speed with no boring parts. It has a dry humour to it, and Clay shows he can switch from devil-may-care attitude to survivor/killer when he needs to.

Would be good to know more about how he got the mech, and how he knows so much about the wars when he's quite young compared to some of the other characters.

[Leslie Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the Audible version of this book, and so far, I think this is my favorite narrator. I liked how one reviewer referred to it as "salty," which is the perfect word to describe the voice. I also liked the special effects used on Gibbons' character. This book was a meshing of science fiction and western, set in a post-apocalyptic time and centered around fighting robots, or "mechs." Normally, this is not one of my go-to genres, but this book did not disappoint. There was lots of action, great detail, and overall, a fun read. It is not for the faint of heart because some of the scenes did get a little gory - this is definitely an "adult" book. I would actually check out more books by this author, and definitely more audio books narrated by J. Scott Bennett. If you like science fiction and western, I would highly recommend checking this book out.

[David P. Duffy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly Entertaining SciFi Apocalyptic Western

"Fighting Iron" surprised me by being entertaining and written well. The storyline is nothing special: a scarred, cynical pilot of a futuristic AI battle droid ("mech"), journeys northward across an post-apocalyptic south western North America and has spaghetti western-like encounters. Never much of a fan of "mech" SciFi, the writing really made me enjoy the book. There was humor, angst, brutality and a slew of other real life human emotions that rarely appear in SciFi novels. Other than some editing and proofreading needs, the book holds up. Good, fast, clean read. Hoping for a sequel.

[Chris James · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a weirdly chauvinistic, utterly terrible read that - despite supposedly being about fighting mechs - didn't actually have the mechs fight until well into the second half of the book. The characters were flat, every woman was evaluated for sex upon meeting - and never was there offence. Oh, and of course the male POV character was well endowed.

And, I can't help but stress - there was barely any mech fighting!

Goddamnit, I wanted robots fighting robots, not a weird look into the mindset of an author with a deeply broken view of half the population.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hesitant about reading this book,but I've enjoyed this authors zombie series and absolutely loved Salvage Merc One.I'm really glad I did.The author is really talented at creating witty and unique characters and the world building is amazing.The author left me wanting to know more about the world and characters he created.The narrator did an excellent job.I received an audiobook from the author in exchange for an honest review.

[Mark Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like Jake Bible's books. Ornery, feisty, salty and just a heap of fun. Action/adventure galore, a non-stop pace reminiscent of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom...doesn't let the ready breathe much, but one hell of a ride.
This particular book reminds me quite a bit of the Barsoom John Carter series by Mr. Burroughs...fun, witty and wildly entertaining. Possibly his best since Dead Mech.

[Lukas Lovas · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you love the giant robot sort of stuff (pacifi rim for example), you will probably enjoy this. The writing is good and the story is interesting enough too, though I found myself wondering, whether or not I'm gonna finish it, since I didn't find the main character particularly compelling.

[Joe Burke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really wish there were another story or two about this character. It reminded me a bit of the Bolo series by Keith Laumer.

[Bryan457 · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really interesting mashup of genres.
A post-apocalyptic western featuring feudal baronies with gladiatorial mech fights.

[S. Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clay and Gibbons are a couple of cowboys wandering through the Mexicali scrub desert. Like many nomads they are low on fuel and need someplace to cool their heels. Normal dudes in a western story, except Clay is the toughest mech pilot alive and Gibbons is his AI copilot. Did you like the 80s movie Robot Jox? This book is Robot Jox set in a spaghetti western, and focused on a tournament like Mortal Kombat but with giant robots!

Bible was smooth about revealing the world to the reader in chapter 2. Clay is on the hunt to gas up his mech and as he’s walking through the desert a post-apocalyptic society emerges where some technology survived, but people mostly live like they did in the cowboy days.

Three opposing forces are competing against one another in a mech battle tournament with territory, cattle, and workers at stake. Each sets their sites on Clay and the mech. Will he fight? Who will he fight for? Will he get out in one piece? I’m not telling! Read for yourself. Or listen to J Scott Bennett read it for you. That’s what I did. His distinct character voices really brought the story to life. The guy is talented!

I received a free audible copy in exchange for a review. Any review. That fact that it’s a good one is because the book is good. Which has nothing to do with how awesome I am. You’ll have to find that out for yourself @S_Shane_Thomas on Twitter.

There are a few adult themes and plenty of violence so I think you should give this book a go for yourself before giving it to the kiddies or people who dislike themes involving sex, torture, and violence.

I was driving around the southern tier of Upstate NY looking at a snow spotted landscape while listening to this great book. I grew up in the outskirts of the Phoenix Metro area and spent my free time roaming the desert, looking for trouble. It was like a trip down memory lane. Especially since I used to wake up extra early, flip on the scifi channel and watch the old anime Gigantor. It was a story about a boy and his huge fighting robot.

I know there where a lot of personal connections, but I think anyone who likes 80s sci fi classic Robot Jox, Cowboy Western movies, giant robot anime, post-apocalyptic books, or good writing should give this book a go!

[PaulBentham]

A very enjoyable read,the story I loved,with charectors that have teeth!Gibbons in partiicular was my favorite,his humour and tone ,i really digged,and is usually the type of charector i'm drawn to when i'm reading .
The setting was great too,the mix between western and sci-fi was extremely well played out.