What do you think?
Rate this book
Iris
Year 200, Atlantic Federation Calendar. It has been two full centuries since the surface of the Earth was destroyed and humanity retreated to the bottom of the ocean. No one is old enough to remember the world outside the station they now call home. Life is peaceful in this artificial world. There is no war. Crime is low. But questions are raised once an experimental submarine is attacked during a routine test mission. The enemy is unknown. There are no leads. For the first time in generations, a long isolated city will have to confront what may lurk above the surface.
"With the scope of Game of Thrones, and the feel of Asimov, it’s destined to become your new SciFi addiction." - Readcommendations
Iris is the first book in the Color of Water and Sky series by Andrew Gates.
"With the scope of Game of Thrones, and the feel of Asimov, it’s destined to become your new SciFi addiction." - Readcommendations
Iris is the first book in the Color of Water and Sky series by Andrew Gates.
664 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 27, 2016
21 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Gates
14 books11 followersAndrew Gates is a Virginia-based writer. He is author of the Color of Water and Sky series.
Gates has always been fascinated by science-fiction and fantasy ever since he was a kid. His writing style has been compared to that of Isaac Asimov, author of the Foundation series. Gates's multiple POV writing style focuses on world-building and large scope politics. Though his stories take place in a fictional world, his characters are realistically portrayed and grounded in reality.
When Andrew Gates is not writing, he enjoys running competitively and watching films.
Gates has always been fascinated by science-fiction and fantasy ever since he was a kid. His writing style has been compared to that of Isaac Asimov, author of the Foundation series. Gates's multiple POV writing style focuses on world-building and large scope politics. Though his stories take place in a fictional world, his characters are realistically portrayed and grounded in reality.
When Andrew Gates is not writing, he enjoys running competitively and watching films.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 27, 2016
Iris is the science fiction novel you’ve been waiting for without knowing it: with the scope of Game of Thrones, and the feel of Asimov, it’s destined to become your new SciFi addiction.
This multiple POV novel is the perfect simmering science fiction thriller. Its character driven plot is brilliantly executed: the novel reads differently depending on who you follow, and who you want to believe. For some, the Atlantic station is corrupt and full of government cover-ups. For others, it’s just home. Good and evil depends entirely on who’s talking.
The worldbuilding here is remarkable. You begin to really imagine what life is like in this secluded base on the bottom of the ocean floor. At moments, it was claustrophobic, while at others it is a world of endless possibilities. The author fantastically shows us different lives down in the station, and through them we live this new, odd life.
But what if no-one knew the truth? A mystery simmers below the surface. What has attacked the sub? Is the Atlantic Federation good or corrupt? And where are the other stations that are supposedly down here with them?
I have to say, I love a good mystery. This novel is a killer thriller and the ending had me begging for more. So many questions left unanswered!
This multiple POV novel is the perfect simmering science fiction thriller. Its character driven plot is brilliantly executed: the novel reads differently depending on who you follow, and who you want to believe. For some, the Atlantic station is corrupt and full of government cover-ups. For others, it’s just home. Good and evil depends entirely on who’s talking.
The worldbuilding here is remarkable. You begin to really imagine what life is like in this secluded base on the bottom of the ocean floor. At moments, it was claustrophobic, while at others it is a world of endless possibilities. The author fantastically shows us different lives down in the station, and through them we live this new, odd life.
But what if no-one knew the truth? A mystery simmers below the surface. What has attacked the sub? Is the Atlantic Federation good or corrupt? And where are the other stations that are supposedly down here with them?
I have to say, I love a good mystery. This novel is a killer thriller and the ending had me begging for more. So many questions left unanswered!
March 26, 2020
This book has a setting that assumes the world has destroyed itself and the remains of humanity have fled to carefully prepared bases in the deep ocean, in this case at the bottom of the Puerto Rican trench, which is over five miles deep. Why they went this deep is unexplained, and why they chose an active earthquake fault line is even more puzzling, however they have been there for hundreds of years, and have seemingly forgotten what the land looks like. The story more or less follows Iris, a somewhat nervous thirty-year-old who has started her first job as a middle-grade schoolteacher. The story seems to have a number of slow-moving starts that do not go anywhere, at least for a while, and by the time I was half-way through it, I did not know what it was basically about. As an example, there is a whole chapter devoted to meeting other teachers, but nothing there seems important. Do we need pages devoted to things like what to wear?
The character of Iris is well-drawn and that of Tracey reasonably well done although it is hard to imagine why he is like what he is. The imagination behind the setting is top class, although one thing I found difficult to accept was when a probe rose to the surface it could photograph an island. The distance to the nearest island would seem to make that improbable. Then in the last fifteen or so per cent of the book it finally appears what the book is about. I cannot accept the book should have ended precisely where it did. It is clearly the beginning of a series, but it should resolve something rather than cliff-hang, even if we can presumably guess what will happen (because if it doesn't, there is no further series.)It is a great imaginative start to a series, but I would have preferred to see some significant structural editing to make it move in some direction faster, and maybe get more clues to indicate where the series is going, and to at last partially resolve some of the matters already given.
The character of Iris is well-drawn and that of Tracey reasonably well done although it is hard to imagine why he is like what he is. The imagination behind the setting is top class, although one thing I found difficult to accept was when a probe rose to the surface it could photograph an island. The distance to the nearest island would seem to make that improbable. Then in the last fifteen or so per cent of the book it finally appears what the book is about. I cannot accept the book should have ended precisely where it did. It is clearly the beginning of a series, but it should resolve something rather than cliff-hang, even if we can presumably guess what will happen (because if it doesn't, there is no further series.)It is a great imaginative start to a series, but I would have preferred to see some significant structural editing to make it move in some direction faster, and maybe get more clues to indicate where the series is going, and to at last partially resolve some of the matters already given.
March 23, 2020
‘It’s amazing what people can engineer when necessity calls’
Virginia author Andrew Gates has been an on-site educator at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC and now commits his fascination with science fiction and fantasy to creating novels of immense impact. He has published eleven books to date including an anthology. IRIS is Book One in his highly regarded four part series THE COLOR OF WATER AND SKY.
Mystery, be it written as fact or fiction - or fantasy, must begin with credibility issues, and for a novel based on a fictional world below the sea, Gates establishes near reality in his opening Prologue in which he places the reader aboard a submarine with Captain Sara Gessetti and her co-pilot Damien: ‘Darkness was all that ever shone through the thick layer of glass separating the pressurized hull of the submarine and the great deep ocean beyond its walls. Darkness was all the captain of this small two man crew had ever known. Sara leaned her face closer to the glass, hoping to see anything. But there was nothing to see, nothing but darkness… ‘ And so we meet Sara and Damien and learn of the limitations of the submarine, rising from the depths to the higher altitudes of the ocean and a very strange and threatening light – a sense of the world above the surface of the ocean, a disruption, and then Sara gradually surfaces from the darkness of her home to see the Sky.
After that exciting note we meet Iris, the titular character of the novel and the story unfolds slowly, but with rhapsodic prose: ‘Year 200, Atlantic Federation Calendar. It has been two full centuries since the surface of the Earth was destroyed and humanity retreated to the bottom of the ocean. No one is old enough to remember the world outside the station they now call home. Life is peaceful in this artificial world. There is no war. Crime is low. But questions are raised once an experimental submarine is attacked during a routine test mission. The enemy is unknown. There are no leads. For the first time in generations, a long isolated city will have to confront what may lurk above the surface.’
A strange fantasy world populated with credible characters is the discovery revealed in this initial volume of Gates’ series. This is a fine story that requires significant time to peruse, but the experience is well worth the investment of time and peaked imagination. For those who enjoy fantasy this is a fresh portal to an ongoing adventure.
Virginia author Andrew Gates has been an on-site educator at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC and now commits his fascination with science fiction and fantasy to creating novels of immense impact. He has published eleven books to date including an anthology. IRIS is Book One in his highly regarded four part series THE COLOR OF WATER AND SKY.
Mystery, be it written as fact or fiction - or fantasy, must begin with credibility issues, and for a novel based on a fictional world below the sea, Gates establishes near reality in his opening Prologue in which he places the reader aboard a submarine with Captain Sara Gessetti and her co-pilot Damien: ‘Darkness was all that ever shone through the thick layer of glass separating the pressurized hull of the submarine and the great deep ocean beyond its walls. Darkness was all the captain of this small two man crew had ever known. Sara leaned her face closer to the glass, hoping to see anything. But there was nothing to see, nothing but darkness… ‘ And so we meet Sara and Damien and learn of the limitations of the submarine, rising from the depths to the higher altitudes of the ocean and a very strange and threatening light – a sense of the world above the surface of the ocean, a disruption, and then Sara gradually surfaces from the darkness of her home to see the Sky.
After that exciting note we meet Iris, the titular character of the novel and the story unfolds slowly, but with rhapsodic prose: ‘Year 200, Atlantic Federation Calendar. It has been two full centuries since the surface of the Earth was destroyed and humanity retreated to the bottom of the ocean. No one is old enough to remember the world outside the station they now call home. Life is peaceful in this artificial world. There is no war. Crime is low. But questions are raised once an experimental submarine is attacked during a routine test mission. The enemy is unknown. There are no leads. For the first time in generations, a long isolated city will have to confront what may lurk above the surface.’
A strange fantasy world populated with credible characters is the discovery revealed in this initial volume of Gates’ series. This is a fine story that requires significant time to peruse, but the experience is well worth the investment of time and peaked imagination. For those who enjoy fantasy this is a fresh portal to an ongoing adventure.
March 22, 2020
I dinged a star for the science. As a diver, there were a few things I just couldn’t get past. They were subtle, and likely most readers won’t recognize them. So, for most readers, this should probably be a 5 star review.
The characters were compelling and engaging. I appreciate strong female leads, and this book has an exceptional one. We do jump narrative from character, to character, but the main character is a female, who finds her strength as she overcomes her past.
The story progresses evenly as the tension builds. Progressive revelations slowly build tension as the reader struggles to comprehend the actual threat. Is the main threat the government, or something external. People with suspect motives may actually be humanity’s only hope.
This is labeled as book one, so supposedly there are (or will be) future books chronicling the continuing struggles of the new explorers in the new world. But even if the next book never happen, the ending of this one is satisfying.
I recommend this book for Sci-Fi, and dystopian fans.
The characters were compelling and engaging. I appreciate strong female leads, and this book has an exceptional one. We do jump narrative from character, to character, but the main character is a female, who finds her strength as she overcomes her past.
The story progresses evenly as the tension builds. Progressive revelations slowly build tension as the reader struggles to comprehend the actual threat. Is the main threat the government, or something external. People with suspect motives may actually be humanity’s only hope.
This is labeled as book one, so supposedly there are (or will be) future books chronicling the continuing struggles of the new explorers in the new world. But even if the next book never happen, the ending of this one is satisfying.
I recommend this book for Sci-Fi, and dystopian fans.
May 23, 2017
Impressive
Really enjoyable,carries a health warning. Do not read through the night. It's gripping and a very good premise ,dystopia etc . Can't wait to read the next instalment
Really enjoyable,carries a health warning. Do not read through the night. It's gripping and a very good premise ,dystopia etc . Can't wait to read the next instalment
May 24, 2018
good...
March 2, 2020
New world
I loved this book, it kept me wanting to continue reading so I could find out what happened next. Looking forward to reading next book in this series.
I loved this book, it kept me wanting to continue reading so I could find out what happened next. Looking forward to reading next book in this series.
June 16, 2017
Outstanding.
T keeps your attention. In 200 years,humans still had the same problems. They learned how to live in the pods
T keeps your attention. In 200 years,humans still had the same problems. They learned how to live in the pods
July 5, 2017
I'm not typically a science fiction reader, but I found this story very compelling and exciting. Great character development and a good mix of conflict, challenges, and varying personalities. I really enjoyed Iris and have already read Book #2, Kholvaria. Kholvaria is even better than Iris.
August 14, 2018
Started to drag in the middle but a mood shift saved it. Nice world building but characterisations slightly off. Will read next installment.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews