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The Ironshield Saga #1
Ironshield
A pile of scrap, held together by an ideal.
It's been almost thirty years since the budding nation of Arkenia used Kaizer Warsuits, gas-powered mechanical giants, to wrestle independence from a tyrannical empire.
Now, Arkenia is pressured into disarmament by that same power, strong-armed into a deal that will strip them of the very weapons that won their sovereignty.
The Southern provinces agree to the terms.
The Northern Industrialists do not.
Led by commander James Edstein, heir to the legacy of the mighty Ironshield Warsuit, the North defies the Southern Appeasers, intent on keeping their Warsuits, and their nation’s hard-fought independence, from Imperial rule.
Senator Samuel Mutton, veteran of the Revolution and a key leader in the South, wants nothing but peace for his nation, no matter how high the cost.
As the Civil War ramps up, both men are forced to question their morals, forced to decide what matters more.
Victory, or Honor.
The first volume of an epic dieselpunk saga, IRONSHIELD is set in a world of dire stakes, conflicting ideals and, most of all, giant mechs duking it out for the freedom of a nation.
It's been almost thirty years since the budding nation of Arkenia used Kaizer Warsuits, gas-powered mechanical giants, to wrestle independence from a tyrannical empire.
Now, Arkenia is pressured into disarmament by that same power, strong-armed into a deal that will strip them of the very weapons that won their sovereignty.
The Southern provinces agree to the terms.
The Northern Industrialists do not.
Led by commander James Edstein, heir to the legacy of the mighty Ironshield Warsuit, the North defies the Southern Appeasers, intent on keeping their Warsuits, and their nation’s hard-fought independence, from Imperial rule.
Senator Samuel Mutton, veteran of the Revolution and a key leader in the South, wants nothing but peace for his nation, no matter how high the cost.
As the Civil War ramps up, both men are forced to question their morals, forced to decide what matters more.
Victory, or Honor.
The first volume of an epic dieselpunk saga, IRONSHIELD is set in a world of dire stakes, conflicting ideals and, most of all, giant mechs duking it out for the freedom of a nation.
- GenresScience Fiction Fantasy
604 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 19, 2019
22 people are currently reading
94 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 17, 2020
3.5 stars rounded up to 4 because it was a lot of fun to read.
I am a sucker for both Battlemechs and Dieselpunk, let me just put that out there now.
I discovered this self-published book by discussing its cover art with the author on a Facebook SFF fan group we're both members of. I liked the artwork so much I got curious about the story behind it, so went and read the free first chapter on the author's website. I liked it and said so, and he was kind enough to send me a paperback copy of the book. Yup, its about Dieselpunk Battlemechs. I'm in.
It's a weighty tome at almost 600 pages, but that's at least in part due to the formatting. Most, but for some reason not all, of the book is typeset with blank lines between each paragraph, which adds many unnecessary pages to the overall volume. Admittedly this is PoD paperback so the source file may have been fixed by now, as the book came out a few months ago.
Setting and worldbuilding is everything in a book like this, and Nile absolutely nails his. With the obvious exception of the 'Mechs (or Kaizer Warsuits, as they are called here), the technology level is roughly First World War era although at the start of the book the protagonists appear to be fighting in a conflict based on the American Civil War. Quite why the Kaizer technology doesn't seem to have been applied to anything else in this world other than war machines is never really explained, but it doesn't matter. All sub-genres like this run on the principle of Rule of Cool, in the same way that Steampunk or something like Warhammer 40,000 does. If it's cool enough it doesn't have to make sense, and this is definitely cool enough to get away with it.
The book is not without its issues, and there are elements that in my opinion could have been handled better (the not-Native Americans who worship the White Man's war machines as gods, for example). It is also in need of another copyedit, in all honesty.
That said, I enjoyed it a great deal. The characters are well drawn, and the conflicting loyalties and emotions of people caught up in a civil war are portrayed very well. The battle scenes are especially well written, portraying a true sense of heroism under fire and doing what you believe in. Plus did I mention Dieselpunk Battlemechs? So cool.
If you can see past the minor issues and like Dieselpunk as much as I do, give it a shot! I'm certainly looking forward to the next one.
August 5, 2020
I read this for SPFBO. Links and info at the bottom.
***
I think this book will appeal to a lot of people. I was pretty thrilled when it landed in my lot. Diesel run mechs in a civil war setting? Sign me up right now! Very cool and a lot of fun to read. This one also came very close to being a semi-finalist.
It did take me awhile to get into this story, even though I kind of had an idea what to expect structure-wise because I had read United States of Japan sometime back. Like that book, Ironshield has a deeper, more complicated plot underneath, that doesn’t fit the big action mech-battles into the story very easily (except of course the big build-up to the end battle) since the war has long been past for Arkenia, and disarmament is in the immediate future for them.
So, to get to that mech-action that the cover promises faster; in the first thirty-percent we get a nice big battle and a little character history and world history on the fly. I totally understand the choice but I found it didn’t work on that level for me as well I would have liked, because it felt like a long prologue.
As fun as the battles were, I wasn’t too interested until “one year later” and we begin to get a clearer picture of why the North and South were in disagreement over the disarmament, and more importantly for me, an idea of who I should root for character-wise. Though both sides had people that were in the right, there are a lot of shades of grey involved with some of their choices, making you wonder whose side they’re really on.
The book was much stronger after the jump. The characters seemed less reactive, the dialogue smoother and the plot was just a huge amount of fun (I love these kinds of political plots so I quite enjoyed where this went).
Ironshield ended very strongly. The whole book was worth reading just to see the Taisen assembling – which kind of felt like a Power Rangers’ Megazord – it was just cool as hell. Definitely a must read!
7.2 or 4 stars (6.5-8/10)
Link to blog post-
https://starlitbook.com/2020/07/23/sp...
learn more about the contest here-
https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/...
Phase one is here-
https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/...
***
I think this book will appeal to a lot of people. I was pretty thrilled when it landed in my lot. Diesel run mechs in a civil war setting? Sign me up right now! Very cool and a lot of fun to read. This one also came very close to being a semi-finalist.
It did take me awhile to get into this story, even though I kind of had an idea what to expect structure-wise because I had read United States of Japan sometime back. Like that book, Ironshield has a deeper, more complicated plot underneath, that doesn’t fit the big action mech-battles into the story very easily (except of course the big build-up to the end battle) since the war has long been past for Arkenia, and disarmament is in the immediate future for them.
So, to get to that mech-action that the cover promises faster; in the first thirty-percent we get a nice big battle and a little character history and world history on the fly. I totally understand the choice but I found it didn’t work on that level for me as well I would have liked, because it felt like a long prologue.
As fun as the battles were, I wasn’t too interested until “one year later” and we begin to get a clearer picture of why the North and South were in disagreement over the disarmament, and more importantly for me, an idea of who I should root for character-wise. Though both sides had people that were in the right, there are a lot of shades of grey involved with some of their choices, making you wonder whose side they’re really on.
The book was much stronger after the jump. The characters seemed less reactive, the dialogue smoother and the plot was just a huge amount of fun (I love these kinds of political plots so I quite enjoyed where this went).
Ironshield ended very strongly. The whole book was worth reading just to see the Taisen assembling – which kind of felt like a Power Rangers’ Megazord – it was just cool as hell. Definitely a must read!
7.2 or 4 stars (6.5-8/10)
Link to blog post-
https://starlitbook.com/2020/07/23/sp...
learn more about the contest here-
https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/...
Phase one is here-
https://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/...
Read
January 29, 2023Howdy folk!
I'll be using the review space here to give brief updates on book 2 and to mention any other pertinent news about IRONSHIELD.
Series Update 1/29/2023. Relaunching Ironshield:
Hey everyone, I've got some news about my books for the new year. Sorry, this is gonna be a long-winded update.
So, as of now, I've un-published all of my books except for Old Bolts, which I've left available as it's currently part of a competition. This is in preparation for a re-launch in which the Ironshield series will be released under a new title, with new edits and updated covers. These books will be shorter, splitting the stories of "Ironshield" and "Iron Wrath" into smaller volumes. I'm doing this for both creative and business reasons, and for any of my fans following my work, I think it's important that I be transparent about what those reasons are.
A: The business end.
I've never really wanted to be the type of indie author who obsesses with algorithms and bite-sized content. I grew up on massive doorstopper fantasy books, and my goal with "Ironshield" was to create a fully fleshed-out, long-running dieselpunk epic chock full of worldbuilding, plot, and characters that feel real. The Ironshield Saga has always been my personal love letter to the giant mecha anime I grew up on, the fantasy and sci-fi books that inspired me to pursue the life of an author, and the military history which ignites my imagination. I read particularly engaging bits of history and I can't help but think how I want to explore this or that concept in a world where stomping mechs rule.
Algorithms, however, are real, and short of spending money I don't have on better advertising or constantly spamming my books on social media, I realize I need to keep my releases consistent in order to stay relevant. "Iron Wrath" clocked in at over 200k words and took me two years. That's two years in which all I published was the much shorter "Old Bolts." This hurts my series' visibility dramatically, and watching my books flounder while already stressing about the massive tome I had on my hands was devastating to my mental health.
There's also the fact that making my books so large meant that, when I had a shorter storyline to pursue, I was forced to make it a side novel. Amazon is changing over time, but it still doesn't handle related content well and that means a non-numbered entry into my series like "Old Bolts" got missed by people who otherwise might have enjoyed it. Making my books shorter across the board means "Old Bolts" and the new novel I'm just about finished with can be made into numbered volumes in this updated series.
B: The creative side.
Because of the issues stated above, I had come to the conclusion that I would write a third huge volume of "The Ironshield Saga" and cap it there, calling the whole thing a loss and moving on. I don't want to do that, but with the way I was going about my releases, it would take too much out of me for too little return to put any more into the story after that. I love these books with all my heart, but at some point I need to be realistic about return on investment.
Re-releasing what I have in smaller chunks allows me not only to breathe some new life into my current books, but also gives me permission to write shorter volumes going forward, meaning I can have more frequent releases and feel less pressure with books that you can't beat a moose with. It will allow me to explore more elements of "Ironshield" and take the series further, which is a good thing.
It also gives me the chance to fix some issues with my books, giving them a little extra polish and making them more engaging.
The Downside: I will lose my amazon reviews and essentially be starting from scratch. Tough as that is, I hope it will be worth it, and that those of you who have enjoyed the series will stick around for this transition. Though the story in these releases will more or less be identical, there will be a completely original volume released between what is currently "Old Bolts" and the "Iron Wrath" arc. After that, and what is currently in "Iron Wrath", we'll have more new volumes carrying the story forward and that will be that.
The descriptions of the books in the updated series will clearly state if the content within previously appeared in one of the old versions of my books, that way no one will accidentally buy the same story over again (unless you're into that of course.).
Alright, I think that about covers it, so I'll bookend this update here.
Look forward to Iron Strife, the first volume of the Ironshield Chronicles, this February!
Needless to say, I'm incredibly thankful for any and all reviews received both here and on Amazon, and am thrilled to find there are people who enjoy my work. Thanks again to everyone!
I'll be using the review space here to give brief updates on book 2 and to mention any other pertinent news about IRONSHIELD.
Series Update 1/29/2023. Relaunching Ironshield:
Hey everyone, I've got some news about my books for the new year. Sorry, this is gonna be a long-winded update.
So, as of now, I've un-published all of my books except for Old Bolts, which I've left available as it's currently part of a competition. This is in preparation for a re-launch in which the Ironshield series will be released under a new title, with new edits and updated covers. These books will be shorter, splitting the stories of "Ironshield" and "Iron Wrath" into smaller volumes. I'm doing this for both creative and business reasons, and for any of my fans following my work, I think it's important that I be transparent about what those reasons are.
A: The business end.
I've never really wanted to be the type of indie author who obsesses with algorithms and bite-sized content. I grew up on massive doorstopper fantasy books, and my goal with "Ironshield" was to create a fully fleshed-out, long-running dieselpunk epic chock full of worldbuilding, plot, and characters that feel real. The Ironshield Saga has always been my personal love letter to the giant mecha anime I grew up on, the fantasy and sci-fi books that inspired me to pursue the life of an author, and the military history which ignites my imagination. I read particularly engaging bits of history and I can't help but think how I want to explore this or that concept in a world where stomping mechs rule.
Algorithms, however, are real, and short of spending money I don't have on better advertising or constantly spamming my books on social media, I realize I need to keep my releases consistent in order to stay relevant. "Iron Wrath" clocked in at over 200k words and took me two years. That's two years in which all I published was the much shorter "Old Bolts." This hurts my series' visibility dramatically, and watching my books flounder while already stressing about the massive tome I had on my hands was devastating to my mental health.
There's also the fact that making my books so large meant that, when I had a shorter storyline to pursue, I was forced to make it a side novel. Amazon is changing over time, but it still doesn't handle related content well and that means a non-numbered entry into my series like "Old Bolts" got missed by people who otherwise might have enjoyed it. Making my books shorter across the board means "Old Bolts" and the new novel I'm just about finished with can be made into numbered volumes in this updated series.
B: The creative side.
Because of the issues stated above, I had come to the conclusion that I would write a third huge volume of "The Ironshield Saga" and cap it there, calling the whole thing a loss and moving on. I don't want to do that, but with the way I was going about my releases, it would take too much out of me for too little return to put any more into the story after that. I love these books with all my heart, but at some point I need to be realistic about return on investment.
Re-releasing what I have in smaller chunks allows me not only to breathe some new life into my current books, but also gives me permission to write shorter volumes going forward, meaning I can have more frequent releases and feel less pressure with books that you can't beat a moose with. It will allow me to explore more elements of "Ironshield" and take the series further, which is a good thing.
It also gives me the chance to fix some issues with my books, giving them a little extra polish and making them more engaging.
The Downside: I will lose my amazon reviews and essentially be starting from scratch. Tough as that is, I hope it will be worth it, and that those of you who have enjoyed the series will stick around for this transition. Though the story in these releases will more or less be identical, there will be a completely original volume released between what is currently "Old Bolts" and the "Iron Wrath" arc. After that, and what is currently in "Iron Wrath", we'll have more new volumes carrying the story forward and that will be that.
The descriptions of the books in the updated series will clearly state if the content within previously appeared in one of the old versions of my books, that way no one will accidentally buy the same story over again (unless you're into that of course.).
Alright, I think that about covers it, so I'll bookend this update here.
Look forward to Iron Strife, the first volume of the Ironshield Chronicles, this February!
Needless to say, I'm incredibly thankful for any and all reviews received both here and on Amazon, and am thrilled to find there are people who enjoy my work. Thanks again to everyone!
September 25, 2019
Very entertaining and original. Needs a bit more proofing, but not much.
December 28, 2019
I knew about 75 pages in that this would be one of those books I wish I'd written. Its setting is compelling, its characters detailed and the conflict is immediate. It is, however, a touch predictable in places: the twist isn't exactly novel nor new, or surprising, but the story's completion isn't any less satisfying for that fact.
Occasionally, you'll encounter a wrong-word placement (child instead of chill) or a typo, indicative of a self-publication, but it doesn't mar the enjoyment nor diminish the experience of the world and its conflict. If anything, their infrequency is a credit to the author, who as I understand is a one man crew.
Occasionally, you'll encounter a wrong-word placement (child instead of chill) or a typo, indicative of a self-publication, but it doesn't mar the enjoyment nor diminish the experience of the world and its conflict. If anything, their infrequency is a credit to the author, who as I understand is a one man crew.
May 17, 2022
Elevator pitch: combine WWI and the US Old West with some dieselpunk mechs, throw in a heavy dosage of political machinations behind the scenes, and have the main characters do some mech battles and Indiana Jones-like action (minus archaeology--the analogy makes sense, okay?). That's what Ironshield has, and it delivers in my opinion. It was a fun read front to back, and I found myself enjoying all of my time.
Every time I thought the novel might start to drag, some new wrinkle either on the political side or on the field of war happened. Nile has a knack for hitting readers with just the right amount of action at just the right times, all while building up a bigger conflict in the background.
I recommend it quite a bit. It's a great indie read.
Every time I thought the novel might start to drag, some new wrinkle either on the political side or on the field of war happened. Nile has a knack for hitting readers with just the right amount of action at just the right times, all while building up a bigger conflict in the background.
I recommend it quite a bit. It's a great indie read.
May 25, 2020
Scythe meets North and South for a thrilling adventure!
I usually avoid books written about Civil Wars. Mainly because they are often bogged down political maneuvering, spying, overly complex character arcs, and often became boring. But this was not the case with Ironshield.
Nile does an excellent job of keeping the story simple, with the majority of the focus on character development, and less about nuisances of political strife. Nile manages to keep the book focus on universal themes of honor, revenge, injustice, and triumph. The story itself makes for light and entertaining read.
Oh, and did I mention 1800's Steampunk inspired Gundams? You can never go wrong with 1800's inspired Gundams. Especially ones that require an a actual sword to turn them on.
So bite down on your leather mouth guard, adjust your periscope, and get used to the smell of rust and diesel, because once you rev up the Kaizer engine of this novel, you won't be able to put it down until it's final conclusion. At which point, you'll be thanking yourself for reading the book early, before Netflix picks up the story and mainstreams it.
I usually avoid books written about Civil Wars. Mainly because they are often bogged down political maneuvering, spying, overly complex character arcs, and often became boring. But this was not the case with Ironshield.
Nile does an excellent job of keeping the story simple, with the majority of the focus on character development, and less about nuisances of political strife. Nile manages to keep the book focus on universal themes of honor, revenge, injustice, and triumph. The story itself makes for light and entertaining read.
Oh, and did I mention 1800's Steampunk inspired Gundams? You can never go wrong with 1800's inspired Gundams. Especially ones that require an a actual sword to turn them on.
So bite down on your leather mouth guard, adjust your periscope, and get used to the smell of rust and diesel, because once you rev up the Kaizer engine of this novel, you won't be able to put it down until it's final conclusion. At which point, you'll be thanking yourself for reading the book early, before Netflix picks up the story and mainstreams it.
April 4, 2020
Great Book! Definitely an original Mecha story and a good addition to this awesome genre! Well thought out with consistent and smart world building. This is a zero-ass pull zone.
April 30, 2022
Interesting read
Was just what I was looking for. A decent dieselpunk novel. Delivers on the action. Over all a fun read. Would have given 5 stars but there were a few plot holes that bugged me. Not enough to stop me from enjoying the story but still I felt I should mention.
Was just what I was looking for. A decent dieselpunk novel. Delivers on the action. Over all a fun read. Would have given 5 stars but there were a few plot holes that bugged me. Not enough to stop me from enjoying the story but still I felt I should mention.
April 16, 2021
Thrilling . . .
This was exactly what I was hoping for when I picked this book to read. I loved the amazing and exciting mech fights which truly keep the reader on the edge of the seat! The non-stop action and delicious tension keep the reader fully alert and invested in what will happen next. The characters were well-depicted and realistic enough to give me “goosebumps”. This was a well-done story line and definitely worth reading!
This was exactly what I was hoping for when I picked this book to read. I loved the amazing and exciting mech fights which truly keep the reader on the edge of the seat! The non-stop action and delicious tension keep the reader fully alert and invested in what will happen next. The characters were well-depicted and realistic enough to give me “goosebumps”. This was a well-done story line and definitely worth reading!
July 8, 2020
An okay rumble through the ideas of giant steampunk mech combat. Some nice parallels are made from history and overall it was a fun read
March 21, 2021
An interesting take world with a bit of the feel of steampunk and a civil war that turns out to be so much more.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews