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Primaterre #1
Iron Truth
Fresh and surprising on every level, IRON TRUTH is an epic science fiction adventure with a twist of cosmic horror, bursting with staggering world-building, unremitting action and memorable characters.
When miners on a remote colony dig too deep, the golden age of space exploration comes to a bloody end. A corruption springs from Xanthe’s alien soil, possessing every mind it touches.
Embroiled in civil war, the galactic community spirals into panic, and the Primaterre Protectorate seizes control. In order to preserve Earth, its surface is quarantined, and all further deep space colonisation is outlawed.
Aboard one of the last colony ships, junior botanist Joy Somerset slumbers in cryostasis, unaware of war and corruption. Expecting the clear skies of a garden colony, she instead wakes stranded on Cato – a planet whose menacing sands seem to share a hunger with the crazed locals – and Joy faces mortal peril at every turn.
Commander Cassimer, troubled by a past of epic proportions, is a Primaterre veteran dedicated to fighting the corruption. Now he leads Scathach Banneret Company’s elite strike team on a mission to recover a clandestine starship lost on Cato. On this storm-lashed world, surrounded by shadow and ruin, Cassimer faces not only failure, but the loss of what little sanity he has.
Joy and Cassimer must trust each other long enough to uncover Cato's dark secret and work together to survive deranged cultists, terrorist rebels, and the IRON TRUTH.
591 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 17, 2018
249 people are currently reading
1219 people want to read
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March 17, 2025
Also posted on littafi.com
S.A. Tholin's action packed Iron Truth is a very good blend of far future science fiction and existential dread in the form of cosmic horror! She builds her world with a palpable and eerie sense of dread that utterly immerses the reader, very atmospheric and gothic too in a way; an all encompassing and expansive universe.
Many centuries hence, some (demonic?) cosmic force has found the fledgling galactic human empire and is devouring impure(?) souls left, right and center in the void of space. Thus the story begins, with a crashed colony arcship, the brutal exo-planet, Cato, that it crashed on and the special forces team sent in to recover another ship of its kind.
Paranoia.
He told himself, and washed his face in the water from a canteen to remind himself of purity.
Perceive the moment.
Cold; about seven degrees centigrade. Clear; droplets splashing on the floor. Calm; the beat of his heart.
Be aware.
Awareness of the world and all its flaws and glories was simple. Awareness of the self was much more difficult. When he looked within, all he saw was...
...something much like the surface of Cato. Ash-covered ruin. Ripples in the dust where fear burrowed.
The only light was the Primaterre Protectorate, which he would serve until the darkness found him. He would be the Primaterre's sword and shield until the worming fear rose up to swallow him.
Excellently written plot and well fleshed out characterizations in a story rife with elements of military Sci-Fi (amazing fight sequences included), cyberpunk and space opera melted together and a well done romance thrown into the mix for good measure.
If there's anything as 'GrimDark SciFi', then this it. I'll be excited in continuing on with this series, a truly remarkable debut by the author.
2023 Read
S.A. Tholin's action packed Iron Truth is a very good blend of far future science fiction and existential dread in the form of cosmic horror! She builds her world with a palpable and eerie sense of dread that utterly immerses the reader, very atmospheric and gothic too in a way; an all encompassing and expansive universe.
Many centuries hence, some (demonic?) cosmic force has found the fledgling galactic human empire and is devouring impure(?) souls left, right and center in the void of space. Thus the story begins, with a crashed colony arcship, the brutal exo-planet, Cato, that it crashed on and the special forces team sent in to recover another ship of its kind.
Paranoia.
He told himself, and washed his face in the water from a canteen to remind himself of purity.
Perceive the moment.
Cold; about seven degrees centigrade. Clear; droplets splashing on the floor. Calm; the beat of his heart.
Be aware.
Awareness of the world and all its flaws and glories was simple. Awareness of the self was much more difficult. When he looked within, all he saw was...
...something much like the surface of Cato. Ash-covered ruin. Ripples in the dust where fear burrowed.
The only light was the Primaterre Protectorate, which he would serve until the darkness found him. He would be the Primaterre's sword and shield until the worming fear rose up to swallow him.
Excellently written plot and well fleshed out characterizations in a story rife with elements of military Sci-Fi (amazing fight sequences included), cyberpunk and space opera melted together and a well done romance thrown into the mix for good measure.
If there's anything as 'GrimDark SciFi', then this it. I'll be excited in continuing on with this series, a truly remarkable debut by the author.
2023 Read
Read
July 15, 2022I've not read this book yet, but today it won the first ever SPSFC contest, beating 299 other self-published sci-fi books in the process!
The SPSFC is the sci-fi equivalent to the SPFBO (Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off).
Check out the contest results and consider some of the other finalists too.
https://thespsfc.org/2021-results
The SPSFC is the sci-fi equivalent to the SPFBO (Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off).
Check out the contest results and consider some of the other finalists too.
https://thespsfc.org/2021-results
August 2, 2022
Oh wow, I've now officially read my first sci-fi book! I think overall rating is 4.5 stars (I really wasn't a fan of the romance), but rounded up due to just how much this book had me in its hooks!
I only read fantasy. And I only read physical books or audiobooks. Iron Truth changed this - my first sci-fi and my first eBook. I'd not heard of this until the SPFSC winner was announced, and curious, I checked out the Look Inside on Amazon.
I was SO hooked and so desperate to keep reading, that ordering (and waiting for) the paperback was simply not a possibility. So I bought the eBook and continued reading on my phone's Kindle app immediately.
Iron Truth follows two main characters (although there are a smattering of other POVs in the final quarter of the book): Joy and Cassimer. I preferred Joy - her POV is much more accessible and engaging. A botanist given an amazing opportunity, she is unfortunately thrown into a horrific situation after things go wrong, and surviving is suddenly a high-stake issue she has to deal with for every hour of every day.
Cassimer is a soldier, relying on augments and stims, which makes him far less human than Joy. When their paths cross, they work together to help each other survive and unlock the secrets of the planet they find themeslves on. With Cassimer is his team - all of whom were great side characters, made up of a patchwork of grey. I particularly liked Lucklaw.
This story was a lot darker and more brutal than I realised it would be. It's almost grimdark in some aspects, with overwhelming levels of bleak hopelessness, ruthless people, violence, and brutality. It comes in short, sharp bursts, though, which makes them very effective.
The augments Cassimer and his team have manage to keep them alive long past the point they should be dead (shattered spines and ruptured internal organs are minor annoyances rather than life-changing), but the descriptions of how these wounds come to be can be a bit much at times. I definitely flinched at a few scenes.
There are plenty of tech descriptions, from comms and hacking, to human experimentation, Cascades, and folding (a chunk of that went over my head), and there's a level of sinister deception wrapping around the whole plot. It was beyond fascinating, and so well-written that I simple needed more.
Despite the super human elements, there is a very real, very human story here. It's the driving force of everything, which when coupled with an intriguing mystery (that seems to become more complicated with every passing chapter), made Iron Truth an incredible page-turner.
I found myself sneaking in a page or two at every opportunity I had! A definite recommend and worthy win!
I only read fantasy. And I only read physical books or audiobooks. Iron Truth changed this - my first sci-fi and my first eBook. I'd not heard of this until the SPFSC winner was announced, and curious, I checked out the Look Inside on Amazon.
I was SO hooked and so desperate to keep reading, that ordering (and waiting for) the paperback was simply not a possibility. So I bought the eBook and continued reading on my phone's Kindle app immediately.
Iron Truth follows two main characters (although there are a smattering of other POVs in the final quarter of the book): Joy and Cassimer. I preferred Joy - her POV is much more accessible and engaging. A botanist given an amazing opportunity, she is unfortunately thrown into a horrific situation after things go wrong, and surviving is suddenly a high-stake issue she has to deal with for every hour of every day.
Cassimer is a soldier, relying on augments and stims, which makes him far less human than Joy. When their paths cross, they work together to help each other survive and unlock the secrets of the planet they find themeslves on. With Cassimer is his team - all of whom were great side characters, made up of a patchwork of grey. I particularly liked Lucklaw.
This story was a lot darker and more brutal than I realised it would be. It's almost grimdark in some aspects, with overwhelming levels of bleak hopelessness, ruthless people, violence, and brutality. It comes in short, sharp bursts, though, which makes them very effective.
The augments Cassimer and his team have manage to keep them alive long past the point they should be dead (shattered spines and ruptured internal organs are minor annoyances rather than life-changing), but the descriptions of how these wounds come to be can be a bit much at times. I definitely flinched at a few scenes.
There are plenty of tech descriptions, from comms and hacking, to human experimentation, Cascades, and folding (a chunk of that went over my head), and there's a level of sinister deception wrapping around the whole plot. It was beyond fascinating, and so well-written that I simple needed more.
Despite the super human elements, there is a very real, very human story here. It's the driving force of everything, which when coupled with an intriguing mystery (that seems to become more complicated with every passing chapter), made Iron Truth an incredible page-turner.
I found myself sneaking in a page or two at every opportunity I had! A definite recommend and worthy win!
July 26, 2022
While I appreciate the story's scope and its epicness, I felt it was too slow, especially in the beginning. I understand why it won the first edition of Hugh Howey's SPSFC and I'm sure other readers will appreciate intricacies of the plot and romance more than I.
July 25, 2022
This book is certainly Epic SciFi with that capital E. The first winner of the self published SciFi competition, SPSFC, out of three hundred entries.
The story is set mostly upon one remote world although you get the full backstory of humanity inhabiting many other worlds within this future universe. A space opera but definitely not at the cliched end of the spectrum. A very well structured ‘world’ and with a lot of background, but very light on the info dumps which is tough to do in such a complex story. Quite absorbing. The prose is excellent, and I believe from an author whose first tongue isn’t English.
It has a strong military thread. A crack team of soldiers is sent to this remote region to determine the fate of a missing ship. Another thread concerns a separate and earlier ship of colonists and the two threads quickly merge. There’s plenty of action, violence, and enemies, some with really bizarre, mysterious backgrounds. The soldiers are biologically enhanced and very resistant to the dangers they encounter and the frequent injuries they suffer. Yes, almost super humans, but I’m happy with that as major biological enhancements are surely a near future likelihood and very valid for SciFi. The technology used to do this is well explained in this story so it didn’t seem deliberately manufactured to stop major characters from dying. Indeed, some characters we get to know well do not make it….
There is a strongly romantic aspect involving two of the main characters, something I’ve rarely found in space opera before, at least not with this intensity, and blended in with this level of violent action.
The romantic thread was the one feature that made me occasionally roll my eyes and lose contact with the plot at some points. The male is strong, battle hardened, tall and rugged; the female is naive and initially in much need of protection. He’s uptight and an emotional vacuum; she’s much more open and expressive. Tropes for romance?! Yep. But the author rescues that to a degree with the female’s significant growth as a character and with his discovery of an emotional core helping his responses to a steadily growing intensity in the action. But I did chuckle a bit about his regular reflections on her glowing copper coloured hair and soft curves, often in the midst of dangerous crises!
In summary, for me a flawed but absorbing epic. I loved the world building, the action and major characters; all the SciFi aspects. I found the romantic aspect a bit too tropey but I accept others may not. The very ending over the very last few pages included a ‘just in time’ component which I wasn’t sure was needed. But I enjoyed it overall, very glad I read it for its epicness, and I can see why it won a competition.
There appear already to be three further follow up books in the series and I think I’ll certainly give #2 a go later this year. They also appear to be epic sized in terms of pages.
4.5* but knocked down to 4* because of my view of the romantic aspects.
The story is set mostly upon one remote world although you get the full backstory of humanity inhabiting many other worlds within this future universe. A space opera but definitely not at the cliched end of the spectrum. A very well structured ‘world’ and with a lot of background, but very light on the info dumps which is tough to do in such a complex story. Quite absorbing. The prose is excellent, and I believe from an author whose first tongue isn’t English.
It has a strong military thread. A crack team of soldiers is sent to this remote region to determine the fate of a missing ship. Another thread concerns a separate and earlier ship of colonists and the two threads quickly merge. There’s plenty of action, violence, and enemies, some with really bizarre, mysterious backgrounds. The soldiers are biologically enhanced and very resistant to the dangers they encounter and the frequent injuries they suffer. Yes, almost super humans, but I’m happy with that as major biological enhancements are surely a near future likelihood and very valid for SciFi. The technology used to do this is well explained in this story so it didn’t seem deliberately manufactured to stop major characters from dying. Indeed, some characters we get to know well do not make it….
There is a strongly romantic aspect involving two of the main characters, something I’ve rarely found in space opera before, at least not with this intensity, and blended in with this level of violent action.
The romantic thread was the one feature that made me occasionally roll my eyes and lose contact with the plot at some points. The male is strong, battle hardened, tall and rugged; the female is naive and initially in much need of protection. He’s uptight and an emotional vacuum; she’s much more open and expressive. Tropes for romance?! Yep. But the author rescues that to a degree with the female’s significant growth as a character and with his discovery of an emotional core helping his responses to a steadily growing intensity in the action. But I did chuckle a bit about his regular reflections on her glowing copper coloured hair and soft curves, often in the midst of dangerous crises!
In summary, for me a flawed but absorbing epic. I loved the world building, the action and major characters; all the SciFi aspects. I found the romantic aspect a bit too tropey but I accept others may not. The very ending over the very last few pages included a ‘just in time’ component which I wasn’t sure was needed. But I enjoyed it overall, very glad I read it for its epicness, and I can see why it won a competition.
There appear already to be three further follow up books in the series and I think I’ll certainly give #2 a go later this year. They also appear to be epic sized in terms of pages.
4.5* but knocked down to 4* because of my view of the romantic aspects.
August 1, 2020
S.A. Tholin came out of the gates swinging with Iron Truth, and the series in general. It's clear after I finished the three published books so far in this series that the author had this plan thought out well in advance. She did an excellent job weaving so many things into this series and it really feels like a labor of love as well as epic that could very easily stand the test of time.
My TL;DR review is that it's 1) amazing and 2) it's a space opera with influences from the Warhammer 40K/Doom/Mass Effect sci-fi series but leans heavily into the philosophical and relationship aspects which creates a rich cast of characters you love and care about while they're kicking demonic ass to save the galaxy.
Pros:
* Nuanced characters with growth and development that doesn't stop with the first book.
* Memorable and exciting action sequences that are paced perfectly. At no point was I feeling there was too much dialogue for any period of time, nor too much action that left me wanting to stop.
* Widespread world building that never stops. Each chapter reveals new things about the universe the author's created and most of the time there is foreshadowing for everything. I see myself re-reading this series often.
* Creepy, evil ambiance. The villains in Iron Truth and the rest of the books are fully fleshed out. Everything done to push the plot along seems to be in service to crafting truly memorable and great villains. Who they are, why they are... that you'll need to read for yourself.
* Consequences of actions, choices that effect outcomes, and inventive ways to deal with situations. Iron Truth and the Primaterre series as a whole prides itself through its plot that actions do matter no matter how small. Characters have to live with their choices, for better or worse, and they have consequences. Not to say this is a dark book, because ultimately it's one of the most hopeful SF books I've read in a long time. That being said, there's hardly any pure strictly "good" or strictly "bad" by the time the book is over.
* Plenty of philosophy and musings from various characters. But that's just it, the characters aren't all outlets for the author to preach. The characters themselves feel real and believable because they aren't all on the same intellectual wavelength, or don't all share the same skill sets, or they act accordingly to their own ideals. Characters seem more alive because the author does a great job at setting them apart by their personal philosophies and beliefs. Each character in the book seems unique despite being part of a larger group. A lot of SF tends to make entire large groups of characters homogeneous because it's easier that way, however Tholin does a great job at making a cast of characters all feel like they are living breathing people with their own motivations and ambitions.
* Mysteries and subplots and betrayals and plot twists. All of these things are present and they're all executed in perfect form. Iron Truth is more heavy on the plot twists which makes it a book I refused to put down, but the other books are not devoid of them by any means.
* The endings. Oh stars, the endings. Iron Truth and all of its sequels have whirlwind endings that suck you into the action and drama for the last act of the book and it's intense. The pace builds up perfectly and at the end you're left holding on for dear life. It's like the best roller coaster you can remember ever being on.
Cons (honestly, I have to struggle to write a cons list for this book/series):
* The biggest thing I'd warn is that there are classic fiction tropes you'll recognize in the series. But to me they are also a positive. The tropes serve the greater purpose of letting the reader bond with the characters more, or to add to the depth of the universe. Hand waving of "it's just our tech" sometimes exists, but while this is a classic "space magic" trope, it's handled uniquely. Things that seemingly exist just because it's a futuristic setting exist but with downsides, consequences and reasonable limits. If you can look past the author embracing certain tropes with open arms and folding them into the book rather than just having them exist, this becomes a moot point. S.A. Tholin seems painfully aware she's incorporating classic tropes into her books but at the same time going to great lengths to make them work for her instead of against her.
* And really as I'm writing this I can't think of an honest con here. I could only say that I'll be sad when this series is over.
Give this series a chance. Seriously, Iron Truth was a breath of fresh air in my SF readings. The author has a unique voice and the writing chops to make it interesting and fun and exciting. The characters will stay with me for the rest of my life. They are easy and quick reads. You can't go wrong here.
My TL;DR review is that it's 1) amazing and 2) it's a space opera with influences from the Warhammer 40K/Doom/Mass Effect sci-fi series but leans heavily into the philosophical and relationship aspects which creates a rich cast of characters you love and care about while they're kicking demonic ass to save the galaxy.
Pros:
* Nuanced characters with growth and development that doesn't stop with the first book.
* Memorable and exciting action sequences that are paced perfectly. At no point was I feeling there was too much dialogue for any period of time, nor too much action that left me wanting to stop.
* Widespread world building that never stops. Each chapter reveals new things about the universe the author's created and most of the time there is foreshadowing for everything. I see myself re-reading this series often.
* Creepy, evil ambiance. The villains in Iron Truth and the rest of the books are fully fleshed out. Everything done to push the plot along seems to be in service to crafting truly memorable and great villains. Who they are, why they are... that you'll need to read for yourself.
* Consequences of actions, choices that effect outcomes, and inventive ways to deal with situations. Iron Truth and the Primaterre series as a whole prides itself through its plot that actions do matter no matter how small. Characters have to live with their choices, for better or worse, and they have consequences. Not to say this is a dark book, because ultimately it's one of the most hopeful SF books I've read in a long time. That being said, there's hardly any pure strictly "good" or strictly "bad" by the time the book is over.
* Plenty of philosophy and musings from various characters. But that's just it, the characters aren't all outlets for the author to preach. The characters themselves feel real and believable because they aren't all on the same intellectual wavelength, or don't all share the same skill sets, or they act accordingly to their own ideals. Characters seem more alive because the author does a great job at setting them apart by their personal philosophies and beliefs. Each character in the book seems unique despite being part of a larger group. A lot of SF tends to make entire large groups of characters homogeneous because it's easier that way, however Tholin does a great job at making a cast of characters all feel like they are living breathing people with their own motivations and ambitions.
* Mysteries and subplots and betrayals and plot twists. All of these things are present and they're all executed in perfect form. Iron Truth is more heavy on the plot twists which makes it a book I refused to put down, but the other books are not devoid of them by any means.
* The endings. Oh stars, the endings. Iron Truth and all of its sequels have whirlwind endings that suck you into the action and drama for the last act of the book and it's intense. The pace builds up perfectly and at the end you're left holding on for dear life. It's like the best roller coaster you can remember ever being on.
Cons (honestly, I have to struggle to write a cons list for this book/series):
* The biggest thing I'd warn is that there are classic fiction tropes you'll recognize in the series. But to me they are also a positive. The tropes serve the greater purpose of letting the reader bond with the characters more, or to add to the depth of the universe. Hand waving of "it's just our tech" sometimes exists, but while this is a classic "space magic" trope, it's handled uniquely. Things that seemingly exist just because it's a futuristic setting exist but with downsides, consequences and reasonable limits. If you can look past the author embracing certain tropes with open arms and folding them into the book rather than just having them exist, this becomes a moot point. S.A. Tholin seems painfully aware she's incorporating classic tropes into her books but at the same time going to great lengths to make them work for her instead of against her.
* And really as I'm writing this I can't think of an honest con here. I could only say that I'll be sad when this series is over.
Give this series a chance. Seriously, Iron Truth was a breath of fresh air in my SF readings. The author has a unique voice and the writing chops to make it interesting and fun and exciting. The characters will stay with me for the rest of my life. They are easy and quick reads. You can't go wrong here.
August 1, 2022
TL;DR - DNF @ 15%. 1.5 stars rounded up to 2 mostly out of respect for the fact that this won the 2021 SPSFC. (And bear in mind that 15% was still 90 pages.)
Iron Truth is a book that I had every expectation I would enjoy. To start with, it is the winner of the 2021 Self-Published Science Fiction Competition, which is an extremely impressive achievement. It is said to appeal to fans of Aliens (my all-time favourite SciFi franchise) and Warhammer 40k. This should have been a book tailor-made for me. Alas, I came away disappointed.
I don't want to be the spoil-sport to sour the wake of this book's amazing achievement with the SPSFC, so I'm going to use a spoiler tag to hide away the actual reasons this book didn't work for me. (It doesn't actually contain any spoilers.)
Congratulations to the author, and sorry I wasn't able to see the qualities the competition judges evidently enjoyed so much.
Edit: The more I read other people's reviews, the more I think there may have been elements I would have enjoyed more later on in the book. But that doesn't change the fact that the first nine chapters left me with no desire to read on. I don't consider myself in any book's debt to keep reading until it gets good.
Iron Truth is a book that I had every expectation I would enjoy. To start with, it is the winner of the 2021 Self-Published Science Fiction Competition, which is an extremely impressive achievement. It is said to appeal to fans of Aliens (my all-time favourite SciFi franchise) and Warhammer 40k. This should have been a book tailor-made for me. Alas, I came away disappointed.
I don't want to be the spoil-sport to sour the wake of this book's amazing achievement with the SPSFC, so I'm going to use a spoiler tag to hide away the actual reasons this book didn't work for me. (It doesn't actually contain any spoilers.)
Congratulations to the author, and sorry I wasn't able to see the qualities the competition judges evidently enjoyed so much.
Edit: The more I read other people's reviews, the more I think there may have been elements I would have enjoyed more later on in the book. But that doesn't change the fact that the first nine chapters left me with no desire to read on. I don't consider myself in any book's debt to keep reading until it gets good.
July 12, 2022
I read Iron Truth as a finalist for SPSFC!
Personal Score: 8/10
I already knew before going into this book I would like it due to several reviews from people that I trust, and I was right but also I wasnt.
My favorite parts are defenitely the demons which were what caught my eye the first time I heard about it. It is also a pretty well constructed book, in terms of pacing, though I wasn't too happy at first since getting to what I was expecting took a bit, but once you get there, it was great.
What didn't work for me was the love story, I'm usually very bother by them I will say, but this didn't bother me that much. Though that first contact where the men is like OMG THE GIRL OF MY DREAMS, is a trope that I pretty much dislike. In its favor I will say that it developed quite naturally.
More details on my upcoming video review for the finalist!
Personal Score: 8/10
I already knew before going into this book I would like it due to several reviews from people that I trust, and I was right but also I wasnt.
My favorite parts are defenitely the demons which were what caught my eye the first time I heard about it. It is also a pretty well constructed book, in terms of pacing, though I wasn't too happy at first since getting to what I was expecting took a bit, but once you get there, it was great.
What didn't work for me was the love story, I'm usually very bother by them I will say, but this didn't bother me that much. Though that first contact where the men is like OMG THE GIRL OF MY DREAMS, is a trope that I pretty much dislike. In its favor I will say that it developed quite naturally.
More details on my upcoming video review for the finalist!
June 26, 2022
Iron Truth is in the finals of the first ever SPSFC. I read it as part of the judging process.
Wow, just... wow. I knew Iron Truth was a chonker going in but I didn't expect to get such an incredible, epic story. Where Iron Truth starts and where it ends are two very different places plot-wise. This isn't a slow paced book, instead you get through into a story of epic hollywood cinema proportions that will hurtle you along. Not only that but the story itself is addictive and unputdownable so you won't mind in the slightest.
S.A. Tholin isn't someone to drag out a book unnecessarily. There is a gigantic amount of plot in Iron Truth and a huge amount of character development. You could argue that you could split it into two books and be more than content, and I wouldn't overly disagree, but I also think part of the appeal here is that every chapter is necessary and Tholin doesn't drag things out for the sake of it.
Iron Truth has romance, and good romance at that. I won't spoil who it's between or any details but honestly it was one of my favourite things about the book. I rooted for the couple the whole time and I have high hopes for them in future books (please don't break my heart Tholin). She's capable and he'll protect her from anything and everything. Yes, please.
It's hard to explain the plot of Iron Truth but take Space Marines, a covert mission, ancient evil and cryo-ships and you've got the beginnings of one of the most epic sci-fi books I think I've ever read.
Wow, just... wow. I knew Iron Truth was a chonker going in but I didn't expect to get such an incredible, epic story. Where Iron Truth starts and where it ends are two very different places plot-wise. This isn't a slow paced book, instead you get through into a story of epic hollywood cinema proportions that will hurtle you along. Not only that but the story itself is addictive and unputdownable so you won't mind in the slightest.
S.A. Tholin isn't someone to drag out a book unnecessarily. There is a gigantic amount of plot in Iron Truth and a huge amount of character development. You could argue that you could split it into two books and be more than content, and I wouldn't overly disagree, but I also think part of the appeal here is that every chapter is necessary and Tholin doesn't drag things out for the sake of it.
Iron Truth has romance, and good romance at that. I won't spoil who it's between or any details but honestly it was one of my favourite things about the book. I rooted for the couple the whole time and I have high hopes for them in future books (please don't break my heart Tholin). She's capable and he'll protect her from anything and everything. Yes, please.
It's hard to explain the plot of Iron Truth but take Space Marines, a covert mission, ancient evil and cryo-ships and you've got the beginnings of one of the most epic sci-fi books I think I've ever read.
December 28, 2023
This was the book that won the very first SPSFC competition—the self-published science fiction competition—and I can see why. I really enjoyed it, even though it wasn’t the book that I was really expecting. Some months before reading it, I sampled the first chapter to get an idea of where we were and what the story was going to be about. I didn’t realise that when I picked it up to continue the story, things would really start to change after a couple of chapters. I’ll note that I hadn't at any point read the synopsis for the book, so I was literally going in blind.
The rest of the book was quite dark, there's a lot of talk of demons, there's a gritty universe out there and I would almost go so far as to say a kind of grimdark element in certain parts. I guess that’s relevant here because it really put me in mind of Warhammer 40,000 in that you've got big soldiers in power armour and they've got all of these augments in them to make them bigger, stronger, faster, quicker to heal, etc., and it really put me in mind of Space Marines. Of course, Warhammer 40,000 is noted as the birthplace of the term ‘grimdark’—it's set in the grim darkness of the far future where there is only war—and I could really see that coming out in this book where there were a lot of dark, grim, no-hope kind of scenarios and settings.
There's a lot of intensity that comes out through that as well because you've got these super soldiers, and you're never quite sure if they’ve met their match because they seem to be able to get through anything. But at the same time, not all of the characters have these augments and they're not always in the position to use them. There are a number of scenarios where you're thinking there's no hope whatsoever for our characters, they're outnumbered, there's no way out for them, but you still read on not quite believing that’s the case. It was interesting because it was really high intensity, and something that I very much enjoyed, much more than I have in previous books with similar situations.
The only thing I will say in the negative regarding that, is that I just don’t know when I’m going to move on to book two in the series. I definitely want to continue, but when I finished this book, I thought to myself that I need a bit of a break first rather than going straight into book two. I just thought this one was so high-octane that I need a breather first. I’m really looking forward to continuing the series eventually though, it was a very interesting world, with some interesting characters, and I’m very interested to see where they go next.
The rest of the book was quite dark, there's a lot of talk of demons, there's a gritty universe out there and I would almost go so far as to say a kind of grimdark element in certain parts. I guess that’s relevant here because it really put me in mind of Warhammer 40,000 in that you've got big soldiers in power armour and they've got all of these augments in them to make them bigger, stronger, faster, quicker to heal, etc., and it really put me in mind of Space Marines. Of course, Warhammer 40,000 is noted as the birthplace of the term ‘grimdark’—it's set in the grim darkness of the far future where there is only war—and I could really see that coming out in this book where there were a lot of dark, grim, no-hope kind of scenarios and settings.
There's a lot of intensity that comes out through that as well because you've got these super soldiers, and you're never quite sure if they’ve met their match because they seem to be able to get through anything. But at the same time, not all of the characters have these augments and they're not always in the position to use them. There are a number of scenarios where you're thinking there's no hope whatsoever for our characters, they're outnumbered, there's no way out for them, but you still read on not quite believing that’s the case. It was interesting because it was really high intensity, and something that I very much enjoyed, much more than I have in previous books with similar situations.
The only thing I will say in the negative regarding that, is that I just don’t know when I’m going to move on to book two in the series. I definitely want to continue, but when I finished this book, I thought to myself that I need a bit of a break first rather than going straight into book two. I just thought this one was so high-octane that I need a breather first. I’m really looking forward to continuing the series eventually though, it was a very interesting world, with some interesting characters, and I’m very interested to see where they go next.
April 20, 2022
Let me divert before I even start by saying that this book was unique in a lot of ways, but the most noticeable at first glance was its sheer size. This was an epic-fantasy-level chonker in sci-fi form. A unit among the slim and slinky space operas and dystopian spec fics. A real pagey boi.
And I loved it!
Yes, it was a job of work to read through. And I relished it. I would have relished it more, taken it slower, and delved right into the next one were it not for my other reading commitments. There are books where you can tell the word count is all padding, pointless description and messing around, but this wasn't that. This was the big bastard book where the mass amounts to substance. It's possible to provide a similar level (but I would argue not equal) of reality and granularity and foundation to a world in a smaller package, but I am all for the philosophy of here is my story. It's fucking large. Get busy.
So, with that being said up front, the story itself was a whole lot of fun. When Joy, a noble but naïve would-be colonist in storage aboard a starship, is awakened to find her ship has crashed and over a hundred years has passed while her stasis pod lay in the wreck, she's flung face-first into the deep end of a collapsing interstellar empire and more spiders than one could reasonably expect.
Nothing is what it seems and every new layer of complexity in the story brings everything that's come before it into a new light.
It kept me turning the pages and while I wasn't necessarily super-hooked by the opening, the immediate plot twists and dramatic development was so much fun. When you put a character out of time in the context of a hostile alien world, immediate immersion in what is essentially a post-apocalyptic frontier environment with Starship Troopers-esque[1] fascist autocracies behind the scenes ... and then you throw in space marines of the Church of the Papal Mainframe ... what you get is a whole lot of fun and I thoroughly recommend it.
My immediate guess was that the demons the Primaterre troops considered the great enemy of humanity were just part of the space marine training program - perhaps implanted memories for propaganda purposes. But there was way more to it than that, and there's none of the neat-and-tidy classifying and resolving of plot points and mysteries that would be (to me at least) incredibly annoying in a story of this scope. No, things are not simple and what we end up with is a messed-up world that the reader struggles to understand just as Joy does. While we've been sheltered by an endless progression of simplified and homogenously-packaged narratives where arcs have endings and everything has a purpose, Joy was sheltered from reality by her brother. And we are all in for a rude awakening.
As the story went on, there were more and more layers, more and more details, and only the very skilled writing and very readable storytelling style kept it from becoming an overwhelming brick o' words. Like I say, it's possible for smaller books to achieve this but that sort of intricacy usually requires exponential complexity from the author and concentration from the reader. A big thumper can just lay it all out and let the audience become immersed. And that's what Iron Truth did. Tholin told the story right, and did justice to its context.
From the deep dark history witnessed through an assortment of technology and storytelling techniques, to the quasi-religious concept of purity and the reverence with which the denizens of the Primaterre view Earth-born people ... every part of this is stunning. Extra points, my Nordic associate, for slipping the Finnish Väinämöinen (okay, Tholin wrote Vainamoinen, needs the correct letters but I'll let it pass) and the Kalevala into the story as planets and regions in the interstellar empire. Gave me a happy little Suomi mainittu feeling, and lent a real sense of human legacy to the future we see in the book.
Sex-o-meter
Tholin is tasteful and smart about it, but we know what the demons are doing when the really gut-wrenching grossness slides in and things go all Event Horizon. We know. Beyond those subtle but disturbing hints, some rapey Cato hillbillies and a sweet (dare I say, pure?) love affair between our two main protagonists, there's a suitable amount of sauce on this 244,350-decker burger. Let's award it a proper Swedish or Finnish sauna out of a possible that sauna from Goldeneye where Xenia Onatopp tries to crush James Bond between her thighs like a smarmy British walnut. It's not actually a very high score, in case you were still uncertain about how saunas actually work. But it's fine.
Gore-o-meter
The demons, especially once we start getting into their origins and possible explanations, are solid Firefly-reaver nasty. And don't even get me started on the space marines and their combat injuries - and the injuries their armour preserves them through! That shit was haunting, and so well done. Add in some more classic body horror with 'the red' and a whole lot of gross spiders, and you end up with four-and-a-half flesh-gobbets out of a possible five on the gore-o-meter.
WTF-o-meter
I enjoyed some of the more psychedelic inner journeys and confrontations in this story, even though I tend to roll my eyes and skim that stuff under normal circumstances. But all in all, there wasn't a lot of WTF in this - so much as unexplained and unseen depths and details that are gradually revealed and explained. And while there is still a whole lot left untold by the end of this book, that's what the rest of the books are for. I frankly don't count a question I haven't had answered yet as a WTF, so Iron Truth gets a great big pile of red lichen out of a possible ... that Goldeneye sauna again? I don't get it, but the point is there was plenty of mystery and intriguing construction here, but not much actual WTF.
My Final Verdict
I know I've listed and referenced a lot of ways in which elements of this story are reminiscent of sci-fi tropes and other creations, but there is nothing derivative in it. I only mentioned the things I was reminded of because I like them so much and was happy to see them so well handled in an interpretation this expansive and in-depth. Wonderful stuff. This was a grand story, on a worldbuilding scale you don't often see in sci-fi. Four stars on the Amazon / Goodreads scale!
---
[1] The movie, not the book. Although the perpetual-war and other sociocultural elements of currency-according-to-contribution was cleverly similar.
And I loved it!
Yes, it was a job of work to read through. And I relished it. I would have relished it more, taken it slower, and delved right into the next one were it not for my other reading commitments. There are books where you can tell the word count is all padding, pointless description and messing around, but this wasn't that. This was the big bastard book where the mass amounts to substance. It's possible to provide a similar level (but I would argue not equal) of reality and granularity and foundation to a world in a smaller package, but I am all for the philosophy of here is my story. It's fucking large. Get busy.
So, with that being said up front, the story itself was a whole lot of fun. When Joy, a noble but naïve would-be colonist in storage aboard a starship, is awakened to find her ship has crashed and over a hundred years has passed while her stasis pod lay in the wreck, she's flung face-first into the deep end of a collapsing interstellar empire and more spiders than one could reasonably expect.
Nothing is what it seems and every new layer of complexity in the story brings everything that's come before it into a new light.
It kept me turning the pages and while I wasn't necessarily super-hooked by the opening, the immediate plot twists and dramatic development was so much fun. When you put a character out of time in the context of a hostile alien world, immediate immersion in what is essentially a post-apocalyptic frontier environment with Starship Troopers-esque[1] fascist autocracies behind the scenes ... and then you throw in space marines of the Church of the Papal Mainframe ... what you get is a whole lot of fun and I thoroughly recommend it.
My immediate guess was that the demons the Primaterre troops considered the great enemy of humanity were just part of the space marine training program - perhaps implanted memories for propaganda purposes. But there was way more to it than that, and there's none of the neat-and-tidy classifying and resolving of plot points and mysteries that would be (to me at least) incredibly annoying in a story of this scope. No, things are not simple and what we end up with is a messed-up world that the reader struggles to understand just as Joy does. While we've been sheltered by an endless progression of simplified and homogenously-packaged narratives where arcs have endings and everything has a purpose, Joy was sheltered from reality by her brother. And we are all in for a rude awakening.
As the story went on, there were more and more layers, more and more details, and only the very skilled writing and very readable storytelling style kept it from becoming an overwhelming brick o' words. Like I say, it's possible for smaller books to achieve this but that sort of intricacy usually requires exponential complexity from the author and concentration from the reader. A big thumper can just lay it all out and let the audience become immersed. And that's what Iron Truth did. Tholin told the story right, and did justice to its context.
From the deep dark history witnessed through an assortment of technology and storytelling techniques, to the quasi-religious concept of purity and the reverence with which the denizens of the Primaterre view Earth-born people ... every part of this is stunning. Extra points, my Nordic associate, for slipping the Finnish Väinämöinen (okay, Tholin wrote Vainamoinen, needs the correct letters but I'll let it pass) and the Kalevala into the story as planets and regions in the interstellar empire. Gave me a happy little Suomi mainittu feeling, and lent a real sense of human legacy to the future we see in the book.
Sex-o-meter
Tholin is tasteful and smart about it, but we know what the demons are doing when the really gut-wrenching grossness slides in and things go all Event Horizon. We know. Beyond those subtle but disturbing hints, some rapey Cato hillbillies and a sweet (dare I say, pure?) love affair between our two main protagonists, there's a suitable amount of sauce on this 244,350-decker burger. Let's award it a proper Swedish or Finnish sauna out of a possible that sauna from Goldeneye where Xenia Onatopp tries to crush James Bond between her thighs like a smarmy British walnut. It's not actually a very high score, in case you were still uncertain about how saunas actually work. But it's fine.
Gore-o-meter
The demons, especially once we start getting into their origins and possible explanations, are solid Firefly-reaver nasty. And don't even get me started on the space marines and their combat injuries - and the injuries their armour preserves them through! That shit was haunting, and so well done. Add in some more classic body horror with 'the red' and a whole lot of gross spiders, and you end up with four-and-a-half flesh-gobbets out of a possible five on the gore-o-meter.
WTF-o-meter
I enjoyed some of the more psychedelic inner journeys and confrontations in this story, even though I tend to roll my eyes and skim that stuff under normal circumstances. But all in all, there wasn't a lot of WTF in this - so much as unexplained and unseen depths and details that are gradually revealed and explained. And while there is still a whole lot left untold by the end of this book, that's what the rest of the books are for. I frankly don't count a question I haven't had answered yet as a WTF, so Iron Truth gets a great big pile of red lichen out of a possible ... that Goldeneye sauna again? I don't get it, but the point is there was plenty of mystery and intriguing construction here, but not much actual WTF.
My Final Verdict
I know I've listed and referenced a lot of ways in which elements of this story are reminiscent of sci-fi tropes and other creations, but there is nothing derivative in it. I only mentioned the things I was reminded of because I like them so much and was happy to see them so well handled in an interpretation this expansive and in-depth. Wonderful stuff. This was a grand story, on a worldbuilding scale you don't often see in sci-fi. Four stars on the Amazon / Goodreads scale!
---
[1] The movie, not the book. Although the perpetual-war and other sociocultural elements of currency-according-to-contribution was cleverly similar.
July 7, 2022
I read this book as a judge of the 2021 Self-Published Science Fiction Competition.
Everything about this book is epic. Epic story, epic battles, and epic romance. Also, epic word count, epic paragraphs, and epic vocabulary. In some areas the grandeur works while in other areas… not as much.
A military space opera, Tholin has created a universe backstopped with detailed politics, history, and battles. The same approach with the principal characters translates to full-bodied, three-dimensional beings with distinct voices, desires, and agendas. The technologies, weapons, armor, and ships used are all intricately described, showing the author’s obvious interest in medieval knights and castles.
After a thrilling beginning where the main character is dropped into an unfamiliar time and place, the plot proceeds as expected. As much a romance as a thriller, the story is mainly told through the perspectives of the doe-eyed, naïve girl and the battle-hardened soldier solely focused on his mission as they realize their similar goals and mutual attraction. Additional POVs are surprisingly added toward the very end of the book, and I would have preferred that approach throughout.
Settings are well-described, as are the battle scenes and fight choreography. The ending felt satisfying with multiple players/factions taking part in the final battle, though in a military-driven story, I wanted a clearer showdown between the hero and villain. A secondary theme of religion, fanaticism, and freedom is explored, though no conclusion is drawn, either as material for book two or for the reader to draw their own conclusions.
Pacing, at times, really slowed for me as certain themes, historical events, or relationship aspects were covered multiple times as well as the inclusion of unnecessary detail and description for minor events. And the weakest area was simply the chonky nature of this story. The prose is as much a display of the author’s ornate writing style and extensive vocabulary as it is an engaging tale. To me, a streamlining of several thousand words and simplification of the text would make the story more approachable and more of a page-turner.
Overall, though, the positives of this book outweigh the negatives, and Iron Truth is worthy of the ‘Finalist’ label.
Everything about this book is epic. Epic story, epic battles, and epic romance. Also, epic word count, epic paragraphs, and epic vocabulary. In some areas the grandeur works while in other areas… not as much.
A military space opera, Tholin has created a universe backstopped with detailed politics, history, and battles. The same approach with the principal characters translates to full-bodied, three-dimensional beings with distinct voices, desires, and agendas. The technologies, weapons, armor, and ships used are all intricately described, showing the author’s obvious interest in medieval knights and castles.
After a thrilling beginning where the main character is dropped into an unfamiliar time and place, the plot proceeds as expected. As much a romance as a thriller, the story is mainly told through the perspectives of the doe-eyed, naïve girl and the battle-hardened soldier solely focused on his mission as they realize their similar goals and mutual attraction. Additional POVs are surprisingly added toward the very end of the book, and I would have preferred that approach throughout.
Settings are well-described, as are the battle scenes and fight choreography. The ending felt satisfying with multiple players/factions taking part in the final battle, though in a military-driven story, I wanted a clearer showdown between the hero and villain. A secondary theme of religion, fanaticism, and freedom is explored, though no conclusion is drawn, either as material for book two or for the reader to draw their own conclusions.
Pacing, at times, really slowed for me as certain themes, historical events, or relationship aspects were covered multiple times as well as the inclusion of unnecessary detail and description for minor events. And the weakest area was simply the chonky nature of this story. The prose is as much a display of the author’s ornate writing style and extensive vocabulary as it is an engaging tale. To me, a streamlining of several thousand words and simplification of the text would make the story more approachable and more of a page-turner.
Overall, though, the positives of this book outweigh the negatives, and Iron Truth is worthy of the ‘Finalist’ label.
May 23, 2022
I read Iron Truth as part of a judging team for the Self-Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC), where it is a finalist.
Whew there is a lot here. I’m not used to my sci-fi being 600-page monsters, and Iron Truth packs plenty into the space.
It takes around 100 pages for the two main protagonists to intersect. We get a quick hook with one before cutting to several chapters of our other protagonist leading a team of special forces in a classified mission on a dangerous, far-flung planet. As military sci-fi is not my thing, I found this to be a bit slow, even with plenty of danger from the jump.
But once the protagonists intersected, I quickly grew into a story with danger around every corner, no good indication of who to trust, and plenty of exploration of the psychological consequences of it all. Our military lead is part of what I would expect—as a veteran genre reader—to be an evil empire, and he’s got the ruthlessness to match. On the other hand, their enemies sure look pretty evil themselves, so maybe military hero and his team are ruthless for a reason? We don’t get a clear-cut good/evil story, and we get enough depth in the character backstory to make for a compelling cast, even when they’re in some ways offputting.
And then there’s some romance and some action and some twists and turns and definitely some more action. I’m not coming out here and spoiling the ending, but Iron Truth does exactly what you’d hope from an epic series-opener. It introduces a narrow plot that is independently interesting and gives the reader a reasonable climax and some closure. But in doing so, it opens up broader plot threads presumably to be dealt with in the sequel. And it does so successfully. I feel like the time I invested in this book was paid back with plenty of excitement, but I also got to know the characters to such an extent that I want to hear more about the psychological fallout that didn’t have time to squeeze in here. The sequel is another 600-page chonker, so it might take me a minute to get there, but I am certainly intrigued.
My first impressions usually aren’t so long, but there’s a lot here. The slow (at least, given my own tastes) build and my desire to see more psychological closure hold me back from five stars, but an exciting plot that puts a lot of fascinating balls in the air for a longer series (completed now at four books) have me coming down with my highest four-star rating.
First impression: 16/20. Full (and hopefully more organized) review and official SPSFC score to come at www.tarvolon.com
Whew there is a lot here. I’m not used to my sci-fi being 600-page monsters, and Iron Truth packs plenty into the space.
It takes around 100 pages for the two main protagonists to intersect. We get a quick hook with one before cutting to several chapters of our other protagonist leading a team of special forces in a classified mission on a dangerous, far-flung planet. As military sci-fi is not my thing, I found this to be a bit slow, even with plenty of danger from the jump.
But once the protagonists intersected, I quickly grew into a story with danger around every corner, no good indication of who to trust, and plenty of exploration of the psychological consequences of it all. Our military lead is part of what I would expect—as a veteran genre reader—to be an evil empire, and he’s got the ruthlessness to match. On the other hand, their enemies sure look pretty evil themselves, so maybe military hero and his team are ruthless for a reason? We don’t get a clear-cut good/evil story, and we get enough depth in the character backstory to make for a compelling cast, even when they’re in some ways offputting.
And then there’s some romance and some action and some twists and turns and definitely some more action. I’m not coming out here and spoiling the ending, but Iron Truth does exactly what you’d hope from an epic series-opener. It introduces a narrow plot that is independently interesting and gives the reader a reasonable climax and some closure. But in doing so, it opens up broader plot threads presumably to be dealt with in the sequel. And it does so successfully. I feel like the time I invested in this book was paid back with plenty of excitement, but I also got to know the characters to such an extent that I want to hear more about the psychological fallout that didn’t have time to squeeze in here. The sequel is another 600-page chonker, so it might take me a minute to get there, but I am certainly intrigued.
My first impressions usually aren’t so long, but there’s a lot here. The slow (at least, given my own tastes) build and my desire to see more psychological closure hold me back from five stars, but an exciting plot that puts a lot of fascinating balls in the air for a longer series (completed now at four books) have me coming down with my highest four-star rating.
First impression: 16/20. Full (and hopefully more organized) review and official SPSFC score to come at www.tarvolon.com
October 4, 2022
I really love this book. It’s one of my favorites of the year so far and exactly what I like in a sci-fi story. It’s been a month now since I’ve read it so my brain is already struggling with the details for this review but I do remember that I was absolutely obsessed with it while reading it. It’s all I could think about all day. I purposely didn’t continue with the series right away because I needed to focus on other books for SPSFC and life in general.
The POVs came connected pretty quickly but still had plenty of action on their own as well. It was fun to know their connection so soon in the beginning but that it wasn’t just the same story with two different view points for the rest of the book. Quite the opposite actually. While some situations were described by both parties, the focus, emotion, and perception of them were still distinctly different. The writing in general had good world building details, no excessive info dumping, and, while sometimes I did feel like I wasn’t making much progression percentage wise through the book, it never actually felt slow or boring. The reveals were sometimes a little expected, but never obviously so, and sometimes just blew my mind completely. I’m really excited to continue on with this series soon.
The POVs came connected pretty quickly but still had plenty of action on their own as well. It was fun to know their connection so soon in the beginning but that it wasn’t just the same story with two different view points for the rest of the book. Quite the opposite actually. While some situations were described by both parties, the focus, emotion, and perception of them were still distinctly different. The writing in general had good world building details, no excessive info dumping, and, while sometimes I did feel like I wasn’t making much progression percentage wise through the book, it never actually felt slow or boring. The reveals were sometimes a little expected, but never obviously so, and sometimes just blew my mind completely. I’m really excited to continue on with this series soon.
March 7, 2021
Book one in S.A. Tholin’s Primaterre series, Iron Truth is a bold, expansive science fiction adventure packed full of strong characters, breathless action and looming cosmic horror, all within a beautifully crafted and believable setting. Botanist Joy Somerset leaves Mars on a colony ship bound for a new life on a quiet, unpolluted planet, only to wake from cryo-sleep to find herself in a bleak future, trapped on dust-shrouded Cato. Meanwhile Commander Cassimer of the Primaterre banneretcy leads his squad to Cato in search of a missing ship, their mission quickly complicated by the planet’s inimical weather. In Joy’s eyes, the Primaterre soldiers offer hope of a way off-planet, but she has a lot to learn about the new world she finds herself in. To distant, closed-off Cassimer, Joy is just a means to an end, until over time she becomes more than that – a source of strength, and something to hold onto when his world is turned upside down.
As the plot unravels and the characters develop, between them they gradually reveal more of the grim, bleak setting that Tholin has created – a world of traumatised soldiers hiding their fears behind veneers of spiritual purity to ward off terrors unleashed from the deep, of embittered insurgents and ruthless corporations and whispers in the dark. Fans of Warhammer 40,000 will feel right at home with the darkness in this setting, but for all its 40k-esque elements this is its own thing entirely, with a broader remit and much more freedom to take things in unexpected directions.
There’s no question that this is a lengthy book, and a bit of a commitment as a result, but it’s absolutely worth the investment in time and emotional energy. In particular, if you enjoy your science fiction with deep veins of dark, cosmic horror balanced out by an overall sense of hope and possibility then this is well worth checking out.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2021/03/...
As the plot unravels and the characters develop, between them they gradually reveal more of the grim, bleak setting that Tholin has created – a world of traumatised soldiers hiding their fears behind veneers of spiritual purity to ward off terrors unleashed from the deep, of embittered insurgents and ruthless corporations and whispers in the dark. Fans of Warhammer 40,000 will feel right at home with the darkness in this setting, but for all its 40k-esque elements this is its own thing entirely, with a broader remit and much more freedom to take things in unexpected directions.
There’s no question that this is a lengthy book, and a bit of a commitment as a result, but it’s absolutely worth the investment in time and emotional energy. In particular, if you enjoy your science fiction with deep veins of dark, cosmic horror balanced out by an overall sense of hope and possibility then this is well worth checking out.
Read the full review at https://www.trackofwords.com/2021/03/...
May 20, 2022
If I had to distill my opinion of IRON TRUTH into just one word, it would be WOW! Tholin’s crisp and poignant writing style snagged me on page one. I found myself rereading at least one sentence in every chapter because it was just so beautifully written. And there are a lot of chapters in this book, 65 to be exact. It’s a long book.
Potential readers may balk at the page count (591) or the estimated read time on their Kindles (mine was 16.5 hours), but IRON TRUTH is worth the time investment, especially if space operas written in 3rd person, past tense, multi-POV are your thing!
The planet of Cato proves that sometimes you need more than breathable air to make a planet a home. Cato is a terrifying place. I felt that on every page. Just when I thought the circumstances couldn’t get any worse, some crazy shit happens, like the villain who emerges in the second half of the book (no spoilers)!
Overall, the characters were well developed and came alive on the page, even the minor characters. I instantly connected with MC Joy, though not so much with Cassimer, but I was definitely rooting for him by the end of the book. I was rooting for both of them!
If you like cyberpunk, spectacular fight scenes, the enemies-to-lovers trope, and unconventional villains then you will love this book!
Potential readers may balk at the page count (591) or the estimated read time on their Kindles (mine was 16.5 hours), but IRON TRUTH is worth the time investment, especially if space operas written in 3rd person, past tense, multi-POV are your thing!
The planet of Cato proves that sometimes you need more than breathable air to make a planet a home. Cato is a terrifying place. I felt that on every page. Just when I thought the circumstances couldn’t get any worse, some crazy shit happens, like the villain who emerges in the second half of the book (no spoilers)!
Overall, the characters were well developed and came alive on the page, even the minor characters. I instantly connected with MC Joy, though not so much with Cassimer, but I was definitely rooting for him by the end of the book. I was rooting for both of them!
If you like cyberpunk, spectacular fight scenes, the enemies-to-lovers trope, and unconventional villains then you will love this book!
August 23, 2022
This goes straight to my favourites shelf!
Epic sci-fi at it’s best!
Vast world building, contained mostly to one very dusty, stormy and spider infested planet. Hard sci-fi regarding the tech side, loved it. Travel technology, advanced military weapons and amour..
A solid plot with excellent twists and turns and plenty of high adrenaline action and gore.
A host of vivid characters. They all have a distinct face, walk and speech in my mind - which is rare..
The psychological aspects of the story are perhaps what surprised me the most. Either the author works in the field, has experience with therapy or is an extraordinary layman researcher. How she gets into the foundations of the psyche, dealing with trauma, anxiety, depression and what tools help are obviously more than well understood and fittingly employed here. Marvellous.
Most of all the language used for all those observations, descriptions, wry humour moments and comments is something to savour. Entirely up my alley and continuing with the series is an absolute must for me..
This book is fairly self contained and has a satisfying ending, while leaving enough plot for plenty of continuing in the next books..
Thank you to the SPSFC for bringing this to my attention, and hopefully to many other’s as well! (Already on a recommendation spree myself..)
And thank you so SA Tholin for writing this awesome piece of work!
Epic sci-fi at it’s best!
Vast world building, contained mostly to one very dusty, stormy and spider infested planet. Hard sci-fi regarding the tech side, loved it. Travel technology, advanced military weapons and amour..
A solid plot with excellent twists and turns and plenty of high adrenaline action and gore.
A host of vivid characters. They all have a distinct face, walk and speech in my mind - which is rare..
The psychological aspects of the story are perhaps what surprised me the most. Either the author works in the field, has experience with therapy or is an extraordinary layman researcher. How she gets into the foundations of the psyche, dealing with trauma, anxiety, depression and what tools help are obviously more than well understood and fittingly employed here. Marvellous.
Most of all the language used for all those observations, descriptions, wry humour moments and comments is something to savour. Entirely up my alley and continuing with the series is an absolute must for me..
This book is fairly self contained and has a satisfying ending, while leaving enough plot for plenty of continuing in the next books..
Thank you to the SPSFC for bringing this to my attention, and hopefully to many other’s as well! (Already on a recommendation spree myself..)
And thank you so SA Tholin for writing this awesome piece of work!
April 3, 2025
5 - Stars (I'd give more if my rating allowed)
Opening:
Iron Truth by S.A. Tholin has been on my radar for years now. I honestly didn't know much about it when I first added it to my want to read list on Goodreads. I just remember there was quite a bit of buzz for it.
Fast forward a couple of years and our Buddy Read group selected it as our March read. As I worked on lining up my monthly TBR to accommodate, I realized Iron Truth was actually the inaugural winner of the SPSFC competition. That should have gotten me excited to read it, but I honestly don't have the best track record with competition winning books.
Pacing:
The pacing with Iron Truth was really good. I will admit that even though this book comes in just under 600 pages, it was a bit of a marathon read. It never felt like I was slogging through the book but I'm constantly watching the percentage read indicator on my Kindle and this read goes of very slowly.
I thought about that a bit more trying to figure out how to describe that and I came up with this. The fact is many of my visual reads have numerous pages with shorter sentences and paragraphs on them which helps that number go up fairly quickly. Iron Truth is dense. Meaning most pages are packed full. I still found a way to get this done in just about two weeks.
World Building:
The world building was also top notch in my opinion. I loved the world put together by Tholin in this first book. Early on I was vibing with this read as it felt like a Warhammer 40,000 story but with more meaningful and rich character relationships. I think this is mostly because of the planet this story takes place on as well as how the soldier armors are described. I couldn't help but visualize space marine and terminator type armors.
Beyond that, the various aspects such as the planet, the tech, the politics and the characters are given in just the right amount of detail for me to utterly click with this read. I'm not a big fan of authors that give what can be an overly abundant amount of details where I just find myself getting lost in what is happening. I never felt that way with Iron Truth. I often find myself getting lost in the story and feeling like I am there. Whether it's on a ship, in duct work, a field habitat or a dark creepy underground rail line, I was there for it all.
Character Development:
The character development was just as strong as the other two categories. There are a lot of characters in book one. Luckily that number does narrow considerably when thinking of just our main or core characters. That allows us to see growth from each of those characters as well as how they interact with some of the other supporting characters along the way.
As I said the main crew of Joy, Cassimer, Hopewell and Lucklaw are get a lot of spotlight and growth. But beyond that even the environment as a character was something to see materialize throughout this story. I made some observations early on and voiced my hopes on where somethings may go and I'm happy to see even if not exactly what I thought, it did become very important to the story.
Closing:
In closing, it should be clear that I really loved this read. I've already scoped out the series and see there are some more dense reads ahead of me. I might have to split some of the larger ones in half and read over two months. It will just depend what other reading obligations I have month to month this year. But rest assured I will be continuing to read the Primaterre series.
As far as recommendations go, I would certainly add this to any reading fan of Science Fiction especially those that like their stories on the darker side where hope is just a sparkle on the horizon. Even though I talk about the density of this read, please don't let that discourage you as I feel it's well worth the read.
Opening:
Iron Truth by S.A. Tholin has been on my radar for years now. I honestly didn't know much about it when I first added it to my want to read list on Goodreads. I just remember there was quite a bit of buzz for it.
Fast forward a couple of years and our Buddy Read group selected it as our March read. As I worked on lining up my monthly TBR to accommodate, I realized Iron Truth was actually the inaugural winner of the SPSFC competition. That should have gotten me excited to read it, but I honestly don't have the best track record with competition winning books.
Pacing:
The pacing with Iron Truth was really good. I will admit that even though this book comes in just under 600 pages, it was a bit of a marathon read. It never felt like I was slogging through the book but I'm constantly watching the percentage read indicator on my Kindle and this read goes of very slowly.
I thought about that a bit more trying to figure out how to describe that and I came up with this. The fact is many of my visual reads have numerous pages with shorter sentences and paragraphs on them which helps that number go up fairly quickly. Iron Truth is dense. Meaning most pages are packed full. I still found a way to get this done in just about two weeks.
World Building:
The world building was also top notch in my opinion. I loved the world put together by Tholin in this first book. Early on I was vibing with this read as it felt like a Warhammer 40,000 story but with more meaningful and rich character relationships. I think this is mostly because of the planet this story takes place on as well as how the soldier armors are described. I couldn't help but visualize space marine and terminator type armors.
Beyond that, the various aspects such as the planet, the tech, the politics and the characters are given in just the right amount of detail for me to utterly click with this read. I'm not a big fan of authors that give what can be an overly abundant amount of details where I just find myself getting lost in what is happening. I never felt that way with Iron Truth. I often find myself getting lost in the story and feeling like I am there. Whether it's on a ship, in duct work, a field habitat or a dark creepy underground rail line, I was there for it all.
Character Development:
The character development was just as strong as the other two categories. There are a lot of characters in book one. Luckily that number does narrow considerably when thinking of just our main or core characters. That allows us to see growth from each of those characters as well as how they interact with some of the other supporting characters along the way.
As I said the main crew of Joy, Cassimer, Hopewell and Lucklaw are get a lot of spotlight and growth. But beyond that even the environment as a character was something to see materialize throughout this story. I made some observations early on and voiced my hopes on where somethings may go and I'm happy to see even if not exactly what I thought, it did become very important to the story.
Closing:
In closing, it should be clear that I really loved this read. I've already scoped out the series and see there are some more dense reads ahead of me. I might have to split some of the larger ones in half and read over two months. It will just depend what other reading obligations I have month to month this year. But rest assured I will be continuing to read the Primaterre series.
As far as recommendations go, I would certainly add this to any reading fan of Science Fiction especially those that like their stories on the darker side where hope is just a sparkle on the horizon. Even though I talk about the density of this read, please don't let that discourage you as I feel it's well worth the read.
June 16, 2022
Truly epic sci-fi from beginning to end. Despite its mammoth volume, the story line held a clever and intricate plot chock full of mystery, a swathe of villains, action, comebacks, thrills, romance, battles, horror and more.
The characters were well drawn, clearly different, clearly holding alternate views on life, the universe and everything, but finding shared values when they needed to. For a while I wasn’t sure that Cassimer and his team were really the good guys, their ambivalence to the death of ‘civilians/RebEarthers/drifters etc all within the rhetoric of the Primaterre was worrying. I like it when authors challenge me to think more deeply than first glance. Each character contributed to the plot, working it deeper. I really enjoyed Hopewell pulling the ‘boys’ apart with some sensible and pragmatic talking. The only tweak is that I found the romance between Joy and Constant just a tad awkward in places.
Loved the world building. This is a fully formed universe complete with space travel, corporate villains, world and cosmic politics, oppression, rebellion etc... The world of Cato was tough, unique and believable - rotten weather though!!! The science/tech elements were seamless and formed an integral part of the military action. It did get a little too convenient at healing people super fast, though.
Action packed right up until I turned the page and read ‘Epilogue’.
A great read.
The characters were well drawn, clearly different, clearly holding alternate views on life, the universe and everything, but finding shared values when they needed to. For a while I wasn’t sure that Cassimer and his team were really the good guys, their ambivalence to the death of ‘civilians/RebEarthers/drifters etc all within the rhetoric of the Primaterre was worrying. I like it when authors challenge me to think more deeply than first glance. Each character contributed to the plot, working it deeper. I really enjoyed Hopewell pulling the ‘boys’ apart with some sensible and pragmatic talking. The only tweak is that I found the romance between Joy and Constant just a tad awkward in places.
Loved the world building. This is a fully formed universe complete with space travel, corporate villains, world and cosmic politics, oppression, rebellion etc... The world of Cato was tough, unique and believable - rotten weather though!!! The science/tech elements were seamless and formed an integral part of the military action. It did get a little too convenient at healing people super fast, though.
Action packed right up until I turned the page and read ‘Epilogue’.
A great read.
March 12, 2019
Enjoyable sci-fi
Iron Truth is immersive and captivating. It’s quite long, and it took me some time to get through - not because the plot slogged on forever or was in particular need of editing, but because a lot happens, and because it isn’t a quick, light read. The writing is very clean, only a couple of typos or instances of strange phrasing showed up in the KU file, and only once or twice enough to make me stop and reread. The universe this book is set in is vast with lots of history and it feels complex and real. We don’t get a lot of in-depth views of the existing societies outside of the planet where this book is set, but I think (and hope) we’ll see more in future books. The characters, at first, didn’t catch my interest. However, as the book goes on, I found myself caring for them, and they felt real. Despite being the first in a series, the book had a clear plot that wasn’t left hanging open at the end. There are, of course, plot threads left open for the sequels, but I think this book stands on its own satisfactorily, too. I look forward to future books by the author.
I guess I would categorize this as sci-fi horror, but it didn’t really feel like horror to me - which is good, since I don’t typically go for that genre. It’s at times hopeless and dark, and horrible things happen, but it doesn’t feel gratuitous. It feels more like a mystery, as the reader discovers truths, and lies, about the universe along with our characters. So readers looking for sci-fi horror that isn’t too horrible might try this one out. The technology is pretty well fleshed-out, and the future feels plausible, so I’d recommend it to readers to who enjoy science-y sci-fi. Finally, readers who don’t mind romantic subplots with a twist of crazy, or who are interested in relationships forged out of extraordinary circumstances would likely enjoy this, too.
Iron Truth is immersive and captivating. It’s quite long, and it took me some time to get through - not because the plot slogged on forever or was in particular need of editing, but because a lot happens, and because it isn’t a quick, light read. The writing is very clean, only a couple of typos or instances of strange phrasing showed up in the KU file, and only once or twice enough to make me stop and reread. The universe this book is set in is vast with lots of history and it feels complex and real. We don’t get a lot of in-depth views of the existing societies outside of the planet where this book is set, but I think (and hope) we’ll see more in future books. The characters, at first, didn’t catch my interest. However, as the book goes on, I found myself caring for them, and they felt real. Despite being the first in a series, the book had a clear plot that wasn’t left hanging open at the end. There are, of course, plot threads left open for the sequels, but I think this book stands on its own satisfactorily, too. I look forward to future books by the author.
I guess I would categorize this as sci-fi horror, but it didn’t really feel like horror to me - which is good, since I don’t typically go for that genre. It’s at times hopeless and dark, and horrible things happen, but it doesn’t feel gratuitous. It feels more like a mystery, as the reader discovers truths, and lies, about the universe along with our characters. So readers looking for sci-fi horror that isn’t too horrible might try this one out. The technology is pretty well fleshed-out, and the future feels plausible, so I’d recommend it to readers to who enjoy science-y sci-fi. Finally, readers who don’t mind romantic subplots with a twist of crazy, or who are interested in relationships forged out of extraordinary circumstances would likely enjoy this, too.
July 18, 2025
“… life on Mars hadn’t been all roses and rainbows. She seemed to remember worrying over piles of bills and fretting about her future. At least that question had been resolved once and for all. The future was horrible.”
Released in 2018, Iron Truth was the winner of the inaugural Self Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC) in 2021-2022. After reading this book I can absolutely see why.
Iron Truth is hefty at 591 pages but despite being a slow reader I finished this in less than two weeks, mainly because I couldn’t put it down. Honestly, this book had its hooks in me from the opening pages and when I wasn’t reading it I was thinking about the story and wondering when I would next have the chance to pick it up again. This was a cancelling pre-made plans and ignoring various important things on a long to do list kind of book. It’s definitely right up there as being one of the best things I’ve read in the past 12 months.
One of the two main characters is Joy Somerset, a botanist in cryostasis aboard the colonist ship Ever Onward. Joy is setting out to begin a new life with her brother, far away from Earth and dust-choked Mars. Unfortunately for Joy, things do not go to plan and she awakens to find the world she knew has changed forever and she is now in mortal danger. Her path crosses with Commander Cassimer, the other principal character in the story, a leader of an elite group of special forces operatives. Cassimer serves the Primaterre Protectorate, which has established a new order across the planets it controls, sworn to defend them against an outbreak of demonic possession which has caused chaos throughout the galaxy and brought to an end the optimistic colonial expansion era to which Joy belonged.
I don’t think I’ve ever read something this intense, each chapter containing a fresh set of challenges for both Joy and Cassimer, which only serve to ramp up the stakes each and every time. This novel offers only moments of fleeting respite and doesn’t let up from beginning to end. Tholin also includes elements of cosmic horror in her story, resulting in a sustained level of tension. Alongside the terrifying firefights and brutal hand-to-hand combat scenes this could have been tough-going, but what makes Iron Truth work is its cast of realistic and relatable characters. Tholin’s writing captures each of them so well, regardless of which side they are fighting on, so the interactions between them feel genuine and consequently really makes you care about their fate.
Another standout feature is the world building, which is done on a galactic scale. Combined with a deep history of the human race during the expansionist colonial era, the novel involves a number of different opposing forces following the war with the demons. Not everyone is sold on the methods employed by the Primaterre to retain control and protect humanity, leading to a complex set of factions including isolated colonists, criminals and rebels who fight against Primaterre. All this plays out within the unforgiving setting of the frozen dust planet of Cato, which seems hell-bent on making life for everyone both on and under the surface as unpleasant as possible.
One aspect of this story that may affect whether or not this book is for you is there’s a significant romantic element to the plot, since Joy and Cassimer basically fall for each other from the moment they meet. Although the novel is primarily about the action and exploring the underlying motivations and goals of the various factions involved, romance is an integral secondary strand to the story. Cassimer is drawn to Joy as she represents everything that is pure and untouched following the demon outbreak. Joy yearns for Cassimer as he is the epitome of vulnerable masculinity, since he has a tortured past he is struggling to escape from. I don’t want to get into spoilers territory but, later in the book, he becomes the forbidden epitome of masculinity etc., which makes the yearning between them all the more intense. I didn’t mind this, mainly because it provided a break from what was at times a bleak and brutal tale. It gave the main characters something to fight for, and also introduced a source of conflict within Cassimer’s strike team as well, which kept things interesting.
One aspect that worked less well for me was there were a few late point of view changes in the novel, whilst the previous three quarters of the book had all been from Joy or Cassimer’s perspective. This did jolt me out of the story briefly. Whilst I can see why the shift was necessary to tell certain parts of the story it’s just one of the things I like least in books, so this is really a matter of personal taste. It’ll be interesting to see how Tholin approaches the sequels and whether this indicates plans to move away from just having two main characters in future books.
As I mentioned earlier, Iron Truth is a long book and it has a complex plot. There are various twists and turns, resulting in a shifting set of goals and objectives for the characters which helps keep the action interesting. I loved how Tholin still found space to use the book to consider deeper themes as well, exploring what it means to be civilised and where this leaves people outside the Primaterre Protectorate, drawing parallels with the position of refugees in our own world. Do those who are more enlightened than the isolated colonists on remote planets outside Protectorate space have the right to impose their will on them, simply because they are weaker and less technologically advanced? Does the unrelenting fight to ward off the demons and protect Earth at all costs justify the actions of Cassimer and his strike team? There are no easy answers to these questions, which is just as it should be.
If you like hard military sci-fi with plenty of action and elements of cosmic horror and don’t mind a bit of romance then I highly recommend this book. It’s an adrenalin-fuelled ride that leaves you breathless, whilst still wanting more. It’s one of the best books I’ve read in 2025 and I’ll definitely be continuing with the series.
Released in 2018, Iron Truth was the winner of the inaugural Self Published Science Fiction Competition (SPSFC) in 2021-2022. After reading this book I can absolutely see why.
Iron Truth is hefty at 591 pages but despite being a slow reader I finished this in less than two weeks, mainly because I couldn’t put it down. Honestly, this book had its hooks in me from the opening pages and when I wasn’t reading it I was thinking about the story and wondering when I would next have the chance to pick it up again. This was a cancelling pre-made plans and ignoring various important things on a long to do list kind of book. It’s definitely right up there as being one of the best things I’ve read in the past 12 months.
One of the two main characters is Joy Somerset, a botanist in cryostasis aboard the colonist ship Ever Onward. Joy is setting out to begin a new life with her brother, far away from Earth and dust-choked Mars. Unfortunately for Joy, things do not go to plan and she awakens to find the world she knew has changed forever and she is now in mortal danger. Her path crosses with Commander Cassimer, the other principal character in the story, a leader of an elite group of special forces operatives. Cassimer serves the Primaterre Protectorate, which has established a new order across the planets it controls, sworn to defend them against an outbreak of demonic possession which has caused chaos throughout the galaxy and brought to an end the optimistic colonial expansion era to which Joy belonged.
I don’t think I’ve ever read something this intense, each chapter containing a fresh set of challenges for both Joy and Cassimer, which only serve to ramp up the stakes each and every time. This novel offers only moments of fleeting respite and doesn’t let up from beginning to end. Tholin also includes elements of cosmic horror in her story, resulting in a sustained level of tension. Alongside the terrifying firefights and brutal hand-to-hand combat scenes this could have been tough-going, but what makes Iron Truth work is its cast of realistic and relatable characters. Tholin’s writing captures each of them so well, regardless of which side they are fighting on, so the interactions between them feel genuine and consequently really makes you care about their fate.
Another standout feature is the world building, which is done on a galactic scale. Combined with a deep history of the human race during the expansionist colonial era, the novel involves a number of different opposing forces following the war with the demons. Not everyone is sold on the methods employed by the Primaterre to retain control and protect humanity, leading to a complex set of factions including isolated colonists, criminals and rebels who fight against Primaterre. All this plays out within the unforgiving setting of the frozen dust planet of Cato, which seems hell-bent on making life for everyone both on and under the surface as unpleasant as possible.
One aspect of this story that may affect whether or not this book is for you is there’s a significant romantic element to the plot, since Joy and Cassimer basically fall for each other from the moment they meet. Although the novel is primarily about the action and exploring the underlying motivations and goals of the various factions involved, romance is an integral secondary strand to the story. Cassimer is drawn to Joy as she represents everything that is pure and untouched following the demon outbreak. Joy yearns for Cassimer as he is the epitome of vulnerable masculinity, since he has a tortured past he is struggling to escape from. I don’t want to get into spoilers territory but, later in the book, he becomes the forbidden epitome of masculinity etc., which makes the yearning between them all the more intense. I didn’t mind this, mainly because it provided a break from what was at times a bleak and brutal tale. It gave the main characters something to fight for, and also introduced a source of conflict within Cassimer’s strike team as well, which kept things interesting.
One aspect that worked less well for me was there were a few late point of view changes in the novel, whilst the previous three quarters of the book had all been from Joy or Cassimer’s perspective. This did jolt me out of the story briefly. Whilst I can see why the shift was necessary to tell certain parts of the story it’s just one of the things I like least in books, so this is really a matter of personal taste. It’ll be interesting to see how Tholin approaches the sequels and whether this indicates plans to move away from just having two main characters in future books.
As I mentioned earlier, Iron Truth is a long book and it has a complex plot. There are various twists and turns, resulting in a shifting set of goals and objectives for the characters which helps keep the action interesting. I loved how Tholin still found space to use the book to consider deeper themes as well, exploring what it means to be civilised and where this leaves people outside the Primaterre Protectorate, drawing parallels with the position of refugees in our own world. Do those who are more enlightened than the isolated colonists on remote planets outside Protectorate space have the right to impose their will on them, simply because they are weaker and less technologically advanced? Does the unrelenting fight to ward off the demons and protect Earth at all costs justify the actions of Cassimer and his strike team? There are no easy answers to these questions, which is just as it should be.
If you like hard military sci-fi with plenty of action and elements of cosmic horror and don’t mind a bit of romance then I highly recommend this book. It’s an adrenalin-fuelled ride that leaves you breathless, whilst still wanting more. It’s one of the best books I’ve read in 2025 and I’ll definitely be continuing with the series.
October 28, 2020
Crazy good mystery/thriller science fiction.
Like an onion this one has so many layers. Each chapter reveals new things, emotions and developments - I couldn't put it down!
The characters are all relatable, and well rounded. Also, there's a lot of action and spectacular scenarios - especially the climax which is just devastating!
It really rewards a re-read too, as you see an even greater depth to characters' motivations and foreshadowing throughout.
Like an onion this one has so many layers. Each chapter reveals new things, emotions and developments - I couldn't put it down!
The characters are all relatable, and well rounded. Also, there's a lot of action and spectacular scenarios - especially the climax which is just devastating!
It really rewards a re-read too, as you see an even greater depth to characters' motivations and foreshadowing throughout.
August 23, 2025
On the average day I DNF between 2-5 books. I read/listen 19-20 hrs every day and that’s been my habit for years. Unhealthy coping skill, it doesn’t matter, my point is that I’ve gone through all the obviously good stuff and most of the less obviously good stuff and now I spend my time trolling the ‘hidden gem’ waters. By definition those waters are full of trash because they wouldn’t be hidden or gems if they were easy to find would they
I’m leading with this strangeness in an effort to help people like myself, who are trudging through the mud that is the 5 star reviews written by ARC readers. Bless them, I appreciate that they’re being supportive, but they’re making it impossible to determine the actual quality of the less known stories. So even though I had a good time, I’m not leading with gushing or gif explosions.
This one is actually good. Surprisingly good.
Since I mostly have Alexa read me my kindle books I can’t easily tell how long they are when I start. So I kept arriving at spots in the story that felt like they could be endings and finally checked, only to see that I was at like 35%. I was then worried because I was enjoying myself but know good and well that a book can easily get boring or ruined with that amount of time left. I’ve seen books get ruined at the 2 yard line, so I tried to keep my hopes low.
But no, this thing has staying power. Even with a good series I frequently have to take breaks because I start to get annoyed since I listen so continuously. But that hasn’t happened. I was genuinely interested the whole way. I was never even mildly annoyed with any character outside of what was prompted by the plot. Do you know how hard that is? How rare? It hasn’t happened in recent memory. Granted I’ve got pathological memory problems so that’s not saying a whole lot, but still.
I can see that it was written for a competition of some sort via other reviews, which explains why it’s so well done from an editorial perspective. No repetition of words. No adding ‘ness’ to the end of adjectives to make them nouns. It’s really lovely, and uncommon these days in some genres.
The emotional aspects of the story are done well by inference. I love spicy stories as much as the next person, but that’s not what this is. There’s a solid romance but it follows a tune I know rather than one of wish fulfillment. There is darkness and horror that’s driven deep but it’s not a slash thriller. More Silence of the Lambs and less Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It isn’t explicit and I appreciate that.
I’ve got issues with grief. Maybe if I’d stop drowning my brain in fiction I’d take the time to work through them, but who amongst us has the fortitude for that shit? I’ve found that you can read about some things until you have to live them. Living them takes more than everything you had so there just isn’t anything left for second hand repetition. So I don’t read much in the true literature department anymore. Young-me loves the Red Pony by Steinbeck. Now-me won’t even look at the cover. I want magic and dragons and spaceships. I won’t usually tolerate sadness. I built a box for those memories. A 20 hour a day reading habit is the seal on that box and honestly it’s a bit exhausting. I get downright dramatic if someone gets careless around that box.
There is a very difficult grief scene and it did make me pretty upset but it wasn’t a bad upset. It was painted in words I could understand and the author didn’t do the equivalent of yanking up the contrast to make the picture eye catching, which really just makes it ugly and dissonant, and is what most authors do.
That last moment of terror, when you blast love into pieces that you can memorize, because the magnitude and shock of what you’re losing is enough to unmake you.. well I just can’t find my way to being mad about a light shining on that. You either have to know it or have psychic levels of empathy to put it out there so clearly. No dissonance.
Still, I’m glad I wasn’t in public at the time.
So, I highly recommend this bit of fun. Just save the end until you get home, if grief is a thing for you.
(I should note that it isn’t a main character that dies. That’s not something I’ll tolerate no matter how well done it is. Losing a character I’ve become attached to is too close to actual grief and there’s nothing left in the tank for that.)
I’m leading with this strangeness in an effort to help people like myself, who are trudging through the mud that is the 5 star reviews written by ARC readers. Bless them, I appreciate that they’re being supportive, but they’re making it impossible to determine the actual quality of the less known stories. So even though I had a good time, I’m not leading with gushing or gif explosions.
This one is actually good. Surprisingly good.
Since I mostly have Alexa read me my kindle books I can’t easily tell how long they are when I start. So I kept arriving at spots in the story that felt like they could be endings and finally checked, only to see that I was at like 35%. I was then worried because I was enjoying myself but know good and well that a book can easily get boring or ruined with that amount of time left. I’ve seen books get ruined at the 2 yard line, so I tried to keep my hopes low.
But no, this thing has staying power. Even with a good series I frequently have to take breaks because I start to get annoyed since I listen so continuously. But that hasn’t happened. I was genuinely interested the whole way. I was never even mildly annoyed with any character outside of what was prompted by the plot. Do you know how hard that is? How rare? It hasn’t happened in recent memory. Granted I’ve got pathological memory problems so that’s not saying a whole lot, but still.
I can see that it was written for a competition of some sort via other reviews, which explains why it’s so well done from an editorial perspective. No repetition of words. No adding ‘ness’ to the end of adjectives to make them nouns. It’s really lovely, and uncommon these days in some genres.
The emotional aspects of the story are done well by inference. I love spicy stories as much as the next person, but that’s not what this is. There’s a solid romance but it follows a tune I know rather than one of wish fulfillment. There is darkness and horror that’s driven deep but it’s not a slash thriller. More Silence of the Lambs and less Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It isn’t explicit and I appreciate that.
I’ve got issues with grief. Maybe if I’d stop drowning my brain in fiction I’d take the time to work through them, but who amongst us has the fortitude for that shit? I’ve found that you can read about some things until you have to live them. Living them takes more than everything you had so there just isn’t anything left for second hand repetition. So I don’t read much in the true literature department anymore. Young-me loves the Red Pony by Steinbeck. Now-me won’t even look at the cover. I want magic and dragons and spaceships. I won’t usually tolerate sadness. I built a box for those memories. A 20 hour a day reading habit is the seal on that box and honestly it’s a bit exhausting. I get downright dramatic if someone gets careless around that box.
There is a very difficult grief scene and it did make me pretty upset but it wasn’t a bad upset. It was painted in words I could understand and the author didn’t do the equivalent of yanking up the contrast to make the picture eye catching, which really just makes it ugly and dissonant, and is what most authors do.
That last moment of terror, when you blast love into pieces that you can memorize, because the magnitude and shock of what you’re losing is enough to unmake you.. well I just can’t find my way to being mad about a light shining on that. You either have to know it or have psychic levels of empathy to put it out there so clearly. No dissonance.
Still, I’m glad I wasn’t in public at the time.
So, I highly recommend this bit of fun. Just save the end until you get home, if grief is a thing for you.
(I should note that it isn’t a main character that dies. That’s not something I’ll tolerate no matter how well done it is. Losing a character I’ve become attached to is too close to actual grief and there’s nothing left in the tank for that.)
Read
October 5, 2023Cosmic horror on a desolate planet, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The book took a little time to ramp up, and I initially disliked Cassimer and his underlings for their SPQR style approach to foreign relations, but the secrets of planet Cato and the viewpoint of Joy, stranded botanist from Mars drew me in regardless. Iron Truth is full of twists and turns, and its characters are interesting and complicated, and none are clear heroes or villains, just as it remains unclear whether any of the warring factions are in the right. There are no easy answers here, and I thought that was a great strength of this story. The cosmic horror part was well done, just understandable enough to be haunting, but never explaining the eldritch creature too much or pulling it into the mundane.
I'll be adding book two to my TBR.
I'll be adding book two to my TBR.
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December 4, 2025I was engaged by the opening on a dead colony ship, so I was a little disappointed when the POV changed to more space marines... and even more disappointed when I realized that was going to be the core of the book.
I'm afraid I'm not in the frame of mind to give this a proper chance. The Primaterra empire is clearly a screwed up place, so maybe there's a mind-blowing twist later, but this feels very inspired by Warhammer 40k, so it's possible this is all being played straight. Not sure if it's setting up romance between Joy and Cassimer, but I got that cliche vibe from their first scenes and it set me on a negative track. Above all, I can be fairly certain that this isn't the sort of book I was looking for.
I'm afraid I'm not in the frame of mind to give this a proper chance. The Primaterra empire is clearly a screwed up place, so maybe there's a mind-blowing twist later, but this feels very inspired by Warhammer 40k, so it's possible this is all being played straight. Not sure if it's setting up romance between Joy and Cassimer, but I got that cliche vibe from their first scenes and it set me on a negative track. Above all, I can be fairly certain that this isn't the sort of book I was looking for.
January 25, 2023
A rare DNF for me unfortunately
October 29, 2025
A Book I Couldn’t Put Down
This was a truly unique story, so full of action and suspense that I couldn’t put it down. I can’t wait to read the next one!
This was a truly unique story, so full of action and suspense that I couldn’t put it down. I can’t wait to read the next one!
December 7, 2023
too many characters with too similar character in the beginning but once they started dying off it made it easier 🤷🏻♀️ It was a Cassimer x Joy was a litttttle too headass for me to get behind and I kind of lost the plot towards the end bc I wasn’t paying enough attention - that’s my bad though
February 19, 2023
Enjoyable but unnecessarily long.
The action scenes were good and the world was interesting. I also appreciated the lack of sexual violence against the protagonist, which seems to be a rare thing in books.
That said, there were some areas that definitely could be improved upon.
Some action scenes were confusing. The enemy would be in the process of attacking and then they wouldn’t be and the assumption was that someone neutralized them but who and how was not explained. Protagonists would be in horrific pain, down on the ground, and yet somehow walking and functioning minutes later without explanation. I never felt I had a clear picture of the power suits, nor what level of support they provided to the soldier.
For most of the time I read this book I felt like I was reading a very long fanfiction of Halo, or some other IP that uses mecha suits. From the way the narrative flowed, a series of installments rather a cohesive narrative, to the self insert slash romance trope fest, it screamed fanfiction. There is nothing wrong with fanficion, I am sure all of us read some at some point and maybe wrote some, but the end result often feels unpolished. This was the case here, unpolished and not quite as good as it could have been.
Overall it was not terrible and worth at least a trial run for those interested. I am hoping for better books in the future from the author, especially if a good editor, or a beta reader, gets their hands on the initial copy.
The action scenes were good and the world was interesting. I also appreciated the lack of sexual violence against the protagonist, which seems to be a rare thing in books.
That said, there were some areas that definitely could be improved upon.
Some action scenes were confusing. The enemy would be in the process of attacking and then they wouldn’t be and the assumption was that someone neutralized them but who and how was not explained. Protagonists would be in horrific pain, down on the ground, and yet somehow walking and functioning minutes later without explanation. I never felt I had a clear picture of the power suits, nor what level of support they provided to the soldier.
For most of the time I read this book I felt like I was reading a very long fanfiction of Halo, or some other IP that uses mecha suits. From the way the narrative flowed, a series of installments rather a cohesive narrative, to the self insert slash romance trope fest, it screamed fanfiction. There is nothing wrong with fanficion, I am sure all of us read some at some point and maybe wrote some, but the end result often feels unpolished. This was the case here, unpolished and not quite as good as it could have been.
Overall it was not terrible and worth at least a trial run for those interested. I am hoping for better books in the future from the author, especially if a good editor, or a beta reader, gets their hands on the initial copy.
Read
November 20, 2022No rating. DNF at 20%. The book is not poorly written per se but I have not managed to find even an iota of interest in any of what is happening. I realize that this book has registered with a lot of people and won accolades galore, but it has left me colder than the space between stars.
So after plodding along for the first extremely tedious 160 pages and being treated to unsympathetic characters galore, plotholes that you could fly a troop transport through and dialogue that more closely resembles a Harlequin romance than a good scifi novel, I'm done. I just can't find any justification to continue. It happens. No reason to punish the author when it does. Oh well.
So after plodding along for the first extremely tedious 160 pages and being treated to unsympathetic characters galore, plotholes that you could fly a troop transport through and dialogue that more closely resembles a Harlequin romance than a good scifi novel, I'm done. I just can't find any justification to continue. It happens. No reason to punish the author when it does. Oh well.
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