From Ice to Ashes

In this standalone set in the same world as 2016’s Titanborn, a desperate man is caught up in the racial and economic strife between the natives of Titan, known as Ringers, and the Earthers who have subjugated and exploited them for decades. Kale Drayton is determined to save his mother, who’s quarantined and dying from a mysterious illness. When he’s given a chance to cure her, he reluctantly accepts, even though it means smuggling an item onto the gas harvesting ship on which he works. This is just the opening gambit of an insurrection led by the Children of Titan, who have much bigger plans for Kale as they struggle to free themselves from Earther oppression. Bruno uses skillful worldbuilding and rising tension to construct a fast-paced, action-packed tale of the far future, but the core plot—humble nobody discovers his true heritage while joining a rebellion against a corrupt authority—is all too familiar. There’s value in Kale’s depiction as a desperate underdog and hapless thief, but it’s lost as his story develops in a predictable manner. Agent: Mike Hoogland, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (Apr.)