“… 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.