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Glassborn
An AI that never lies. A system that never fails. A girl who refuses to believe it.
Quinta Voss has always trusted the AI.
On Mars, Valence decides who eats, who works, who lives. For four generations, no one has questioned it – especially not the Voss family, descendants of the colony founder. But when Quinta's father dies in a cascading system failure Valence calls unavoidable—and Quinta discovers he'd been stealing medical supplies in a colony where theft is the ultimate betrayal—her faith begins to crack.
Fleeing her father's secrets, Quinta volunteers for a death digging in soil contaminated with Glass, the bacterial plague that's turned Mars into a graveyard – twice. The life support is failing. Someone has to dig.
Her crew includes outcasts who refuse Valence's system—and the boy being punished for her father's death. Quarantined on a mission where one mistake means death, Quinta starts seeing what she was taught to ignore. Rulings that favor the obedient. Rebels blamed for poverty the system ensures. Her father's crimes that might have been rebellion.
Everyone believes the system works. Quinta is starting to think that's the problem—and in a colony where her family name has always meant protection, the most dangerous thing Quinta can do is see the truth.
For fans of the class warfare in Red Rising, the systemic horror of The Handmaid's Tale, and the claustrophobic setting of Wool.
Quinta Voss has always trusted the AI.
On Mars, Valence decides who eats, who works, who lives. For four generations, no one has questioned it – especially not the Voss family, descendants of the colony founder. But when Quinta's father dies in a cascading system failure Valence calls unavoidable—and Quinta discovers he'd been stealing medical supplies in a colony where theft is the ultimate betrayal—her faith begins to crack.
Fleeing her father's secrets, Quinta volunteers for a death digging in soil contaminated with Glass, the bacterial plague that's turned Mars into a graveyard – twice. The life support is failing. Someone has to dig.
Her crew includes outcasts who refuse Valence's system—and the boy being punished for her father's death. Quarantined on a mission where one mistake means death, Quinta starts seeing what she was taught to ignore. Rulings that favor the obedient. Rebels blamed for poverty the system ensures. Her father's crimes that might have been rebellion.
Everyone believes the system works. Quinta is starting to think that's the problem—and in a colony where her family name has always meant protection, the most dangerous thing Quinta can do is see the truth.
For fans of the class warfare in Red Rising, the systemic horror of The Handmaid's Tale, and the claustrophobic setting of Wool.
- GenresScience Fiction
410 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 2, 2025
32 people are currently reading
1180 people want to read
About the author
K.N. Tristan
4 books29 followersI’m a dystopian fiction fan, author, and firm believer that the best books in this genre are about hope and righting wrongs, and maybe also a how-to manual for rebellion.
I cut my teeth on the classics – 1984, Brave New World – when kids my age were reading Goosebumps. One of my all-time favorites is Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde and when book 2 came out 15 years later, I wasn’t even mad at the wait. That mix of absurdity, darkness, and razor-sharp worldbuilding is what I aspire to in my own writing.
I’m fascinated by “what ifs” that spiral outward and reshape entire worlds, like the works of Neal Shusterman and Hugh Howey. That’s the kind of experience I chase as a reader and as a writer.
I cut my teeth on the classics – 1984, Brave New World – when kids my age were reading Goosebumps. One of my all-time favorites is Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde and when book 2 came out 15 years later, I wasn’t even mad at the wait. That mix of absurdity, darkness, and razor-sharp worldbuilding is what I aspire to in my own writing.
I’m fascinated by “what ifs” that spiral outward and reshape entire worlds, like the works of Neal Shusterman and Hugh Howey. That’s the kind of experience I chase as a reader and as a writer.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 10, 2026
On a colony on Mars, Lira and the other colonists battle a Mars-born bacteria that is extremely contagious and has a 100% fatality rate. As things escalate and resources dwindle, survivors begin to form groups with vast differences in how they think things should be handled. One group wants to turn all control over to the colony AI and the other doesn’t believe a computer algorithm should govern the colony.
100 years later, Quinta joins a dig crew to repair necessary machinery for the survival of the colony. She hopes to redeem her family name in the wake of her father’s death, but digging means disturbing the soil and possibly causing a third outbreak of the deadly bacteria they haven’t fought for 50 years. On the crew is Kellen, a man from the other faction who doesn’t believing in allowing the colony AI - Valence - to run his life. But he’s here to redeem himself too, supposedly responsible for the accidental death of three colonists - including Quinta’s father - when making repairs in his own sector.
I liked the story. It’s great if you’re into space, communicable disease, or both. But I had a lot of questions. It felt like information was being withheld for a twist that never came. Maybe that’s because the answers are in the second book since this one, even though it’s over 400 pages, feels like it ends in the middle of the story. I wanted more answers, even if there is a second book. I’m not all that confident my questions will be answered in #2. But I’m going to read it anyway.
100 years later, Quinta joins a dig crew to repair necessary machinery for the survival of the colony. She hopes to redeem her family name in the wake of her father’s death, but digging means disturbing the soil and possibly causing a third outbreak of the deadly bacteria they haven’t fought for 50 years. On the crew is Kellen, a man from the other faction who doesn’t believing in allowing the colony AI - Valence - to run his life. But he’s here to redeem himself too, supposedly responsible for the accidental death of three colonists - including Quinta’s father - when making repairs in his own sector.
I liked the story. It’s great if you’re into space, communicable disease, or both. But I had a lot of questions. It felt like information was being withheld for a twist that never came. Maybe that’s because the answers are in the second book since this one, even though it’s over 400 pages, feels like it ends in the middle of the story. I wanted more answers, even if there is a second book. I’m not all that confident my questions will be answered in #2. But I’m going to read it anyway.
December 29, 2025
Well, yeah! Bring me another! I won this in a goodreads giveaway and this has all the best stuff - space, Mars, AI, class tensions, what's not to love!?
February 1, 2026
One of my favorite new reads. It had a lot of Wool-like feel but avoided most first author mistakes. I cared about the characters and enjoyed the mystery. I understand the criticism that the story didn’t have a climax and then turn though I felt it was still great. The prequel certainly added context that made some of the story flow better. Great book.
January 31, 2026
I really enjoyed reading this, and as the book progressed I could not put it down! All of sudden I had read 99% on my e-reader, and I was so sad to be finished with it. The striking cover drew me in when I first saw this book, and I knew I had to read it. There are so many books about established colonies in space/other planets, but so few that cover their early years or founding (like Glassborn's prequel, Exodus does - read that, too).
What hooked me immediately is the engrossing world-building of this Mars colony. Everything is thought through: the sights, the smells, the layout, how people interact with the habitat, their jobs, and even their terminology (for example, they say Deimos and Phobos where we would say God, and "tank sludge" means "crap"). This book is immersive! I had just read Wool recently before this, and the worldbuilding in Glassborn is so, so much better (it was what was missing in Wool, in my opinion).
The plot in this book follows two timelines, in 2083 and 2179, and they are loosely connected; as the book progressed, I realized the sequel, coming out in six months, will tie them together (I hope!) more closely. The plot is a suspenseful, page-turning slow-burn. Slowly, this wonderful colony is revealed to be a dystopian nightmare. There will be no more humans coming from Earth to populate the colony, because the Earth is overcome by global warming. So, they're on their own... and ruled by an AI they've put in charge of everything and everyone - as a deity, really. It's creepy!
On top of that, there's a slow-burning romance, it seems, between Quinta and Kellen, which will be fun to see develop in later books. Quinta is a doctor, and Kellen's a maintenance tech, and they come from two different factions in the colony. That tension is so realistic, because of course humans can't get along. The infighting and divide between the factions is so well-written, so human.
I definitely recommend this book for dystopian fans, especially those who love series. Suspense, characterization, and class A world-building. Loved this!
What hooked me immediately is the engrossing world-building of this Mars colony. Everything is thought through: the sights, the smells, the layout, how people interact with the habitat, their jobs, and even their terminology (for example, they say Deimos and Phobos where we would say God, and "tank sludge" means "crap"). This book is immersive! I had just read Wool recently before this, and the worldbuilding in Glassborn is so, so much better (it was what was missing in Wool, in my opinion).
The plot in this book follows two timelines, in 2083 and 2179, and they are loosely connected; as the book progressed, I realized the sequel, coming out in six months, will tie them together (I hope!) more closely. The plot is a suspenseful, page-turning slow-burn. Slowly, this wonderful colony is revealed to be a dystopian nightmare. There will be no more humans coming from Earth to populate the colony, because the Earth is overcome by global warming. So, they're on their own... and ruled by an AI they've put in charge of everything and everyone - as a deity, really. It's creepy!
On top of that, there's a slow-burning romance, it seems, between Quinta and Kellen, which will be fun to see develop in later books. Quinta is a doctor, and Kellen's a maintenance tech, and they come from two different factions in the colony. That tension is so realistic, because of course humans can't get along. The infighting and divide between the factions is so well-written, so human.
I definitely recommend this book for dystopian fans, especially those who love series. Suspense, characterization, and class A world-building. Loved this!
January 19, 2026
I received this book from the Goodreads giveaway and had been dreading to start a 400 page book but finally got around to it.
I am pleasantly surprised to say it was amazing and I’m glad to be introduced to a new book series. It didn’t feel like a dreadful 400 pages. I’m not the biggest fan of multiple POVs, I enjoyed it for the most part, however I did have some lapses of feeling like Liras storyline was a bit slow for my liking. I don’t mind the pacing, however it reflected in the end how slow everything was. By that I mean, it was a cliffhanger. Usually things tend to ramp up towards the end but it felt like I’m reading the prelude. Not just Liras storyline which is the actual prelude, but the whole book. I guess I wish this book just continued more before needing a second book is all.
I found the characters enjoyable and the introduced slow burn romance was a pleasant surprise. I fear it made me want to ignore Liras story altogether to know more about where Quinta and Kellen goes. Hopefully the next book can keep a similar pacing but ensuring the ending wasn’t abrupt. I aim to read the next book though! This book was overall great despite my minor complaints. I find the concept well done and reflective of what our world could turn to someday in the event of extreme climate change and the rise of AI.
I am pleasantly surprised to say it was amazing and I’m glad to be introduced to a new book series. It didn’t feel like a dreadful 400 pages. I’m not the biggest fan of multiple POVs, I enjoyed it for the most part, however I did have some lapses of feeling like Liras storyline was a bit slow for my liking. I don’t mind the pacing, however it reflected in the end how slow everything was. By that I mean, it was a cliffhanger. Usually things tend to ramp up towards the end but it felt like I’m reading the prelude. Not just Liras storyline which is the actual prelude, but the whole book. I guess I wish this book just continued more before needing a second book is all.
I found the characters enjoyable and the introduced slow burn romance was a pleasant surprise. I fear it made me want to ignore Liras story altogether to know more about where Quinta and Kellen goes. Hopefully the next book can keep a similar pacing but ensuring the ending wasn’t abrupt. I aim to read the next book though! This book was overall great despite my minor complaints. I find the concept well done and reflective of what our world could turn to someday in the event of extreme climate change and the rise of AI.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 6, 2025
Great read!
This story is definitely riveting!
Thank you to the author and Goodreads for a giveaway kindle copy of this book!
There are 3 different view points though 2 different time settings.
We meet Lira in the "past" (really our close future) and see her through some of the beginnings of the colony. We meet Quinta and Kellan almost 100 years later, in the same colony. The story is fast paced, emotional and intelligent. There are a few grammar and spelling mistakes but nothing you can't read through.
I am left excited to read Book 2 as I have many unanswered questions.
There are 2 prequels available after reading that I will be reading as well.
This story is definitely riveting!
Thank you to the author and Goodreads for a giveaway kindle copy of this book!
There are 3 different view points though 2 different time settings.
We meet Lira in the "past" (really our close future) and see her through some of the beginnings of the colony. We meet Quinta and Kellan almost 100 years later, in the same colony. The story is fast paced, emotional and intelligent. There are a few grammar and spelling mistakes but nothing you can't read through.
I am left excited to read Book 2 as I have many unanswered questions.
There are 2 prequels available after reading that I will be reading as well.
January 8, 2026
Thank you to the author & goodreads giveaway for a free kindle copy of this book!
The dystopian aspect of the colony on mars & the two timelines were incredibly enjoyable to read while trying to figure out what had happened from the first time to the second for things to have changed so drastically. I am very excited to read the second book in June- very good cliffhanger ending for both timelines.
The dystopian aspect of the colony on mars & the two timelines were incredibly enjoyable to read while trying to figure out what had happened from the first time to the second for things to have changed so drastically. I am very excited to read the second book in June- very good cliffhanger ending for both timelines.
January 25, 2026
Would give 3.5 stars if possible. Felt unfinished - like the story ended in the middle rather than a cliffhanger leading into the next book. There were also a lot of questions that got dangled but then never answered - like what did Ada do?? I double checked a few times that this truly was book 1, because it felt like there was a lot of back story I was supposed to know, but was missing. I’ll still read book 2 when it comes out because I like the setting and the story, but really felt like this one could have used a few more chapters both before and after.
December 25, 2025
I chose this in a bit of a hurry in the Cancun airport when I realized that Libby had not downloaded my next planned book and was not going to connect to the airport wifi.
I was pleasantly surprised. The writing was solid and the story fairly original for a sci-fi novel. It would have been a 4, but it ended on a cliffhanger.
I was pleasantly surprised. The writing was solid and the story fairly original for a sci-fi novel. It would have been a 4, but it ended on a cliffhanger.
December 8, 2025
Exciting
This book pulled me in from page one. Definitely worth the read. Can't wait to read next one in series.
This book pulled me in from page one. Definitely worth the read. Can't wait to read next one in series.
December 18, 2025
I loved the story and can't wait to read the prequels and sequel. The plot, characters, and writing are engaging.
Read
January 12, 2026DNF
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews