A review by mrswythe89
The Iron Children by Rebecca Fraimow

5.0

I knew I would like this, but in fact I LOVED it. I wish there were more SFF like it! When calamity strikes, an inexperienced commander has to lead her troop through a perilous landscape — but there’s a saboteur in their party, who will make them question everything they fight for. In a genre preoccupied with the epic sweep of war, this skilfully wrought novella’s focus on the struggles and dilemmas of ordinary foot-soldiers (albeit foot-soldiers who are also telepathically-controlled multi-limbed cyborg nuns) is refreshing. At its base this is a book about how we keep faith with each other and ourselves amid the conflicting demands of ideology and necessity. There’s also a lot of cool worldbuilding and great weird mind/body stuff, but it’s basically a story about people being people in extreme conditions. Packs a lot into a short space! Highly recommended.