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Reviewed by Jamie Michele for Readers' Favorite
Glassborn by KN Tristan takes place on Mars inside a sealed human colony where an automated system called Valence manages life-critical decisions by statistical optimization. In 2179, medical apprentice Quinta Voss continues clinical work after her father, Hadrian Voss, dies during a containment event officially classified as mechanical failure. Responsibility shifts toward maintenance worker Kellan Reilly, whose punishment places him inside a hazardous recovery operation beneath the habitat. In 2083, the same colony faces an earlier biological crisis as Lira Salonga remains active after widespread fatalities, while directives from Valence restrict intervention. The two timelines move through the same settlement under the same governing logic, showing how decisions persist across decades. As Quinta begins questioning official records and Lira confronts silence surrounding the dead, the story follows one colony shaped by calculation and consequence.
KN Tristan’s Glassborn is a wonderful, incredibly ambitious science fiction dystopian novel, set inside a fully realized sealed Martian colony. I love the transitions between timelines and the way that Tristan effectively makes two different eras defined by nearly a century feel parallel and linear. Valence is such a brilliant top-down tech-leader in a world with a social order that emerges through citizens and Non-participating Colonists whose food access, housing placement, medical priority, labor expectation, and even funeral rites diverge decisively. Lira is my favorite character, which was solidified for me when she chose proximity to the sick and dying, as well as physical stewardship of the dead. That said, the pièce de résistance is during a heartbreaking scene where she grants the final request of a patient to be seen as a person rather than a case. This book is an excellent fit for readers who adore supremely unique dystopian science fiction, with great female leads that defy all odds under technological rule. Very highly recommended.
