Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite

In Brendan O’Meara’s Sculpted With Steel, book four of the Crafting Humanity series, Federation commander James crosses an engineered ocean into the BlankZone, an isolated territory ruled by the Order. His assignment is to destroy the Odyssey, a military mothership preparing to carry the Order’s army toward the Federation, the nation he serves. In Centria, the BlankZone capital, resistance leader Claudia conceals James’s team beneath the city. From that base, they plan an underwater entry through the ship’s submerged harbor hatches. Bob, James’s closest friend, disappears during a reconnaissance near the vessel. His return exposes a new danger: the Order has altered his mind, giving its commanders a possible route to the resistance. When the Odyssey’s departure moves forward, James must rebuild the assault around four reactor compartments before the mothership leaves Centria carrying its army toward Federation territory.

Brendan O’Meara’s Sculpted With Steel is a superb post-climate military dystopian novel built upon technology that governs everyday behavior. O’Meara makes the BlankZone believable through Centria, where residents repeat approved routines because Sentinels detect irregular movement while drawing power from the city. Readers can picture how the regime maintains obedience every hour. James becomes relatable through an ordinary lapse when he realizes he never asked how his ship would cross the manufactured sea wall, despite leading the mission. Bob’s reprogramming poses the book’s main ethical question: may a government erase one citizen’s will to preserve a nation? Since Bob is James’s medic and closest friend, that violation enters a relationship readers already understand. O’Meara explains that the Odyssey’s reactors power separate areas, so readers understand why James’s team must destroy four at once. I recommend this distinctive novel especially to readers drawn to military dystopia featuring bioengineered state power.