Thank you to Titan Books and NetGalley for giving me the ARC of Ten Low in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

I’m more of a fantasy reader, but I do have a soft spot for all things Sci Fi and was a huge fan of Serenity at the time, so if you’re going to compare a book to Mad Max: Fury Road set in a desert setting with a western style story, you’ve got me!

I’ve not read anything by Stark Holborn before, which I’m reliably informed is a mysterious pseudonym, but I enjoyed this book from the start. Told in the first person, we hear everything from Low’s perspective – which is definitely a unique perspective, influenced by a number of factors, including some things that may not even be real but, Low’s head is definitely an interesting place that adds to this story.

Overall, the book is a non-stop action ride, full of high stakes daring and doing and the fight scenes are amazing…I could seriously imagine this as a film in my head! The plot itself is well devised, and being narrated by Low makes it all the more impactful as it takes place in the present, but simultaneously unravelling Low’s past.

Low is not the only character, albeit the only one whose PoV we get, but the other characters are well defined and you gain a good understanding of them; Think morally grey characters, with a huge determination to survive and succeed – G’hals are amazing! This book also delivers a subtle queerness, the world itself is a dry arid desert that doesn’t adhere to cis norms, in fact mentions of 2 dads is a norm and you could easily assume the whole world is queer!

If you’re looking for a rollercoaster ride of a book that delivers Mad Max: Thunder Road vibes, keeps you hooked from start to end with an action packed plots, great fights, western gun fights and vibes then this is the book for you.

Following from Stark Holborn's Nunslinger, Triggernometry and Advanced Triggernometry, I had high expectations for Ten Low and they were fully justified.

Ten Low is a woman living on the remote moon Factus, somewhere out on the edge of known space - a desperate, arid place inhabited by organ scavengers, smugglers, religious fanatics and outlaws, all kept alive by a dripfeed of resources from the ruling power of space, the Accord, much of which is skimmed off before it ever arrives.

Ten has some dark things to atone for, things we gradually learn, but at the beginning all we really know is that she's trying to save lives, trying to even up the score. Her status as a medic buys here a degree of protection, of neutrality, among her fellows on Factus but it's not proof against all dangers - and particularly not the weird, fate-shifting effect of the mysterious 'them'. 'They' are a race - or a supernatural power - apparently native to Factus, causing, and feeding on, consequences and chaos. And Ten's all about the consequences, so is constantly on her guard, looking for signs that They may be taking a hand.

Into the blighted wastes of Factus comes an outsider - a child General of the Accord, a woman (or girl - it's truly mixed up) with plenty of blood on her hands, but absolved, as a member of the winning side in the recent war. Marooned after an accident with her ship, she's determined to get back to her command, but Factus isn't an easy place to escape. The two must make their way across the moon, trading for basic necessities at windswept outposts and evading an eager posse of bounty hunters, kidnappers and aggrieved citizens (it's complicated). Playing on the characteristic notes of a Western in a SF setting, Ten Low gives us one Woman With a Past and another who may not have a Future. or who may have many Futures, if They have their way.

Their relationship is initially hostile. The General assumes that Ten is a traitor, but they need to cooperate to survive, and besides, Ten has obscure reasons of her own for wanting to save lives. The General is a decorated war hero, but rather at sea on this dusty moon and unable to call in help. Not a new setup, but Holborn truly makes it her own, allowing the two to speak for themselves (and through a range of allies and enemies with whom they have history). The relationship she draws is complex, drawing on hurts and crimes and losses that are rarely described but which make themselves felt by their influence on the behaviours we see and on the goals and methods of the protagonists. Ten, for example, is reluctant to hurt or kill which frustrates the General but then something happens and we suddenly understand why she's like that...

Also unclear but (partly) revealed in the evolving pattern of this book is a developing mystery revolving around what 'They' want, something hinted at in obscure prophesies and startling moments where the hidden threads of the cosmos seem to be exposed. Ten seems important to that, although she doesn't understand the reasons any more than we as readers - though they do at times seem to give her an edge.

It's a genuinely gripping story, driven by action on almost every page and the kind of book that once picked up, you don't want to let go till you've finished. Those desert wastes and enigmatic characters do grow on you...

Ten Low is an adrenaline rush! It is a quick-paced, exciting, and fun adult sci-fi with a western flair that kept me engaged the entire time. I loved it.

What’s it about? Ten Low is an ex-army medic who lives on a desolate, barren moon called Factus. She is wracked with guilt over her part in a recent interstellar war (humans vs humans). One night she pulls a young girl from a ship crash, only to discover she is a decorated Army General, from the opposing side of the war to Ten. That’s all I’ll say, as the less you know going in the more fun it is.

I was so invested in the characters. Ten is complex without being melodramatic, with a dualism to her that was realistic and understandable. She is driven but questioning, and tough yet vulnerable. She was easy to identify with and her motives made sense. I also adored the other character, the General. The blurb makes it seem like she’s a teenager, but in truth, she’s a child, which was even better. Snarky teenagers with chips on their shoulders are less interesting than child soldiers with tragic backstories. And because she’s a child, her actions and remarks turn from irritating to almost endearing, as you know it’s self-preservation and not just … puberty.

The other minor characters, Falso, her G’hals, and Silas were very likable, quite awesome really, and the villains were few but worthy of the title. I must say, I enjoyed the female-driven cast quite a bit. It’s very diverse in terms of LGBTQ+ representation and these aspects were normalized and not forced.

What I particularly loved about this novel is the gradual exposition of the setting and world-building. I’m so glad this is a trend now in sci-fi because one thing I hate is an info-dump. This novel drops you in media res and forces you to learn as you go as if you were a new arrival to the moon Factus yourself. The setting itself is very fun - it has a real Firefly-like setting, very Western in the sense of small towns struggling to survive in the dust. It also reminded me of the game Borderlands a bit, with the various raider-like gangs and overlords. The fight scenes are more reminiscent of Mad Max Fury Road, as they are a lot of fun and I was never bored. While I am listing comparable media, Ten Low doesn’t feel like parsed-together pieces of other things - it is its own story and setting and characters.

The plot is one conflict after another, but the story doesn’t feel rushed. The novel provides the characters with a few moments of downtime, which helps to broaden their personalities and dynamics. This allows for small bits of humour, usually with the General, and it served to build their relationship. The mystery around Ten is both what you expect but also not, which was a nice twist.

The writing is also as lovely as it is visceral.

Overall, the novel is a raw, exciting ride that deals with how far a person will go to redeem their conscience if that’s even possible.

I recommend it to anyone who loves gritty sci-fi, especially those fond of the game Borderlands and the show Firefly.

Yes! I loved this book. This and the recently released Persephone Station are like distant cousins that share some of the same DNA. It's hard to go wrong with a good space western. Picture Fuirousa from Mad Max but slightly kinder, trying to atone for her past. She quickly links up with a (enhanced) child soldier from the opposing side of a war and decides to help her get to safety. It's dark, it's violent, and it has kickass characters that that happen to be female. I loved the subtle ways the author showed growth in the two main characters as the story progressed. After reading this book I'm definitely going to track down other books by Stark Holborn. If they're anything like this then I'm sure I'll be in for a treat! 5 out of 5!

A Western? In space?

Yes, please.

Ten Low, an ex-convict and ex-medic, lives on Factus, a remote moon. She tries to stay away from the authorities and forget her dark past. After rescuing a girl from a spaceship crash, she becomes embroiled in a deadly intrigue. The girl, you see, is a genetically engineered supersoldier and decored general who despises Low and sees her as a traitor. They strike a deal that, in theory, benefits them both. Practically, however, their journey through Factus turns disastrous but I won't tell you why. Because, you know, spoilers.

I loved the setting, and that's where I'll start. The action takes place on a moon at the edge of the universe, where no one cares about rules or the Accord. Those who don't know how to navigate Factus die. Those who can barely survive anyway. Everything ( meds, food, morals ) is in short supply on a cosmic desert. In other words, approach its inhabitants, sure, and talk to them, but have a weapon ready. Just in case.

Tonally, this book is cold, violent, and visceral, but you also sense the underlying elements of hope, loyalty, and redemption. Low's haunting past influences her decisions and makes her intriguing; she has many secrets and doesn't reveal them all at once. She wants to forget all the horrible things she did to survive, but she can't. We follow the events through her compelling POV. As a result, the world is constructed with a minimum of prose that reveals just enough to drive the story, but leaves even more to the imagination. Ten Low isn't about the world; it's about Low and General Gabriela Ortiz.

The story starts slow, but soon picks up speed and rarely slows down. The stakes get higher, the plot more complex, and the intrigue more exciting. The final chapters fly by at a breakneck pace. As entertainment, it is fun, yes, but it's also challenging and plays with the narrative. There is something deep inside Holborn's mind, something I can't quite grasp, but which shows more than a flash of itself.

Ten Low delivers a fast-paced redemption story full of twists, clever ideas, and surprises. With its bleak but oh-so-cool setting and Low's haunting narration, it offers much to enjoy. Consider adding this book to your already sagging shelves - it deserves its place there.

A moon on the farthest edge of Accord-controlled space is the setting for this fast-moving, violent story about a woman and her too many secrets and dark past. The woman goes by Ten Low, and provides basic medical help to anyone who needs it. Low travels about Factus (the moon), from settlement to settlement, and often out in the barrens, in an effort to mostly avoid notice by what few authorities are around. Low’s hiding from something, much like many of the people on the moon.
Into this situation, a girl literally crashes. Gabriella is a child soldier who was vastly augmented to be pretty much a super soldier, with the speed, deadly accuracy and strategic thinking of someone considerably older. She’s also on the opposite side of the war Low also fought in, so, Low and Gabi get along, well, not well.
And yet, they both need each other, as Low has to get Gabi to an Accord base, and Low wants military-grade medical supplies.
Factus is a mess. It might be an Accord moon, but it’s a desert where poverty, lawlessness, poor health and quick deaths are endemic. And that’s not including the secretive and scary Seekers, a group known for killing people and harvesting their organs. Everyone’s terrified of them.
Low and Gabi must travel through one terrifying situation after another; trust is difficult and Low is seemingly barely holding on to her sanity, while also, intriguingly, sensing different possibilities and outcomes with each new danger they encounter.

It’s impossible not to think of Mad Max and westerns while reading this book. The hellacious landscape, the widespread criminality, the sheer weight of Low’s guilt, and the constant risk of sudden violence make for great reading. The characters surrounding Low and Gabi are fast to shoot, live hard, and fear chance and luck. I’m a sucker for stories like these, with a protagonist bowed under the weight of her past, looking for a way to redeem herself, then finding someone who she must protect.
I loved the atmosphere and the action. And damn! All those great women throughout this story, not just talking tough, but proving it at every turn. And I loved the way the many possibilities Low saw were woven into the action, adding a fantastic element to a gritty, dark, and entertaining story.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the ARC in exchange for a review.

Ten Low takes readers to the desolate planet of Factus, on the edge of known space. Having been set up as a colony world for convicts and the more undesirable aspects of society, the planet is home to thieves, killers, former soldiers, deserters, and vicious criminal gangs. One of the people who stands out as different on Factus, however, is Ten Low, an ex-con medic who's trying her best to do right on the planet, helping to save others lives to try and make up for some of the bad things she did during the war.


When Ten witnesses a small ship crash into the desert wastes of Factus she heads to the wreckage, hoping that she might be able to help any survivors. What she finds is a teenage girl in a military uniform, and with a generals rank tattooed onto her. It turns out that Ten has discovered General Gabriella Ortiz, a celebrated commander in her former enemy's Minority Force, a child soldier program. Despite this, Ten decides to help the child, and agrees to transport her back to her forces so that she can be rescued. However, after she delivers the general safely she discovers information that indicates that the crash was no accident, and that the general was in fact the target of an assassination. Now Ten must chose whether to walk away, or if she's willing to put her life on the line to help a child soldier who hates her.

Despite being a science fiction story, Ten Low has more in common with gritty Western tales and war stories than it does stories that involve spaceships and aliens. Stark Holborn gives readers a very real, a very grim and gritty story about people trying to survive not just extreme conditions, but the horrors of war and the scars that they can leave upon a person.

Ten Low herself is the kind of figure that one would expect to see wandering the wild frontier of the US during the gold rush, moving from town to town helping who they can, all whilst trying to avoid roving criminals and corrupt lawmen; and there is a great deal of that in this book, but Ten is a lot more complex than that. She's a woman who's quite literally haunted by her past, who has shaped her entire identity on Factus around the horrors that she has seen and done. She has a tally, a list of people whose lives she ended, and she's doing whatever she can to bring herself back down to even, to help enough that it won't stain her soul anymore. 

Whilst this initially seems to be an incredibly noble goal, the longer we spend with Ten the more we see that it's not goodness that pushes her to this, but guilt. She's a woman who has done some incredibly bad things, who has a lot of blood on her hands. This is a theme that we see reflected in her companion for the book, General Gabriella Ortiz. A child soldier, Gabriella was an orphan taken in by the military, raised and trained to be a tactical genius, taught how to fight and kill, and enhanced to be more than a child of her years should be capable of. Despite being presented as a competent and cold-hearted solider we learn that there is more to her too, that she's something of a victim herself. She's had her childhood taken from her, she's been experimented on, and she's been forced to do some horrific things.

Over the course of the book and the time we spend with these two we get asked some uncomfortable questions about war, about what's right and what's wrong. Both sides, represented by Ten and Ortiz have arguments for why they were doing the right thing, and why the other side were the villains. And we see through the way both of them have been treated that neither side really cared about the harm that befell it's own people. The book takes a look at the military industrial complex and makes a point of highlighting how little it cares for those that get harmed, even if those harmed are heroes on their side.

The book also takes an interesting look at the criminal inhabitants of Factus, and makes you question your first assumptions on them too. People who are presented as criminals and smugglers end up being counted amongst the heroes, whilst those on the side of law and order are more vicious and villainous than those they're supposed to bring in. There's even frightening gangs who run around the planet stealing organs and killing people who are more complex than you first think, and who may have more honourable goals than you first expect.

Ten Low is the kind of book that has a lot more depth and character focus than you'd first think from the description, one that goes deep into some heavy themes all whilst delivering an engaging and action packed character driven narrative. Whether you're a fan of science fiction or not, this is the kind of book that will appeal to many readers, and shouldn't be discounted just because it's set on another planet.

A good fun action packed Science Fiction Western, will be happy to go back to this universe. Fans of Firefly will love Ten Low.

What a great book! This is the first book by Stark Holborn that I have read, and I did not really know what to expect going into it. I'm glad I gave this book a chance as I really enjoyed both the characters and the world that they live in. If you enjoy science fiction, you should really take a look at this book. I will recommend that my library purchase a copy, as I think that a number of the students/faculty/staff would enjoy reading this.

Thanks to NetGalley and Titan Books for providing an early copy of this book to review.

So yeah, *takes a deep pull on a dart* that was fucking amazing! Like I don’t even smoke bro, but here I am *takes another drag*. Yeah dude, that was gooood. Just give me a moment to put myself back together here… Alright, I’m cool, I’m cool… Yeah, so this was a gritty spaghetti western in grimiest parts of space. Every aspect of the book came together absolutely perfectly. I think I’m in the nirvana those lululemon yoga chicks in the tight pants talk about. Ommmmmmm. Fuck yeah!

Our main gal is Ten Low who is wandering the desert on this lawless wasteland moon. She’s a roaming medic helping all those in need. She’s got a ton of bad karma and is trying to make up for the sins of her past. Her name ‘Ten’ was given to her because that was the number of years in her sentence on a prison hulk ship. You don’t quite know what she did, but you knew it’s some real serious shit.

But yeah, this ship crashes and she rescues this kid, or so she thinks it’s a kid. Turns out it’s this cybernetically enhanced general from the opposite side of the old war. This girl looks like she should be out having a tea party with her doll Mr. Buttons, but she’s this ruthless badass commanding troops in vicious battle for years. Despite being enemies, Ten’s got a deep moral debt, so she saves the little brat rather than let these crazy cultists, the Seekers, come cut her up and steal her organs. These two team up as Ten’s trying to make amends for her past and the General needs Ten to make it off the planet alive. They’re not cool with the situation, but they need each other right meow.

The story is non-stop action as they go from firefight to firefight. They ally with a gang of badass G’hals to try to get the General off planet all while dodging the Accord military, robber barons, crooked marshals, crazy cultists, and this weird ass alien presence called the ‘Ifs’. Dude, I gotta adjust my pants just thinking about it again. But anyways, the Ifs are this kinda superstition. People believe they making bad things happen and feed on doubt and chance. They’re attracted to chaos and influence the world to feed off the chaos. Shit always hits the fan when they’re around and Ten has an inexplicable connection with them.

Anyways, on top of the sweet ass characters that evolve in your mind through the story, the whole atmosphere was beyond rad. Most definitely my favourite aspect of the book. We’re at the forgotten edge of the civilized galaxy and also at the edge of the universe and the Void. No one comes back from the Void and the Seekers worship it. Neglected by the controlling Accord but influenced by the Ifs from the Void. A gnarly setup dudes.

My gold star recommendation is to buy this book, grab some nice bevvies, find a comfy chair, and enjoy the mother fucking ride! Pretty damn simple. So bail on all your previous plans (not that you actually had anything worthwhile going on) and do this asap bros.

Anyways, that’s about all I got. Adios amigos!

A startling and surprising book (and written in first person present tense! Which I love! But thought I'd throw that out there so all the FPPT snobs can go do one and not bother lol. Anyway, I digress.) I'm not sure what I was expecting exactly, but TEN LOW defied those expectations in the best way nonetheless.

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If you've read the blurb or the other reviews, you'll already know that Ten Low is an ex-con with an incredibly traumatic and complex past. Her name, Ten, refers to the sentence in years she is supposed to have served, and for reasons not readily apparent at the start, she is living on a tiny wasteland of a moon in the farthest reaches of the galaxy. This moon is, in fact, right on the edge of the Void - a great darkness from which exploratory ships have never returned (this chilling bit of information is casually dropped in at just the right moment.)

Acutely conscious of her crimes and sins, Ten Low spends her time travelling painfully across the moon, trying to heal and help anyone she finds. Ten is a brilliant character. She is by turns stoic and paranoid, philosophical and superstitious, haunted and hunted; her self-imposed mission of mercy frequently spins out more disaster, and the people she kills or is forced to kill far outweighs the people she manages to help, despite her best efforts.

In this context, Ten Low rescues a young girl from a crashed spaceship, who turns out to be an Enders Game-esque child-general--one who fought on the other side of the war from Ten Low. the General's motivations for working with an enemy are initially clear cut (survival), becoming more convoluted as the story unfolds. Ten's are complex right off the bat, and the explanations for them span the entire novel (a good thing.)

There's so much I could unpack in this review: for example, my admiration of the craft skill needed to sustain a propulsive and action-filled novel with a *very* small cast of characters. Large swathes of the book are filled with just Ten Low and Gabi.

The twisting of expectations and cliched relationships is another. World-weary old mentor figure and bratty naive warrior is an age-old combination, but everything about Ten Low and Gabi feels fresh, because the author doesn't allow the characters to ever slide into complacent, easy roles. Although initially sympathetic and admirable, Ten Low's past makes her a difficult character in some ways as the book progresses; meanwhile, although initially "spoilt" and violent in her presentation, Gabi actually has a clearer and more consistent sense of ethics than Ten, albeit a shade too much conviction for her own good.

Mostly, though, when I think back on the book, it's the atmosphere and the setting which stand out to me--above and beyond the written descriptions, although those are good, too. The wonderful thing about frontier-settings is that they explore, in very literal terms, what the breakdown of society looks like, in a context where we can still see the original society (usually positioned "back east" in a historical western, or simply on developed planets in an SF one).

And it's at this peripheral edge of civilisation where society frays, individuals can be put to the ultimate test, their natures laid bare and exposed. What does it mean to be good or evil, when ethics is a distant idea? What does it mean to be human when there is no room for anything other than survival? If there is no law to judge you, no system to weigh and process you, no eyes to see your actions, does it matter what you do, and who you are?

Ten Low lives not only at the edge of human civilisation, but of literal reality: her moon, inhabited by whispering metaphyiscal creatures, stares straight into the universal abyss. And Holborn, with quiet grace and adroit craft, takes us right to that edge with her.

Would definitely recommend this book, although the cover + mention of teens made me think it was YA at first.

Stark Holborn is one of those writers who ploughs their own furrow. Author of the excellent penny dreadful style western ‘Nunslinger’ and the alternative history ‘Triggernometry’ series where an outlaw band of mathematicians fight corrupt cattle barons and sheriffs, no-one could accuse Stark of pandering to modern tastes. ‘Ten Low’ is another western, albeit this time one that mixes in sci fi in a way that is a gift to publicists in the post-‘Mandalorean’ world.
Like Stark’s previous works, this is lean popular fiction that strips out all the crap and presents a good tale, well told in exactly the right number of pages (330 or so in this case). Set on another world, it centres on the titular character, Ten, who has survived a massive conflict and is now a medic on the run trying to survive and maintain her sanity in a brutal world that is half far future and half old west.
Like Disney Plus’s greatest show, it blends space opera and horse opera themes to great effect. The plot is packed with twists, a decent helping of redemption and the kind of quest based storyline that works perfectly for this kind of story. Again, the central character has secrets and there is a mysterious child to protect. The similarities might make it feel opportunistic if it had come from another writer, but these are all themes and devices that Stark has explored before. ‘Ten Low’ feels like a natural next step in their work, skilfully blending in another genre to expand the scope of their previous westerns.
That sci fi element is well done, the world-building is subtle but accomplished and cowboy tropes are well integrated. The backdrop of the recent war is particularly well used, and Stark teases commentary on the impacts of civil conflict from it, without the meaning ever feeling laboured. Most of all, this is an adventure though. It’s inventive, action-packed fun with the pacing of an RKO serial and the humanity of Becky Chambers ‘Wayfarers’ books. In other words, it’s a great way to spend a few hours, and I can’t wait to see what this author does next.

Factus is bleak, desert moon, out on the edges of human exploration.
It provides the setting for this rollercoaster paced space opera that has shades of Mad Max crossed with a Western style Dune.

Ten Low (aka Doc) is a medic with a mysterious past who wanders the lawless, barren wastes of this moon helping the sick and injured in the desolate communities .

Low comes across the wreck site of a military space ship and she helps the only survivor - an injured teenage girl. However, Gabriella Ortiz is no ordinary teenage girl. She is a genetically modified warrior, a General in the army of the Accord, winners of a recent bloody war, in which Low was on the opposing side.

Low decides to forget the past and help Ortiz, but it soon becomes apparent that the crash was an assassination attempt by the Accord against one of their own. They must flee across the lawless wastes to find safety for Ortiz, avoiding military hit squads, smugglers, robbers, black market organ dealers, and a strange alien presence. She enlists the help of crime boss Malady Falco and her all female gang of G'hals, and between them they fight their way across the moon.

A terrific cast of characters of which Malady Falco and her G'hals deserve their own book.

One of the most fun books I've read this year - can't wait for the next installment

Ten Low is a former army medic who fought on the losing side of an interstellar civil war. Ten was given her name after being sentenced to ten years in prison for the crimes she committed during that conflict. She's now barely surviving on a harsh desert moon called Factus which has barely enough water and oxygen to sustain life. She works to save the lives of others in order to even out the "tally" she racked up, trying to balance the scales for the lives lost as a result of her actions during the war.

One day, Ten sees a ship crash in the desert and she pulls the lone survivor from the wreckage. It's a young girl named Gabriel Ortiz. But, she's not just any girl. she is the product of a secret military program that turns young orphans into skilled military leaders using technological implants and strict indoctrination. Even though she's just 13 years old, she's a highly decorated general who helped win the war that Ten's side lost.

Ten quickly discovers that the crash was no accident: it was an assassination attempt on the General's life. She and the young General, her former enemy, now must work together to escape across the barren landscape of Factus to smuggle the girl off-world but it won't be easy. Factus is hostile to life and is full of military hit squads, bandits and criminal gangs.

One of the reasons why I liked it so much was because it had great characters and action. Ten seems to be more than just a former army medic. She's bitter and angry at where's she ended up (and who wouldn't be stuck in a place like Factus?). To be honest, she isn't very likable at first. It isn't clear at first *why* she tries so hard to help people, why she cares so much about the other people unfortunate enough to be stuck there with her or how she ended up where she is.

That's one of the mysteries that unfolds as the story goes along. You learn more about Ten and the thirteen year old General and you learn to care about them both. The fights are exciting and will have you on the edge of your seat. There were points when I literally couldn't put the book down.

I also really liked the people in this story: Ten, the General, and the other characters you meet along the way. They are complex with some well thought out back stories that give them some depth.

My only complaint about the book is the pacing. Instead of chapters to break up the story, the book is divided into four sections. The book is over 300 pages long and, without those expected chapter breaks in the story, some parts seemed to drag on a little too long. But, the action sequences make up for that.

I received an advance copy of the ebook in exchange for my honest review from NetGalley.com.

My rating for this book is a solid 4 out of 5 stars. If you're a fan of gritty, harsh dystopian environments like Mad Max and Firefly, you'll like this story.

Compare a book to Mad Max: Fury Road and I’m immediately interested. I’m a sucker for desert settings and western style stories in general but Ten Low takes it even further by also being set on an alien planet with its very own touch. Does Ten Low deserve that comparison, you may ask!? Oh hell yes!

Ten Low is the first book I’ve read by Stark Holborn (which is a pseudonym shrouded in mystery btw) and it certainly won’t be the last. I immediately loved the writing style and knew I was going to like this one a lot within the fist few pages already.

I can’t say I read a great many books told in first-person (not by choice but I don’t come across by as many) and must say it works perfectly for this story. Low is somewhat of an unreliable narrator, there are things she sees/hears that might or might not really be there (you gotta read this for yourself to find out). Either way, I loved her voice and being inside her head makes her inner struggles of coming to terms with her past that much more intense.

Directly related to that is the very unique concept of alien life on this planet. It’s definitely one of the most clever ones I’ve read so far and would LOVE to read more about.

The overall plot of Ten Low is one hell of a ride. Once it gets going (and that happens almost immediately) it’s non-stop action. This is exactly the kind of high-stakes, oh-my-god-they-are-all-gonna-die-aren’t-they, no-break-for-you-ladies thrilling plot I had hoped it would be with lots of amazing fighting scenes, just as this western-style setting demands. And it doesn’t help that it basically comes without chapters which made it very hard for me to take breaks and I almost read the whole thing in one sitting. That the action-packed plot is mixed with the slow unraveling of Low’s past is just the cherry on top.

While Low is the only POV character, you still get a very good feel about the many other characters as well. This little group of morally gray characters is what I call “squad goals”. I loved them all A LOT, which made reading this not easy because who even is save in this book. NO ONE. I certainly wouldn’t mind reading a whole book just about the G’hals, a kickass bandit crew.

Ten Low is a damn good book that kept me glued to the pages but what makes it even better is its subtle queerness, its queernorm world. From the mention of two dads, over the multiple non-binary characters, to the f/nb and m/m couples, I really just assumed everyone in this book was queer by default.

Ten Low is exactly the kind of story I hope to get when someone mentions Mad Max: Fury Road. A desert type of setting but with its unique touch, super rad gunfights / fighting scenes, non-stop action and amazing, morally-gray (queer) characters. I highly recommend reading this one.

Ten Low follows Low, a medic living within the Barrens on a forgotten moon called Factus. After a long war that divided the peoples, there is nothing left but survival and even that comes at a price. Determined to preserve and add to the life count, Low helps a teenage girl, Ortiz, that is left injured and stranded after a crash. But Ortiz isn't you're normal girl. She's been genetically modified and groomed for the sole purpose of war. Low soon discovers that the crash was no accident and the very government that Ortiz was raised to protect is trying to kill her. Determined to deliver Ortiz to safety, they set out across Factus and pay the price for survival. The barren desert, severe lack of oxygen, bounty hunters, profit hungry smugglers, ex-convicts, and black market organ stealers are surprisingly the least of their concern. Something else lurks in the shadows and haunts Low, feeding off the chaos and destruction that follows her war torn life.

I think this is the first sci-fi book I've read where I cared just as much for the main characters as I did the supporting characters. The story was so much bigger than Low and Ortiz. I need individual sequels following each band and faction that they encountered. Please! You can't just end this universe with Ten Low. It needs expansion. It craves expansion. I'm glad there wasn't a huge dive into the past, like why people are living on moons in the first place or long war battles described for pages. The past is served on small platters strategically placed throughout the novel just when they are needed. Ten Low presents itself boldly and makes you question what side of the war you would have served.

There wasn't a single moment where the story dragged. The pages turned with ease and hunger for more. It was perfection. Come for the Firefly comparison. Stay for the immaculate characters, desolate setting, and perfect ending. Truly. I'm at a loss for words to describe just how much I enjoyed this book.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for a free copy of this book. An additional post + review will be posted on Instagram closer to publication.