The story is set in an unspecified but not very distant future. Some new inventions make life somewhat safer, but not necessarily easier or better. On the job market, people are considered disposable and get replaced by machines whenever possible, and are as a result struggling to make ends meet. At the same time a kind of neural AI interface ensures their mental health and alerts government when someone is showing signs of distress. If your living conditions make you miserable, you get patched up again. In this world we meet Seth, once married to Anna, once father of a baby girl. Seth works in a slaughterhouse and that’s basically all he does. He’s underpaid but has his reasons for trying to earn as much money as possible. We also meet Belle, dropped at a monastery when she was a baby, and now living in a small village that she wants to escape in order not to go mad. To achieve that she needs a job which she seems unable to find. That is, until the immensely rich Sophia Eccleston offers her an overly well paid position as nanny for her eight year old daughter Juno. She’ll have to live on an island and needs to follow a large and strict set of security rules in order to keep Juno safe and secret.

The above matches the book description more or less, and it is repeated during the first quarter of the book with many more details. At that moment the pace of the story is still slow, but nevertheless it’s well written and it’s interesting to read how things evolved. Although you know the gist of what the situation will become, it’s never boring. It’s laid out well with a good mix of explanation and action. After that, the pace of the story goes up and Titan’s Tears becomes an exciting action thriller that remains captivating until the very end. Although fictional, it makes you think about what could become of our world if future inventions, of which some seem not too far away anymore, are made by the wrong people. A book like this is definitely more frightening than interplanetary sci-fi set in a future thousands of years from now. But frightening or not, it’s definitely fun to read.

The second half of the book has a few nice story twists of which some are really surprising, while others are expected, but which were all nice finds. Nearing the end, everything clicks together in a believable and satisfying way. There is a tad of human emotion present as well, which seems a rare thing in this future society that for the most part comes across as cold. These emotions are not too overly present, and therefore will not annoy readers who take up this book for the sci-fi or action parts, but they definitely make the book better. This is one of those books that, once you start reading, keeps pulling at you until you’ve finished. A recommendable read. 4,5 stars.

(Free ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)


[Something I will not include in my public reviews, but is worth mentioning, is that the book needs another round of editing. There are quite some occurrences of double words that need to be corrected. For instance: “He swam out to the last spot where he’d seen the man the man and dove down.” or “I’ve decided to give up my daughter up for adoption.” or “No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t quite put together the pieces of her life before her time in in that isolated village.” Similarly, a word is missing here and there.]

This is such a gripping book - I’m not a sci-fi kind of fan, but this six-fi dystopian thriller really had me hooked. I felt myself slipping into another world when reading it. The twists and turns wrote by the author are definitely unpredictable. 10/10 would recommend.

Titan's Tears is a captivating and intense novel that delves into the lives of three compelling characters whose paths become intertwined on an isolated island off the coast of Alaska. The enigmatic Belle, arrested for murder, the reclusive slaughterhouse worker, and the brilliant but troubled scientist, Sophia Eccleston, are brought together in a gothic odyssey of technology unleashed.

Author skillfully weaves together a narrative that explores the intersection of mystery, survival, and the consequences of uncontrolled technological advancement. As the characters confront murder machines, transgenic creatures, and personal challenges, readers are drawn into a world where bizarre security protocols and the enigma of a secretive daughter add layers of intrigue to the plot.

Titans Tears offers a thought-provoking and thrilling exploration of the darker side of humanity's relationship with technology and biological experimentation, providing a compelling and immersive reading experience.

Overall I enjoyed reading this, I did read it quite quickly. For the most part I felt pulled into this book, at times it did feel like there was a lot going on btu I enjoyed it nonetheless.

I just finished reading ‘Titan’s Tears’ by Chad Lester, and I’m still in shock. This book started off a bit slow, but as you read on, the more intriguing it got. The bond Bella and Juno have is one to be admired, and the more you read and learn the more you find out. This book had me at the edge of my seat the entire team. I cannot wait to purchase the physical copy. A job well done.