First Mage on the Moon is an interesting and dark science-fantasy novel written by Cameron Johnston, published by Angry Robot Books. A novel that was a perfect pick for me after all the Artemis II hype, and that, while still being dark and ruthless, it is full of heart, trying to answer the question of how people in a magical world would tackle the problems of going to the moon while two wars are in a stalemate war.

Ella Pickering is drowning in debt, after a crash truncated her promising future as a Unity skymage; she now uses a wheelchair and works as many shifts as possible, making weapons in the Unity workshops. But her situation changes after watching how an experiment by engineer Jackan Grisson goes awry: what intended to be a weapon morphs into a crude rocket, blasting skyward before falling into No Man's Land. A dangerous idea is sparked: what if they would try to create a device that could reach the Moon, the home of the gods; a dangerous and heretical idea, but if they get enough help, they might actually make their dream true and end the war.

Johnston clearly sets the tone with the initial scene, showing how this a crude, almost cruel world before rewinding to the moments that led us to it; however, while we never leave that impression about the world, especially as we get to know more about the permanent war between two powers, there's much space (pun intended) for small glimpses of light, of hope, especially incarnated in our characters, and how they might just be a team of crazy dreamers, but all of them are memorable in their own way.
In particular, I would like to highlight how disability is represented through the character of Ella; suffering an extreme burnout, and almost being disheartened by how her situation seems to be a bottomless pit, but letting hope enter when more people start helping her and more importantly, doing those small things that also help to alleviate her situation.

The pacing is a bit irregular, something that can be a bit accentuated by how powerful the starting scene is, which is immediately followed by the slowest section of the book; said that, once you get into business, it is impossible to not be infected by the dreams of the characters, while struggling to hide their real intentions from the governments intending to fund new weapons.

First Mage of the Moon is a novel that I enjoyed so much: the blend between analytical science and fantasy with that grimdark/industrial background which puts the spotlight on how this group of dreamers are trying to break the skies was simply amazing. A remarkable novel by Cameron Johnston!