Gears & Girls, Book 1

De: Damien Hanson, Cassius Lange

Narrado por: Christopher Boucher, Juno Narre

Quick notice—we had a batch of files uploaded that were pre-edits; if you've downloaded the book before the end of the day today (July 17, 2025), please re-download the chapters! Thanks so much for your patience. We now bring you back to your regularly scheduled Gears & Girls!

Being a tech-serf sucks, but being powerless and broke sucks even more.

Trapped by crushing debt in the ancients-powered city of Alnda, Alaric barely scrapes by on five-credit repairs and monster scavenging. Gaining his freedom feels more impossible by the day, until he discovers a forbidden alien AI.

Crimson Death isn’t just a program, it is self-aware and pissed that it lost the war against humanity. He offers Alaric a simple deal: power in exchange for partnership. The catch? Put him out in the sun to recharge his battery.

First order of business? A history lesson and a whole new understanding of the monsters haunting his world, and the lies it is built on. The second? Teaching him how to grow monster cores into mech frames and build them.

Alongside CD, Alaric isn't just surviving, no, he is thriving. And the women around him are taking notice. So are those who want to use him.

Elli, the brilliant engineer best friend, finally gets the man she's been waiting for. Seo Rin, a capable scavenger with black market connections, finds his new confidence irresistible. Dame Yesabel, a fierce knight tired of noble games, sees something worth fighting for.

With alien tech enhancing his abilities and beautiful women at his side, Alaric sets his sights higher than just buying his freedom. The guilds that exploited him, the nobles who looked down on him, the system that kept him chained, they are all about to discover what happens when the underdog gains real power.

Forget five-credit repairs, Alaric's about to carve out an empire of his own, one dangerous mission and passionate encounter at a time.

©2025 Cassius Lange, Damien Hanson, Lit Forge Publishing (P)2026 Lit Forge Publishing

Loved it!

I read this book on Kindle Unlimited first and really liked it so i wanted to try the audio version, The performance by the narrators was amazing. At first I was a little unsure about the accent of the main character, which I think is a Brooklyn accent, because it felt out of place and not what I expected after reading it through first, but it grew on me and Christopher Boucher does such a great job with not just the MC's voice, but with other characters as well. The energy and natural flow that he brings to the lines has to be one of the best I've listened to. Really elevates the story.

Speaking of the story, I thought it was great. This was my first experience reading a harem scifi novel and I really enjoyed it. I appreciated all the detail the authors gave to the mechs and monsters and also the effort that was put into building this dystopian setting.

Great first book in this new series

I really enjoyed this book. The premise was interesting. The main character actually did something instead of letting him self being pushed around. The ensemble cast was excellent excellently described and had their own motivations and desires. Really excellent plot.
The narration was fantastic with both narrators contributing multiple voices to the effort
I highly recommend this book

Best Mech/Iseki book ever.

very relatable characters and believable storyline.i am looking forward to see more from this author and I'll be buying the next in the series asap.

Fun adventures in the post apocalypse

I really like the setup here, in a post apocalypse where monsters roam the wilds, humans fight them with mechs, and those with power and status have brought back an age of rigid class structure with nobles, commoners, and serfs. Our MC being a member of the serf class has dreams of buying his freedom and rising above his station, one glaring problem however is that within such a society those with power certainly don't want more competition. His fortunes change however when he happens upon an alien AI and agrees to help him in exchange for assistance in growing his power.

The story here is really solid in my opinion, I loved the glance it gives at what society could look like after a major cataclysm and subsequent societal rebuild. The little references and nods to contemporary structures and tech is also really interesting and fun because the characters misunderstanding of terms and phrases can at times be morbidly hilarious. The nods to the Fallout franchise were fun too.

The only references that I was initially torn on are two minor ones that are contemporary political slogans from the last decade but I can't tell if it's just going to make those specific references dated in 10 more years or if it's and absolutely genius idea. The reason I say that comes down to one of those slogans having already been used in a political campaign 40 years ago and the fact that those references were made by people 100 years in the future. I'm not sure if the author intended it but it could be taken as "in the right time and place, political slogans will always make comebacks because politicians are all the same." Honestly though, even if that wasn't the authors actual intent it could still be considered a literary win even if it was unintentional.

On the narrators, I'm very familiar with Boucher as many that enjoy this genre should be and he does not disappoint here, Narre is new to me however but I'll say I was thoroughly impressed with her performance and will be looking forward to more of her work.

If you're looking for some post apocalypse with a healthy dose of adventure and humor, well written characters and some very solid spice, look no further.

Dude. Yes!

What an epic start to a truly well written storyline. Excellent origin story, character progression, and spice! Can’t wait for the next one!