Adventures of a Monk and his AI companion in Space: Review of A.D. Sui’s The Iron Garden Sutra

Christine D. Baker Under Review:The Iron Garden Sutra. A.D. Sui. Erewhon Books, February 2026. Within the premise of a locked-room mystery aboard a perhaps-hostile generation ship, A.D. Sui’s The Iron Garden Sutra explores ideas of religious faith, but—perhaps because it’s the first book in a planned duology—doesn’t come to any clear conclusions yet. The book focuses on a dead generation ship called the Counsel of Nicaea drifting into occupied space. Vessel Iris, a monk of the Starlit Order who serves the Infinite Light, travels to the ship: it is his job to lay the dead to rest. Onboard, Iris meets a team of academics who have come to study the remains of the First Earth ship. But things begin to go wrong: first, something cuts off their access to the nearest space station and any means of departure. Then, they find a member of their group dead and must race to solve the mystery of who or what is hunting them. I want to begin by saying that this is a fun book to read. Sui’s writing…