It takes a lot for me to joyously exclaim "What did I just read?!" - but that was my reaction to Metal from Heaven. It was the first book in a long time where the narrative voice was distinct and absorbing enough that my internal monologue started to copy its rhythms. Although parts made me profoundly uncomfortable (there's a lot of visceral gore here, even in intimate scenes, which I didn't particularly enjoy), I went over my allocated lunch break to finish this - the thought of putting it down was unconscionable. As in its (earned) comp of Gideon the Ninth, I didn't always have a full grasp of the plot - but I had a brilliant time reading regardless. The world-building is rich, but definitely shown rather than told - some aspects don't gel together until you are already deep into the novel. The combination of a fast-paced fantasy romp, a challenge for suitors, and reflections on industrialisation and labour politics, was a real winner for me. I suppose now I need to finally get around to Scapegracers!

This book is everything to me. The whole time I was reading it I felt a deep resonance with the words on the page like they were reaching right inside me. This is my new holy book and you’d better believe I will be preaching its word to everyone I know. It is an anticapitalist revenge fantasy with a butch MC, an anarcho-communist bandit gang, and a competition to marry the industrialist tycoon’s daughter. I loved the vivid imagery, the characterization, and the world August has created. And the lesbianism of it all is so immense I could cry.

While this book is perfect *to me*, I can acknowledge there were some elements that weren’t as strong, the pacing for one, and the large cast of characters felt a bit overly ambitious at times and hard to keep up with as a result. I personally think it would have made an amazing duology since the story is split into two halves already, this would allow more time for Marney’s story to develop and more time for us to develop relationships with the large cast of side characters. Still though I appreciate a strong standalone fantasy, I think this would appeal to the obvious fans of the Locked Tomb series, but also fans of The Spear Cuts Through Water and a Memory Called Empire.

What a stunning and brutal fever dream of a book.

I wanted to eat this up, devour every bit of the savoury prose and come back for seconds. However, I realize that same writing may not quite be for everyone - it's a bit dense, very descriptive, and nearly-page-long paragraphs of exposition are not entirely out of the ordinary. But it's all written so gorgeously, with each word and phrase chosen with obvious care, and I was just transfixed by every sentence.

There is a lot going on in the plot of this book, spread out over a decade, and I loved every era of it. Right from the opening chapter, of the Burn Street massacre, this book starts out brutal and wild, and does not let up.

Those descriptions also apply to most of the characters, who are, by and large, mostly horrible lesbians (looking at you, everyone courting Goss). They are unapologetic, they are wholly defined as their own selves, and they each have rich and often terrible histories to them. You could write a spin-off about pretty much any character, and it would be fucked up and amazing.

I don't entirely know what to say about this book. It's unlike anything I've ever read before, and I'm devastated to already know that it will be unlike anything I'll ever read in the future.

Thank you to the publisher, Solaris, and to NetGalley for the ARC.

★★★★★ — Incredibly strong sense of identity and one of the top books of the year so far.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Wow. I don’t even know what to say. This book was so many things and I loved every bit of it. I genuinely don’t have a single bad thing to say. It had such a strong sense of identity and knew exactly what it wanted to be. For that reason, it’s one of the most unique books I’ve read this year. From the pacing to the worldbuilding to the ending, it was just brilliant.

First of all, it's an incredibly queer book. Every character you get to spend time with is at least a little bit queer. There's butches with strap-on, lesbians who prefer being called sir or princes, psychotic femme princesses (well, just one but that's enough). And as for Marney and her friends, their relationships are described with such aching tenderness, it was one of those books I wanted to hit pause on so nothing bad could ever happen to them.

Second of all, while this book is queer, it isn't a love story. And I loved that about it. This book follows Marney, a butch lesbian, from 12 to roughly 22, as she seeks revenge for the death of her family and first love/best friend. Marney has many relationships, some platonic, some sexual, some romantic, some that go from one to the other. But it isn't a love story, which I think we need more of. Sapphic books that are incredibly gay without being a romance.

Speaking of Marney, I think she's my favourite MC this year. Something about her narration cut me to my core. I don't know how to explain her. Bad things happen to her but the melancholy she made me feel happened in those moments where everything was going well and she was surrounded by those she loved. But in her narration, you would feel a sort of distance from it. She was there but separate. Marney made my heart ache and I love her so much.

This is a book I would gladly read the author's worldbuilding notes for. I want to know everything. The religions, the cultures, the history, everything. It was so immersive and interesting to read about, and I found it done so well. I also loved how we explored the way some cultures had different views on genders and sexualities. The whole world felt lush and lived in.

This book also has greats discussions on labour, wealth, class, inequality, greed and progress. I think it was very well done in a way didn't feel like being beaten over the head by a brick. I think Marney was a good protagonist for this story for the same reason Katniss was good for the Hunger Games. Because Marney is solely focused on her goals of killing the head of the industry that ordered her parents and friend's deaths, she isn't waxing philosophical about these subjects, rather observing them and letting you put together your own thoughts about them. She's not the revolutionary mastermind, her friends and found family are and you get glimpses into that.

I don’t know what else to say. I loved this book. The writing, the characters, the world. All of it. It will definitely end up on my favourites of the year list. More people need to read it.

A big Thank You to Rebellion | Solaris for providing an eARC in return for an honest review.

"A bloody lesbian revenge tale and political fantasy set in a glittering world transformed by industrial change and simmering class warfare, for fans of Gideon the Ninth and Arcane." - well, you had me at "lesbian" and "Gideon the Ninth".

Metal from Heaven can be summarized as a "Stream of Consciousness Feverdream (on drugs)".

If you've read Gideon the Ninth (Muir), you know what I mean when I say that the last set of chapters were especially harrowing. (pun very much intended!)
CAWPILE
We follow Marney, a young girl who has to work in a metal factory, working the metal that hurts her (literally) and that causes her to have "fits", who witnesses her families and fellow-factory-workers violent demise when their union strike for better working conditions and medical help for the "luster-touched" children is being shot down by the authorities. She manages to escape the carnage and after that we follow her journey with the Choir (Mors Brandegor my beloved) and subsquent infiltration of the place that hurt her.
The athmosphere can be described as feverish, seeing as we watch the plot from Marneys perspective who alternates between violent lucidity and luster-induced hazes and allergic (?) and barely-conscious moments. The worldbuilding, even through Marneys limited POV is astonishingly bright and expansive and easy to understand. It's a sort of apocalyptic industrial setting, with some sort of Magic (no, it isnt explained, it just is, for most of the book), different religions, a lots of Gender (tm). So many Lesbians too!
I've seen quite a few reviews that the "twist" at the end was foreseeable, but I have probably not been reading attentively enough, because i totally did not see it coming. The reveal was satisfying tho and it kicked up the climax of the book, which was worth it. I was reminded a lot of the last chapters of Song of Achilles (iykyk) in these last chapters, which did amp up the emotional impact, that has slowly waned over the middle of the book.
The writing style is pretty chaotic, very stream-of-consciousness, but it was so so so fitting for this book. I had a blast reading it, mostly because it was so utterly different from "the usual". More please! (Although, I can see how this is not for everyone!)

Full deserved 5 stars from me, and a strong recommendation for everyone who wants messy, violent, lesbians in an industrial-magic-setting.