Metal from Heaven

It was appropriate that I finished this book on US Labor Day. It is an unflinching assault on the inherent greed baked into the very notion of capitalist accumulation; it shows that even those who try to ameliorate the system. Especially because I am sympathetic to that point of view, I wanted to like this book a great deal more than I did. It also feels important to celebrate new, original voices, especially those from underrepresented groups and even more so those that adopt an unrepentantly iconoclastic approach to traditional genres. But overlooking obvious faults in any writer weakens both the understanding of all readers and the aspirations of all writers.

Clarke's world-building is first-rate, and there are action sequences in show more this novel that are propulsive and visceral. There is a fascinating array of characters, most of whom are intriguingly unconventional without it feeling as if Clarke is going overboard to create extravagance.

Stylistically and formally, however, the writing is undisciplined. And I know that the inherent desire in many people to celebrate rule-breakers and convention smashers will lead many people to celebrate this, which has already been the case to judge from the extravagant praise heaped on this novel. However, a basic expectation a reader should have of any piece of fiction is the sense that they are reading something where a writing intelligence is shaping the language, rather than being at the mercy of language. Eventually, the many inconsistencies undermine what could have transformed an interesting book into an astounding one.

In terms of pacing and structure the story lurches from set-piece location to set-piece location. There are some unforgivable noob moves (early on Clarke pulls a terrible piece of foreshadowing of the "little did she know" variety). The action, as I've said, is often great. . .but then at times Clarke will interrupt the action for characters to speechify. Without spoiling anything, there is a tense standoff in the midst of a spasm of violence that grinds to a halt while one character delivers an oration that goes on for a couple of pages. The arch-villain of the piece is barely a presence, and when finally they are shuffled on stage it is to deliver a "let me now explain my cunning plan" kind of mustachio-twirling monologue. The language is often powerful, with some astonishing imagery and wordplay that just stopped me in my tracks; rather than letting these stand, however, Clarke often amps them up into an overwrought mess.

This is most obvious with the main character, where we are treated to endless descriptions of every little inner palpitation and gurgle of the bodily system. This is a character not at home in their body but constantly at war with it, which is an excellent basis for an intriguing character. It is not, however, something that the reader needs to be reminded of two, three, four, or twenty times a chapter.

Metal from Heaven is a quintessential example of what people mean when they talk about "raw talent." I will definitely look forward to what Clarke produces in the future, but I hope it is considerably more refined (and yes, given the subject of the book, that metaphor is deliberate!). show less

This is absolutely unrateable. It's a glorious mess of a book. Some random facts about it:

1. The most lesbians by volume of anything I've ever read.
2. The least interest in men of anything anywhere.
3. Defies every piece of wisdom about narrative and structure and does not always do so successfully.
4. Feels like Gideon the Ninth in places and that's not a good thing for this book (which is, above all things, trying to be different).
5. Blithely and aggressively substitutes showing for telling.
6. For something that begins with a union action, it's weirdly One True Hero and One Special Person.
7. Somehow it's both old school and wildly new.
8. Absolutely full of violence, just so so so much violence.
9. Takes a lot of unexpected turns.
10. show more Never rests in one place long enough for readers (well, one reader: me) to settle into the story.

It is, in short, messy as hell and it does not give a single shit. I truly cannot rate it. But I can tell you: if punk was a book, this would be the book. show less

The central idea in Metal from Heaven is that a toxic material, made of the blood of ancient gods infiltrates everything. So, I mean, fantasy plastic, which is indeed terrifying and the relationship between ichorite in their world and plastic in ours was something I found compelling and central to my enjoyment of the book. I also really liked the exploration of the relationship between industry and wealth and legacy values. The three stars are basically all for that central fascinating concept. Otherwise, the pacing was uneven, the characterizations were thin and the gratituous sex just reinforced to me how inconsistently LGBTQ issues were handled in the setting.

dnf 40%. will try to go back with a text version at some point, maybe. just kept dreading picking the book back up when i put it down, and the promises that it picked up in the second half eventually weren’t enough to keep me motivated