Praise for Metal From Heaven
“Metal from Heaven is a work of feral and furious imagination. It's pulpy, bloody, sexy, gleefully seditious and seditiously gleeful. It's a battle cry of a book; read it, and rise up.” —Alix E. Harrow, Hugo Award winner and New York Times bestselling author of Reese's Book Club Pick Starling House
“Rich with lush prose, Metal from Heaven is a murderously good tale of highway robbery and sapphic revenge, that tackles important issues head on, and hits with a powerful ending that will stay with you long after the book is closed.” —C.S. Pacat, New York Times Bestselling author of Dark Rise
“August Clarke is one of the most electrifying voices in genre fiction today. In Metal from Heaven, the volume is turned all the way up. This one will blow your hair back.” —Sarah Gailey, Hugo Award winner and bestselling author of The Echo Wife
“I know comfort books are in, and yes, they have their place, but there's nothing quite like reading something dangerous. Something rich with ideas, something challenging, something transgressive, and revelatory, something that feels like it's pushing the genre forward, something punk in the true meaning of the word, something that truly does not give a f**k what you think of it. This is that book. Metal from Heaven is a thunderous, visceral, Sapphic fever dream of a book, thick with religion, myth, and revolutionary ideologies. The prose seduces, the worldbuilding astounds, and the heart bleeds pure. This one goes on my best of 2024 lists for sure.” —Rebecca Roanhorse, New York Times Bestselling and LAMBDA Literary Award nominated author of Black Sun
“An ambitious, ferocious, sex driven fever dream. Clarke’s prose is ornate, enveloping, radiant.” —Megan Whalen Turner, NY Times Best Selling Author, Thick As Thieves
“Delicious, chaotic, and whip smart, Metal from Heaven will leave you with the burning urge to rise up and revolt against tyranny. What starts as a swashbuckling tale of horny, queer outlaws blooms into a meditation on otherworldly geopolitics and consciousness itself. August Clarke has written a freakishly original novel and I love it.” —Annalee Newitz, author of The Terraformers and Stories Are Weapons
“A sprawling, glorious, ichor-bright story that reads as both an ancient legend and an anti-capitalist howl of rage. Clarke’s hope for a better world spills out onto every page. You’re going to love this one.” —Andrew Joseph White, NY Times bestselling author of Hell Followed With Us and The Spirit Bares Its Teeth
“Surprising absolutely no one, Metal from Heaven is such an excellent book. I adored every heartbreak moment of Metal from Heaven. It’s a bitter triumph with an oil-slick beauty. This one’s for the dykes. It hits a lot of tender spots, beautifully done. If you trust me, read this book.” —C. L Clark, author of The Unbroken and The Faithless
“Hits like a piston, loves like an outlaw, and thinks like China Mieville. Made me want to cry, left me feeling like a giant. I read this book and I must shout.” —Seth Dickinson, author of The Traitor Baru Cormorant
“This is industrial fantasy like you've never read before. With prose that drips like honey and burns like a forge, Metal from Heaven is all hungry revenge, human tenderness, and bloody political intrigue. August Clarke does something new here, and I can't wait for more!” —Bethany Jacobs, Philip K. Dick award-winning author of These Burning Stars
“Drenched in sex, blood, and hot pink ichorite, Metal from Heaven is a high-octane revenge story that doubles as a rallying cry for a better future. It's the chant of a picket line, the glory of a highway robbery, the heat of a lover's flesh. Clarke shoves you headfirst into unapologetic dykery as praxis, and it's worth every battle scar.” —Lauren Ring, World Fantasy Award winner and Nebula finalist
“A queer, bloody love letter to rebellion that’ll stick like a knife in your heart. At turns tender and violent, humming with tension, Metal from Heaven is immersive, rich, and an absolute joy to read.” —Nino Cipri, Hugo Award-nominated author of Finna and Homesick
“Metal from Heaven is a book you sink into like molasses, like the ichorite so revered and reviled in its pages. More than revenge, this is a love story—for the pasts that shape us, for the communities who nurture us, and for futures we might not live to see. Vivid, visceral, vicious: August Clarke takes no prisoners.” —Naseem Jamnia, Crawford-, Locus-, Astounding-, and World Fantasy-nominated author of The Bruising of Qilwa
“Metal From Heaven goes down gritty and gets stuck between your teeth. Come in for the glorious, breakneck, fuck-you-Fordism dyke revenge story and don’t be surprised when Clarke handily devastates you as the dust settles.” —Em X. Liu, author of The Death I Gave Him
“A poignant and visceral tale of blood-soaked revenge, set in a harsh eco-fantasy world that feels lived-in and textured. August Clarke masterfully combines murderous thrills and political intrigue so that both elements hit you like a hammer made of ichorite right to the face.” —Trevor Henderson, author of Scarewaves, creator of Siren Head
“This book is a riotous phantasmagoria that epitomizes the phrase "be gay, do crime." The approach to gender, dystopia, and found family puts one in mind of the Penumbra Podcast's Juno Steel series or Sarah Gailey's Upright Women Wanted. Wholly original, Metal From Heaven is a love story, a revenge thriller, and a queer revolution all at once. It will stay with its readers long after they've followed it through its final evolution.” —Melinda Borie, Collection Development Librarian, Floyd County Library (New Albany, IN)
“Metal From Heaven is a Molotov cocktail. It’s a manifesto hauntingly delivered. It’s a swashbuckling butch humming nineteenth-century labor songs to you while you come down from an acid trip. Let this extraordinary book light a fire in the parts of you left empty by selling your labor cheap. Then read it again, and again, and again.” —Milo Michels, University Bookstore (Seattle, WA)Vie
“A ravenous fantasy revolving around a malleable natural resource that kickstarts an industrial revolution and, ultimately, class warfare. Metal From Heaven weaves a story of the elite's insatiable hunger for more, always more, and a voracious revenge plot. Clarke's writing style is sharp, packing a punch; it was difficult for me to put down! It checks every one of my boxes for a powerful queer political fantasy, and it rightfully left its mark on me - I hope those who need this story can find it, and find themselves in it.” —Mallory Sutton, Bard’s Alley (Vienna, VA)
“Hell hath no fury like a lesbian seeking revenge. The survivor of a strikebreaking massacre, Marney Honeycutt, builds a life with a group of bandits aiming to dismantle the entire ichorite industry and kill its leader. Through devotion, violence, and the bonds of chosen family, Marney dedicates their life to building a better tomorrow by disrupting the oppressive systems of today. With complex queer characters and an emphasis on anti-capitalism, I was hooked from the first page and with a quarter of the book left, knew I would immediately read it again once I finished it.” —Sarah Blanton, Bookmarks (Winston-Salem, NC)
“Immediately gripping, the world and characters of Clarke's Metal From Heaven are a fantasy fan's dream. With energy, humor, action, and breathtaking writing; Metal From Heaven moves breathlessly and tackles issues like the crushes of capitalism, the exploitation of labor, and the importance of standing up against those in power. I loved every minute of it!" —Caleb Masters, Bookmarks (Winston-Salem, NC)
"Metal From Heaven is a lesbian revenge story evocative of Victorian London’s industrial age, with a sci-fi fantasy twist; this book is epic, sensual and filled with luster." —Lauren O’Connell, Friendly City Books (Columbus, MS)
