Metal from Heaven

“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

“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

“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, New Albany-Floyd County Library (New Albany, IN)

“A ravenous fantasy revolving around a malleable natural resource that kickstarts an industrial revolution and, ulti- mately, class warfare. Metal from Heaven weaves a story of the elite’s insatiable hunger for more, always more, and a vo- racious 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 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 Book Store (Seattle, WA)

“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)