Metal from Heaven

For fans of The Princess Bride and Gideon the Ninth: a bloody lesbian revenge tale and political fantasy set in a glittering world transformed by industrial change – and simmering class warfare. Ichorite is progress. More durable and malleable than steel, ichorite is the lifeblood of a dawning industrial revolution. Yann I. Chauncey owns the sole means of manufacturing this valuable metal, but his workers, who risk their health and safety daily, are on strike. They demand Chauncey research the hallucinatory illness befalling them, a condition they call “being lustertouched.” Marney Honeycutt, a lustertouched child worker, stands proud at the picket line with her best friend and family. That’s when Chauncey sends in the guns. Only Marney survives the massacre. She vows bloody vengeance. A decade later, Marney is the nation’s most notorious highwayman, and Chauncey’s daughter seeks an opportune marriage. Marney’s rage and the ghosts of her past will drive her to masquerade as an aristocrat, outmaneuver powerful suitors, and win the heart of his daughter, so Marney can finally corner Chauncey and satisfy her need for revenge. But war ferments in the north, and deeper grudges are surfacing. . . H. A. Clarke’s adult fantasy debut, writing as August Clarke, Metal from Heaven is a punk-rock murder ballad tackling labor issues and radical empowerment against the relentless grind of capitalism.

Alix E. Harrow, Hugo Award winner and New York Times bestselling author of Reese's Book Club Pick Starling House

“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.”

C.S. Pacat, New York Times Bestselling author of Dark Rise

“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.”

Sarah Gailey,Hugo Award winner and bestselling author of The Echo Wife

“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.”

Rebecca Roanhorse, New York Times Bestselling and LAMBDA Literary Award nominated author of Black Sun

“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.”

C. L Clark, author of The Unbroken and The Faithless

“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.”

Bethany Jacobs, Philip K. Dick award-winning author of These Burning Stars

“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!”

Lauren Ring, World Fantasy Award winner and Nebula finalist

“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.”

Melinda Borie, Collection Development Librarian, Floyd County Library (New Albany, IN)

“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.”

Milo Michels, University Bookstore (Seattle, WA)

“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.”

Emily Duncan, Hudson Library & Historical Society (Hudson, OH)

“Metal From Heaven is a blistering powerhouse of a book. A manifesto and an opus. By turns delightful, blood soaked and visceral, charming, and sexy as hell. A book to be devoured and savored, ideally multiple times. Fucking incredible, a pipe bomb of a book.”

Mallory Sutton, Bard’s Alley (Vienna, VA)

“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.”

Sarah Blanton, Bookmarks (Winston-Salem, NC)

“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.”

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."

“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!"

About the Author

August Clarke is here and queer, etc. They have been published in PRISM international, Portland Review, and Eidolon. He was a 2019 Lambda Literary Fellow in Young Adult Fiction and a Locus Award, Dragon Award, and Pushcart nominee. They researched queerness, labor, and monstrosity at the University of Chicago. He is the author of the indie-bestselling series The Scapegracers, which he writes as H. A. Clarke.

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