Reviews with content warning for Violence - Metal From Heaven

I enjoyed the majority of this book! How the author plays with gender and religion is so fascinating, and the dynamics of the different societies/social structures is a really fun and compelling take. The outright lesbian-ness of Marney was a delight to experience and I adored many of the side characters. I also think the author’s anti-capitalist, pro-queer message comes through very strong too.

That being said, I wish the side characters had been fleshed out a little more - often they felt like set pieces, interchangeable in how they impacted the narrative. I found at times, the prose overly confusing (made more confusing by the unreliable narrator), and the pace dragged at certain areas (the middle “dating competition”). Additionally, and I couldn’t tell you why, the “twist” in chapter 16 and how that affected Marney in the end was somewhat unsatisfying to me, which was unfortunate.

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a_blue_stocking's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

1.25

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ladyaleira's review against another edition

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challenging emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

This book, I don’t even know what to say about it. The beginning felt slow to me, I think too because the prose is unique and takes attention to follow. But once I was in the rhythm of the reading holy hell, what a ferocious anthem to queerness to revenge to disruption of the systems that seek to suppress us. This book is a crescendo and the peak is worth it in the building.

This book is if the arm rebuilding scene in Harrow the Ninth were an explicit sex scene instead of an allegory. Content warning for explicit sex with power dynamic elements, violence and some body horror. Someone read this so I can talk about it with you.

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dehydratedfarmer's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

[Metal From Heaven is recommended for fans of Gideon the Ninth by the publisher but really should have been recommended specifically for fans of Harrow the Ninth. You'll know what I mean if you've read both and start this book, since some readers loved Gideon but disliked Harrow due to considerably different stylistic and structural writing choices. Thankfully I loved Harrow the Ninth in all its painful glory, and I loved this book as well.]

Metal From Heaven abounds with literal gender outlaws, a unique in-universe queer culture, and so many butches I felt like this book had scanned my brain and conjured up everything I could have asked for in a fictional work — not to mention the incredible world building and electrifying plot. I wish I could read twenty more books like this, yesterday. Definitely check out the content warnings before reading, but if the official synopsis or any of the things previously mentioned sound interesting, it is so worth the wild ride.

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squid_rl's review against another edition

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A fun read until chapter 11, which included a

very violent, very long sex scene that seemed to portray the violence as sexy, even though clearly not consensual

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bookgirlie_unbound's review against another edition

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4.0

Hidden away in the socialist utopia of The Fingerbluffs, Marnie dreams of exacting her revenge on the industry leader who ordered her family’s death. The best part of this book is how the reader is forced to participate actively through Marnie’s first-person narration, breaking the fourth wall. We the reader, are “you,” her first love lost in the same brutal killing that took away her parents. This literary trick heightened my enjoyment and investment in the book and was one of the best literary surprises I’ve encountered.

Overall, this book is solid. The plot is moderately paced, like Marnie’s assured confidence that she WILL kill Yann Industry Chauncy and does not need to rush. This has its pros and cons, as several parts of the book that I felt were excruciatingly drawn out as a way to belabor the moral and philosophical superiority of the Highwayman’s Choir and the “Hereafter”- a glorious period in which the universe is freed from the yoke of capitalism.

Readers should be aware that sex is used as an allegory for greed and overconsumption, and is omnipresent in the last third of the book. I understand its use as a literary device, and I still think the book had strong enough characters, sub-stories, and mysticism to carry on to the finish without so much gratuitous, abusive, and graphic sex. I would gladly trade several of the sex scenes for more information about the magic Marnie wields or the complex religious codes observed by the many nations and communities within this sprawling world.

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charlieeew's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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