The Ninth Metal

I always want to enjoy Benjamin Percy more than I do. On a technical level, the man is impeccable. The sentences are katana-sharp, the characters drawn in vibrant color, and the genre-blending an imaginative mosaic. Really, there is a lot to admire here, and juggling this many genres is a stupendous feat, one that most authors wouldn't even bother to attempt.<br /><br />However, I admire more than I enjoy, typically. I'm never fully enthralled with the story. For 278 pages, there are too many subplots for me. I can track them all, but they can't operate at the pace I want, because each one can only take up about 20% of the plotting. With so much time spent characterizing the location, characters, and backstory, Percy tries to compensate with intense blips of action, but it never cohered for me. There are a lot of quirky characters to follow, but I never felt invested in any particular one, and read through the book at a detached distance.<br /><br />As a Minnesotan, I'm biased about the setting. Isn't it funny how we do it, instantly comparing any representation of our hometown or setting we know well, like we are the ultimate judge of what rings authentic or not? "Yes, that tracks with my limited experience of this random place" or "no, this is not consistent with my small life, so I will disregard all further opinions the author has." <br /><br />Disclaimer aside, I did love the setting, the reflection on environmental exploitation, the "never can go home again" theme, and the dysfunctional family, an endlessly rewarding trope.

"The Ninth Metal" is a trip into a speculative universe that is in one sense very recognizable and in another sense entirely unrecognizable. The book is at once science fiction, but also contains old themes of warring Hatfield and McCoys and of the prodigal son returning to his hometown, but finding himself a stranger in a strange land. <br /><br />The world suddenly changed forever when meteors rained down from the sky, meteors so large that they obliterated big things, particularly in the economically distraught north Minnesota iron range. And it is there where the greatest gold rush in history takes place. Omnimetal, the Ninth metal, is more valuable than gold. It creates energy and powers trains, like the one John returns on to find mining camps everywhere and warring family compounds. <br /><br />The author starts the reader slowly, developing his characters with true depth. Each of them have lived and hurt. But hang on to your hats because you have no idea what's coming. Cause everything is changing. <br /><br />This is the first novel in a planned series with at least two more on the way. Bring them on. Oh, and by the way, the book is dedicated to among others, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

Okay, now that was an unexpectedly pleasant reading surprise: A popcorn novel that combines Western, SF, horror and thriller elements in an old-fashioned, yet surprisingly effective, manner. Think ‘Stranger Things’ combined with some of the darker and crazier ‘The X-Files’ episodes, and you’ll get a sense of what a fantastic read this is.<br /><br />Also, if you enjoyed ‘The Institute’ by Stephen King, where a dastardly top-secret government organisation experiments on inculcating latent superpowers in vulnerable children, you will love this. Yet Percy’s take on the trope is a tad more ‘X-Men’ than King’s, with a good dollop of tentacular Lovecraftian cosmic menace thrown in for good measure.<br /><br />Described like this, ‘The Ninth Metal’ should by all rights be a complete hodgepodge, not to mention a hot mess, but Percy’s deft characterisation and expert control of the narrative tension simply sucks the reader in. There is a lot of fun to be had in the details as well, and a vein of humour running throughout the story like the extra-solar omnimetal that is omnipresent in Minnesota itself.<br /><br />I have no idea if Percy’s ‘ninth metal’ is a deliberate reference to the ‘Nth Metal’ of the DC Universe, described as “a special metal with gravity negating effects.” Of course, omnimetal does a lot more than that, and is therefore an expert nod at the many McGuffin Magic Materials that prop up so many SF novels.<br /><br />Surprisingly, omnimetal is not the main focus though. We learn about the catastrophic meteor shower that deposits it on earth in brief flashback chapters, while speculation about its function and composition is just detailed enough to be convincing without derailing the propulsive main narrative with too much info-dumping. That is a common problem of SF novels of this ilk: Never let the science take the place of the story or the characters; Andy Weir and Liu Cixin, take note.<br /><br />And in terms of the main narrative, it is a real corker: Two diehard and equally weird Minnesota conglomerate families (the cult is actually the normal one) go head-to-head (as well lots of other body parts) to claim exclusive rights to the miracle of omnimetal and its potential to totally transform life on Earth as we know it. And probably literally, as we suspect from the get-go. But, as in all good Pandora Box tales, getting your heart’s desire is only the beginning of a long road of unintended consequences.<br /><br />Unusually for a multi-volume series, this opener ends on a real cliffhanger, yet is still complete enough for the ending to be a perfect conclusion to the overarching story. However, Percy really sets a high bar for himself at the end, so it will be intriguing to see where he takes his motley crew next when the ‘The Unfamiliar Garden’ is released early next year. <i>Metal is!</i>

<br><br><b>3.5 stars</b><br><br>This is the first book in the Comet Cycle Series, about the consequences of a comet passing close to the Earth.<br><br>*****<br><br>Northfall, Minnesota was a quiet mining town until planet Earth spun through the debris field of the comet Cain.<br><br><img width="640" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1625174792i/31576522._SX540_.jpg" height="410" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>As millions of meteorites fell to the ground, the sky flared, the ground shook, electricity went dark, radio signals scrambled, dogs howled, and people screamed. The debris landed everywhere, but Northfall got the largest deposits of a substance called 'omnimetal.' <br><br><img width="640" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1625174792i/31576519._SX540_.png" height="392" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>Omnimetal has a phenomenal ability to hold and deliver energy. If you strike omnimetal, or shake it, or electrify it, it absorbs the energy, stores it, and then releases it. Omnimetal can be used to power cars, trains, planes, cell phones, and other battery-powered appliances. It can disrupt communication and transportation networks. And it can be weaponized. <br><br><img width="640" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1625174792i/31576517._SX540_.jpg" height="426" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>Thus omnimetal is the most valuable commodity on the planet. Thousands of people rush to Northfall to dig for omnimetal or to work for mining companies.....and merchants, prostitutes, strippers, etc. follow to service the workers.<br><br><img height="428" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1625175347i/31576570._SX540_.png" width="640" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>The largest miners of omnimetal are two rival companies, Frontier Metals and Black Dog Energy, both of which have elaborate excavating operations. <br><br><img width="640" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1625174792i/31576518._SX540_.png" height="258" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>Both Frontier Metals and Black Dog Energy are buying up property in Northfall, and both are bidding on an area called Gunderson Woods, which has a GINORMOUS deposit of the valuable material. The competitive owners of Frontier Metals and Black Dog Energy would do ANYTHING to obtain metal-rich holdings, including bribery, coercion, blackmail, physical assault, kidnapping and murder. <br><br>To add to omnimetal's mystique, individuals who were bombarded with the material during the meteor shower and SURVIVED were radically changed. After a terribly painful adaptation, the victims became almost indestructible. In addition, they can take in, store, and give off huge amounts of energy.....glowing blue as they do so. <br><br><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1625174792i/31576521._SX540_.png" width="640" height="398" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>One schoolboy named Hawkin was transformed in this manner, and the government has him locked away in inhumane conditions for research purposes. <br><br><img width="400" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1625174792i/31576520.jpg" height="225" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>The main protagonist in the story is a man named John Frontier, whose family owns Frontier Metals. John was a troublemaker as a youth and left Northfall to become a better person. Now, after five years away, John returns to attend his sister's wedding. <br><br><img width="400" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1625174792i/31576523.png" height="294" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>John wants nothing to do with the family mining company, and plans to leave after the nuptials. Things don't work out that way, however, and John gets drawn into the conflict between Frontier Metals and Black Dog Energy. John also gets involved with other things in Northfall.....things that endanger his life.<br><br>The story is an action-packed sci-fi thriller with an eclectic array of characters, a touch of romance, and a superhero vibe. It's a fine beginning to the Comet Cycle series.<br><br>Thanks to Netgalley, Benjamin Percy, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishers for a copy of the book.<br><br>You can follow my reviews at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow" href="https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot.com">https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot.com</a>

A comet has left deposits of a new mineral called omnimetal on Earth. The mineral is a source of power, has superior conductive ability, is addictive if smoked or snorted and has had an unusual impact on some of the people who were exposed to it. Two mineral companies are warring over control of the large omnimetal supply in Minnesota. A large deposit is controlled by a weird cult that refuses to sell. At the same time, the Defense Department is conducting extreme experiments on a 15 year old boy in order to determine exactly how useful omnimetal might be to the military. <br /><br />This is the first book of a three book cycle about the comet, but the story here is complete and doesn’t end in a cliffhanger. A lot of this book was comprised of family/crime drama involving the ruthless Frontier family and their secrets. The family is more connected to omnimetal than anyone knows. There are murders, crooked cops, violent encounters and a police investigation. There are also thriller elements. <br /><br />I was expecting more science fiction, however the origins and properties of omnimetal were not very well explained. In particular, there was one event involving the cult which had no basis in anything else that was described in the book. Maybe omnimetal will be fleshed out more in the next book. I am intrigued enough to want to read it.<br /><br />I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

This is an unexpectedly pleasant mix of backwoods good-ole-boys with all their country poverty and an SF-tainted goldrush.<br /><br />In most respect, the novel is entirely about the characters, their hopes and fears, their sense of belonging, or their need to find justice or even exploit the hell out of people's weaknesses. It's about being a fish out of water. Of coming home to a place that doesn't want you any longer. It's also about the complete and ugly transformation of your home once the sharks smell blood.<br /><br />And it's also something of a gritty origin story for people with superpowers. But that takes a serious back seat to everything else. Because let's face it, economics rules everything. The rest of us are just trying to survive.<br /><br />There's a lot of familiar things in this novel. It could very well be a contemporary fiction piece if it wasn't for the SFnal elements that drive the force of everyone's motivations. And the idea of a super-natural meteorite bringing tons of change isn't exactly new, either, but when we put them together, it's a pretty fascinating social commentary and thriller in its own right.<br />

3.5*s. I really enjoyed the first two-thirds of this book; I felt rather let down by the last third. It was the character building that won me over and the world-building that lost me. There was huge potential for change and transformation, but we only see a little and hear of a little more. Perhaps this is something Percy will build upon in the next book. I'd be tempted to read it.<br><br><blockquote>'Take one look and you think you're in a piny postcard advertising Vactionland. Blink a few times and you realise you're in the middle of an alien-ore geopolitical crisis.'</blockquote><br><br>A new gold-rush has come to America, a meteor shower depositing a new metal - omnimetal or the ninth metal - on Minnesota, taking the state from backwater sticks to boomtown. With each gram worth millions, those who own the land are in the money and two companies - local Frontier Metal and Texan Black Dog Energy - are ready to cash in.<br><br><blockquote>"There's a fight going on here. A fight for Northfall, guess you could say. You properly already got a sense of that. It's like Deadwood downtown. It's like the gold rush meets the oil rush meets the height of the steel boom in the Iron Range. It's fucking bananas. Forget the Wild West. This is the Wild North. [...] Northfall's ours - right, Johnny? It always has been. The Frontiers have kept his place alive as long as we've been alive."</blockquote><br><br>John Frontier thought he'd got out of the rat race when he left Minnesota five years ago, but he's been lured back by a family wedding and his family are determined to make him stay. I thought I understood John - the good son of a poisonous family who manages to get up and get out - I was wrong. And then I was wrong again, and again and again. Percy delights in sprinkling just enough clues for you to lead yourself astray and then gently (and not so gently) showing you the error of your ways. I loved it. I never knew quite who to root for or what would happen next.<br><br>Alongside John, we hear from from a number of other characters. His old sweetheart, who stuck with him through thick and thin and then remarried when he abandoned her; Stacie Toal, a local policewoman who's beginning to realise the police might not be the peacekeepers she always imagined them to be; Victoria, a physics professor hired by the Department of Defence to investigate the new metal and who's now in over her head; Yesno, the foster son of Ragnar Frontier who will do anything to help; and more. To start, we're given a new point of view with each chapter and I was surprised by how well it worked. Percy has a wonderful way of describing people, focusing on a character's more unusual traits and so giving us a far more rounded impression of the character as a whole. It reminded me a little of Maggie Stiefvater's writing in this regard.<br><br><blockquote>'It wasn't the apocalypse, but it was a taste of it.'</blockquote><br>With a new metal to play with, this book could have gone far and in all sorts of directions. It started well with a bullet train and then just gave up on wider world-building and resigned itself to being a turf-war with some superhero elements and suggestions of the extraterrestrial. We're told again and again the value of the metal and its possibilities but all they seem to do with it is smoke it or wear it as jewellery (Hawkin, of course, aside, but I'll be spoiling it if I say more). It felt like a waste.<br><br>And then the end. Whilst the start felt nicely understated and reasonably realistic, the book gets more and more over the top and unlikely as it goes. The end felt rushed, with new elements introduced and whole scenes (which I'd consider pretty key) just skimmed over. All of a sudden, Percy's history of comic-book writing became clear.<br><br>Overall, I thought the book was well-written, with some fantastic twists that kept me turning the page. It's not as dark as I was expecting it to be and I was grateful for that. Will I read the next book? Maybe.<br><br>You might like this if you like:<br><a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/29932639.Sleeping_Giants__Themis_Files___1_" title="Sleeping Giants (Themis Files, #1) by Sylvain Neuvel" rel="noopener"> <img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1460894189l/29932639._SY75_.jpg" alt="Sleeping Giants (Themis Files, #1) by Sylvain Neuvel" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a> <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/17182126.Steelheart__The_Reckoners___1_" title="Steelheart (The Reckoners, #1) by Brandon Sanderson" rel="noopener"> <img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1357576738l/17182126._SY75_.jpg" alt="Steelheart (The Reckoners, #1) by Brandon Sanderson" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a> <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/22816087.Seveneves" title="Seveneves by Neal Stephenson" rel="noopener"> <img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1449142000l/22816087._SY75_.jpg" alt="Seveneves by Neal Stephenson" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a> <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/218467.Lucifer_s_Hammer" title="Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven" rel="noopener"> <img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388268115l/218467._SY75_.jpg" alt="Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a> <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/33080122.The_Calculating_Stars__Lady_Astronaut___1_" title="The Calculating Stars (Lady Astronaut, #1) by Mary Robinette Kowal" rel="noopener"> <img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1539850192l/33080122._SY75_.jpg" alt="The Calculating Stars (Lady Astronaut, #1) by Mary Robinette Kowal" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a>

A superhero origin story in disguise as a rough family drama. <br /><br />Only, the superheroes are more anti-hero. There's really no likeable characters in this book. John, arguably, the main character is a murderer and his family is basically the local mafia. Stacie, the rookie cop, is a wholesome character but is changed by the events of the book. Victoria basically tortures a kid "for science" but knows it's wrong and wants to free him. There are other characters that come and go, all are driven to extremes because of the gold-rush atmosphere after a meteor crashes into their town and leaves masses of a new metal that has world-changing properties.<br /><br />Speaking of the meteor - it's like if the vibranium meteor from the Marvel movie Black Panther crashed in Minnesota instead of Wakanda. The metal has many properties similar to that comic book metal, at least as portrayed in the MCU movies. <br /><br />Hints sprinkled throughout the story indicate there may be more to the metal than just as a power source and creation of superheroes. Lovecraftian dreams, portals to elsewhere are just a part of the subtle world-building I hope is explored deeper in the sequel. I didn't realize this was the first book in a series until I looked it up on Goodreads. I'm intrigued enough by the world-building to read the sequel when it comes out.<br /><br />Review eARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley.

Synopsis: Earth crossed a comet’s debris field and down came wondrous omnimetal which is a perfect energy source but can also be consumed as a drug.<br /><br />The story follows John Frontier, heir to a iron-mining dynasty in Minnesota. He returns for his sister’s wedding and finds his family in a cutthroat war for mining rights. <br /><br />The other protagonist is physicist Victoria Lennon who works for the Department of Defense to research omnimetal. In this case, a living one, as a boy has been covered with the metal and developed super hero abilities. <br /><br />Lastly, a newbie cop investigates a murder in her off-time and comes across corruption in her department. <br /><br />Review: This novel is a cross-over of super hero prequel and Wild West story. I expected something more SF, something technical. But it wasn’t about those aspects at all. <br /><br />The whole omnimetal trope is just a layer over the Wild West content, featuring gang wars, exploiting mining corporations, corrupt cops, all set in a backwater city. While enjoyable as such, I’d say the crossover idea didn’t catch roots and I’d rather have read a plain Western, featuring moral choices, family loyalty, and strong characters.

In a <a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CometOfDoom" rel="nofollow noopener"> <i>Comet of Doom</i> </a>, <a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GreenRocks" rel="nofollow noopener"> <i>Green Rocks</i> </a> (<i>The Ninth Metal</i>), <a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GovernmentConspiracy" rel="nofollow noopener"> <i>Government Conspiracy</i> </a>, <a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RedemptionEarnsLife" rel="nofollow noopener"> <i>Redemption Earns Life</i> </a> and<a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NewOldWest" rel="nofollow noopener"> <i>New Old West</i> </a> (in Minnesota) cross-over two mutants find peace. First book in the <i>The Comet Cycle</i> continuing series.<br><br><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1649961936i/32810024._SY540_.jpg" width="157" height="237" alt="description" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> <br><i> <b>The Ninth Metal</b> </i> <br><br>My audiobook was 10 ½ hours long. It had a US copyright of 2021. A dead tree version would be about 300-pages. <br><br><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Percy" rel="nofollow noopener">Benjamin Percy</a> is an American novelist, comic book writer and screenwriter. He has six novels published including this one. This is the first book in the author's The Comet Cycle Series, of which there are now three books. This is the first book of any type I’ve read by this author.<br><br>Julia Whelan was the narrator. Whelan is a good narrator that can ably change her voice with the characters internal and external narrative. However, there were a lot of characters.<br><br><i> <b>TL;DR Synopsis</b> </i><br><br>This story started out well and ended poorly. It was chock-full of science fiction and mystery tropes. None of them were very original. It was too melodramatic and pretentiously written. It contains a lot of pop culture and historical infodumps. Its use of too many POVs in a short 300-pages hollowed-out the characters. Prose was a little bit lumpy and plotlines were a tangle. Finally, this is a work of serial fiction intended to eventually support the author into his dotage.<br><br><i> <b>The Review</b> </i><br><br>The best part of this story was the Prologue. A comet called Cain, passes Earth. In a neat twist, a year later the Earth passes through a debris field from the comet. There is a near-apocalyptic, <a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MagicMeteor" rel="nofollow noopener"> <i>Magic Meteor</i> </a> shower that seeds the Earth with a vast amount of <i>Omnimetal</i>. Omnimetal is <i>Green Rocks</i>. It has magical powers. It can <i>Mutate</i> a human into a super human, it powers technology that "makes the trains run on time" and if you cook-it and smoke it you’ll eventually be raptured by space aliens.<br><br>Most of the story takes place in a boomtown in Northern Minnesota on the edge of the <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/superior/specialplaces/?cid=fseprd555184" rel="nofollow noopener">Boundary Water Canoe Area Wilderness</a>. The town had an exceptionally large deposit of omnimetal. It was a cross between <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadwood_(TV_series)" rel="nofollow noopener">Deadwood</a> and an American heartland <i>Fracking Boom Town</i>. This ingot of world building was good. The author had a good grasp of Northern Minnesota and Minnesotans. I also didn't really mind the <i>Treehugger</i> nature loving theme it introduced. That's because, going canoeing in the Boundary Waters has been on my bucket list, since I dated a woman from Minnesota as a callow youth. <br><br>The story corroded from there. <br><br>The author chose to use a multiple POV approach. There were too many. Sharing what would have been only 300-pages between: rich boy, <i>ronin</i>, mutant John Frontier; physicist Victoria Lennon; rookie, cop Stacie Toal; mutant, comic book loving, Hawkin Gunderson; and John’s love interest from High School, waitress Jennifer meant none of them received enough words to anneal. There was also a surfeit of: <i>Red Shirts</i>; evil, land-raping business men; NPCs; and the obligatory <i>Mad Scientist</i> (working for the Government) with his own POV.<br><br>The author’s prose was good, but uneven. Dialog was good. (You can expect that from a screenwriter turned author.) There were several amusing turns-of-phrase, if you know anything about Minnesota or Minnesotans. “buffalo plaid-wearing, loon-loving Lutherans” brought a laugh. However, in places descriptions were saccharine and overly wrought. The author <i>gilds the lily</i> on his descriptions. For example, was it essential to know Physicist Victoria suffered from <i>Plantar fasciitis</i> when she does no running in the story? In contrast his action scenes are pleasantly sparse.<br><br>Plotting and pacing were rough. The story was about two families, the Gundersons and the Frontiers, both with mutates and a great wrong between them. It was overly dramatic. It relied too heavily on sympathy toward the plight to children to pluck the reader's heartstrings. It shifted POV too quickly between the characters with an ungainly number of: flashbacks, back story, and parallel plots. The author’s favorite way of terminating a plot line, was to kill all the supporting characters involved in violent action.<br><br>There was also a lode of sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll in the story. Sex was not graphic, but titillating in its variety. It was also all heterosexual. Folks smoked Space Dust made from omnimetal, as well as partaking in more terrestrial soft and hard core drugs, including alcohol. There were several amusing Classic Rock and Country music references.<br> <br>The violence and gore in this book was vivid, but not graphic. Note this story includes violence against women and minors. In addition, human subordinate characters who took physical punishment, didn’t get right up. Kudos to the author for the description of concussed and thoroughly beat-up characters "hurting" for several pages. The mutates were nigh invulnerable. <br><br>I had a hard time finding any technical errors, except maybe the author's understanding of The Law. He should have been aware of the right of <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/habeas_corpus" rel="nofollow noopener"> <i>Habeas Corpus</i> </a> and U.S. rights to privacy? For example, Lennon's 'employment contract' a key element of her character's plight was both illegal and unenforceable. It made her an accessory in child kidnaping and torture that could have resulted in death. <input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="85a173cb-8b1a-441d-8ff0-317cc44e2d71" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="85a173cb-8b1a-441d-8ff0-317cc44e2d71">If the mutate hadn't been invulnerable.</label> The paramilitary, firearms usage was correct. Although, use of explosives and detonators was a bit overdone. (Bricks or C4 get thrown around like firecrackers.) Most of the surveillance and computer tech felt correct. However, omnimetal and omnimetal infused humans were <i>magical</i>. The laws of physics went out the omnimetal portal where they were concerned. I did have to laugh at the Mad Scientist’s giant, laser-lit, omnimetal cutting, anti-mutant, “wizard blade”, which was more of a weaponized chainsaw. The phallic aspects of the tool were unexploited.<br><br>Finally, the story had a somewhat happy ending for the main characters, which sets-up for the next book in the series. There are currently three books in the series. The 2nd and 3rd were released almost simultaneously shortly after this one. It makes me wonder why the overall plot couldn't be captured in fewer books?<br> <br>I went along for the ride with this story not knowing where it was going. I could see it was going to have a happy ending, I just didn’t know how many and which plotlines would carry on into the next book. The story was OK, but not sophisticated or original enough for me to want to become invested in the series. What's annoying, is that with some work, it could have been better. For example, half the number POVs and more original riffs on the chosen tropes could have been used. I’m not going to be reading the next book in the series <i> <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/55959433.The_Unfamiliar_Garden__The_Comet_Cycle___2_" title="The Unfamiliar Garden (The Comet Cycle, #2) by Benjamin Percy" rel="noopener">The Unfamiliar Garden</a> </i>. Life’s too short, and there are better books <i>out there</i> to be reading.</["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]>