Someone once said that all fiction is either someone coming to or leaving from town. In other words, all fiction is about change. In The Ninth Metal, Benjamin Percy brings the comet Caine to Earth. As the comet flies over Northfall, MN, it drops a new kind of metal on the small community. This new metal, omnimetal, changes the world forever and brings new life back into this small mining community. The Ninth Metal shows how the community responds to the changes, the influx of people, and to the vast riches suddenly strewn across Northfall. As ever, humans rushing to exploit new resources causes tension, and Benjamin Percy is quite good at depicting this tension on a person to person basis. The Ninth Metal is a book filled with mystery and secrets. Will John’s return home give him closure?
Disclaimer: The publisher provided a review copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. All opinions that follow are mine and mine alone.
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TL;DR
Action, murder, corporate intrigue, all fill The Ninth Metal. This book has it all, and I enjoyed each mystery as it unfolded. Recommended.
From the Publisher
IT BEGAN WITH A COMET…
At first, people gazed in wonder at the radiant tear in the sky. A year later, the celestial marvel became a planetary crisis when Earth spun through the comet’s debris field and the sky rained fire.
The town of Northfall, Minnesota will never be the same. Meteors cratered hardwood forests and annihilated homes, and among the wreckage a new metal was discovered. This “omnimetal” has properties that make it world-changing as an energy source…and a weapon.
John Frontier—the troubled scion of an iron-ore dynasty in Northfall—returns for his sister’s wedding to find his family embroiled in a cutthroat war to control mineral rights and mining operations. His father rightly suspects foreign leaders and competing corporations of sabotage, but the greatest threat to his legacy might be the US government. Physicist Victoria Lennon was recruited by the Department of Defense to research omnimetal, but she finds herself trapped in a laboratory of nightmares. And across town, a rookie cop is investigating a murder that puts her own life in the crosshairs. She will have to compromise her moral code to bring justice to this now lawless community.
In this gut-punch of a novel, the first in his Comet Cycle, Ben Percy lays bare how a modern-day goldrush has turned the middle of nowhere into the center of everything, and how one family—the Frontiers—hopes to control it all.
Review: The Ninth Metal by Benjamin Percy
John Frontier returns to Northfall for his sister’s wedding. John is also the troubled son of the Frontier family, owners of the mining company that used to sustain Northfall. With omnimetal’s appearance, the Frontier family is once again raking in the money, and they’re faced with stiff competition from an out of town company. John’s father, the CEO, must fend off competitors and the government, who seek omnimetals uses as a weapon. John’s sister, heir to company, will do what it takes to protect her family’s interests as she tries to bring Frontier into the modern era. Victoria Lennon gets an offer from the government to conduct top secret research, but she regrets taking the job. Her research strains her marriage, strains her sanity, but she’s unable to quit.
Omnimetal has profound properties that change U.S. society. John returns to Northfall on a bullet train made of and powered by omnimetal. Its ability to absorb and distribute energy make it valuable for new technologies. But, for some, the metal is a new a drug to be smoked, and a small cult of addicts has built itself around a woman calling herself Mother in Northfall. Upon ingestion, the users’ eyes light up blue. John’s brother, Nico, becomes a user, a metalhead.
The novel opens prior to the comet’s arrival. A young boy witnesses the invasion of his home by a man with a shotgun. He hears his mom and dad get shot. In case, there’s any wonder about the tone of the novel; this sets it. Action, murder, corporate intrigue, all fill The Ninth Metal. It is a brutal novel about regrets and how the past stays with us.
Regret
Characters
I loved a lot of the characters in this book. Percy has a lot of points of view in this book, and each felt unique. Despite the large cast, I never got lost; Percy does a great job about giving each character description and differentiation. Character makes entertaining books, and I enjoyed all the character work done here.
The reader spends most time with John, and his complicated history drives the story. A big part of the joy of reading this book is unraveling the mystery of John. He wants to be a good person, but can he? That’s a big question in the book. Throughout whenever you think you have an idea about John, Percy unveils a new aspect.
Conclusion
Benjamin Percy’s The Ninth Metal showcases the effect of a new ‘gold rush’ on a small American town. Omnimetal changes the nation, the community, and the characters. This opening to the Comet Cycle introduces readers to a new world through the unique lens of Benjamin Percy. I recommend following John Frontier’s return to his hometown.
The Ninth Metal by Benjamin Percy is available from Mariner Books on June 1st, 2021.
© Primmlife.com 2021