Metal from Heaven

For fans of The Princess Bride and Gideon the Ninth: a bloody lesbian revenge story and political fantasy set in a glittering world shaped by industrial change - and smoldering class struggle.

Whoever controls ichorite controls the world. This malleable, harder-than-steel and at the same time toxic ore drives the national boom, and ambitious industrialist Yann Chauncey directs its extraction. In his foundries, the poorest of the poor toil - workers who have suffered the devastating effects of ichorite since birth and are fighting for better wages and adequate medical care.

One of these ichorite-marked people is the child laborer Marney Honeycutt. When she goes on strike with her family and her best friend, the situation escalates: Chauncey's strikebreakers open fire. Only Marney survives.

Ten years later, Yann Chauncey seeks a political marriage for his ward. For Marney, this is the chance for retribution. With the help of radical bandits and their plundered riches, she disguises herself as an aristocrat to win over the calculating Gossamer Chauncey - and to kill the man who had her family and friends murdered. But she is not the only suitor for Lady Gossamer's hand and must engage in the twisted games of the elite. Marney's connection to the mysterious raw material and to the foundry could put her in the greatest danger - or save her.

Metal From Heaven, the adult fantasy debut by H. A. Clarke (as August Clarke), is a caustic, dizzying eco-fantasy about workers' politics, corporate greed and the relentless maelstrom of capitalism - and at the same time an uncompromising lesbian revenge quest against those who wield power and oppress the defenseless.

"A rebellious phantasmagoria that perfects the phrase 'be gay, do crime'." - Melinda Borie, Floyd County Library (New Albany, IN)

• Industrial fantasy around a toxic raw material
• Class struggle, strikes and political intrigue
• Undercover plot in aristocratic circles
• Queer protagonist and merciless revenge mission