A directionless man uses any means to get closer to his roommate's science fiction writing collaborative in the sly, intricate, genre-hopping Metallic Realms by Lincoln Michel (The Body Scout).
Narrator Michael Lincoln is the author of Memoirs of My Metallic Realms, a companion volume to a series of science fiction short stories and his memories of the people who wrote them. Michael promises to unfold the history and lore of The Star Rot Chronicles, "arguably one of the greatest achievements in science fiction imagination," unrecognized because no one shares Michael's opinion of its brilliance. Its writers are a collective called the Orb 4: Michael's roommate and childhood friend, Taras; their other roommate, Cast ("they/them, lawful neutral, Pisces"); cosplay aficionado Darya; and Jane, an MFA student who usually writes literary fiction. Michael details the friendships and fallouts surrounding their work as well as how their dramas bled into the Star Rot Chronicles stories included in the Memoirs, and the eventual tragedy that ended it all.
The novel opens with Michael purposely misquoting Vladimir Nabokov, signaling readers to brace for maximum absurdity. An intimate portrait of this unreliable narrator emerges over the course of his memoir. He's a judgmental, self-unaware, socially awkward man whose goal in life is gaining access to the Orb 4's stories and lives at any cost. Humor, such as a metafictional turn when Michael accuses Michel of posting erotic Star Rot Chronicles fan fiction online, diffuses the sadness and disquiet of Michael's perspective. Readers who appreciate a clever, winking read should boldly go here. --Jaclyn Fulwood, blogger at Infinite Reads