“The Ninth Metal” by Benjamin Percy is a science fiction novel with elements of thriller mystery. It is a part of the “Comet Cycle” trilogy, and the opening sentence of the novel goes: “It begins with a comet.” Therefore, it is safe to assume that the novel has something to do with a comet falling or approaching the Earth.
The comet is at first a marvel to behold as it passes by the Earth, but it very quickly turns into a nightmare, as the debris left behind falls onto the Earth and destroys everything it touches. After the crisis of the debris destruction, there is a new discovery – the debris contained a powerful metal foreign to the Earth, which can be used for both good and bad i.e. weapons. In the midst of all this, a three characters’ stories unfold: a family trying to protect what is their own, a physicist hating her job, and a police officer investigating a murder.
The novel explores themes of an out-of-space threat towards humanity, as well as greed and corruption. It was first published in 2021.
