"Expect the
unexpected: you will not be disappointed ... action explodes across the
page."
(Thyme)
A post-apocalyptic world... the United States
struggling to rebuild itself in a landscape populated with robots, cyborgs, and
worse... a self-contained city under attack from forces without and within... a
hero with a secret past.
This first novel from someone Locus described as "a safe bet [to] turn into another of
Eidolon reviewed it as "remarkably absorbing, with
enough twists and turns to keep the jaded and mirrorshaded eyes of the
post-post-modernists wide open". The
Sydney Morning Herald praised
"Williams' joyously profligate exuberance of ideas and his wickedly
cynical, machiavellian mind" while the Geelong
Advertiser concluded: "If you are after an easy-to-read, believable,
futuristic crime story and not an account of fantastical alien invasions or
spaceship battles, then this book is for you."
In a dystopic world after a devastating world war, the
American city of
Now, forty years
after the end of the war, Kennedy is in crisis.
Technologies are failing and replacements and repairs are not
forthcoming. It is within this
atmosphere of slow death that news of Re-United States of America emerges -- a
RUSA which wants Kennedy to join.
But not everyone
in Kennedy agrees with reassimilation, and a series of political assassinations
and data thefts begin. As the deadline
for union looms, Phil Roads, the investigator assigned to solve the killings
and robberies, is under pressure. Caught
between murderous opposing forces, with dangerous secrets emerging from his
past, he needs to find out who's behind the crimes -- and fast.
"Metal
Fatigue is one of the best future-noir thrillers to come out of
"As a thriller,
[Metal Fatigue] works out its SF
components with unusual detail; as an SF text, it develops its thriller
elements with considerable efficiency and breakneck pacing ... Williams shows
enough verve at plotting and action writing that it's a safe bet he'll turn
into another of
"Metal Fatigue has been a big winner for
the HarperCollins Australian sf program, and its success is due to Williams'
joyously profligate exuberance of ideas and his wickedly cynical, machiavellian
mind." Sydney Morning Herald,
1996
"Sean Williams'
debut novel is a treat for the avid sci-fi fan. He writes lucidly and his detailed
futuristic vision cries of thorough research and vivid imagination. ... Action
scenes predominate and they are delivered in such flowing narrative that the
reader is swept right along ... If you are after an easy-to-read, believable,
futuristic crime story and not an account of fantastical alien invasions or
spaceship battles, then this book is for you."
"Metal Fatigue is Adelaide-based Sean
Williams' debut novel, and what an impressive debut it is. ... For a short while
I lived and breathed in the streets of fictitious Kennedy Polis. What more
could you ask for in an escapist novel?"
dB Magazine
" [Metal Fatigue]'s pacing is damn-near
perfect, never letting up ... The characterisation is strong ... And the plot itself
... is remarkably absorbing, with enough twists and turns to keep the jaded and
mirrorshaded eyes of the post-post-modernists wide open ... Polished and
compelling reading" Eidolon
"Williams
creates solid suspense and intriguing characters. [Metal Fatigue is] an assured and often compelling take on Sam Spade
meets Blade Runner." The
Australian Weekend Review
"a hefty tale worth every extra ounce ... Metal Fatigue is [Sean Williams'] debut novel, but it reads like the work of a seasoned pro -- one who hasn't lost the sense of adventure that a fictional world can create. If an author can be both a master and a novice, Williams has captured the best of both stations. ... So, get some provisions stocked up beside your comfy chair and be ready for the long haul ... Hoo boy!" Lisa DuMond, SF Site, MEviews