Skip to content
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • PodBean
  • Subscribe To My Pal Sammy Newsletter
  • ABOUT
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms

My Summer Lair

Think NPR's Fresh Air meets Kevin Smith: My Summer Lair with host Sammy Younan: interviews & impressions on Pop Culture.

  • Home
  • Podcast
    • My Summer Lair
    • Space Station Oddity
  • Set The VCR
  • New Book Alert
  • True Sammy Stories
  • Toggle search form

Under-Review: The Ninth Metal

Posted on August 18, 2021January 3, 2024 By Sammy Younan No Comments on Under-Review: The Ninth Metal

The Ninth Metal
by Benjamin Percy
Published by William Morrow & Company on June 1, 2021
Thrillers – Suspense // Science Fiction – Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic


One of the best aspects of sci-fi books is the world building: avid nerd tourism to explore strange locations and of course dangerous locals brimming with hostile locals and confusing customs.

So where does Benjamin Percy transport sci-fi readers?

Why: Northfall, Minnesota! (I mean…would you want to visit Stephen King’s Maine?!)

Cue Fox Mulder and his slide projector: “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.”

That “bright” comet creates a modern gold-rush with ah…X-Files elements. The Hatfield and McCoys resume their war: this time as Minnesota conglomerate families sparing for control over omnimetal, there’s a creepy cult that snorts omnimetal…what’s happening here?

The Ninth Metal is a crazy fun ride. If you like dirty cops, a kid with “superpowers” and desperate people who do dirty deeds dirt cheap then this is your jam! Solid sci-fi thriller.

Ben’s “day job” is writing comic books and I wonder if he trojan horsed a superhero origin story: we’ll see in Book 2 (The Unfamiliar Garden).

The Ninth Metal is the first novel in The Comet Cycle a trilogy. I asked Ben if the third book The Sky Vault: Is this final book? Or is popular demand going to increase the series/world?

Ben replied: “There could be six or twelve or twenty more. Hard to know. A lot in flux right now (especially on the Hollywood side of things). This is the last book FOR NOW. Glad you’re digging them.”

Yo: The sky is falling; open your hands to catch this.

Bonus Recent Sci-Fi Sky Is Falling Recommendation: The Effort by Claire Holroyde where a dark comet threatens to end Earth.

-28-

Sammy Younan is the affable host of My Summer Lair: think NPR’s Fresh Air meets Kevin Smith: interviews & impressions on Pop Culture.

Stress free pop culture tastefully harvested for your divine delight. Once a week a carefully curated edition of My Pal Sammy goes directly to your inbox. Sign up for my newsletter because the F in FOMO doesn’t stand for Fun.

Books, New Book Alert Tags:Benjamin Percy, Comic Books, My Summer Lair, Reading is FUNdamental, Science-Fiction, X Files

Post navigation

Previous Post: Under-Review: Later
Next Post: New Book Alert: November 1-5, 2021

More Related Articles

New Book Alert: February 8-12, 2021 New Book Alert
Pete Croatto (From Hang Time to Prime Time: The Birth of the Modern-Day NBA) My Summer Lair 182 Under-Review: From Hang Time to Prime Time Books
New Book Alert: January 13-17, 2020 New Book Alert
New Book Alert: April 5-9, 2021 New Book Alert
New Book Alert: January 4-8, 2021 New Book Alert
New Book Alert: February 10-14, 2020 New Book Alert

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • #SetTheVCR June 2–8, 2025 TV recommendations image from My Summer Lair, featuring a retro-style television graphic promoting a weekly pop culture column by podcast host Sammy Younan.
    #SetTheVCR: June 02-08, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    Your Presence is required for these TV Recommendations which range from Power Moves to a Resident Alien. #SetTheVCR for Good Night, and Good Luck.
  • #SetTheVCR TV recommendations cover for May 26 – June 1, 2025, from My Summer Lair podcast, highlighting curated weekly streaming and television picks by Sammy Younan.
    #SetTheVCR: May 26 – June 01, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    Here stories from Birbiglia to Bono: it’s a Brave New World filled with TV Recommendations. Wanna Live The Good Life? Enjoy this week’s #SetTheVCR.
  • #SetTheVCR cover for May 19–25, 2025 from My Summer Lair podcast, featuring weekly streaming and TV recommendations curated by host Sammy Younan.
    #SetTheVCR: May 19-25, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    From Pee-wee Herman to Sherlock Holmes this week’s TV Recommendations are loaded with comedy, angst and drama. Plus for this week’s #SetTheVCR you get to shake it like a Polaroid picture.
  • #SetTheVCR TV guide cover for May 12–18, 2025 from My Summer Lair podcast, with curated streaming and broadcast recommendations by Sammy Younan.
    #SetTheVCR: May 12-18, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    Do you have Heart Eyes for fresh TV Recommendations without all the Overcompensating puns? The puns are here to stay that’s what makes it #SetTheVCR.
  • #SetTheVCR: May 05-11, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    Even with your Poker Face I can tell you’re seeking TV Recommendations for your Safe House. No worries with this week’s #SetTheVCR I got it in The Black Bag.
  • #SetTheVCR: April 28 – May 04, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    April showers bring May TV listings: these TV recommendations cover all Four Seasons. It’s #SetTheVCR where I put the On in Conan.
  • #SetTheVCR: April 21-27, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    TV Recommendations can be Havoc; You need help. Well Babygirl: I got you; it's your TV Companion: #SetTheVCR.
  • #SetTheVCR: April 14-20, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    I hope you're a light Nightsleeper because the NBA Playoffs start this week. Will a new champion be Minted? Only way to know is to #SetTheVCR.
  • #SetTheVCR: April 07-13, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    For this week's TV Recommendations we stare into The Abyss and a Black Mirror stares back. Welcome to #SetTheVCR which is about as comfortable and as cool as Morningside.
  • #SetTheVCR: March 31 – April 06, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    Secrets and Serial Killers pepper this week’s TV Recommendations. A combo like that can only mean it’s #SetTheVCR.
  • #CouchWorthy: Bono: Stories of SurrenderMay 29, 2025
    Bono: Stories of Surrender is a vivid reimagining of his one-man stage show Stories of Surrender now streaming on Apple TV.
  • #CouchWorthy: Super Team CanadaMay 16, 2025
    Super Team Canada follows six lesser known and underrated Canadian superheroes, tasked with saving the world.
  • #CouchWorthy: Murderbot: Season 1 May 15, 2025
    Murderbot a private security cyborg hides its acquired autonomy, while completing dangerous assignments is simultaneously drawn to humans.
  • #CouchWorthy: Ernest Cole: Lost and Found April 29, 2025
    Raoul Peck's portrait of South African photographer Ernest Cole offers a harrowing history of Apartheid and chronicles an artist in exile.
  • #CouchWorthy: 2025 Key Midseason & Premiere Dates – April 2025March 28, 2025
    #SetTheVCR is your weekly TV Guide by Sammy Younan to help you plan a fantastic TV schedule from must-watch TV shows to fun discoveries.
  • #CouchWorthy: 2025 Key Midseason & Premiere Dates – March 2025February 28, 2025
    #SetTheVCR is your weekly TV Guide by Sammy Younan to help you plan a fantastic TV schedule from must-watch TV shows to fun discoveries.

  • Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 1: Gotham Nocturne: Overture
    Under-Review: Detective Comics: Gotham Nocturne: Overture
    by Sammy Younan
    My Summer Lair host Sammy Younan reviews Batman - Detective Comics: Gotham Nocturne: OvertureL Volume 1,
  • New Book Alert: California Bear
    by Sammy Younan
    New Book Alert is just that: A useful Yo for a fresh book. from your pal Sammy. What Are You Reading?
  • New Book Alert: The Music Was Just Getting Good
    by Sammy Younan
    New Book Alert is just that: A useful Yo for a fresh book. from your pal Sammy. What Are You Reading?
  • New Book Alert: The Ascent
    by Sammy Younan
    New Book Alert is just that: A useful Yo for a fresh book. from your pal Sammy. What Are You Reading?
  • New Book Alert: Fantastic Four by Ryan North Volume 2
    by Sammy Younan
    New Book Alert is just that: A useful Yo for a fresh book. from your pal Sammy. What Are You Reading?

Copyright © 2025 My Summer Lair.

Powered by PressBook Premium theme