Leo Spearman cares about one thing: getting a cure for Gaethâs "Steel Elbow". When they decide to leave Earth to cure him, they realize they may have to break galactic law to get it. Leo believes everything's going according to plan but when their new ally Sonja comes along, Leo becomes more and more dedicated to Onyx, a group set on stopping the Sol Empire from taking over the galaxy. As Leo and Sonjaâs connection grows, Gaeth begins questioning his brothersâ dedication to finding his cure.
Across the galaxy, an alien named Tank is determined to win The Ceremony, hoping to find out what happened to his father, who won before him. When he finds his answer, he's forced to escape his home. After being saved by Enzu, she equips him with an arm cannon, the only expense being to work for her and protect a small boy named Myca. Tank is grateful of Enzu for saving him, but the more time he spends at Bisekt, it makes him question everything.
However when an outside threat forces Leo and Tank to work together, theyâll discover if they can save the ones they love or if itâs already too late.
Leo Spearman cares about one thing: getting a cure for Gaethâs "Steel Elbow". When they decide to leave Earth to cure him, they realize they may have to break galactic law to get it. Leo believes everything's going according to plan but when their new ally Sonja comes along, Leo becomes more and more dedicated to Onyx, a group set on stopping the Sol Empire from taking over the galaxy. As Leo and Sonjaâs connection grows, Gaeth begins questioning his brothersâ dedication to finding his cure.
Across the galaxy, an alien named Tank is determined to win The Ceremony, hoping to find out what happened to his father, who won before him. When he finds his answer, he's forced to escape his home. After being saved by Enzu, she equips him with an arm cannon, the only expense being to work for her and protect a small boy named Myca. Tank is grateful of Enzu for saving him, but the more time he spends at Bisekt, it makes him question everything.
However when an outside threat forces Leo and Tank to work together, theyâll discover if they can save the ones they love or if itâs already too late.
Thwap thwap thwap.
Leo Spearmanâs hair stood on end at the sound of rain hitting metal. It dripped off the side and pooled in the grass, soaking into his shoes. His drenched, ashy hair stuck to his skin as he stood outside his fatherâs old spaceship, watching his brother, Gaeth, hug his mother goodbye. Not one friendly face was visible among the crowd of townspeople surrounding them.
The downpour intensified as Gaeth pick up the mud-caked suitcases, but his mom pulled him back into a hug. She immediately withdrew with a yelp and Leo knew she mustâve been poked by a piece of metal sticking out of Gaethâs arm. Gaeth pulled his sleeve down so no one would notice, but it was too late.
âGet that thing out of here!â someone from the crowd yelled.
Leo tried his best to ignore them. He jogged to his mother and brother, the water soaking through his shoes, and grabbed one of Gaethâs suitcases.
âMom, itâs okay.â Gaeth patted her on the back.
âI shouldnât have agreed to this. We should have found a different way,â she said through tears.
Leo brought the suitcase to the ship where their father waited. He stared at Leo with sad eyes and let out a long sigh.
âYou seem alright for someone who wonât see your son again,â Leo said, crossing his arms.
âDonât make this harder than it is,â his father replied without glancing his way. âIâm glad they agreed to let you take Gaeth. I canât imagine a skinny nineteen-year-old on a freighter by himself.â
âHeâd be terrified. Of course Iâm taking him,â Leo said. âIf I had my way, he wouldnât be going at all. I always thought it was a bad idea.â
Was it him, or was the crowd moving in closer? The quicker they got off Earth, the sooner they could get Gaeth away from all these people. Leoâs stomach turned as he thought about how they spat on Gaeth as a child and ran from him as if he were a monster. If it had stopped when they grew older maybe they could have stayed on Earth. It wasnât Gaethâs fault he was sick, after all.
Leoâs father motioned to the townspeople. âDo you see everyone out here, gawking?â
They all stared at Gaeth like predators ready to strike.Â
âIf Gaeth stayed, who knows what they might do to him. I donât want him to go through any more pain.â
Leo looked away. He knew his father was right, but he didnât want to admit it.
âI donât want him to be in pain either,â Leo said.
âThen help him.â
Gaeth finally wrestled himself free of his motherâs grip and walked toward them. His clothes had soaked through, and his wavy brown hair slicked down across his forehead. His green eyes widened with worry as he glanced frantically at the crowd who had started up a chant.
âHell no! Hell no! Robot kid has got to go!â
The rain poured down; the thwap sound Leo hated so much grew more irritating. Gaeth stood in front of their father. âBye, Dad,â he said quickly.
Their father hugged Gaeth, and even though he wasnât making any noise, his quiet shaking screamed louder than any wail could have.
âGet a move on already,â a manâs angry voice carried above the others. âI havenât got all day.â
Leo flipped the man off, to which his mother scolded him. âLeo, what did I tell you about talking to anyone but us when weâre doing this? Act like a twenty-one-year-old for gosh sakes.â
âThey shouldnât be saying those things.â
âHey Leo, you forgot to pack this in case your brother gets a loose screw on the way over.â Through the rain, someone threw a small object. It smacked Leo in the chest and splashed in the mud at his feet.
He picked it up and wiped the grime off. A screwdriver. Leo didnât care who threw it or who said the joke; he sprinted at the crowd, not knowing what he would do when he got there. A bloody nose or two, at least. The crowd cheering drowned out his parentsâ shouts as he collided with a man. The people nearby gave them room as they sent mud in all directions.
Leo threw his fist into the manâs face. Anything resembling flesh he wanted to destroy. The crowd around them erupted, Leo managing to land a few solid punches before several hands grabbed him and threw him back toward the ship.
âYou could infect me, you contagious freak,â the man Leo attacked shouted, a trace of blood dripping from his nose.
âDonât insult my brother then, asshole,â Leo shouted back. He walked back to the ship, where his family talked low among themselves.
âSend it to Oblurn already!â The crowd rushed toward Leoâs family. Out of the corner of his eye, Leo spotted someone holding a metal bat.Â
Leo ran toward the ship as his parents rushed Gaeth aboard. The crowd closed in, jostling Leo every which way as they shouted in unison, âHey, hey! Ho, ho! Robot kid has got to go!â
A policeman managed to grab Leo and push him through.
His father grabbed him and shoved him up the ramp. âTake care of your brother and send us a message to let us know youâre okay.â
Leo fell back into the ship, where Gaeth already sat in the copilot seat. The crowd surrounded them, banging their fists on the hull, still chanting.
Leo sat in his own seat. He watched through the window as the same policeman lead his parents through the crowd, stopping a safe distance away. Leoâs heart sank for his brother. He knew he would be coming back, but Gaeth? How could Gaeth possibly feel right now, knowing this would be the last time heâd see them?
Gaeth had thrown his bags in the back with the cargo. Leo shivered in the cold, the dim lights not helping their spirits. He didnât know what to say as he sat in his own chair. The rain slid down the large front window as he went through the routine checklist he kept between the seats. Outside the police shouted at the crowd to back away.
âFuel tanks?â
Gaeth checked the gage. âCheck.â
Leo took his time checking it off the list. âEscape pod?â
âStill there,â Gaeth said.
Leo rechecked it, even more slowly. âEmergency thrusters?â
âLeo, just let me do it.â Gaethâs voice shook as he said it, his face remaining solemn. He grabbed the checklist and finished the routine in less than a minute, not paying attention to Leo. After shoving it back between the seats, Gaeth sat back in his chair and sighed.
Leo carefully turned the ship around, the crowd now running away from the heat of the engines. His back pushed into the seat as the darkness of space filled the window. After a few moments, they were operating in silence except for the occasional beeping.
The shipâs computer buzzed. âPlease enter coordinates.â
Leo glanced at Gaeth, still searching for words of comfort before typing in Oblurnâs location. There had to be something to make him feel better. But what do you say to someone being sent away from their planet for something they canât control?
âSetting course for Oblurn,â the computer chimed.
Gaeth remained silent. Leo put the ship on autopilot and leaned back in his seat. âHow are you feeling?â he asked.
âStiff, cold.â Gaeth paused, not able to say the words. He eventually forced them out, âWishing I could stay home.â His voice was barely above a whisper.Â
âI wish we could go back,â Leo said.
âSo weâre really doing this.â It wasnât a question, more of an accusation. He kept his eyes forward, playing with a loose thread on his chair.
âYou saw the crowd. If you stayed home, it would only be a matter of time before they made you leave anyway.â Leo realized it wasnât the right thing to say. âThink about it like going away to camp, except in space.â
âYeah, a camp I can never come back from, and no one can visit.â Gaeth sighed. âAnd if you go, everyone thinks youâre some sort of monster. Iâm surprised you arenât afraid of catching Steel Elbow.â
âIf I did, weâd be stuck in Oblurn together. Wouldnât that be fun?â Leo snuck a glance at Gaeth, who rolled his eyes. If he could get him to laugh a little, it would be a small victory. âIf itâs so bad and you donât think you can stay there, weâll figure something out. Itâs the best thing for you, though.â
âBest thing for everyone back home,â Gaeth muttered, pushing the heat button on his seat. âWhy arenât you worried youâll catch Steel Elbow?â
Leo thought for a moment. It was truehe should be scared of his brother. After Gaeth had given their neighbor Steel Elbow, all their friends had turned on him. But the way the crowd had treated Gaeth, Leo didnât want to leave him.
âIf I caught your virus and it meant we were going to live together for the rest of our lives, then Iâd be okay with that. Itâs what family does,â Leo said.
âBut I could cover everything sticking out of my skin like I have, and no one would be any the wiser. I could build a house in the countryside in the middle of nowhere, and no one would bother me. The only reason I have to leave is that everyone found out about it.â
âHow about this: if we both agree itâs so bad you canât live there without being miserable, Iâll take you away from there.â
Gaeth faced Leo for the first time since they took off. âYou better not be joking.â
âWhy would I joke about something like that?â Leo shot Gaeth a look that said Iâm serious.
âYou swear?â
âIâll even help you build a house in the countryside.â
Gaeth held up his pinky finger. âYou have to pinky promise.â
âGaeth, I promise Iâll do it.â
âNo. You need to pinky promise.â Gaeth wouldnât break eye contact.
Leo exhaled. âFine.â They wrapped their pinky fingers and shook them up and down. Gaeth nodded, sitting back in his seat, happier than before.
It was rare Gaeth smiled and it made Leo happy whenever he did. His heart sank as he realized it might be the last one heâd ever see. He didnât want to get Gaethâs hopes up, but if he could keep him in a good mood until they got to Oblurn, then he would at least keep his word to his parents.
I keep a little stuffed animal version of Grunt from the Mass Effect video game series on my reading chair at home. I've always been drawn to the "muscle" characters in science fiction stories, the strong sidekicks who accompany the smart scientists and dashing adventurers--the creatures who get by with brute force. I enjoyed Kathleen Contine's action-driven speculative novel Metal Bones for many reasons, but mostly because she lets a muscle character take the lead. One of the main heroes of Metal Bones is an intimidating alien called a Sovich--a big, scaly being with a tail and a perfect name: Tank. As if I already didn't love this enough, he's soon equipped with an arm cannon.
But Tank's story isn't our only narrative: allow me to back up for a second. We're first introduced to two brothers, the 21-year-old protective older sibling Leo Spearman and his younger counterpart 19-year-old Gaeth. Gaeth has been infected with a horrible virus called "Steel Elbow" that gradually turns the sufferer's bones into metal. Unfortunately, this virus is contagious; when a neighbor contracts the disease from Gaeth, Leo is forced to ferry his brother away from Earth to a place called Oblurn. Oblurn is touted as the perfect community where Steel Elbow patients can live out their lives in safety (it was even created by the guy who accidentally created the virus itself, Dr. Oswald Moon). However, it quickly becomes apparent that there's something majorly off about Oblurn. When Leo and Gaeth flee to New Star City, a hotbed of crime and corruption, they're quickly recruited by Vanish--a woman who runs a resistance group called Onyx--to help fight the powerful Sol Empire.
Alongside this narrative runs the story of Tank. Tank is on his home planet Whukogantu, training to participate in a dangerous contest called The Ceremony--once young Sovichs come of age, they compete (often to the death) for a necklace, and the winner gets to leave on a pilgrimage. Tank wants to win so he can find his long lost father; instead, he ends up escaping Whukogantu after uncovering a shocking secret about his planet's leadership. He's taken in by a woman named Enzu Ruba--the CEO of luxury spaceship manufacturer Bisekt, which makes ships for the Sol Empire--and employed as a bodyguard for her adopted son Myca. So, what will happen when the characters from these two narratives collide?
Contine's novel moves fast enough and contains enough youthful characters to appeal to the YA audience. Honestly, what the narrative reminded me of the most is a great D&D campaign. The characters plan and train and get into scrapes that often go badly, while at the same time they're learning and growing and developing new understandings and allegiances. Contine's characters are all memorable and unique: I haven't even mentioned Scril, a cockroach-like alien called a Kekzin with a smart mouth and a bad gambling habit, or Naf, a weaker strangely orange-colored Sovich who Tank takes under his wing. Final word: given the ending, I'm hoping there's a sequel.