A MINNESOTA BOOK AWARDS FINALIST IN NOVEL & SHORT STORY In Benjamin Percy's new thriller, a post-apocalyptic reimagining of the Lewis and Clark saga, a super flu and nuclear fallout have made a husk of the world we know. A few humans carry on, living in outposts such as the Sanctuary-the remains of St. Louis-a shielded community that owes its survival to its militant defense and fear-mongering leaders. Then a rider comes from the wasteland beyond...

"[In THE NINTH METAL] debris from a comet drops a fabulously valuable new metal on Northfall, MN., turning it into a bloody, brawling boomtown. Great characters, fine writing, totally engrossing."
—Stephen King
"Take one part dystopia, one part sci-fi, two parts apocalypse, then ride them roughshod through a bleak and bloody western, and it still wouldn't get close to what Ben Percy does here, which is blow open the core...

The night the sky fell, Jack and Nora Abernathy's daughter vanished in the woods. And Mia's disappearance broke her parents' already fragile marriage. Unable to solve her own daughter's case, Nora lost herself in her work as a homicide detective. Jack became a shell of a man; his promising career as a biologist crumbling alongside the meteor strikes that altered weather patterns and caused a massive drought.

It isn't until five years later

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The comet, Cain, came from beyond our solar system, its debris containing elements unknown. Now, in the isolated region of Fairbanks, Alaska, the skies shift and stretch as an interstellar dust cloud seeds the atmosphere. When a plane shudders its way through pulpy, swirling, bruise-shaped clouds, lit with sudden cracks of lightning, the sky opens and the aircraft vanishes...but only for a minute. When the flight lands, everyone on board and in the...

"On defense or offense, Wolverine is Krakoa's best weapon. But that doesn't mean he always attacks exactly where the Beast aims, and what Hank McCoy chooses to do about that is going to set Logan on a startling and revelatory path that will redefine his future! Just what, exactly, is Beast's agenda? And why has it turned Logan...savage? Prepare for a betrayal that will change everything and send Wolverine deep into the Pit of Exile beneath Krakoa!...

"Wolverine crosses paths with heroes across the Marvel Universe! Logan decides to bring the fight straight to the enemies of mutantkind, and his grand tour begins in the only way it could: face-to-face once more with the Incredible Hulk! But will they meet as friends or enemies? Meanwhile, Wolverine hunts down his remaining three clones from the Beast's Weapons of X - for in the end, there can be only one best there is! Benjamin Percy's ever-surprising...

Ghost Rider vs. Wolverine! 'Nuff said! There's somebody else out there like Johnny Blaze, somebody who knows what it means to suffer - to feel sickened by the pain they've inflicted on the world. His name is Logan. After the motorcycle rally at Hell's Backbone, Wolverine and Ghost Rider are brought together - but are they enemies or allies in the war against the shadow country? Meanwhile, there's a new splinter group within the F.B.I. charged with...