9 h 21 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 9 h 21 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the metal before you could move, think, and pursue aims you cannot understand?
In Abraham Merritt’s The Metal Monster, botanist Walter Goodwin travels into the remote mountains of Asia. Trained to trust evidence, he encounters something his science cannot explain: living metal. Far from ordinary roads, his careful eye becomes our guide to a world of wonder and dread.
Goodwin shares the mystery with capable Richard Drake and brave, clear-headed Ruth Ventnor. Then there is Norhala, a strange woman who seems at home among the metal beings. Her powers and purposes resist understanding. As the travellers face the unknown, the limits of human knowledge become more than an abstract question.
What you’ll discover
- Metal that seems alive Encounter the book’s central marvel: metal that moves and seems to think.
- A scientist beyond certainty Follow Goodwin as close observation meets things his training cannot explain.
- Companions in the unknown Meet Drake and Ruth, whose courage and loyalty give the strange journey a human centre.
- The mystery of Norhala Watch a woman move among living metal with an ease her companions cannot share.
- A world of shifting light Enter Merritt’s richly coloured scenes, where glitter and sound bring the impossible close.
Who will love it
For readers who love early science fantasy, lost-world adventure and richly coloured description, and anyone curious about the roots of modern science fiction.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A scientist walks into the unknown
- Companions join him on the road
- Norhala and the living metal appear
- A struggle among the metal powers
- What the book is really about
- How Merritt tells it
Who’s who
- Walter GoodwinA botanist who tells the story, careful and curious, who is drawn into events far beyond anything his science has taught him.
- Richard DrakeGoodwin's capable friend and companion, quick to act in danger and loyal to those he travels with.
- Ruth VentnorA brave and clear headed traveller who is caught up in the same mystery and stands firmly beside her companions.
- NorhalaA striking woman who seems at home among the living metal, with powers and purposes that the others struggle to understand.
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- Audiobook
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- 15-minute summary
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- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
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The Metal Monster
by Abraham Merritt · 1920
In Asia's remote mountains, botanist Walter Goodwin meets living metal and forces that defy everything he knows.
Medium level5–10 hours to read25 languages
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In short
The Metal Monster is an adventure novel by the American writer Abraham Merritt. It first appeared in magazine form in 1920, in the age of pulp fiction, when readers loved tales of lost valleys, hidden races and forces beyond science.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A scientist walks into the unknown
The story opens with Walter Goodwin, a man of science, who tells his tale in his own voice. He is a botanist, so he is trained to look closely, to name what he sees and to trust evidence. That training matters, because the events he describes make it hard to trust anything. Merritt uses him as a steady, sensible guide into a very unsteady world.
Goodwin finds himself in the wild mountain country of Asia, far from towns and maps. The land is vast, dry and ancient, and travellers in such places meet old legends as often as they meet people. Merritt gives the setting the feel of a place where history has piled up for thousands of years. This is the kind of ground where a pulp adventure can plausibly begin.
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What is The Metal Monster about?
It is an adventure in which a botanist and his friends find living metal beings in the remote mountains of Asia. They meet a mysterious woman who commands them, and they are drawn into a struggle between powers.
Who wrote The Metal Monster and when?
Abraham Merritt wrote it. It first appeared as a magazine serial in 1920, during the great age of pulp fiction, and was later printed as a book.
Who is Norhala in The Metal Monster?
Norhala is a striking and mysterious woman who seems to have power over the living metal. Her origins and aims are part of the book's mystery, and she both draws and unsettles the narrator.
The author
Abraham Merritt
1884–1943 · American fantasy writer
Abraham Merritt (1884–1943) was an American writer and journalist. He was born in Beverly, New Jersey, and worked in Philadelphia and New York City. He wrote fantasy and science fiction. The Moon Pool appeared in 1919, and The Metal Monster in 1920. He also edited The American Weekly.
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