n the classic 1982 novel The Silver Metal Lover, author Tanith Lee tells the story of Jane—a privileged girl who falls for a gorgeous robot named Silver. Now, in Metallic Love, a very different young woman will read Jane's account of her doomed romance ... and that story will change her life.
Loren's circumstances are as far from Jane's as they can possibly be. Street-smart instead of sheltered and trusting, she uses the secondhand dream of true love as a buffer against the tough realities of her life. In time, the book inspires her escape from the only home she has ever known, an orphanage run by violent religious fanatics. Later, when Loren learns that the corporation that built the original Silver is once again experimenting with beautiful robots, she sets out in search of her heroine's dead lover.
What she finds are eight models of robot, flashy shape-shifting performers so stunningly attractive that humans seem wholly inadequate beside them. Loren, however, has eyes only for the silver-skinned Verlis, a male, russet-haired model built from the remains of the original Silver. To her surprise, the attraction is mutual, instantaneous, and strongly felt on both sides.
As Loren gets to know Verlis better, she learns more about his fellow robots. The revelations are disturbing. The robots are impervious to harm and capable of evading the behavioral restraints placed on them by their creators. Constructed as beautiful playthings, they are instead deadly powerful creatures who regard humans as lesser life forms and a threat to their existence.
A hazardous path to love
Metallic Love is intertwined with The Silver Metal Lover in several intriguing ways. Contrary to expectations, the character of Jane remains in the picture, presenting a thorny romantic complication for Loren and Verlis. Meanwhile, Jane's villainous mother Demeta continues to manipulate people and events behind the scenes. There is a dialogue between the two novels: Jane's story has become a part of its own sequel, a forbidden tale published and distributed in secret despite formidable attempts to squelch it. Loren's narrative talks extensively—and sometimes critically—about the many differences between herself and Jane.
Despite this faintly metafictional conversation about the contrasts between the two books, one constant remains: the question of trust. Loren's love for Verlis does not blind her to the fact that he is obviously the leader of the robots, and that they are planning some kind of action they think will ensure their safety. Fully aware that at least a few of the other models have no compunctions about harming humans, she is left with a terrible dilemma: What will happen if she places her faith in Verlis? And—if she doesn't, or if he proves false—is there
any way to escape someone whose powers make him seem less like a person than a god?
This struggle between the novel's main characters is a subtle tug of war, with Loren seeking safety and promises Verlis seems incapable of delivering. Meanwhile, the other robots add a keen edge of menace to this balancing act, leaving readers to wonder whether the ultra-violent gold robots, for example, will leave Loren alive long enough to allow the romantic give-and-take to play out.
Utterly engaging, filled with marvels and always suspenseful, Metallic Love is not only a worthy successor to The Silver Metal Lover, but a thoroughly wonderful book in its own right.
