In a post-nuclear, formerly United States, the one city that managed to keep functioning-by isolating itself-is about to re-join the rest of the country. Not everyone agrees with the plan, sparking a deadly spate of crimes. In today’s world, where border closures and lockdowns rapidly became normal, Sean Williams’s award-winning debut novel Metal Fatigue has taken on a new currency.

First published in 1996, Metal Fatigue won Best Novel in the Science Fiction Division of the Aurealis Awards for Excellence in Australian Speculative Fiction and was shortlisted in the Ditmar Awards.