Jestin Kase and the Secrets of Chaos Metal by J. Michael White

Author

Jestin Kase and the Secrets of Chaos Metal

A magical cult! Psychological trauma! Teenage shenanigans! Dragon Metal continues as Jestin tries to stop one of the Three Great Schools of Magic from unleashing a magical superweapon. One problem: he doesn’t have any idea what the weapon is, and to find out, he has to fight his way through an island filled with mind-bending traps, evil scientists, and necromantic priests. Oh, and Emma’s involved. Remember Emma? The “friend” who betrayed Jestin? Twice? Yeah, she’s back. And so is her chain-wielding, psychopathic sidekick with a dumb name: Malachite. Only this time, Malachite has a power-up—something tied to a magic called Chaos Metal. Will the secrets of Chaos Metal be too much for Jestin to handle? (Spoiler: Yes). No, this isn’t a dystopian future. It’s our world, a world where mankind has lost the battle for its soul without knowing. And in this world, there are no chosen ones. No special destinies. Only Metal. And those brave enough to wield it.

Reviews

In this twisty, emotional third adventure in White’s Dragon Metal series, Jestin Kase and his group of friends face off with the Three Great Schools as they prepare for a Final Crusade that could devastate our world—"a big, all-out magical war.” Still reeling from loss and betrayals, Jestin is haunted by previous battles with his nemesis and former friend, Emma, and her mysterious hooded sidekick, Malachite. Soon, Jestin gets kidnapped while on a mission with his roommate, Jacob Colt, and that scene-stealer Growly McHissy-Face (Hiss, for short), the shapeshifting cat. Colt and Hiss team up with some familiar faces to rescue Jestin, who is being held by one of the Great Schools, Ishraqi, and the leader Dhiraar, who promises to expose Jestin to the truth and "the Light.” With few options, Jestin plays along with Dhiraar’s cult on a hunt for the First Relic, a magical super weapon.

White again brings heart, thrills, inventive magic, and a striking vision of how dragon metal power, demons, and other beasts would feel in the real world. For all the epic moments and bizarre beasts that truly earn the term “metal," White centers his cast’s hearts. As Jestin fights to protect the innocent, his friends, and himself, he holds to his values—“Kill demons and thralls? Sure. Kill humans? No”—even when he’s not sure who to trust—or must align with those he knows he can't. As a wielder of the Dragon Medal of the Sun, Jestin again is thrust into a role he doesn't have the confidence to believe he can truly handle, that of a hero.

This thriller will keep young readers turning the pages as Jestin and his quick-witted, fun-to-follow friends fight against ever-more-powerful forces, but with stakes as personal as they are epic: for every Beast of Tiamat, there’s a surprise into characters’ pasts, hearts, and trauma, which in this series is a manipulable source of Metal power. Though easy enough to follow as a standalone, Jestin Kase and the Secrets of Chaos Metal works best as a culmination, and readers are advised to start at the start.

Takeaway: Complex, engaging heroes face demons, cults, and truly metal magic.

Comparable Titles: Tochi Onyebuchi's War Girls, James Dashner's The Maze Runner.

Production grades
Cover: A-
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A

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