Set in a far-flung universe, and revolving around sentient AI mecha of mysterious alien origin called Metals, Screaming Metal is a standalone story -- the first in a series called Metal Fiction. On the distant Luddite world of Shake Hands, Priyanka and her crew -- Deshel and Suen -- seek to extract the braincore of a Metal supposedly buried deep within a centuries-old junkyard. What they don't know is that they are not alone in their search, and are soon at odds with the planet locals and other unknown forces. High adventure, space opera and mecha action.

In a dark future, something ancient and immeasurably powerful walks the mutant wastelands... Kensuke is a lowly ashigaru footsoldier in the Tachiyama Clan, one of the few remaining human settlements in a dark, post-apocalyptic future. Thousands of years in the past, deadly nanomutagens were released across Asia, killing hundreds of millions and transforming billions more over subsequent generations. Those who remained immune soon moved into enclaves. In Japan, the feudal system revolving around the samurai class was revived, and resource wars became common. In the present, the Tachiyama Clan is under attack by the brutal Sasagawa Clan whose goal is nothing less than the total subjugation of all remaining human enclaves. Both sides take to the battlefield with human soldiers, robots, and the powerful Augmented Samurai -- cyborg warriors who do battle by plugging into six-meter-tall mecha. Hard sci-fi samuraipunk action! Art: "Futuristic woman wearing a spacesuit" ©Grandfailure on Dreamstime.com