Review by Frank Plowright
At almost 300 oversized pages Metax is a monster of a book, if not one easily comprehended in conventional narrative terms. Antoine Cossé takes a fine art approach to storytelling, and narrative is very much a minor concern. By the end it’s unlikely you’ll have much greater idea of what’s happening or why than you had at the start.
We are looking at another world, one dependent on an increasingly rare mineral after which the story is titled. Metax is essential to society, so residents are willing to endure the massive cloud of dust caused by the daily explosions set off in the hopes of locating more of it. At the same time someone is shooting the King’s horses, and when the corpses are discovered a strange cosmic pattern is visible in their dead eyes. Enough mystery to be getting on with, then.
Over the opening hundred pages Cossé predominantly uses single page images, often wordless and frequently almost abstract simplicity. Even on pages using conventional panels evocation of the scenery is a priority. It’s attractively drawn in shades of grey wash, but not so stunningly attractive that the eye need linger greatly. The result is a patience straining decompression that either forces attention on artistic technique or completely discards the reader in forging a stubbornly solitary path.
It’s around a hundred pages before there’s anything resembling a prolonged conversation, one in which the King’s anger is conveyed and how Metax has shaped the society is explained. The chief engineer is under pressure, and terrorists are mentioned. Cossé then heads into more conventional action thriller territory, the scenery now dissected by modern motorcycles and old racing cars in silhouette. This leads to a key sequence, the only colour pages in Metax, their bright watercolour presence a stunning release.
However, it’s temporary, after which events continue in their muddled way. There is transformation and there is change, but unless you’re captivated by Cossé’s techniques it’ll have no emotional resonance in a book as dry as the explosive dust generated within.
