Tess is a sculptor, obsessed by metal, by making it move, making it speak. Bibi is a dancer, her goal more than just motion - she likes darker, bloodier practices. Together they embark on a dangerous partnership; and as their attempts to transcend the limits of the physical body grow more horrific, so they move ever closer to the edges of death… *** From Publishers Weekly This humorless novel about art punks in an unnamed present-day city is long on form and short on content. The main character, Tess Bajac, is an earnest young sculptor who lives for her work, so much so that readers may well long for her to do something besides make anther sculpture. She does all too rarely. Tess meets Bibi Bloss, a fey dancer, and they establish Surgeons of the Demolition, a performance art troupe whose shows combine Tess's mobile, menacing, robotlike constructions with Bibi's dancers and much fake blood. Koja devotes endless pages to details of their productions, and the vicissitudes of the protagonists' relationship have to suffice for drama.
