Metal Slinger

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death.

Jovie is the narrator and protagonist of Metal Slinger. At the beginning of the text, Jovie lives in the water-based community of Alaha, whose people have been indefinitely banished from life on land. When in Alaha, Jovie goes by the name of “Brynn.” For most of the novel, readers are led to believe that this is because Jovie does not know about her past, but a flashback sequence in the novel’s climax reveals that Jovie has full knowledge of her past, her origins, and her royal heritage as Princess Jovinnia of Maile, a neighboring realm. At this point, the narrative reveals that she has been sworn (via a magically binding blood oath) to keep her royal identity a secret. Midway through the novel, she begins using the nickname “Jovie,” which is a shortened version of her full name.

For most of the novel, Jovie presents herself as being entirely ignorant of her childhood or the circumstances of her kidnapping. She supposedly is convinced to escape Alaha with Acker in order to break free of Kai, who has apparently used his magical powers of