This is a much darker world than most super hero stories take place. There are no heroes, as it's repeated multiple times throughout the book. The ones with the powers (called Epics) seem to all be horrible people. Or are they?
David, the main character, has spent the past ten years of his life plotting against the most powerful Epic in Newcago (what used to be Chicago). Steelheart. Steelheart is the reason for David's father's death and also the ruler of Newcago. Now, compared to some of the places in the world, Steelheart's rule over Newcago isn't such a bad thing. They have power, food and jobs. But of course, everyone lives in fear constantly and the Epics that work for Steelheart can do whatever they want. David is sick of it and demands revenge for his father's death. That's where the Reckoners come in.
The Reckoners are a group of people who fight and kill Epics. Up until the point when they meet David, they've only been going after lesser Epics, which haven't made much of a difference. David tracks them down and convinces them they have to go after Steelheart if they really want things to change.
Prof, the leader of the Reckoners, isn't convinced at first, but quickly hops on board. Part of him seems to want to seek revenge on Steelheart for something as well. Tia, Abraham and Cody, three other team members of the Reckoners, jump on board with Prof. And then there's Megan, the last member of the team who David has a huge crush on. She is completely against it, making the point that Newcago is better than some of the other places in the world because of Steelheart. She goes along with Prof, because she kind of has to, but she's not happy it.
After they decide to take down Steelheart is where all the action really starts. There are a couple of slow moments between big fight scenes that kind of took me out of the book, but for the most part, I was really engrossed in it. Learning about new Epics and some of the crazy new technology in this world was fascinating.
As for the characters, the were really well developed and, for the most part, likeable. Prof is a badass and at the end of the book became my favorite character. Abraham and Cody are kind of the comic relief. Tia is the brains of the operation. Megan is kind of bitchy and annoying but at the end of the book, some light gets shed on why and I grew to like her, too. David is impulsive and rushes into things without thinking a lot, but he always gets lucky. He wasn't a bad main character, but he's definitely not my favorite.
This book ends with a bunch of crazy reveals. I don't want to say too much, because I don't want to spoil anything, but there are a lot of twists. Everyone is not who they seem to be and all this information comes at you in the last thirty or so pages. Once you reach part 4 of this book, there's really no way you'll be able to put it down until you finish it.
There was a pretty solid conclusion to this book. If this was a stand alone novel, I think I would be pretty satisfied. BUT it's not. Book two, Firefight, is coming out in early 2015. I am so glad that there are more books in the series, not because anything was left hanging, but because I'm dying to know more about the world and learn about more Epics.
Overall, if you're a fan of comic books or super action-y type books, then you will definitely enjoy this.
4.5 out of 5 stars
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