Book Review: Steelheart

Imagine if the people in the world started developing super powers.  The only problem was, they were all becoming supervillains and not superheroes.  The world as we know it has ended and instead of serving and protecting, these supervillains known as Epics are subjugating the weak and destroying what remains of the country.  This is the premise of Steelheart, by Brandon Sanderson.

These Epics have taken over all of our major cities, like Chicago, now known as Newcago.  Newcago has been thrust into darkness by an Epic named Nighwielder and turned completely to steel by the titular character, Steelheart.

The hero of our story David, watched Steelheart murder his father years prior, and has since vowed to kill Steelheart by any means necessary.  The problem is Epics as strong as Steelheart old have one weakness, but David believes he may be able to figure it out since witnessing his father's death years ago and seeing Steelheart bleed.  He'll have to join up with the Reckoners, and post-apocalyptic resistance who have been locating and killing Epics all around the country.

Steelheart is the first book in the Reckoners trilogy by Brandon Sanderson.   It is a great underdog story that teaches the value of hope and perseverance.  The main character is an 18 year old so it is suited for young adults, but adults will find it just as entertaining.  There are lots of really great characters, whether they be the monstrous Epics or Reckoner heroes.  Steelheart is available in paperback for $9.99 + tax.

Book Review: The Infinte Sea by Rick Yancey

The Infinite Sea, by Rick Yancey is the sequel to the 2013 bestseller, The 5th Wave.  Click here for a review of The 5th Wave I wrote in 2013.  I really enjoyed the first book, and the second took me a little while to get into, but I liked it just as much as the first one.

The sequel, like its predecessor, is told from the point of view of children and teenagers who survived the plague that killed most of the people who lived on Earth. The plague was caused by an alien species called the Others who want to inhabit the Earth.  The story begins from the point of view of Ringer, a female teenage soldier.  After the events that culminated in the destruction of Camp Haven, our main characters have holed up in a decrepit hotel, and need to move before they are discovered by the Others and killed.

One of the driving themes of this particular story is the desperate quest to maintain a part of your humanity in the face of the complete destruction of the world.  The only reason to fight so hard to continue on is to preserve the part of us that makes humanity worth saving, although it would be easier to continue the fight and to survive without it.  It's an interesting dichotomy that is presented over and over again in these stories.  The kids have had to become soldiers, and their teachers have attempted to rid them of everything that makes them human, but at the same time they are still just kids, which is obvious in their interactions and when they let their guards down.  The story does have echoes of Ender's Game in that respect.  But there is a huge reveal in this book that renders that comparison no longer valid.  Yancey could have just used this book to further the story and reunite Cassie and Evan, the couple from the previous novel.  But he doesn't, he furthers the story so that all of the main characters are closer to the truth, which is something they had never imagined.

The Infinite Sea is available on sale in hardcover for $16.99 as is its predecessor The 5th Wave.  They're good books certainly worth your read in the post-apocalyptic tradition of the Hunger Games, Divergent and the aforementioned Ender's Game.

Book Review: Wool

Wool by Hugh Howey is series of Science Fiction novellas bound in a single volume.  It tells the story of the Silo, an underground structure in which humanity has been forced to live, due to the poisoning of the environment on Earth.

The society in the Silo, while first appearing to be ideal, is eventually revealed to be politically corrupt.  The people who know the actual reason for the existence of the Silo are not the Mayor or the Sheriff, who are only titularly in charge.  There are others that know the real truth about the Silo, and are manipulating what goes on inside for their own ends, and the presumed good of the people.

Punishment for serious crimes in the Silo results in cleaning.  Cleaners are expected to clean the sensors and screens on the outside of the Silo, so those who remain inside can see what remains of the world outside.  The only problem is, the scientists inside the Silo have yet to develop a suit that can survive the rigors of the outside for very long.  Eventually the suits break down and the real sentence is carried out; death.

Wool starts out slowly, but once you understand the rules of the world, the stories grab on and don't let go.  You find yourself pulling for the protagonists to learn the truth, and rooting against the shadow authority that would have them fail.  The world Howey creates is one of social strata denoted by your role in the Silo, which is also signified by the color of your clothing, and on which floor you live.  Everything is controlled, from how many children you can have to whether you are allowed to own a pet.  But that does not stop the citizens from harboring a desperate hope that some day, a generation of humans will again live in the outside world.

Wool is very well done, and definitely worth your time.  It will appeal to those who read science fiction as a chosen genre, and those who don't really prefer it, as at its heart it is a story about people living their lives the best way they can.  It is available new in paperback for $13.99 + tax.