Steelheart

By Brandon Sanderson

What can I say: I saw evil superheroes and underground freedom fighters in the description and was instantly sucked in. This could have ended in disappointment and disillusionment. I am pleased to say it didn't. This book was awesome. It was a cautionary tale on absolute corruption following on the heels of absolute power. There were no noble supers like Superman, Thor, and Batman fighting for the powerless. Instead, Sanderson created a completely believable account of what would really happen if an individual or group could do anything or take anything without fear of being stopped. It was a little terrifying.

As a child, David witnessed the rise of the Epics, human beings with remarkable superpowers that set them apart from everyone else, and he continued watching as the Epics descended into terror and cruelty. Then, David's father was murdered in a battle between two Epics, a battle that ended with Steelheart's rise to power over the city. Although he won, the battle exposed Steelheart's weakness: he can bleed. Steelheart believes that he successfully destroyed everyone who witnessed his moment of vulnerability, but David escaped. Years later, David has dedicated his life to discovering the weaknesses of all Epics and finding ways to defeat them, and he is now ready to find and join the shadowy rebel organisation known only as the Reckoners.

There was a lot to like in this book. The first chapter was background, but it didn't read like a history lesson. Instead, it was a fantastic scene full of action and gut-churning disdain for human life on the part of the Epics. It got me angry and invested and it hooked me instantly into the rest of the story. The hero was original and his actions were always situationally understandable and clearly explained, which really cut down on the time I usually spend yelling at random book characters and telling them what to do! The villains were equally believable. They were simply regular people with far too much power and, although horrifying, it was understandable why someone with that much uncontrollable power would start to unravel and how they could end up seeing people without such powers as inferior, even disposable.

This book was easy to pick up and hard to put down. Those who enjoy a good sci-fi or dystopian book will devour this one, but fans of superheroes, action, and fantasy will also find a lot to love in this fast-paced and unique story.

The Court of Fives

By Kate Elliot

As a child of mixed-race, Jessamy is torn between her duty as a Patron and her longing for the freedom of the Commoners. In particular, Jessamy is determined to compete in The Court of Fives, a dangerous multilevel competition. Through the Fives, Jessamy achieves that sense of freedom and begins making friends such as Kai, a highborn Patron boy. Soon outside forces interfere and Jessamy’s secret activities begin to demand a terrible price as choices of loyalty, love, and honor alter the course of her and her family’s lives and lead her to question everything she once believed in.

The Court of Fives is an entertaining and refreshing novel with an exciting plot and an easy style of writing that makes it smooth and relatively quick to read. Kate Elliot has challenged many of the tired clichés we’ve all come to expect from a dystopian teen novel and created a plot-driven Sci-Fi/Fantasy novel where honor and competition take priority over romance, a subtle touch of magic is intertwined with religious elements, and the unlikely heroine is at times thoughtless, selfish, and overly ambitious. I was hooked almost immediately and I found the plot twists to be genuinely unexpected and emotionally charged.

On the negative side, I have seen better world-building. Some places, traditions, and events are described with a confusing amount of detail, while others are barely explained at all. However, I have always cared more about characters than setting, and Elliot’s characters are believable, if not always admirable, so I stayed interested and invested despite skimming through the occasional paragraph. I am also looking forward to seeing how the series might develop as I anticipate that it will pull back a little from Jessamy’s rather narrow world and to begin to address, and even combat, the brokenness and injustice of her society as a whole.

A few minor flaws aside, The Court of Fives is definitely worth a read, especially for die-hard dystopian fans who have been searching for a new favorite since The Hunger Games. This one will still give you that strong, flawed female lead as well as plenty of action and intrigue, but everything else will keep you guessing.