Review: Steelheart

Author: Brandon Sanderson
Date of Publication: September 24 2013
Pages: 384
Source: ARC

Ten years ago, Calamity came. It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers. The awed public started calling them Epics.

But Epics are no friend of man. With incredible gifts came the desire to rule. And to rule man you must crush his wills. 

Nobody fights the Epics... nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans, they spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them.

And David wants in. He wants Steelheart—the Epic who is said to be invincible. The Epic who killed David's father. For years, like the Reckoners, David's been studying, and planning—and he has something they need. Not an object, but an experience. 

He's seen Steelheart bleed. And he wants revenge.

Review:

I was beyond excited for Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson and rightfully so. This book is an awesome, thrilling, and strangely thoughtful read.

I love epic, large stories about super heroes. I like the crazy action scenes, the explosions, and the amazing victories, against all odds. Steelheart was exactly that. It started off with a bang, and didn't let up. And the ending was unbelievable. I can only imagine how amazing a movie of this book will be (seriously, this book screams kickass action flick).

It starts with the traumatic story of David, a character that you grow to love. David's had a crappy life ever since the death of his father by the hands of the Epic, Steelheart. Rather than drown in his sorrow, he has been preparing notes and researching ways to destroy the Epics. Epics are like superheroes with amazing powers, but they're all evil and the super powerful ones only have one weakness. David's obsession was believable. What made me love him was his humour. He had a bit of a sarcastic POV, and he didn't always know what to do so sometimes he was a bit awkward. It brought some comedic relief to an otherwise pretty serious novel. I grew to love him after he started to make crazy metaphors up. He's one of those characters that would be likable and someone I could imagine being friends with.

The other characters are diverse and just as engrossing. I liked that they each were individuals with their own strengths and that they were able to work cohesively in a group.

I think one of the strengths, when it came to characterization, was that all the characters had doubts. They wondered if they were doing enough; if they were truly making a difference. They pondered the morality of their actions and they never found a "right" answer; instead one that would work for each of them. This is the thoughtful side to Steelheart, and it gives the story some depth and maybe some greater purpose.

As good as the characters were, this story was run by the fantastic world and exciting plot. The Epics and their mythology was something I had never read about, and a genuinely cool idea. David's background and the transformation of the world to what it had become after Calamity was explained well with room to grow.

The plot started out with a scene that hooks you in right away, and then rushes on. I was never bored and it was very hard to put this book down. After the initial bang, the story then builds up towards the ending. And what an ending it is. There's some danger and suspense. The ending is an explosive culmination of everything that happened in Steelheart and frankly, I love it.

I am so excited for this series. One book in and it looks to be one of my new favourite series. I hope it's very long and I'm dying to read more. I feel like this is something like the book version of The Dark Knight, not in the sense that the stories are similar, but the high action, thoughtful style. Basically, thank you Brandon Sanderson for writing such an enjoyable book to read. 5 stars,

-P.E.