Steelheart (The Reckoners, #1) in Beyond Reality

Sep 27, 2013 Banner rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi

This is really my first Brandon Sanderson's book (I know hard to believe). He is in a genre that I love, but one that doesn't always do that well without accompanying pictures, i.e. Superheroes. This is really a fun, wholesome read; full of action and suspenseful story. And no it's not cheesy.

Can't wait for the next one and since this guys seems to write in his sleep I don't think I'll have to wait that long.

...more

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Jan 10, 2014 Jen marked it as dnf

25%

I tried really hard to care. The truth is... if I don't care about any of the characters, I have trouble caring about anything at all. ...more

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Aug 24, 2013 Jo rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, amazon-vine

Let me start by saying that I love Steelheart. I received an ARC from Amazon Vine so got to read it before it came out. That is the good news – the bad news is that I have to wait until the Fall of 2014 for Firefight, book two to come out. So on to why I loved the book.

World Building: It was spot on. Steelheart is told in the first person and by page 13 the world had been explained in action and dialog, all from the view of an 8 year old. As new elements were needed they arrived in the same way, Let me start by saying that I love Steelheart. I received an ARC from Amazon Vine so got to read it before it came out. That is the good news – the bad news is that I have to wait until the Fall of 2014 for Firefight, book two to come out. So on to why I loved the book.

World Building: It was spot on. Steelheart is told in the first person and by page 13 the world had been explained in action and dialog, all from the view of an 8 year old. As new elements were needed they arrived in the same way, through action and dialog.

Characters: You meet David first in the prolog as an eight year old. The next time you see him he is 18 and you get to watch him grow and change. Next you meet the Reckoners (Tia, Prof, Cody, Megan, and Abraham) and get to know them as individuals. You see much of their character as you watch them planning and then acting on their plans. Then there are the Epics. They are the focus of the story and each has an individual talent and a weakness. You learn a lot about the Epics from the dialog between the Reckoners. By the end of Steelheart you know and like David and the rest of the Reckoners team. There are some surprises as some of the characters are not what they seem. I saw some foreshadowing that gave a hint of things to come.

Plot: This story focuses on taking out one of the more powerful Epics, Steelheart. That drives the story and the actions of the characters. It sounds like a very simple plot but as the story develops so do the characters and while the focus stays the same the reason for the action and the reactions of the characters keeps the plot from being one-dimensional.

Tension: There is internal tension within the team. The fact that David is young and a new member sets up some of that. There is the external tension as the team takes on Epics with super powers. And then there is the tension when the plan and action do not work as planned. All in all this is a tension filled book.

Writing: I think all I need to say here is that Steelheart is written by Brandon Sanderson. He is a master of the craft and Steelheart is a very good example of the mastery.

Pick up Steelheart for a book that is exciting, suspenseful and surprising. There is a satisfying conclusion to the story in Steelheart but as I mentioned at the beginning this is the start of a series. There are loose ends and the end of Steelheart is just the beginning of new problems. Book Two, Firefight, comes out in the Fall of 2014. ...more

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Mar 21, 2014 LadyDawn rated it it was amazing

Awesome! I loved this book. I didn't expect to get so pulled into a comic book like world, but I did! The character development and growth was excellent! ...more

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