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kathydavie's review against another edition
2.0
First in the Icarus Project fantasy superhero comic in text form.
My Take
Yawn. I kept pushing my way through, hoping it would get better. Oh, well. I wish Kessler-Kittredge (KK) had merged a bit of Meg Cabot's Princess Mia into this story to remind me that Jet was really still an innocent "teen". Her character was so lame that I wanted to boot her!
KK kept switching perspectives as well as flashbacks on a regular basis although they did provide plenty of clues as long as you read the chapter starts. They were a bit clumsy in their switching your sympathies, but the empathy does finally happen, and Black and White's ending was a shocker, although it explained so much.
What these girls needed was communication and an open mind. At least on Jet's part. I suspect that part of my dislike for this story was Jet and her stupidity and constant fear. It's a lousy combination for anyone, and all I wanted to do was smack her silly. A little bit of thought and introspection on her part would have helped her quite a bit. She has this shadow power and constantly flinches from it. She should be exploring it. Learning the boundaries. Figuring out how to deal with the voices.
The Corps-Co must know how useless Jet is, and they still send her on these PR jaunts? What's with the instructors at the school? The bullying by teachers, staff, and other kids?
No, I didn't like this. Snotty kids, snotty adults. KK present them as kids, but they don't back it up.
Iridium is a know-it-all at 12 and just gets worse. If her dad is supposed to be coaching her, he's doing a really lousy job.
Okay, I'm confused. At one point, Lester Bradford says "this city is ripe for anarchy, girl. It won't be that easy." Isn't this a contradiction?
None of 'em really have a clue about fighting. It's like setting kindergartners loose on a battlefield.
Read it at the risk of the waste of your own time.
The Story
We learn of Jet and Iridium's backstory even as we go forward in current time. Their years together as roommates, their individual family stories---two young girls battling the stigma of parents gone bad.
But it's their final battles in the now that really concern us. One planning a coup while the other blindly follows her mission statement.
It's that test exercise that sets the final battle line.
The Characters
Iridium, a.k.a., Calista Bradford, wields Light as her power. I did like her: quick to anger and quick to protect herself from the nastiness of her schoolmates. Such a Robin Hood, and I'm surprised none of the "good guys" ever figured this out. She quickly takes up as Jet's champion and claims a chunk of lawless Chicago for her own, running it to keep the innocents safe. She's considered a rabid because she doesn't toe the party line. Lester Bradford is Iridium's dad; he was Arclight, before Corps-Co shut him up by imprisoning him.
Jet, Lady of Shadows, a.k.a., Joan, was Iridium's roommate at school. Now, she's the city of Chicago's Hero of New Chicago with the city as her sponsor. It's a nightmare being their poster girl---all that stupid PR. She rigidly adheres to the RULES---all bow and kiss the earth---how STUPID can you get! Her mother was Angelica, a Light power.
Samson defends Jet in self-defense when Lancer plays favorites. Joseph Rogers. Bruce Hunter is Jet's very sexy new Runner who slips inside her defenses.
Hornblower is a bully right along with his Uncle Lancer. Dawnlight is another bully. Boxer Hornblower has little to no power and has thrown in with Iridium. Night is also a shadow power and Jet's mentor. Night insinuates what Corp-Co (with an "s" or without??) has done to her while Taser is a vigilante superhero. Chen, a.k.a., Red Lotus, is partnered with Frostbite.
Martin Moore is the on-site tech guru for the EC. His hero brother may have been taken down by friendly fire, but it was all hushed up.
Lynda Kidder is a Pulitzer prize-winning reporter for the New Chicago Tribune. And Icarus Biologica is missing.
Dr. Frank Wurthan leads the Everyman Society, an organization that sees extrahumans as a threat to the world. They're not alone either; the cops hate the extrahumans too.
The Cover
The cover suits the title as it's all black-and-white with a red, raised-block effect title. It's a determined super-heroine in a skinsuit, cape, and high-heeled boots charging off on a mission, braided hair flying behind her and wearing her Opti-something goggles.
The title is Jet and Iridium, one good and the other bad, opposites, the Black and White of the situation. But all is not what it seems.
My Take
Yawn. I kept pushing my way through, hoping it would get better. Oh, well. I wish Kessler-Kittredge (KK) had merged a bit of Meg Cabot's Princess Mia into this story to remind me that Jet was really still an innocent "teen". Her character was so lame that I wanted to boot her!
KK kept switching perspectives as well as flashbacks on a regular basis although they did provide plenty of clues as long as you read the chapter starts. They were a bit clumsy in their switching your sympathies, but the empathy does finally happen, and Black and White's ending was a shocker, although it explained so much.
What these girls needed was communication and an open mind. At least on Jet's part. I suspect that part of my dislike for this story was Jet and her stupidity and constant fear. It's a lousy combination for anyone, and all I wanted to do was smack her silly. A little bit of thought and introspection on her part would have helped her quite a bit. She has this shadow power and constantly flinches from it. She should be exploring it. Learning the boundaries. Figuring out how to deal with the voices.
The Corps-Co must know how useless Jet is, and they still send her on these PR jaunts? What's with the instructors at the school? The bullying by teachers, staff, and other kids?
No, I didn't like this. Snotty kids, snotty adults. KK present them as kids, but they don't back it up.
Iridium is a know-it-all at 12 and just gets worse. If her dad is supposed to be coaching her, he's doing a really lousy job.
Okay, I'm confused. At one point, Lester Bradford says "this city is ripe for anarchy, girl. It won't be that easy." Isn't this a contradiction?
None of 'em really have a clue about fighting. It's like setting kindergartners loose on a battlefield.
Read it at the risk of the waste of your own time.
The Story
We learn of Jet and Iridium's backstory even as we go forward in current time. Their years together as roommates, their individual family stories---two young girls battling the stigma of parents gone bad.
But it's their final battles in the now that really concern us. One planning a coup while the other blindly follows her mission statement.
It's that test exercise that sets the final battle line.
The Characters
Iridium, a.k.a., Calista Bradford, wields Light as her power. I did like her: quick to anger and quick to protect herself from the nastiness of her schoolmates. Such a Robin Hood, and I'm surprised none of the "good guys" ever figured this out. She quickly takes up as Jet's champion and claims a chunk of lawless Chicago for her own, running it to keep the innocents safe. She's considered a rabid because she doesn't toe the party line. Lester Bradford is Iridium's dad; he was Arclight, before Corps-Co shut him up by imprisoning him.
Jet, Lady of Shadows, a.k.a., Joan, was Iridium's roommate at school. Now, she's the city of Chicago's Hero of New Chicago with the city as her sponsor. It's a nightmare being their poster girl---all that stupid PR. She rigidly adheres to the RULES---all bow and kiss the earth---how STUPID can you get! Her mother was Angelica, a Light power.
Samson defends Jet in self-defense when Lancer plays favorites. Joseph Rogers. Bruce Hunter is Jet's very sexy new Runner who slips inside her defenses.
Hornblower is a bully right along with his Uncle Lancer. Dawnlight is another bully. Boxer Hornblower has little to no power and has thrown in with Iridium. Night is also a shadow power and Jet's mentor. Night insinuates what Corp-Co (with an "s" or without??) has done to her while Taser is a vigilante superhero. Chen, a.k.a., Red Lotus, is partnered with Frostbite.
Martin Moore is the on-site tech guru for the EC. His hero brother may have been taken down by friendly fire, but it was all hushed up.
Lynda Kidder is a Pulitzer prize-winning reporter for the New Chicago Tribune. And Icarus Biologica is missing.
Dr. Frank Wurthan leads the Everyman Society, an organization that sees extrahumans as a threat to the world. They're not alone either; the cops hate the extrahumans too.
The Cover
The cover suits the title as it's all black-and-white with a red, raised-block effect title. It's a determined super-heroine in a skinsuit, cape, and high-heeled boots charging off on a mission, braided hair flying behind her and wearing her Opti-something goggles.
The title is Jet and Iridium, one good and the other bad, opposites, the Black and White of the situation. But all is not what it seems.
ladytiara's review against another edition
4.0
Superheroes: check. Supervillains: check. Dystopian future: check. Moral ambiguity: check. Fiendish plot: check. Excellent read: check.
This book is chock full of awesome. Set in a dystopian early 22nd century Chicago (now known as New Chicago), it's the story of two former friends: by-the-books superhero Jet and budding supervillain Iridium. Once the closest of friends, they're now bitter enemies. Jet is the adored superhero, and Iridium, once a superhero in training, is now on the other side of the law. In this world, the so-called extrahumans have had superpowers for a few generations, apparently the result of fertility treatments gone wrong (the how and why are left somewhat unanswered, but I get the feeling it could be important in future books). Superheroes are sent to the Academy as children for intensive training. A mysterious corporation controls the Academy and the superheroes' lives. When the heroes graduate from the Academy, they vie for corporate sponsors. The superheroes are revered by some segments of society and loathed by others, especially the regular human police and the Everyman Society, a group dedicated to ridding the world of extrahumans.
Alternating chapters switch between Jet and Iridium's points of view. The book also switches back and forth between the past and present, so we see how the two protagonists first met and how it all went horribly wrong. Like so many superhero stories, the villain is a touch more interesting than the hero. But although I preferred Iridium, I still found Jet to be a multifaceted character. Her particular power, shadow, is a dangerous one, and she's constantly worried about staying sane.
The story moves at a quick pace, and I had a hard time putting this book down. Although it's written by two authors, the writing never felt disjointed or awkward. There are two different voices, but the voices belong to two very different characters, so it really works. The plot is intriguing, and it leaves a lot of potential for future books. There are lots of fun nods to the superhero genre. Kittredge and Kessler have built a compelling world.
My only complaint about the writing is a small one: there are a few scenes between Jet and her potential love interest that veer into romance novel clichés (weak knees, fluttering stomachs, etc.). It's only a few paragraphs, but these bits stick out in what is otherwise a gritty, dystopian superhero tale.
Overall, Black and White is an absorbing, entertaining read. I'm definitely looking forward to future volumes in the series.
This book is chock full of awesome. Set in a dystopian early 22nd century Chicago (now known as New Chicago), it's the story of two former friends: by-the-books superhero Jet and budding supervillain Iridium. Once the closest of friends, they're now bitter enemies. Jet is the adored superhero, and Iridium, once a superhero in training, is now on the other side of the law. In this world, the so-called extrahumans have had superpowers for a few generations, apparently the result of fertility treatments gone wrong (the how and why are left somewhat unanswered, but I get the feeling it could be important in future books). Superheroes are sent to the Academy as children for intensive training. A mysterious corporation controls the Academy and the superheroes' lives. When the heroes graduate from the Academy, they vie for corporate sponsors. The superheroes are revered by some segments of society and loathed by others, especially the regular human police and the Everyman Society, a group dedicated to ridding the world of extrahumans.
Alternating chapters switch between Jet and Iridium's points of view. The book also switches back and forth between the past and present, so we see how the two protagonists first met and how it all went horribly wrong. Like so many superhero stories, the villain is a touch more interesting than the hero. But although I preferred Iridium, I still found Jet to be a multifaceted character. Her particular power, shadow, is a dangerous one, and she's constantly worried about staying sane.
The story moves at a quick pace, and I had a hard time putting this book down. Although it's written by two authors, the writing never felt disjointed or awkward. There are two different voices, but the voices belong to two very different characters, so it really works. The plot is intriguing, and it leaves a lot of potential for future books. There are lots of fun nods to the superhero genre. Kittredge and Kessler have built a compelling world.
My only complaint about the writing is a small one: there are a few scenes between Jet and her potential love interest that veer into romance novel clichés (weak knees, fluttering stomachs, etc.). It's only a few paragraphs, but these bits stick out in what is otherwise a gritty, dystopian superhero tale.
Overall, Black and White is an absorbing, entertaining read. I'm definitely looking forward to future volumes in the series.
beastreader's review against another edition
5.0
Many years ago, Callie Bradford aka Idridium and Joannie Greene aka Jet were best friends. They were room mates during their academy days. That all changed.
Jet is now a super hero helping the city of New Chicago take down the bad guys. Jet battles the bad guys using her abilities to manipulate shadows. Idridium went in the complete opposite direction and became a villain. She has these deadly globes that when they burst cause some serious damage.
Jet is used to working alone but this time she has a partner. His name is Bruce Hunter. He isn’t a super hero but he does make Jet long to kiss him
Iridium mission is to take down the academy and every one with it, including Jet. She has some help in the form of a vigilante named Taser. Can Jet stop Iridium before it is too late?
If you are a fan of comic books then you will really by flying high for Black and White. This book has the best of both worlds with fantastic super heroes and cool villains. Authors, Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge do a great job co-writing this book. I couldn’t tell who was writing which parts. I am a fan of Mrs. Kittredge but haven’t had the honor of reading Mrs. Kessler’s work before now. After reading this book, you bet I will be checking out more of Mrs. Kessler’s stuff.
Instantly, I was transported to Jet and Iridium’s world. I would hate to become an enemy of either Jet or Iridium’s. These women can kick some serious butt. The layout of this book was smooth and easy flowing. The chapters would alternate between Jet and Iridium. Also the story would flash back to the academy days. You had better pick up a copy of this book today before they soar off the shelves!
Jet is now a super hero helping the city of New Chicago take down the bad guys. Jet battles the bad guys using her abilities to manipulate shadows. Idridium went in the complete opposite direction and became a villain. She has these deadly globes that when they burst cause some serious damage.
Jet is used to working alone but this time she has a partner. His name is Bruce Hunter. He isn’t a super hero but he does make Jet long to kiss him
Iridium mission is to take down the academy and every one with it, including Jet. She has some help in the form of a vigilante named Taser. Can Jet stop Iridium before it is too late?
If you are a fan of comic books then you will really by flying high for Black and White. This book has the best of both worlds with fantastic super heroes and cool villains. Authors, Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge do a great job co-writing this book. I couldn’t tell who was writing which parts. I am a fan of Mrs. Kittredge but haven’t had the honor of reading Mrs. Kessler’s work before now. After reading this book, you bet I will be checking out more of Mrs. Kessler’s stuff.
Instantly, I was transported to Jet and Iridium’s world. I would hate to become an enemy of either Jet or Iridium’s. These women can kick some serious butt. The layout of this book was smooth and easy flowing. The chapters would alternate between Jet and Iridium. Also the story would flash back to the academy days. You had better pick up a copy of this book today before they soar off the shelves!
jacquelinec's review against another edition
4.0
I won this ARC a few weeks ago from Jackie Kessler and I'm just now getting around to reading and reviewing it. There's not much that I can say about it without giving away the plot so I'll try to sum it up in a word - amazing.
Given the facts that this novel is written by two authors, features two main characters and jumps back and forth from the past to the present, it's amazing just how seamlessly this story flows.
Jet and Iridium together make the ideal heroine. If the story was just about one of them, it would feel incomplete. Add to that the fully realized backstory, the great pacing and the well drawn characters, and you have an almost perfect beginning to what promises to be an amazing series...
...To continue reading this review, visit my blog Undercover Book Lover.
Given the facts that this novel is written by two authors, features two main characters and jumps back and forth from the past to the present, it's amazing just how seamlessly this story flows.
Jet and Iridium together make the ideal heroine. If the story was just about one of them, it would feel incomplete. Add to that the fully realized backstory, the great pacing and the well drawn characters, and you have an almost perfect beginning to what promises to be an amazing series...
...To continue reading this review, visit my blog Undercover Book Lover.
lisaps's review against another edition
4.0
REVIEW SUMMARY: This complex story explores the good and evil in all of us, even superheroes. The characters in Black and White are relatable and flawed despite their extra-human status. I enjoyed this new take on superheroes with the two main characters being female and best friends - and of course later archenemies. Without taking itself too seriously, this Justice League-meets-Harry Potter novel offers some valuable insights into the nature of being human.
MY RATING:
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Experiments in fertility treatments inadvertently led to the creation of "extrahumans" with special powers. Shadow power Joannie "Jet" Green and Light power Callie "Iridium" Bradford were best friends all through their Academy days until their worldviews finally clashed too much. Fighting evil from opposite directions, these two superheroes must meet in the middle to fend off an insidious nemesis.
MY REVIEW:
PROS: I loved that this superhero story had two women at the center of it. With Black and White, Kessler and Kittredge definitely filled a void for me by creating female superheroes who stand on their own and aren't connected to existing male superheroes. I also enjoyed how Jet's and Iri's fatal flaws are what simultaneously pushed them together and drove them apart. Their characterizations were consistent and their differing worldviews makes sense based on their life experiences.
CONS: While I was a little surprised about one of the characters with the reveal at the end, another character's actions seemed specifically manufactured to suit the arc of Jet and Iri. I was able to look past that aspect and enjoy the story, however.
BOTTOM LINE: I would recommend this book to friends, especially those into comic book superheroes. Kessler and Kittredge clearly love the superhero mythos and several elements in the story pay homage to it.
Those homage elements include the "skinsuits" every hero wears and the nicknames every hero is given before graduating from the Academy. The authors had fun playing with the powers and names given to secondary characters like giant Samson and the blue-haired Frostbite. We're also shown the dark side of extrahuman powers and the repercussions -- some are kept from going "rabid" through "Therapy," an experience that seems similar to brainwashing. Jet may be the protector of New Chicago, but she ultimately answers to Corp-Co, the company who purchased the scientific experiments that created the heroes as well as runs the Academy and heroes-only Blackbird prison.
Both protagonists must overcome the reputations of their fathers. Jet's father went too crazy even for Therapy and murdered her mother in a fit of psychosis while Iri's father sits in Blackbird prison for going AWOL from Corp-Co. Jet fights against the dark voices that drove her father crazy and Iri finds herself a queen of sorts of her father's supervillain underworld. Both characters want to do the right thing; they just disagree on the correct way to achieve their ends. I'm definitely looking forward to the next installment in this series, Shades of Gray, to be released in 2010.
Full review: http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2009/09/review-black-and-white-by-jackie-kessler-and-caitlin-kittredge/
MY RATING:
BRIEF SYNOPSIS: Experiments in fertility treatments inadvertently led to the creation of "extrahumans" with special powers. Shadow power Joannie "Jet" Green and Light power Callie "Iridium" Bradford were best friends all through their Academy days until their worldviews finally clashed too much. Fighting evil from opposite directions, these two superheroes must meet in the middle to fend off an insidious nemesis.
MY REVIEW:
PROS: I loved that this superhero story had two women at the center of it. With Black and White, Kessler and Kittredge definitely filled a void for me by creating female superheroes who stand on their own and aren't connected to existing male superheroes. I also enjoyed how Jet's and Iri's fatal flaws are what simultaneously pushed them together and drove them apart. Their characterizations were consistent and their differing worldviews makes sense based on their life experiences.
CONS: While I was a little surprised about one of the characters with the reveal at the end, another character's actions seemed specifically manufactured to suit the arc of Jet and Iri. I was able to look past that aspect and enjoy the story, however.
BOTTOM LINE: I would recommend this book to friends, especially those into comic book superheroes. Kessler and Kittredge clearly love the superhero mythos and several elements in the story pay homage to it.
Those homage elements include the "skinsuits" every hero wears and the nicknames every hero is given before graduating from the Academy. The authors had fun playing with the powers and names given to secondary characters like giant Samson and the blue-haired Frostbite. We're also shown the dark side of extrahuman powers and the repercussions -- some are kept from going "rabid" through "Therapy," an experience that seems similar to brainwashing. Jet may be the protector of New Chicago, but she ultimately answers to Corp-Co, the company who purchased the scientific experiments that created the heroes as well as runs the Academy and heroes-only Blackbird prison.
Both protagonists must overcome the reputations of their fathers. Jet's father went too crazy even for Therapy and murdered her mother in a fit of psychosis while Iri's father sits in Blackbird prison for going AWOL from Corp-Co. Jet fights against the dark voices that drove her father crazy and Iri finds herself a queen of sorts of her father's supervillain underworld. Both characters want to do the right thing; they just disagree on the correct way to achieve their ends. I'm definitely looking forward to the next installment in this series, Shades of Gray, to be released in 2010.
Full review: http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2009/09/review-black-and-white-by-jackie-kessler-and-caitlin-kittredge/
trike's review against another edition
3.0
I've had this book on my to-read pile for years. It's a pretty big pile.
Anyway, it gets 3 stars because I neither loved it nor hated it. The characters, plot and situations are all fairly generic, reflected by its generic title, but on the positive side the world-building is quite interesting and the writing is very good.
Some of the twists are tremendously obvious, but I liked how they treated the world as a given, without over-explaining the basics. The structure feels like a medieval Fantasy novel, where you're just thrown into it and expected to piece things together rather than have everything explained to you via infodump.
Overall, a solid entry in the superhero fiction genre. There is a sequel, which hopefully avoids the generic pitfalls of this one, but I suspect there will be more on the whole "good v. evil = black v. white" thing going on, since it's entitled [b:Shades of Gray|8534551|Shades of Gray (The Icarus Project, #2)|Jackie Kessler|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328338937s/8534551.jpg|6805695]. (Seriously ladies, try to come up with original titles. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a specific book with these titles? Maddening!)
Anyway, it gets 3 stars because I neither loved it nor hated it. The characters, plot and situations are all fairly generic, reflected by its generic title, but on the positive side the world-building is quite interesting and the writing is very good.
Some of the twists are tremendously obvious, but I liked how they treated the world as a given, without over-explaining the basics. The structure feels like a medieval Fantasy novel, where you're just thrown into it and expected to piece things together rather than have everything explained to you via infodump.
Overall, a solid entry in the superhero fiction genre. There is a sequel, which hopefully avoids the generic pitfalls of this one, but I suspect there will be more on the whole "good v. evil = black v. white" thing going on, since it's entitled [b:Shades of Gray|8534551|Shades of Gray (The Icarus Project, #2)|Jackie Kessler|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328338937s/8534551.jpg|6805695]. (Seriously ladies, try to come up with original titles. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a specific book with these titles? Maddening!)
randalm's review against another edition
3.0
Grrrl powers. A by-the-book hero with shadow abilities takes on her friend-turned-enemy, an anti-hero who projects light and heat (as well as lots of attitude). "Black and White" plays more with the shades of gray between lawful and unlawful than truly explores good and evil. It's an entertaining enough read with a less-than-super ending.
crankyraconteur's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. It started off very interesting, ing me right away. Then somewhere along the line, it turned into Dawson's Creek with superheroes. I lost interest. Towards the end, it picked up a little more, but the ending was so beyond trite that I just was really glad to be done with it at that point. There was no big, shocking ending, though the author seemed to intend it to play out that way. I'll most likely pick up Shades of Gray just to see how that plays out, if anything gets better for these characters, but at this point I'm not really holding my breath.
beckylej's review against another edition
5.0
It’s Heroes meets X-Men in the style of classic comics as authors Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge team up to put their own spin on the superhero genre in Black and White, the first of the Icarus Project series. Jet, a Shadow power and official superhero of New Chicago, is a by-the-book gal who always follows the rules as set forth in her Academy training. Once, she and Iridium were the best of friends. Now they are powerful enemies. But neither of them truly understands the pieces that have been set into play. Jet believes that they are on opposite sides, that she fights for good while Iridium has followed in her father’s footsteps along the path of anarchy and misrule. Jet will soon discover that the line between good and evil is not as clear as she once believed, and it could tear apart the fragile control she maintains over her power. Excellent, excellent read. Kessler and Kittredge work together with seeming ease and have created a tale that is addictively readable.
theteenidol's review against another edition
2.0
I was recommended this book nearly ten years ago, but didn’t actually read it until now. I thought my expectations going in might have been a little high since it was recommended to me by more than one person, but after thinking about it, that’s not really the case.
It’s all just too much. Its’s set in a weird, cyberpunk world, there’s a superhero academy that’s sponsored by a corporation (I think?), and every hero’s powers fall into one of several categories and each category has their own “fatal flaw”. Superheroes that graduate from the academy can get sponsors and endorsements from cities and corporations, and if they don’t they can be mercenaries or rogues, or rabids, or whatever else. Or they can just get normal 9-5’s, which the book suggests most of them do.
I didn’t really find any of the characters relatable and they all talk on the same snarky, sarcastic tone that just annoyed me after a while. Even in normal conversations.
The two plot twists that come along in the last hundred pages or so were completely obvious. Then, Bruce/Tazer turning on Night at the end was lame and felt like a cop out. Also, why did Night let Iridium keep talking to Jet at the end? He should have just knocked her out so she couldn’t talk Jet out of shadowing the sun. Plus, there’s the ol’ villain-explaining-their-entire-master-plan cliche. And every Shadow power ends up going crazy? Why don’t they do something about that? It makes no sense. The world building is just bad and incomplete.
Trying not to rant too much here, so I finish up. The flashback scenes are okay and it’s kinda cool seeing some of the other powers in action, but even that is just eh.
It’s all just too much. Its’s set in a weird, cyberpunk world, there’s a superhero academy that’s sponsored by a corporation (I think?), and every hero’s powers fall into one of several categories and each category has their own “fatal flaw”. Superheroes that graduate from the academy can get sponsors and endorsements from cities and corporations, and if they don’t they can be mercenaries or rogues, or rabids, or whatever else. Or they can just get normal 9-5’s, which the book suggests most of them do.
I didn’t really find any of the characters relatable and they all talk on the same snarky, sarcastic tone that just annoyed me after a while. Even in normal conversations.
The two plot twists that come along in the last hundred pages or so were completely obvious. Then, Bruce/Tazer turning on Night at the end was lame and felt like a cop out. Also, why did Night let Iridium keep talking to Jet at the end? He should have just knocked her out so she couldn’t talk Jet out of shadowing the sun. Plus, there’s the ol’ villain-explaining-their-entire-master-plan cliche. And every Shadow power ends up going crazy? Why don’t they do something about that? It makes no sense. The world building is just bad and incomplete.
Trying not to rant too much here, so I finish up. The flashback scenes are okay and it’s kinda cool seeing some of the other powers in action, but even that is just eh.