Steelheart

The story started out interesting but then turned into just another boring crime story. Could not force myself to finish this book.

So this was my second Brandon Sanderson book, and I would love to compare it to The Final Empire, but I find that I cannot. The Final Empire is a completely different beast. Truly the only similarities are the author and the nonstop action. It does not take long at all to get into this book, right from the start you are thrown into the battle against the Epics and the story of David and the Reckoners.

The cast of characters in this book is great. Each one had their own quirks and abilities that added to the team. Together, their created this epic group that I loved reading about. To me the characters are what really made this book so great to me. While I loved the plot and the premise, I really enjoyed the characters and their stories. David is a great main character. He is nerdy (but not really), impulsive, dedicated, and inventive. It really was the heart of the team and kept everyone hopeful that they would succeed.

This book had a lot of twists and turns that I was not expecting and that kept me glued to the pages. This book also was had a very nice conclusion to it. It still left me wanting to know what happens after, but there was a sense of resolution following the book's events.

Overall, this is a fantastic fantasy book about your anti-heroes and it was written extremely well. Brandon Sanderson has a way with words and crafting stories and characters that leaves you satisfied but still wanting more. I cannot wait to pick up Firefight and see what David and crew are up to next. Especially with that title and knowing what we know at the end of the book.

This book was a lot of fun. A good intro into Sanderson's stuff. Looking forward to reading the other two.

I've been wanting to read this book for sometime but haven't gotten around to it which was a mistake. I read this in one day and it was a great, fun read.

HOLY MOTHER OF JESUS CHRIST
For a long time, I was really enjoying this book, but that was it, you know, I thought it was like a solid four star book. And then the end came nearer and nearer and Megan and the whole plot twist and the reason why Steeheart couldn't be killed, I mean oh my goodness gracious, I am so impressed and I just loved this book so much, like, wow I need the next one IMMEDIATELY.
FIREFIGHT I WANT YOU!
It's really weird and crazy and insane and making me kind of scared that the next book is called Firefight, because I now know what it is about this person and I'm scared.
Holy fucking shit.

Yep, I loved this book.

I remember picking it up in Barnes & Noble, thinking about how good the rating was for it and all of the positive reviews. I was a bit wary after finishing Alice in Zombieland (let's not talk about that...), that Steelheart wasn't going to live up to my expectations.

It did. Heck, it outlived them if that's a thing.

In the opening scene of the book, I thought, “Woah! Well, that's a heck of an opening scene!” The opening scene of Steelheart was filled with action, and I was instantly hooked. Yes, the book did slow down for some time, but overall it had a quick pace that was exhilarating and made the book difficult to put down.

All in all, the characters were wonderful. I adored David, even in his rough moments, in a way that I haven't adored a main character in quite some time. Even with his terrible “metaphors”. Prof, Megan, Cody, Abraham, and even Edmund Sense were also very quirky and memorable characters. And they interacted very well with on another.

I found the romance both enjoyable and amusing. The thing is, David basically falls instantly in love with Megan. No, it's not insta-love. After all, Megan is oblivious to, or ignores it. Either way, David is basically drooling over Megan for the majority of the book without her showing any signs of even noticing his mega-crush on her.

Steelheart is an awesome book, and a thrilling read for my action-seeking friends out there! wink wink

A different and exciting book, with an ending that I couldn't guess. I'm definitely interested in the next book of the series.

SpoilerI thought that the concept of the Epics was pretty interesting. The name “Newcago” was pretty funny. I kept guessing about Steelheart's weakness but I was surprised. I did think it would be something about David's father himself that did it, and perhaps David could do it too. It was that David's father didn't fear Steelheart, so it was something about the man, but not what I expected.

I was somewhat surprised that Prof turned out to be an epic. I was kind of expecting, near the end of the battle with Steelheart, for someone to say “Ha! He wasn't an epic at all. He was just a regular man.” So that was a little disappointing, but it made sense when it was explained that he gifted his power to keep himself from being corrupted by it. I liked the backstory that everyone thought he was a scientist that worked in some kind of high-end lab, but really he had just been a fifth grade science teacher. I do wonder, though, if he was the one that destroyed his school.

Comflux was interesting. Perhaps since the nature of his power is to give it away when he powers things, that keeps him from being corrupted?

I was very interested that Megan was Firefight, the epic illusionist. I guess she's the subject of the next book!

Not as deep a world at Mistborn or The Stormlight Archives, but Steelheart starts what promises to be an interesting world, filled with villains and heroes. Unlike the Marvel and DC worlds, heroes in this world are general mortal, while villains have unexpected powers which defy physics. With each power also comes a weakness, which can be used to bring them down. For being as short as this was (half the length of Mistborn), it had an impressive story arc. I'm looking forward to seeing where this series goes.

Not as deep a world at Mistborn or The Stormlight Archives, but Steelheart starts what promises to be an interesting world, filled with villains and heroes. Unlike the Marvel and DC worlds, heroes in this world are general mortal, while villains have unexpected powers which defy physics. With each power also comes a weakness, which can be used to bring them down. For being as short as this was (half the length of Mistborn), it had an impressive story arc. I'm looking forward to seeing where this series goes.

A friend recommended this book. When I started I was just like will see how it is but This book is simply superb.
Basically the book is about the story of David's(Protagonist) revenge for his father death.
Every character is well written and the world he created it was so awesome.. I liked megan's character so much.. Waiting for the next one in the series.

And finally I am thanking my friend for such a lovely recommendation.

Full Review Here: http://www.fantasybookcafe.com/2015/02/review-of-steelheart-by-brandon-sanderson/

If you are craving a classic style action book, than this is the book for you!

Now, let me say, if you want a tragic novel that puts Game of Thrones to shame, than choose another book, because this book is intended to be fun and action-packed. Yes, I will admit that this novel has certain cheesy moments, but in my opinion, it actually added to the story. Picture classics like Jurassic Park and The Mummy; mixing comedy with action, and that is where this book sits.

Steelheart seamlessly mixes action and humour in a way that makes it read like a movie, and I must say, some of the past reviewers were complaining about flat characters, but I saw no such problem. Megan, on of the main characters, was constantly reminding me of Black Widow(Avengers), and the main character? He was a positive go-getter with a great sense of humour. In fact, I saw all the characters clear as day, so I am not sure what the problem is for other people.

All in all, I thought it was a fun and thrilling read that deserves a spot on my bookshelf.

reviews.metaphorosis.com

3.5 stars

After Calamity appears in Eath's sky, people with Epic superpowers start to appear and emplace themselves as tyrants. As a boy, David saw one of the most powerful Epics emerge and kill his father. Since then, the boy has dedicated his life to revenge.

I don't get too excited about superhero stories, but Brandon Sanderson has done his usual thing with the concept - likable characters, decent storyline, and a carefully thought out magic [superpower] system.

The story is competently put together, but the book often feels more like a logic puzzle than a novel. ‘If this, then that'.  Unfortunately, the challenges aren't really that hard, and I worked most of them out well before the end. Even the one seemingly real surprise turned out not to be one after all.

At the same time, the characters are engaging, and I can see reading the next installment to find out more about them.

I love super hero books, they just tend to be written pretty well and since they always seem to be in the first person, it makes for a fun read. Anyhow, Steelheart despite taking a different spin to the “Superhero Book thing”, is really a fun read. I'm glad there's gonna be more to the reckoner's story.

Took me a while to actually get started on this, but once I got going, it was a really fun ride. I will recommend it to my students!

This blurb was enough to get me excited about this book:

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 will.

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.

Steelheart

Steelheart

Extremely silly.

Awesome!

Check out my review of Steelheart on my blog Be More Book .

Really liked this book, and feel the series could be taken in many different directions to make it even better.

Steelheart is the story of David, a teenage boy, who wants to join a resistance group called the Reckoners as they attempt to rid the world of evil super heros known as Epics. The story takes place in Newcago (the city formerly known as Chicago) after Steelheart takes over the city as the center of his evil empire. The government has given up trying to control the Epics - they might as well try to forbid a hurricane from blowing. The city is a dangerous place - Epics can kill you on a whim if you live above ground, though the seedy underground isn't much safer. Most Epics are nearly indestructible - unless you know their one weakness and can find a way to exploit it. But since each Epic's weakness is completely unique this is a nearly impossible task. Most people have given up and simply try to find a way to exist.

The Reckoners are the only real resistance group taking a stand against the Epics. And even they tend to pick off the weaker ones rather than facing the stronger Epics head on. David's father was shot and killed by Steelheart when he was just a boy. David narrowly avoided death himself, and has made it his life's mission to see Steelheart destroyed. This book follows David as he attempts to join the Reckoners, find out new secrets about the city's most infamous Epics, and finally take revenge on the being that murdered his father.

All in all I have to say I thought this was a pretty good book. This is the first time Sanderson has really done anything in the urban fantasy genre, and while I much prefer his work in epic fantasy, I thought he created an interesting post-apocalyptic world. Perhaps I have read too much of his work, but I thought a lot of the story was somewhat obvious. At least until the end. I could see some of the “twists” coming a mile away, but a lot of the events at the ending were still pretty exciting. I thought the pacing of the book was good - it was a very fast read and there was always something exciting happening in the book. It didn't really leave a ton of room for as much character development as I would have liked, though that does keep me interested to learn more about these characters in the upcoming sequel. And, well, considering that this is geared for the teen market I think the story pacing is spot on - it is hard to put the book down once you have started, and the action picks up as you approach the climax of the story.

In the end I would have to say I recommend the book depending upon the reader. If you haven't read any of Brandon's works I recommend you start with another book - Mistborn is my favorite of his works so far. If you have read and enjoyed Brandon's other works I think you will enjoy this story - it has the great world building and exciting ending that are the hallmarks of most of his tales. I highly recommend this if you are looking for a book for a younger reader - perhaps a bit too much violence for very young readers, but definitely suitable for the pre-teen crowd. It isn't one of my all time favorites, but it was a quick read and a fun story so I am glad I read it.

So we finally get a book from Brandon which rates below 4 in my scale. Three stars for the pace but definitely a big minus for the writing which has strangely no depth. It looks like a dumped down movie script completely catering to pre-teen fans. The magic system usually the core of his books is not really satisfactory and one is left with a very superficial explanation of each of the epics power's. All things considered may not be a series I will follow to its conclusion. let's hope his focus is firmly on the storm light archive and this was rush job.

Executive Summary: While it's obviously young adult, and a little predictable, I found it to be a lot of fun and hard to put down by the second half. I enjoyed it more than [b:The Rithmatist 10137823 The Rithmatist (Rithmatist #1) Brandon Sanderson http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348506712s/10137823.jpg 15035866].Full ReviewI don't tend to read much Young Adult, but for [a:Brandon Sanderson 38550 Brandon Sanderson http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1201547425p2/38550.jpg], I make an exception. I really like the way he does world building, especially his magical systems.Since this book is based on superheroes, there isn't a magical system persay, but I enjoy the types of powers he's come with, from the standard invincibility and super strength to the down right bizarre like the ability to never run out of bullets. Sounds like someone got a hold of the infinite ammo cheat code.I loved comics as a kid, but these days my only real exposure to superheroes is the overabundance of Movies and TV shows being cranked out every year.Most people with any familiarity to comics knows the line Stan Lee coined for Spider-Man: “With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility.“This book throws that saying right out the window and instead comes Great Destruction and Terror. Where are the superheroes? Instead all that shows up is varying degrees of villains.That only leaves the humans to fight back against those with super powers. Except the military and governments tried and failed and eventually gave up. Enter the Reckoners. The last group still fighting. Determined to kill as many Epics as they can.Everything seems to tie back to the appearance of something called The Calamity. What is it, and how does it relate to the appearance of Epics?Well don't expect to find out in this book, as it's very obviously the start of a series.The book started out a little slow for my liking, but once it got going, I really enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to [b:Firefight 15704459 Firefight (Reckoners, #2) Brandon Sanderson /assets/nocover/60x80.png 21979689] next year.