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24th out of 169 books
—
249 voters
My rating:
add to my books
Superpowers
by
David J. Schwartz (Goodreads Author)
Madison, Wisconsin: In the summer of 2001, five college juniors wake up with . . . not just a hangover, but superpowers. . . .
Jack Robinson: Grew up on a farm, works in a chem lab, and brews his own beer. Age: 19. Superpower: SPEED.
Caroline Bloom: Has a flair for fashion design and a mother who’s completely out of touch. Works as a waitress for a lunatic boss.
Age: 20. Sup...more
Jack Robinson: Grew up on a farm, works in a chem lab, and brews his own beer. Age: 19. Superpower: SPEED.
Caroline Bloom: Has a flair for fashion design and a mother who’s completely out of touch. Works as a waitress for a lunatic boss.
Age: 20. Sup...more
Paperback, 384 pages
Published
June 10th 2008
by Three Rivers Press
(first published January 1st 2008)
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What a good book! First, he starts with a basic comic book premise, that 5 college kids wake up one morning with assorted superpowers, but approaches it with a more realistic eye in terms of characters and characterization: one feels slighted because everybody else's powers are better; one is ticked off it happened to other people, too; one is unhappy because the others found out about hers. And the housemate who had been essentially living at his girlfriend's when the rest got their powers wo...more
A novel of ideas that is far superior than anything I've read set in Madison (Ann Packer's awful book is the worst offender), Schwartz's novel still manages to disappoint on some fundamental levels. He makes some errors about logistics, over does the local flavor, and allows his own voice to intrude upon the narrative simply to impress us with his knowledge of obscure historical facts (I've never met a 20 year old who knew about the Tuskeegee Experiments). The kids are just far too precocious an...more
I'm not sure what I was expecting when I picked this up in a little independent book store, but, as I like comics and I enjoy literary and genre fiction, this seemed like a good book for me.
I'm still intrigued with the premise ... five students in Madison, WI wake up one morning to discover that they've inherited/developed/been gifted with some extraordinary super powers. What happens next?
I like that Schwartz has attempted to keep it real. Grounded (no pun intended). ...more
I'm still intrigued with the premise ... five students in Madison, WI wake up one morning to discover that they've inherited/developed/been gifted with some extraordinary super powers. What happens next?
I like that Schwartz has attempted to keep it real. Grounded (no pun intended). ...more
Jennifer
rated it
Recommends it for:
anyone who has wanted superpowers
Recommended to Jennifer by:
Kelly
Shelves:
read-2009
An interesting if not entirely successful novel that explores that famous line from Spiderman about "how great power brings great responsibility." In the summer of 2001, five friends living in the same apartment building in Madison wake up one morning, hung over from drinking together the night before, to find they have developed superpowers. Jack is now super fast, Caroline can fly, Harriet has the power of invisibility, Mary Beth has super strength, and Charlie has telepathy.
...more
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What a surprise of a book! I did find the first 50 pages or so a liiiittttle bit slow admitedly, however I powered through it and came out on the other side feeling happy that I did. Initially the book annoyed me, but I'll explain why.
The book starts from the perspective of Marcus Hatch, our "Editor". He starts of telling us how this is a true story, and I guess setting the book up. Then as the book suggests, our characters have a night on the alcohol and wake up mysterious...more
The book starts from the perspective of Marcus Hatch, our "Editor". He starts of telling us how this is a true story, and I guess setting the book up. Then as the book suggests, our characters have a night on the alcohol and wake up mysterious...more
Not great. I mean, not actually bad, but nothing to write home about either. Although I suppose I am in a way. Writing home.
Doesn't really deal well with being a superhero, nor with being a university kid, nor with 9/11 and is certainly no Spider-man comic.
Doesn't really deal well with being a superhero, nor with being a university kid, nor with 9/11 and is certainly no Spider-man comic.
The new novel by my imaginary internet pal David Schwartz snags the coveted "four stars to be upgraded to five if you buy me drinks" rating. Smart, probing superhero fiction of the sort I wish I'd written.
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I found this book in a bookstore while I was on vacation. I loved it. I devoured it in less than a day. For someone like me who grew up on comic books, this is the perfect blend of reality and fantasy.
Interesting premise and somewhat clever delivery, but ultimately just another "with great power comes great blah blah blah" exploration on what happens when people become more than blah blah blah blah. Nothing even remotely new in any context. The occasional clever line or pop culture reference can't save you from being a boring version of the Fantastic Four. Not even 9/11-sploitation, which I was waiting for the entire novel. (Given that it more than hints - more like hammers into...more
This read a little bit more like the prolong to a superhero book then an actual superhero book because what it mainly does it sets up the motivations and formative experiences of the main characters.
Let me give you the basic outline. College students get powers. After some hesitation they decide to put on spandex and fight crime while wearing masks. This goes pretty well, all things considered, but they can't save everyone and once or twice they do more harm then good. They react...more
Let me give you the basic outline. College students get powers. After some hesitation they decide to put on spandex and fight crime while wearing masks. This goes pretty well, all things considered, but they can't save everyone and once or twice they do more harm then good. They react...more
A superhero story about what power can really do to people. The author guides you through the narrative as if it were true, and though the powers may not be found in the real world, the themes are. Taking on a similar feel to the TV show "Heroes", this book examines the real life impact of what having power really means and shows both the good and bad side-effects of said power.
Fun, funny and lite writing paired with some deeper issues about responsibility, perspective and ...more
Fun, funny and lite writing paired with some deeper issues about responsibility, perspective and ...more
This book started out slow. I almost put it down in the beginning, but then the characters started to gain depth and suddenly, I was hooked.
I love the literary approach to superpowers. It's not a matter of heroic people saving the day. These characters are just ordinary and somewhat selfish college students who gain powers and try to use them to do good.
And as they are human, they are fallible. That's the best part of the book.
One thing that came as a surpr...more
I love the literary approach to superpowers. It's not a matter of heroic people saving the day. These characters are just ordinary and somewhat selfish college students who gain powers and try to use them to do good.
And as they are human, they are fallible. That's the best part of the book.
One thing that came as a surpr...more
This is one of those books that makes me wish I could put in half-star ratings. I am not ready to go 5 stars (it was amazing!) with this book, but it's definitely superior to other books I'd consider four stars.
I recently read and reviewed Soon I Will Be Invincible, another superhero novel. Superpowers is almost the conceptual inverse of that book.
This novel dealt in a sober and realistic way with what would happen to a group of friends who suddenly developed superpower...more
I recently read and reviewed Soon I Will Be Invincible, another superhero novel. Superpowers is almost the conceptual inverse of that book.
This novel dealt in a sober and realistic way with what would happen to a group of friends who suddenly developed superpower...more
The ending of this book left me very torn; I'm not sure whether I'd like to see a sequel (or a series) grow out of it, or if I'm more satisfied by an arguably 'open' ending that stops there. It's hard to find a comic book / movie spinoff / etc. that doesn't leave things open to a sequel, so much so it's becoming very cliche.
I'd love to see more of these characters, though. Whereas I was relatively disappointed in how they spoke and behaved earlier in the novel when discovered their ...more
I'd love to see more of these characters, though. Whereas I was relatively disappointed in how they spoke and behaved earlier in the novel when discovered their ...more
I totally agree with Publishers Weekly on this adult novel, and I'm not quite sure what the Booklist reviewer was thinking. This book just doesn't work, although the concept is interesting. Five college students suddenly become superpowers--flight, mind reading, invisibility, strength, and speed. Wow--sounds good, right? But I never got close to any of the 5 main characters, mainly because the author kept throwing in tons of secondary characters who weren't necessary. I couldn't keep track of th...more
This book is about five college roommates in Madison, Wisconsin who wake up one day to discover they have superpowers. It's very character driven, and takes a close look at how the students' newfound powers impact their lives for good and for ill. Schwartz writes like man who loves the superhero genre, but doesn't flinch from reality. The characters were so believable that I felt their pathos deeply as the tragedy of a certain well-known event affected their lives. I recommend this novel.
Hmmm...interesting. I really liked the meta-narration, the timeliness and the context. The main characters were pretty well explored, although I thought he could've done more with Charlie and some of the secondaries. The ending seemed a little rushed to me, and left some threads dangling. It left me wondering if Mr. Schwartz is considering a sequel, or if those elements just reflected the "real world" journalistic approach he was aiming for.
I learned that having a superpower does not make you necessarily have a better life! I felt really sorry for Charlie the whole book. At times, I have wanted to read people's minds. This book made me never want to again.
It had some really funny parts and was really well written. I love the part when Harriet thinks that Charlie can't see her, but he knows she's there because he can read her mind.
It had some really funny parts and was really well written. I love the part when Harriet thinks that Charlie can't see her, but he knows she's there because he can read her mind.
This book starts well and from the moment the World Trade Center is mentioned the general flow is pretty well established. There are few surprises here, and the question of what the book's heroes would do on 9/11 pulls through some mediocre prose and overdone foreshadowing.
However, at about 3/4ths through the book, something happens. The characters gain depth. As soon as you hit that, the book becomes almost impossible to put down. You now care about the once relatively shallow super...more
However, at about 3/4ths through the book, something happens. The characters gain depth. As soon as you hit that, the book becomes almost impossible to put down. You now care about the once relatively shallow super...more
I was enjoying this until I got to the editor's note about halfway in where he tells the reader that he will never let us know how these normal people woke up one day with superpowers. Really? Isn't that the mystery of the book that makes me want to keep reading to see what happens? In his note he says to stop reading now if that bothers you - so that's what I did. Too bad - it had potential.
Just plain a fantastic novel. I love the editor's note organization. Lee read it and said I should, then just outright gave the novel to me. Every time I cracked it open, I just kept thinking "this is how the show Heroes should be, but isn't." The ending is bittersweet and wonderful. The only complaint I have at all is that from time to time Schwartz gives us a bit too much credit for being able to connect the dots, I think (Grant Morrison has a similar problem), and so he moves a bit ...more
I had wanted to read this book for a while because it takes place in Madison, a block away from where I lived, and it is written by a fellow sharing the name of one of my least favorite people.
This book has an interesting premise but it isn't until the end that it really lived up to my expectations. The beginning of the book was a bit too simplistic. The female characters seemed to be the type of people that a guy would imagine female college students to be like. The middle, when...more
This book has an interesting premise but it isn't until the end that it really lived up to my expectations. The beginning of the book was a bit too simplistic. The female characters seemed to be the type of people that a guy would imagine female college students to be like. The middle, when...more
I know it's a little cheesy, but I was a comic book geek back in the day, so super hero stories have a special place in my heart. While not the greatest novel ever written, it has a fun story so far. I'm about halfway through the book. I can't say it's impossible to put down, but at the same time it's very easy to pick back up again and get right back into.
I enjoyed some parts of this book, and not so much others. Most of the things it tries to do, I've seen done better elsewhere. I did really like the characters... at first. There were some plot points that either imploded or didn't really go anywhere that were interesting and I wish had... not imploded, or gone somewhere. If you're interested in the superhero genre and read a lot, this is something you'll be interested in. If you're interested in the superhero genre and don't read much or have l...more
Interesting take on what kind of reality it would be if super powers were thrust upon a person. Five college kids mysteriously end up with extra strength, speed, flight, mind reading, and invisibility. In the context of physical, emotional and social environments, these powers end up not being so super...
Full disclosure: I love David J. Schwartz, personally. He's one of my best friends.
But even if he wasn't, I would say that this book is funny, sad, political, and smart. I am leaving myself another star for his next book because I like it even more and I want honesty in my reviews, but if I hadn't already read his next one I'd probably have given it five stars.
It's about five Madison college kids who wake up with super powers. There are costumes (yay) and crimefighting (d...more
But even if he wasn't, I would say that this book is funny, sad, political, and smart. I am leaving myself another star for his next book because I like it even more and I want honesty in my reviews, but if I hadn't already read his next one I'd probably have given it five stars.
It's about five Madison college kids who wake up with super powers. There are costumes (yay) and crimefighting (d...more
A realistic look at what might happen if five college students suddenly developed superpowers after a night of heavy drinking. (Clearly, I went to all the wrong parties when I was at school.) This book manages to be very funny and very sad at the same time, which is a combination I love. Schwartz uses his characters—all of whom he managed to make complex and distinct—to explore a number of interesting ideas. I’m not sure he quite gets everywhere he wanted to go with all of them, but the resultin...more
The popularity of vampire stories (cruise the shelves of any bookstore) used to puzzle me until I heard the writer for True Blood , which I have never watched, say in an interview that he believes the fascination with vampires is about a fear of intimacy. That rings true to me. Then there is our fascination with superpowers, usually much less literary than the vampire thing. But there are a few novels, as opposed to novelizations of films, comic books or graphic novels. One is Soon I Will ...more
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The bulk of this book takes place in the house next to the one my husband used to live in (waaaaay before he was my husband). I gotta drive down Mifflin St next time I go to Madison and check it out.
I love books that take place in places I'm really familiar with, though I think this book is great even if you have never been to Madison. The concept of normal kids becoming superheros overnight for no particular reason is fun and makes me happy (and hopeful?). Though the book isn't...more
I love books that take place in places I'm really familiar with, though I think this book is great even if you have never been to Madison. The concept of normal kids becoming superheros overnight for no particular reason is fun and makes me happy (and hopeful?). Though the book isn't...more
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David J. Schwartz carries Minnesota with him in a small camel-colored attaché with a combination lock; it can only be opened by taking the number of hairs on F. Scott Fitzgerald's head, dividing it by the secret formula on the Kensington Runestone, and adding the ghostly cry of a loon (usually a negative number). If found, please return to the nearest person wearing flannel.
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