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Super Powereds #1
Super Powereds: Year 1
**Update** 8/23/2013: Professionally edited.
Knowledge is power. That would be the motto of Lander University, had it not been snatched up and used to death by others long before the school was founded. For while Lander offers a full range of courses to nearly all students, it also offers a small number of specialty classes to a very select few. Lander is home to the Hero Certification Program, a curriculum designed to develop student with superhuman capabilities, commonly known as Supers, into official Heroes.
Five of this year’s freshmen are extra special. They have a secret aside from their abilities, one that they must guard from even their classmates. Because for every one person in the world with abilities they can control, there are three who lack such skill. These lesser super beings, Powereds as they are called, have always been treated as burdens and second class citizens. Though there has been ample research in the area, no one has ever succeeded in turning a Powered into a regular human, let alone a Super.
That is, until now…
*Note: This is Book 1 of 4 in the Super Powereds web-novel series. Others will become available on Kindle as they are created.
Knowledge is power. That would be the motto of Lander University, had it not been snatched up and used to death by others long before the school was founded. For while Lander offers a full range of courses to nearly all students, it also offers a small number of specialty classes to a very select few. Lander is home to the Hero Certification Program, a curriculum designed to develop student with superhuman capabilities, commonly known as Supers, into official Heroes.
Five of this year’s freshmen are extra special. They have a secret aside from their abilities, one that they must guard from even their classmates. Because for every one person in the world with abilities they can control, there are three who lack such skill. These lesser super beings, Powereds as they are called, have always been treated as burdens and second class citizens. Though there has been ample research in the area, no one has ever succeeded in turning a Powered into a regular human, let alone a Super.
That is, until now…
*Note: This is Book 1 of 4 in the Super Powereds web-novel series. Others will become available on Kindle as they are created.
814 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 19, 2013
1709 people are currently reading
8362 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 984 reviews
May 23, 2017
It was a slog, but I did finish it, because there was a good story in there. It was just buried under bad metaphors, stilted phrasings, unneeded modifiers (cool wet river water?) and just awful attempts at wry humour, all making for an overly long book. This book did not need to be 800+ pages. I get that it was originally a web series, but still...
I listened to the audio book, so can't really quote passages, but here's an example of what you could expect:
"Vince asked Nick if he still had his invitation, since he had lost his because he did not think it important and lost track of it. Nick lifted his arm, extended his thumb and index then plunged them in his front jeans pocket. He rifled for a while and pulled out a tattered folded piece of paper. He unfolded it slowly and handed it to Vince, saying "ask and ye shall receive, my good man". Vince looked at the unfolded piece of paper, a deep crease down the middle of it. At the top it said "invitation" in black letters."
I'm interested in the craft of writing and I'm always wondering at the choice between writing a scene and just mentioning that it happened. Do you write the whole discussion you had with your coach about what power you should focus on or do you just mentioned that you did? This book is a perfect example of what not to do. Interesting things get mentioned while whole scenes are about inane stuff. It's not even for character development.
There's hints of coolness and sinister dealings in the background. A few throwaway comments hint at deeper meanings. Coach saying "Ah yes, so like his father", Chad reacting to the mention of a disgraced hero. I say throwaway because none of those things are ever expanded on or explained! A little less make-out sessions and a little more substance please. I was aiming for 3 stars IF I got some closure on a few these. I didn't so 2 stars.
I think like 5 people have issues with their dad.
Imagine X-Men First Class, focusing on the dating and socializing.
And the narrator was terrible. His different voices were just bad caricatures. Just because a character is named Hershel, doesn't mean he should sound like Mort form Family Guy.
*I started writing this review when I had about 50 minutes left on this 22 hour audiobook. The last 40 minutes are pretty kick-ass and make me almost want to read volume 2.
This angers me.*
I listened to the audio book, so can't really quote passages, but here's an example of what you could expect:
"Vince asked Nick if he still had his invitation, since he had lost his because he did not think it important and lost track of it. Nick lifted his arm, extended his thumb and index then plunged them in his front jeans pocket. He rifled for a while and pulled out a tattered folded piece of paper. He unfolded it slowly and handed it to Vince, saying "ask and ye shall receive, my good man". Vince looked at the unfolded piece of paper, a deep crease down the middle of it. At the top it said "invitation" in black letters."
I'm interested in the craft of writing and I'm always wondering at the choice between writing a scene and just mentioning that it happened. Do you write the whole discussion you had with your coach about what power you should focus on or do you just mentioned that you did? This book is a perfect example of what not to do. Interesting things get mentioned while whole scenes are about inane stuff. It's not even for character development.
There's hints of coolness and sinister dealings in the background. A few throwaway comments hint at deeper meanings. Coach saying "Ah yes, so like his father", Chad reacting to the mention of a disgraced hero. I say throwaway because none of those things are ever expanded on or explained! A little less make-out sessions and a little more substance please. I was aiming for 3 stars IF I got some closure on a few these. I didn't so 2 stars.
I think like 5 people have issues with their dad.
Imagine X-Men First Class, focusing on the dating and socializing.
And the narrator was terrible. His different voices were just bad caricatures. Just because a character is named Hershel, doesn't mean he should sound like Mort form Family Guy.
*I started writing this review when I had about 50 minutes left on this 22 hour audiobook. The last 40 minutes are pretty kick-ass and make me almost want to read volume 2.
This angers me.*
July 22, 2018
***Originally reviewed in 2016 but I had to correct a typo.
When I first began this book I found it "fairly" interesting and thought, "okay going to be a 4". But as I continued on the book, like some pieces of music just got better and better.
This is unapologetically a light "brain-candyish" book. No doubt about that, make no mistake. This is not something along the lines of Spinoza. That said sometimes a book about an unabashedly light subject comes together on the quality of the story-telling and transcends itself a bit. I'm moving this up to 5 stars.
I got the audio version of this book thinking I'd listen to it as I did some other projects I had/have going. Never once however did I have to go back and "relisten" to a passage. It held my interest right through. Also...the second is scheduled to be released in audio next month and I marked it on my calendar. If it doesn't come out of course I'll be forced to get it in Ebook form and I'm WAY behind on those as you actually have to sit down and do nothing else but read...and my glasses are crap. So in actual text form books I'm very backed up...sigh. Why can't these people realize my trifocals don't allow my eyes to line up with the lenses for reading unless I actually sit and hold them with my hand and just record ALL the books I want to read in audio?
Doesn't seem like so much to ask to me.
So, anyway what do we have here. I don't want to mislead so try and get the gist of what I say. In a way this could be compared to Harry Potter meets Sky High and they go to college.
At first I wasn't real clear as to whether this was supposed to be college level kids of high school level. The writing made them seem very young at first...then we got to the sex and drinking and I knew they better be college age or something was very wrong.
Yes the book is a bit preoccupied with the love and even sex lives of our students but don't be put off by that. The descriptions stop well short of erotic lit. These are 18 year old college freshmen and they do indeed it seems have raging hormones.
This is a world where Superheroes exist...but you can only be a "hero" if you are "government certified. (the reasoning behind this gets discussed in one of the classes and I suspect is going to play a big part in "plots to come"). If you aren't a "hero" you may still be a "Super". That means you have a super power but you aren't legally allowed to be using it to "fight crime" etc.
But then there are the "Powereds". These are people with a super power they can't control. Teleporters who pop around uncontrollably, energy users who accidentally cause disasters, shape-shifters who shift shape uncontrollably and so on.
These are second class citizens...very, very second class citizens. They are doomed forever to be sneered at and isolated away from others.
But what if a Powered or maybe more than one could be helped to get control of their powers...and become Supers?
Good question and good book. I like it, I recommend it.
When I first began this book I found it "fairly" interesting and thought, "okay going to be a 4". But as I continued on the book, like some pieces of music just got better and better.
This is unapologetically a light "brain-candyish" book. No doubt about that, make no mistake. This is not something along the lines of Spinoza. That said sometimes a book about an unabashedly light subject comes together on the quality of the story-telling and transcends itself a bit. I'm moving this up to 5 stars.
I got the audio version of this book thinking I'd listen to it as I did some other projects I had/have going. Never once however did I have to go back and "relisten" to a passage. It held my interest right through. Also...the second is scheduled to be released in audio next month and I marked it on my calendar. If it doesn't come out of course I'll be forced to get it in Ebook form and I'm WAY behind on those as you actually have to sit down and do nothing else but read...and my glasses are crap. So in actual text form books I'm very backed up...sigh. Why can't these people realize my trifocals don't allow my eyes to line up with the lenses for reading unless I actually sit and hold them with my hand and just record ALL the books I want to read in audio?
Doesn't seem like so much to ask to me.
So, anyway what do we have here. I don't want to mislead so try and get the gist of what I say. In a way this could be compared to Harry Potter meets Sky High and they go to college.
At first I wasn't real clear as to whether this was supposed to be college level kids of high school level. The writing made them seem very young at first...then we got to the sex and drinking and I knew they better be college age or something was very wrong.
Yes the book is a bit preoccupied with the love and even sex lives of our students but don't be put off by that. The descriptions stop well short of erotic lit. These are 18 year old college freshmen and they do indeed it seems have raging hormones.
This is a world where Superheroes exist...but you can only be a "hero" if you are "government certified. (the reasoning behind this gets discussed in one of the classes and I suspect is going to play a big part in "plots to come"). If you aren't a "hero" you may still be a "Super". That means you have a super power but you aren't legally allowed to be using it to "fight crime" etc.
But then there are the "Powereds". These are people with a super power they can't control. Teleporters who pop around uncontrollably, energy users who accidentally cause disasters, shape-shifters who shift shape uncontrollably and so on.
These are second class citizens...very, very second class citizens. They are doomed forever to be sneered at and isolated away from others.
But what if a Powered or maybe more than one could be helped to get control of their powers...and become Supers?
Good question and good book. I like it, I recommend it.
August 14, 2016
I'm terrible at talking about what I *like* about a book. What works for me depends a lot on what I'm in the mood to be reading. I am usually much more clear about what I don't like, so I want to preface this review with two statements:
1. Yes, there are still plenty of proofreading errors throughout the book. (As of when I picked it up in late November 2013.)
2. I checked the book out for free as a Prime member, and then bought it and the sequel.
And, I think that sums up my feelings about the book pretty concisely.
Knowing that this book started as an episodic web enterprise goes a long way to explaining what I consider the two biggest problems with the story: the glacial pace and bloated writing. This *feels* like an outstanding second draft of a NaNoWriMo project that needed one or two more go-rounds with the editing pen to trim some of the scenes that don't add substantially to the overall plot.
One of the positives of the episodic writing is that you spend a lot of time with the characters. The downside is that there's little economy of phrasing. Combat scenes take up multiple chapters, and it feels like watching Yu Gi Oh (or, for the older readers, any season of How I Met Your Mother): lots of words, little forward motion of the story.
There's no narrative tension pulling the story along. The stakes don't exist until the very last 10-15% of the story, at which point something occurs that had no foreshadowing at all. I believe the tension of discovery of what makes the kids "special" is supposed to be driving the story, but I never felt it. SpoilerNotSpoiler: when the outing occurs, it's not even the biggest news on the page.
The story was an uphill slog for the first three-quarters. I had no idea why it was taking so long for things to happen. I don't know what kept me going throughout the book except that at some point, I acknowledged that I had nothing else I wanted to read, and perhaps the story just needed to unfold over the entire four books instead of this one. By the time I finished it, I was interested enough to pony up the cash and buy my own copy.
Fingers crossed that Hayes has a plan that will ultimately satisfy.
1. Yes, there are still plenty of proofreading errors throughout the book. (As of when I picked it up in late November 2013.)
2. I checked the book out for free as a Prime member, and then bought it and the sequel.
And, I think that sums up my feelings about the book pretty concisely.
Knowing that this book started as an episodic web enterprise goes a long way to explaining what I consider the two biggest problems with the story: the glacial pace and bloated writing. This *feels* like an outstanding second draft of a NaNoWriMo project that needed one or two more go-rounds with the editing pen to trim some of the scenes that don't add substantially to the overall plot.
One of the positives of the episodic writing is that you spend a lot of time with the characters. The downside is that there's little economy of phrasing. Combat scenes take up multiple chapters, and it feels like watching Yu Gi Oh (or, for the older readers, any season of How I Met Your Mother): lots of words, little forward motion of the story.
There's no narrative tension pulling the story along. The stakes don't exist until the very last 10-15% of the story, at which point something occurs that had no foreshadowing at all. I believe the tension of discovery of what makes the kids "special" is supposed to be driving the story, but I never felt it. SpoilerNotSpoiler: when the outing occurs, it's not even the biggest news on the page.
The story was an uphill slog for the first three-quarters. I had no idea why it was taking so long for things to happen. I don't know what kept me going throughout the book except that at some point, I acknowledged that I had nothing else I wanted to read, and perhaps the story just needed to unfold over the entire four books instead of this one. By the time I finished it, I was interested enough to pony up the cash and buy my own copy.
Fingers crossed that Hayes has a plan that will ultimately satisfy.
December 5, 2021
This is an interesting book but a bit too simplistic for my tastes. It tries very hard to be mature, both with its plot and character's, but never really manages to do that. The talk and behaviour of most of the cast far too often reads like a 14/15 year old imagines "cool adults" to behave and the same can be said of the general world building and plotting.
July 28, 2018
Three word review: Cliched. Tedious. Inconsequential.
Slightly longer review as pointless as 80% of this book was:
This book is one hell of a slog. After I finished it I discovered that it started as a web series, which helps explain the segmented, drawn out story telling and out-of-left-field "twist" at the end. Characters are one dimensional and bland and their motivations are comically (*snicker*) adolescent and predictable. Action is rarely ever used for character development; instead, the author beats you over the head with an exposition bat and over explains every little thing a character does or says, often through the characters own dialogue. I'm not sure exactly how to explain it, other than to say it is tedious. I often got to the point of what the author was trying to get across about 3 paragraphs before he did.
Maybe that's hyperbolic, but the book quite often left me deeply frustrated and as I write this I'm struggling to come up with a reason why/how I finished it in the first place. I frequently had to put it down because I was so frustrated by the author's inability to simply GET ON WITH IT. The story has all the subtlety of a poker game played in a mirrored room. The slang is written by your dad that one time he tried to hang out with you and your friends and thought he knew how you all talked. ("Fuck-to-the-yeah." That is literally a thing that is spoken by a character. I'm serious guys.) I could go on.
And now...
"Hey, I'm doing or saying this thing, and now I'm going to explain it to you, concisely and in plain english to make absolute certain you understand precisely what I did or said meant. We're not a fan of subtlety here at Lander," Vince said.
"Not subtle, huh?" Alice asked.
"Not at all. If I don't clearly state the very precise meaning in my words, I worry that you, and by extension, the reader, who even at this very moment is reading these words, will be unable to fully understand exactly what my motivations were for saying that," Vince said.
Ah, I see. So I'm clear, I'll always be able to tell why you said or did that thing you said or did. Leaving no room for my own interpretation, and by extension, the reader, that might make us or the interactions between us more interesting?" Alice asked.
"Yup." Vince Said. "It's all out in the open. Cards are all up there on the table." Vince said.
"Oh good. I'm glad I don't have to use my brain. I'm just the dumb-rich-girl-who-thinks-she's-a-social-genius/princess stereotype, after all." Alice said.
"Haha, and I'm the boy scout/character-with-a-unique-attribute-that-he-hates-but-in-reality-would-actually-be-super-cool who always tells the truth, so it works for both of us!" Vince said.
"Excellent," Alice said.
"Yup," Vince said.
"Good." Alice said.
"Fuck-to-the-Yeah!" Vince said.
Okay, I'm done.
Slightly longer review as pointless as 80% of this book was:
This book is one hell of a slog. After I finished it I discovered that it started as a web series, which helps explain the segmented, drawn out story telling and out-of-left-field "twist" at the end. Characters are one dimensional and bland and their motivations are comically (*snicker*) adolescent and predictable. Action is rarely ever used for character development; instead, the author beats you over the head with an exposition bat and over explains every little thing a character does or says, often through the characters own dialogue. I'm not sure exactly how to explain it, other than to say it is tedious. I often got to the point of what the author was trying to get across about 3 paragraphs before he did.
Maybe that's hyperbolic, but the book quite often left me deeply frustrated and as I write this I'm struggling to come up with a reason why/how I finished it in the first place. I frequently had to put it down because I was so frustrated by the author's inability to simply GET ON WITH IT. The story has all the subtlety of a poker game played in a mirrored room. The slang is written by your dad that one time he tried to hang out with you and your friends and thought he knew how you all talked. ("Fuck-to-the-yeah." That is literally a thing that is spoken by a character. I'm serious guys.) I could go on.
And now...
"Hey, I'm doing or saying this thing, and now I'm going to explain it to you, concisely and in plain english to make absolute certain you understand precisely what I did or said meant. We're not a fan of subtlety here at Lander," Vince said.
"Not subtle, huh?" Alice asked.
"Not at all. If I don't clearly state the very precise meaning in my words, I worry that you, and by extension, the reader, who even at this very moment is reading these words, will be unable to fully understand exactly what my motivations were for saying that," Vince said.
Ah, I see. So I'm clear, I'll always be able to tell why you said or did that thing you said or did. Leaving no room for my own interpretation, and by extension, the reader, that might make us or the interactions between us more interesting?" Alice asked.
"Yup." Vince Said. "It's all out in the open. Cards are all up there on the table." Vince said.
"Oh good. I'm glad I don't have to use my brain. I'm just the dumb-rich-girl-who-thinks-she's-a-social-genius/princess stereotype, after all." Alice said.
"Haha, and I'm the boy scout/character-with-a-unique-attribute-that-he-hates-but-in-reality-would-actually-be-super-cool who always tells the truth, so it works for both of us!" Vince said.
"Excellent," Alice said.
"Yup," Vince said.
"Good." Alice said.
"Fuck-to-the-Yeah!" Vince said.
Okay, I'm done.
February 16, 2017
I have mixed feelings about this book. The fact that it was originally written as serial shows when you read it all in one go. It leads to some strange pacing for a novel, where the big fight that comes at the end isn't even foreshadowed in the rest of the book, leaving you feeling like it just came out of left field. While it was usually entertaining chapter by chapter, it doesn't quite build properly as a complete work. I think it could have used a round or two of revision changing it from a serial into a novel. As is, it feels like the pieces were just gathered and published as they were.
I listened to it as an audiobook, which of course colors my perceptions because of the narration. The narrator's reading of women characters really grated on my nerves. All the female characters were presented with a nasal or breathy or squeaky tone. I appreciate the attempt to differentiate the voices, but maybe it would have been better to let the storytelling do that. This wasn't helped by the text itself which suffers from many stereotypical representations of women. I rolled my eyes almost as often as the teenaged characters over these unimaginative characterizations. Alice, in particular, was completely flat and uninteresting, made entirely of tropes about rich girls.
It wasn't much better for some of the boys. Hershel, when not in his super form, was the whipping boy of the story: weak, whiny and soft. We're told he's intelligent, but he seldom gets to display that, and the comments on LARPing and RPG gameplay suffer from lazy stereotypes as much as Alice's poor little rich girl.
That said, I can't just dismiss the work entirely. The world Hayes created is compelling. The "powered" vs. "supers" divide is interesting and several of the characters had good arcs and engaging backstories. My favorite character was Vince, who is sort of the Paladin of the group. I'd be interested to know what happens to him, but I'm not sure that's enough to bring me back for further works in the series.
I listened to it as an audiobook, which of course colors my perceptions because of the narration. The narrator's reading of women characters really grated on my nerves. All the female characters were presented with a nasal or breathy or squeaky tone. I appreciate the attempt to differentiate the voices, but maybe it would have been better to let the storytelling do that. This wasn't helped by the text itself which suffers from many stereotypical representations of women. I rolled my eyes almost as often as the teenaged characters over these unimaginative characterizations. Alice, in particular, was completely flat and uninteresting, made entirely of tropes about rich girls.
It wasn't much better for some of the boys. Hershel, when not in his super form, was the whipping boy of the story: weak, whiny and soft. We're told he's intelligent, but he seldom gets to display that, and the comments on LARPing and RPG gameplay suffer from lazy stereotypes as much as Alice's poor little rich girl.
That said, I can't just dismiss the work entirely. The world Hayes created is compelling. The "powered" vs. "supers" divide is interesting and several of the characters had good arcs and engaging backstories. My favorite character was Vince, who is sort of the Paladin of the group. I'd be interested to know what happens to him, but I'm not sure that's enough to bring me back for further works in the series.
February 9, 2018
Only read this if you miss the days of old.. in college and frat parties. Other than that, don't read.
This is quite literally the worse book I have ever read. I don't understand how the author changed the story from teens with super powers to just about frat parties. No character has depth, each are one sided, there is no arch in the book, nothing to over come, just frat parties and trying to have sex? The female characters are not even part of the story? They seem more like background characters, I hated reading any part with them, all they do is either (1) talk about the men they like, or (2) talk about clothes they want to wear around the men they like. The male characters are either (1) stereo typical "jerk jock" or (2) stereo typical "nice guy". The ONLY reason for continuing to finish this train wreck (pun intended if you read) is the side character Chad that is hardly present in the book.
This is quite literally the worse book I have ever read. I don't understand how the author changed the story from teens with super powers to just about frat parties. No character has depth, each are one sided, there is no arch in the book, nothing to over come, just frat parties and trying to have sex? The female characters are not even part of the story? They seem more like background characters, I hated reading any part with them, all they do is either (1) talk about the men they like, or (2) talk about clothes they want to wear around the men they like. The male characters are either (1) stereo typical "jerk jock" or (2) stereo typical "nice guy". The ONLY reason for continuing to finish this train wreck (pun intended if you read) is the side character Chad that is hardly present in the book.
June 26, 2018
As of now, I've read over half the novel and I'm getting irritated...
I have three problems and I don't know if I can find the motivation to keep reading. The only reason I have come so far is that I don't have anything else available at the moment.
Problem 1. Some other reviewers have mentioned this but I repeat: this is toooo looong!
So much unnecessary trivial scenes that does not bring anything to the plot.
Problem 2. No tension. Where is this going? This could just as well have been the story of some normal college students in America. College parties, romantic drama and exam anxieties... I'm sooo bored!
Problem 3. Bland characters. I seem to be the only one that does not care about Vince, Nick, Alice, Mary and Roy/Hershel. Why should I care? There is (though it seems to contradict the story) nothing special about these people.
I'm at the point where they have starter the next semester and now they're once again going to a party to hook up... I want to cry/gag/pull my hair out.
Should I really go on?
UPDATE.
Aw, well. I dropped it.
I have three problems and I don't know if I can find the motivation to keep reading. The only reason I have come so far is that I don't have anything else available at the moment.
Problem 1. Some other reviewers have mentioned this but I repeat: this is toooo looong!
So much unnecessary trivial scenes that does not bring anything to the plot.
Problem 2. No tension. Where is this going? This could just as well have been the story of some normal college students in America. College parties, romantic drama and exam anxieties... I'm sooo bored!
Problem 3. Bland characters. I seem to be the only one that does not care about Vince, Nick, Alice, Mary and Roy/Hershel. Why should I care? There is (though it seems to contradict the story) nothing special about these people.
I'm at the point where they have starter the next semester and now they're once again going to a party to hook up... I want to cry/gag/pull my hair out.
Should I really go on?
UPDATE.
Aw, well. I dropped it.
August 21, 2019
This was great fun! I really loved the main characters and they came a long way in the space of a year. Really looking forward to the rest of the series.
August 12, 2016
This is less "Pup-Fiction" and more written from those wonderful fantasies and day dreams that a young reader of comic books might have had in the silver age of comics, 1970s (ish) when Spiderman and the X-Men were on the rise. When I was nine years old, I benefited from a friend who had a wonderful imagination and was able to make up stories where he inserted us into the mix of superheroes. Most of his were borrowed from his extensive comic book collection. Stories could last for hours. Too bad he's an optometrist today and not a writer. This book sort of took me back there.
In many ways, I am still like that 9 year old kid with a wild imagination and the ability to put words and pictures with that wonderful question "What if we....?"
It's a good read. The characters are rich. There are shades of the great grand-genre, pulp fiction, but also shades of the 1980's prime time soaps. There is a rich plot that, if there is a fault, takes a long time to show itself and, links this book to the next one. It's long, which is a plus for me (when it's good) and I liked the characters.
There is action, but there is a lot of action-less action. By that I mean the behind the scenes plots and twists. Character secrets and stories and some relationship drama. It's kind of a Soap Opera for Superheroes with lots of action, or an action story with Superheroes and lots of drama (the good kind).
I'm giving it 5 stars, but it's not perfect. It gets five stars for smooth, writing, a well thought out plot, an honest commitment to the Superhero theme (and it's pulp fiction roots) and interesting characters.
The down side of this is:
Sometimes a little too much drama. I did want to slap Vince and Nick a few times. And Alice...though, thankfully, that was wonderfully managed. There were also too many pretty people. Okay, I get it, "superheroes right? Pulp Fiction, right? Whadya expect?" Maybe a "Swamp Thing Goes to College guy?" I don't know... or maybe more "normal?" Generally, this is tolerable, given the genre.
Girly girls that could hammer the be-Jesus! out of you. Right out of the comic books and possibly one of the most stigmatized problems with the genre. Men can wear armor and "Suit up." Women wear skin tight unitards... They have a party..."What will I wear! (Gasp!)...CALL ALICE NOW!" Generally this was cute and there were plenty of female characters who could put a whopping smackdown on your ass... hurt a fellah. On the good side, it was an attempt by a MAN to make female action heroines feminine rather than women who fight like men then go cry about it. He still might need to polish that up a bit. Oh, wait... Vince isn't a girl... maybe it wasn't so bad?
Too much like when I was in college. Booze, Girls... Parties... I know what Guys want... I know what guys want... I know what girls want...(insert favorite 80s MTV music video here)... of course, I can't say it wasn't completely unrealistic... but then, knowing what I know now, if there college went like mine... well, there's a reason I'm gong to school on the 30 year plan...
Other than that, this is fun, worth reading. You may need to respect the genre, which does include racy combat oriented people, even if they are thinkers. All the drama of college, without as many rocks in the romantic world and lots of fun battles and "tests."
There is also a great plot that is like the barrels in Jaws, the first movie. Once Squint and Pooper shot the shark with lines attached to barrels... you didn't need to see the shark, but when those barrels popped up!.. oh-boy... adrenalin time! You didn't have to see the shark to know it was there. With this, there are things going on behind the scenes and Haley has attached barrels to that plot shark that pop up now and again. It is well done (especially for a genre that prefers straight up bad guys) and interesting.
Generally, this is a nostalgic read for young adults and adults (too much sex, booze and violence).
Warning
Sex Booze and violence encouraged by the University... um... the science on this does not work out to be accurate as much as it mirrors reality... sometimes. I think it was too cavalier about alcohol but did not count off because it isn't too far off of society on that one. Sex, it's not dripping with it...ugh.. sorry for that visual... They are of age but... so young....(Yes, obviousoly if your a geriatric father of an 11 year old girl like me, it might tug a thread or two that ultimately pull on... "MY LITTLE GIRL WILL NEVER GO TO COLLEGE!"... and "That's it.. Home Schooling until she gets a PhD!") Still, it's all conceptual and... not unrealistic (Sigh, there.. I said it... it sucks being a reading dad sometimes... especially when you can read into things.)
Violence this ain't your grand-pappy's Buster Brown Comics.... these guys draw blood and break bones. That is actually more of a correction of a flaw in the genre, but... takin' out a villain ain't always pretty.
Good read, worth reading... 5 stars (which don't come easy from me)
Good writing, good multi-tiered plot, interesting characters, some gender issues but manageable, some drama but... meh... and fun college hijinks. (Gulp).. A nostalgic read.
In many ways, I am still like that 9 year old kid with a wild imagination and the ability to put words and pictures with that wonderful question "What if we....?"
It's a good read. The characters are rich. There are shades of the great grand-genre, pulp fiction, but also shades of the 1980's prime time soaps. There is a rich plot that, if there is a fault, takes a long time to show itself and, links this book to the next one. It's long, which is a plus for me (when it's good) and I liked the characters.
There is action, but there is a lot of action-less action. By that I mean the behind the scenes plots and twists. Character secrets and stories and some relationship drama. It's kind of a Soap Opera for Superheroes with lots of action, or an action story with Superheroes and lots of drama (the good kind).
I'm giving it 5 stars, but it's not perfect. It gets five stars for smooth, writing, a well thought out plot, an honest commitment to the Superhero theme (and it's pulp fiction roots) and interesting characters.
The down side of this is:
Sometimes a little too much drama. I did want to slap Vince and Nick a few times. And Alice...though, thankfully, that was wonderfully managed. There were also too many pretty people. Okay, I get it, "superheroes right? Pulp Fiction, right? Whadya expect?" Maybe a "Swamp Thing Goes to College guy?" I don't know... or maybe more "normal?" Generally, this is tolerable, given the genre.
Girly girls that could hammer the be-Jesus! out of you. Right out of the comic books and possibly one of the most stigmatized problems with the genre. Men can wear armor and "Suit up." Women wear skin tight unitards... They have a party..."What will I wear! (Gasp!)...CALL ALICE NOW!" Generally this was cute and there were plenty of female characters who could put a whopping smackdown on your ass... hurt a fellah. On the good side, it was an attempt by a MAN to make female action heroines feminine rather than women who fight like men then go cry about it. He still might need to polish that up a bit. Oh, wait... Vince isn't a girl... maybe it wasn't so bad?
Too much like when I was in college. Booze, Girls... Parties... I know what Guys want... I know what guys want... I know what girls want...(insert favorite 80s MTV music video here)... of course, I can't say it wasn't completely unrealistic... but then, knowing what I know now, if there college went like mine... well, there's a reason I'm gong to school on the 30 year plan...
Other than that, this is fun, worth reading. You may need to respect the genre, which does include racy combat oriented people, even if they are thinkers. All the drama of college, without as many rocks in the romantic world and lots of fun battles and "tests."
There is also a great plot that is like the barrels in Jaws, the first movie. Once Squint and Pooper shot the shark with lines attached to barrels... you didn't need to see the shark, but when those barrels popped up!.. oh-boy... adrenalin time! You didn't have to see the shark to know it was there. With this, there are things going on behind the scenes and Haley has attached barrels to that plot shark that pop up now and again. It is well done (especially for a genre that prefers straight up bad guys) and interesting.
Generally, this is a nostalgic read for young adults and adults (too much sex, booze and violence).
Warning
Sex Booze and violence encouraged by the University... um... the science on this does not work out to be accurate as much as it mirrors reality... sometimes. I think it was too cavalier about alcohol but did not count off because it isn't too far off of society on that one. Sex, it's not dripping with it...ugh.. sorry for that visual... They are of age but... so young....(Yes, obviousoly if your a geriatric father of an 11 year old girl like me, it might tug a thread or two that ultimately pull on... "MY LITTLE GIRL WILL NEVER GO TO COLLEGE!"... and "That's it.. Home Schooling until she gets a PhD!") Still, it's all conceptual and... not unrealistic (Sigh, there.. I said it... it sucks being a reading dad sometimes... especially when you can read into things.)
Violence this ain't your grand-pappy's Buster Brown Comics.... these guys draw blood and break bones. That is actually more of a correction of a flaw in the genre, but... takin' out a villain ain't always pretty.
Good read, worth reading... 5 stars (which don't come easy from me)
Good writing, good multi-tiered plot, interesting characters, some gender issues but manageable, some drama but... meh... and fun college hijinks. (Gulp).. A nostalgic read.
April 10, 2018
Overwritten to the point where my inner critic and editor wouldn't shut up about all the pointless crap being narrated. Needless modifiers everywhere. People that don't talk like people. "Banter" so bad, I logged it away as anti-banter. The action sequences are a slog and a good 25% of the content could have just been cut completely. The tone is juvenile to the point of embarrassing and the male-gaze was laid on thick. When a gym teacher was introduced by boobing boobfully into the room, I mentally checked out. It got to the point where I was just hate-listening before I finally put it down and walked away before it infected my own writing. Avoid.
September 14, 2018
Big surprises, engrossing characters
October 8, 2017
It's like Harry Potter, but with superpowers, and in college in California.
After reading NPCs, I was unsure about trying this author again, but I'm glad my book club talked me into it. I got drawn in and hooked. Maybe I'm just a sucker for characters with powers. There is a lot of really fun dialogue and character interaction, and I will definitely be reading the sequel, and probably the rest of the series.
Downsides: The prose level is somewhere near R.L. Stine, with an overload of said bookisms. The world-building is close to the same level as the Harry Potter series, with quirky teachers and an implied wider world of superheroes, mixed with small factors that don't quite gel if you think about it too hard.
Upsides: Engaging characters, and some genuine feel-good moments and suspense. Excellent pacing. The book is nice and long, and for me, there was no lag or boring bits, even though it covers an entire school year--much like in Harry Potter, they have Halloween, Christmas, winter break, final exams, etc. The dialogue had me laughing out loud in a few places, better than what you'd get from most sitcoms.
I look forward to seeing how these characters grow.
After reading NPCs, I was unsure about trying this author again, but I'm glad my book club talked me into it. I got drawn in and hooked. Maybe I'm just a sucker for characters with powers. There is a lot of really fun dialogue and character interaction, and I will definitely be reading the sequel, and probably the rest of the series.
Downsides: The prose level is somewhere near R.L. Stine, with an overload of said bookisms. The world-building is close to the same level as the Harry Potter series, with quirky teachers and an implied wider world of superheroes, mixed with small factors that don't quite gel if you think about it too hard.
Upsides: Engaging characters, and some genuine feel-good moments and suspense. Excellent pacing. The book is nice and long, and for me, there was no lag or boring bits, even though it covers an entire school year--much like in Harry Potter, they have Halloween, Christmas, winter break, final exams, etc. The dialogue had me laughing out loud in a few places, better than what you'd get from most sitcoms.
I look forward to seeing how these characters grow.
February 1, 2017
I'm a big fan of drew Hayes. I like his writing style and he makes me care about characters effortlessly. I also enjoyed books about superheroes, particularly origin stories of which this is obviously one. I'm giving this book 3 stars because of the many, many, many moments in the book where I felt the author was incredibly insensitive about gender by his frequent use of outdated clichés and barely veiled sexism.
I've not experienced this in any other of Drew Haye's writings, which I highly recommend, particularly his NPC series. His geek pedigree is clear, but it appears, unfortunately, that some of the gaming worlds sexism has crept into this work.
I'm going to continue reading the series, in the hope that, since this is an early work, that sexism disappears as I read forward. I cannot however recommend this book to anyone else.
I've not experienced this in any other of Drew Haye's writings, which I highly recommend, particularly his NPC series. His geek pedigree is clear, but it appears, unfortunately, that some of the gaming worlds sexism has crept into this work.
I'm going to continue reading the series, in the hope that, since this is an early work, that sexism disappears as I read forward. I cannot however recommend this book to anyone else.
July 12, 2020
Rating 4.0 stars
Re-listened April 2019: I appreciate this story more since I know where it is going. I really like this series.
Let me start by saying this book is sort of a "bubble-gum" fantasy book (Is that even a phrase). By that I mean that it is lighthearted, simplistic but still fun. In this world there are people who have special powers. If a person is not able to control those powers, that person is labelled a "Powered". This is about the worst thing anyone can be in this world, considered worse than being anything else. If a person can control their powers then they are considered "Super". However, just because a super can control their powers does not mean that they can fight crime. Only a super who passes the hero certification can legally fight crime. The story starts with 5 teenage "powereds" being approached to undergo a experimental procedure that would turn them into "Supers", then they would be enrolled in a College to try and pass the hero certification.
I want to reiterate that the only difference between a Super and a Powered is control of their powers, but that has nothing to do with the strength of that power. One super in the book could make bubbles, and thats it. Because she was able to control it though, she was considered a Super. Another person could Teleport, but only when that person sneezed - making him a Powered. There was a huge rift between the Supers and Powereds. The supers treated the powereds terribly, thinking they were just too lazy to control their powers. I didn't really completely understand the hatred between the groups. I would have thought being powered would be something people would pity, but not outright hate.
As I stated above, this book is pretty simplistic. There was a character named Mr. Numbers, who was good with thinking. A character named Mr. Transport, who could - you guessed it - teleport. Mr. Move could control peoples bodies, etc. Again if you are looking for a sophisticated read, this book is not for you. If you are looking for a little super powered fun though, this could be your book. This book was interesting enough to make me want more. There were so many different powers and so many different ways to use them. The story takes place in college where the children/young adults are there to learn how to use their powers and be a hero. There was a little bit of everything, and my only complaint was that I wanted a lot of everything. There was power training and fight training which I loved but it did not get as in depth as I would have liked. There was superhero ethical discussions and dilemma's but again it did not go into too much detail. There was talk about sex throughout (these are college kids after all), but again it was more of a passing discussion and nothing too interesting. The main characters while not too simplistic, were also not very complicated either. I kept wanting more of everything. Of, course that would make this good book into a great book in my opinion and I was not too upset.
The story is pretty simplistic as well. Pretty much it is these kids going to College and growing up. The only thing that made them different is they have to hide the fact they used to be Powered. Something else happened at the end of the book which may be important driver of the story in the next books, but again - if you are looking for a great story with a complicated plot, this is not the book for you. For me I had a good time listening to this book and am looking forward to the next one.
Re-listened April 2019: I appreciate this story more since I know where it is going. I really like this series.
Let me start by saying this book is sort of a "bubble-gum" fantasy book (Is that even a phrase). By that I mean that it is lighthearted, simplistic but still fun. In this world there are people who have special powers. If a person is not able to control those powers, that person is labelled a "Powered". This is about the worst thing anyone can be in this world, considered worse than being anything else. If a person can control their powers then they are considered "Super". However, just because a super can control their powers does not mean that they can fight crime. Only a super who passes the hero certification can legally fight crime. The story starts with 5 teenage "powereds" being approached to undergo a experimental procedure that would turn them into "Supers", then they would be enrolled in a College to try and pass the hero certification.
I want to reiterate that the only difference between a Super and a Powered is control of their powers, but that has nothing to do with the strength of that power. One super in the book could make bubbles, and thats it. Because she was able to control it though, she was considered a Super. Another person could Teleport, but only when that person sneezed - making him a Powered. There was a huge rift between the Supers and Powereds. The supers treated the powereds terribly, thinking they were just too lazy to control their powers. I didn't really completely understand the hatred between the groups. I would have thought being powered would be something people would pity, but not outright hate.
As I stated above, this book is pretty simplistic. There was a character named Mr. Numbers, who was good with thinking. A character named Mr. Transport, who could - you guessed it - teleport. Mr. Move could control peoples bodies, etc. Again if you are looking for a sophisticated read, this book is not for you. If you are looking for a little super powered fun though, this could be your book. This book was interesting enough to make me want more. There were so many different powers and so many different ways to use them. The story takes place in college where the children/young adults are there to learn how to use their powers and be a hero. There was a little bit of everything, and my only complaint was that I wanted a lot of everything. There was power training and fight training which I loved but it did not get as in depth as I would have liked. There was superhero ethical discussions and dilemma's but again it did not go into too much detail. There was talk about sex throughout (these are college kids after all), but again it was more of a passing discussion and nothing too interesting. The main characters while not too simplistic, were also not very complicated either. I kept wanting more of everything. Of, course that would make this good book into a great book in my opinion and I was not too upset.
The story is pretty simplistic as well. Pretty much it is these kids going to College and growing up. The only thing that made them different is they have to hide the fact they used to be Powered. Something else happened at the end of the book which may be important driver of the story in the next books, but again - if you are looking for a great story with a complicated plot, this is not the book for you. For me I had a good time listening to this book and am looking forward to the next one.
February 4, 2021
I have never read a web serial in my life. Maybe that makes me not suited to review this, but I will still do it because nobody can stop me.
I have also never watched My Hero Academia, though Tiger & Bunny is a favourite of mine and it does involve superheroes. Again, my frame of reference for understanding this thing is more and more limited, it seems.
A group of young people go to college to become superheroes. The catch? In this world 'powereds' are ones who have powers, but can't control them. 'Supers' are the ones who have control and can become heroes. Powereds are generally seen as dangerous and mistakes of nature, while supers are... well, they are super.
Our main characters, Vince, Nick, Alice, Mary and Hershel were originally powereds, who, though some sort of a brand new medical procedure, got turned into supers. This is a big deal and a huge secret for them to keep while also going to school with born talents.
Now I am not going to say that even the professionally edited version is without flaws. You can sense this is the work of someone still learning how to write and that's fine. It has cringey sentences, weirdly worded things.
But man, is it fun and easy to read. Often times I felt like nothing too big was happening and still, I kept going, because it was comforting. Something about the story is familiar and nostalgic. Hell, by the end of the book nothing much happened, ending with one big umph. But still. I can't complain about it much, because I was having fun with it. I enjoyed it all.
The world needs opening up. We know there will be things outside this college, I mean people keep mentioning heroes, the work they do, the scandals that happened during the history of this world where superheroes are celebrities.
I will be honest, I prefer this approach over a lot of the typical Western (mostly US) superhero comics/movies that are so popular now. It's so... personal, I guess, seeing these people going through all the steps to greatness. They are not omnipotent, certainly not from the get go. They are also not always brilliant people, but it's still not some sort of an edgy, forcibly dark thing where you just want everyone to die, because nothing happy ever happens.
It's simple, it's fun, it's colourful.
One thing that could be useful to know for people; the chapters are super short. If you can only ever stop reading at the end of a chapter, this will help you not being stuck there too long. Again, easy to digest. Probably made sense to write in sort bursts when it was still serialising.
This is one of those books that doesn't try to be more than what it is, which is a chronically underrated feature. Not everything needs to aim for being something deep and artsy. Not saying this doesn't have nice moments and fun idea, but it's not trying to convince you the author is God's gift to humanity, or that you are for reading it. Unabashed good times.
I'm definitely reading the next book to see where the characters end up.
I have also never watched My Hero Academia, though Tiger & Bunny is a favourite of mine and it does involve superheroes. Again, my frame of reference for understanding this thing is more and more limited, it seems.
A group of young people go to college to become superheroes. The catch? In this world 'powereds' are ones who have powers, but can't control them. 'Supers' are the ones who have control and can become heroes. Powereds are generally seen as dangerous and mistakes of nature, while supers are... well, they are super.
Our main characters, Vince, Nick, Alice, Mary and Hershel were originally powereds, who, though some sort of a brand new medical procedure, got turned into supers. This is a big deal and a huge secret for them to keep while also going to school with born talents.
Now I am not going to say that even the professionally edited version is without flaws. You can sense this is the work of someone still learning how to write and that's fine. It has cringey sentences, weirdly worded things.
But man, is it fun and easy to read. Often times I felt like nothing too big was happening and still, I kept going, because it was comforting. Something about the story is familiar and nostalgic. Hell, by the end of the book nothing much happened, ending with one big umph. But still. I can't complain about it much, because I was having fun with it. I enjoyed it all.
The world needs opening up. We know there will be things outside this college, I mean people keep mentioning heroes, the work they do, the scandals that happened during the history of this world where superheroes are celebrities.
I will be honest, I prefer this approach over a lot of the typical Western (mostly US) superhero comics/movies that are so popular now. It's so... personal, I guess, seeing these people going through all the steps to greatness. They are not omnipotent, certainly not from the get go. They are also not always brilliant people, but it's still not some sort of an edgy, forcibly dark thing where you just want everyone to die, because nothing happy ever happens.
It's simple, it's fun, it's colourful.
One thing that could be useful to know for people; the chapters are super short. If you can only ever stop reading at the end of a chapter, this will help you not being stuck there too long. Again, easy to digest. Probably made sense to write in sort bursts when it was still serialising.
This is one of those books that doesn't try to be more than what it is, which is a chronically underrated feature. Not everything needs to aim for being something deep and artsy. Not saying this doesn't have nice moments and fun idea, but it's not trying to convince you the author is God's gift to humanity, or that you are for reading it. Unabashed good times.
I'm definitely reading the next book to see where the characters end up.
April 10, 2022
The characters and story are memorable but man the writing was hard to get through. Felt like an amateur - felt like what it is, a web serial. Any time there was a conversation, and that was a lot as that was how most of the story was told, every character gets a...well I'm not sure of the term. The tone verb that comes after a quotation, such as, "I hated the way the conversations were written," the book reviewer commented.
Here is a short list I wrote down during about 15 minutes of listening to the audiobook because I was so fed up with those verbs. FIFTEEN MINUTES. There were repeats as well in that time that I did not make note of.
Retorted, commented, interjected, asked, replied, sighed, speculated, told, lied, explained, pointed out, admitted, chuckled, clarified, deduced, answered, brought up, complained, spelled out, complimented, elaborated, accepted.
I didn't even count the ones that added an adverb to the end, such as, "sighed dejectedly." Basically every single line that is a piece of a conversation gets one of these verbs.
Oh my god I was so annoyed at them. They occur with such frequency and soon it was all I could hear.
Okay, rant over. Onto the actual book.
Like I said, I actually really liked the characters. Some of their powers were unique and I enjoyed hearing about their mechanics, such as the person who shapeshifts not into a werewolf or something like that, but into a completely other person with their own personality and hopes and dreams. More like two people sharing the same body. That was neat! I had my favorite of the 5 roommates right away and he stayed my favorite throughout this first book. Really quite curious to know where his story goes.
The story had me laughing out loud once and a few times smiling along as something sweet or cute happened. So I was definitely invested.
I think I will continue reading? But I'm going to give myself a bit of a break so I can hopefully forget how much I hated those conversational writing ticks.
The audiobook narrator was tops. Could immediately recognize every character as he brought out their voice.
Here is a short list I wrote down during about 15 minutes of listening to the audiobook because I was so fed up with those verbs. FIFTEEN MINUTES. There were repeats as well in that time that I did not make note of.
Retorted, commented, interjected, asked, replied, sighed, speculated, told, lied, explained, pointed out, admitted, chuckled, clarified, deduced, answered, brought up, complained, spelled out, complimented, elaborated, accepted.
I didn't even count the ones that added an adverb to the end, such as, "sighed dejectedly." Basically every single line that is a piece of a conversation gets one of these verbs.
Oh my god I was so annoyed at them. They occur with such frequency and soon it was all I could hear.
Okay, rant over. Onto the actual book.
Like I said, I actually really liked the characters. Some of their powers were unique and I enjoyed hearing about their mechanics, such as the person who shapeshifts not into a werewolf or something like that, but into a completely other person with their own personality and hopes and dreams. More like two people sharing the same body. That was neat! I had my favorite of the 5 roommates right away and he stayed my favorite throughout this first book. Really quite curious to know where his story goes.
The story had me laughing out loud once and a few times smiling along as something sweet or cute happened. So I was definitely invested.
I think I will continue reading? But I'm going to give myself a bit of a break so I can hopefully forget how much I hated those conversational writing ticks.
The audiobook narrator was tops. Could immediately recognize every character as he brought out their voice.
April 22, 2025
This was just a fun time. Did it need to be over 700 pages? Nope, but it felt like reading fanfiction due to the amount of time we get to spend with the characters and experience them navigating their powers, classes, and socialising.
Lander is home to the Hero Certification Program, designed for student with superhuman capabilities, known as Supers, to become official Heroes.
Five of this year's freshmen are extra special, having undergone an experimental procedure they must keep secret.
I don’t want to give too many details because each reveal adds to the plot and informs how the characters react and mix with each other.
The audiobook was well-done, even if certain character voices did grate on me and some accents were over-done.
The writing isn’t anything incredible and I did find myself rolling my eyes occasionally - the amount of times they let out a breath they were holding was numerous.
There are also some scenes that would have been interesting, but are time jumped over, whereas others I found repetitive that are included.
It is very cliched and follows a lot of character archetypes and plot beats.
I doubt I would have got through it if I hadn’t done it by audio.
Saying that, I think it’s just an easy story to go read because it’s a great blend of coming of age academia, trials, secrets, and of course superpowers.
It is basically brain candy.
My brother binge listened to them all and was obsessed. To give you a taste of his preferences:
The Wandering Inn
Dungeon Crawler Carl
Red Rising
Harry Potter
Bookstagram
Tiktok
Lander is home to the Hero Certification Program, designed for student with superhuman capabilities, known as Supers, to become official Heroes.
Five of this year's freshmen are extra special, having undergone an experimental procedure they must keep secret.
I don’t want to give too many details because each reveal adds to the plot and informs how the characters react and mix with each other.
The audiobook was well-done, even if certain character voices did grate on me and some accents were over-done.
The writing isn’t anything incredible and I did find myself rolling my eyes occasionally - the amount of times they let out a breath they were holding was numerous.
There are also some scenes that would have been interesting, but are time jumped over, whereas others I found repetitive that are included.
It is very cliched and follows a lot of character archetypes and plot beats.
I doubt I would have got through it if I hadn’t done it by audio.
Saying that, I think it’s just an easy story to go read because it’s a great blend of coming of age academia, trials, secrets, and of course superpowers.
It is basically brain candy.
My brother binge listened to them all and was obsessed. To give you a taste of his preferences:
The Wandering Inn
Dungeon Crawler Carl
Red Rising
Harry Potter
Bookstagram
Tiktok
July 25, 2018
Mini-Review:
A few of my GR friends really enjoyed this series. I figured I would like it but I wasn't quite as sure once I started the book. The intro & setup for the series is a little vague & slow paced. It takes a while for the layers to build into a more complete view and really create the characters and setting. Once it was established, my interest went from slight interest into true curiosity & enjoyment.
There's a lot of world building and characters being sorted out in the beginning. Be patient and wait for the pieces to fall into a good outline. It's worth the wait. Good amount of action, some mysteries, intrigue, danger and a tiny bit of romance.
A few of my GR friends really enjoyed this series. I figured I would like it but I wasn't quite as sure once I started the book. The intro & setup for the series is a little vague & slow paced. It takes a while for the layers to build into a more complete view and really create the characters and setting. Once it was established, my interest went from slight interest into true curiosity & enjoyment.
There's a lot of world building and characters being sorted out in the beginning. Be patient and wait for the pieces to fall into a good outline. It's worth the wait. Good amount of action, some mysteries, intrigue, danger and a tiny bit of romance.
November 28, 2021
Super Powereds by Drew Hayes is an interesting take on the superhero genre that keeps the reader coming back despite clear character and structural flaws.
This series is often shelved as a progression fantasy, which is how I came to find it. The book follows five students at a superhero college and their attempt to graduate the first year superhero program. This book is ninety percent ‘slice of life’ and ten percent fantastical action.
The good
- New take on super genre likened to ‘Sky High’
- Interesting powers
- Complex relationships
- Some cool twists
The bad
- The unapologetic sexism and objectification of women
- Character motivations explained too late
- Main character fits the over-used superhero trope (incredibly powerful, the annoying moral compass, unwilling to do anything for himself) and was weirdly super loyal to a government and organization
I’ve heard that some of the the bad listed above gets ironed out in the next couple books, so I’ll be continuing the series.
This series is often shelved as a progression fantasy, which is how I came to find it. The book follows five students at a superhero college and their attempt to graduate the first year superhero program. This book is ninety percent ‘slice of life’ and ten percent fantastical action.
The good
- New take on super genre likened to ‘Sky High’
- Interesting powers
- Complex relationships
- Some cool twists
The bad
- The unapologetic sexism and objectification of women
- Character motivations explained too late
- Main character fits the over-used superhero trope (incredibly powerful, the annoying moral compass, unwilling to do anything for himself) and was weirdly super loyal to a government and organization
I’ve heard that some of the the bad listed above gets ironed out in the next couple books, so I’ll be continuing the series.
January 2, 2024
SHONEN ANIME VIBES (PERJORATIVE)
I'm sorry but....men writing women...
Certain characters and the general world building/setting have a lot of potential, but the strong male gaze and the corny dialogue ruined it for me.
I've heard people say the sequels get better, but I'm not sure if I can do this again lol. I can't take all the references to women as "chicks", "broads" (really?), "bitches" (Really?), "hos" (REALLY?), "tail" (🤮), "tramps" (what are we even doing here), etc etc IT'S SOO LAME FR
Listing all that out, I'm actually wondering why I stuck it out to the end...
----
reads like an extremely mid X Men first class AU fanfic. I really tried to give it an honest shot, and I ultimately did finish it, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ initially, I gave this a 2.5, but that rating depreciated as I thought about the contents and overall writing quality
the line about roy/herschel being more powerful as a powered was compelling; I want more of that, less of the reality tv bs and cringe "banter"
I'm sorry but....men writing women...
Certain characters and the general world building/setting have a lot of potential, but the strong male gaze and the corny dialogue ruined it for me.
I've heard people say the sequels get better, but I'm not sure if I can do this again lol. I can't take all the references to women as "chicks", "broads" (really?), "bitches" (Really?), "hos" (REALLY?), "tail" (🤮), "tramps" (what are we even doing here), etc etc IT'S SOO LAME FR
Listing all that out, I'm actually wondering why I stuck it out to the end...
----
reads like an extremely mid X Men first class AU fanfic. I really tried to give it an honest shot, and I ultimately did finish it, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ initially, I gave this a 2.5, but that rating depreciated as I thought about the contents and overall writing quality
the line about roy/herschel being more powerful as a powered was compelling; I want more of that, less of the reality tv bs and cringe "banter"
October 19, 2020
DNF at halfway through, honestly could not bring myself to keep reading. Giving it two stars because it obviously has a fanbase, it just ain't me.
The first thing that jumps out while reading this book is that it desperately needs to be edited for length - like cut down by half. The fact that it was originally serialised is incredibly obvious and ruins any chance of it reading like a cohesive novel. It felt quite self-serving on the part of the author to leave so much extraneous material in; that's fine for a serial, but tedious in a book.
Despite the fact that these characters are meant to be in university, it feels very high school, or very like what a high schooler thinks uni might be like. I'm not sure when this was first written, but it reads like an early to mid 2000s high school/college movie in its endless focus on parties and mean girls/guys. There's a casual sexism there too that seems dated now - sure, Nick and Roy being sexist d-bags isn't meant to seen as a positive, but only in so much as their shedding of those behaviours indicate how they've grown into better people. Pretty trite and cliche stuff these days.
The other thing that jumps out is that, despite the characters and writing being so adolescent, the dialogue is often stilted and awkward and doesn't sound anything like the way young adults speak, ten years ago or today. This was apparently one of Hayes's early works, and it shows. For instance, more often than not, a line of dialogue is followed by a chunk of descriptive text, sometimes several times on one page. I get that impulse not to have a dialogue between characters read like a list with no context, but it often goes too far the other way here.
My main issue with the book, though, is that nothing really happens. I say this as someone who loves books that don't have a standard plot structure and are more about the journey into the characters' lives and their world than the conclusion. but the problem here is... the world and the characters just aren't that interesting.
To be fair to the book, I'm definitely not the target audience. This feels like a story I might have enjoyed when I was fifteen, and given I'm double that now, it's not that surprising I didn't like it. The publication of the serial as a book seems like it was more for existing fans, as it isn't very accessible to new readers. I've been reliably informed that the series gets better as it goes, but if it can't hook me after 400 pages, it's never going to.
The first thing that jumps out while reading this book is that it desperately needs to be edited for length - like cut down by half. The fact that it was originally serialised is incredibly obvious and ruins any chance of it reading like a cohesive novel. It felt quite self-serving on the part of the author to leave so much extraneous material in; that's fine for a serial, but tedious in a book.
Despite the fact that these characters are meant to be in university, it feels very high school, or very like what a high schooler thinks uni might be like. I'm not sure when this was first written, but it reads like an early to mid 2000s high school/college movie in its endless focus on parties and mean girls/guys. There's a casual sexism there too that seems dated now - sure, Nick and Roy being sexist d-bags isn't meant to seen as a positive, but only in so much as their shedding of those behaviours indicate how they've grown into better people. Pretty trite and cliche stuff these days.
The other thing that jumps out is that, despite the characters and writing being so adolescent, the dialogue is often stilted and awkward and doesn't sound anything like the way young adults speak, ten years ago or today. This was apparently one of Hayes's early works, and it shows. For instance, more often than not, a line of dialogue is followed by a chunk of descriptive text, sometimes several times on one page. I get that impulse not to have a dialogue between characters read like a list with no context, but it often goes too far the other way here.
My main issue with the book, though, is that nothing really happens. I say this as someone who loves books that don't have a standard plot structure and are more about the journey into the characters' lives and their world than the conclusion. but the problem here is... the world and the characters just aren't that interesting.
To be fair to the book, I'm definitely not the target audience. This feels like a story I might have enjoyed when I was fifteen, and given I'm double that now, it's not that surprising I didn't like it. The publication of the serial as a book seems like it was more for existing fans, as it isn't very accessible to new readers. I've been reliably informed that the series gets better as it goes, but if it can't hook me after 400 pages, it's never going to.
March 26, 2021
Okay, first off, I really enjoyed listening to this book except for one things, terrible language. My thoughts are that the english language is vast and there are much better ways to express yourselves than just shooting off f bombs all the time. I feel that even more so when I'm listening to a book. It would be so much easier to express feelings in your voice acting than having to curse all the way through. I just find foul language to be rude and distasteful.
With that said, the story as a whole was enjoyable. I love super heroes and powers and these characters were really fun. I was able to become very vested in the group of characters at the forefront of the story. I loved getting to know their histories and personalities. It was great.
The narrator didn't do too bad creating his characters voices and I didn't mind listening to this one. It was quite enjoyable.
With that said, the story as a whole was enjoyable. I love super heroes and powers and these characters were really fun. I was able to become very vested in the group of characters at the forefront of the story. I loved getting to know their histories and personalities. It was great.
The narrator didn't do too bad creating his characters voices and I didn't mind listening to this one. It was quite enjoyable.
November 18, 2019
Superhero Hogwarts. 3.5 stars. Maybe this entry four stars, because I think I thought the most of this one (vs the other three volumes) - but am writing this review after reading all four; def only 3 stars by the end of the series. Clearly originally web-fiction - although this entry less in need of an editor, and cutting, than later volumes (esp volume/year 4, which seemed like 900 pages).
June 4, 2025
I think I could have looked past the whole "several pages of discussion about how large a woman's breasts are" if it hadn't been immediately followed up with making fun of Women's Studies.
February 23, 2021
4/5
SUPER POWEREDS: YEAR ONE is the first volume of Drew Hayes' SUPERPOWERED's series. I was a already a fan of the man due to his FRED: THE VAMPIRE ACCOUNTANT and VILLAINS' CODE series. So, I had no doubt I was going to love this book. What were my feelings upon finishing the first book? I definitely enjoyed it with a few small caveats.
The premise is that the world is full of mutants (called "Supers") that are born with special abilities like the ability to fly, turn into steel, or shoot laser beams out of their eyes. However, like the aforementioned Marvel creatures, they also have a downside where there are people crippled by their abilities. These people (called "Powereds") are unable to control their power and are despised by the public.
A group of these Powereds are gathered together and operated on by a mysterious group that then enrolls them in Lander University. They have been turned into Supers by their surgeries and it is a test to see if they can pass the punishing trials that others undergo in order to become full-fledged superheroes. It's somewhat similar to MY HERO ACADEMIA except the protagonists are malfunctioning Supers instead of a "normal" person who gains superpowers.
The protagonists are an eclectic mix of a telepath, a luck-manipulator, an energy absorber, a kid who has a sexy Captain Marvel-esque alter ego, and a flying heiress. They are just part of a much larger campus full of Supers that are all competitng to become the next generation of superheroes. The weight of the secret they hold could change their positions considerably, though.
Part of what I like about the book is how authentic it feels. The majority of the characters are dealing less with issues of superpowers than they are things like romance, being on their own for the first time, and other classic elements of real life. It actually feels a lot more authentic to the college experience as I remember it versus the way its often portrayed on television or in books.
Much of the book's appeal is the fact that it feels relatively low stakes and that helps make the storyline easier to indulge in. Who is sleeping with who and whether a character is pushing his limits or not isn't the kind of thing you can focus on while doing the usual superhero thing. There's room to breathe and enjoy the minutia of college life as defined by people who think they're a Jedi or can use their replication power for threesomes. There's still action scenes and a plot by the end but they're mostly in the name of friendly training.
The book can best be summarized as "relaxing" and an entertaining read versus something that is especially deep in its world-building. That isn't necessarily a bad thing because it is a world that is easily understood and serves as a springboard for getting to know its likable and entertaining cast. It's long enough that I wouldn't say it's afternoon reading but an enjoyable week's read when you just want to be entertained.
This was originally a web novel and I will state the Kindle edition I got had some minor formatting issues. I didn't have difficulty reading it and there were only a couple of minor errors. Still, having experienced the book in both Audible and Kindle format, I would recommend the former. If you like superheroes and you like coming of age dramas then this is definitely for you.
SUPER POWEREDS: YEAR ONE is the first volume of Drew Hayes' SUPERPOWERED's series. I was a already a fan of the man due to his FRED: THE VAMPIRE ACCOUNTANT and VILLAINS' CODE series. So, I had no doubt I was going to love this book. What were my feelings upon finishing the first book? I definitely enjoyed it with a few small caveats.
The premise is that the world is full of mutants (called "Supers") that are born with special abilities like the ability to fly, turn into steel, or shoot laser beams out of their eyes. However, like the aforementioned Marvel creatures, they also have a downside where there are people crippled by their abilities. These people (called "Powereds") are unable to control their power and are despised by the public.
A group of these Powereds are gathered together and operated on by a mysterious group that then enrolls them in Lander University. They have been turned into Supers by their surgeries and it is a test to see if they can pass the punishing trials that others undergo in order to become full-fledged superheroes. It's somewhat similar to MY HERO ACADEMIA except the protagonists are malfunctioning Supers instead of a "normal" person who gains superpowers.
The protagonists are an eclectic mix of a telepath, a luck-manipulator, an energy absorber, a kid who has a sexy Captain Marvel-esque alter ego, and a flying heiress. They are just part of a much larger campus full of Supers that are all competitng to become the next generation of superheroes. The weight of the secret they hold could change their positions considerably, though.
Part of what I like about the book is how authentic it feels. The majority of the characters are dealing less with issues of superpowers than they are things like romance, being on their own for the first time, and other classic elements of real life. It actually feels a lot more authentic to the college experience as I remember it versus the way its often portrayed on television or in books.
Much of the book's appeal is the fact that it feels relatively low stakes and that helps make the storyline easier to indulge in. Who is sleeping with who and whether a character is pushing his limits or not isn't the kind of thing you can focus on while doing the usual superhero thing. There's room to breathe and enjoy the minutia of college life as defined by people who think they're a Jedi or can use their replication power for threesomes. There's still action scenes and a plot by the end but they're mostly in the name of friendly training.
The book can best be summarized as "relaxing" and an entertaining read versus something that is especially deep in its world-building. That isn't necessarily a bad thing because it is a world that is easily understood and serves as a springboard for getting to know its likable and entertaining cast. It's long enough that I wouldn't say it's afternoon reading but an enjoyable week's read when you just want to be entertained.
This was originally a web novel and I will state the Kindle edition I got had some minor formatting issues. I didn't have difficulty reading it and there were only a couple of minor errors. Still, having experienced the book in both Audible and Kindle format, I would recommend the former. If you like superheroes and you like coming of age dramas then this is definitely for you.
February 6, 2024
More cute than cringe
(but some cringe is present)
I've become a very big fan of Drew Hayes books. I'm tired of grimdark and anti-heroes and Main characters who are scumbags. Drew's characters are like an antidote to that. After reading all available of Fred, the Vampire Accountant, and the NPC books I thought I'd try his take on superpowereds.
I'm not a big fan of supes in books but I love Drew Hayes books so I tried it why not.
Freakin' loved it.
This is one of his first books. I can see how he got more polished later on but damn if he didn't have a world of talent from the start.
Another great story of basic decency struggling to stay true in a world that seems to only respect power, money, and violence. There is so much heart and a lot of fun.
UPDATE 5 years later:
WOW! Drew Hayes got better at writing after this book. This book isn't "bad" per se, but oh my lord the writing is klunky, the characterizations shade into cliche, and his turns of phrase / idioms can be horrendous. Seriously. This is a young writer pleased with his own cleverness and loathe to edit.
All that being said, I still care about these characters even though I'm less impressed with them.
This series was his first. Before Fred the vampire accountant, Before NPCs, and long before Villains Code. He got better at writing, but here you can see the heart was always there.
(but some cringe is present)
I've become a very big fan of Drew Hayes books. I'm tired of grimdark and anti-heroes and Main characters who are scumbags. Drew's characters are like an antidote to that. After reading all available of Fred, the Vampire Accountant, and the NPC books I thought I'd try his take on superpowereds.
I'm not a big fan of supes in books but I love Drew Hayes books so I tried it why not.
Freakin' loved it.
This is one of his first books. I can see how he got more polished later on but damn if he didn't have a world of talent from the start.
Another great story of basic decency struggling to stay true in a world that seems to only respect power, money, and violence. There is so much heart and a lot of fun.
UPDATE 5 years later:
WOW! Drew Hayes got better at writing after this book. This book isn't "bad" per se, but oh my lord the writing is klunky, the characterizations shade into cliche, and his turns of phrase / idioms can be horrendous. Seriously. This is a young writer pleased with his own cleverness and loathe to edit.
All that being said, I still care about these characters even though I'm less impressed with them.
This series was his first. Before Fred the vampire accountant, Before NPCs, and long before Villains Code. He got better at writing, but here you can see the heart was always there.
March 24, 2020
University meet superhero bootcamp.
Super powerds is a surprisingly intelligent take on superheroes. Lander university is one in only a few places where super powered humans can certify to become legal heroes. But only a very select few. because only 25% of all powered individuals is actually capable of controlling those powers.....Until now.
This multi-POV story emerges you in a truly interesting world. The world building is subtle, but oh so powerful. While the story itself takes on themes like prejudice, responsibility and self exploration. And in the end of it all Mr Hayes manages to create one of the most realistic superhero stories i've ever read.
Book 2 will definitely find itself on my to-read list.
Re-read 3-2-2020
Super powerds is a surprisingly intelligent take on superheroes. Lander university is one in only a few places where super powered humans can certify to become legal heroes. But only a very select few. because only 25% of all powered individuals is actually capable of controlling those powers.....Until now.
This multi-POV story emerges you in a truly interesting world. The world building is subtle, but oh so powerful. While the story itself takes on themes like prejudice, responsibility and self exploration. And in the end of it all Mr Hayes manages to create one of the most realistic superhero stories i've ever read.
Book 2 will definitely find itself on my to-read list.
Re-read 3-2-2020
April 25, 2024
I’ll have a YT episode out for this one in May.
This book is a game of halves for me. The first half was fine. It was fun but not memorable aside from reminding me of something CT Phipps would have written but not quite as good as his books.
The second half was great especially the last 20% or so. It seemed like it took half of a book for the author to really settle into what they wanted the book to be and then once they decided it was great. The second half had a great mix of humor and seriousness with some emotional scenes thrown in for good measure.
This book is a game of halves for me. The first half was fine. It was fun but not memorable aside from reminding me of something CT Phipps would have written but not quite as good as his books.
The second half was great especially the last 20% or so. It seemed like it took half of a book for the author to really settle into what they wanted the book to be and then once they decided it was great. The second half had a great mix of humor and seriousness with some emotional scenes thrown in for good measure.
May 6, 2021
We follow 6 teenagers through their first year of a super hero training college. They live in a world where a small percentage of the population has some sort of an ability and they are categorized into Powereds and Supers; Supers have full control over their abilities and Powereds don't. The 6 we follow started off as Powereds and through some unknown experiments have gained control of their abilities. We follow them through the first year of college for Supers as they get to know one another, the other students, and themselves.
This was an incredibly fun book and I got very attached to the characters. There were definitely parts that were long and some dialogue that seemed like fluff, but I loved every single word. This series is in my top 3 series of all time!
I'm going to write a more in depth summary below so !!SPOILERS BELOW!!
Characters
Vince: The absorber who basically grew up on the streets and was taken in by a man who was a father figure to him. The unnamed man taught him how to get by, to fight, and how to be a hero despite being a powered. He's the extremely nice, extremely moral one of the group.
Nick: The luck manipulator who was brought up by his aunt because his parents died in a car crash when he was a baby. He was brought up in Vegas, and has a mysterioius motivations (though he acts like a smart ass) throughout the book until it is revealed at the end that he is only here to learn more about his powers and not to make friends. But his friends seemed to have melted his icy heart.
Hershel Daniel: A shifter who's shifting power is different than most. He turns into another person completely who has his own thoughts and feelings and motivations. They see themselves as brothers. Hershel himself is a quiet, self conscious, and shy boy who questions his worthiness. But in the end shows guts and tenacity.
Roy Daniel: Hershel's brother who has increased durability and strength. Started off as an extremely arrogant, misogynistic, jerk who thinks he's the best and feels like he doesn't need to try. After a few encounters with someone who truly was the best as well as others, he soon gains some humility and starts training in earnest, showing that he is as eager and motivated as everyone else.
Mary: Is an incredibly powerful and gifted "advanced mind" who is able to read thoughts at a radius of 5 miles as well as move things with her mind. She is soon turned into the "mother" of the group. She also devices plans with her caretaker to do things for the group that she thinks is the best.
Alice: Daughter of the richest and most powerful man in the world, Alice was brought up in wealth and prestige. However, because of this she had little to no friends growing up and feels secluded in the beginning. Eventually, she becomes a close part of the group.
Synopsis:
I just want to highlight the main parts of the books so I am able to keep them separated in my mind. Year 1 beginning was everyone meeting. Winter was the maze test and then the separate mountain test for Mr. Numbers and Transport. Break was at everyone's place, except for Vince who stayed. Spring Break was the lake party. Finale was the group being outed as Powereds and the kidnapping of Mary and Hershel by the teachers George and Persephone.
This was an incredibly fun book and I got very attached to the characters. There were definitely parts that were long and some dialogue that seemed like fluff, but I loved every single word. This series is in my top 3 series of all time!
I'm going to write a more in depth summary below so !!SPOILERS BELOW!!
Characters
Vince: The absorber who basically grew up on the streets and was taken in by a man who was a father figure to him. The unnamed man taught him how to get by, to fight, and how to be a hero despite being a powered. He's the extremely nice, extremely moral one of the group.
Nick: The luck manipulator who was brought up by his aunt because his parents died in a car crash when he was a baby. He was brought up in Vegas, and has a mysterioius motivations (though he acts like a smart ass) throughout the book until it is revealed at the end that he is only here to learn more about his powers and not to make friends. But his friends seemed to have melted his icy heart.
Hershel Daniel: A shifter who's shifting power is different than most. He turns into another person completely who has his own thoughts and feelings and motivations. They see themselves as brothers. Hershel himself is a quiet, self conscious, and shy boy who questions his worthiness. But in the end shows guts and tenacity.
Roy Daniel: Hershel's brother who has increased durability and strength. Started off as an extremely arrogant, misogynistic, jerk who thinks he's the best and feels like he doesn't need to try. After a few encounters with someone who truly was the best as well as others, he soon gains some humility and starts training in earnest, showing that he is as eager and motivated as everyone else.
Mary: Is an incredibly powerful and gifted "advanced mind" who is able to read thoughts at a radius of 5 miles as well as move things with her mind. She is soon turned into the "mother" of the group. She also devices plans with her caretaker to do things for the group that she thinks is the best.
Alice: Daughter of the richest and most powerful man in the world, Alice was brought up in wealth and prestige. However, because of this she had little to no friends growing up and feels secluded in the beginning. Eventually, she becomes a close part of the group.
Synopsis:
I just want to highlight the main parts of the books so I am able to keep them separated in my mind. Year 1 beginning was everyone meeting. Winter was the maze test and then the separate mountain test for Mr. Numbers and Transport. Break was at everyone's place, except for Vince who stayed. Spring Break was the lake party. Finale was the group being outed as Powereds and the kidnapping of Mary and Hershel by the teachers George and Persephone.
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