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Sacred Band

(Sacred Band #1)

Joseph D. Carriker Jr. (Goodreads Author)

4.46 · Rating details · 91 ratings · 29 reviews

The golden age of heroes is decades past. The government could not condone vigilantism and now metahumans are just citizens, albeit citizens with incredible talent, who are assisted in achieving normal lives (including finding good fits for their talents employment-wise) by a federal agency.

Rusty may have been a kid during that glorious age but he remembers his idol, Senti ...more

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Paperback, 400 pages

Published April 2017 by Lethe Press Publishing

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Average rating 4.46 ·

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· 91 ratings · 29 reviews

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Jun 19, 2018 K.J. Charles added it

Shelves: fun-fun-fun, lgbt, m-m, oh-god-where-is-the-next-book, superheroes, trans

A terrific read. AU where superheroes have been around since the 70s and are now heavily controlled ("with great power comes great government oversight"). But one stumbles on the mysterious abduction of unwanted people including gay and trans teens, and a team is duly, if illicitly, formed.

This is a cracking tale, fast moving with a very detailed world and some really ingenious powers. The cast is properly diverse, including a kick ass trans element-manipulator, and the parallels and resonances ...more

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Apr 16, 2017 Chanel J rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

Where to begin? I am emotionally compromised, that's where.

My favourite thing about this novel is the characters. I've been thinking about how best to describe them, but then, describing people has never been my strong suit. I describe characters well enough, using the labels assigned to them: troubled, gentle, loving, queer, trans, motherly, a person of colour, powerful, traumatised.
I struggle with describing the powers at play in this book because they're not characters. They're people. They' Where to begin? I am emotionally compromised, that's where.

My favourite thing about this novel is the characters. I've been thinking about how best to describe them, but then, describing people has never been my strong suit. I describe characters well enough, using the labels assigned to them: troubled, gentle, loving, queer, trans, motherly, a person of colour, powerful, traumatised.
I struggle with describing the powers at play in this book because they're not characters. They're people. They're alive and delightfully complex, each one more than their assigned archetype, each one richly developed with backstories that are not laid bare and tossed in your face for easy consumption. They tell you as much as any person would, and in ways that people do: in action, in small talk, in expression and emotion. Their defining traits aren't tossed and jumbled into a single paragraph early in the chapter. They're complicated in the ways I am complicated, or you are, or the ways the people you love are. They're messy. They grieve. They get scared. They can be irrational and clingy. They can project their insecurities onto others. They also love and feel in a very, very real way, and that is the core of what makes Sacred Band so brilliant. A superhero is a symbol, a representation of a concept, and it's important that you understand the face beneath the mask before you can begin to grasp the hero. These people are heroes, and not because of the (overly tight) outfits.

My second favourite thing about this book is the sheer diversity of cast. Gender, sexuality, race, and background mix and merge to bring people from various walks of life- with respectful appreciation of the reality of their existence- into eachother's company. Each has different strengths and different obstacles. Sometimes they chafe, sometimes they soothe. Difficult situations are dealt with in unexpected ways, and I'm not just talking about the fight scenes. A friend of mine uses the phrase 'A balm to my soul' and that's exactly what this story has been for me. Familiar struggles (especially the queer kind) played out on these pages are mysteriously lacking in mass-produced media, and although that issue is slowly improving, the representation of queer culture in these pages is so much more satisfying to me than the token gay characters popping up in our standard superhero fare. Here queerness is written the way most of us experience it. It's every day life. It has events that mark our history, and sometimes they can define our personal narrative, but for the most part it's just part of who we are. For the characters in Sacred Band, it's just part of who they are, but within that, they give voice and power to the inherent rage against inequality and oppression common in the queer community.
We've all heard about those who are not so lucky as to be born into a safe environment. Those who have been disowned, discarded, abused and tortured and even killed for who they are. The fact that the novel begins in Ukraine and mentions the unrest in Russia hits a nerve. The villains in Sacred Band are real. We've all felt their touch, one way or another. From those who fought hard in defence of DADT to those who beat frightened transfolk and post the videos to youtube, we know these villains. The pain and anger in Sacred Band is all too real.
This novel gifts us with the superheroes that Hollywood pretends could never be: the queer, the underfoot, the outcasts, doing what they always have. What we always have. Fighting for our own, for the lives of those like us.

When I first settled down to read, I had no idea how sorely I needed that.
So yeah, I'm emotionally compromised. Read the fucking book. It's worth it.

...more

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Jul 24, 2017 'Nathan Burgoine rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: glbt

My full review for Sacred Band is up at Out in Print.

I completely enjoyed Sacred Band. The level of queer on the page was on par with the superheroics, the powers at play were intriguing, and the world-stage upon which everything was set just added to the high stakes. It was gritty enough to make me worry for the characters, and a tangled enough knot of a mystery at its core to make me enjoy watching the heroes unravel the mess.

Frankly, I’d love to read Sacred Band again, in graphic novel form. ...more

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Apr 20, 2017 Joyfully Jay rated it it was amazing

Shelves: elizabeth

A Joyfully Jay review.

5 stars

First, let me say, I truly enjoyed this book. The depth and complexity of the world building is absolutely amazing. The mythology behind the creation of super powered humans is rich and unique. The research is meticulous and the action scenes are beautifully written. I would not believe this was the author’s debut book, considering how well-written it is.

Rusty is an engaging character, slightly shallow in the way many young men are. He’s rash, impulsive, and warm-he ...more

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Apr 05, 2017 Bob Green rated it it was amazing

This story is brilliant! I love a good super-hero story and Sacred Band delivers. It helps that the main characters are LGBTQ but they're written in a way that is not condescending or fake. They're real people. They have faults. OK, so one of them has too many but that's because he's from a different time and isn't coping well BUT ANYWAY, this is a great read and Mr. Carriker should be proud. ...more

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Dec 31, 2017 Angela Blackwell rated it it was amazing

I really liked this book. I live in Portland so it being set there was a plus. I love superheroes but much of the fiction with male characters isn't realistic (you don't put on the tights and the rest of your life disappears). The characters are realistic LGBTQ people who bring their every day lives into the superhero scenarios. You get supers with great fights and great feels. Some scenes made me cry!

I was particularly pleased that the male characters showed as many emotions as the female ones I really liked this book. I live in Portland so it being set there was a plus. I love superheroes but much of the fiction with male characters isn't realistic (you don't put on the tights and the rest of your life disappears). The characters are realistic LGBTQ people who bring their every day lives into the superhero scenarios. You get supers with great fights and great feels. Some scenes made me cry!

I was particularly pleased that the male characters showed as many emotions as the female ones, which is how normal guys behave. Non-emotional male characters are boring as well as unrealistic, but the superhero genre has a high population of them.

I also loved that a male and female character are best friends. As a teen and young adult most of my friends were guys because I had more things in common with them due to most 1980s girls not identifying as geeky even if they were. Today teens are much more aware of gender/sex differences and the friends in this book reflect that. They tease each other about partners, and crushes plus make it clear by their behavior and discussions that they are not each others "type". This gives the reader more insight to the characters and allows their sexual/gender identities to be revealed in a natural way rather than broadcasting it like some books. If the only distinguishing characteristics the author gives the character is their gender identity and preferred partner sex then I probably don't want to read about them because they are flat.

These characters jump off the page showing distinct styles of dress, superhero names, superpowers, plus issues with jobs, career choices and government overseers appearing just as importantly in the narrative as gender/sexual issues. In other words, like real people who have complex lives and who happen to not all be be cis, white, males.

I don't want to discuss specifics of characters or plot because the setting is so interesting and the reveals done so well I don't want to give anything away. Any one who likes superheroes will like this book! It is also a fast moving one so might draw in reluctant readers.
...more

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Apr 26, 2017 John Kusters rated it really liked it

This is a cleverly crafted book about superheroes, what makes them tick, and how five of them from very different walks of life, come together to form a team, a sacred band, to right some of the wrongs they've seen but weren't sure how to fix. The main characters are fully realized people, with depth and complexity rarely seen in works of superhero fiction. Some of the characters carry deep emotional scars, other are still coming to terms with what it means to have extraordinary abilities. While ...more

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Apr 04, 2017 Lya rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Well written introduction to a new world

This book touches on something most people in any undeserved community really want, a superhero that represents them. Sacred Band does this for the LGBT+ community in a heartfelt way that leaves you wanting more.

Overall, I feel that the book was incredibly good for what seems to be the author's first novel. You could absolutely tell that his heart was in the topic and it shone through in every character. That said, there was a reason I gave this four star ...more

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May 23, 2017 Carlos Deleon rated it it was amazing

Sure, I know and love Joe, the author.

But I also love this book. I worried that one might color the other, but a month after reading this story, it still sticks with me, not because my friend wrote it, but because it's an awfully good story.

The worldbuilding is there - a world where superheroes did exist and is still struggling with how to deal with that fact. So many other stories create worlds that are the same as ours, except for one detail, as if you can air-drop something as large as magic ...more

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May 18, 2017 Donna rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2017-challenge

As a fan of Joe's work, I was super stoked to sit down to read SACRED BAND. i'm pretty new to the super hero genre, and really enjoy the ordinary people with powers genre and how people/governments handle it. Plus, as a queer woman, it's incredibility important to read stories which represent me, especially as I get older. People forget that you can be a hero character and be middle aged. It's great to see ages, gender, and sexuality portrayed well, with all the good, bad, & ugly that comes alon ...more

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Jul 06, 2017 Dante rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Fun read

I loved the story and most of all the characters. We were introduced to this world and these friends in a very organic fashion. Things felt a bit rushed near the end but I look forward to exploring more of this world.

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Jun 24, 2019 Erica rated it really liked it

This was awesome! This isn't a romance, it's a superhero adventure story with the possibility of future romance. Sometimes the dialog was a little cheesy, and in some places it got a little preachy, but there's no denying I gobbled it up in one sitting and enjoyed almost every minute. The battle descriptions were especially fun. There'd better be a sequel! ...more

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Jul 31, 2018 Heather Wright rated it it was amazing

This book delivered exactly what I was hoping for. Amazing characters who are well written, multifaceted, relatable, and flawed in their own unique ways. The action scenes were dynamic, well written, and exciting. The relationship building across the course of the novel was amazing. Even the antagonists were never reduced to stereotypes or cliches. It was easy to fall in love with these characters and I never wanted to put the book down.

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Jun 03, 2019 Khabeer Rashad rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2019

Gay Superheroes? Sign me up! Def need another book! Still a lot of unanswered questions. I loved the characters

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Jul 15, 2017 Bill Henry rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I'm really looking forward to the movie version! The special effects are bound to be awesome. I loved the story, and nearly rushed to finish it, once I devoted more time to reading, which this book inspired me to do. I used to be constantly reading, as well as listening to audio books during my commute. But, the last few years, I have been spending more time on mobile games and Facebook. This book is a big part of my decision to get back to reading all the time. Thanks, Joe! I also am anxious fo ...more

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Sep 12, 2017 Jerry L. Wheeler rated it it was amazing

The world building was intriguing, the superheroics were spot on, and the tension was just high enough to keep me interested. The mystery was gritty, and I loved watching the whole plot unfold.

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Jan 26, 2021 row rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This was a random find in the bookstore that I stumbled upon in the Fiction section. I hadn't heard anything about it or the author before, but the gorgeously illustrated cover and the synopsis pulled me in. I've been on a huge superhero kick lately, but gay superheroes? This sounded like a dream novel.

It gets four stars for the story itself. I really, really liked the way superheroes were explained, how they came to be, and how they worked within the world. The world-building was pretty solid. This was a random find in the bookstore that I stumbled upon in the Fiction section. I hadn't heard anything about it or the author before, but the gorgeously illustrated cover and the synopsis pulled me in. I've been on a huge superhero kick lately, but gay superheroes? This sounded like a dream novel.

It gets four stars for the story itself. I really, really liked the way superheroes were explained, how they came to be, and how they worked within the world. The world-building was pretty solid. I liked most of the characters, and I loved the Sacred Band itself. I'm just always a sucker for superhero teams, so that part of it was really fun to read. The action was great and about what I'd expect from a story about superheroes, and it was entertaining to read.

Despite the four stars, which go solely towards the plot and the world, I do have a couple criticisms. This book was slower than I would've liked, and it kind of read like a big piece of fanfic. There were also a lot of editing mistakes in this book that bothered me (I'm always the type of person who notices things like that and I cannot get past it, especially if there are so many). And as much as I loved that it was queer as can be, it was pretty typical of a story about LGBTQ+ people to put a big focus on homophobia and coming out. It was sort of central to the heroes' motivations and their purpose, which I felt wasn't necessary. Granted, the book is set in 2013 (I don't understand the reason for that, and it's never explained), so I guess at that time, the queer community was still facing a lot of discrimination from society in general. But in 2021, reading a story that focuses so much on the universal gay experience was kind of tiring. Not every LGBTQ+ story has to be about coming out. The characters can just be gay, you know? Speaking as a bisexual person myself and someone who has read many of these kinds of stories, I want more novels where the characters are just queer and they don't have to worry about homophobia or having to come out. It would've been awesome if the Sacred Band was a group of heroes who just happened to be gay. But it did work with the story the author was trying to write, and it fit into the plot.

My biggest criticism is about the romance. In the very beginning, you're supposed to think the romance is gonna be between the main character, Rusty, and a friend he met online. But then it changes gears, and Rusty's real love interest is introduced. My issue with it is the age difference. I've read plenty of stories with age differences, and normally I have a tolerance for them depending on the ages of the characters and how the relationship develops, but this one was just so big. Rusty is in his 20's (in college) and his love interest is in his 60's. And that's just . . . never brought up? It's never discussed in the book until the very end, and when they finally do talk about it, the justification for it is kind of shoddy. I know that relationships with significant age gaps are common in the queer community, but I've never been totally comfortable with that, and it just didn't sit right with me throughout the whole book. There were times when I did think the budding romance was sweet, but I just wish the age gap wasn't so large.

Overall, though, I did like this story, and I'm looking forward to the sequel coming out later this year. I'm glad I picked this book up. ...more

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Apr 21, 2019 Joseph Scarbrough rated it it was amazing

This book is absolutely amazing. It reads smoothly and has the same fast paced action and easy-to-follow setup as a comic book, while still having the complexity and depth expected of a novel.

Carriker's writing style and descriptive abilities flow well from various points of view, and his depth of detail in the mindset and internal workings of characters in his world is masterful.

The comedic moments are a breath of fresh air in a deep and tragic set of events, and the story truly captures the es ...more

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Aug 25, 2021 Phoebe S. rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A solid four, mostly because the first half is a solid three and the second half is a solid five. Carriker does a lot of world-building, but there are a bunch of exposition dumps that could probably been handled better and the pace just seems generally plodding. Rusty Adamson, codename Gauss, is also not the most likable character at times- Carriker himself acknowledges he can be whiny- and he is the main perspective for the first third or so of the book.

Nevertheless, Rusty has a considerable a ...more

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Mar 29, 2019 Robbie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: storybundle

I picked this up because I was kind of moody and wanted something light. Yeah, this wasn't light. It was actually a really good dramatic story with well developed characters. The first half is mostly characterization and plot development: there's a little action but not superhero vs supervillain-type action. It's not slow, but it's kind of like a romance novel at that point. I liked it and, interestingly, a good bit about the characters and their relationships to each other that was laid out in ...more

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Nov 05, 2018 Stephen Poltz rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sf-fantasy-horror

This book is an interesting take on the superhero trope. It’s set in a world after superheroes have had their heyday. Now they are not vigilantes making things right. In fact, they’re trained by the government to control their gifts and live normal lives, having them redirect their gifts towards being productive members of society. Of course, this doesn’t last long when LGBTQ and other disenfranchised youth start disappearing around the world and nobody else is helping to look for them. This is ...more

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May 04, 2019 Pup Loki rated it it was ok

this is one of those books that made me stop reading for a while. I'm not sure where all the love comes from. for those wondering this is a book about gay superheroes. That is not to be mistaken for superheroes who happen to be lgbt+. from the very start you are told who is good and who is bad and then many repeated times why said character is good/bad. then all the characters personalities change from sentence to sentence and so do their power. the whole I can now do this because it is convenie ...more

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Feb 23, 2019 Absynthe rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 6-stars, adventure, m-m, superheroes, alternate-world

This was surprisingly good. Mainly because mm books usually focus more on romance than solid plot. This could easily be a graphic novel from someone like Dark Horse.

The superhero concepts were done exceptionally well, the characters are awesome and the plot is engrossing. Only thing is it took a little time to see where the book was going, but once it took off, it moved at a brisk, solid pace.

I really hope there’s a sequel.

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Apr 05, 2021 Bryan Sunday rated it it was amazing

Simply loved this book! Can't wait for the second in the series, Terminal Venture, teased in the last page of this one. Been waiting for such a series to read and be able to more fully identify with. I think it might be my new favorite series which I'm adding to my other, Shadowhunter Chronicles by Cassandra Clare. ...more

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Jan 25, 2021 Jim rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: gothamcitypubliclibrary-fiction, equality, jims-reviews, lgbt, social-issues

I really got into Joseph Carriker's writing. This was a fantastic tale.

I love it when writers get creative with superpowers!

Definitely worth reading - I fell in love with the characters and look forward to the next in the series. ...more

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Jun 12, 2022 Sarah rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: lgbtqa, sci-fi, sff

3.75 stars, rounded up to 4. Slow to start, and a bit heavier in subject matter than I was expecting. Also, the POV switching was a little much. But still, a novel about a group of LGBTQA superheroes coming together is pretty awesome.

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Mar 28, 2017 Stefanos Spanopoulos rated it it was amazing

It had been a while since I managed to identify with fictional characters, and multiple ones at that. Joseph Carriker manages to create well-developed characters that feel very much real. Their interactions did not feel forced or fabricated solely for the advancement of the plot. The plot itself, while not terribly complex, was suspenseful and addictive (I finished the book in one night, unable to stop reading). The characters and their relationships as well as Carriker's worldbuilding really dr ...more

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Scoutaccount rated it liked it
Jun 14, 2018

Mar 27, 2017 Jeff Davault rated it really liked it

Shelves: superhero, glbt, urban-fantasy, sci-fi

I really enjoyed this novel. I think the characters were well fleshed out, with none being too perfect or too crippled/neurotic to be considered plausible, if one ignores the superpowers. Within the plot the author does a decent job of explaining issues (especially in regards to trans folk) in order to clue the reader into something that may not be on their radar. It didn't feel preachy, and I think the explanations fit into the story as a whole. While the focus in this novel was a LGBTQ collect ...more

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Jess Hartley rated it it was amazing
Jul 13, 2017

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About Joseph D. Carriker Jr.

Joseph D. Carriker Jr.

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Joseph Carriker is the developer for Green Ronin’s Blue Rose AGE roleplaying game line. He has been writing in the gaming industry for sixteen years now, and has worked on a variety of game lines over those years.

In 2017, he released his first novel, Sacred Band, and his second, Shadowtide, in 2018. He runs a Patreon dedicated to his Sacred Band world with a variety of short stories, world buildin ...more