Six Pack (The Six Pack #1) in CleanReads.com

May 04, 2017 Krista Wagner rated it liked it

This was a simple read about an interesting concept: teens drinking a potion for superhuman powers that allow them to fight back government control. I must admit that the title threw me as I kept associating it with a six-pack of beer. Also, there are a lot of fragments throughout the story that, instead of being creatively engaging, stunt the flow of writing.

Another problem I had with the style of writing was that it contained too much exposition: “Stacy and David sat next to each other on a c ...more

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Dec 17, 2017 Eli Celata rated it really liked it

If you liked Runaways (comic or show), Six Pack: Emergence gives a grittier science fiction edge where it's not just their parents involved but the government too. Dystopian to the nth, this novel draws a group of friends into a strange arena. They each have their different quarrels about being involved - or about the conspiracy they face.

Of all the perspectives, I enjoyed Tyler's the most - probably due to my love of Charles Xavier, but the ring of First Class won me over to even those I wasn' ...more

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May 13, 2017 Brett Armstrong rated it really liked it

Anytime an author embarks on the task of writing a novel about original superheroes, I take notice. Part of it is because superheroes are so intrinsically tied to comics/graphic novels and movies in the cultural mindset (or at least mine), I’m intrigued to see how something so inherently visual will play out in plain text. I’m also one of those Dark Knight Franchise fans, who really gets thrilled to see when superheroes are grounded in reality. It’s not so much because I can’t suspend my disbeli Anytime an author embarks on the task of writing a novel about original superheroes, I take notice. Part of it is because superheroes are so intrinsically tied to comics/graphic novels and movies in the cultural mindset (or at least mine), I’m intrigued to see how something so inherently visual will play out in plain text. I’m also one of those Dark Knight Franchise fans, who really gets thrilled to see when superheroes are grounded in reality. It’s not so much because I can’t suspend my disbelief for a little while. It’s more of a character building thing. Do the characters look, sound, and act like real people. Because if they do, you have something more than cool powers and amazing feats. So, did Six Pack: Emergence do those two things for me? Yes.

Six Pack isn’t inundated with imagery, but it does give just enough that the reader can picture the lay of the scene and not lose hold on the action of the moment. This is incredibly important to a story like this, because there is a lot of action.

There is also a lot of introspection going on. Mr. Morris elected to tell the story from the perspective of not only Tyler/Mind, leader of the Six Pack, but all six teens. It’s told in a near third person, so again there is still enough distance to get a sense of the scene the characters are in. Managing these six characters would be a challenge enough, but to give each a unique voice, that’s something special. Each teen does have very strongly drawn out personalities. Sometimes they engage in more telling than showing than I would like and can agonize over the same fundamental dilemmas for several chapters, but in a way I found it lent authenticity to the characters. None of the teens gets past things without going through events and talking things out. I can appreciate that kind of character development. The things the characters face are familiar teen problems. Tyler and Stacey are close, which drives Stacey’s boyfriend David crazy. Jessica is jealous of Tyler, even if she can’t admit it to herself. Brad just wants to find his own way. Linda is hyper.

Of the Six Pack, I think Stacey is the most richly drawn. I found of all the dialogue in the book, hers felt the most natural and though Linda is the continual source of one-liners for the group, it’s Stacey whose words are the most memorable and make the deepest impact. Tyler is a close second, and I like that not everything is hashed out in the book. I assumed with the subtitle and genre there would be more installments, but it would be so tempting to wrap everything up neatly in volume 1 and Mr. Morris does not oblige that desire, which means I want to read volume 2 now.

On the whole, the story was faintly reminiscent of Push, because of the emphasis on mental powers. Which was nice. Though I have to admit, Mr. Morris’s style of writing sometimes clashed with my own reading sensibilities. People who are not well known to characters or the reader are referred to by their first names or their full names. There are a fair number of phrases that are left hanging for effect, but some could have been full sentences. Those are just nit-picky personal things though. Overall, Six Pack: Emergence delivered the two things I wanted from it. A visually engaging story that didn’t lose traction for wordiness and characters who were distinct from one another and had the elements of real, living people. ...more

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Jun 22, 2017 B.W. Morris rated it it was amazing · (Review from the author)

My rating is based more on the fact that I'm still excited that it got accepted for publication and is available for everyone to read. Hurrah! ...more

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