Review – Don’t Be a Hero

Title: Don’t Be a Hero

Author: Chris Strange

Available on: November 2nd, 2012

From Goodreads:

It’s a bad time to be a superhero.

When the world turned its back on metahumans, the golden age of superheroes came crashing down. But now a mysterious supercriminal is making one final bid for power, and with no one else left to protect the world, ex-hero Spook must risk everything to take him down. There will be no reprieve, no negotiation. War is coming.

Put on the mask. There’s work to be done.

Review:

Spook isn’t a classic hero. She’s not out to save the world. In fact she doesn’t like the world very much. What she wants is to go to the lunar colony that the metahumans have and the job she takes guarantees the money to get there. All she has to do is find a missing boy. Except it’s not so simple as that. It turns into something much more sinister.

Spook did have a classic sidekick in the hero named Carpenter. Carpenter has an affinity with wood as his superhero name would suggest. He can communicate with trees and manipulate wood to do what he wants. He’s also a prefect foil to Spook’s cynical outlook. He’s an idealist who believes that the world will always need superheros. Carpenter also believes it’s their duty to protect the normals from villains and criminals alike no matter how society views him.

Quantra is a complex supervillain. He is multi-layered and has many facets to his character. His motives were manifold and varies, too many to really penetrate and delve into in one review. It gave the story a lot of dimension and depth. I became very invested in finding out what made him tick and what his true objective was.

The world the story takes place in is a contradiction in itself. It has rocket ships yet it doesn’t have advanced computers. It has dirigibles and helicopters yet doesn’t have things like cell phones. I found it intriguing and different. It gave it a Sam Spade feel with a technological or “steampunk” edge.

Don’ t Be a Hero was a pleasant surprise. I wasn’t expecting it to be as great as it was. I thought it would be passingly entertaining. Instead it captured me and held me in its grips. I wasn’t completely sold on the concept of superheroes in a novel versus an action movie but I am now. I consider this book a win.

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