Swarm by Scott Westerfeld

Series: Zeroes (bk. 2)

Genera(s): Paranormal/Urban Contemporary Sci-fi

Subjects: superpowers, abilities, criminals

Setting: Cambria, California

POV/Tense: 3rd person POV rotating between 6 characters: Scam (Ethan), Flicker (Riley), Bellwether (Nate), Crash (Chizara), Anonymous (Thibault) and Mob (Kelsie).

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 448 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $19.99

Publisher: Simon & Schuster: Simon Pulse

Summary/ product description: “They thought they’d already faced their toughest fight. But there’s no relaxing for the reunited Zeroes.

These six teens with unique abilities have taken on bank robbers, drug dealers, and mobsters. Now they’re trying to lay low so they can get their new illegal nightclub off the ground.

But the quiet doesn’t last long when two strangers come to town, bringing with them a whole different kind of crowd-based chaos. And hot on their tails is a crowd-power even more dangerous and sinister.

Up against these new enemies, every Zero is under threat. Mob is crippled by the killing-crowd buzz—is she really evil at her core? Flicker is forced to watch the worst things a crowd can do. Crash’s conscience—and her heart—get a workout. Anon and Scam must both put family loyalties on the line for the sake of survival. And Bellwether’s glorious-leader mojo deserts him.

Who’s left to lead the Zeroes into battle against a new, murderous army?”

My Review:  Swarm is the sequel to Zeroes. If you have not read these books, this series is about a group of six teens with unique abilities. The book is written in 3rd person POV rotating between 6 characters that call themselves Zeroes (like heroes, but not). Scam (Ethan) has another voice that he uses to get him out of situations or get him what he wants. It knows things he doesn’t know himself. It’s almost like another entity possesses him. It’s such a unique and odd ability and works better one-on-one. I really enjoy Ethan’s character the most.

The other characters have abilities that work best in crowds. Flicker (Riley) is blind but can use the eyes of people around he to see, like remote viewing. She has a twin named Lily who she relies on a lot. Bellwether (Nate), is Latino and has the ability to lead crowds. To pull attention to him, like charisma. Crash (Chizara) can sense connected technology around her and crash it. Anonymous (Thibault) has a mental memory based form of invisibility and can’t turn it off. He’s easily forgotten when people stop paying attention to him. It’s difficult to make people remember him. Mob (Kelsie) can turn a crowd into a single organism that has one mood or goal.

This is a really unique series because of these unique abilities and how they are utilized. Their powers get them into crazy situation and they try hard to do good things, but their power aren’t exactly the kind that could save the day, like super strength or speed. In this book they meet a few other Zeroes outside their group who don’t exactly use their powers for good. A girl who can warp your perception and make you lose yourself and a boy who can temporarily turn blank paper into money. They’re like a Bonnie and Clyde couple, making big scenes in crowds and causing problems. They’re running from a worse Zero through, a guy who can turn a crown into a single-minded swarm with intent to kill. Things are really getting ugly for the Zeroes and chances of survival seem slim.

I enjoyed this books because it was so much fun. It’s very fast pace. It’s best read when you aren’t busy so you can just blaze through the pages. There’s so much action, humor and cool stuff going on in the book. There’s even some romance, but I was kind of disappointed for Ethan’s sake. The ending was truly climatic and surprising. There will be another book, but at times when reading this a I though it was a sequel-finale in a duology, but Goodreads says there’s a third book in the works.

Cover Art Review: The chain link fence photo is too busy.

Relentless by Tera Lynn Childs and Tracy Deebs

Series: The Hero Agenda Duology (bk. 2)

Genera(s): Sci-fi/Romance

Subjects: superheroes, supervillians, abilities, superpowers, conspiracies

Setting: Boulder, Colorado

POV/Tense: 1st person POV, present tense: Kenna Swift

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 279 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Summary/ product description: “Revenge is easy, but justice is worth fighting for…

Kenna is tired of being lied to—and hunted by the very allies she once trusted. Unearthing the dark secrets of the superhero world has not only endangered her life, now her boyfriend faces execution for crimes he didn’t commit and her mother is being held captive in a secret governmental prison.

Kenna is determined to stand up for what’s right and save those she loves from unspeakable fates. It’s time for the betrayal to end. It’s time for the real criminals to face justice.

But the truth is even more terrifying than Kenna could imagine. A conspiracy threatens the fate of heroes, villains, and all of humanity. If Kenna’s going to survive, she must draw on her deepest strength: her resilience. Because when Kenna’s pushed to the limit, she doesn’t break down. She fights back.”

My Review:  Relentless is the sequel to Powerless and (probably) the finale to the Hero’s Agenda duology. If you haven’t read Powerless, I recommend it to those who enjoyed  Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson, V is For Villain by Peter Moore, Zeroes by Scott Westerfeld, Illusive by Emily Llyod-Jones, Blackout by Robison Wells, Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi, Red Queen by Victoria Avyard, The Young Elite by Marie Lu, or anything superhero-related. Also fans of Tera Lynn Childs’s Sweet Venom series.

Kenna in the first book had discovered that she had a power. She can control electromagnetic energy, knocking out electronics with EMPs. Also, she’s a villain and since the serum wore off, her villain mark is visible and she can use her ability. In this world, a type of virus with 2 strains, one for heroes and one for villain, gives people powers and also leaves a mark behind the ear that differentiates heroes and villains. To me it seems like there is no difference between the heroes and villain other that the mark, and it’s more prejudice than anything.

Kenna’s villain boyfriend Draven is being put on trial to be executed. Kenna and her team of “hillains” (heroes and villains working together) are there to rescue him. Kenna has disguised herself at a media reporter and her team is waiting in the wing ready to go on her mark. Everything goes haywire, and though they rescue Draven, someone else isn’t so lucky and Kenna suffers a loss so hard, that she’s not sure how she can move on. She set out for revenge, ready to defeat Rex Malone, the hero with malicious intentions, with everything she’s got. This is an action packed sequel that reads like an actual super hero movie or TV shows. It’s set in Colorado, which is a nice change of pace from all the NYC and Cali set superhero stories. And I’ve been to the Denver area in Colorado before, so that’s a plus.

I really did enjoy this series. It was very short, though. The characters are very unqiue from one another. I did have difficultly remembering the character at first since it’s been a year and Powerless was a pretty fast and short book too. I forgot who’s who and what their power or relation is. I tried keeping track, though.

Character Recap: Kenna Swift (villain) is the main character, and her boyfriend Draven Cole (villain) has memory and bio manipulation ability, and he has blue eyes dark hair. Draven is Rex Malone’s illegitimate son and cousin of Dante (villain) and Deacon Cole (villain), who are twins with wind and water manipulation powers. Nitro (villain) is British and can throw fireballs of various colors that identify what they do. Nitro’s brother is Quake (villain), who can make small earthquakes. Nitro also has a crush of Riley Malone (hero), Rex’s legitimate son who can fly. Riley’s sister is Rebel aka Rachel Malone (hero), and she has telekinetic powers. She’s also Kenna’s best friend. Rex Malone (hero), their father, is an evil SOB with super hearing and wants to control and torture villains. His wife has ice powers. Jeremy Abernathy (hero) is part of the Hillains team, and he has technopathic abilities. He’s also Kenna’s ex-boyfriend and he’s a nerd. V aka Victoria (villain) is Draven’s bodyguard hired by his uncle Anton Cole. Also, Kenna’s mom is a scientist that developed a serum to protect a person from the effects super powers. Kenna’s dad was a superhero.

Cover Art Review: Not that great of cover. I’m not sure I understand what the symbol is for. Does it represent the villains? It’s just a blah cover. The complementary color scheme is an interesting choice though.

Calamity by Brandon Sanderson

Series: Reckoners (bk. 3)

Genera(s): Dystopian Sci-fi

Subjects: super powers, abilities, supervillains

Setting: The city of Ildithia, which used to be Atlanta, Georgia, but was turned into constantly moving salt and now is in Kansas

POV/Tense: 1st person POV, past tense: David

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 417 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $18.99

Publisher: Random House: Delacorte Press

Summary/ product description: “When Calamity lit up the sky, the Epics were born. David’s fate has been tied to their villainy ever since that historic night. Steelheart killed his father. Firefight stole his heart. And now Regalia has turned his closest ally into a dangerous enemy.

David knew Prof’s secret, and kept it even when Prof struggled to control the effects of his Epic powers. But facing Obliteration in Babilar was too much. Once the Reckoners’ leader, Prof has now embraced his Epic destiny. He’s disappeared into those murky shadows of menace Epics are infamous for the world over, and everyone knows there’s no turning back...

But everyone is wrong. Redemption is possible for Epics—Megan proved it. They’re not lost. Not completely. And David is just about crazy enough to face down the most powerful High Epic of all to get his friend back. Or die trying.”

My Review:  This is a truly EPIC finale! It’s like a rollercoaster through a zoo filled with unicorns, dragons and puppies, while you eat ice cream, and listen to you favorites music. Sadly, the ride’s over, and I don’t want to get off. (How that for a metaphor….I mean simile.) I’ll miss David’s ridiculous metaphor-similes and his Epic obsession and his adorable geekiness.

This series has been one of the most constantly entertaining series to date. Seriously, these books never bored me and always left me wanted the next one. I’m just so mind blown by this finale, I don’t know what to say. I wish we could see more of what happened later on, after the end of the book, like a novella or story at least.

The characters in this series have been so unique, set apart from each other. I never had trouble remembering their traits, abilities or quirks. The character relationships were amazing. David and Megan, who I totally ship because they’re made for each other, remind me of other romances in YA series from a male POV, in which the girl’s the tough one in the relationship, and the guy’s a bit more nerdy or sweet. Think Percy and Annabelle, Alex and Darla (Ashfall), or Gray and Bree (The Taken Trilogy). Megan is an Epic and can pull shadows of parallel worlds into ours to make an illusion of reality.

I love the Reckoners team. Prof was cool, in a Xavier from X-men sort of way, until Prof went dark in the previous book. What a super villain. Abraham is an African-French-Canadian who’s ex-military and pretty reserved, but he’s still cool. He’s get a chance to work with some awesome Epic-derived technology in the book. Cody is a southerner who obsessed with Scottish stuff, and makes up tall tales about his people, the Scotts. Mizzy, an African-American with poufy hair, is very perky and uses words like “Groovy,” that David’s never heard. Tia, an older redhead and Prof’s girlfriend (who’s missing, or dead possibly) was an expert on Epics.

Of course if you read the previous books, you know all that, or just needed a reminder. If you hadn’t read them, you you should probably stop reading this review and look for spoiler free reviews on Steelheart, ya slontze. (That’s not an insult, that was a made-up word from the book, which was set in Chicago, now Newcago).

The Reckoners are in Ildithia, which used to be Atlanta and used to be in Georgia. Well now’s it’s made of salt that grows and disintegrates over a week, moving like mold, by growth and decay. It’s currently near Kansas City, Kansas. Weird, I know. I didn’t get it at first either. It’s pretty cool though. I like the idea of a building made of a crystal. Though, having to move each week would suck.

They set up a base there, avoid Epics until the mission. Stuff doesn’t go so well. They have quite a few run-ins. The make plans. David in currently leading the group and coming up with crazy ideas and persuading the other Reckoners to go along with it. Everyone’s skeptical of David’s farfetched plans. David’s eternally optimistic, sometimes in an annoying cheeky way. I like him for that. He almost reminds me of Ray from Arrow/Legends of Tomorrow, (who get called “boy scout” a lot).

The ending of the book is crazy. I kind of suspected what Calamity was, but didn’t know who he was. A what happened to David was what I was hoping for, but I didn’t expect what exactly would happen. If you think I’m being vague, I am doing so to not spoil it. I really want to talk about it though. OHMYGOSH!!!!!! EERRRR!!!! I just…loved it too much. Seriously, why can’t there be more series like this?

Recommend this to fans of Marvel and DC comics and movies and TV shows. Books like Illusive, V is For Villain and Shatter Me.

Cover Art Review: Cool cover. Love the colors and the bullet hole. Very representative of the series.