Brandon Sanderson’s excursion into young adult literature, Steelheart (The Reckoners) explores the world of superheroes and supervillains… or more accurately, explores a world where there is a surfeit of supervillains and absolutely no superheroes whatsoever. The world is based roughly on our own present, but with variations ranging from the surreal (supervillains ruling various cities as dictators) to the bizarre (transforming entire cities into steel, with super-moles digging vast tunnels for people to live and work within).
The plot is fairly complex for a young-adult novel, with twists that an experienced reader will be able to anticipate without the sense of boring certainty that makes the whole exercise feel like a color-by-numbers exercise. I was entertained, but not blown away, which appears to be my usual reaction to Sanderson’s more workmanlike books.
For devoted fans of the young-adult-superhero novels, this has a lot more depth and realism than most books in the genre and can be readily enjoyed by adults as well. Unfortunately those same qualities mean it lacks the most important quality for a really good superhero book: a light-hearted sense of fun with witty quips flying as fast as the punches. This one is definitely on the grim side.
