eb2114's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
bookclubtrivia's review
5.0
4.5/5
I saved this book from being discarded from the library. I'd never heard of it, and it's not exactly my genre (too action-y for my taste), but the title was so great that I decided to give it a chance.
I normally save my five star reviews for stuff that I would re-read or recommend that everyone read; this isn't exactly one of those (and I probably won't read more of the series, just because, like I said, it's not my genre), BUT I do think it's well-written, funny, and an excellent book for a certain type of reader.
Specifically, I love how this book represents a non-binary (genderfluid? it never explicitly says anything other than queer) protagonist. Queer representation in books often feels forced, or out-of-place, OR it is the entire plot. In this book, it's just a fact about the character; the plot is something else (superheroes). That said, the superhero identity is a great metaphor for Kim's character (putting on a mask, changing names and identities, being someone different day-to-day). The internal monologue explains Kim's mindset so well; it was helpful for a straight cis person like me to get the sense of what it would be like to be queer in this way.
So: a great read for queer people, for people who want to better understand queer people, and for people who just love reading about superpowered fight scenes.
And there's some hilarious lines that make references to social media, etc., which maybe dates it a bit but were quite enjoyable for me.
I saved this book from being discarded from the library. I'd never heard of it, and it's not exactly my genre (too action-y for my taste), but the title was so great that I decided to give it a chance.
I normally save my five star reviews for stuff that I would re-read or recommend that everyone read; this isn't exactly one of those (and I probably won't read more of the series, just because, like I said, it's not my genre), BUT I do think it's well-written, funny, and an excellent book for a certain type of reader.
Specifically, I love how this book represents a non-binary (genderfluid? it never explicitly says anything other than queer) protagonist. Queer representation in books often feels forced, or out-of-place, OR it is the entire plot. In this book, it's just a fact about the character; the plot is something else (superheroes). That said, the superhero identity is a great metaphor for Kim's character (putting on a mask, changing names and identities, being someone different day-to-day). The internal monologue explains Kim's mindset so well; it was helpful for a straight cis person like me to get the sense of what it would be like to be queer in this way.
So: a great read for queer people, for people who want to better understand queer people, and for people who just love reading about superpowered fight scenes.
And there's some hilarious lines that make references to social media, etc., which maybe dates it a bit but were quite enjoyable for me.
markgius's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
beardysetgo's review
4.0
This is a spoiler-free review
Read on In The Sheets
All Those Explosions is the first book published under Tor by Canadian author James Alan Gardner.
I wanna start by saying this book is bizarre, but in the best possible way. It takes place on an alternate earth where superheros or "Sparks" are possible, and the rich can sell their souls to be super-powered demons and ghouls and were-beasts known as Darklings.
The book takes place in Waterloo around the University of Waterloo campus and some other familiar locations in the region. It's very unusual for a book to take place here and was very surreal to read considering I live in Waterloo. It's like seeing a movie that was filmed in your city except it also takes place in your city, and it's filled with demons and superheroes and destruction.
The way the book is formatted is super (no pun intended) unique and really gives it a comic book feel while still remaining a fun novel.
ATEWSEF follows a very diverse and well represented group of 4 UW students who accidentally become sparks and set out to protect Waterloo Region. Which by itself is hilarious to type. This is a hell of an origin story.
I really enjoyed the book, it's totally worth a read, and I can't wait to hear what other people have to say about it.
Read on In The Sheets
All Those Explosions is the first book published under Tor by Canadian author James Alan Gardner.
I wanna start by saying this book is bizarre, but in the best possible way. It takes place on an alternate earth where superheros or "Sparks" are possible, and the rich can sell their souls to be super-powered demons and ghouls and were-beasts known as Darklings.
The book takes place in Waterloo around the University of Waterloo campus and some other familiar locations in the region. It's very unusual for a book to take place here and was very surreal to read considering I live in Waterloo. It's like seeing a movie that was filmed in your city except it also takes place in your city, and it's filled with demons and superheroes and destruction.
The way the book is formatted is super (no pun intended) unique and really gives it a comic book feel while still remaining a fun novel.
ATEWSEF follows a very diverse and well represented group of 4 UW students who accidentally become sparks and set out to protect Waterloo Region. Which by itself is hilarious to type. This is a hell of an origin story.
I really enjoyed the book, it's totally worth a read, and I can't wait to hear what other people have to say about it.
jamiereadies's review
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
alyanna77's review against another edition
5.0
I thought this was a great story -it walked the line between being a superhero story & mocking superhero tropes perfectly. The characters were all interesting, & the plot kept me fully engaged - I could barely put it down!
alexauthorshay's review
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
When I found out about this book, I was intrigued: Canadian author, Canadian superheroes, a world in which the supernatural/paranormal of all kinds exists <i>at the same time</i> as superheroes. I was certain it hadn't been done before (at the very least, I haven't encountered another book that does so). When I began reading the book, I got even more excited because the main character, Kim, is queer. The only thing it's missing is that it's not horror, but I accept the superhero thing in its place.
Then as I got farther into the book, I started to cringe. The characters are enjoyable and I think I kept reading mostly for them. Though I confess that Kim, being a first person narrator, takes a rather observatory role in the story. Granted, Kim's powers basically make them the perfect movie camera, but it defacto keeps them watching the action instead of contributing. As a character, Kim is cool, and I really liked the nerdy geology offshoots. But as a superhero, Kim felt lacking. They pulled off what they needed to when it counted, but most of the book felt like I was watching Kim watching everyone else, and the remove was awkward and pretty boring.
The other thing that made me a bit eye twitchy was the whole thing about luck and coincidence. In terms of the actual story, I don't know that it occurred all that often, but it was mentioned multiple times how Sparks (and Darklings) effect things like odds, chances, coincidences, etc. The Light and Dark craves chaos, ergo coincidences and luck are much more likely to occur for them. While this, to a degree, feels like a poke at the various superhero tropes (villains being defeated by dumb things, deus ex machina endings, people showing up to save you in the nick of time, etc), it was also embraced as a "Law" within the world of the novel. That in itself is fine, but the way it was worded and the number of times it was brought up just felt cheap, like lazy writing or at the very least a cop out--characters literally tell each other "don't think about it too hard" because physics means it shouldn't be happening but somehow it still is and it somehow isn't magic because only Darklings can magic.
Given how often that applies in other superhero stories, I was willing to accept that. But then the super powers/abilities (Sparks and Darklings alike) kept piling on and/or revealing themselves at perfectly convenient times (that luck/coincidence thing I mentioned?) and it got a little ridiculous. It felt silly, more so than the already light tone of the book would have you expect. I couldn't tell if the whole thing is supposed to be somewhat of a parody, or if the powers were meant to be relatively serious.
All that said, I liked it well enough to finish it and it holds up alright in the combat and originality departments. It's one of those books where the concept it sprang from is ingenious but the result isn't quite what you expected. This is actually the first book in a series, but I think I'm going to have to stop at this one if the remaining books are anything like this one. It's a good single dose, I don't know if I could handle more of it.
Then as I got farther into the book, I started to cringe. The characters are enjoyable and I think I kept reading mostly for them. Though I confess that Kim, being a first person narrator, takes a rather observatory role in the story. Granted, Kim's powers basically make them the perfect movie camera, but it defacto keeps them watching the action instead of contributing. As a character, Kim is cool, and I really liked the nerdy geology offshoots. But as a superhero, Kim felt lacking. They pulled off what they needed to when it counted, but most of the book felt like I was watching Kim watching everyone else, and the remove was awkward and pretty boring.
The other thing that made me a bit eye twitchy was the whole thing about luck and coincidence. In terms of the actual story, I don't know that it occurred all that often, but it was mentioned multiple times how Sparks (and Darklings) effect things like odds, chances, coincidences, etc. The Light and Dark craves chaos, ergo coincidences and luck are much more likely to occur for them. While this, to a degree, feels like a poke at the various superhero tropes (villains being defeated by dumb things, deus ex machina endings, people showing up to save you in the nick of time, etc), it was also embraced as a "Law" within the world of the novel. That in itself is fine, but the way it was worded and the number of times it was brought up just felt cheap, like lazy writing or at the very least a cop out--characters literally tell each other "don't think about it too hard" because physics means it shouldn't be happening but somehow it still is and it somehow isn't magic because only Darklings can magic.
Given how often that applies in other superhero stories, I was willing to accept that. But then the super powers/abilities (Sparks and Darklings alike) kept piling on and/or revealing themselves at perfectly convenient times (that luck/coincidence thing I mentioned?) and it got a little ridiculous. It felt silly, more so than the already light tone of the book would have you expect. I couldn't tell if the whole thing is supposed to be somewhat of a parody, or if the powers were meant to be relatively serious.
All that said, I liked it well enough to finish it and it holds up alright in the combat and originality departments. It's one of those books where the concept it sprang from is ingenious but the result isn't quite what you expected. This is actually the first book in a series, but I think I'm going to have to stop at this one if the remaining books are anything like this one. It's a good single dose, I don't know if I could handle more of it.
bibliobabe94's review
3.0
Fun book, interesting premise, look forward to see where the author takes it.