peppypenguin's review against another edition
5.0
This was a really awesome read. At first I thought it was just going to be another typical YA novel, but it's got interesting characters, great action, nice plot twists, and an amazing universe/world built up around all that. The writing is really good. I can't wait to read more.
pyromastyx's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sydneyjacques's review against another edition
4.0
4.5/5 stars - Half a star off first due to the the repeated episodes of Kinda Uncomfortable/Sketchy Comments with David. Second, because everything repeated a bit in the middle. I just felt that the way to develop things was to blow stuff up while you're at it... over and over and over again. Which - granted - cool, but it gets old after so long, you know?
BUT HAPPY THINGS:
First place goes to the sass master and bad metaphors ninja, Mr. David himself. Amazing MC.Top notch. Huge fan.
The ending. 100% yes the ending. Beautiful. Very impressed.
The fact that it was very dark, but felt light-hearted at the same time? That was nice.
And it had a ton of action (see: blow stuff up while you're at it), but had characters and ideas too, so I didn't feel as if I'd just consumed approximately 400 pages of brain candy.
BUT HAPPY THINGS:
First place goes to the sass master and bad metaphors ninja, Mr. David himself. Amazing MC.Top notch. Huge fan.
The ending. 100% yes the ending. Beautiful. Very impressed.
The fact that it was very dark, but felt light-hearted at the same time? That was nice.
And it had a ton of action (see: blow stuff up while you're at it), but had characters and ideas too, so I didn't feel as if I'd just consumed approximately 400 pages of brain candy.
katy_bee's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
A bit cheeseier than some Brandon Sanderson, I think that comes from the superhero set up. I guessed some of the mysteries before they were revealed and the early scenes between Megan and David got a bit repetitive with him mooning over her, but I felt in safe hands for all the threads coming together, which they did. It was a lot of fun.
nicolaspratt's review against another edition
2.0
Too much "romance", also, there were too many close situations that the main character seems to just barely survive from. The overall idea is interesting, but not explained very well.
jolietjane's review against another edition
5.0
I didn't like Mistborn, my first toe dip into Brandon Sanderson. It was enough to leave me suspicious of his work and un interested in trying more.
A co worker of mine passed on an old arc of Steelheart. "Its YA but you know, it's pretty good"
It took me a year to actually read it. I wish I had sooner.
TLDR TROPES:
- "we are gonna need a crew"
- espionage
- no romance
-anti superhero
- gadgets
- urban "fantasy sci fi" setting
- dystopia
Steelheart is The Boys meets Hunters. When David is a kid, a worldwide disaster occurs that gives birth to "epics"- super powered humans who use aliases. Epics seem to lack all empathy and humanity. The only thing they do want is to rule over humans- converting our cities into their own and completely disrupting all law and order.
David's father is killed by an epic- and not just any Epic. Arguably, one of the most powerful. David survives the attack with a thirst for revenge, and devotes his life to studying epics to find their weakness and murder them. Many years later, David ends up crossing paths with a team of Epic hunters, which is where our story begins...
One of the most admirable things about Steelheart is it's lighting quick pacing. Its a case study on how to move a plot along with urgency without skipping out on meaningful details. I don't love action scenes, but I was gripped by every second of them in this book. equally so, I was taken in by all of lore- any time the team studied up on a new hero and discovered their weakness or how their power worked, I was begging for more. Steelheart gives you all the details you want with none of the filler, making it a fast and enthusiastic lead.
The characters are fine, but a lot of them were being built up in this book for some really interesting development in book two. That being said, while "fine" would typically be a knock, in this case, each character played their part perfectly and still brought something valuable to my reading experience- they aren't anything to write home about, but absolutely added to my overall enjoyment.
The Epics...oh wow. Their lore, "magic system", and how all of that factors into their treatment in humanity...I wanted to learn so much more. As much as I would consider this a straight action series, there is so much intrigue and mystery, and it's so hard not to put this book down and just google every spoiler I can find.
It's hard to express my love for Steelheart specifically because of HOW I loved it. As a characters over world building person, how do I express that in this case, the opposite enchanted me? This book was the exact opposite of my taste, yet managed to charm me in a way I never expected. I have no idea why people gush all over Brandon Sanderson and don't bring his Reckoner series up, because it's an absolute stand out.
A co worker of mine passed on an old arc of Steelheart. "Its YA but you know, it's pretty good"
It took me a year to actually read it. I wish I had sooner.
TLDR TROPES:
- "we are gonna need a crew"
- espionage
- no romance
-anti superhero
- gadgets
- urban "fantasy sci fi" setting
- dystopia
Steelheart is The Boys meets Hunters. When David is a kid, a worldwide disaster occurs that gives birth to "epics"- super powered humans who use aliases. Epics seem to lack all empathy and humanity. The only thing they do want is to rule over humans- converting our cities into their own and completely disrupting all law and order.
David's father is killed by an epic- and not just any Epic. Arguably, one of the most powerful. David survives the attack with a thirst for revenge, and devotes his life to studying epics to find their weakness and murder them. Many years later, David ends up crossing paths with a team of Epic hunters, which is where our story begins...
One of the most admirable things about Steelheart is it's lighting quick pacing. Its a case study on how to move a plot along with urgency without skipping out on meaningful details. I don't love action scenes, but I was gripped by every second of them in this book. equally so, I was taken in by all of lore- any time the team studied up on a new hero and discovered their weakness or how their power worked, I was begging for more. Steelheart gives you all the details you want with none of the filler, making it a fast and enthusiastic lead.
The characters are fine, but a lot of them were being built up in this book for some really interesting development in book two. That being said, while "fine" would typically be a knock, in this case, each character played their part perfectly and still brought something valuable to my reading experience- they aren't anything to write home about, but absolutely added to my overall enjoyment.
The Epics...oh wow. Their lore, "magic system", and how all of that factors into their treatment in humanity...I wanted to learn so much more. As much as I would consider this a straight action series, there is so much intrigue and mystery, and it's so hard not to put this book down and just google every spoiler I can find.
It's hard to express my love for Steelheart specifically because of HOW I loved it. As a characters over world building person, how do I express that in this case, the opposite enchanted me? This book was the exact opposite of my taste, yet managed to charm me in a way I never expected. I have no idea why people gush all over Brandon Sanderson and don't bring his Reckoner series up, because it's an absolute stand out.
skybalon's review against another edition
4.0
[a:Brandon Sanderson|38550|Brandon Sanderson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1394044556p2/38550.jpg] is some sort of writing machine who manages to balance not only wildly different styles but totally different worlds. In this case, he tackles the superhero genre in a kind of post-apocalyptic earth. It is of course the dark side of superheroes and this is perhaps the weakest part of the book. Mr. Sanderson is at his best when he is dealing with a lighter world. Oh they are complex and made up of people who are both part light and dark, but the overall feeling is anti-dystopian whereas this one is definitely darker. Still good and well worth the read, but not my favorite book that he's done.
aplw's review against another edition
4.0
But getting the words out of my mouth felt like trying to push marbles through a keyhole.
ha. flirting in a nutshell
ha. flirting in a nutshell