Episode: New Cago

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

Think Superman entering a local bank coz there’s a crazy super villain terrorizing it. He announces that it’s his city and everyone should obey him.  The police comes in firing at superman and the supervillain. Superman raises his hand and blasts yellow energy on them, vaporizing the police. While that’s happening the super villain tries to grab superman from behind but your dad shoots him. Your dad shoots the super villain dead and superman is looking at your dad. Not coz he’s awesome but coz his bullet grazed his face and is bleeding. it should not happen coz bullets don’t affect him. He walks to your dad and shoot him with his own gun. Your dad dies.  You’d grow up to be a superman anti-fan right? And you’d want him dead!

But it’s not Superman, not even a version of him on black kryptonite. It’s Steelheart, a high epic who just declared that he owns New Cago.  And one of his anti-fan is David, the child of the man he killed at the bank. He grew up in a place called the Factory, like an orphanage and school with child labor issues. His only goal in life is to take revenge on Steelheart.  He studies the Epics, their strengths, weaknesses, where they go, everything.  He’s like Wikipedia of Epics.

Epics are men who started having superhuman powers after Calamity showed up. Calamity is a red star or meteor that appeared in the sky and is still visible even without light. All epics, like super villains, are bad. They destroy, conquer and makes lives miserable for the people living in their city. Nobody stops them but the Reckoners.  The Reckoners is a small group of people that kills epics, lesser Epics till David came and impose on them his mission in life, to take down Steelheart.

If you are a comic book superhero fan, you would like this book unless you’re like me.  It took me more than a week to finish this book coz I keep putting it down after a couple of pages.  The story is good, don’t get me wrong. This story does not have a Superman, Iron Man, Thor or Spiderman to save the world, it has super villains and the ones stopping them are just regular people or at least not as powerful as they are which is so cool.  The problem that I had was not really the story but my low EQ.  Some parts felt like watching a tournament arc on an anime or a fight scene on bleach, it takes several episodes to finish I freaking fight.  In this case, several chapters of David convincing them that they should let him join, or several chapters on testing Nightweilder. I know they are needed, I know planning and strategizing is important coz they’re not powerful like the high epics. I also know that this is not a movie or a comic book but it didn’t stop my mind from wondering off. It’s the same reason I can’t and won’t play strategy games.  What I do like about this book are the action parts especially at the end. It was crazy. And also the twists in the story.  I totally didn’t expect them. It was like seeing that clip after the end credit on marvel movies that makes you say “oh shit!” then you make up possible sequels in your head.