This is a story about superheroes and villains but more realistically portrayed. And I don’t mean that in a The Boys, everyone's an arsehole, way.
The heroes are mostly just people trying to do their best, even if they are a bit too obsessed with public perception. The same goes for the villains. Their focus is on having the freedom to do what they want and are in general nice to one another.
Several decades ago a scientist, who would later become the world's first superhero Professor Quantum, broke physics with an experiment and since then people have been randomly getting superpowers, becoming metahumans. There followed a time of general chaos where superheroes and villains regularly fought in the streets but for the last or so decade things have been mostly quiet.
The story mostly follows Tori Revas. She gained fire powers after an accident trying to design a meta suit (think iron man) and is caught stealing plans from Indigo technologies a company that unbeknownst to her is owned by Wade Wyatt aka Doctor Mechanical a legendary super-villain and founder of the guild of villainous reformation. Taking an interest in Tori he offers her a place at the guild (the other option is death so she agrees) and then blackmails his old friend and former roommate Ivan Gerhart (aka the infamous Fornax) to mentor her.
She befriends the other new recruits, learns to harness her powers, how to hold down a regular job and generally manage her public persona as well as her villainous one. During this she finds out that the reason for the quiet is that the guild follows a strict code of conduct and brutally murders anyone who doesn't follow it. But things aren't always what they seem and there are forces that lurk frying to get back to the good old days of murder and mayhem.
I've read it three times now, well listened to it and its sequel as an audiobook. The things that make me want to reread a book are usually characters I like and this one has several.
The heroes are mostly just people trying to do their best, even if they are a bit too obsessed with public perception. The same goes for the villains. Their focus is on having the freedom to do what they want and are in general nice to one another.
Several decades ago a scientist, who would later become the world's first superhero Professor Quantum, broke physics with an experiment and since then people have been randomly getting superpowers, becoming metahumans. There followed a time of general chaos where superheroes and villains regularly fought in the streets but for the last or so decade things have been mostly quiet.
The story mostly follows Tori Revas. She gained fire powers after an accident trying to design a meta suit (think iron man) and is caught stealing plans from Indigo technologies a company that unbeknownst to her is owned by Wade Wyatt aka Doctor Mechanical a legendary super-villain and founder of the guild of villainous reformation. Taking an interest in Tori he offers her a place at the guild (the other option is death so she agrees) and then blackmails his old friend and former roommate Ivan Gerhart (aka the infamous Fornax) to mentor her.
She befriends the other new recruits, learns to harness her powers, how to hold down a regular job and generally manage her public persona as well as her villainous one. During this she finds out that the reason for the quiet is that the guild follows a strict code of conduct and brutally murders anyone who doesn't follow it. But things aren't always what they seem and there are forces that lurk frying to get back to the good old days of murder and mayhem.
I've read it three times now, well listened to it and its sequel as an audiobook. The things that make me want to reread a book are usually characters I like and this one has several.
If you have read it what did you think? Leave a comment. If you haven't read it you can check it out here Forging Hephaestus
