Book Review: Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

Book: Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Rating:★★★★☆
For: Blog Tour and Support Local Authors
From: ARC provided by Literary Lushes ARC Tours

David lives in a world where there's been an event (they call it Calamity) where some people are suddenly being born with super powers. The strange and terrible thing is that those people are using their powers to cause havoc and chaos in the country. The powers have turned them evil in a big big way.

When David was little, he was a witness to an event at a bank where one of these guys (they call them Epics) swooped down and killed everyone at the bank (including David's father) and then proceeded to take over the city of Chicago (now known as Newcago).

Two things happened though... he (Steelheart is his name) didn't know that David was left alive, and he also didn't know that David got a glimpse of his weakness.

Because yes, all these Epics have a weakness and if you can figure out what that is, you can kill them.  And there's a group of regular humans who have set out to do just that, called the Reckoners. It's David's life long quest to become part of that group and seek revenge for his father's death and kill Steelheart.

And wow! What an adventure this becomes! This is an awesome urban fantasy/ science fiction tale complete with cool high tech gadgets, guns of all sorts, crazy super powers, a crumbling world and some really really bad guys! Some awesome good guys too! These are great characters!

There's lots of edge of your seat battle scenes, getaways, car chases, and breathless hiding moments. It really is quite awesome.  Not only that, the conclusion is fabulous with some really great twists and surprises thrown in.

I only downgraded it to four stars because for me, there was much too much gun talk here. Boring guns! Other than that, the rest was anything but boring! (In fact yes, there's quite a bit of violence so beware if you are leery of that!)

Bottom line: If you are in the mood for a rip roaring ride in a dark apocalyptic world, you'll love this one just like I did!

Other Reviews:

I loved the plot, which keeps things rolling, but throws several curveballs into the seemingly perfect plan and has enough breathing room for the characters to question what they are doing and why. From In Bed With Books

What Steelheart lacks in polish and initial impact it more than makes up for in terms of energy and affection. From The Speculative Scotsman

The book starts off with a bang and does not let up until the very last page. It’s seriously amazing. From Book Twirps Book Reviews

Ultimately, Steelheart manages to be both a fun read and a serious one. I have always had a huge thing for villains in fiction, – so for me, reading this was like eating ice cream. From My Shelf Confessions

I particularly recommend it to fans of superhero fiction, especially the darker, less heroic kind. From Tsana's Reads and Reviews