Calamity by Brandon Sanderson

"You deserve this," he continued. "People are evil to the core. That's what the Epics prove. That's why you're dying out..."

In Steelheart, we were introduced to the Reckoners. They are the sole resistance to the Epics, normal people who developed super powers after the appearance of a star called Calamity. David joined the Reckoners to kill Steelheart, the Epic who killed his father.

The second book, Firefight, brought new revelations about the Epics. David encounters Megan again, AKA Firefight. Prof, the leader of the Epics (And also an Epic), is completely overtaken by his powers. David meets Calamity, and it turns out that Calamity isn't a star, but an Epic. There is a whole plan to turn David into an Epic by throwing him at Calamity in hopes that his initial transform will lead him to killing a bunch of people, but he ends up resisting. Megan was almost killed after being confronted with her weakness, but they figured out that by confronting the fear she could overcome it. 

Calamity shows the Reckoners after the devastating events at the end of Firefight. Quick, spoilery recap: Prof went full-on Epic. The remaining Reckoners keep on keeping on. David takes Tia's recon position (Tia was Prof's girlfriend, they haven't heard from her and assume she is dead) as they raid a weapons factory. The factory is run by Prof's old friend Knighthawk, who ends up helping them. Prof, now calling himself Limelight, has taken over a city made of salt that constantly moves around, collapsing and rebuilding itself.

David and the Reckoners plan to confront Limelight with his fears to get Prof back. Knighthawk manufactures tech that can replicate Epic powers through DNA. The Reckoners simply have to get Limelight's DNA, send it to Knighthawk, wait for him to create the tech, then use Limelight's powers against him. Since Prof was most afraid of using his powers and being overwhelmed, he should hypothetically stop being an Epic jerk and turn back into Prof.

They get an unexpected ally when the  Epic Larcener shows up at their hideout. Limelight has been looking for him because of his power to steal abilities and make Epics ordinary again. Limelight doesn't want to make friends, if you catch my drift.

There are, as always, some twists and turns along the way. Overall, I found Calamity to be a pretty satisfying conclusion to the series. Steelheart hooked me from the first sentence, and I've enjoyed my time in the world of the Reckoners.

I received my copy of Calamity from Edelweiss, courtesy of Delacorte Press. It's available for purchase now.

Firefight by Brandon Sanderson

"If we stop helping people because we're afraid, or ambivalent or whatever, then we lose. Let them do evil. I'll stop them..."

 You can read my review of Steelheart here.

Previously, in Steelheart, we were introduced to the city of Newcago (Formerly Chicago). A star rose into the sky called Calamity, and suddenly normal people developed extraordinary powers. They were known as Epics, and the most powerful of them was called Steelheart. Unfortunately, the Epics were corrupted by their powers. They used them to oppress the powerless, rather than help them.

A group of powerless people fought back. They called themselves the Reckoners. David sought them out, hoping to join their ranks. Years ago, Steelheart had killed David's father in front of him. He wanted the Reckoners to help take down Steelheart and avenge his father's death.

Anyways, long story short (There be spoilers here!):
The Reckoners kill Steelheart. On the way, we find out that Megan, David's love interest, was actually an Epic named Firefight. Also, the leader of the Reckoners, Prof, is an Epic. He is able to transfer some of his abilities to others, which explains most of the Reckoner's fancy technology.
End spoilers

There was also a novella titled Mitosis where the Reckoners fight the titled Epic. It's mentioned in the book, but isn't necessary to understand the story. 

Now, on to Firefight!

What is there to do now that your biggest enemy is defeated? The Reckoners have managed to keep Newcago safe from Epics hoping to take over for Steelheart. Recently, David has started to feel that killing the Epics might be wrong. Prof is an Epic and also a really good person, and despite evidence to the contrary, David is convinced that Megan is also a good person. He starts to wonder if they could turn Epics normal again if they could get them to stop using their powers. Prof dismisses this. He knows firsthand how the powers corrupt, tempt Epics to use them, tempt them to conquer and destroy. According to Prof, killing the Epics is showing them a mercy.

The Reckoners start to notice that several Epics they defeated recently have been sent from Babilar (Formerly Manhattan). The Epic in charge there is called Regalia. She used to be friends with Prof, and now she is calling him out. He thinks that she is provoking him to kill her.

Prof invites David to go out to Babilar with him and Tia (His girlfriend/surveillance person). They meet the other branch of Reckoners: Val, who is crabby (but probably because Sam, her boyfriend/husband just died), Exel, who is plus-sized and doesn't leave much of an impression, and Mizzy, who is bubbly and enthusiastic. Mizzy is pretty intent upon getting revenge for Sam's murder. He was killed by...Firefight, Megan. Things get complicated when David is stalking some local Epics and encounters Megan. He is definitely happy to see her, and he doesn't believe that she would kill anyone. He never gets around to asking about it, though.

Meanwhile, Regalia has brought in Obliteration, an Epic who has leveled entire cities. The Reckoners need to come up with a plan to destroy her, and fast. Of course, things aren't always what they seem when it comes to Regalia, or the Reckoners, or basically anything. There's some twists and turns, betrayals on all sides.

I loved this sequel even more than the first book. It was exciting and there was a ton of action. I liked how David was the same nerdy guy as last time, with his weirdo metaphors all the time. I also really loved this moment:

"You know," she said, "you're not actually bad at metaphors..."
"Thanks!"
"...because most of the things you say are similes. Those are really what you're bad at."

Seriously, that bugged me throughout the first book. Similes use "like" or "as," metaphors don't, David!

I wasn't sure where they were going to go with the series after the death of Steelheart, but I really liked the questions the book raised about Epics. Not to get into spoilers, but there were some really awesome and exciting revelations here. And, omigod, that ending! I am super stoked for Calamity, and super impatient to read it next year.

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson

"I know better, better than anyone else, that there are no heroes coming to save us. There are no good Epics. None of them protect us. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. We live with them. We try to exist despite them..."

I was soooooooooooo excited for Steelheart. Everything about it sounded super fantastically amazing. It actually was amazing, though not always as much so as I had hoped. The first chapter just blew my mind. Seriously, just bits of brain matter flying everywhere from all that action. It slows down some once we get into the actual book.

Steelheart is about a world where a meteor gave powers to a select few, known as Epics. Where our superheroes use their powers to serve and protect humankind, Epics use their powers to enslave humans and destroy any who fight against them. The worst, most powerful epic is Steelheart. He ruthlessly rules over the city, and he has no known weaknesses.

David is an ordinary young man. When he was young, he saw Steelheart murder his father. He also saw something extraordinary: his father injured Steelheart. As the great movie Predator once said, "If it bleeds, then we can kill it." As David said:

"I've seen Steelheart bleed. And I will see him bleed again."

David spent his time researching Epics, figuring out their powers and weaknesses. He formed a plan to get rid of the most powerful Epics surrounding Steelheart in order to get at Steelheart himself. David takes this plan to the Reckoners, a group of humans who regularly assassinate Epics. At first they don't want anything to do with him, but they eventually let him in because he knows too much, both about Epics and their group.

I think my biggest complaint was that I thought David would be more competent. He constantly put the Reckoners into danger, almost getting them killed multiple times. They actually only let him in the group so he wouldn't get them killed. He seemed okay, but I thought that if he dedicated his life to vengeance, he might be better at it. 

Eventually, the Reckoners come to like David. All of them except for Megan. She is usually cold towards him. This means that they kind of, sort of, maybe, like like each other. The group continues to execute David's plan, and lots of stuff happens. There's revelations and it leads to a majorly cool showdown that is just a couple smidges short of matching the opening chapter. Also, the revelations made me really anxious to get my hands on the second book. I want it soooo much!

Overall, Steelheart was an excellent story. I love the different angle on superheroes, and I was a big fan of the action. The revelations were pretty major, though very predictable. I knew it was coming, but I was still excited about what was revealed.

I received my copy of Steelheart from Edelweiss, courtesy of Delacorte Press. They also sent a copy to my bookstore, which I grabbed. It's available for purchase now.