Super Powereds: Year 3

It’s been a long time since I’ve anticipated a series continuation as much as I have this one.

I always wonder a bit whether it’s worth my time to write reviews for one of the later books in a series. I mean, either you’re familiar with the series and need little help deciding whether to keep going I certainly didn’t wait around for reviews before picking up this one! or you’re not, in which case you’d presumably realize you should be investigating the first book. Still, even though you probably don’t need my opinion to weight your purchase decision, I think Super Powereds 3 deserves all the praise it can get.

I tend to go on, so for those looking for the TL;DR version, here you go: Buy this. It’s good.

If you’re after analysis, though, keep reading.

I’m not going to bother rehashing the plot. For one thing, you can read the blurb and the other reviews as easily as I can, and for another, you already have a good idea what the HCP students’ junior year will be like.

Well…actually, no, you probably don’t. There are a fair number of surprises. I just don’t intend to spoil them.

Drew Hayes came to my attention when I stumbled upon his book NPCs. It was on sale, and it sounded like a cute little diversion, so I picked it up…having no real idea just how good a writer he is. I know better now, but it’s worth mentioning that there are some things he does very, very well.

Intrigue. Intrigue is hard for a lot of writers to write. Honestly, I have my doubts as to whether I’d be any good at it. It’s not something an author can fake; his brain has to work in the same twisty fashion as his characters’. Hayes has the touch, though. He gets inside the heads of his criminals and his subtlety heroes and he makes it all authentic. It’s really, really impressive.

Plot webs. SP3 and by extension, the whole Super Powereds series is not a run-of-the-mill linear story. He can weave mysteries and plots that resolve themselves right there in the book with multiple overarching slow-burning storylines, and he does it with great finesse. There’s a depth to this series that’s sadly lacking in a lot of the SF/F offerings we’re seeing lately.

Density. Just like the earlier books, SP3 is LONG. Really, it has to be. Hayes has five main characters (or six, I guess, depending how you count Roy and Herschel), and many, many secondary characters that have nearly as much flesh on their bones as the mains. In a story that ambitious, the author can go one of two directions: he can skim the surface, or he can publish something with a massive word count. There are disadvantages to the latter route, naturally. Long books intimidate people, for one thing, and for another, an author really has to be careful not to kill his readers, slowly, one bit of minutiae at a time. Personally, I like long, involved books…but only if the story can support the length. Drew Hayes is a past master at writing a long, dense book while still making sure every word has a purpose.

Balance in action. Non-stop thrill rides seem to be popular lately, and really, I’m not a fan of the trend. I read to relax, and I don’t much care for stories that never give me time to catch my breath. At the same time, a story has to have some excitement in it, you know? Hayes balances the mundane with action masterfully. There’s nothing exhausting about SP3, which means we have the energy to tackle the climax…which is an edge-of-your-seat, searing blitz of an ending. Which brings me to…

The actual ending. You all have no idea how much I loathe cliffhangers. I can love a story with every fiber of my being, but if you dangle a cliffhanger in my face, I’ll never pick up another of your books. They’re manipulative, they’re disrespectful, and, if you have any talent at all as a writer, they’re entirely unnecessary. They’re also popular lately, and I think every one of those authors who decided for whatever reason that cliffhangers are acceptable ways to end a book should pick up this one and see how it should really be done. SP3 wraps up the book’s story nicely while leaving plenty of room for next year’s adventures.

Now, you’ll probably notice that, up at the top, I gave this book 4.5 stars. That wasn’t a mistake; I wouldn’t call this perfect. One thing that’s not perfect is the editing. It’s good, certainly, but I caught mistakes. (I can still recommend this, though, even to those readers who cannot abide errors; they weren’t numerous, and they were easy enough to overlook.) Also, I mentioned in one of my earlier reviews that there’s a bit of a same-voice issue, and that hasn’t really been resolved. While I wouldn’t say the characters all blatantly speak with the same voice, there are SO MANY characters, and some of them start to resemble each other. Similarly, the dry, sardonic humor that I like so much seems to come out of more characters than is maybe realistic.

But…pfft. Those are quibbles, and I’m really only including them because I don’t believe there’s ever not room for improvement. This is an outstanding installment of an outstanding series, and you should read it.

This series has been great. I am finding all of Drew Hayes books very enjoyable. This is my third series I’ve read, plus one (as of now stand-alone).

Some questions from previous books were answered but of course some answers raised more questions. Some questions just emerged on their own. It has definitely been an enjoyable journey as we work through this story.

This book has a few darker elements but they are not the whole of the book. They slip in and the story moves forward. It has been interesting watching the characters grow and evolve, just as they should be doing. Hayes hasn’t given these characters stronger powers and strength while leaving their personalities stuck where we were introduced to them. He also pays attention to more than just our main characters. Everyone has grown and our main group is expanding.

I really look forward to the next book and hope that he continues the story after ” ‘Year 4″ I realize that “CORPIES” Is a spin off (and Titan is mentioned being back in the Hero world in this book) but these characters have become important to me, and I find myself invested in what’s happening to them. This is the sign of a great author, but now he can’t be allowed to stop feeding my addiction (grin). Hayes as definitely made me a fan. All his book series (and SECOND HAND CURSES which so far hasn’t a sequel) has left me wanting more. It may not ever be enough, some authors are just that good.

Book 3 might be the best book of the series, even though things don’t wrap up here. This is the book where our characters face their first real stakes and lives are on the line. You also get to see the professors and dean in real action, which has been teased for a while.

This series is so much fun. The characters are all different and evolving, but in consistent and logical ways.

No character is sacrificed for the sake of ham-fisting any political messages into the book. There is kind of a natural diversity and natural politics to the books that is the result of great world building rather than a right or left agenda. I read books and go to movies for enjoyable escapism and great imagined worlds… I do not go/read to have far right or extreme progressive ideology beat over my head and shoulders. Note to Hollywood… THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT… if you want stories with strong, diverse characters, follow Drew Hayes lead and write strong characters who just happen to be whatever gender or race they happen to be. Drew could’ve used a dart board to determine gender/race in these books. It’s diverse naturally, and it doesn’t matter… no character has their legacy destroyed to try to prove a political point.

To anyone who misses the escapism of movies like the original Star Wars Trilogy… or Indiana Jones… or The Incredibles… or most of the MARVEL movies… places where all people could go, enjoy, and leave our problems at the door? …these books are probably better.

Ok, not the type of book I would ever believe I actually would not only read but enjoy. I read the first on by accident and was hooked. The series has only gotten better. The characters brilliantly written and are like best friends you keep cheering for. Vince and Nick are my favourites but the others are close by. The plot has me thinking and then rethinking. It quick, subtle but as clear as mud. I got my villain, but keep changing the reasons why
I think its them.
So why recommend, because the books are out of my comfort zone, yet I love them. The plot is obvious but then not, but always well pace and exciting. I want to read the next still because I care about what happens to the characters. Well done.

Drew Hayes has ruined most fiction for me, I say this in the nicest way possible. He has crafted a universe unlike most I have read with characters so brutally real I often find myself forgetting they are works of pure fiction.

His use of words and metaphors and the like is well honed and above all else incredibly entertaining, you will find yourself struggling to put down this incredible piece of work.

I have rarely found characters based on my age group to be so relatable. They are complicated and multi-faceted to an intense degree, all while being exceptionally impossible.

Incredible work as always Drew, I can’t wait to see what your final has in store for us all.

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