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Next-Gen Superheroes Audiolibro Por Chad Descoteaux arte de portada

Enjoyable story when not undermining its message

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
3 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 04-02-21

I was excited to receive a copy of this book as I had enjoyed the last two books, even with some criticisms. Despite a rocky start and rough ending that felt tacked on, I also enjoyed this one and my rating reflects it. However, it saddens me that I find it difficult to recommend it to anyone, especially if you want a break from the current political climate in the US.

I appreciate how Gordon learned to recognize his hate speech in the previous book was inappropriate and admonishes others and himself when they use hate speech. However, I feel the beginning and end of the book undermine the message of fighting hate by how it portrays the enemies. The first Issue blames the destruction of a world on “Traditionalists” and basically calls all of them members of the KKK. There are certainly valid points to pull from here, but by sweepingly targeting a large demographic, it sets the same root of racism that the text tries to fight against. The sad thing is it’s so close to recognizing that the root of racism and other forms of discrimination is political, and yet it falls into that trap with the author’s political opponents, hence I wouldn’t blindly recommend it to liberals either.

The copyright is from 2018, but since 2020 happened, I think it’s fair that this book should have a trigger warning for some events regarding minorities.

That aside, let’s delve into what I like about the story. Language is still fine with no actual swearing, though the middle finger does get flipped. Sex is only implied and not visible. There are more superhero easter eggs to find, mostly around X-Men. Also, the narrator does a fantastic job in the audio-book.

In terms of the story, I can acknowledge it’s hard to make the new additions shine, but I think Matthew and Heather are the highlights of the book. Sure, my favorite superhero from the previous books is sidelined, but these two are nice kids and Heather’s ending is a good one, much better than Speed Chicken’s in my opinion, which dives right back into the political satire to the point that it might be offensive to some liberals in addition to conservatives.

So to whom can I recommend this book? Not conservatives regardless of which branch they fall into. THe best audience I can think of would be Liberals who want to to finish the series but are also able to step back and not be dragged into political trappings in the very beginning and not be offended by the probably unintentional undermining of their ideology at the very end. Recognize that groups are diverse and that racism has historically been built upon politics. Perhaps if the Prince in Issue 0 recognized that, he would have been more successful.

Disclaimer: I received a free audiobook copy from the author

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Working-Class Superheroes Audiolibro Por Chad Descoteaux arte de portada

Enjoyable story of countless allusions

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 08-01-20

If you read my stories and my tweets, you may get the sense that I enjoy superhero stories. That is true. When I saw a promo for this audiobook, I immediately took action and I'm happy with that. I enjoyed this book as I listened at night before sleep. That enjoyment is how I rate and so my rating is 4 out of 5. Please keep in mind that is my rating as you may otherwise think differently based upon my analysis.

This book is a hard one for me to review. While I enjoyed it, it's hard to describe why. The first reason is the lack of identity this book has due to two parts.

One, there are many stories that parody or play on the DC heroes, even from DC and Amazon. I have not consumed any of those stories besides the Flashpoint animated movie so I am not bored of that subject. However, I could expect others who have may not care for another one.

Second, the references and allusions to the DC heroes are constant that if you know the DC universe, it's hard to ignore. That being said, that's part of the fun of the story. There's even a reference of the potential romance of Batman and Wonder Woman from the Justice League cartoons. In addition, I'd posit the epilogue shows great potential for carving an identity and that makes me excited for a sequel.

There are a few choices the author made that I like. One is to name the chapters issues. It's cosmetic but I liked it. Another thing was the shift from Kryptonite to Uranium. While it doesn't fix all of the issues I have with Kryptonite, it's a nice usage of real-world. Of course, it's also a setup for some jokes that become more obvious when listening to the audiobook. If I was reading, I might have missed it.

The performance is actually another reason why we are constantly reminded about the DC universe. The reader emulates the voices of famous performances. It's actually pretty good for a few. It did take me a while to get into the performance, but I don't know if it's due to my lack of experience with audiobooks, the actual performance, or the text. I believe though that it was solid after that.

For the plot, while it's not original to see how our would be if Superman was corrupt, I was impressed by how the plot worked overall, even if there were a few scenes that did not make sense to me. In terms of execution, I would say it counts as original enough, especially with the couple of Marvel influences that were thrown in. Again, I enjoyed it.

In terms of characters, they are certainly reasonable takes on people who bear their respective powers. My main dislike is Zeke as Wombat since he goes a bit overboard on his fight on crime, but until then I enjoyed his sections. The Flash-equivalent may not be the most loveable take, but at least he gets better towards the end. And his unknowing relationship with Zeke can be interesting material for a sequel.

There is action, as you may expect in a comic-inspired book, but I felt more compelled by the other scenes such as the infiltration, poker night, etc. There were a few cases where I felt like I missed something critical in the action sequences but due to the format of the audiobook, felt less compelled to backtrack.

So to whom would I recommend this to? That is tough to say. My guess would be people who don't mind a light-heart take on the DC heroes. I don't think the book takes itself too seriously so those who are able to hold that mindset and like superhero stories would enjoy this. Now, if you would excuse me, I need to get to the sequel.

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