Steelheart will be my second Sanderson book based in his younger teen fiction category, The Rithmatist being my first. Whereas I felt that The Rithmatist was a bit too corny and "cutesy," I think Steelheart will be a great "gateway" book for younger fans to discover Sanderson's other, more mature, fiction series.
Steelheart is set in a world shaped by "The Calamity," a meteor in the sky which has granted comic-book superhero-style powers to random humans, now called Epics. One of the defining themes in the book being that absolute power corrupts absolutely, there are no superheroes. No X-Men, Spidermans, or Supermans. Normal humans in this world are regarded as little more than slaves. The book follows the main character David, in his quest for revenge against the ruthless, cold-hearted, ruler of Newcago (formerly Chicago) - Steelheart.
While the plot and character development are pretty basic, and while David does suffer a little bit from "The Chosen One" Syndrome, the story is well-paced and makes for a very engaging read. This will probably be one of those books that you end up reading until it's way past bedtime. Fans of Sanderson will immediately recognize some of his quirks - protagonists tending to use their brains rather than brawn, numerous plot-twists, and of course, gratuitous magic system explanations. Steelheart is no exception to this formula.
For the teens - Steelheart is basically a comic book in written form. There's fights, superpowers, puppy-love crushes, and explosions. In fact I could almost hear a Hans Zimmer soundtrack in my head during several of the battles. Sanderson paints a vivid picture through his storytelling, and it won't take much imagination to see the entire book unfurling before you like a movie.
For the parents - Steelheart is a bit on the violent side but is clean on both language and romance. There's quite a few relatively graphic descriptions of firefights and injuries and incidental body count is pretty high. There's a big leap nowadays between Rated PG-13 and R, and I think Steelheart is probably right in between those two. It's not as bad as something you'll see on HBO/Showtime, but it's not nickelodeon-clean either. Something like primetime cable network violence.
For the adult Sanderson fans - the corny language will probably be the first thing that sticks out to you; the second thing will be the bluntness. It's always amusing to read something like Steelheart after re-reading The Way of Kings - same author but completely different voices. If you're already a fan of Sanderson, Steelheart will be very familiar ground and you won't feel out of place at all. With the exception of the depth of character and plot. There's not a whole lot of subtext comparatively to his adult works, but honestly I found that a bit refreshing. It's like having to play politics at the office versus hanging out with friends.
Steelheart was a great read and is a stand out in the crowded teen fiction market. For the adult Sanderson fans, I still consider this book a "buy". Honestly it reminded me quite a bit of his Mistborn Trilogy (and everything that entails). I inhaled this book in two days, and if it wasn't for that pesky need for sleep, I probably would have done it in a single sitting. It's honestly just a fun, action-packed, page-turner of a book.
Steelheart is set in a world shaped by "The Calamity," a meteor in the sky which has granted comic-book superhero-style powers to random humans, now called Epics. One of the defining themes in the book being that absolute power corrupts absolutely, there are no superheroes. No X-Men, Spidermans, or Supermans. Normal humans in this world are regarded as little more than slaves. The book follows the main character David, in his quest for revenge against the ruthless, cold-hearted, ruler of Newcago (formerly Chicago) - Steelheart.
While the plot and character development are pretty basic, and while David does suffer a little bit from "The Chosen One" Syndrome, the story is well-paced and makes for a very engaging read. This will probably be one of those books that you end up reading until it's way past bedtime. Fans of Sanderson will immediately recognize some of his quirks - protagonists tending to use their brains rather than brawn, numerous plot-twists, and of course, gratuitous magic system explanations. Steelheart is no exception to this formula.
For the teens - Steelheart is basically a comic book in written form. There's fights, superpowers, puppy-love crushes, and explosions. In fact I could almost hear a Hans Zimmer soundtrack in my head during several of the battles. Sanderson paints a vivid picture through his storytelling, and it won't take much imagination to see the entire book unfurling before you like a movie.
For the parents - Steelheart is a bit on the violent side but is clean on both language and romance. There's quite a few relatively graphic descriptions of firefights and injuries and incidental body count is pretty high. There's a big leap nowadays between Rated PG-13 and R, and I think Steelheart is probably right in between those two. It's not as bad as something you'll see on HBO/Showtime, but it's not nickelodeon-clean either. Something like primetime cable network violence.
For the adult Sanderson fans - the corny language will probably be the first thing that sticks out to you; the second thing will be the bluntness. It's always amusing to read something like Steelheart after re-reading The Way of Kings - same author but completely different voices. If you're already a fan of Sanderson, Steelheart will be very familiar ground and you won't feel out of place at all. With the exception of the depth of character and plot. There's not a whole lot of subtext comparatively to his adult works, but honestly I found that a bit refreshing. It's like having to play politics at the office versus hanging out with friends.
Steelheart was a great read and is a stand out in the crowded teen fiction market. For the adult Sanderson fans, I still consider this book a "buy". Honestly it reminded me quite a bit of his Mistborn Trilogy (and everything that entails). I inhaled this book in two days, and if it wasn't for that pesky need for sleep, I probably would have done it in a single sitting. It's honestly just a fun, action-packed, page-turner of a book.
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