Book: Stronger

“All he wants is to break through the prison’s stone walls, to flee the armed guards, to return to his old life.

Even if he escapes the prison, he cannot escape what he is. Thirteen feet tall. Hairless. Blue-skinned.

His captors see him only as a monster, a rampaging villain with inhuman strength and a temper to match. They call him Brawn. They don’t care about the truth–about the person inside. He is twelve years old and very, very scared.

His fear will not last forever. In time, it will be replaced with anger and determination.

He is certain that one day he will escape. And then…

And then they’ll all begin to understand.“

Some writers tend to stick to formula when writing, but not Michael Carroll. With Stronger, he has managed to tie together the events of five books with a single character–and made it good.

In this book, we follow the story of Brawn, the big blue villain we first heard about in Quantum Prophecy (and eventually saw in the third book), before meeting him as a hero in the Super Human series. Through Stronger, we find out who Brawn really is, where he comes from, what had happened to him–and how he was able to become both a hero and a villain, and which side he finally picked in the end.

Having read all the books in Carroll’s series, I’ve always championed him as a writer who knew how to write the underdogs. I preferred both Super Human and The Ascension over the original Quantum Prophecy books because they were easier to relate to. Because you had a character who wasn’t super-powered. A character you can feel sorry for. A character you fear might not make it until the end. And it wasn’t so with the Quantum Prophecy books. For some reason, they prophecy itself made the characters and the action boring. You knew that so-and-so would survive. And that made it boring.

And yet, in Stronger, you knew exactly where the story was going. You knew the events that were being described. But it is, to me, the most engaging book of the series so far.

Has Michael Carroll gotten better as a writer? No. Because he wasn’t bad to begin with. The only difference between this book and the ones from the Quantum Prophecy series is that in Stronger you have a main character you’d want to root for. A main character you feel sorry for. A main character you want to get to know more.

With Stronger, author Michael Carroll sews together two timelines and one alternate reality as he tells the surprisingly simple story of a boy who just wanted to come home. And how he realized that he can never go back to who he was.

Having read this book, and seeing that the author seems to know where he’s finally going with his story, I’m very excited to find out where he’s taking the story next.

Of course, all this? Just my opinion. Let’s find out what other people have said about the book as well:
Kirkus Reviews
Good Reads

Book: Quantum Prophecy, The Reckoning

“First, the Earth’s champions, old and new, returned to a world that thought the era of superheroes had come to a close. Then, an age-old conflict of good versus evil, heroes versus villains, was renewed. Now, it all comes down to one great battle. And if Quantum’s prophecy proves true, it could just mean the end of the world as we know it.“

I mentioned in my previous post that I really liked how events foreshadow the bigger picture in the Quantum Prophecy series. And then I said, non verbatim, that there were also instances when things happen first before we go to the back story. Which, while I’m not a fan of, I admit is important to protect the twist of Quantum Prophecy.

In the third book, we meet a new villain. Sort of. This person appears as a mole in the second book, but gets elevated to actual villain status in this story. And said person is the only thing I didn’t like about the third story, because I thought the characterization given this villain was better in the second book. True, we didn’t learn much about this person then, but the mystery suited the character. But I don’t really have any problem with the revelations–it’s the character’s personality change afterwards that throws me. It’s not like the facts were revealed to the villain–it was already a given to the character even before the events of the The Gathering. So I don’t understand how this person would go from being extremely patient, to easily agitated after the revelation.

It’s difficult to write about a character you don’t want to spoil.

Take out my problem with the villain, and I think The Reckoning is the best of the three Quantum Prophecy books. And though the twist to Danny’s vision (from the first book, The Awakening) can be seen a mile away, it remains effective–especially since it distracts you to the other big twist: of Colin being the one who’s actually susceptible to turn to the dark side–because of good intentions.

The Gathering dealt with repercussions. The Recknoning deals with judgement. Colin, for all the good he wants to do, is a very judgmental person. He wants his right and wrong cut out and separated. But as he learns (or does he?) in this book, it’s not easy to only be one. We do things that we think are right. We do wrong things to right something. There’s really no clear-cut good or evil, only gray areas and the choices we end up making. And I think it’s a brilliant topic to take on for a book geared towards the younger generation–of which I’m still part of. Barely.

Find out what other people are saying about The Reckoning;
Kiss the Book
Haley’s Book Review and Summaries
Teen Book Review Blog

Book: Quantum Prophecy, The Gathering

“Ten years after every superhuman vanished from the face of the Earth, a new generation of heroes has emerged. Endowed with unimaginable powers, these young crime fighters are suiting up and taking on London’s worst. But heroes become targets when the secret identities of Colin, Renata, and Danny are mysteriously leaked to the press. With their names and faces on every TV channel and newspaper around the world, the trio takes refuge at a secret military installation that houses and trains a new crop of superhumans. Together, the three friends join the team as a new threat surfaces in America’s heartland–one that will pit heroes against the innocents they’re trying to protect, and every action will bring Quantum’s dark prophecy closer to fulfillment…“

I’ve come to terms with the first book. It was mentioned by Stephanie (of Read in a Single Sitting) in the comments that, and I quote, “there really needs to be a strong differentiator–or at least a great villain.” And that’s exactly what I had a problem with in the first book: the lack of a great villain.

My guess is, that the idea of a villain was kept vague to protect the twist at the end of the first story. And that’s why it was hard to feel the tension, the fear for our superpowered protagonists. Because even without any knowledge of what they’re up against, in a world without supervillains, there really wasn’t anything to fear. And I don’t subscribe to the idea that something kept vaguely powerful can be scary. . . Well, I can. But you have to at least show glimpses of this powerful and scary thing. For proof.

But we’re done talking about Quantum Prophecy: The Awakening. And I’m thankful that my main problem with the first story was no longer present in The Gathering, the second book in the series.

Things start happening at breakneck speed in the first part of the book. We are quickly introduced to the new threat: the Trutopians. We are presented a new dynamic in the form of new superhumans–and the leaked identities that forces our protagonists into hiding. And, we have a great character dilemma for Danny, the depowered superhuman, when he realizes that the vision he had in the first story coincides perfectly with the prophecy Quantum gave.

If the first book held back for the sake of the twists, the second book had no qualms about making revelations–and effectively upping the stakes for our protagonists, because we are made aware of what they are up against. And we know that they might not survive a confrontation with their enemy.

Also, I love smart villains. Especially when our heroes are no couch potatoes either. You can see the gears moving on both sides, and as a reader, you are made to expect that when things come to a head, it will not disappoint. And it doesn’t.

One other thing I liked about The Gathering? The way it handles the repercussions of the characters’ actions. Or inaction, as the case is for a certain returning villain. I’m not claiming to be a well-read person, but I have read quite a number of books. And most of the books I read gloss over the cause-and-effects when they no longer need a certain plot point. I like how in the Quantum Prophecy, these actions actually come back to bite them in the … backside.

The book’s not perfect though. Equalling the number of good uses of foreshadowing, we also have cases of getting results before flashing back to what spurned on an action. But I’ll delve deeper into that in my reaction for the third book: The Reckoning.

In the meantime, find out what else has been said about The Gathering:
Library Thing
Teen Book Review
Good Reads

Book: Quantum Prophecy, The Awakening

“Ten years ago, all the superhumans vanished. No one knows what happened to them…until now.

Thirteen-year-olds Danny and Colin are shocked to discover that they are in fact the beginning of a renewed superhuman race. As they rise to take the place of the lost generation, the unimaginable truth behind the explosive final battle that occured ten years ago between the superheroes and the supervillains is exposed. And when the past resurfaces, Danny and his fellow superheroes must face new challenges that threaten their survival. On the run from everyone, and not knowing who is friend or foe, the one ability the new heroes are going to need the most is the power to distinguish good from evil.“

It’s been more than a couple of weeks since I finished reading this book. To tell you honestly, I’m having a hard time writing about this one because I don’t know if I like it or I don’t. Coming from Super Human and The Ascencion, I feel as if I should like this book. But I don’t think I do.

It wasn’t bad. It was well-written, and the pacing was good. Except, I was already exposed to the better written prequels. By the same author. So I couldn’t help but compare the three books, and I found this one lacking. Our protagonists, Danny and Colin, are not as endearing as Lance was in the prequels. And then we have a third female hero who doesn’t really bring much to the table in terms of telling the story–

And speaking of the story, I didn’t really grasp the gravity of the plot/premise until near the end of the book. When we were told that ridding the world of superheroes might kill the heroes. It wasn’t until that point that I actually went, “ah! so they really do have to stop the villains.” Because all throughout the book, I didn’t get the point of all the running, the escaping and the fighting. The Awakening is nothing more than set-up, I think. And the scene with protagonist Danny, where he sees a vision, only strengthens this idea that the first book just wants to set up what may happen in the succeeding books.

Was my interest piqued enough for me to buy the second book? Truth be told, no. Except I had already bought the second (and third) book prior to my finding a copy of the first book. And since the books are a fast read, I thought, I might as well read them too.

Good thing I did. The second and third book were much better than this first one. But I’m not writing about them in this post.

Check out what other people have said about Quantum Prophecy’s The Awakening:
Bright Hub
Young Adult Literature Review
SchoolTube