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Steelheart

The Reckoners, Book 1

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Steelheart

Written by: Brandon Sanderson
Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews
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About this listen

From the number-one New York Times best-selling author of the Mistborn Trilogy, Brandon Sanderson, comes the first book in a new, action-packed thrill ride of a series - Steelheart. Ten years ago, Calamity came. It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers. The awed public started calling them Epics.

But Epics are no friend of man. With incredible gifts came the desire to rule. And to rule man you must crush his will.

Nobody fights the Epics...nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans, they spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them.

And David wants in. He wants Steelheart - the Epic who is said to be invincible. The Epic who killed David's father. For years, like the Reckoners, David's been studying, and planning - and he has something they need. Not an object, but an experience.

He's seen Steelheart bleed.

And he wants revenge.

©2013 Dragonsteel Entertainment, LLC (P)2013 Audible Inc.
Dystopian Fantasy Fiction Science Fiction Science Fiction & Fantasy Superhero

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Most relevant
I’m not enthused about the performance. Nothing against the voice artist. They did a good job, but I struggled to connect with the way they portrayed the main character at points.

The story is fantastic.

Amazing

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The premise of the book is quite interesting and compelling. However, I found it difficult to connect with the main character. His internal monologue and banter felt very immature and I honestly started skipping through those parts because they felt silly and extraneous to the plot. Character development is lacking but the universe that is created is cool and interesting - Sanderson is always good at that. Additionally, the plot twists felt kind of obvious and underwhelming. I probably won’t continue to read as it generally felt like a YA novel that a teenager would enjoy and that’s not for me.

Entertaining but lacks depth, feels YA

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A fresh take on an old trope. With a story that can truly hold your attention from start to finish. Unique characters that are believably unbelievable.

A phenomenal twist on the “super-hero” genre

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I may have given a higher rating if it wasn't for me recently watching The Boys and Invincible. Supers, or, epics, I guess, as the bad guys is a little worn for me right now.

It is a good story though. The protagonist is kind of a goof, but a lovable one. His 'luck' throughout the story is actually pretty well explained by the end.

Humanity's reaction to powers is actually pretty spot on. Sanderson is usually good at that though. Interesting to see earth brought into the cosmear.

All in all, would recommend, and do plan on finishing the series.

Really Good

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Dismissing this book as "Children's" literature would be a mistake. The series actually reminds me of William Gibson in it's creativity.. it won't spawn a genre like 'Neuromancer' did (ie. Cyberpunk), but this very cool future reality/alternate reality reads like a great Marvel graphic novel.. it's extremely engrossing. Brandon Sanderson envisions a world where superpowered beings (known as "Epics") set up authoritarian fiefs like Feudal Warlords and essentially run them like crime syndicates. A class of Freedom Fighters called "Reckoners" work to find & kill Epics (each of whom has a weakness to exploit). Sanderson's protagonist - David Charleston - witnessed the murder of dozens of people (including his father) as a child [they observed the weakness in "Steelheart" - the chief Epic in his home city (Newcago).. so the paranoid supervillain murdered them all].
The topic/scenario resembles a comicbook, the chief character is a teenager, and the dialogue is reasonably sophomoric.. but the plot is well-conceived, well-executed, and well-described. The book is undeniably aimed at a younger audience, but the Fantasy is clever and the writing is creditable.

Unfortunately, the book is let down a little by spotty narration from MacLeod Andrews. His interest in the book is clear (timbre, tone, and cadence are commendable) - but his voice-acting is fairly weak (some of the chosen voices for characters are poorly-accented or cartoonish) and his rate of reading is too slow (listening to this book at 1.25X is highly recommended).

Altogether this is a fun 9.5 star out of 10 book - but the narration brings my rating down to 8.5 stars. Certainly younger teens and children can digest this stuff ('Steelheart' would be ideal for a road trip with the kids), but adult fans of Fantasy/SciFi should certainly enjoy it, too. Can recommend.

Unique Comicbook-like Dystopia.. 'Mutant Mafia'

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I found this book initially in a store, and thought the synopsis sounded cool. It belonged in the "Teen Literature" section according to the stickers on it's cover. I bought it, and binged it in one go.
The book is fantastic. Great, likeable characters, a pretty decent story, and an awesome twist on the superhero genre make this an absolute must for anyone with even a passing interest in heroes.

This audiobook is no exception.

The narration is spot on, with various characters having decently varying voices (Fans of David Hayters Solid Snake will love the Prof.), The story is well articulated, and at no point do you get tired of listening to him.

I whole-heartedly recommend this to everyone!
Sparks! You guys! Read this now!

A must-listen.

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if you liked"the boys" you will like this. great story that is similar but goes against conventional super heros are idolized approach and more feared

great book

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Out of all the superhero books this is the first series I’ve found where the powers are interesting enough to stop to ponder, the narrator has good pacing and isn’t annoying to listen to, and to top it off the plot isn’t a generic high school or popular concept with a slight change. 10/10

Finally something worth listening to

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#Audible1 I am adding a written review in order to get into a draw, but still an excellent book.

Love this Author

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I haven't listened to many books that aren't narrated by Kate Reading or Michael Kramer, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and the narrator did such a great job at the different voices. As always, Sanderson is entertaining and writes believable characters in extraordinary situations. I'm usually pretty good at picking out what the twists and plot points before they happen, but he always keeps me guessing. Can't wait to listen to Reckoners book 2!

Sanderson is great as always.

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