Kyle Richardson

4.5 out of 5 stars

"Superhero" can mean different things depending on who you ask. If you ask your Grandpa, he'll probably recall reading about superheroes in comics when he was your age; if you ask a kid, he'll probably say his Dad is a superhero. The official definition, however, states it is a fictional hero having extraordinary or superhuman powers; or an exceptionally skillful or successful person.

I think "exceptionally skillful person" is the perfect definition for the characters in show more this anthology. Every story shows that whether they're superheroes or super villains, when their masks are off, they're people too.

Masterfully-written, this compilation lets us peek inside these people's ordinary lives, and shows us that they may not be as different as we think.

I want to start off by saying that I've never read a more welcoming introduction in my life. Tricia Reeks' anecdote about her grandson was the perfect way to introduce the 20 stories. I also want to quote Kyle on something every reader can relate to "I found life through the life of others." If that's not why we read, then I don't know what is.

I want to highlight some of my favorites:
Destroy the City with Me Tonight by Kate Marshall
The plot behind this story was so ingenious. To twist the typical "hero who defends a certain city" into a hero that is enslaved to one is fantastic. "She's always wondered why you'd bother with a mask; now she gets it. It's not to be concealed, it's to be seen, to be remembered."

Pedestal by Seanan McGuire
A funny yet realistic story of the struggles to lead an ordinary life when you're a superhero, a celebrity. I loved the casual thoughts she had during the fight: "I enjoy the number of limbs I have and buying jeans is difficult enough without mutating." We've all been there.

Quintessential Justice by Patrick Flanagan
This lighthearted story follows the day of a superhero's assistant. I found the conversations hilarious and loved the eccentric vocabulary. This story is proof that everything is not what it seems, and that we often label people without knowing them. Even Patrick's "about the author" is fantastic!

Eggshells by Ziggy Schutz
It is a heart-warming story about the process of recovery from an injury in which we learn, along the main character, that we shouldn't be ashamed of asking for help.

Final thoughts

I would be writing all night if I talked about every single story in here. I really liked most of them, luckily, but some of them just weren't my cup of tea.

The great thing about these stories is that everyone will find a character to feel identified to. Some of them are revenge-driven, some are angry or afraid, but more importantly, they're human.I think that's something most of us can relate to, right? (If you're an alien please contact me.)

Absolutely recommend it! show less

Monsters mix with steampunk, tragedy, and hope in this adventurous read, which pulls at the heart-strings and leaves the reader at the edge of their seat until the very last page.

Gabby is special, a term she hates, and a fact she truly doesn't understand. Even at nine-years-old, she realizes that her hand turning to steam isn't something anyone knows what to think of. When her mother, the only person she has, is murdered by a vicious beast in front of her, a detective helps her swear show more vengence and raises her to be a dangerous huntress. But he can't prepare her for the hunt she's about to make.

Kemple is an orphan, growing up under the harshest of guardians, but when a girl joins him, she helps him escape. He does his best to live as a homeless child in the streets of a nearby city, but an accident not only separates him from his friend, but leaves him with a monster in his heart. Strange things are happening to him, and although he doesn't understand them, he knows that if he lets whatever monster inside of him free, it will kill. When he happens across a clockwork girl and her father, everything changes. While the monster inside of him doesn't break free, he begins to wonder if his new found sister might be just as bad as the beast inside of him. But when he runs into the huntress, who is determined to kill him, his life is more than flipped upside down.

This is a packed read, and one which is extremely well woven, too. I was completely taken in by the world setting and writing style—such a different feel than many of the recent reads for this age group and genre. The tale is dark and gruesome, at times. The lives of these characters is harsh and carries the aura of a dismal, steampunk urban world. And yet, there's this undying glimmer of hope, not obvious but more as a constant whisper.

While action, intrigue and tons of secrets coat every moment, it's the characters which matter most. The chapters switch between Gabby and Kemple, allowing the reader to sink into each ones' life. The two don't meet until much later in the book, allowing each story to sink in. The characters are so different and both are allowed to open up to the reader with their very different lives. Often, I find such character depth a little slow, but not in these pages. The author allows each one to get under the reader's skin, while developing a delicious weave of secrets, mysteries, and tension along the way.

Unfortunately, the book ends on a cliff-hanger. But fortunately, that means there is so much more to come. The secrets only start to unfold in these first pages, and the promise of terrifying moments, dark plots and undying hope still remain. There's even the hint at a possible romance, and that with a monster just lurking around the corner, waiting to destroy it all. show less

I adore superheroes. They are one of my weaknesses and as soon as I saw this book, I jumped on it. It did not disappoint. The stellar line-up of authors have crafted short stories that all approach superpowers differently, and in often unusual ways. Like the story where gaining superpowers means you end up being forgotten. Or the one where a retired superhero doesn't realized she's retired. A number of the stories showed the human side of superheroes, the stories about those who were in show more their lives or on the sidelines.

There were a lot of stories that seemed to just end, which was a bit frustrating. I wish those had been expanded upon just a bit so that they felt more complete. But overall, a really enjoyable collection of stories. Well worth the read for every superhero junkie.

Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley. show less

Publisher’s synopsis:
When Gabby’s hand turns to steam, her mom hires an engineer to build a clockwork glove. It’s the last thing Gabby wants – if only she could be normal. But when her mom is attacked by something monstrous, normal is no longer an option. Now the only person she can turn to is a grizzled detective, who promises to help her become something … more.
Meanwhile, Kemple’s foster dad treats him like a slave. And the beatings are getting worse. So when a rebellious girl show more named Josephyn arrives with a plan to escape to the city, he doesn’t hesitate. But there are creatures in Iron Bay whose slashes are worse than skin-deep. And as Kemple evolves into something inhuman, his search for a cure begins.
They are strangers in a city where carriages rattle, airships rumble, and their own dark pasts continue to haunt them. Soon their paths will collide, and the girl who slays monsters will come face to face with the boy who is becoming a beast.

The first half of this memorable story follows nine-year-old Gabby, and Kemple aged ten, as they attempt to deal with numerous challenges they are facing in their young lives. Gabby sees herself as something of a freak, not only because of her clockwork hand, but also because she’s skinny, has stupid freckles on her nose and cheeks, blurry green eyes and has to wear chunky telescopic goggles. No matter how many times her mother tries to convince her that “normal is so overrated” and that it’s better to be special, she just wants to be normal.
The demanding chores, the near-starvation and the beatings from his abusive foster father are things Kemple faces on a daily basis and he can see no hope of things getting any better. Then Josephyn comes to live in the foster home and when she breaks the rules and he protects her by taking a beating for her, a bond develops between them. Fearful of the risk of future beatings, she suggests that they run away together to Iron Bay where they’ll be able to take control of their own lives. However, when a scratch he receives from a feral cat becomes infected, Kemple has no idea of how far-reaching and devastating the effects will be.
The second half of the story starts when Gabby, now calling herself Brielle, is about to become sixteen and has become single-minded in her mission to seek out and kill the evil, cat-like monsters which roam the streets, intent on avenging the attack on her mother thereby ensuring that no one else should have to suffer the traumatic loss she did as a young child.
Meanwhile Kemple, now almost seventeen, is desperate to find a cure for the sickness which is blighting his life, at times making him unrecognisable even to himself. But how corrupted do you become when all you see is evil around you, when your only vision of the world is a starkly black and white one? When their paths finally cross each of them is forced to start questioning their definitions of monsters and monstrous behaviour, and perhaps to begin to believe in the possibility of a different future.
This is a richly multi-layered book, exploring themes which include bullying, abuse, the agonies of feeling different, the destructive nature of blind rage, the adolescent struggle for identity and a search for nurturing emotional connections with others. Although many of these themes are dark, there are also moments of delightful, lightening humour. The narrative switches between the points of view of the two main characters and I found that this added an impressive depth to the storytelling, contributing to my reluctance to put the book down once I’d started it … in fact there were moments when I was reading when I was reminded of being read bedtime stories when I was a young child and begging “please, please, pleeeease, just one more chapter”!
Each of the characters is convincingly drawn and developed, with even the more peripheral ones adding an essential element to both the dramatic and the psychological integrity of the developing story. I very quickly found myself feeling emotionally invested in what was happening to Gabby and Kemple and desperately wanted their lives to become less fraught with danger and trauma! The steampunk background, so vividly evoked by the author’s descriptions of Iron Bay, also incorporates myth, fantasy and horror, combining all these strands to form an increasingly tense and, at times, very moving story as the paths of the engaging and memorable protagonists eventually cross in a dramatic and shocking way.
I started this enchanting and compelling story quite late in the evening … and almost wished that I hadn’t because I was immediately hooked and ended up going to bed VERY much later than I’d planned, too tired to keep my eyes open any longer, but eager to pick up the book again as soon as possible! Being several decades older than the YA readership it’s aimed at, I think it’s a reflection of the author’s brilliant story-telling skills, as well as the convincing psychological insights he offers into his characters’ personalities and motivations, which made this such a satisfying read for me. So, whatever your age, I urge you to read it as soon as possible!
This is Book One of the author’s Steambound Trilogy and, after the cliff-hanger ending, I for one hope that Kyle Richardson doesn’t make his readers wait too long for Book Two … and the knowledge that there will then be a third is surely a clue that there are many more adventures and challenges in store for these wonderful characters who have wormed their way into my heart!
With thanks to the author for a truly brilliant story, and to Meerkat Press for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. show less