Steelheart Book Review - by Brandon Sanderson (The Reckoners Trilogy)

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson book cover. Shade of blue mimicking an explosion through steel.

Steelheart (The Reckoners #1)
By Brandon Sanderson
Genre: YA Action/Adventure
Recommended For: Ages 13+ and those who love superhero stories but what something different.

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.

The Hit List:

Brilliant twist on the typical superhero story
Wide variety of interesting powers, making it exciting to read more
Constant build of mystery and curiosity
Imaginative and unique settings that personified characters
Brimming with suspense
Unpredictable yet satisfying end that will make you yearn for more
Lovable, goofball protagonist
I actually recommend skipping this review and going straight to reading Steelheart because it’s so good you shouldn’t waste any time.

The Review:

How to tell if a book will be amazing: If the prologue leaves you with your mouth open, heart racing and an unquenchable curiosity. Yes, that is everything I felt after just THE PROLOGUE! Right off the bat, Sanderson introduces us to one of the most amazing twists on the typical superhero trope. Regular humans get superpowers and become Epics. The only thing is, they all turn evil and try to take over parts of the world. Superheroes are evil.

Everything about this book is filled with intrigue. From wondering the motive of the Epics and why they are the way they are, to the mysterious fire-red ball in the sky called Calamity that gave them their powers, to the random and inventive powers the Epics have. Needing to know more about the Epics and their powers kept me turning pages late into the evening.

The characters are stunning. The protagonist, David, is the most adorable cute nerd you ever did meet. His knowledge and obsession with Epics and their powers helps educate the reader about the world and also instills a sense of curiosity. He is so relatable. We see him feel self-conscious about things and doubt his own ideas. But we also see him grow and learn from his mistakes. And he has many cute quirks that help to lighten the mood in what sounds like a very dark world. Some of the other side characters help with this too, and I appreciated the small chuckles they brought out in me. I should also quickly mention that I loved the fierce and complicated nature of Megan, the main female character and love interest.

I love when an author uses every tool in the writer toolbox to bring a story to life. The settings were amazing. While not the most beautiful, a city turned entirely to steel-ugly, in a way they personified the villain, Steelheart, and the general mood of the world. Cold. Hard. Unyielding. It did not sound like a fun place to live, and the setting only added to that sentiment.

Sanderson expertly portrays some rather mature themes in a young adult book. Throughout the book, we learn about the weaknesses of the Epic (which is truly a gem of inventiveness on Sanderson’s part) and how fear of being weak can drive a person to do awful things. He also uses the character development of David to show the cost of devoting ones life to revenge. The story is told through David’s perspective, and while I’m not a teenager myself, I felt like I was in the mind of a mature teenager. So all these morals and lessons were portrayed in a relatable way.

But perhaps my favorite part of this book was the constant suspense and unpredictableness of it. You guys, I tried REALLY hard to predict the twist at the end. I must have had half a dozen theories at least. None of them were right. But what’s even better, is I liked his ending more than any of my theories. I’ve read a lot of books, so when one manages to surprise me as much as Steelheart did, you can go ahead and color me impressed.

This is one of the best YA series I’ve read in a while. I have already recommended it to lots of friends of all ages and I will continue to do so. Therefore, please do yourself a favor and read this book!

Luna’s Lucky Rating: 5/5 Lunas