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Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Book Review: Failstate



Summary: Why did Robin Laughlin (aka. Failstate) think being a superhero on a reality show would be a good idea again? Things seemed so simple: win the show, become an official, licensed hero. But with his brother, Ben (aka. Gauntlet) stealing America's heart and his own powers proving too unwieldy even for the monitored studio challenges, Robin begins to wonder if his calling isn't to save the world after all.
 Until one of his competitors is murdered.
 Vowing to find the killer, Robin sets out on a very real quest to unmask the hidden villain. Can Robin find justice? Or will his lunk of a big brother ruin everything?

Thoughts: While I'm not really into superheros as a norm I always loved the thought of a Christ-following, action-packed, super-something. John Otte gives us that and so much more!
 I really liked the characters in here. They were all really great but Robin and Veritas particularly had some really likable growth and character. 
 There were so many cool and awesome plot twists they kept me guessing and wondering what was going on and how on earth all these things were connected. And then Otte wrapped them up superbly! Everything fell into place and concluded with a bang! I always feel like I know how things are gong to end in a trope like superheroes but Failstate surprised me! 
 The writing was good and kept my attention while also keeping things easy and light. From descriptions of fights, to the breakdown of how the powers work, to the simple day-to-day life, everything flowed well.

Content: Violence, death, some blood; nothing graphic, basic superhero stuff. There's kissing and a girl playing around with two different guys SPOILER there's a reason for this but it's not apparent at first END SPOILER. There's a brief description of how on female superhero's costumes "clings to her every curve" and some similar descriptions but it wasn't used in an inappropriate or offensive context.
 All in all a fairly clean read for middlegraders or above and a great book for any superhero fan! 

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