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How to Become a Henchman by J Bennett
Traditional or self-published: Self-published
Rating: Loved (Hated-Disliked-Okay-Liked-Loved)
I know a good review should start with an overview of the plot, the world setting, the characters, maybe the strengths and weaknesses of a book, but after a story like this one, I just want to go OH MY GOD YOU GUYS! THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD! I THOUGHT ABOUT IT ALL THE TIME, I EVEN SNEAKY-READ IT WHILE AT WORK!
Set sometime in the future, the country (world?) had advanced enough that everyone got a Universal Basic Income even if they didn't work. It wasn't enough to live a good life on, but if you had no other job, you could survive on it. So in general the population was bored, so the governments set up things like "semi-reality towns" as in semi-reality show towns -- the whole city is one big reality show, with nearly everyone either a star or trying to become one. (Other cities included things like zombie attacks to keep the population busy and focused on something.)
This story was set in Big Little City, a superhero semi reality city. A bunch of people were "capes" (heroes) or "vils" (villains), and most everyone else was working on their fame levels so they could become one or the other.
The author "evolved" language in a really fun way. While (of course) the book was written in English, a lot of the words were shortened or used in unusual ways. It was a nice touch for world building.
All that was backdrop for the story though. The main character (Alice) was one of the few people who did not want to be famous. She came to Big Little City because rent and schooling were cheaper there (since attacks by vils often happened). The story followed her life and how she came to try out to become a henchman.
Because of the setting, there were such cool twists: How do you know if the person sitting next to you is actually a superhero? It made all the relationships and interactions all the more fun.
There were only two downsides of the story for me:
1) Use of nontraditional pronouns. Nothing knocks me out of a story faster than ze/zir/whatever. As much as I loved this book, every time those pronouns came up, my eyes glazed over. Luckily there were only two minor characters who used them.
2) By my Kindle's tracking, I had 15 minutes left in the book. I was saving the last of the story so I could savor and enjoy it... and boy was I sad to find it was 15 full minutes of previews for the next book, author's notes, etc. Sad!
I really wish the next book was out already. I completely loved Alice as a main character, but all the minor ones and the world setting as well.
Traditional or self-published: Self-published
Rating: Loved (Hated-Disliked-Okay-Liked-Loved)
I know a good review should start with an overview of the plot, the world setting, the characters, maybe the strengths and weaknesses of a book, but after a story like this one, I just want to go OH MY GOD YOU GUYS! THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD! I THOUGHT ABOUT IT ALL THE TIME, I EVEN SNEAKY-READ IT WHILE AT WORK!
Set sometime in the future, the country (world?) had advanced enough that everyone got a Universal Basic Income even if they didn't work. It wasn't enough to live a good life on, but if you had no other job, you could survive on it. So in general the population was bored, so the governments set up things like "semi-reality towns" as in semi-reality show towns -- the whole city is one big reality show, with nearly everyone either a star or trying to become one. (Other cities included things like zombie attacks to keep the population busy and focused on something.)
This story was set in Big Little City, a superhero semi reality city. A bunch of people were "capes" (heroes) or "vils" (villains), and most everyone else was working on their fame levels so they could become one or the other.
The author "evolved" language in a really fun way. While (of course) the book was written in English, a lot of the words were shortened or used in unusual ways. It was a nice touch for world building.
All that was backdrop for the story though. The main character (Alice) was one of the few people who did not want to be famous. She came to Big Little City because rent and schooling were cheaper there (since attacks by vils often happened). The story followed her life and how she came to try out to become a henchman.
Because of the setting, there were such cool twists: How do you know if the person sitting next to you is actually a superhero? It made all the relationships and interactions all the more fun.
There were only two downsides of the story for me:
1) Use of nontraditional pronouns. Nothing knocks me out of a story faster than ze/zir/whatever. As much as I loved this book, every time those pronouns came up, my eyes glazed over. Luckily there were only two minor characters who used them.
2) By my Kindle's tracking, I had 15 minutes left in the book. I was saving the last of the story so I could savor and enjoy it... and boy was I sad to find it was 15 full minutes of previews for the next book, author's notes, etc. Sad!
I really wish the next book was out already. I completely loved Alice as a main character, but all the minor ones and the world setting as well.
