T;LDR: A superhero book with shades of a Drew Hayes’ novel, See These Bones by Chris Tullbane is a long, and occasionally long-winded, but enjoyable twisted coming of age superhero tale.
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/4
This book was easy to read, had a good enough character arc to be interesting, with fun world-building, and a tale similar enough to one of my favorite superhero novels that I rated it 4.25 stars. There are some drawbacks to it, which is why I didn’t rate it higher.
The Plot
Damian Banach just wants to survive the curse given him by his dad in a post-apocalyptic world (called post-Break), so when an odd guy, a Finder, shows up at the orphanage where he lives and wants to test him to join the superhero college Academy, he can’t say no.
It wasn’t like he had any other prospects. He was just about to turn eighteen and be kicked out on the street. And the Academy just might save him from the insanity his power-set – a Crow (aka necromancer) – inevitably receives. After all, you couldn’t control the dead and not go a little bit crazy, right?
Unfortunately for Damian, surviving the Academy was more than just catching up on a poor high school education. No one wanted him there, including many of his teachers, because Crows had only ever caused mass graves. But Damian was determined to prove himself, learn a few things – like what his power even was, or die trying.
Will he succeed? Will he finish the first year of the Academy and not be expelled? Will anyone like him? And will he figure out how to use the powers that not even his teachers understand?
What I liked & liked less
This book reminds me a lot of the Superpowered series by Drew Hayes, which I loved, namely: superhero college with people trying to survive it who aren’t normally admitted. Unfortunately, because I had that shining example in my head, there were a few things in this book that just didn’t measure up.
But first… what I liked. The story was interesting and the character arc, while predictable, was twisted enough to keep me guessing sometimes. Damian acted liked your typical messed up eighteen-year-old boy with all the pent up rage, ego, and hormones you’d expect. None of it made him unlikeable, but there were definitely times when I wanted to shake him.
And, of course, he ended up with a few friends. It wouldn’t be a coming of age book one of a series if he hadn’t. The people who befriend him have their own reasons, all of which felt realistic and natural. In short, his journey and character growth made sense and was enjoyable.
The world building in this book was also interesting. The premise was that one man – Dr. Nowhere – had a dream that everyone got superpowers and then woke up and everyone had. That, in turn, caused a lot of chaos and change, since not every person was a good guy. The changes to society discussed in the book made sense, didn’t feel like a convenient choice, and also gave the setting a grittiness that a necromancer hero kind of needs.
However, where I got a bit – and just a bit – bored was in those spots where there was too much exposition. Look, I get it. It was written in first person and the narrator – Damian – was in character and trying to catch the reader up to what was happening and had happened. But seriously, I don’t need him to tell me where the three strikes you’re out rule comes from pre-Break. I already know where it comes from. Had it been different than baseball, that would have made sense to tell me, but since it was baseball, just stop with the exposition.
This happened when describing the school, the classes, and anything else that was happening in Damian’s day to day. There could’ve been a lot less of the exposition and the story still would’ve been solid.
The other issue I had was that Damian called out the foreshadowing moments. All the time. Too much, in fact. It got to the point where I didn’t need to know who did the thing he said “someone” was going to do earlier in the narrative because I figured it out the second his classmate said they were missing. That was just not fun, not even for someone (me) who reads the end of the book first.
I will say there were a few twists I didn’t see coming, and some of the foreshadowing doesn’t end up in the way you’d have thought, so it’s not all bad.
To Sum Up (Too Late!)
If you liked the Superpowered books by Drew Hayes, or like an interesting potentially morally gray superhero with a necromancy power set, you’d like this book. The writing had humor, some twists, enough emotional depth to keep me hooked, and sent the hero on a fun, if predictable, journey. Does it measure up to the Hayes’ series? No, not quite, but it’s still an easy and entertaining read and I’d recommend it. For all this and more, I gave this book 4.25 stars.
About the Author
Chris began as a gleam in someone’s eye, but birth and childhood were quick to follow. He’s been fortunate enough to live in Spain, Germany, and all over the United States of America, and is busy planning a tour of the distilleries of Scotland.
He currently lives in Nevada with his angelic wife and ever-expanding whisky collection and occasionally ventures outside to peer upwards, mutter to himself about ‘day stars’, and then scurry back into the house.
Chris is the author of two series; The Murder of Crows and The Travails of John Smith. He frequently shares new content on his author website at https://christullbane.com.
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Originally published on Feedium.