Almost Infamous

January 25, 2016
Carter’s quirky riff on the coming-of-age novel depicts a superhero-dominated world history with a bumptious potty-mouthed narrator named Aidan Salt, from Hacklin’s Hall, Ind. Eighteen and full of teenage rebellion, Aidan discovers his super powers and dons the moniker Apex Strike to train with other wannabe supervillains, in order to become worthy opponents and justify the demand for superheroes. Half of this sporadically amusing strung-out caper deals with Aidan’s stomach-wrenching boot camp experiences on Death Island (the location of which is never specified), resulting in celebratory drug- and hormone-fueled wallows. The rest presents equally noisome choreographed melee between heroes and villains, harrowing drug withdrawals, and Aidan’s gradual realization that opting out of high school mediocrity by adopting the supervillain lifestyle isn’t the nirvana he’d expected. After all of Aidan’s overheated adolescent wish fulfillments, Carter’s simplistic ending seems deflated; a whimper instead of the roar Aidan/Apex had hoped would change his world.

April 15, 2016

The world has not seen a villain since the end of the War on Villainy in 1993. More than 20 years later, 18-year-old Aidan Salt knows that his telekinetic abilities could help him become a professional superhero, but he does not have the desire, the drive, or the patience for the mountain of paperwork that would be required. So, he decides the only way to achieve fame without tedium is to become the first supervillain in decades: Apex Strike. Aidan finds that some superheroes truly want him defeated, but others want to use him to stage fights to make their own influences relevant. The salary and status seem to be everything he dreamed of, but Aidan soon learns that wickedness was not eradicated with the supervillains and that a nightmare exists behind the masks. VERDICT Youthful protagonists, high-octane action, and hard life lessons create an intriguing look at a superpowered world. Enthusiasts of Pierce Brown's "Red Rising" trilogy may find that the lighter tone of Carter's (coauthor "Prospero Chronicles" series) first solo novel does not take away from its strength.--KC

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2016
Eighteen-year-old Aidan decides he wants to be a supervillain (being a superhero is too much like work). Dubbing himself Apex Strike but still a tyro and unable yet to control his superpowers, he inadvertently kills a minor superhero and then finds himself approached by a cadre of other good guysthe Protectorsintent on making him part of a group of six other young supervillains to be called the Offenders. But why? Well, it seems that with the Age of Villainy past, the Protectors no longer have anyone to protect and are losing their cachet, not to mention their corporate sponsors and government funding. The Offenders will give them someone to fight against, though all the battles will be carefully choreographed so no one is hurt, like professional wrestling on steroids. Aidanexcuse me, Apexand his new friends go along, and all is well until something goes terribly wrong and they find themselves truly fighting for their lives. A clever premise reasonably well executed makes this caper irresistible reading. And an open ending suggests a sequel might be in the works. Superheroes beware.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)