Broken by Susan Jane Bigelow

Book Details
Broken by Susan Jane Bigelow
eBook, 194 Pages
2011, Candlemark & Gleam

Synopsis
Can a shattered superhero help save humanity's hope for a better world?

Broken figured she was done with heroics when she lost the ability to fly and fled the confinement of the Extrahuman Union. But then the world started to fall apart around her, and the mysterious Michael Forward entered her life, dangling the possibility of redemption and rebirth.

Michael Forward can see the future, but all he wants is to escape the destiny he has struggled against all his life. When the moment comes, though, he finds he can't refuse. Now he needs the help of a homeless ex-superhero to save a baby who may be the key to humanity's freedom.

Monica had a good life with her large family, until two strangers and a baby showed up at her door. Now her family is gone, her life is in ruins, and she's on the run from the law.

In a time of spreading darkness, when paranoia and oppression have overtaken the world, can three unlikely allies preserve a small ray of hope for a better, brighter future?

Review
I was really surprised by Broken. I've seen a lot of superhero movies, but had never read a superhero novel. I had assumed that superheroes just wouldn't work in novel form. Broken showed me the error of my ways.

Broken was a superhero named Silverwyng before she lost the ability to fly. Now she's a homeless alcoholic who is killed often but just can't seem to stay dead. As she tries to help Michael save a baby he psychically sees as the savior of their unstable world, she begins to face her own demons along the way.

Michael is the heart of the story. He cares in a world where people have lost hope. He risks his life time and again (and knows it since he can see his own future by looking in the mirror) to give the world a chance at happiness in the future. In Broken, Michael is the character you root for, care about, and inevitably come to love.

Broken is a dark story with a troubled superhero battling more than just villains. This was a fantastic debut novel for Susan Jane Bigelow and I can't wait to read more from her in the future.

Rating

Links

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