Book review
Written by David J. Schwartz
Vintage Originals paperback
Release date Out now

Five students wake up to discover they have remarkable abilities…

A novel about superheroes doesn’t seem like a very original idea – but if you think about it, you don’t often see these kinds of books. Soon I Will Be Invincible made quite a splash recently, publicity-wise – although it didn’t really do anything particularly groundbreaking. So now we have another book – David J. Schwartz’ Superpowers – and to be honest, I was very wary of it. The cover sells it as a fun, lightweight novel, probably about a team of youngsters messing around with superpowers – and I was just expecting some kind of Teen Titans or New Mutants story. And if that’s all you’re expecting, you’re actually in for a very, very nice surprise…

Superpowers tells the story of five friends – most of them in their early 20s – who suddenly discover they have super-abilities: telepathy, strength, speed, invisibility and flight. The narrative goes on to reveal how they decide to become superheroes, but face huge problems in their personal lives and with the very nature of the powers themselves…There are no super-villains in the story, but, without spoiling it, the heroes do face a very huge threat towards the end of the novel – a clever, poignant twist, which the reader probably won’t see coming.

The only drawback with this book is its deadly seriousness – it’s a little depressing in places and there is pretty much no humour in it at all. But overall, Superpowers is a hugely engrossing novel and a very pleasant surprise indeed. Martin Eden

VERDICT: 8/10
An extremely absorbing novel about real-life superheroes – great stuff, highly recommended.