Rate: 4.5/5

Medium: Kindle

Overview (No Spoilers):

At this point I can safely make the claim that anything Sanderson writes I will immediately add to my queue. I have yet to come across one of his books that I have not greatly enjoyed. The Reckoners was, as a whole, my least favorite I’ve read of Sanderson’s, however that being said, I was highly entertained through this series. Vastly different from the Stormlight Archive or the Mistborn series, Sanderson developed a unique literary realm starting with Steelheart, with fresh characters whose banter would routinely make me smile. Initially, I struggled to identify why The Reckoners series seemed to stand apart from Sanderson’s other works but eventually arrived at one main difference. The influential factor is the YA audience targeted for this series, which lends a distinctly lighter tone compared especially compared with the much loved Stormlight Archive. To clarify, I’m not necessarily referring to material content but density, as this series is a much quicker, easier read than anything else I’ve read by Sanderson. Additionally, instead of needing to develop a totally new literary world, The Reckoners take place in a near future dystopian world, which provides an already developed foundation of which to build upon. Thus far, my review has mainly been focused on this literary journey as a whole, but Calamity, itself, was a highly satisfying, stressful conclusion to a trilogy that continued to evolve and grow with each subsequent chapter. Some of the battle scenes became a bit lengthy and too drawn out, but in general the pace kept the eager reader mindlessly flipping pages. David’s metaphors continued to add needed humor, even in the most dire of situations, keeping the tone light. I’m curious as to the turns of phrase that were left abandoned on Sanderson’s editing chopping block. Overall, The Reckoners was an entertaining take on dystopian superheroes, filled with multidimensional characters, alongside intriguing world building, which translates to a quick read that will keep readers glued until the very end. And you have no idea how badly I wanted to work in the word ‘epic’ into this review but resisted. If you read the book you’ll know why.

Additional Insight (Spoilers Abound):

• Did Prof kill his classroom?
• Will Megan take Prof to see Tia and his daughter in the other dimension? How did Prof get his powers back?
• Did the Knighthawk’s wife heal and wake up with Prof’s cells? Knighthawk was a great addition to this last book of the trilogy and added much needed humor.
• I personally loved the twist that Larcener was actually Calamity. Was he actually making the salt city? How would that not be interfering?
• If Calamity had a no interfering rule, why would he make more Epics?
• Is Calamity supposed to be an Anti christ character? I was totally picturing him as the kid from the Omen.
• How did the Dowser not see that David was an Epic?
• How did Mizzy become an Epic? What are her powers?