When I first heard that one of my favorite authors, Marissa Meyer, was writing a new series based on superheroes, I was enthralled to learn about what her book would do to the superhero scene. And when it finally came out, I was practically enthralled to get my hands on the first copy that I could. And as soon as I dived in, I knew that she had once again created a masterpiece.
“Renegades” is a book about a girl named Nova, who has been raised by a group of villains who all have extraordinary powers. Years ago, prodigies ruled the earth, and their powers led to a massive power shift- all of the strongest prodigies overthrew the government and began to rule the population. Years later, a group of prodigies rose up to overthrow this power structure; they killed the man in charge and began to rebuild society. The villains, including Nova, have a loathing for the hero prodigies, because they left the world without a main power structure and the normal people of society depended on them for everything that they needed. The villains create a plan to place Nova into the group of prodigies as a spy, working to usurp their power structure from the inside out.
Nova joins a smaller division of superheroes who work under the main governing heroes. The main heroes are Sketch, aka Adrian Everhart, who is the adopted sons of the two most powerful superheroes in the city, with his powers allowing him to bring life to whatever he draws; Smokescreen, aka Oscar Silva, who is able to keep up with the rest of the team even though he is slightly crippled in his leg; and Red Assassin, aka Ruby Tucker, a girl who bleeds rubies and can create her own weapons out of them. She takes up the persona under Insomnia, because her powers allow her to stay awake for hours on end with no side effects; she does keep secret the fact that she can channel her powers to make whoever is touching her fall to sleep, a power she uses under her villainous persona of Nightmare.
There are several things within the novel that I found very intriguing and interesting. First, I was very pleased to hear that two of the more important heroes in the book are in a homosexual relationship. I was extremely happy when I discovered the relationship between the two and how it was treated. They’ve even adopted the child of one of the deceased members of the original superhero team. I was also extremely glad that homophobia wasn’t a main plot point or an antagonistic force- no one treats them any differently than anyone else. This sort of treatment is very refreshing within the literary sphere, and it was definitely something that strengthened the overall story and made it feel more believable.
Secondly, while reading, I was afraid that this book would take to the tropes that many works of fiction would take: that she would fall in love with one of the main heroes and become reformed to the good side. But (as far as the first book is concerned) this doesn’t seem to be the case. Nova continues to work for the villains, and never seems to forget the goal that she has. She appreciates the team, of course, but she doesn’t particularly care if they are hurt while she is acting out a more villainous role. I appreciate that Meyer didn’t take the stereotypical route with Nova’s story arch; if anything, her time with the heroes push her further to work against them.
Third, I very much enjoy how Adrian uses his powers. Because his drawings come to life, he decides to try something new: he gives himself tattoos that give him extra powers. His intentions matter when he creates the tattoos, and thus he is able to give himself new abilities. For instance, he has created tattoos that give him armor from his own body, springs on his feet for extra jumping strength. and the power to summon fire from his hands. He keeps all of these abilities secret from everyone, and begins to go on missions on his own.
This is another thing that impressed me: the superheroes didn’t always stick to the status quo. There are many times when the smaller teams of heroes who decide to do things their own way. Many of the heroes constantly harass the villains, or go against direct orders, especially Adrain when he begins to give himself his own powers. I find this concept intriguing, and it gives more depth to the overall story.
Right now, two of the three books in the trilogy are out on the market, with the third already taking pre-orders and is expected to come out in November. I still need to read the second book, but if anything can be taken out of this, I am extremely excited to read the second book to be ready for the third and final installment.
