Buy the #1 New York Times bestselling sequel—Firefight—today!
Brandon Sanderson, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Words of Radiance, coauthor of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series, and creator of the internationally bestselling Mistborn Trilogy, presents Steelheart, the first book in the Reckoners series, an action-packed thrill ride that will leave readers breathless.
Ten years ago, Calamity came. It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary people extraordinary powers. The awed public started calling them Epics.
Epics are no friends of man. With incredible gifts came the desire to rule. And to rule man, you must crush his will.
Now, in what was once Chicago, an astonishingly powerful Epic named Steelheart has installed himself as emperor. Steelheart possesses the strength of ten men and can control the elements. It is said that no bullet can harm him, no sword can split his skin, and no fire can burn him. He is invincible. Nobody fights back . . . nobody but the Reckoners.
A shadowy group of ordinary humans, the Reckoners spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them. And David wants in.
When Steelheart came to Chicago, he killed David’s father. For years, like the Reckoners, David has been studying, and planning, and he has something they need. Not an object, but an experience.
He has seen Steelheart bleed.
And he wants revenge.
Praise for the Reckoners series
“The suspense is relentless and the climax explosive.”—James Dashner, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Maze Runner series
“Another win for Sanderson . . . he’s simply a brilliant writer. Period."—Patrick Rothfuss, author of the New York Times and USA Today bestseller The Name of the Wind
[STAR] “Snappy dialogue, bizarre plot twists, high-intensity action, and a touch of mystery and romance…leaves [readers] panting for the sequel.”—Booklist, Starred
"Nuance and complexity alongside the action and intrigue...will have readers counting the days to the final volume."-The Bulletin
“An absolute page-turner."—Publishers Weekly
“Compelling. . . . Sanderson uses plot twists that he teases enough for readers to pick up on to distract from the more dramatic reveals he has in store.”—The A.V. Club
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
115 of 125 people found the following review helpful.
Steelheart is a fast-paced, action-filled, blast of a book
By Storm
Steelheart will be my second Sanderson book based in his younger teen fiction category, The Rithmatist being my first. Whereas I felt that The Rithmatist was a bit too corny and "cutesy," I think Steelheart will be a great "gateway" book for younger fans to discover Sanderson's other, more mature, fiction series.Steelheart is set in a world shaped by "The Calamity," a meteor in the sky which has granted comic-book superhero-style powers to random humans, now called Epics. One of the defining themes in the book being that absolute power corrupts absolutely, there are no superheroes. No X-Men, Spidermans, or Supermans. Normal humans in this world are regarded as little more than slaves. The book follows the main character David, in his quest for revenge against the ruthless, cold-hearted, ruler of Newcago (formerly Chicago) - Steelheart.While the plot and character development are pretty basic, and while David does suffer a little bit from "The Chosen One" Syndrome, the story is well-paced and makes for a very engaging read. This will probably be one of those books that you end up reading until it's way past bedtime. Fans of Sanderson will immediately recognize some of his quirks - protagonists tending to use their brains rather than brawn, numerous plot-twists, and of course, gratuitous magic system explanations. Steelheart is no exception to this formula.For the teens - Steelheart is basically a comic book in written form. There's fights, superpowers, puppy-love crushes, and explosions. In fact I could almost hear a Hans Zimmer soundtrack in my head during several of the battles. Sanderson paints a vivid picture through his storytelling, and it won't take much imagination to see the entire book unfurling before you like a movie.For the parents - Steelheart is a bit on the violent side but is clean on both language and romance. There's quite a few relatively graphic descriptions of firefights and injuries and incidental body count is pretty high. There's a big leap nowadays between Rated PG-13 and R, and I think Steelheart is probably right in between those two. It's not as bad as something you'll see on HBO/Showtime, but it's not nickelodeon-clean either. Something like primetime cable network violence.For the adult Sanderson fans - the corny language will probably be the first thing that sticks out to you; the second thing will be the bluntness. It's always amusing to read something like Steelheart after re-reading The Way of Kings - same author but completely different voices. If you're already a fan of Sanderson, Steelheart will be very familiar ground and you won't feel out of place at all. With the exception of the depth of character and plot. There's not a whole lot of subtext comparatively to his adult works, but honestly I found that a bit refreshing. It's like having to play politics at the office versus hanging out with friends.Steelheart was a great read and is a stand out in the crowded teen fiction market. For the adult Sanderson fans, I still consider this book a "buy". Honestly it reminded me quite a bit of his Mistborn Trilogy (and everything that entails). I inhaled this book in two days, and if it wasn't for that pesky need for sleep, I probably would have done it in a single sitting. It's honestly just a fun, action-packed, page-turner of a book.
113 of 136 people found the following review helpful.
Good new series, not his best work.
By Roman
Brandon Sanderson is an very fast writer that consistently produces good book after good book. I've been a fan of him since Elantris and I always rush out to buy whatever new book he has. His work, although formulaic, is enjoyable to read and always feels high in quality.Steelheart is set in a futuristic, post-apocalyptic Chicago. The denizens of the book call this new Chicago 'Newcago' (yeah I wondered about that as well). The story follows David, a young man entranced with the world's new Epics. Epics are superhumans that used to be mortals until a meteor named Calamity appeared in the sky. David is obsessed with bringing vengeance on one particular epic, Steelheart.Now that we have the basic plot down we can go into a bit of review. I won't try to spoil anything but be warned that most reviews will have a bit of spoilers in them. Steelheart is a book with excellent pacing in the drama and action departments, but I can't help but feel it was a bit too formulaic. Its almost as if Brandon was writing this as a school project rather than trying to publish it. The main character is again a bit of a know-it-all who falls for a cute girl. There is an older, mysterious character that always saves the day. There is a mysterious magic source that no one really understands. This is all textbook Sanderson, and if you've read his previous books you will feel right at home here.Besides the obvious use of a worn formula I found this book enjoyable. The action scenes were consistent and well-paced. His New Chicago felt like an actual city and most of his characters exhibited varying personalities. The main characters were (mostly) given detailed back stories that were entertaining to read about and sometimes crucial to the plot.Overall if you're a fan of Sanderson you will most likely read this book in an afternoon. However, if you never heard of the guy's works I would recommend picking up one of his other excellent series, such as Mistborn or Way of Kings, before jumping into this one.
47 of 56 people found the following review helpful.Another Awesome Series Launch for Sanderson!
By Benjamin Thomas
Wowzer! Awesome! etc. etc.OK, anybody that has read any of my previous reviews of Sanderson's work knows just how much I admire his writing. I've really run out of superlatives to describe his work, both the quality of it and the sheer amount of output he generates. I don't know of any other human on the planet that can write/publish so many books and sustain such high quality. He is simply amazing.This novel is, of course, no exception. From the very first page, I was lost in this new world Sanderson has created. Yes, it's a young adult novel, but the only reason to classify it as such is that the main character, David, is 18 years old. But in every other way, this is a main-stream novel, filled with violence, action, and thought-provoking characters. In essence, this could be called a "super-hero" novel (mostly evil super-heroes) so I suppose that's another reason to classify it as YA. And we are treated to some inner thoughts from David that testify to his late-teenage attitudes towards others and self doubt. But I found them to be very true to the nature of the character, and essential to the plot.The story takes place here on approximately present-day Earth, about ten years after an unexplained burst in the sky (subsequently referred to as 'Calamity') caused the appearance of 'Epics'. Epics are humans that have abilities, amazing superhero-like powers, and tend to use them for personal gain and power. They are so powerful that nobody fights them. Nobody except the 'Reckoners'. Epics are essentially bullies (bullies with incredible destructive power) but each one has a weakness, and thus can be fought by ordinary folks like us.OK, that sounds like a plot for a YA novel for boys age 10-14. But I say 'Nay, friend.' This is a novel for all of us. The plot is only the superficial top layering of this 17-layer cake and, believe me friends, this cake has a lot of delicious calories. Sanderson is known for his unique, complex magic systems that he constructs for his novels. So, of course, the system that he has built for superheroes is equally complex and interdependent. He doesn't just come up with weird cool powers and sprinkle superheroes around. Epics' powers work the way they work for a reason and discovering just how they relate to each other is pure fun. And all through this novel (as well as in future novels in this series, I'm sure), we learn more and more about just how well thought out this system is.All of that stuff makes for fun reading and good movie entertainment but it's the characters that allow a story to rise to the top and be memorable for months and years afterwards. The core group of characters in this book are multidimensional and each one is intriguing. They are a delight to read about. I cared about each and every one, their roles, their fates. And, due to the high stakes action in this book, their fates are far from certain. Surprises await the reader at every turn; it definitely keeps the pages turning.So, once again, my hat is off to Mr. Sanderson. This is the first book of what is sure to be a great series. And although the main plot does conclude in this one book, it serves as a gateway to many more awesome books to come.
