Yes, another Brandon Sanderson fan.

Brandon Sanderson gets a lot of love here at the CBR, and I’m glad to see that. This series is the only exposure I’ve had to his writing, however. I did buy the first book he wrote in The Wheel of Time series – but can’t bring myself to pick that series back up. His other series look interesting, but keep getting pushed further down my list. But The Reckoners….I love these books.

They take place in a world where superheroes are not only real, but the dominant force on the planet, and their powers have corrupted their minds, turning them vicious and evil. Humanity has been relegated to skulking in the shadows, and surviving on what gets left behind as titans battle for dominance. In the midst of this chaos is a band of common people – the Reckoners – who are trying to tip the balance in favor of the non-powered by hunting the gifted.

Calamity is the final book in the series, and it’s a rewarding end to a story that I, personally, found very rewarding. I got this book on Wednesday, and finished it tonight. That’s an incredibly fast turn-around for me – one I haven’t done since the last Harry Potter book. I just don’t read that fast, typically. That’s not to say that these books are as good as Harry Potter, mind, but to basically finish a book in 24 hours is pretty rare for me.

Brandon Sanderson is very good at world building, but he doesn’t seem to lose sight of the characters who inhabit his creation. The protagonist, David Charleston, is a young guy who has grown from the eager kid seeking revenge for the murder of his father (in the beginning of the first book, so that’s not really a spoiler) to the smart and capable driving force behind the team. Throughout the books, characters evolve, characters die, and David is always trying to come up with the perfect metaphor (and frequently failing spectacularly).

I don’t read a lot of YA fiction, but these books are a must read for those who love fantasy/sci-fi.