NEW SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY REVIEWS
Reviews Of Recently Published Science Fiction And Fantasy Books
Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258
Blog Address: http://newsciencefictionandfantasyreviews.blogspot.com
February 25, 2011
The "Coming of Age" of Super-Heroes And Author In The Gifted
A review of
Steve Wilson The Gifted, Book 2: Coming of Age (Create Space, 2011)
$10.00 204 pp ISBN: 9781456574994
Reviewer: Forrest W. Schultz
One of the toughest stages in the human maturation process is the transition from adolescence to adulthood. The focus in the book under review here is a group of teens for whom this transition is more difficult than usual because they also need to mature in their usage of the super-powers with which they have been endowed. This super-hero maturation involves not only mastery of the technical skills involved in using these powers but also the development of an ethical concern to be certain they are used for good and not for evil.
This ethical development is complicated by the fact that there is still a lot of mystery concerning who all was involved in the bestowal of these super-gifts and what their purposes were and are. Perhaps the most immediate pressing concern involves one of the main characters in the story, General Raines. Can he be trusted? Is he working for the good guys or the bad guys? And exactly who are the good guys and the bad guys anyway? And these guys involve not only humans but extraterrestrials as well, which appear to be what is ultimately behind the bestowal of the super-powers.
The teens mentioned are "The Gifted" and the "Coming of Age" refers to the maturation discussed above.
As I noted in my review of Book 1 of this series, there is a resemblance between "The Gifted" and the television series "Heroes". Speaking of that, I feel, with what I know at this point, that The Gifted would be far easier to make as a movie or television series than as a series of books. The author should seriously consider making this into a film or series of films. I believe this would be helpful not only in displaying these superpowers but also in making the characters more memorable. These powers are easily shown on screen; showing them on the printed page is not easy. The characters in Heroes were so memorable not just because of their development by the writers but especially because of the really great way they were portrayed on film. So far, the characters in The Gifted are not nearly as well developed as, for instance, Claire the Cheerleader -- you know the one for whom the slogan "Save The Cheerleader: Save The World" was coined. I have a feeling that some of the characters in The Gifted have such a potential but it has so far not been realized: at this point we only see hints of it.
One of the greatest experiences of a novel reader is seeing a character there who is so memorable you would like to meet him or her. The challenge the author faces is developing his characters so that they have that effect on the reader. I see a potential here but it is not yet reached. In the Heroes I would love to meet Claire and those two funny Japanese guys and some of the others. So far, I cannot say that about any of the characters in The Gifted. Maybe in the future books we will see a Coming of Age in this character development!
As to the story line, it is hard to know what to say without knowing what is really going on behind the scenes, esp. with the ETs. I find that frustrating but it is clearly part of the story and we shall have to wait for the future books to find out what is going on. But I do not wish to say more about this now because my real concern is with the characters.
This author clearly has potential. I shall look to see its development in the future stories. I really want to see someone like Claire The Cheerleader emerge -- wouldn't that be exciting. Sooo, stay tuned!
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