Ink of Blood

(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).

(This review may contain spoilers).

I do like things to do with superheroes. Costumes are great. Masks are even better.

I didn’t realise, when first requesting this book, that it was the third in a series. I still found it fairly easy to understand, though. There was some confusion a few times with the different characters, but for the most part, I understood what was going on.

Although the plot of this story wasn’t really an original one, I felt that the characters (at least the heroes) definitely made this book worth reading. I even felt some sympathy towards Harlan… at least for a part of the book. (Part of me wonders if he could have turned out differently, if he’d had a bit more attention – of the good kind).

I really liked the idea of the parahumans, but I would have liked a bit more background/history of the origin of the powers. Why do some people develop powers and others don’t?

One of the other things I really liked about this book was how human the characters came across as. And being superheroes didn’t necessarily mean they were nice people. (I’m looking at Javelin here. I seriously wanted to punch him. I can’t imagine how the other characters held back).

I especially liked Imp. There was one line in particular that startled a laugh out of me. And, besides, I particularly liked her power. It maybe wasn’t the sort one might think a superhero should have, but it certainly came in handy.

I particularly liked Gretchen and Stan. I really felt sorry for Gretchen, but it seemed she came into her own through the events of the book. And Stan was the classic nice guy. I found their relationship really believable.

I have some mixed feelings about Faith. I liked her for some of the book, but I don’t agree with some of the things she did.

I would have liked to see a bit more of some of the other characters. I’d definitely be interested in reading more of this series (despite the bittersweet ending of this book) and I do recommend it for a well-written superhero read.