Steelheart: A Review
“Where there are villains, there will be heroes. Just wait. They will come”
So, I’ve just finished reading Steelheart. Like, I literally just put it back on my shelf, and I am still marveling at how much I loved it. Honestly, I don’t know how Brandon Sanderson does it. After having read only two of his books (Mistborn and, now, Steelheart), Sanderson has become one of my favorite authors. His character creation and world building are impeccable.
Steelheart, the first book in The Reckoner Series, is about our world after Calamity, which gave the world superheroes (known as Epics). Throughout the book, we follow David, the protagonist, as he attempts to join the Reckoners and exact revenge on the ruling Epic. Sanderson dumps you right into the action from chapter one, and it doesn’t stop until you read the last word! Every turn of the page brought something new to nervously sweat about or some horribly thought through metaphor to chuckle about. If I had to sum the plot up in one word, I would say that it was fast-paced (and exciting… I know that’s two, but I couldn’t help myself!)
“I’ve seen Steelheart bleed.”
As for the setting of Steelheart, Brandon Sanderson couldn’t have done a better job world building. During most of my time reading, I felt as if I was watching a movie in my head. Descriptions never get in the way of storylines. Actually, I feel like I barely realized they were there, which, in my book, is a good thing! Descriptions and world building should never make a story feel clunky or bogged down, they should feel like a natural part of the story. And, although there was a lot of things that needed explaining, Sanderson’s world building never felt forced.
Steelheart is a really good book for first-time Sanderson readers. If you’ve been wanting to read a Sanderson book, but are intimidated by his really long books or you simply don’t want to walk away from your TBR pile for that long (soooo many new books to read, right?!?), then Steelheart is an excellent choice! It is absolutely a must read book!
Have you read it? What did you think?
-Georgia ❤️
If you liked it, make sure you check out the rest of the series and let us know what you thought about them!
