Renegades

Renegades, Marissa Meyer

Another teen fiction, this time action and superheroes, and with some intelligent thought behind the concepts.

What if the world was flooded with superheroes? If hundreds of people had different types of special powers? In Renegades this is exactly the case. Years before in the Age of Anarchy those with special powers (prodigies) overthrew the government and society that was limiting them in Gatlon City. Led by Ace Anarchy, they sought to free those who had special gifts, but in doing so they overthrew all of society, leaving people at risk of gangs and outlaws. Young Nova sees her family gunned down and is cared for by Uncle Ace.

Enter the five original Renegades, led by Captain Chromium who worked together to restore law and order to the world, and overthrew Ace. Now some ten years later, the Renegades have expanded to include hundreds of prodigies, who are responsible for all aspects of managing Gatlon City, with systems, protocols and procedures for doing their work and a hotline to call if you need them. The Renegades have become symbols of hope and justice for ordinary citizens, yet at the same time, ordinary people no longer try to overcome problems or be heroic themselves, they rely on a superhero to do it for them.

Nova has always believed the Renegades were the problem, they never came to help on the day she needed them. Those who followed Ace: the Anarchists, have laid low, planning to take out the Renegades who destroyed their lives. Nova (prodigy name: Nightmare) with Queen Bee, Phobia, the Detonator and Cyanide now plan to take down the Renegades on their main parade day. When that plan fails, Nova joins the Renegades as a spy to learn how to attack them from the inside.

But Nova starts to question everything she knows about the Renegades, when she is placed in a team with Adrian (Sketch) and other prodigies who are kind, gentle and do their job well. They don’t abuse their power or mislead the public, as she has always believed. In addition, she and Adrian are drawn to each other.

Much of today’s fiction and movies are caught up in the world of superheroes. Interestingly, the Marvel Avengers series (eg. Captain America: Civil War) and The Incredibles movies have raised the question, “are the benefits of superheroes worth the cost?” This book is doing the same, asking what cost to society when superheroes are charged with the job of taking care of all the problems, and people just let them. As Nova observes “if people wanted to stand up for themselves or protect their loved ones or do what they believe in their hearts is the right thing to do, then they would do it. If they wanted to be heroic, they would find ways to be heroic, even without supernatural powers.”

It’s an enjoyable read. The range of superpowers displayed in various figures is broad and inventive. I particularly liked Sketch’s ability to draw anything into real life, and Red Monarch’s ability to split into butterflies. I did find the list of characters quite extensive and so the list at the beginning was a helpful aid. There is no bad language, and the romance is only generally implied. Adrian’s two dads are two of the original Renegades, who adopted him after his mother died; this touch seemed remarkably like a ‘let’s tick the PC’ box inclusion.

As I neared the end, it was clear it was only the beginning! So it’s a wait for the sequel book. It’s due out later this year and Mr 15 and I will be keen to read it. I’ll be interested to see where Meyer takes the story, it’s got the potential for some great, thought-provoking ideas about society and how it is viewed through different lenses based on experience and bias. We’ll just have to wait and see how life is Gatlon City turns out.