Good, but MUCH too long. I listened to the fan made podcast (http://audioworm.rein-online.org/) and it took me a few months (I usually finish audio books in a week or so).

I enjoyed it, but I would recommend The Reckoners by Brandon Sanderson over this unless you have a LOT of time on your hands. ( )

(Reread 2023)
Oh man, if you decide to do this you are in for an interesting ride! But please do be careful if you are the kind of person who needs content warnings - this has pretty much everything (I think gave up trying to keep track in any kind of detailed way by around 10% in and given how long this is, I've probably left a few out). Set in a world with superpowers, this story explores good people doing bad things, bad people doing good things, people doing good things for the wrong reasons, people doing bad things for right reasons and everything in between. We follow Taylor, a bullied teenager with powers who goes out in costume to escape her civilian life, only to find herself quickly caught up in the dark underbelly of her home town. We get to see outside of Taylor's head in interlude chapters, which give us an insight into the wider parahuman world.

This was a reread for me. I got a strong urge to reread this a little while back and since that feeling didn't want to go away, I decided to dive back into Brockton Bay. Nearly two months later and here we are! I love the world that J.C. McCrae/Wildbow created and how complex the characters are. I love how creative he gets with all the powers and explores their potentials beyond the obvious, surface level applications, particularly as the world breaks more and more and needs increasingly drastic solutions to fix all the new problems that are constantly arising. This may be a long work, but he builds everything up masterfully through the thousands of pages. Are there parts that maybe drag a bit more or feel rushed? Yes. But I think that is also think that's because of how it was originally shared. Does this take away from the enjoyment? No, not really although some parts are less interesting and may need a bit of a push to get through.

This was a reread and I found it interesting as to how my attitudes towards some of the characters changed from the first time around. I liked Lisa a whole lot less. While she's good to those she cares about, she's manipulative and borderline emotionally abusive. I didn't enjoy the shopping scene towards the start. While I do appreciate her trying to build Taylor's confidence, I wasn't a big fan of how forceful she was about this. I don't know how intentional it is, but I see a lot of parallels between her and Taylor's bullies. I wasn't a big fan of Reagent last time and disliked him even more this time around. I understand why he is how he is - his backstory is harrowing - but that doesn't mean he's good (although he is a good character, even if he's a bad person). On the other hand, I liked Rachel a whole lot more. I don't know how much of that is me experiencing more frustrating people and relating to her more than last time. That's not to say that she's a traditionally good person of course, but there is something warm deep inside, even though she hides it from all the "stupid people" around her.

This was such a fun (and yet not fun given some of the themes) read. If you are planning on reading it, it is worth remembering that this is largely a first draft. Don't get me wrong, the chapters have clearly been edited (there are no glaring spelling or grammar errors), the continuity is great (with some lovely foreshadowing) and it works fine as a complete work (no glaring plot holes, nothing is seriously broken, etc). Just don't go in expecting 100% polished perfection. It's just a bit wordy at times and it could be cut down to make it more streamlined in parts (although the author did say this would be split into a series if he gets around to publishing it!) and some events could be fleshed out a bit more. That being said, it is a lot better than a lot of the more recent self-published (and even some (small) press, sorry!) works I've come across.

I feel like I should have something more to say about this work given how long and complex it is, but I'm going to leave it here for now. I might come back and add more at some point, but I have a lot I want to say that's difficult to put into words, at least without giving spoilers. ( )

Incredible story. There are parts that lag, or get confusing, but overall, what Wildbow has done with this is incredible.

I appreciate the strong female lead in the story, and that the powerful heroes aren't the ones who are super-strong, but rather those that can manipulate information.

I finished it months ago, and it's only been added to Goodreads now, but I wish I had written this when I finished when my thoughts were fresh on the subject. I recommend this to anyone who wants a good superhero story.

The downside was language. Way too much swearing for me. ( )

Reluctant 5 stars because on the one hand it’s just capeshit, very simple reading in most aspects. Still, it’s like 6000 pages and took me like two and a half months of daily reading to finish, and I didn’t lose interest, which is a monumental feat. The powers were extremely cool, there weren’t any terribly obvious inconsistencies, the fights were cool, fighters got really creative with their powers, etc. Scale of conflict increased appropriately. Lots of different characters populated this world with all unique personalities (superpowers are certainly an efficient crutch/pillar for personalities). It was average-to-weak on some relationship and thematic aspects. Taylor’s friendship with Bitch was the highlight as far as relationships go. Also, for some weird weird reason, the narrator couldn’t stop commenting on how small the protagonist’s breasts were. Totally unnecessary lol. And they kept talking about how all the Chinese capes were brainwashed for being a part of a collective and sharing their powers. Definitely worth reading anyway if you wanna kill time for a couple months.

Last thing I’ll say (major spoiler): Taylor should have stayed dead. ( )

Wonderful. Cannot recommend this epic journey of a story enough. ( )