Review: Renegades

Renegades by Marissa Meyer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

OFFICIAL RENEGADES PLAYLIST:

"I know you don't listen to me, 'cause you say you see straight through me, don't you?"
-Coldplay, "Shiver"

"The gods decree you'll be right here by my side
Right next to me, you can run but you cannot hide..."
-Depeche Mode, "It's No Good"

"I'm gonna fight 'em off
A seven nation army couldn't hold me back..."
-The White Stripes

"I guess in love there's no guarantee
Sometimes it's not what it seems to be
Even though you're still the one I care for..."
-Europe, "Heart of Stone"

"And if you complain once more, you'll meet an army of me!"
-Björk

"I'm so lonely on my way
Waiting for a better day
Only one thing left behind
A world of lust and crime..."
-Peter Schilling, "The Different Story"

"They reached for tomorrow, but tomorrow's more of the same
So they reached for tomorrow, but tomorrow never came..."
-Berlin, "Masquerade"

"Can you break away from your alibis?
Can you make a play?
Will you meet me in the dark?"
-Billy Squier

"Do you really believe my tongue?
I'm not afraid I've angered God
I never meant to hurt no one
It's how I stay alive..."
-Shiny Toy Guns, "Waiting Alone"

"Don't you believe, girl
You'll change the world
At least you changed the world for me..."
-Finger Eleven

"Rise up and take the power back
It's time the fat cats had a heart attack
You know their time's comin' to an end
We have to unify and watch our flag ascend
SO COME ON!"
-Muse, "Uprising"

Bonus Track: Mark Mothersbaugh, "Planet Sakaar"

REVIEW:

For the first time, Marissa Meyer gifts us with a book that isn't a fairytale retelling, though it still retains a lot of the slick post-apocalyptic sci-fi style of The Lunar Chronicles. Maybe a little less stylish, but Renegades, the first in at least a trilogy of original superhero stories, more than makes up for that with the sort of moral grayness Meyer put on display last year in Heartless.

It's a long book, over 500 pages, but it's terrifically action-packed and gripping the whole way. This, of course, owes largely to its collection of super-cool characters, particularly those among the Renegades, and even a few of the Anarchists as well. Well, maybe not the Puppeteer - thankfully he's not in the story much, but he makes the most disturbingly creepy impression. But Nova and Adrian, among others, display a variety of super-duper-original powers. Sure, we get our elementals and our mind-controllers and our super-strong types, and even some insect-based powers (controlling bees, butterfly teleportation, etc.), but when was the last time you saw a super who could literally weaponize their own blood? Nova's power deserves mention too, especially her side effect of not getting any sleep herself while she can induce it in others. But Adrian. My God, Adrian. I think the last time I saw the power to bring drawings to life was the infamous "Frankendoodle" episode of SpongeBob, but Adrian gets it so super-cool because he can literally tattoo himself with powers. Though I'm still a speedster boy forever, I'm extremely mad jelly of Adrian's gifts.

All these powers, and the psychological mind games, and the turning of all the superhero tropes on their heads, combine to make a diabolically page-turning story in Renegades. You'll also love the book for its highly inclusive cast of characters - queer rep and PoC rep aplenty, the latter especially in the two leads, Nova and Adrian.

And most of all, you'll need this book just to have that glorious cover, perhaps the best of 2017, in your collection immediately.

Two more books? Please let them be even more epic than this one! (Though when it comes to Marissa Meyer, we the fans know she can't fail.)

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