The Book: Legacy (Age of Power)

The Author: Jon Davis

The Story: For Vaughn Hagen, life was just starting. About to graduate high school, he has all of life to look forward to with college, parties, and girls.

But a giant asteroid changes all that when it threatens to destroy all life on Earth. In only days, Vaughn, his family, and his friends are forced to confront the fact that everything ends. And nothing human can change it.

Until the Avatar rises.

For humanity, the world is saved when a young hero, Alex Shaw, literally flies into space, to smash the asteroid, Yama, apart. He is given the name, Avatar.

But for Vaughn, it is the start of a completely new age. For Alex did not just stop an asteroid. In some strange way, humanity changes, and some, including Vaughn are empowered.

Vaughn is soon caught up in the legacy that Alex leaves behind; a legacy that will lead Vaughn Hagen to become either a hero, or a victim to villainous dreams of power. Power that threatens to corrupt even his oldest friends.

And ultimately, Vaughn must choose between home and friends in the new Age of Power.

Review by Danyelle Chapman: I was a little hesitant to get this book at first because I am not that big into the superhero genre, but I am glad I got board enough to give it a shot. It was very well written. I was completely drawn in to the story and Vaughn’s life and troubles. It was all very realistic (teloporting twins aside).

Essentially the book demonstrates how no one is perfect. All of the characters have good and bad tendencies. Good people allowed themselves to slip into evil, and even some of the evil characters were found to perform good actions.
I really enjoyed the fact that the author was able to incorporate humor in the story even during the serious situations. I loved that Vaughn was usually able to fall back onto his snark and sarcasm to get him through. He proved to be a true hero because he tried to stay true to what he knew to be right and he had no problem letting other people know when he thought they were being idiots. It wasn’t just his Empowered abilities, although I have to admit there were a couple of scenes where he was pretty bad ass. Always a good thing in my opinion. Over all it was a very satisfying read.

Review by Brick O’Neill: Intriguing science fiction story of humans gaining superpowers, some familiar elements gathered from different sources brought together in a smooth, well-thought plot.

There is one character that is a catalyst to other humans becoming super humans. The characterizations are fully developed, powers and all, even minor characters; the place is believable as a small town in the central United States.

There are more complicated characters and story lines but Legacy Age of Power is smooth read where one won’t feel lost. In fact, it is engaging and thorough, sweeping you along for the ride.

The Book: 2213: Forever Young

The Author: Claude Nougat

The Story: 2213: FOREVER YOUNG is set in a future where the problem of aging has been solved by medical science. The catch: only the ultra rich, the One Percent can afford the extremely expensive Age Prevention Program, aka APP…Part One, I WILL NOT LEAVE YOU BEHIND follows Emma, a beautiful woman who’s 122 years old and learns her time is up. She’s going to die within the next 12 hours…but she’s in love with a handsome 99 Percenter, a dashing Swiss ski instructor who doesn’t know how old she is. They are madly in love but she never told him how old she was. He always thought they’d age happily together, but now what ?

This is a serial novel to be followed by more episodes exploring our future. It is done in the vein of 1984, Clockwork Orange or WOOL, all science fiction masterpieces that examine through plots full of suspense and adventure and enticing characters the issues that we are facing today. In the case of 2213:Forever Young, it is the great divide that is polarizing our society, with the One Percent increasingly reaping the benefits of technological advances at the expense of the 99 percent.

Review by Emma Calin: I am a big fan of short stories and novellas and Claude Nougat’s 2213 Forever Young had me enthralled to the end. She presents a Dystopian future not so far removed from our own present with highly plausible societal developments and unexpected consequences.

As ever, in Nougat’s future money talks and determines the level of pain and sickness in your life, the length of your life and of course the nature of your death. But does living twice the normal human lifespan with the same body and looks as when you are in your 20s make it any easier to face death? What if the love of your extended life does not know your real age or the fact that you are in the elite class – a “One Percenter” ? This short story succeeds In exploring many themes: Love,Trust, Death and Inequalities of wealth and opportunity. An interesting projection of the future.

Review by Beate Boeker: I very much enjoyed this short story set in the future. The author came up with such an interesting concept – 1% of the population can prolong their lives and never look a day older until they’re 110 to 140 years old. The heroine gets her “call to death” and isn’t ready for it, so she’s looking for ways out. It made me think about mortality and how we relate to it. I’m looking forward to reading the sequel!