Lona Chang: A Superhero Detective Story
(it was okay)Synopsis:When one of the world’s greatest superheroes dies in her arms, Lona Chang takes it upon herself to investigate his murder. Armed only with a power she barely understands and a mysterious coded book, Lona begins a quest for answers that leads her down a dark rabbit hole of secrets—secrets the ancient organization known as the Guild is determined to keep hidden at all costs.Meanwhile, when a new threat descends upon Arc City, Lona’s soulmate (and freshly minted superhero) Awesome Jones defies the Guild, dons the cape and cowl of his father and finds a group of unlikely allies. But can Awesome trust them—or himself? He’ll have to fight his own demons first if he has any hope of defending the town–and the people–he loves.
As tensions rise between the Guild, Lona, Awesome, his allies and Arc City’s criminal underground, Lona realizes that life, and the answers to its questions, are never as simple as they seem in comic books.
Book Review:
First Impression:
My first impressions about this book were that the story made me thinks about Superman and Lois Lane which and that Lona and Awesome, at first glance, seemed to be paired off pretty well. Likewise, I did like Lona’s overall character in the narrative. She’s very down to earth; if a bit too critical of herself for just being “ordinary” and a “normal” person especially because of her unique ability.
As her character is very perceptive, smart and a natural people-person. I also thought the big reveal regarding the Guild and Pythia’s secret operations under the guild’s noises. This gave the story a bit of dark theme to it which was a niche surprise in this book.
The Things I Struggled With The Most While Reading This Book:
After having read portions of the first book for a bit more context regarding Lona’s adoptive parents, and discovering the apparent instructions left behind by her birth father for his former butler and maid to adopt his daughter. It made it seem as though her adoptive parents didn’t have a choice in the matter. As if the two weren’t truly parenting her, but doing another form of service.
Moreover, the lukewarm temperature at which the action-narrative progressed, even with the high tension and fight scenes. And as I’ve mentioned I thought Lona’s overall character and role in this book was nice, it would have been much nicer to see her have a bigger part in the action, rather than be on the sidelines like a housewife.
The writer leaves one of the big mysteries surrounding Lona, her father and his journal unanswered in this book and gives the reader this hint that her father knows more about her abilities and her potential than even she can imagine. So, I was anticipating a bit more take-charge kind of turn out, but that is just my personal opinion.
Another thing I struggled with was the bullet point-like recall of events. This made it extremely difficult to develop any empathetic or emotional connections to the characters and the narrative.
Reading this book I could understand the dire situations and tension Lona, Awesome and the Guild Heroes were up against, but the reader connection just wasn’t there. Which makes it difficult to root for anyone side if you do not feel a connection to either.
Overall, I think the camaraderie between Awesome and his fellow hero colleges, as well as the secrets and challenges Lona and Awesome come across while looking into a particular incident involving someone close to them, will be enough to keep other readers’ interests piqued.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Originally from Appalachia, AshleyRose Sullivan lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their many imaginary friends. Her work has been published in places like The Rumpus, Barrelhouse, and Monkey Bicycle and her novels, Awesome Jones: A Superhero Fairy Tale and Silver Tongue are available from Seventh Star Press. She can be found at ashleyrosesullivan.com.
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