After the Golden Age by Carrie Vaughn
I found this book charming, with engaging characters, a nice mystery, and plenty of action.
The main character is Celia West, the daughter of wealthy socialites who happen to also be superheroes. I’d say the bulk of the conflict in the novel involves Celia struggling to get out from under the shadow of her parents. Not only is every relationship she has colored by her association with them, but Celia also gets kidnapped frequently. In fact, she’s been kidnapped so often it’s not even alarming to her anymore. The novel opens with her being kidnapped, and she sees it as an annoyance.
There’s an arch villain in this story too, “The Destructor” with whom Celia has a hidden past. He’s locked behind bars, but a series of high-profile thefts makes the superheroes in town (led by Celia’s parents) believe he’s masterminding something.
Celia is an accountant now, and she uses her accounting skills to track down evidence that will be used in the prosecution against the Destructor. This was a nice little mystery, especially as it led to another subplot and further complications. I liked how the investigation plot helped flesh out Celia’s relationship with her parents, especially her father. I also liked that Celia ended up romantically involved with the person I thought she should be with.
I liked that the conflicts between Celia and the other characters had decent closure, (though her relationship with her mother wasn’t as developed as it could have been –book two maybe?) There were a few holes I had a problem with, (for example, how Typhoon’s secret identity remained secret from Celia’s parents even after they met her, when Celia spotted Typhoon as herself from a quick glance.) I liked the mystery, and I didn’t notice problems with it (mostly because I see a mystery as a vehicle for character development and never try to out-puzzle the main characters.) I did find the ending a little long, but some people really like to know that the ending is happy.
All in all, this is a fun read with compelling characters. People who love superheroes won’t want to miss this, but it’s also good for people like me, who are merely ambivalent about superheroes.
