Over the course of Steelheart and Firefight, we learn that the Reckoners’ leader, Prof, and David’s love interest, Megan, are also Epics. Now known as “Epics,” these super-powered individuals are all driven mad by the use of their newfound powers, creating a world filled with supervillains and lacking in superheroes.Īfter his father is killed, David joins the Reckoners, a band of freedom fighters that relies upon technology and wits to kill Epics. In Steelheart, the opening novel, David and his father see the world changed by the sudden appearance of a mysterious red star in the sky, followed by the discovery that some humans had obtained superhuman powers. Regardless of whether Sanderson returns to play in this particular sandbox, Calamity represents another strong installment in the series, even if it never quite matches the energy of the first two books in the series, Steelheart and Firefight. The novel brings the story of David Charleston full circle, but leaves so many unanswered questions that it feels as though Sanderson is leaving the door open to return to this world somewhere down the line, despite his already overflowing publishing schedule. In Calamity, the concluding book in the trilogy, Sanderson continues that tradition. With each book in his Reckoners series, Brandon Sanderson has peeled back a layer of the world he created, providing new, more powerful questions for readers even as old ones are answered. You couldn’t both destroy everything around you and live like a king.”

Read with caution if you have yet to finish the first two books. This review contains some spoilers for Steelheart and Firefight.

Calamity by brandon sanderson