Calamity by Brandon Sanderson

When Calamity lit up the sky, the Epics were born. David’s fate has been tied to their villainy ever since that historic night. Steelheart killed his father. Firefight stole his heart. And now Regalia has turned his closest ally into a dangerous enemy. David knew Prof’s secret, and kept it even when Prof struggled to control the effects of his Epic powers. But facing Obliteration in Babilar was too much. Once the Reckoners’ leader, Prof has now embraced his Epic destiny. He’s disappeared into those murky shadows of menace Epics are infamous for the world over, and everyone knows there’s no turning back. . . . But everyone is wrong. Redemption is possible for Epics—Megan proved it. They’re not lost. Not completely. And David is just about crazy enough to face down the most powerful High Epic of all to get his friend back. Or die trying.

Excellent but left with some unanswered questions...

THIS WAS SO GOOD I CANNOT EVEN COMPREHEND IT .

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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There was more connectivity between city-states in the Fractured States than I'd once assumed. Perhaps the Epics could have survived without any kind of infrastructure, but they tended to want subjects to rule. What good was it to be an all-powerful force of destruction and fury if you didn't have peasants to murder now and then? Unfortunately peasants had to eat, or they'd go and die before you got a chance to murder them.

That meant building up some kind of structure in your city, finding some kind of product you could trade. Cities that could produce a surplus of food could trade for power cells, weapons or luxuries. I found that satisfying. When they'd first appeared, the Epics had wantonly destroyed anything and everything, ruining the national infrastructure. Now they were forced to bring it all back, becoming administrators.

Life was so unfair. You couldn't bothdestroy everything around you and live like a king.

Steelheart

Firefight

I wanted answers. They were probably here somewhere. Maybe I'd find them behind that group of robotic war drones that were extending their gun arms from behind the freezers in front of me.

Oh.

A disappointing end to an otherwise fantastic story.

I never get the sense that David is in danger, and the way he deals with Calamity feels contrived. I feel almost cheated because Sanderson spent a large portion of the last book and the entirety of this one building up Calamity to be a huge enemy and the biggest battle the Reckoners will ever fight, and then David is able to send him off in a matter of minutes without a fight.

The most frustrating part of Calamity, however, is the epilogue. Somehow, after all of the events we've witnessed, everything turns out okay in a “happily ever after” sort of way.

I was very excited for this book, and the first 80% was fantastic. Unfortunately, Sanderson ended the series leaving a bad taste in my mouth.