The Sovereign Era: Year One

In Brave Men Run, Matthew Selznick looked at the Donner Declaration, where it was revealed that metahumans walk among us, and how that declaration affected a young man named Nathan Charters. This sequel/supplement doesn't feature Nathan at all, but is set in the same world, and looks at the impact that the Donner Declaration has on the lives of different people in the months following it.

Two things stood out to me when reading this book. The first is the sheer collection of talent in the book: I know they're not all necessarily well-known outside of podcast/new media circles, but you've got Lafferty, Axelrod, Lowell, and Hutchins all in one book? Amazing. Especially as, while each leaves their own distinct mark on the story they've written, there's an overall feeling cohesion to the universe that they're working in that unifies the stories.

Secondly, this is a really good collection of character-driven fiction. Superheroic powers are involved, but they never take centre stage, and the stories are all more about how these people are affected by the powers they receive (for good and ill). It's refreshing to read something in this genre that focuses in that direction.