Next-Gen Superheroes

Working-Class Superheroes, Book 3

De: Chad Descoteaux

Narrado por: BJ Whimpey

The final book in the working-class superheroes trilogy.

Fifteen years have passed since the death of Magma Man. The world has turned its back on the group of government-sanctioned superheroes who twice saved Earth from destruction. General Gordon and Speed Chicken have gone into exile. Others have traded superheroics for more normal lives. Wombat is now a house husband who bakes muffins and drives his adopted son to school every morning, supporting his wife Towanda's career.

When a planet-gobbling space slug named Slurptooth emerges to threaten the Earth, Gordon must reunite his superhero team once again. But what history does Gordon have with the Slurptooth? What role will a new team of younger, more powerful superheroes have in assisting the old(er)? And what about the daughter of Magma Man, who, until now, has been keeping her powers under wraps, afraid of being as powerful as her malevolent biological father?"

©2018 Chad Descoteaux (P)2021 Chad Descoteaux

Enjoyable story when not undermining its message

I was excited to receive a copy of this book as I had enjoyed the last two books, even with some criticisms. Despite a rocky start and rough ending that felt tacked on, I also enjoyed this one and my rating reflects it. However, it saddens me that I find it difficult to recommend it to anyone, especially if you want a break from the current political climate in the US.

I appreciate how Gordon learned to recognize his hate speech in the previous book was inappropriate and admonishes others and himself when they use hate speech. However, I feel the beginning and end of the book undermine the message of fighting hate by how it portrays the enemies. The first Issue blames the destruction of a world on “Traditionalists” and basically calls all of them members of the KKK. There are certainly valid points to pull from here, but by sweepingly targeting a large demographic, it sets the same root of racism that the text tries to fight against. The sad thing is it’s so close to recognizing that the root of racism and other forms of discrimination is political, and yet it falls into that trap with the author’s political opponents, hence I wouldn’t blindly recommend it to liberals either.

The copyright is from 2018, but since 2020 happened, I think it’s fair that this book should have a trigger warning for some events regarding minorities.

That aside, let’s delve into what I like about the story. Language is still fine with no actual swearing, though the middle finger does get flipped. Sex is only implied and not visible. There are more superhero easter eggs to find, mostly around X-Men. Also, the narrator does a fantastic job in the audio-book.

In terms of the story, I can acknowledge it’s hard to make the new additions shine, but I think Matthew and Heather are the highlights of the book. Sure, my favorite superhero from the previous books is sidelined, but these two are nice kids and Heather’s ending is a good one, much better than Speed Chicken’s in my opinion, which dives right back into the political satire to the point that it might be offensive to some liberals in addition to conservatives.

So to whom can I recommend this book? Not conservatives regardless of which branch they fall into. THe best audience I can think of would be Liberals who want to to finish the series but are also able to step back and not be dragged into political trappings in the very beginning and not be offended by the probably unintentional undermining of their ideology at the very end. Recognize that groups are diverse and that racism has historically been built upon politics. Perhaps if the Prince in Issue 0 recognized that, he would have been more successful.

Disclaimer: I received a free audiobook copy from the author