All Those Explosions Were Someone Else's Fault

By: James Alan Gardner

Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller

Monsters are real.

But so are heroes.

Sparks are champions of weird science. Boasting capes and costumes and amazing super-powers that only make sense if you don't think about them too hard, they fight an eternal battle for truth and justice...mostly.

Darklings are creatures of myth and magic: ghosts, vampires, were-beasts, and the like. Their very presence warps reality. Doors creak at their approach. Cobwebs gather where they linger.

Kim Lam is an ordinary college student until a freak scientific accident (what else?) transforms Kim and three housemates into Sparks - and drafts them into the never-ending war between the Light and Dark. They struggle to master their new abilities - and (of course) to design cool costumes and come up with great hero-names.

Turns out that "accident" was just the first salvo in a Mad Genius's latest diabolical scheme. Now it's up to four newbie heroes to save the day, before they even have a chance to figure out what their team's name should be!

©2017 James Alan Gardner (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

Now one of my favotite superhero novels.

If you could sum up All Those Explosions Were Someone Else's Fault in three words, what would they be?

Rock solid storytelling.

What other book might you compare All Those Explosions Were Someone Else's Fault to and why?

Probably 'Soon I will be Invincible'. That book delves more into the psychology of the characters while this one, while not skimping on motivation is more action oriented.

What does Emily Woo Zeller bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Emily also reads for the 'Don't tell my parents' series, so I was used to her idiosyncrasies. She's a good narrator and does hit the different voices well.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I particularly liked the scene at the beginning with the three darklings and the farmhand reveal. (No Spoilers). But I have to say that all the fight scenes were very well done and the excitement as powers emerged was contagious.

Any additional comments?

This is a novel for adults. Not to say that there are scenes of sex, or excessive abuse that doesn't serve the story, just that the vocabulary and storytelling is geared towards a mature ear, which I loved.
I have a liking for the superhero genre, and have explored many of those books on Audible.I would rank this number 3 in a listing of the best.
1. 'Grimnoir Chronicles' series by Larry Correia
2. 'Ex-Heros' series by Peter Clines
3. This one.
Which puts it in fairly exalted air considering all the novels below them. Buy it. It's a great ride.

Perfect modern superhero origin story

4 college girls become super. Shenanigans ensues. Super happy, fun book. Really enjoyed myself! Five stars. Will look out for this author in the future

great story and great read.

interesting plot. the world building character building and use of magic science history and storytelling is cool and fun. Really enjoyed and would recommend to those who enjoy young adult fiction and sci-fi.

Good, but

I enjoyed the story, but the characters are so woeful, whiny, and kind of pathetic. I hope the next book it more confident.

I liked a lot of it but there's one problem

I like a lot of the book but my main problem with it is that one of the focal points for character is that she's queer and they keep toting it in our faces keep this out of a book I'm not homophobic or anything irritating that's one of the main focal points of the character not her personality not the special thing about her that she's queer and they always make it a form of discrimination they don't really add anything to it and I think it kills her character I'm not saying don't buy the book I still think it's really good it's just it's an irritating thing that quite annoying and it's one of the main problems I have with this book is still good so I recommend you buy it's just you know a problem I have with it but it's not like anybody's reading this after all this is super long so you know YOLO kill yourself Etc

Fun story idea

Enjoyed the story. It is a fun world and interesting characters. A new take on vampires, warewolves, and super heroes. Narrator is ok, a little dramatic for me, but not terrible.

Great start to a new series!

I've been a big fan of James Alan Gardener and his previous "League of Peoples" series for years, so I had high hopes for this new book. Those expectations were met, and I'm looking forward to the next book, "They Promised Me The Gun Wasn't Loaded".

This book has the same humor, sometimes dark, always wry, that the other series displayed in spades. Thematically it combines the trope-aware interpretation of super heroes/villains demonstrated in books like "Soon I Will Be Invincible" with the large and in charge creatures of the night portrayed in many urban fantasy books. The combination is both weird and wonderful.

Loved it

Superheroes Vs Monsters!! This was an incredibly fun listen. I hope there will be a sequel.

Headache induced.

This book has very little to keep me invested but the narrator is very very good which is the only reason I made it though about 3hrs.

The main character is really hard for me to relate to. Between her continuous name changes (4 different names before a superhero name is even a consideration), mood swings, and the constant overexplainations about everything by randomly bouncing from one topic to another rather than having an organic dialogue between characters. It's frustrating to listen to. I like her friends, but inside Kim's head it's so overwhelming. One moment she wants to kill someone, the next shes accidentally using her power, and then explaining how Sparks work, all but dismissing her murderous rage of a moment before. Its unsettling to the point that I'm not sure I'll be able to continue this book. (She seems like a really broken person, and its painful to listen to her inner thoughts. I like real, flawed characters as much as the next person, but I've yet to feel any connection to her. I've actually found myself rooting against her more than once.) Also she is so obsessed about her name and gets snarky and rude when people use the wrong version of her real name, you can't be Kimberlite, Kimberly, Kimmi, and Kim without people getting confused, especially when they use the name you wanted to be called when they knew you last. Imagine giving yourself 3 nicknames between elementary school and college, and then acting offended and defensive when someone used the name they knew you by... It's obnoxious behavior. (Side note: I honestly cannot tell if this character needs counseling for a serious psychological disorder, or if the character was simply never fully developed by the author.)

Thoroughly Enjoyed

It was cool to have a gender queer MC. Very much a girl power book and I loved that. Fast paced too as the book takes place in just a few hours of one night. Definitely recommend!