Sheer Power: Second Chances

Have you ever read a sequel book or even a sequel movie for that matter and thought, "Man, I really should have read/watched the first one again before I read/watched this one."

I kind of thought that as I read this book. I mean, really, it's been like eight months since I read the last one. Still, I didn't find it too hard to pick things up and remember some key details. Besides, unfortunately I no longer have the first one in my possession since I was borrowing it from someone.

Alright, then. Down to business!

Title: Sheer Power: Second Chances

Sequel to: Sheer Power: Crossing Paths
Rating: 3/5
Author: Vye Brante
Pages: 327
Genre: Young Adult/Action & Adventure

Synopsis:

Things have gone relatively back to normal after the final events of Sheer Power: Crossing Paths. Juto has gone back to training his somewhat arrogant and stubborn student, Kimiten, while Seisho continues helping out around the house.

Tensions begin to rise as Kimiten becomes jealous of Seisho and starts putting pressure on Juto to fire his "maid." To make matters worse, that spark of rebellion is nowhere close to being extinguished. Before long they are once again wrapped up with powerful energy users who will do anything to bring more people to their cause, and it turns out that they have a more powerful weapon than anyone could have imagined.

The fight against Yorik Moya and his thugs is only just beginning.

My Reaction:

I had quite a few observations and random thoughts about this book. I'll try to stick to the key ones. That being said, I should perhaps mention that I started going off about different random things I thought about while reading before I deleted the whole paragraph because I deemed it unessential. Ha!

There are some elements that I think are good, strong points in this story. I particularly liked the wrap up (and no, it's not because the book was over...). We finally got to learn more about a particular point in Seisho's past that is really key to his character and was well presented. On the other hand, there was one aspect that I thought had good potential but then let me down a little bit in the end. I don't want to give anything away, but there was something in particular towards the beginning that there was some focus on, and if I recall correctly, it was one of the mysteries I wanted answered from the first book. It seemed like it was going to be more complex than it actually turned out being. Maybe that's mostly because I had an idea of where it should go, so I set myself up for disappointment (like all those people making theories for The Last Jedi only to be disappointed that all of their theories were wrong).

I believe I said something similar last time, but it's clear that Brante has a clear understanding of her world and how energy use works. She explains elements and rules of energy use and sticks to those faithfully. She did well at tying things together. Many things mentioned towards the beginning of the story came back into play towards the end.

There were some things that were more cleaned up as far as the writing itself, and I looked passed many small grammatical errors since this copy was a proof. However, I do think there are a few style things that could be strengthened. There were a few moments that felt like they went on a little too long, and a bit of wordiness at times that made it feel a bit passive. However, if you can get passed that and focus on the story itself, there are some great elements of betrayal, mystery, and action that will appeal to some readers.

There is a third book planned, and I hope the newest mystery introduced will be explored further. I wouldn't mind getting more story involving Seisho's family also. I can't remembering if I'm forgetting certain details from the last book, but I'd like to know more about his family and their "mission," so to speak. Or, I would like to see more feedback from them. Seisho's so worried about their opinion, but mostly we've just seen his mom who is super supportive of everything he does (except for maybe his OCD when it comes to cleaning). We get a little bit of opposition from his sister, but I think it would be interesting to see that familial pressure on a larger scale.

I'm curious about where things will go from here, especially concerning a new character introduced in this book.

Reader Guidance:

The book is full of physical combat involving energy use. There's nothing super brutal or graphic in terms of the violence.

Similar Books:

I still got nothing. I thought more of cartoons and RPG's than books. I'm such a nerd.

Next Book:

I am extremely happy to announce that the next book up is Red: The True Story of Red Riding Hood! This is going to be good. I can feel it in my bones! I loved Rump, and I've waited far too long to read this one.

Sheer Power: Crossing Paths

Rating: 3.5/5

Author: Vye Brante
Pages: 308
Genre: Young Adult/Action & Adventure

I had a couple of big accomplishments today:
1. I finished reading "Sheer Power" (that means you get a review!
2. I went into town, found the library, and got myself a library card! Woot!
3. I picked up the next book up for review :)
4. A young girl complimented me on my Harry Potter shirt I wore today (See! What did I tell you about Harry Potter love passing down the generations!)

So let's talk about "Sheer Power: Crossing Paths." This book tells the story of Seisho, a recent high school grad who's just looking for a summer job to pass the time, and Juto, a well known master energy user. Energy users have the ability to harness the energy within themselves and expel it in a variety of techniques. Mostly, the practice of energy use is meant mostly for sport or self discipline. In Juto's case, it's a little more complicated--in order to complete the special tasks specifically assigned to his family, Seisho will have to learn to master energy control whether he likes it or not.

Juto is just looking for someone to help clean up around the house, but he gets a lot more than he bargained for when he hires Seisho. When Juto attempts to investigate Seisho's strange behavior, they both quickly find themselves mixed up in the beginnings of a rebellion. There are some who believe that there are too many restrictions on energy users, that energy users need to take control. They are meant for so much more than mere sport, and if you refuse to join, you will really wish you hadn't.

Can Seisho overcome his dislike of energy control and with Juto's help stop a rebellion?

My Reaction:

As you may recall from last week, one of my first impressions of this book was, "Hey, this is like Dragon Ball Z." I wouldn't actually know as I haven't seen the show...at least I don't think changing the channel whenever it was on counts as actually seeing it. But don't let that deter you. I don't think it's really like the show at all.

The reason I made the connection to Dragon Ball Z is the fact that one of the main elements with the book is the energy use. Plus, for some reason, when I read the prologue I envisioned the opening sequence to an anime show. Perhaps it's because the cover of the book is anime inspired, or perhaps it's the fact that my husband, Corey, and I have been watching a bunch of Studio Ghibli films.

But I digress.

I'll admit that I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. I wasn't sure I would like it. Part of the reason why is, well, I started to judge the book by its cover so to speak. I knew it was an independently published book, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but my experience with independently published books has been mostly poor. Mostly this is due to the fact that they don't have a publishing house backing them up and the resources that provides (like a sound copy editor). So I was kind of surprised when I found that this book had a pretty good story behind it.

Overall, I enjoyed it. There's some mystery behind it that is slowly divulged overtime, keeping the reader interested. There were a couple of things I noted that didn't seem completely resolved, but not in a bad way. It was done in a foreshadowing sort of way. There is another book in the works, so I'm sure those things will be addressed. In fact, there's one thing in particular I'd like to know about one of the characters because if you ask me, he totally had his memory wiped. Just saying. Read the book for more details.

Another good thing about this book is that the author clearly has a great understanding of the world she has created. Not only does she talk about energy users, but she mentions the different techniques of energy control. She even introduces us to a new sport played by energy users called enervipe. I also thought that Seisho's personal conflict and how he comes to terms and faces it in the end worked out well.

Now, I hate to mention negative aspects, but there were a couple things I should probably point out. For me, it wasn't enough to fully distract from the story or keep me from recommending this book to people who like this sort of thing. My main issue comes back to that "need of a copy editor thing." Even books produced by major publishing companies will have grammatical errors--I get that (I remember finding a few in the "Twilight" series, for example. It happens.). But I do think this could have used another look over. It wasn't just missing words, but some of the language was passive, and the phrase "as well" was used far too many times. So a bit of the language got repetitive, and there were moments where I really wanted the language to be more active (more show, less tell). Again, overall, I was able to look past that. I've read books where those sorts of things drive me nuts, and it's way too distracting to even be able to enjoy the story. In this case, I felt the story itself was good enough that I could look past the grammar stuff.

I think the author shows potential, and in the end I decided to give this a rating of 3.5 out of 5.

Reader Guidance:

This book does deal with physical combat (mostly in the form of shooting energy at each other), but I didn't feel that it was over the top--nothing too dramatic. There is a reference to a man being beat up so badly that he's sent to the hospital with broken bones and some burns. There is also a moment where an energy user uses her power to break someone's arm. It's basically described as the energy user grabbing the other's arm, they hear a snap, and the person screams.

Similar Books:

You know, I've never read something quite like this before, so I'm not sure what to compare it too. Anybody out there have any suggestions?

Next Book:

It was suggested that I check out Shannon Hale. I've read two of her books before, but it's been awhile. I picked up one of hers that I've been curious about, but I haven't gotten around to reading: "The Goose Girl." I just learned while I was at the library picking it up that there are also a couple of companion books that go along with it. Perhaps those will be next on the list!

I encourage you to read along and share your thoughts. I don't need to be a one person book club :P

And please continue to leave recommendations!