The Meister of Decimen City by Brenna Raney

Don’t be fooled by the cover art or the name, this book is a family drama and character piece with superhero trappings.

I mean, it does all the traditional superhero/villain tropes, while working in plenty of critiques and satire of them. But, at its heart, this is a family drama with intensely dysfunctional, complex characters. The story explores trauma, by asking what kind of trauma is acceptable, personally and societal. That is, how much trauma, and what kind of trauma does a person need to have undergone to feel that their suffering is legitimate, or for their actions to be justifiable. An argument that is characterised by the phrase ‘tragic backstory’ and relentlessly mocked.

Furthermore, the story explores how the stories we tell – the narrative – affects the perceptions of both others and of ourselves. What is said and what isn’t, and who is doing the telling.

All this deep stuff while speeding along with pumping action scenes and laugh out loud comedy. Don’t be scared by the page length, the story moves and it gives the author time to delve into issues, lay out her mystery, and shepherd her characters into new growth.

My favourite thing was probably the dinosaurs, which are not some easily forgotten plot point but integral to the story right to the end.

Dinos ex Machina!

The story also works in a sweet romance that doesn’t detract from the main plot. And manages some wonderful and authentic feeling LGBT+ representation (specifically ACE), that goes much further than the tick-boxing some books seem to fall into.

Even if you are not a superhero aficionado, in fact especially if you are not, you should read this book.