NORCAL 2025

In Garwin’s debut thriller, an ordinary group of civilians find themselves acting as superheroes in a serious battle against governmental corruption.

In 2025, Northern California, or Norcal, is the site of the “Great Experiment,” in which participating citizens live in a heavily monitored area with its own Internet known as “the grid.” There, the government tests various programs in trial runs. It’s also there that San Francisco business attorney Chance sometimes dons a mask and fedora and subverts cab thieves as Cabman; he joins forces with Privilege Woman (aka Sarah) and Cellman (aka Chris). They were inspired to pursue superheroics by a journalist’s articles, which also supplied their team’s name: Gosh, or Group of Ordinary Superheroes. Soon an unscrupulous Washington lawyer, Roger Littleford, spurs the group into more dangerous territory when he targets an auditor, Alex, whose investigation threatens his power. Chance and the others decide to protect Alex, who may be hiding something from her rescuers. Much of the story’s charm comes from its familiarity, as the powerless superheroes have relevant objectives; Sarah goes after a greedy college professor, for example, and Chris snatches cellphones from impolite talkers and texters. Likewise, in spite of the sci-fi title and setting, Norcal is also instantly recognizable: The residents, affixed with wirelessly linked contact lenses and injected with computer chips, suffer a lack of privacy, just as people today are at the mercy of GPS and social networking. The heroes are intriguing not only for their strengths (Wynn Warburton, a former Navy SEAL, trains them in Japanese martial arts and weapons), but also for their flaws (Chris bases his decisions on whatever Chance decides). That said, the predictable romance between Chance and Alex offers no surprises. Littleford, meanwhile, is a drolly transparent villain; he names his company Smug after someone uses that word to describe him, and the vile manner in which he obtains an alternate energy source will incite most readers’ ire. Garwin also transforms his tongue-in-cheek story into a grimmer tale with skilled ease; just because Gosh strives to avoid violence, it doesn’t mean that its members always do so, and it certainly doesn’t defend them from potentially fatal encounters.

An often diverting sci-fi tale for fans of traditional superheroes, with just the right amount of real-world drama.