AFTER THE GOLDEN AGE

In this warm homage to and deconstruction of classic comic books, a young woman demonstrates that you don’t need superpowers to be a hero.

Although estranged from her superhero parents, the amazingly strong Captain Olympus and pyrokinetic Spark, Celia West sees them every time they rescue her from villains attempting to use her as leverage against them (it’s happened so often she’s blasé about the whole thing). Possessing no superpowers herself, she’s struggled to make her own life as a forensic accountant. Asked to analyze the financial records of Simon Sito (aka the Destructor), an insane supervillain currently on trial, her investigation leads her to a criminal conspiracy, the mysterious origin of the superheroes of Commerce City and, ultimately, love with the one man truly capable of understanding her troubled history. The author of the bestselling urban fantasy series starring radio talk-show host and werewolf Kitty Norville (Kitty Goes to War, 2010, etc.), Vaughn uses the comic-book setting to take a serious look at the seemingly superhuman pressure exerted by parents’ expectations and how difficult it can be for children to create their own destiny. The more over-the-top elements of the plot are aptly balanced by the emotional validity of Celia, whose quest to find her own strengths feels real in spite of the fantasy trappings of her world.

For readers who admire Lois Lane more than Superman.