Matt Carter (4) (1985–)

When I read the description for this book, I was excited to get an early copy. But my excitement ended about a dozen pages in, and it only got worse from there.

If genre matters to you, neither the "Superhero Noir" subtitle nor the description is a good representation. First, this is hard-boiled, not noir, as far as the attempt at atmosphere and the detective's part. (In 'Noir' fiction, the lead character is not a detective, but just an everyday person.) Then we have the superhero aspect, which takes us fully into fantasy and edges into science fiction. We have shapeshifters, aliens, time travel, and magic, as well as the more traditional feel of superhero powers. So it's kind of all over the place.

The setting feels like a spin-off of Batman's Gotham City. The cops are corrupt, the city is in trouble, bad guys flourish, and the superheroes are trying to keep things under control.

We have two viewpoints, both written in first person. Eddie is the damaged, bad boy detective with an alcohol and drug problem. Solar Flare, who starts out as Glitter Girl, might be Supergirl's doppelganger from another dimension. The sections are clearly marked with the viewpoint characters' names, so the transitions are handled well.

We jump right in with a character dump, as if a couple dozen unfamiliar characters should be easy to keep track of from the start. It was so bad that I figured this book must be part of an ongoing series. So I checked. It's not. To complicate the large number of characters, we also have their regular names and their superhero names. It's much like being tossed into the middle of a DC Comics reunion, without having read any of the books, seen the movies, or watched the TV shows. Consequently, there isn't a whole lot of character development.

I liked the detective's sections more than the superhero sections. His story, narrowed and defined, would have appealed to me more. As it stands, the story feels like too much of a conglomerate of everything current in pop culture.

*The publisher provided me with an advance copy, via Amazon Vine, in exchange for my honest review.*… (mer)

This book was provided to me free of charge, and I am reviewing it voluntarily.
Splinters took me quite a while to read. It’s not a bad or boring book, but it just did not draw me in and keep me “glued to the screen” the way I would have liked. The story shows some out of the box thinking by the author(s), and the use of a (truly heroic) heroine who would seem to be either on the spectrum or suffering from mental health issues is refreshing. The other main character is fairly complex, but some of the supporting characters could have used some fleshing out. The romance isn’t a focal point, which to me is appropriate, given the circumstances.
Despite all of the positive I’ve stated above, I’m only giving Splinters 3 stars. Like I said, I wasn’t drawn in, and can’t say I’m excited to read the next book in the series.… (mer)