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    Wearing the Cape
    Wearing the Cape
    Wearing the Cape
    Audiobook10 hours

    Wearing the Cape

    Written by Marion G. Harmon

    Narrated by K.F. Lim

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Who wants to be a superhero?

    Hope did, but she grew out of it. Which made her superhuman breakthrough in the Ashland Bombing, just before starting her freshman year at the University of Chicago, more than a little ironic. And now she has some decisions to make. Given the code-name "Astra" and invited to join the Sentinels, Chicago's premier super-team, will she take up the cape and mask and become a career superhero? Or will she get a handle on her new powers (super-strength has some serious drawbacks) and then get on with her life-plan?

    In a world where superheroes join unions and have agents, and the strongest and most photogenic ones become literal supercelebrities, the temptation to become a cape is strong. But the price can be high-especially if you're "outed" and lose the shield of your secret identity. Becoming a sidekick puts the decision off for awhile, but Hope's life is further complicated when The Teatime Anarchist, the supervillain responsible for the Ashland Bombing, takes an interest in her. Apparently as Astra, Hope is supposed to save the world. Or at least a significant part of it.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateDec 4, 2018
    ISBN9781541449282
    Wearing the Cape

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    Reviews for Wearing the Cape

    4/5

    112 ratings10 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Couldn’t stop reading, an interesting take on superhero’s and politics

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Fun read with a new (to me at least) take on super heroes. After the "event" some humans "breakthrough" and develop super powers in times of extreme stress. Different people develop different powers based on their personality. Although is an engaging for the most part, a surprisingly high number of typos (for an actual physical book) and an over-reliance of acronyms that were not always clearly defined were distracting. I also could have used a glossary of characters, their secret identities, and their powers. (Some of that might have been aggravated by reading it a bit at a time over a month.) That being said, I find the world and the characters interesting enough to probably try the sequel and spin-off.
    • 3/5
      I'm a comic book geek and I enjoy super-hero novels. Wearing the Cape was the origin story of Astra, a Super Girl type hero and follows her from getting her powers to saving the world. I like the book and gave it three stars because I didn't really connect with the character of Astra. There are many other heroes in Wearing the Cape that I would have rather read about.
    • 3/5
      There were times that I was taken completely by surprised with this story. Parts were much darker than I thought they would be for an NA superhero tale. These, though, added the depth that would have otherwise been missing.
    • 4/5
      What I Thought:I did find this book rather enjoyable. Instead of the typical story of someone just becoming a superhero, and bam, they are already good at everything and know the ropes, we are given a story where superheroes happen everyday. We read along as they learn the ropes, get trained on how to control their powers and ultimately decide where they fit in, in the grand scheme of hero business.Sure, most of them either choose to be a part of the main league of heroes or to help part time, but there are some who ultimately choose to do bad with what they have been given. The Teatime Anarchist is one of those such people, or at least we believe he is.Throughout the story, we are hit with surprises, mishaps, fun and events that will change the world. All the while, we are learning these things from the perspective of a newly turned hero. She is caught in the middle of major events, whilst she is trying to learn about herself and decide who and what she wants to be. Ultimately, she has to make the decision of a lifetime- whether or not to trust what is in front of her. Can he be trusted?I like the pace and style of this book. I also found the little snippets at the beginning of the chapter fun and interesting. It gave the book a different feel. I think the way that the book was written adds to it as, as mentioned, it gives the superhero world a new look, especially as we see them when they are completely new to the business.I thought the pace was great, though at some moments it was slow, it did pick up and gain a lot of momentum thereafter. It is a unique book, with twists that you definitely won't expect and the characters are fun.
    • 4/5
      A good take on playing up the realism factor in a world that suddenly has superheroes; if I mark this book down for anything it's that sometimes the voices of the numerous characters are a little too interchangeable. I'll also note that there's a time-war trope going on in this book and this is not my favorite thing. Still, even though I consider Carrie Vaughn's take on the realistic superhero universe the current gold standard in this sub-genre "Wearing the Cape" is a worthy addition to that shelf and I can see myself reading further in the series.
    • 5/5
      I loved this book and have just started the second in the series. I hope this series goes on for a long time
    • 4/5
      A graphic novel in prose!
    • 3/5
      Wearing the Cape is set in a world like ours, except that about a decade ago there was a mysterious incident called the "Event" that caused some people to become superhuman. People continue to have "breakthroughs" (develop super powers), often during incidents when their lives are threatened. This is exactly what happens to Hope Corrigan at the beginning of the story. She goes from being a regular girl planning for her first year of college to training as a "Cape", a publicly known superhero, with the codename Astra. Her mentor is none other than Atlas, one of the first superhumans to develop during the Event, who also happens to be a guy that she's had a crush on since she was a girl.The novel takes place in Chicago, which the author does a convincing job of portraying. Hope tells her own story pretty well and the other Capes fit the mold of easy-to-recognize archetypes from other comic book universes. Even though I found Hope likeable, it was difficult to relate to her. She comes across as a sort of wish-fulfillment character for a young adult novel. She's got wealthy, supportive parents, is looking forward to pledging a sorority at college, has never had a boyfriend, is religious, and has a cluster of annoying cheerleader-type friends. She gets tangled up in a complicated plot (time travel is hard for experienced authors, let alone debut novelists) and lacks the maturity to ask her mentor for help, even when she herself acknowledges that she's in over her head. Related to that, I thought that the guy she ended up keeping secrets for was far too powerful, and too involved with every aspect of the plot, to be compelling. My favorite secondary character was definitely the vampire, but I was disappointed that her angst and grit was so quickly softened into just another one of Hope's friends. All that being said, Wearing the Cape is a fun read, especially if it is approached as intended for a YA audience. The romantic plotline may be a little forced (then again, Katie Holmes/Tom Cruise...), but it will please those who like such things. The ending is definitely heavy and intended to set up sequels.
    • 5/5
      Book Review - Wearing the Cape by Marion G. Harmon Kindle Edition (eBook)Amazon Digital ServicesASIN: B004XRCC1GCover by Jorge VelasquezWhen Hope Corrigan is almost crushed beneath the collapsed expanse of a bombed out Chicago Interstate she realizes that her life has taken a dramatic turn. To be sure, cement dust, crushed cars, leaking gasoline and oil, and the haunting screams of the injured and dying still surround her and have barely settled when she finds that she has suddenly been physically altered. In the midst of her trauma an unexpected superhuman transformation has taken place and Astra, a new, “breakthrough superhero,” emerges from the rubble in her place. Due to the distress of the bombing Astra (Hope’s superhero persona) is now able to lift heavy objects, rapidly heal her own wounds, and fly to great heights at great speed. Her future has abruptly and unequivocally been derailed. But life as a “cape” is not all it’s cracked up to be. Public expectations have gone through the roof and superhero privacy is almost non-existent. Not to mention the target she’ll become if she chooses superhero-dom over the mundane activities of a college freshman. Hope/Astra must now make a decision that will affect the rest of her life.Wearing the Cape is a magnificent blend of diverse superhero mediums. It contains aspects of the Watchmen (graphic novel), The Avengers (cartoon), Superman (the movie), Iron Man (comic), and Dr. Horribles’ Sing-Along Blog (webisodes) all mixed into a unique alternate reality and then rolled up into one incredibly fast-paced and well-defined narrative of superhero goodness. And, here’s the best part for you the reader. Harmon’s prose is appetizing, succinct, and precise. Where other writers might take paragraphs to write a scene or two Mr. Harmon does the same in a single sentence. There are no long expositions or unneeded descriptions, no monotonous monologues, and no drawn out paragraphs that go nowhere. Here’s an example:“The honey light of the sunrise behind us painted the city with warm colors and long shadows. A brisk wind off Lake Michigan worked its magic to clear the air, leaving the sky a jewel-like, perfect blue unblemished by clouds.”I don’t know about you but when I read this I fell perfectly into that moment. Early. Sunrise. Long shadows of morning. Pristine, cloudless sky. And, remarkably, the same precision is used to describe the superheroes, the villains, the battles, and pretty much everything else in the story.One exceptionally appealing concept here is the integration, the inter-weaving, if you will, of alternate pop-culture aspects into the background of the story. What would a newly made superhero think? What would they do? Would they worry about their choice of costume? Their super-name? Would they read Barlow’s Guide to Superhumans cover to cover? Would they be curious as to who’s on the cover of Hero Beat or Power Week or what’s going to happen on the next episode of Protectors? Of course, the answer is… yes, to all of the above.The main antagonist is comparatively unique and intriguing, as well. He’s dubbed the Teatime Anarchist because of his vaguely British sound and his published manifesto accusing the US government of conspiring to cheat citizens out of their civil liberties. His activities begin as nonlethal pranks but they soon escalate to Interstate bombings and the murders of lawmakers, politicians, and civilians. But who is the “real” Teatime Anarchist and what is his agenda?Marion G. Harmon’s Wearing the Cape is not only a wonderful and surprising read but his concise writing style and the interesting twists and turns of the plot kept me swiping pages on my iPad post-haste (and well past midnight on a few nights.) In short, Wearing the Cape is fun, diverting, enchanting and highly entertaining. Recommended to geeks, techies, Trekies, Science Fiction, Superhero, and comic book fans of all ages.Oh, and one last but very important word about this book. As some of you may have guessed by now my reading list is very, very long. (Trust me, the three six-foot-tall stacks of “to-be-read” novels never seems to get any smaller.) So, I didn’t expect to get to this one for at least four weeks but when I opened the eBook and started reading I simply couldn’t put it down. Wearing the Cape muscled its way to the top of my reading heap and I’m happy it did. Kudos to Mr. Harmon for catching my attention in the first few pages of his book and keeping it till the last. It’ll do the same to you. 4 ½ out of 5 starsThe AlternativeSoutheast Wisconsin