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League of Superheroes

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THE LEAGUE OF SUPERHEROES
Reviewed By
Bill McGrath


Being a writer I like to give books as gifts, especially to young people, hoping to encourage them to choose reading as a legitimate form of entertainment over an electronic gizmo. Therefore, a few years ago, when I found myself looking for a birthday present for my twelve year old niece, I went in search of an appropriate book. The book I found was "Maximum Ride", the first of James Patterson's Angel Experiment novels. The heroine in these stories is Max, a fourteen-year-old girl and leader of a group of kids who have escaped the clutches of an evil corporation which had genetically altered them to have wings and the capacity for flight. There is lots of action and adventure, but also plenty of interpersonal issues that should appeal to a twelve-year-old girl. My niece absolutely loved the book and went on to read the whole series.

I remember thinking at the time that I needed to find a novel of similar quality that boys would enjoy; primarily something with a young male hero (in my experience, boys are much more likely to demand a protagonist of their own gender than are girls). Well, I have just read a novel that meets those requirements, The League of Superheroes by Stephen L. Rice.

The League of Superheroes (LOS) is an action-packed sci-fi novel that tells the story of four boys in their early teens who learn of a mysterious girl called "Genie" who is both a damsel in distress and a super genius capable of designing suits that give the boys all the super powers of their comic book heroes.

The boys are tasked with using their newly acquired superhero status to rescue Genie from the evil corporation that holds her prisoner. Along the way the boys learn to hold firm in their Christian faith and fight without compromising their morals. As you follow the action-adventure plot, you will find scenes of redemption, loyalty and personal sacrifice. This is a story parents will want their sons to read.

As I was writing this review, I thought the only possible quibble I could have with the book is that the scientific references in the story might be beyond the level of its intended audience. But on further reflection, I'm reminded that my seven-year-old son can rattle off about twice the number of dinosaur names as I can, so maybe the technology in the book is a good match for today's science savvy boys after all.

The League of Superheroes is a short book of 158 pages and a quick read (by way of comparison, Prince Caspian-the shortest of the Narnia books-is 195 pages).

If you know a boy in the preteen years who needs a good novel to read on a winter day, then I highly recommend you get him The League of Superheroes by Stephen L. Rice.

Supersuits?! Superheroes?! Superpowers?! Another foray for me into the previously rarely ventured realm of science fiction! I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The writing is snappy and clever, the characters are delightfully realistic yet quirky (I like that better than nerdy!), the science fiction concepts are fascinating yet thoroughly understandable for a non-sci-fi girl like me, and the spiritual message is solid and reassuring. I highly recommend this book for teens and adults as an enjoyable literary adventure! Five stars!!

League of Superheroes by Stephen Leon Rice is hopefully just the first of many books in a new YA series. Four adolescent boys who call themselves Mad Scientists meet up with a young girl online through a younger sister and are set on a path that will change them and the world forever. Rod, Charlie, Allen, and Tom (the narrator) are your typical social outcasts. They excel at math and science and are obsessed with comic books featuring superheroes (but only those with scientifically possible powers, mutants and magic are not cool). When Allen's little sister Clarice introduces them to her online buddy, Genie, they gain the ability to become heroes themselves and find that there's a lot more to saving the world than they thought. Rice writes with humor and heart. I was laughing so loud during the scene when Rod acquires his suit, I was afraid that my family would think I was crazy. Rice taps into the insecurities that come with adolescence and gives each boy a strong individual personality. The plot moves whiplash fast, and the story is compelling. My one worry about the book is that the amount of Christian dialogue may put off teens who aren't already faithful. This is a terrific book that could help a lot of teens understand how to put faith into practice, but sometimes that is a little overwhelming. That said, the book is funny, dynamic, and a real thriller. I can't wait to see the next adventures of the League of Superheroes!

It's about time. In Internet circles, Stephen L. Rice has long been known for legendary blogs, non-reviews, sharp wit and limitless imagination. So I was pretty happy when I heard his first novel was on the way. Like I said, about time.

A group of teen boys encounter a peculiar entity in one little sister's chatroom. After initial skepticism the five spend more and more online time with the mysterious little girl called Genie, who promptly whips up a succession of amazing technological feats. The young men are astounded and delighted to receive fully functional super-suits based on their favourite comic-book stars. Now they can soar through the skies, perform feats of strength, go invisible, or shrink themselves. But to what purpose? Sinister forces are at work, but solid morals and faith in God help keep our heroes on the right track through hair-raising adventures while getting to the bottom of the mystery.

The story's told by Tom Reilly aka Darklight, the invisible man. I enjoyed the conversational style and witty interactions coupled with a highly inventive plotline that's bound to surprise. It's a simple narration, and fair enough, this is a children's story. Personally I would have liked a little more detail in some scenes that whipped by almost before they had a chance to begin, but that's okay. I suspect Mr. Rice will find plenty of fans aged under ten because of its easy comprehensibility. And it's still most definitely an entertaining read for an adult.

I was very impressed by the close tie-in to pro-life issues. The personhood of an unborn child is made clear as events unfold. Well done for presenting this tough topic in a novel manner and using it to underpin the plot, giving a powerful undertone to an otherwise playful story.

So who hasn't dreamed about getting a super-suit and being able to fly? This book is well able to light the imaginations of young readers everywhere, while planting good seeds of faith, responsibility and maturity. And the ending practically begs for a sequel...I sure hope there's going to be one!

This may be classified as a young adult book, but I loved it myself. I think most of us who enjoyed superheroes in comic books or movies will easily become engrossed in this little novel. Stephen Rice takes four "normal" teen-aged geeks, boys who love comic book heroes and introduces them to a super-genius little girl online. She creates these incredible suits that give them superpowers, so of course they must start doing good deeds and defeat bad guys. Little do they realize the adventures that are in store for them. Dealing with Jeanie, the little girl online, has meant opening Pandora's box with a new technological twist. Over all the fun and adventure is a definite spiritual and moral element that guides the decisions and direction of the characters and the tale.

Right now my young cousin, an eleven-year-old boy with a high reading level, is engrossed in League of Superheroes, totally loving it. I expect the same reaction from many others my age on down to his.

"Hi-tech, hot 'n heavy geeks confronting diabolical anti-humans.

America loves its superheroes. Spiderman held the top grossing film spot. The first superhero, Superman, gave people hope during the Great Depression. In new hard times, Stephen L. Rice's fiction gives new hope against MegaCorp wealth and power.

But there's more. In a classic genre of good and evil, League of Superheroes grounds morality in God. All will be entertained, and none will be offended--something not easily pulled off. Rice does this with his dry quirky humor infused in his teen Characters. Who has the time and resources to be superheroes? Smart young people. As long as they don't get grounded, only young people have the innocence, hope, and energy to fight for right.

Because of the situations and humor that keeps League of Superheroes from taking itself too seriously, this is destined to be a read-aloud favorite for readers and listeners alike.

Radiation explains so many superhero powers, it's refreshing to see a more unique method of creating them. And to find a superhero book that classifies as science fiction instead of fantasy is even more rare. If that interest you, you're likely to find this book a refreshing read.

It is an origin story, no doubt. But Mr. Rice does a good job of keeping it interesting. A mysterious girl named Genie starts talking to Clarice in a chat room. She ends up bringing in her brother Allan and his friends into the discussion. Next thing you know, this mysterious girl is shipping them suits that enable them to do as much and more than what their favorite comic book superheroes can do.

But the real questions are who is she, how can she do this, and why is she doing it? The answer to those questions leads them to discover whether being a superhero involves more than super powers.

This book is a fun read for people of all ages even though it is directed toward young adults. It is well written, and the characters are fun. The plot keeps you wondering what will happen next. On the book as a whole, I'd have to say I enjoyed it and would recommend it hardily to anyone seeking a book to give to a child, teen, or even an older "child" who enjoys superhero stories.

If I were to fault the book for anything, it would be sometimes the story gets too bogged down in the technical details of how everything works. For the geek, this is interesting. And I don't mind some of that myself, but I found at certain points wishing we could skip the explanations and get on with the story. And to that end, it seemed the distribution of the suits dribbled out. In some ways, that would be truer to life, yes. But it slowed the story down. Despite that, Mr. Rice kept the pace overall on a good foot. So while I had those problems, it didn't mar the story significantly.

It should also be mentioned that this book has Christian characters written by a Christian. Mr. Rice does a good job of not doing a lot of preaching through this story, though you will find some messages coming through here and there. However, those are natural to the characters and the story. Most people whether religious or not, will enjoy it for what it is: teens from various backgrounds dealing with the moral dilemmas of gaining such powers and how to use them.

I enjoyed reading this story. It makes a great stocking stuffer for the reader in your family. And who knows, you might find yourself picking it up and getting sucked into it. I look forward to more stories about these kids in the future from this author.

The League of Superheroes is a group of schoolchildren, four classmate boys and one little sister named Clarice. And before we go any further, I need to take a detour. You see, I never read a book with my own name as a character. However, this came close because I had a math teacher in junior high who called me "Clarice". Don't ask me how he could mispronouce it that way with it printed in his grade book and on top of every piece of homework and test I turned in, but he did. For two whole years. So I probably identified with this character a little more because of that. Back to the story.

Clarice's brother and his three friends are on the geeky side (another reason to identify with them) and they're into superhero comics. When Clarice introduces the guys to Genie, a girl she met in KidChat, none of them is prepared for how much it will change everything. You see, when they introduce Genie to the superhero websites, Genie studies their favorites and then somehow MAKES supersuits which give these young geeks REAL superpowers, just like their idols. Genie doesn't talk like a little girl, and not even an adult should have been able to fulfill such a tall order as to convert kids into real superheroes. And since none of them has ever seen Genie, they are all left wondering who -or what- she really is. When the League tries to uncover Genie's secrets, accidents start to happen and only the power of the supersuits saves their lives.

There's lots of action and a good level of suspense. When we finally get a glimpse of Genie, I couldn't help but think of a certain old Star Trek episode, but to tell you which episode or what character it reminded me of would be spoiling too much. It's a credit to Mr. Rice that he doesn't give away too much until the last possible moment. Another pleasant surprise was the wittiness of the dialog. I can't resist giving an example. This is a conversation between the adult villain and one of the Leaguers in full Supersuit/costume:

"How interminably droll," my host observed. "Now, why did you come here--really?"

"I thought we might discuss matters like mature, intelligent human beings. Or failing that, we might at least have a standard superhero-to-villain chat, in which you laugh a lot and explain your evil plan to conquer the world, and I provide moral and ethical opposition to your wickedness, tell you that you shall not succeed, and wind up outwitting you and bringing your schemes to naught. Does that work for you?"

I think this book would appeal to YA readers, but it's not as "dumbed-down" as books written for this age often are. Some of the scientific explanations for the supersuit technology went over my head and I'm pretty geeky myself. I had a hard time figuring out where the science left off and the fiction started. But there was never a time when the lack of understanding made the actions hard to follow. This is also a book that doesn't hold any punches when it comes to controvesial issues like abortion. I really loved the scene where the abortionist was overcome by the accusing souls of all the babies he'd murdered, but I can only guess that a NARAL mom would be burning the book in public if she caught one of her kids reading it. Great job!

This is one of the most awesome YA novels I've read in a long time. The premise is simple. Take four teenage geeks, all boys, introduce them to a highly intelligent little (girl?) who makes them supersuits, and suddenly you are thrust into a place where geeks will be geeks, but now they are super geeks, as well as teens.

The Mad Scientists Club is comprised of Charlie Taylor, a doctor wannabe, Rod Davies, a genius in math and physics (and a "bean pole" physique), Tom Reilly, language geek who narrates the story and Allen Peters a computer hacker of sorts. Tagging along, as only little sisters can is Clarice Peters, Allen's seven year old sister. Only on this eventful night she introduces them to someone that would change their lives. She says her name is "Genie" although the other people there call her CHMI. She claims not to remember her family or even if she had one, and that she's only seven years old. Her brilliance soon make it clear that she's a bit more than she claims. She is excited with her new friends and creates the supersuits for them. Then things get interesting, very interesting.

I can think of few people who will not love this book, especially if they are in this age bracket or remember the comic book days (or like me still a comic addict). This book really rocks. The only bad part is the end comes too fast. What I mean is I just wanted to read more and more. It's a great book.

David Brollier
co-founder of the Christian Fiction Review Blog
http://cfrblog.blogspot.com
author of THE 3RD COVENANT

The novel "League of Superheroes" by Stephen Leon Rice is a super-fun read! This group of geeky teens must save the world with their unique skills...and try not to get caught by their folks! This is a super techno-adventure with deep Christian undercurrent. Teen fans of sci-fi would really enjoy this. In fact, I was really enjoying it until my husband saw the cover and snagged it from me. Now that he's done enjoying it, I can resume the story of these uber-geniuses (genii?) and the gal, Genie, who they're trying to save. It kind of reminded me of the first season of "Heroes" - you know - "save the cheerleader, save the world." But not really. Still, this was a fun book that showed intelligence and resourcefulness in these teenage heroes!