Superpowers

Madison, Wisconsin: In the summer of 2001, five college juniors wake up with . . . not just a hangover, but superpowers. . . .

Jack Robinson: Grew up on a farm, works in a chem lab, and brews his own beer. Age: 19. Superpower: SPEED.

Caroline Bloom: Has a flair for fashion design and a mother who's completely out of touch. Works as a waitress for a lunatic boss.

Age: 20. Superpower: FLIGHT.

Harriet Bishop: Studied violin, guitar, and piano . . . and was terrible at them all. Now writes about music for the campus paper.

Age: 20. Superpower: -INVISIBILITY.

Mary Beth Layton: Is managing a 3.8, but feels like she's working three times as hard as the people around her.

Age: 20. Superpower: STRENGTH.

Charlie Frost: Has an anxious way about him, and always looks like he's on day 101 of his most recent haircut.

Age: 20. Superpower: TELEPATHY.

But how do you adjust to an extraordinary ability when you're an ordinary person? What if you're not ready for the responsibility that comes with great power? And how do you keep your head in a world that's going mad?

"Schwartz borrows heavily from classic comic books in this eager-to-please but unsatisfying debut. After five college friends wake up after a night of partying to discover they have superpowers, they band together as the All Stars, supernatural crime fighters straight out of Madison, Wis. From there, the plot packs few surprises: the team — Charlie, Jack, Harriet, Mary Beth and Caroline — embark on dozens of good Samaritan adventures. While it's entertaining enough (in a pulpy way) for a while, characters remain mostly static, and the narrative never attains any sort of urgency, so that by the time 9/11 comes into play — and, regrettably, it does — the text reads like an ill-considered parody. (June)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Partially a nod to classic comic books and partially an allegory about the fragile, volatile state of American society, "Superpowers" is an exciting debut from an author with a keen eye for both popular culture and the harshness of human nature.

DAVID J. SCHWARTZs fiction has appeared in such anthologies as The Best of Lady Churchills Rosebud Wristlet; Fantasy: The Best of the Year, 2007 Edition; and the World Fantasy Award–nominated Twenty Epics. He lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, and blogs at http://Snurri.LiveJournal.com.