So, this is AWESOME.
Good thing I have the other story in this universe too.
This is an author to look out for!

REVIEW (or something like it)

I'm just... I'm like... OH MY GOD.
This is AWESOME.
Give me more!

I'm serious. Give me MORE.

You've got to read this! ( )

3.5/5 stars. ( )

Kid Dark Against The Machine by Tansy Rayner Roberts is a novella published by the Book Smugglers, set in the same world as her short story "Cookie Cutter Superhero" which appeared in Kaleidoscope. If you want to be more surprised by the story, it might be better NOT to read the blurb...

I don't very often read blurbs before I read things and I suspect this is one of the stories where not reading the blurb first is more fun. Especially if you've already read "Cookie Cutter Superhero" and know you want more. And I think this blurb has a few too many spoilers in it.

Kid Dark Against the Machine is set in an alternate Australia where superheroes exist and, in fact, there is a machine (well, several for different countries) that manufactures superheroes. No one knows where these machines came from, but they did and they seem to be governed by a lot of esoteric rules and a degree of randomness. And what about supervillains, where do they come from?

We learn more about supervillains in this novella, but the question of how the system came about at all still remains. I, for one, am hoping that the author will provide us with some more answers in the form of stories. Or just more stories, that would also do.

I highly recommend Kid Dark Against the Machine to fans of superheroes, light-hearted fantasy and Tansy Rayner Roberts. Obviously, if you enjoyed "Cookie Cutter Superhero", then this story is for you. It features a different main character, but Solar and the other superheroes do make an appearance. I am eagerly awaiting more stories set in this world.

4.5 / 5 stars ( )