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  • Super Powereds: Year 1

  • Super Powereds, Book 1
  • By: Drew Hayes
  • Narrated by: Kyle McCarley
  • Length: 26 hrs and 11 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (653 ratings)
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Super Powereds: Year 1 cover art

Super Powereds: Year 1

By: Drew Hayes
Narrated by: Kyle McCarley
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Summary

Knowledge is power. That would be the motto of Lander University, had it not been snatched up and used to death by others long before the school was founded. For while Lander offers a full range of courses to nearly all students, it also offers a small number of specialty classes to a very select few. Lander is home to the Hero Certification Program, a curriculum designed to develop students with superhuman capabilities, commonly known as Supers, into official Heroes. Five of this year's freshmen are extra special. They have a secret aside from their abilities - one that they must guard from even their classmates.

For every one person in the world with abilities they can control, there are three who lack such skill. These lesser super beings - Powereds, as they are called - have always been treated as burdens and second-class citizens. Though there has been ample research in the area, no one has ever succeeded in turning a Powered into a regular human, let alone a Super.

That is, until now....

©2012 Andrew Hayes (P)2016 Tantor

What listeners say about Super Powereds: Year 1

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good Story, clunky writing

The concept and protagonist gallery is very, very good. It is a bit like a unholy crossbreed of Harry Potter and X-men and is a excellent example of crossbreeding being successful. The tropes are there but neither taken overly seriously nor too flippant.

However one thing that become obvious with listening to the audio book is the authors horrible tick of ending each characters line with : ... Alice said, ... Vince said, ... said Alice, ... said Vince. Usually an author either let sentence build, choice of wording or just plain logic mark who said what. Or at least choose something like "... said Alice while something, something" when the need to be clear is nessecary. But not this guy, it is page up, and page down with said, said, said, said. Of course it becomes more obvious with such a good narrator ... but for heaven sake!

(It do get better in book two, perhaps a literate editor was used for that one)

Addendum: This book really grows on you, I'm not really into the supers scene, but like the X-men movies. I have continued to pursue the authors work in this world and enjoying it more and more. I don't like all worldbuilding choices he makes, but they are understandable and quasi-logical, and the characters are way better written than anything else I have seen in the genre.

So slog through this, it isn't bad, and find plenty of compensating joy in the books that follows!

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant Story

I originally picked up this book when going through a phase of loving stories about super heroes. Many others I picked up and discarded, but this story stuck with me. Drew has created a wholly new and unique way of looking at Heroes, how they might get to the standard they achieve, how they would impact the world around them by simply being.
If you're looking for something different from the usual teen friendly bog standard Super hero literature, I beg you to give this one ago. It doesn't disappoint.

As for the audiobook version, I really liked the voice actor who read the book. Many times I'll buy hear an audiobook if something I've read and find that the voice I hear doesn't match in my head, but Drew's style of writing is so individualised that they way it's read almost completely matches how I've read it in the past.

A great read or listen I can't recommend strongly enough!

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

What a peice of crap

I thought, I only purchased this book because it was 5* and suggested.. Unbelievable story, silly premis.. Dumb everything... Well, it's amazing really loved it I have nearly or maybe more than 500 books and I loved this.. Buy it.. I purchased and downloaded the next one half way through the first..

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

great story irritating narrator.

loved the book but the constant robotic "said Vince" or "said Alice" (etc) really ruined it.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable

What made the experience of listening to Super Powereds: Year 1 the most enjoyable?

The characters (I am particularly fond of Nick), they all have their own distinct personalities, the only issue (for me) is the sheer number of them, it can be a little tricky to keep track of who can do what.

What other book might you compare Super Powereds: Year 1 to, and why?

There are some obvious parallels between this and the Harry Potter series, both are about young people learning to master special abilities, although the character in Super Powered are much older and tend to swear more, and be more concerned with adult activities, such as sex and alcohol.

What aspect of Kyle McCarley’s performance might you have changed?

Kyle generally does a good job, however the sheer number of characters forces him to reuse a couple of voices, which can get a little confusing, particularly when he reuses a very distinctive voice.

Any additional comments?

It's well worth a read, and as the series progresses the writing style improves.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The reader ruins it

it's a good story, it really is. The only thing that ruined it for me is the guy who reads it. Once you hear the way he says "Nick said" "Vince asked" etc you will not be able to unhear it. it's bothersome. Good book though!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good bang for your buck. Long but good all through

An interesting take on a school for teen/young adult super powered people. Not the deepest of plots, but certainly entertaining and deffinitely worth a listen imho.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

amazing story for any superhero fan

gripping plot line, interesting characters that you feel develop as the story moves on. enjoyed it from beginning to end a great 1st book in this series.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars
  • mr
  • 24-12-16

strange

strangely enjoyable despite a total lack of action until the end.

aiming for harry potter with super heroes and not quite hitting the mark.

a decidedly average read/listen.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Super/Powered

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The structure, and sequence. I would have focused more on the fantastical racism aspect of the story or focused more on the kids learning more about their powers. There is no overarching story to work with, at least several try to break through as the most dominate but none actually breakthrough.

What could Drew Hayes have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Expanded on the universe: A lot of plot threads were touched upon but not adequately expanded upon. For example: the Racism in the story, Nick and so on. Ultimately, the story seemed all over the place but ultimately doesn't really cover anything worth while.

What about Kyle McCarley’s performance did you like?

A great range of voices and quality in delivery despite the material he has to work with.

If this book were a film would you go see it?

No

Any additional comments?

Credit where it was due, the characters are interesting and the powers are diverse enough to keep the story interesting.

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1 person found this helpful