Picked this up on the dying days of last year on a trip. Suffice to say BKV's masterpiece had me tapping and turning pages, even while my butt was frozen and hurting on a slippery bus seat during the journey. Mitch Hundred is a Superhero turned New York's mayor adjusting to life of abstinence from putting his superpowers to use, which includes: Talking to machines the way Aquaman talks to fish. BKV weaves an intriguing narratives using Post 911, Bush Administration America as a backdrop, from the eyes of a calculating, highly constipated 'Realist' who probably hates Republicans, wages war against religious authorities, and marries an interracial gay couple amidst ridiculous uproar, and accusations of using controvery to further political agenda. (Considering this book came out in early 2000s, this felt seriously ballsy). While there is plenty of Superhero action (in Flashbacks from before Hundred's Political career), the real action that has you on the edge of your seat happens in whispers within the halls and corridors of Gracie Mansion, as Mayor Hundred struggles, is hit by one political shit storm after another, with extremely challenging decisions which have far reaching impact. With a team of dedicated Devil's advocates in his team, always there to question his decisions, his approach. The debate adds a whole lot of meat of the Grey-ness in the world of politics: a spider's web of treacheries on one end, and casualties on another.