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Sacred Band #1
Sacred Band
The golden age of heroes is decades past. The government could not condone vigilantism and now metahumans are just citizens, albeit citizens with incredible talent, who are assisted in achieving normal lives (including finding good fits for their talents employment-wise) by a federal agency.
Rusty may have been a kid during that glorious age but he remembers his idol, Sentinel, saving lives and righting wrongs — until he was outed in an incredible scandal that forced him into isolation. When a gay friend of Rusty living in the Czech Republic goes missing, Rusty is forced to acknowledge that while the world’s governments claim that super teams are outdated and replaced by legal law enforcement, there are simply some places where the law doesn’t protect everyone — so he manages to find and recruit Sentinel to help him find his friend.
But the disappearance of the friend is merely one move in a terrible plot against queer youth. A team of supers may be old-fashioned, but this may be a battle requiring some incredible reinforcements.
Rusty may have been a kid during that glorious age but he remembers his idol, Sentinel, saving lives and righting wrongs — until he was outed in an incredible scandal that forced him into isolation. When a gay friend of Rusty living in the Czech Republic goes missing, Rusty is forced to acknowledge that while the world’s governments claim that super teams are outdated and replaced by legal law enforcement, there are simply some places where the law doesn’t protect everyone — so he manages to find and recruit Sentinel to help him find his friend.
But the disappearance of the friend is merely one move in a terrible plot against queer youth. A team of supers may be old-fashioned, but this may be a battle requiring some incredible reinforcements.
400 pages, Paperback
Published April 1, 2017
14 people are currently reading
353 people want to read
About the author
Joseph D. Carriker Jr.
32 books49 followersJoseph Carriker is the developer for Green Ronin’s Blue Rose AGE roleplaying game line. He has been writing in the gaming industry for sixteen years now, and has worked on a variety of game lines over those years.
In 2017, he released his first novel, Sacred Band, and his second, Shadowtide, in 2018. He runs a Patreon dedicated to his Sacred Band world with a variety of short stories, world building and commissioned art.
He is an outspoken queer gamer, having helped organize and take part in the annual Queer as a Three-Sided Die panels at GenCon. Joseph lives in Portland, Oregon with his partner A.J., and likes to believe he does his part in Keeping Portland Weird.
In 2017, he released his first novel, Sacred Band, and his second, Shadowtide, in 2018. He runs a Patreon dedicated to his Sacred Band world with a variety of short stories, world building and commissioned art.
He is an outspoken queer gamer, having helped organize and take part in the annual Queer as a Three-Sided Die panels at GenCon. Joseph lives in Portland, Oregon with his partner A.J., and likes to believe he does his part in Keeping Portland Weird.
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June 20, 2018A terrific read. AU where superheroes have been around since the 70s and are now heavily controlled ("with great power comes great government oversight"). But one stumbles on the mysterious abduction of unwanted people including gay and trans teens, and a team is duly, if illicitly, formed.
This is a cracking tale, fast moving with a very detailed world and some really ingenious powers. The cast is properly diverse, including a kick ass trans element-manipulator, and the parallels and resonances with queer identities and survival are really well done. I may have teared up.
I wish they'd do this (or Turbulence by Samit Basu, or both) as a film instead of the zillionth retread of bloody Spiderman. In the meantime it's cinematographically written with exciting fights and lots of feels. I look forward to book 2.
Currently in the LGBT Fantasy Storybundle btw.
This is a cracking tale, fast moving with a very detailed world and some really ingenious powers. The cast is properly diverse, including a kick ass trans element-manipulator, and the parallels and resonances with queer identities and survival are really well done. I may have teared up.
I wish they'd do this (or Turbulence by Samit Basu, or both) as a film instead of the zillionth retread of bloody Spiderman. In the meantime it's cinematographically written with exciting fights and lots of feels. I look forward to book 2.
Currently in the LGBT Fantasy Storybundle btw.
October 30, 2020
My full review for Sacred Band is up at Out in Print.
I completely enjoyed Sacred Band. The level of queer on the page was on par with the superheroics, the powers at play were intriguing, and the world-stage upon which everything was set just added to the high stakes. It was gritty enough to make me worry for the characters, and a tangled enough knot of a mystery at its core to make me enjoy watching the heroes unravel the mess.
Frankly, I’d love to read Sacred Band again, in graphic novel form.
I completely enjoyed Sacred Band. The level of queer on the page was on par with the superheroics, the powers at play were intriguing, and the world-stage upon which everything was set just added to the high stakes. It was gritty enough to make me worry for the characters, and a tangled enough knot of a mystery at its core to make me enjoy watching the heroes unravel the mess.
Frankly, I’d love to read Sacred Band again, in graphic novel form.
April 16, 2017
Where to begin? I am emotionally compromised, that's where.
My favourite thing about this novel is the characters. I've been thinking about how best to describe them, but then, describing people has never been my strong suit. I describe characters well enough, using the labels assigned to them: troubled, gentle, loving, queer, trans, motherly, a person of colour, powerful, traumatised.
I struggle with describing the powers at play in this book because they're not characters. They're people. They're alive and delightfully complex, each one more than their assigned archetype, each one richly developed with backstories that are not laid bare and tossed in your face for easy consumption. They tell you as much as any person would, and in ways that people do: in action, in small talk, in expression and emotion. Their defining traits aren't tossed and jumbled into a single paragraph early in the chapter. They're complicated in the ways I am complicated, or you are, or the ways the people you love are. They're messy. They grieve. They get scared. They can be irrational and clingy. They can project their insecurities onto others. They also love and feel in a very, very real way, and that is the core of what makes Sacred Band so brilliant. A superhero is a symbol, a representation of a concept, and it's important that you understand the face beneath the mask before you can begin to grasp the hero. These people are heroes, and not because of the (overly tight) outfits.
My second favourite thing about this book is the sheer diversity of cast. Gender, sexuality, race, and background mix and merge to bring people from various walks of life- with respectful appreciation of the reality of their existence- into eachother's company. Each has different strengths and different obstacles. Sometimes they chafe, sometimes they soothe. Difficult situations are dealt with in unexpected ways, and I'm not just talking about the fight scenes. A friend of mine uses the phrase 'A balm to my soul' and that's exactly what this story has been for me. Familiar struggles (especially the queer kind) played out on these pages are mysteriously lacking in mass-produced media, and although that issue is slowly improving, the representation of queer culture in these pages is so much more satisfying to me than the token gay characters popping up in our standard superhero fare. Here queerness is written the way most of us experience it. It's every day life. It has events that mark our history, and sometimes they can define our personal narrative, but for the most part it's just part of who we are. For the characters in Sacred Band, it's just part of who they are, but within that, they give voice and power to the inherent rage against inequality and oppression common in the queer community.
We've all heard about those who are not so lucky as to be born into a safe environment. Those who have been disowned, discarded, abused and tortured and even killed for who they are. The fact that the novel begins in Ukraine and mentions the unrest in Russia hits a nerve. The villains in Sacred Band are real. We've all felt their touch, one way or another. From those who fought hard in defence of DADT to those who beat frightened transfolk and post the videos to youtube, we know these villains. The pain and anger in Sacred Band is all too real.
This novel gifts us with the superheroes that Hollywood pretends could never be: the queer, the underfoot, the outcasts, doing what they always have. What we always have. Fighting for our own, for the lives of those like us.
When I first settled down to read, I had no idea how sorely I needed that.
So yeah, I'm emotionally compromised. Read the fucking book. It's worth it.
My favourite thing about this novel is the characters. I've been thinking about how best to describe them, but then, describing people has never been my strong suit. I describe characters well enough, using the labels assigned to them: troubled, gentle, loving, queer, trans, motherly, a person of colour, powerful, traumatised.
I struggle with describing the powers at play in this book because they're not characters. They're people. They're alive and delightfully complex, each one more than their assigned archetype, each one richly developed with backstories that are not laid bare and tossed in your face for easy consumption. They tell you as much as any person would, and in ways that people do: in action, in small talk, in expression and emotion. Their defining traits aren't tossed and jumbled into a single paragraph early in the chapter. They're complicated in the ways I am complicated, or you are, or the ways the people you love are. They're messy. They grieve. They get scared. They can be irrational and clingy. They can project their insecurities onto others. They also love and feel in a very, very real way, and that is the core of what makes Sacred Band so brilliant. A superhero is a symbol, a representation of a concept, and it's important that you understand the face beneath the mask before you can begin to grasp the hero. These people are heroes, and not because of the (overly tight) outfits.
My second favourite thing about this book is the sheer diversity of cast. Gender, sexuality, race, and background mix and merge to bring people from various walks of life- with respectful appreciation of the reality of their existence- into eachother's company. Each has different strengths and different obstacles. Sometimes they chafe, sometimes they soothe. Difficult situations are dealt with in unexpected ways, and I'm not just talking about the fight scenes. A friend of mine uses the phrase 'A balm to my soul' and that's exactly what this story has been for me. Familiar struggles (especially the queer kind) played out on these pages are mysteriously lacking in mass-produced media, and although that issue is slowly improving, the representation of queer culture in these pages is so much more satisfying to me than the token gay characters popping up in our standard superhero fare. Here queerness is written the way most of us experience it. It's every day life. It has events that mark our history, and sometimes they can define our personal narrative, but for the most part it's just part of who we are. For the characters in Sacred Band, it's just part of who they are, but within that, they give voice and power to the inherent rage against inequality and oppression common in the queer community.
We've all heard about those who are not so lucky as to be born into a safe environment. Those who have been disowned, discarded, abused and tortured and even killed for who they are. The fact that the novel begins in Ukraine and mentions the unrest in Russia hits a nerve. The villains in Sacred Band are real. We've all felt their touch, one way or another. From those who fought hard in defence of DADT to those who beat frightened transfolk and post the videos to youtube, we know these villains. The pain and anger in Sacred Band is all too real.
This novel gifts us with the superheroes that Hollywood pretends could never be: the queer, the underfoot, the outcasts, doing what they always have. What we always have. Fighting for our own, for the lives of those like us.
When I first settled down to read, I had no idea how sorely I needed that.
So yeah, I'm emotionally compromised. Read the fucking book. It's worth it.
April 20, 2017
A Joyfully Jay review.
5 stars
First, let me say, I truly enjoyed this book. The depth and complexity of the world building is absolutely amazing. The mythology behind the creation of super powered humans is rich and unique. The research is meticulous and the action scenes are beautifully written. I would not believe this was the author’s debut book, considering how well-written it is.
Rusty is an engaging character, slightly shallow in the way many young men are. He’s rash, impulsive, and warm-hearted. Sentinel — or Mitch, as he prefers to be called, now — is a man still grieving for his lost love and yet, as lost as he is in his own grief, he can’t stop being a good person. Neither man is a stereotype, and neither are defined by their powers.
Speaking of powers, the super hero system the author created is amazing. Rusty has power over metal, but he’s nothing like Magneto. The way he uses his powers are inventive and logical and fun! With little more than the metal in his shoes, he manages to skate along train tracks like a maglev train. Deosil (Jesh-il), his best friend, is also an Echo. An elemental wiccan, her powers over fire, earth, air, and water are creative and — though it seems silly to use this word in a super hero story — realistic.
Read Elizabeth’s review in its entirety here.
5 stars
First, let me say, I truly enjoyed this book. The depth and complexity of the world building is absolutely amazing. The mythology behind the creation of super powered humans is rich and unique. The research is meticulous and the action scenes are beautifully written. I would not believe this was the author’s debut book, considering how well-written it is.
Rusty is an engaging character, slightly shallow in the way many young men are. He’s rash, impulsive, and warm-hearted. Sentinel — or Mitch, as he prefers to be called, now — is a man still grieving for his lost love and yet, as lost as he is in his own grief, he can’t stop being a good person. Neither man is a stereotype, and neither are defined by their powers.
Speaking of powers, the super hero system the author created is amazing. Rusty has power over metal, but he’s nothing like Magneto. The way he uses his powers are inventive and logical and fun! With little more than the metal in his shoes, he manages to skate along train tracks like a maglev train. Deosil (Jesh-il), his best friend, is also an Echo. An elemental wiccan, her powers over fire, earth, air, and water are creative and — though it seems silly to use this word in a super hero story — realistic.
Read Elizabeth’s review in its entirety here.
April 5, 2017
This story is brilliant! I love a good super-hero story and Sacred Band delivers. It helps that the main characters are LGBTQ but they're written in a way that is not condescending or fake. They're real people. They have faults. OK, so one of them has too many but that's because he's from a different time and isn't coping well BUT ANYWAY, this is a great read and Mr. Carriker should be proud.
January 1, 2018
I really liked this book. I live in Portland so it being set there was a plus. I love superheroes but much of the fiction with male characters isn't realistic (you don't put on the tights and the rest of your life disappears). The characters are realistic LGBTQ people who bring their every day lives into the superhero scenarios. You get supers with great fights and great feels. Some scenes made me cry!
I was particularly pleased that the male characters showed as many emotions as the female ones, which is how normal guys behave. Non-emotional male characters are boring as well as unrealistic, but the superhero genre has a high population of them.
I also loved that a male and female character are best friends. As a teen and young adult most of my friends were guys because I had more things in common with them due to most 1980s girls not identifying as geeky even if they were. Today teens are much more aware of gender/sex differences and the friends in this book reflect that. They tease each other about partners, and crushes plus make it clear by their behavior and discussions that they are not each others "type". This gives the reader more insight to the characters and allows their sexual/gender identities to be revealed in a natural way rather than broadcasting it like some books. If the only distinguishing characteristics the author gives the character is their gender identity and preferred partner sex then I probably don't want to read about them because they are flat.
These characters jump off the page showing distinct styles of dress, superhero names, superpowers, plus issues with jobs, career choices and government overseers appearing just as importantly in the narrative as gender/sexual issues. In other words, like real people who have complex lives and who happen to not all be be cis, white, males.
I don't want to discuss specifics of characters or plot because the setting is so interesting and the reveals done so well I don't want to give anything away. Any one who likes superheroes will like this book! It is also a fast moving one so might draw in reluctant readers.
I was particularly pleased that the male characters showed as many emotions as the female ones, which is how normal guys behave. Non-emotional male characters are boring as well as unrealistic, but the superhero genre has a high population of them.
I also loved that a male and female character are best friends. As a teen and young adult most of my friends were guys because I had more things in common with them due to most 1980s girls not identifying as geeky even if they were. Today teens are much more aware of gender/sex differences and the friends in this book reflect that. They tease each other about partners, and crushes plus make it clear by their behavior and discussions that they are not each others "type". This gives the reader more insight to the characters and allows their sexual/gender identities to be revealed in a natural way rather than broadcasting it like some books. If the only distinguishing characteristics the author gives the character is their gender identity and preferred partner sex then I probably don't want to read about them because they are flat.
These characters jump off the page showing distinct styles of dress, superhero names, superpowers, plus issues with jobs, career choices and government overseers appearing just as importantly in the narrative as gender/sexual issues. In other words, like real people who have complex lives and who happen to not all be be cis, white, males.
I don't want to discuss specifics of characters or plot because the setting is so interesting and the reveals done so well I don't want to give anything away. Any one who likes superheroes will like this book! It is also a fast moving one so might draw in reluctant readers.
April 27, 2017
This is a cleverly crafted book about superheroes, what makes them tick, and how five of them from very different walks of life, come together to form a team, a sacred band, to right some of the wrongs they've seen but weren't sure how to fix. The main characters are fully realized people, with depth and complexity rarely seen in works of superhero fiction. Some of the characters carry deep emotional scars, other are still coming to terms with what it means to have extraordinary abilities. While the setting is fantastical, who these people are, and how they interact, are entirely and relatably human. It's also quite refreshing in queer fiction to see characters romantically interested in each other rather than simply falling graphically into bed. Finally, the scenes in Portland, Oregon, are lovingly filled with details that only a resident of the place would think to use, though the descriptions of other locales aren't quite so evocative.
That said, I hope for the future books, Mr. Carriker is able to find someone who can catch the minor continuity issues I found while reading, things like the operability of one of the main character's phone (one scene it's fried to a state of non-functionality, the next it's being used to show photos to other people), the names of organizations being used by the main characters before they discover the names of the organization, and a couple other minor nitpicks. None of these took me wholly out of the book, but they did cause me to pause and double check to see if I had missed something (thankfully on my digital reader I can search for terms and confirm that they had indeed not been mentioned previously).
In summary, I very much enjoyed reading this story and am eager to see how the world expands in the (hopeful) follow-up novels.
That said, I hope for the future books, Mr. Carriker is able to find someone who can catch the minor continuity issues I found while reading, things like the operability of one of the main character's phone (one scene it's fried to a state of non-functionality, the next it's being used to show photos to other people), the names of organizations being used by the main characters before they discover the names of the organization, and a couple other minor nitpicks. None of these took me wholly out of the book, but they did cause me to pause and double check to see if I had missed something (thankfully on my digital reader I can search for terms and confirm that they had indeed not been mentioned previously).
In summary, I very much enjoyed reading this story and am eager to see how the world expands in the (hopeful) follow-up novels.
April 4, 2017
Well written introduction to a new world
This book touches on something most people in any undeserved community really want, a superhero that represents them. Sacred Band does this for the LGBT+ community in a heartfelt way that leaves you wanting more.
Overall, I feel that the book was incredibly good for what seems to be the author's first novel. You could absolutely tell that his heart was in the topic and it shone through in every character. That said, there was a reason I gave this four stars.
I will try not to give spoilers in my pros and cons list.
Pros:
- Amazingly well constructed and thought out world.
-Characters that you can imagine as real, complex beings
-For those of us on the fringes of LGBT+ communities, it gives an in-depth characterization of the struggles of the community, with real world issues interspersed with fantasy ones. He created heroes without making the world a fluffy fantasy version of the real world.
- His prose is impeccable, without any of the grammatical issues or sentence structure problems you find with new authora.
Cons (they're minor):
- He makes the new author mistake of introducing the world in detail before really delving into the characters or deeply into the plot. If you love world building, this won't be a con. I tend to prefer characters to be in the middle of plot from the beginning, with the world introduced as needed. That said, after the first three chapters I got engrossed, so, I highly recommend working through it.
- This goes along with the first. This felt like the prequel of a series, like it started too early in the development of the character relationships.
I can't wait to see where this author takes the series next.
This book touches on something most people in any undeserved community really want, a superhero that represents them. Sacred Band does this for the LGBT+ community in a heartfelt way that leaves you wanting more.
Overall, I feel that the book was incredibly good for what seems to be the author's first novel. You could absolutely tell that his heart was in the topic and it shone through in every character. That said, there was a reason I gave this four stars.
I will try not to give spoilers in my pros and cons list.
Pros:
- Amazingly well constructed and thought out world.
-Characters that you can imagine as real, complex beings
-For those of us on the fringes of LGBT+ communities, it gives an in-depth characterization of the struggles of the community, with real world issues interspersed with fantasy ones. He created heroes without making the world a fluffy fantasy version of the real world.
- His prose is impeccable, without any of the grammatical issues or sentence structure problems you find with new authora.
Cons (they're minor):
- He makes the new author mistake of introducing the world in detail before really delving into the characters or deeply into the plot. If you love world building, this won't be a con. I tend to prefer characters to be in the middle of plot from the beginning, with the world introduced as needed. That said, after the first three chapters I got engrossed, so, I highly recommend working through it.
- This goes along with the first. This felt like the prequel of a series, like it started too early in the development of the character relationships.
I can't wait to see where this author takes the series next.
May 23, 2017
Sure, I know and love Joe, the author.
But I also love this book. I worried that one might color the other, but a month after reading this story, it still sticks with me, not because my friend wrote it, but because it's an awfully good story.
The worldbuilding is there - a world where superheroes did exist and is still struggling with how to deal with that fact. So many other stories create worlds that are the same as ours, except for one detail, as if you can air-drop something as large as magic carpets or witches or superheroes and have nothing else change. Carriker's book does the harder job of vividly describing a world changed by superpowers in a deep and lasting way. It's a world you will want to learn more about because Carriker (miserly) doles out interesting details while telling his story.
Like other good books, the plot isn't the main course here; it's only a part of a larger story. These characters have pasts and (hopefully) will have futures. I want to learn more about Sentinel's childhood, and how different governments dealt with his existence. I want to learn more about how Gauss uses his powers or how the powers that be try to counteract them. The plot is just the first course of a larger meal.
You can't talk about this book without talking about the inclusiveness of the world. Some might find it overwrought, the way Carikker ensures that his world is filled with characters of varying gender, ethnic or sexual identities. But these are characters that love and fuck just the same as everyone else. Having a trans character in your story should be seen as a reflection of our world, not a political cause. Plus...she's really fucking cool.
But I also love this book. I worried that one might color the other, but a month after reading this story, it still sticks with me, not because my friend wrote it, but because it's an awfully good story.
The worldbuilding is there - a world where superheroes did exist and is still struggling with how to deal with that fact. So many other stories create worlds that are the same as ours, except for one detail, as if you can air-drop something as large as magic carpets or witches or superheroes and have nothing else change. Carriker's book does the harder job of vividly describing a world changed by superpowers in a deep and lasting way. It's a world you will want to learn more about because Carriker (miserly) doles out interesting details while telling his story.
Like other good books, the plot isn't the main course here; it's only a part of a larger story. These characters have pasts and (hopefully) will have futures. I want to learn more about Sentinel's childhood, and how different governments dealt with his existence. I want to learn more about how Gauss uses his powers or how the powers that be try to counteract them. The plot is just the first course of a larger meal.
You can't talk about this book without talking about the inclusiveness of the world. Some might find it overwrought, the way Carikker ensures that his world is filled with characters of varying gender, ethnic or sexual identities. But these are characters that love and fuck just the same as everyone else. Having a trans character in your story should be seen as a reflection of our world, not a political cause. Plus...she's really fucking cool.
May 18, 2017
As a fan of Joe's work, I was super stoked to sit down to read SACRED BAND. i'm pretty new to the super hero genre, and really enjoy the ordinary people with powers genre and how people/governments handle it. Plus, as a queer woman, it's incredibility important to read stories which represent me, especially as I get older. People forget that you can be a hero character and be middle aged. It's great to see ages, gender, and sexuality portrayed well, with all the good, bad, & ugly that comes along with relationships. It's a tale of super heroes, and regular folks thrust into extraordinary circumstances, and how they handle it. And how the worlds governments & society handles it, too.
June 24, 2019
This was awesome! This isn't a romance, it's a superhero adventure story with the possibility of future romance. Sometimes the dialog was a little cheesy, and in some places it got a little preachy, but there's no denying I gobbled it up in one sitting and enjoyed almost every minute. The battle descriptions were especially fun. There'd better be a sequel!
July 6, 2017
Fun read
I loved the story and most of all the characters. We were introduced to this world and these friends in a very organic fashion. Things felt a bit rushed near the end but I look forward to exploring more of this world.
I loved the story and most of all the characters. We were introduced to this world and these friends in a very organic fashion. Things felt a bit rushed near the end but I look forward to exploring more of this world.
July 31, 2018
This book delivered exactly what I was hoping for. Amazing characters who are well written, multifaceted, relatable, and flawed in their own unique ways. The action scenes were dynamic, well written, and exciting. The relationship building across the course of the novel was amazing. Even the antagonists were never reduced to stereotypes or cliches. It was easy to fall in love with these characters and I never wanted to put the book down.
June 3, 2019
Gay Superheroes? Sign me up! Def need another book! Still a lot of unanswered questions. I loved the characters
July 16, 2017
I'm really looking forward to the movie version! The special effects are bound to be awesome. I loved the story, and nearly rushed to finish it, once I devoted more time to reading, which this book inspired me to do. I used to be constantly reading, as well as listening to audio books during my commute. But, the last few years, I have been spending more time on mobile games and Facebook. This book is a big part of my decision to get back to reading all the time. Thanks, Joe! I also am anxious for the next book!!
September 12, 2017
The world building was intriguing, the superheroics were spot on, and the tension was just high enough to keep me interested. The mystery was gritty, and I loved watching the whole plot unfold.
January 26, 2021
This was a random find in the bookstore that I stumbled upon in the Fiction section. I hadn't heard anything about it or the author before, but the gorgeously illustrated cover and the synopsis pulled me in. I've been on a huge superhero kick lately, but gay superheroes? This sounded like a dream novel.
It gets four stars for the story itself. I really, really liked the way superheroes were explained, how they came to be, and how they worked within the world. The world-building was pretty solid. I liked most of the characters, and I loved the Sacred Band itself. I'm just always a sucker for superhero teams, so that part of it was really fun to read. The action was great and about what I'd expect from a story about superheroes, and it was entertaining to read.
Despite the four stars, which go solely towards the plot and the world, I do have a couple criticisms. This book was slower than I would've liked, and it kind of read like a big piece of fanfic. There were also a lot of editing mistakes in this book that bothered me (I'm always the type of person who notices things like that and I cannot get past it, especially if there are so many). And as much as I loved that it was queer as can be, it was pretty typical of a story about LGBTQ+ people to put a big focus on homophobia and coming out. It was sort of central to the heroes' motivations and their purpose, which I felt wasn't necessary. Granted, the book is set in 2013 (I don't understand the reason for that, and it's never explained), so I guess at that time, the queer community was still facing a lot of discrimination from society in general. But in 2021, reading a story that focuses so much on the universal gay experience was kind of tiring. Not every LGBTQ+ story has to be about coming out. The characters can just be gay, you know? Speaking as a bisexual person myself and someone who has read many of these kinds of stories, I want more novels where the characters are just queer and they don't have to worry about homophobia or having to come out. It would've been awesome if the Sacred Band was a group of heroes who just happened to be gay. But it did work with the story the author was trying to write, and it fit into the plot.
My biggest criticism is about the romance. In the very beginning, you're supposed to think the romance is gonna be between the main character, Rusty, and a friend he met online. But then it changes gears, and Rusty's real love interest is introduced. My issue with it is the age difference. I've read plenty of stories with age differences, and normally I have a tolerance for them depending on the ages of the characters and how the relationship develops, but this one was just so big. Rusty is in his 20's (in college) and his love interest is in his 60's. And that's just . . . never brought up? It's never discussed in the book until the very end, and when they finally do talk about it, the justification for it is kind of shoddy. I know that relationships with significant age gaps are common in the queer community, but I've never been totally comfortable with that, and it just didn't sit right with me throughout the whole book. There were times when I did think the budding romance was sweet, but I just wish the age gap wasn't so large.
Overall, though, I did like this story, and I'm looking forward to the sequel coming out later this year. I'm glad I picked this book up.
It gets four stars for the story itself. I really, really liked the way superheroes were explained, how they came to be, and how they worked within the world. The world-building was pretty solid. I liked most of the characters, and I loved the Sacred Band itself. I'm just always a sucker for superhero teams, so that part of it was really fun to read. The action was great and about what I'd expect from a story about superheroes, and it was entertaining to read.
Despite the four stars, which go solely towards the plot and the world, I do have a couple criticisms. This book was slower than I would've liked, and it kind of read like a big piece of fanfic. There were also a lot of editing mistakes in this book that bothered me (I'm always the type of person who notices things like that and I cannot get past it, especially if there are so many). And as much as I loved that it was queer as can be, it was pretty typical of a story about LGBTQ+ people to put a big focus on homophobia and coming out. It was sort of central to the heroes' motivations and their purpose, which I felt wasn't necessary. Granted, the book is set in 2013 (I don't understand the reason for that, and it's never explained), so I guess at that time, the queer community was still facing a lot of discrimination from society in general. But in 2021, reading a story that focuses so much on the universal gay experience was kind of tiring. Not every LGBTQ+ story has to be about coming out. The characters can just be gay, you know? Speaking as a bisexual person myself and someone who has read many of these kinds of stories, I want more novels where the characters are just queer and they don't have to worry about homophobia or having to come out. It would've been awesome if the Sacred Band was a group of heroes who just happened to be gay. But it did work with the story the author was trying to write, and it fit into the plot.
My biggest criticism is about the romance. In the very beginning, you're supposed to think the romance is gonna be between the main character, Rusty, and a friend he met online. But then it changes gears, and Rusty's real love interest is introduced. My issue with it is the age difference. I've read plenty of stories with age differences, and normally I have a tolerance for them depending on the ages of the characters and how the relationship develops, but this one was just so big. Rusty is in his 20's (in college) and his love interest is in his 60's. And that's just . . . never brought up? It's never discussed in the book until the very end, and when they finally do talk about it, the justification for it is kind of shoddy. I know that relationships with significant age gaps are common in the queer community, but I've never been totally comfortable with that, and it just didn't sit right with me throughout the whole book. There were times when I did think the budding romance was sweet, but I just wish the age gap wasn't so large.
Overall, though, I did like this story, and I'm looking forward to the sequel coming out later this year. I'm glad I picked this book up.
April 21, 2019
This book is absolutely amazing. It reads smoothly and has the same fast paced action and easy-to-follow setup as a comic book, while still having the complexity and depth expected of a novel.
Carriker's writing style and descriptive abilities flow well from various points of view, and his depth of detail in the mindset and internal workings of characters in his world is masterful.
The comedic moments are a breath of fresh air in a deep and tragic set of events, and the story truly captures the essence of heroism in a discussion reminiscent of Justice League, Watchmen, and the JSA, while melding flawed and weak individuals who happen to have gifts into larger than life superheroes in the tradition of the X-Men and the MCU.
As a bisexual black man, I found myself represented in the story and this too was a refreshing change of pace where too many black heroes - if they even exist - are either caricatures or so bound up in respectability politics that they cannot experience growth and change.
I highly recommend this book to everyone, but most of all to the LGBT community as we can finally see ourselves in the heroic spotlight, rather than as the odd ones out or an afterthought.
Carriker's writing style and descriptive abilities flow well from various points of view, and his depth of detail in the mindset and internal workings of characters in his world is masterful.
The comedic moments are a breath of fresh air in a deep and tragic set of events, and the story truly captures the essence of heroism in a discussion reminiscent of Justice League, Watchmen, and the JSA, while melding flawed and weak individuals who happen to have gifts into larger than life superheroes in the tradition of the X-Men and the MCU.
As a bisexual black man, I found myself represented in the story and this too was a refreshing change of pace where too many black heroes - if they even exist - are either caricatures or so bound up in respectability politics that they cannot experience growth and change.
I highly recommend this book to everyone, but most of all to the LGBT community as we can finally see ourselves in the heroic spotlight, rather than as the odd ones out or an afterthought.
August 25, 2021
A solid four, mostly because the first half is a solid three and the second half is a solid five. Carriker does a lot of world-building, but there are a bunch of exposition dumps that could probably been handled better and the pace just seems generally plodding. Rusty Adamson, codename Gauss, is also not the most likable character at times- Carriker himself acknowledges he can be whiny- and he is the main perspective for the first third or so of the book.
Nevertheless, Rusty has a considerable amount of growth throughout the book, and once the team actually gets together, their chemistry is pitch-perfect. The second half is like a completely different book, and in my opinion, it was well worth the plodding setup.
Sentinel is particularly well-developed, as are Llorona and Deosil. I really enjoyed the arcs they went through. Llorona and Optic go through less of an arc in the book, since they're probably the most well-adjusted and sage ones out of the group, but they do drop some great knowledge bombs.
In short, Sacred Band is a beautiful look at grief, love, and what it means to be queer.
Nevertheless, Rusty has a considerable amount of growth throughout the book, and once the team actually gets together, their chemistry is pitch-perfect. The second half is like a completely different book, and in my opinion, it was well worth the plodding setup.
Sentinel is particularly well-developed, as are Llorona and Deosil. I really enjoyed the arcs they went through. Llorona and Optic go through less of an arc in the book, since they're probably the most well-adjusted and sage ones out of the group, but they do drop some great knowledge bombs.
In short, Sacred Band is a beautiful look at grief, love, and what it means to be queer.
March 29, 2019
I picked this up because I was kind of moody and wanted something light. Yeah, this wasn't light. It was actually a really good dramatic story with well developed characters. The first half is mostly characterization and plot development: there's a little action but not superhero vs supervillain-type action. It's not slow, but it's kind of like a romance novel at that point. I liked it and, interestingly, a good bit about the characters and their relationships to each other that was laid out in the first half does come into play in the second half, when the action really picks up. And the action is really good. I felt the ending was a tad weak: all of the main plot points are resolved but it felt like it may have been tweaked because the publisher was demanding that this set up a series just in case it's successful. As such, it's not as satisfying an ending as it could have been.
November 6, 2018
This book is an interesting take on the superhero trope. It’s set in a world after superheroes have had their heyday. Now they are not vigilantes making things right. In fact, they’re trained by the government to control their gifts and live normal lives, having them redirect their gifts towards being productive members of society. Of course, this doesn’t last long when LGBTQ and other disenfranchised youth start disappearing around the world and nobody else is helping to look for them. This is a really good first novel by a local Portland author. Though I thought the writing was a bit weak and some of the dialogue a little hokey, the plot and the humanity of the characters really made up for it.
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Come visit my blog for the full review…
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August 21, 2022
A queer band of superheroes (the title is a reference to the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_...), great world building with no info dump, many action scenes, but also many complex feelings; very inclusive cast of characters. Well written and compelling. I'm surprised that it is not more widely known. Warmly recommended.
A special mention for Deosil, a trans woman, Rusty's best friend. I liked that she had such a central role. IMO her representation is well done.
Pet peeves: Rusty is called too often the redhead/young redhead. I've got the paperback, so I can't count how many times, but it was irritating: there are other ways to distinguish two male protagonists in a scene. Also the enemy organisation is casually mentioned before we find out that it exists.
Warnings: homophobia, transphobia.
Disclaimer: I'm a cis woman
A special mention for Deosil, a trans woman, Rusty's best friend. I liked that she had such a central role. IMO her representation is well done.
Pet peeves: Rusty is called too often the redhead/young redhead. I've got the paperback, so I can't count how many times, but it was irritating: there are other ways to distinguish two male protagonists in a scene. Also the enemy organisation is casually mentioned before we find out that it exists.
Warnings: homophobia, transphobia.
Disclaimer: I'm a cis woman
May 5, 2019
this is one of those books that made me stop reading for a while. I'm not sure where all the love comes from. for those wondering this is a book about gay superheroes. That is not to be mistaken for superheroes who happen to be lgbt+. from the very start you are told who is good and who is bad and then many repeated times why said character is good/bad. then all the characters personalities change from sentence to sentence and so do their power. the whole I can now do this because it is convenient got old quickly. finally I had to skim just to finish it. skipped chapters and didn't really miss anything. puppy wasn't happy and he so wanted to like this. 1 star for concept 2 star because writing a book is hard.
February 24, 2019
This was surprisingly good. Mainly because mm books usually focus more on romance than solid plot. This could easily be a graphic novel from someone like Dark Horse.
The superhero concepts were done exceptionally well, the characters are awesome and the plot is engrossing. Only thing is it took a little time to see where the book was going, but once it took off, it moved at a brisk, solid pace.
I really hope there’s a sequel.
The superhero concepts were done exceptionally well, the characters are awesome and the plot is engrossing. Only thing is it took a little time to see where the book was going, but once it took off, it moved at a brisk, solid pace.
I really hope there’s a sequel.
April 6, 2021
Simply loved this book! Can't wait for the second in the series, Terminal Venture, teased in the last page of this one. Been waiting for such a series to read and be able to more fully identify with. I think it might be my new favorite series which I'm adding to my other, Shadowhunter Chronicles by Cassandra Clare.
January 25, 2021
I really got into Joseph Carriker's writing. This was a fantastic tale.
I love it when writers get creative with superpowers!
Definitely worth reading - I fell in love with the characters and look forward to the next in the series.
I love it when writers get creative with superpowers!
Definitely worth reading - I fell in love with the characters and look forward to the next in the series.
June 12, 2022
3.75 stars, rounded up to 4. Slow to start, and a bit heavier in subject matter than I was expecting. Also, the POV switching was a little much. But still, a novel about a group of LGBTQA superheroes coming together is pretty awesome.
January 4, 2024
A fun, well-paced and well-crafted superhero story with a large, diverse queer cast.
I have Marvel/DC burnout but this brought me back to superheros. The complexity of The Boys without the pervasive pessimism and OTT gore.
A great start to 2024. Now, when will TERMINAL VENTURE be available?
I have Marvel/DC burnout but this brought me back to superheros. The complexity of The Boys without the pervasive pessimism and OTT gore.
A great start to 2024. Now, when will TERMINAL VENTURE be available?
May 5, 2017
It had been a while since I managed to identify with fictional characters, and multiple ones at that. Joseph Carriker manages to create well-developed characters that feel very much real. Their interactions did not feel forced or fabricated solely for the advancement of the plot. The plot itself, while not terribly complex, was suspenseful and addictive (I finished the book in one night, unable to stop reading). The characters and their relationships as well as Carriker's worldbuilding really drew me more than anything else. I was practically wishing for less action and more personal interaction between the characters, and I'm a big fan of action in superhero-type works! To me, this speaks loads of the quality of character design and development that has gone into all this. The only thing that I found was a bit lacking was the ending, which felt somewhat rushed. Since, however, this seems to be the start of a full-fledged series, I am more than willing to accept it and hope certain plot points and character relationships get explored more in future books.
All in all, it is an amazing book, especially given the fact that it is the first published novel by this author (and not many people can boast having created such a work of art and quality in the beginning of their careers!), with great action and even better characters. It is exceptionally immersive and for me - as a comic artist - it was very easy to picture everything clearly and cohesively. It would definitely make an incredible graphic novel or comic series as well. It also tackles so many aspects and themes of life and fiction that I personally believe it can be enjoyable by almost anyone: LGBT people, superhero fans, alternative religious practitioners etc. I wholeheartedly recommend it.
All in all, it is an amazing book, especially given the fact that it is the first published novel by this author (and not many people can boast having created such a work of art and quality in the beginning of their careers!), with great action and even better characters. It is exceptionally immersive and for me - as a comic artist - it was very easy to picture everything clearly and cohesively. It would definitely make an incredible graphic novel or comic series as well. It also tackles so many aspects and themes of life and fiction that I personally believe it can be enjoyable by almost anyone: LGBT people, superhero fans, alternative religious practitioners etc. I wholeheartedly recommend it.
March 28, 2017
I really enjoyed this novel. I think the characters were well fleshed out, with none being too perfect or too crippled/neurotic to be considered plausible, if one ignores the superpowers. Within the plot the author does a decent job of explaining issues (especially in regards to trans folk) in order to clue the reader into something that may not be on their radar. It didn't feel preachy, and I think the explanations fit into the story as a whole. While the focus in this novel was a LGBTQ collection of folks with superpowers, I am glad that not every straight person was portrayed negatively, and the Sacred Band does include at least one, who is portrayed in favorably. It would have been too easy for the author to set this up as an LGBTQ vs. straight sort of thing, but the world is more complex than that, and it is reflected in the story.
Finally, the fight scenes were fun, and the novel doesn't end on a cliffhanger like many comic books. It wraps up the main story arc and leaves plenty for additional books. While there is plenty of innuendo in the book, and many discussions of past experiences, I don't recall any graphic sex in the book.
I am not going to summarize the plot or anything, but I liked the developing relationship between Rusty and Mitch, and with luck future books will explore it in more depth. There are actually many things touched on that I would enjoy see being explored, but without recapping the plot and how each came about, which would result in a slew of spoilers, I think I will just include the most obvious one (for me) in my review.
All that said, I hope if you like superhero stories you will consider giving this one a go. At this time the ebook price was more along the lines of a major publisher new release rather than a small press, but, personally, I had no problems with that, at least after I read it, though it did make me consider this purchase a bit more thoughtfully than I would something priced lower.
Finally, the fight scenes were fun, and the novel doesn't end on a cliffhanger like many comic books. It wraps up the main story arc and leaves plenty for additional books. While there is plenty of innuendo in the book, and many discussions of past experiences, I don't recall any graphic sex in the book.
I am not going to summarize the plot or anything, but I liked the developing relationship between Rusty and Mitch, and with luck future books will explore it in more depth. There are actually many things touched on that I would enjoy see being explored, but without recapping the plot and how each came about, which would result in a slew of spoilers, I think I will just include the most obvious one (for me) in my review.
All that said, I hope if you like superhero stories you will consider giving this one a go. At this time the ebook price was more along the lines of a major publisher new release rather than a small press, but, personally, I had no problems with that, at least after I read it, though it did make me consider this purchase a bit more thoughtfully than I would something priced lower.
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