Superteam

Raptors #2

by Jaime Castle, C.J. Valin

If you didn’t read Sidekick, you’ve gotta read that first. Trust me.

If you did…

Wow. Who saw that coming? I know I didn’t.

As you know, I’m the Red Raptor. Now that things have… changed, I’ve asked my friend Amy to help tell the story. No, seriously, she’s just a friend. I mean—I guess if it were up to me? But… no.

Okay, so there’s a new threat—a bunch of punks called the Neon Knights. They’re causing mayhem, armed with some kind of plasma-photon-light weapons that I can’t even begin to understand, and as usual, I’ve gotta stop them.

However, this time I’ve got help. That’s right, I formed my own superteam. One for the ages.

But first, I’ve gotta do my shift at Big Frankie Junior’s. What? You like eating burgers, right? Well, someone has to cook them. We can’t be heroes all the time.

From Washington Post Bestseller Jaime Castle and CJ Valin comes the next installment from the best new superhero universe, perfect for fans of both DC and Marvel. Actually, its for fans of anything superhero-related. You’re gonna like it. Promise.

Genres: Audiobook, Superheroes

327 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 20, 2021

About the author

Jaime Castle hails from the great nation of Texas where he lives with his wife and two children and enjoys anything creative. A self-proclaimed comic book nerd and artist, he spends what little free time he can muster with his art tablet.

Jaime is a #1 Audible Bestseller, Audible Originals author (The Luna Missile Crisis) and co-created and co-authored The Buried Goddess Saga, which includes the IPPY award-winning Web of Eyes.

Fantasy:

The Buried Goddess Saga:
Web of Eyes
Winds of War
Will of Fire
Way of Gods
War of Men
Word of Truth

Dragonblood Assassin:
Black Talon
Red Claw
Silver Spines
Golden Flames (2023/2024)

RAPTORS:
Sidekick
Superteam
Scions
Baron Steele

HARRIER (Raptors)
Justice
The Trench
Invasion

The Black Badge:
Dead Acre
Cold as Hell
Vein Pursuits
Ace in the Hole (2024)

Jeff the Game Master:
Manufacturing Magic
Manipulating Magic
Mastering Magic

Science Fiction:

This Long Vigil
The Luna Missile Crisis

ROGUE STARS:
Purgatory (2024)
Divine Intervention (2024)
Reclamation (2024)

Find out more at www.jaimecastle.com

Reviews

[Gavin]

This second instalment in Castle and Valin's Raptors YA superhero series was a good one. Just like the first book it had a good mix of action, humour, drama, and superpowered happenings.

With Black Harrier out of action after the events of the first book Red Raptor and Osprey look to form a super team to help them fight crime in New York. The tale was quite fun!

The big change in this book was the addition of some new POV's. We got a tiny bit from Alex right at the start that gave us some insight into his character and then Amy (Osprey) was added as a full POV character. I felt like this really benefited the story and added more depth as we got to see things from the perspective of someone other than Sawyer and that proved surprisingly enjoyable and interesting. I like Sawyer as well though so it was good he still played a large POV role in this story.

All in all I think this might have been a tiny bit better than the first book in the series. I'll definitely read more in this series as it is a solid YA superhero series!


Rating: 3.5 stars

Audio Note: Jack Meloche was joined by Jessica Almasy in this one. She voiced Amy! Both narrators did a good job.

[Jas · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is always that question of whether the sequel is going to be as good as the original, especially when the original was as exceptional as Sidekicks was. Superteam easily meets the standard of the first book in the series, with a storyline that continues to be brilliant, as well as having some of the best Character work you will find in this genre.
This is all wrapped in this extraordinary world building, which really makes the Raptors series just such a captivating and compelling read (And I say this having finished book 1 and 2 in just single days as they are both so brilliant!).
Superteam is a little different to book 1 in that we get a few different points of view, having not just Sawyer (Or Red Raptors) Point of View this time, but also Amy’s (Osprey), as well as Alex (Black Harrier/Redhawk).
Sawyer still remains the main character to a large extent, but we do get a lot more input from Amy this time, and it is interesting hearing her side of things.
Book 2 picks up not long after Book 1, and Sawyer and Amy have been left to ‘Patrol’ New York on their own, as Alex has been ordered back to Boston by the Guild. Even though Frank passed the mantle of Black Harrier onto Alex, the ‘Guild’ has not officially ratified it, and so Alex is not able to actually act as the Black Harrier without incurring the wrath of the Guild (which really just means Eaglestar).
Sawyer has also had his official request for the name change from Red Kite to Red Raptor rejected again, and he can’t understand why the Guild (and more importantly, the (insert your favourite insult), Eaglestar), just won’t approve it?
Sawyer is getting more and more frustrated with the Guild and their attitude to things, especially with regards to big things like Alex coming to New York.
I won’t give too much away, needless to say, there are a bunch of different antics between Amy, and Sawyer as their alter ego’s fighting various thugs, and these scenes are not only exceptionally well choregraphed, with stunning descriptive work of the actual combat and manoeuvres, but there is also a liberal amount of humour thrown in to make each of the sequences not only fun to read, but you find yourself in stiches from laughing so hard.
I have to admit though, Book 2 has a bit of a darker edge to it than Part 1, and whilst there is still a high degree of sarcastic wit and humour, there is also a lot more grit and brutal intensity to Book 2. It feels like Sawyer and Amy have had to grow up and mature a bit without Black Harrier around, and this has had an impact on their outlooks and the story.
As I said before, Amy’s perspective makes for an interesting input to the story, and we get to understand a lot more about her Character, how she can to be Osprey, her back story, as well as her relationship with her Father Luis Chen.
This really adds not only to her character, (and of course Osprey), but it adds a lot of depth to the overall story to, and for me, I love to learn the backstories of the characters.
Again, without trying to give too much away, there are several major story arcs, that make this a really brilliant sequel. As mentioned, Sawyer, Amy and Alex all get more backstory, but in this one, we are introduced to a new gang, The Neon Knights, led by a new Super Villain.
The Knights have special plasma enhanced weapons and armour that make them incredibly strong, and give them all special abilities, making them incredibly powerful in combat.
It is pretty soon that Sawyer and Amy realise that they are outgunned by this new turn of events, and with the Guild refusing to help out with Alex as the Black Harrier, Sawyer takes things into his own hands, and thus we end up with ‘Superteam’.
Again, without wanting to give anything away, because this is easily one of the funniest parts of the book, Amy and Sawyer put together a Superteam to help them out, by doing a kind of ‘Audition’ style test to check out their applicants.
It might take you a while to get through this section, just because you will have to stop from laughing so hard.
This is an epic sequel to the first book, Castle and Valin have continued to build on the extraordinary world they created in book 1, with outstanding world building that is not only multi-faceted, but so real with so much detail and depth, that you feel like you are in each of the locations with the characters.
One of the things I really love about this story, is the emotional connection you get with the Characters, they are written so well, that from the first pages of book 1, we have felt a bond with Sawyer, and gone on the emotional ride with him, all the ups and downs of the various things that have happened to him (And there are so many more in this book – Poor Lad….), but we feel this bond with Amy to now, thanks to book 2, and it is the gritty, intelligent and perceptive writing of Castle and Valin that lets us connect with the Characters like this, and really makes this story so much more special.
Superteam is a thrill ride, with a lot of laughs, with exceptional character work, and stunning world building. This is a sequel that can’t be missed, and if you haven’t read book 1, now is the time to drop everything, and go and do so – because these are two books that are not to be missed for 2021!!

[Cmoore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boy I'm really glad that I stuck with this series. I liked it so much more than Sidekicks (bk1). Don't get me wrong Sidekicks was a great way to spend a few hours, but I never really embraced Sawyer William Vincent ... but with the addition of Amy's (aka Osprey) point-of-view and Jessica Almasy's voice performance I really dug this and I'm definitely looking forward for more!

[L. Hues · Rating 5 out of 5]

Villains. A variety of compelling characters. Action. Drama. Romance. What’s not to like?
Also it was brilliantly narrated. I loved the back and forth narration between Osprey and Red Kite cough-Raptor-cough.

[Julie Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book but found it a bit slower than the first book. This book continues on from the first book with Red Raptor stepping up to save the city but it is not totally necessarily because the author gives you a good round up of the previous book. I think this book was more about teenage drama and doesn't really pick up until towards the end. Don't get me wrong there is a few fight scenes or skirmishes as the characters and situation our introduced. I like the characters and the introduction of the new team members but it contain s a lot of relationship wows, some of which was amusing but I like to be entertained with death defying and impossible fights. It is set up nicely for the next book, which I think will be more action packed. Off to find out.
With all the rules the guild has and there inability to make any quick decisions about who will become the new super hero for the city, Red Raptor decides to form his own team. And just in time. A group of teenagers known as the Neon knight are robbing banks and causing havoc. Can the Red Raptor and his newly formed team stop them before anybody gets hurt? Or will homework, part time jobs and personal relationships get in the way? The guild demand he disband the group but that is before they disappear during a sidekick celebration and Red Raptor finds he is once again battling to save the world as he knows it by saving the super heros.
The story is told by the two main super hero characters and each chapter starts with who's perspective it was but don't worry the use of a male and female narrator make it easy to follow along. Both narrator's were good and made it an enjoyable listen.

[Victoria Pring · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is on about the same level as book one, which is actually pretty good, so many sequels are awful compared to the first instalment so I was pleased when I realised this book did not follow that trend. Osprey is less interesting in this book as there is an awkward love triangle thing happening which nobody asked for. The main storyline however was pretty good even if we dont really know who the main villain is. It was a nice touch having the villain wanting the guild back too. The Superteam they create is good but them constantly leaving Cricket out seems ill advised, train him better and he could be great, also constantly leaving him out while everyone else does hero stuff sounds like a villain origin story if I ever heard one. I worried a little with the whole vigilante aspect at the start as it seemed ill advised but clearly there is more crime than the people who the guild have entrusted can actually manage. I think it could have been handled better but, I mean they are supposed to be teens and young adults so being impulsive seems accurate.

[Jesse Carrasco · Rating 4 out of 5]

After randomly finding and really enjoying the first book in this series, I listened to the 2nd one not sure what to expect. To my delight, I thought this book was just as good as the first one. I really liked all of the characters and their dynamics.

This story picks up a few months after the first book and our main character really wants to break out of being a sidekick and becoming a full-fledged hero. He decides to take matters into his own hands by recruiting his own superhero team. Along the way he has to contend with tradition high school problems like studying for tests, working a job, and crushes. In addition, we get multiple POVs (for the audiobook, a 2nd narrator is brought on board). It was nice to get different perspectives throughout the story.

While this book still have the DC superhero feel, it did start to feel more like it's own universe rather than a blatant ripoff of Batman. Based on how this book ended, I'm excited to see what happens in Book 3. I would recommend giving this series a shot if you're into the superhero genre at all. It's a lot of fun and can be a nice break from some of the heavier literature out there.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book two and still a blast of a read. Loads more snark, some unashamed knock-offs of famous scenarios, including a "Luke, I am your father" incident, and I'm sure there's an unmistakeable parallel to the Iron Man - Stark Industries storyline.

The first person POV for each main character presentation is continued, with additional characters added to the narrative. These different chapters are cleverly done, with the characters thoughts and behaviour patterns remaining consistent (this could not have been easy).

Still lots of errors that should have been edited out, so again only 4 stars.

[C.T. Phipps · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love Jaime Castle's Raptors series. It is a fantastic collection of Batman EXPY stories with Sawyer as the snarky newest Red Kite (a type of bird) who really wishes people would call him Red Raptor. The first book had some shocking revelations and now Sawyer is dealing with it as well as the revelation his relationship with Black Harrier is a lot closer than he ever could have expected. Great superhero lit, especially if you like Batman. The best part of the book is when Frank tried to teach Sawyer (who grew up poor) the value of a dollar by forcing him to work in fast food.

[Christopher Morgan, · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super team written by a super writer

The sequel is finally here and this time it's from 3point of views. ALex, Sawyer and Amy. I can only compare this to young justice teen titans in terms of comics. The book is suited for fans of young heroes before they became world famous, a young group of heroes taking up saving and protecting their city after the events of book one. The artwork is pretty cool to 😀

[Davis Emmanuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still Batman but with more originality than DC would ever

If the last book was Killing Joke with Death in the Family, this is Titans all the way. The story strays into less well worn territory and the sequel hook is interesting to say the least. It would be tragic if this was a trilogy because it feels like the books are hitting their stride.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read

I really enjoyed this book. This series got me back into the superhero genre. I give this one a 4.5 out of 5 and I really enjoyed the ending. I love the take on the sidekicks and the real problems being one issues for the heroes and characters. I am flying through this trilogy and I am happy to have already started book 3! I also bought Harrier as well.

[Mike Gagliardi · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many typos

The book is again decent. Enough to continue reading, but he really needs to edit better, or hire a better editor. So many mistakes, that it really takes you away from the story. Hopefully book 3 is better, but there wasn't really an improvement from books 1-2..

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good continuation to the series, but with two narrators this time. Ends with an interesting hook for the next book.

[Jay DeMoir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Second entry in the series. Though not as enjoyable as the first, it was still a good read.