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Villains' Code #2
Bones of the Past
After her apprenticeship was done and a place in the guild of villains secured, Tori’s life was supposed to get simpler. Unfortunately, a poorly timed errand sees Tori caught in the debut of a new team of capes, one wearing an all-too-familiar name.
Thrust into the spotlight, Tori will have to navigate her unwanted fame as well as the suspiciously superheroic new neighbors down the hall, all while keeping up with her own villainous enterprises. With the guild no longer a secret, Hephaestus needs to grow as strong as possible to face her mounting threats.
Ambitious gangs, battling against mechanized traps, and brawling with capes are only the beginning. Behind the scenes, a hidden enemy works to settle an old score, one that has burned for decades. This secret scheme will not only endanger Tori, her friends, and the guild, but the very world itself.
Thrust into the spotlight, Tori will have to navigate her unwanted fame as well as the suspiciously superheroic new neighbors down the hall, all while keeping up with her own villainous enterprises. With the guild no longer a secret, Hephaestus needs to grow as strong as possible to face her mounting threats.
Ambitious gangs, battling against mechanized traps, and brawling with capes are only the beginning. Behind the scenes, a hidden enemy works to settle an old score, one that has burned for decades. This secret scheme will not only endanger Tori, her friends, and the guild, but the very world itself.
36 pages, Audible Audio
First published December 23, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 310 reviews
December 25, 2020
Great, but....
Ok, to start, genuinely, this is one of Drew Hayes's best books. Well written, multiple story threads woven together, full returning cast and new characters introduced. All good, five star rating, no qualms.
This is not to say that there was nothing I disliked. But, call me paranoid maybe, I think the author wanted me to hate them. The way the new AHC team usurped book time, and interactions with Tori, from Donald and his team, yeah, I didn't like it, but I don't think I was supposed to. I was meant to resent them, at least at first, although I maybe bought into it a bit too far, because I could have quite cheerfully sacrificed that whole team for a cheap emotional moment.
Also, romantic entanglements that were hinted at in the first book, were hinted at again but progressed no further. Some even went backwards. Which makes sense, storywise, but could be a potential source of frustration if you're 'shipping any particular couple combination.
When it comes down to it though, these are all reasons to read this book. It zigs when you expect a zag. What you think is the biggest threat, is a distraction. What you think it is distracting you from, is a double bluff. And the person bluffing, is in disguise.
At this point The Villain's Code is Drew Hayes's best superhero series. And I never thought I'd say that about the guy who wrote Super Powereds.
Ok, to start, genuinely, this is one of Drew Hayes's best books. Well written, multiple story threads woven together, full returning cast and new characters introduced. All good, five star rating, no qualms.
This is not to say that there was nothing I disliked. But, call me paranoid maybe, I think the author wanted me to hate them. The way the new AHC team usurped book time, and interactions with Tori, from Donald and his team, yeah, I didn't like it, but I don't think I was supposed to. I was meant to resent them, at least at first, although I maybe bought into it a bit too far, because I could have quite cheerfully sacrificed that whole team for a cheap emotional moment.
Also, romantic entanglements that were hinted at in the first book, were hinted at again but progressed no further. Some even went backwards. Which makes sense, storywise, but could be a potential source of frustration if you're 'shipping any particular couple combination.
When it comes down to it though, these are all reasons to read this book. It zigs when you expect a zag. What you think is the biggest threat, is a distraction. What you think it is distracting you from, is a double bluff. And the person bluffing, is in disguise.
At this point The Villain's Code is Drew Hayes's best superhero series. And I never thought I'd say that about the guy who wrote Super Powereds.
January 2, 2021
I would recommend this book.
Drew Hayes continues his spin on the heroes and villains narrative and does so with loving care and lots of laughs. A book ostensibly about villains and heroes reminds us that even these larger than life characters are often very human and that's where most of the drama happens.
What I love:
This world is crafted and consistent and given in such detail that it's one of the thing that consistently sets Drew Hayes novels apart from other authors. This book continues that by asking and showing a world that consistently asks "what-ifs". We get numerous examples of the administrative behind the scenes support structure that exists to prop up these massive superhero and villain organizations. Questions any fan of supers in the past may have asked but are rarely explored. All of this plus more creates a world that feels well thought out and lived in.
Drew Hayes sets up believable reasons for people with too much power to not use it. This book is mostly about the human lives and hidden identities of our main characters rather than their super or villain counterparts. This gives these characters opportunity to breathe and grow and we get to explore several characters to a depth that is often lacking from super stories where the action scenes drive most of the drama.
This iteration in the series relies heavily on dramatic irony, often placing characters who have secrets and identities they're trying to keep from each other together. This adds a layer of humor to the characters and a backdrop to further explore the blurred lines between villain, hero, and human.
What I didn't enjoy:
There are moments where extra detail is added that destroys the pacing. While I praise this level of detail earlier at times it seems to be included out of habit. Some of these details are irrelevant to any other point but still take up space. In one example that sticks out, a paragraph is given to walking through shift changes, sandwiched between an announcement of impending significance and the personal takeaways from some characters. There are many examples of this, and at a significant 1164 pages it feels like there could be some tightening up in places.
The final confrontation felt flat compared to the events of the rest of the book. So much energy of the book is given to our Uncle and Niece duo that the real emotional impact of the book hits hardest about halfway through. Our main characters are collateral in the grudge match that the book takes its namesake from and it feels almost tacked on. There is a segment from Professor Quantum that hints at possible interaction but this is thrown away.
Team Cyber Geek, Beverly, and Professor Quantum all seemed like cardboard cutouts. Perhaps this is because of the attention paid to other characters but there didn't seem like any character change from these characters compared to the previous book with the exception of some short Beverly family scenes. Given the amount of attention they received this seems like a wasted opportunity.
In Conclusion
This book explores the world of super heroes and villains in a way that is just downright fun with reverence and a knowing wink. After all, why do robbers always throw their gun when they run out of bullets? And if someone is so strong why does a car retains structural integrity instead being ripped in half when they try to pick it up? I had a blast reading and hard a very hard time putting it down. I eagerly await book 3 in the series.
Drew Hayes continues his spin on the heroes and villains narrative and does so with loving care and lots of laughs. A book ostensibly about villains and heroes reminds us that even these larger than life characters are often very human and that's where most of the drama happens.
What I love:
This world is crafted and consistent and given in such detail that it's one of the thing that consistently sets Drew Hayes novels apart from other authors. This book continues that by asking and showing a world that consistently asks "what-ifs". We get numerous examples of the administrative behind the scenes support structure that exists to prop up these massive superhero and villain organizations. Questions any fan of supers in the past may have asked but are rarely explored. All of this plus more creates a world that feels well thought out and lived in.
Drew Hayes sets up believable reasons for people with too much power to not use it. This book is mostly about the human lives and hidden identities of our main characters rather than their super or villain counterparts. This gives these characters opportunity to breathe and grow and we get to explore several characters to a depth that is often lacking from super stories where the action scenes drive most of the drama.
This iteration in the series relies heavily on dramatic irony, often placing characters who have secrets and identities they're trying to keep from each other together. This adds a layer of humor to the characters and a backdrop to further explore the blurred lines between villain, hero, and human.
What I didn't enjoy:
There are moments where extra detail is added that destroys the pacing. While I praise this level of detail earlier at times it seems to be included out of habit. Some of these details are irrelevant to any other point but still take up space. In one example that sticks out, a paragraph is given to walking through shift changes, sandwiched between an announcement of impending significance and the personal takeaways from some characters. There are many examples of this, and at a significant 1164 pages it feels like there could be some tightening up in places.
The final confrontation felt flat compared to the events of the rest of the book. So much energy of the book is given to our Uncle and Niece duo that the real emotional impact of the book hits hardest about halfway through. Our main characters are collateral in the grudge match that the book takes its namesake from and it feels almost tacked on. There is a segment from Professor Quantum that hints at possible interaction but this is thrown away.
Team Cyber Geek, Beverly, and Professor Quantum all seemed like cardboard cutouts. Perhaps this is because of the attention paid to other characters but there didn't seem like any character change from these characters compared to the previous book with the exception of some short Beverly family scenes. Given the amount of attention they received this seems like a wasted opportunity.
In Conclusion
This book explores the world of super heroes and villains in a way that is just downright fun with reverence and a knowing wink. After all, why do robbers always throw their gun when they run out of bullets? And if someone is so strong why does a car retains structural integrity instead being ripped in half when they try to pick it up? I had a blast reading and hard a very hard time putting it down. I eagerly await book 3 in the series.
January 10, 2021
BONES OF THE PAST is the sequel to FORGING HEPHAESTUS by Drew Hayes as well as the second volume of the VILLAIN'S CODE series. I happen to have read this as the first of Drew Hayes' superhero novels and really need to get around to reading the others. However, I will admit a certain bias to this novel. I, too, write "villain" books, particularly superhero books and this is straight up my jam. The previous book was a big meaty volume that really got into the day-to-day lives of supervillains and heroes both.
The premise is that the events of the previous book have seriously shaken up the status quo in the universe. The Guild of Villainous Reformation has been exposed as existing and this has dramatically reduced their power base. They thrived in the shadows with minimal superhero interference and with the threat of their power being kept nebulous. The Alliance of Heroic Champions has also suffered due to the discovery it had made a compromise with the world's villains and also was responsible for the massive fight that almost destroyed Ridge City.
The two main characters of the book are Tori Rivas (Hephaestus) and Ivan Gerhardt (Fornax). Tori is a science hero similar to a young Tony Stark or Riri Williams (Ironheart). Not particularly villainous but not very heroic either, Tori looks up to Ivan for guidance. Ivan is as about as thoroughly redeemed a villain as possible without giving up his edge. Ivan wants nothing more than a life of safety for his children but believes that occassionally tearing apart some people is the best way to do that. It's an argument that Tori feels is right when a villain attempts to endanger Ivan's children at the equivalent of the Girl Scouts.
Contrasting our antiheroes are the New Science Sentries that are a team of heavily-trained science heroes that are the prodgies of Professor Quantum. They're not very good at this job, having been forced into the mold of heroes by a less-than-noble man. Nevertheless, they try and become better heroes and it is hilarious when they move into Tori's building like something that would happen to Peter Parker during the Sixties.
Much of the book deals with the theme of how much fear is needed as a contrast to hope among retributive justice. Lodestar is someone that inspires people to be their best selves but the fear of the Guild proves just as large an incentive for criminals to keep civilians out of the line of fire. We also see how the carrot and the stick applies to Earth's handling of alien invaders. Lodestar wants to peacefully deal with alien cultures while Ivan wants to make an example of anyone who might threaten the people of Earth.
There's the slight problem that the villains really don't seem to do anything villainous. I expected a bit more theft and money-laundering other than murdering people who really-really deserve it but I'm okay with this. Much of the book's premise depends on the fact that the majority of villains have discovered its much better to make money in secrecy than take over the world. Indeed, Doctor Mechanical is pretty much Lex Luthor if he didn't have his overwhelming obsession with destroying Superman. He's content being the world's richest man and controlling the world from behind the scenes.
This is another solid and entertaining book by Drew Hayes. I really got to experience life among his fascinating characters and felt he's made a full on DC or Marvel Universe equivalent. It's really a fun slice of life series with aliens, robots, and archvillains. I also feel like I'd read this as a regular comic book in real life.
The premise is that the events of the previous book have seriously shaken up the status quo in the universe. The Guild of Villainous Reformation has been exposed as existing and this has dramatically reduced their power base. They thrived in the shadows with minimal superhero interference and with the threat of their power being kept nebulous. The Alliance of Heroic Champions has also suffered due to the discovery it had made a compromise with the world's villains and also was responsible for the massive fight that almost destroyed Ridge City.
The two main characters of the book are Tori Rivas (Hephaestus) and Ivan Gerhardt (Fornax). Tori is a science hero similar to a young Tony Stark or Riri Williams (Ironheart). Not particularly villainous but not very heroic either, Tori looks up to Ivan for guidance. Ivan is as about as thoroughly redeemed a villain as possible without giving up his edge. Ivan wants nothing more than a life of safety for his children but believes that occassionally tearing apart some people is the best way to do that. It's an argument that Tori feels is right when a villain attempts to endanger Ivan's children at the equivalent of the Girl Scouts.
Contrasting our antiheroes are the New Science Sentries that are a team of heavily-trained science heroes that are the prodgies of Professor Quantum. They're not very good at this job, having been forced into the mold of heroes by a less-than-noble man. Nevertheless, they try and become better heroes and it is hilarious when they move into Tori's building like something that would happen to Peter Parker during the Sixties.
Much of the book deals with the theme of how much fear is needed as a contrast to hope among retributive justice. Lodestar is someone that inspires people to be their best selves but the fear of the Guild proves just as large an incentive for criminals to keep civilians out of the line of fire. We also see how the carrot and the stick applies to Earth's handling of alien invaders. Lodestar wants to peacefully deal with alien cultures while Ivan wants to make an example of anyone who might threaten the people of Earth.
There's the slight problem that the villains really don't seem to do anything villainous. I expected a bit more theft and money-laundering other than murdering people who really-really deserve it but I'm okay with this. Much of the book's premise depends on the fact that the majority of villains have discovered its much better to make money in secrecy than take over the world. Indeed, Doctor Mechanical is pretty much Lex Luthor if he didn't have his overwhelming obsession with destroying Superman. He's content being the world's richest man and controlling the world from behind the scenes.
This is another solid and entertaining book by Drew Hayes. I really got to experience life among his fascinating characters and felt he's made a full on DC or Marvel Universe equivalent. It's really a fun slice of life series with aliens, robots, and archvillains. I also feel like I'd read this as a regular comic book in real life.
December 26, 2020
Overall: +8
A proper sequel! A fast paced cracking read with good character, plot development and overall fun!
Writing/Plot/Pace: +6
(+) One of the Hayes's best written books for sure. The books grips you from page 1 and steadily builds up a crescendo leading to the climax. The author has woven multiple sub plots, nicely as we get to know the current happening as well as getting hints to the macro plot. The writing is smooth and done well enough to keep the pace and suspense building all through.
(+) Good villains vs Bad heroes has been done to death before and thankfully the books doesn't delve there. By taking the the people behind the masks vs the masks themselves, we get something very fresh and digs much deeper into that standard good vs evil theme adding a lot of complexity and spice to the book.
(-) Post finishing the book, realize that the overall plot could have been fleshed out a bit better.
Characters: +9
Probably the real star of this book is character development!
Constant nuggets of back stories to build the characters giving more reality and weight to their thought process, actions and their consequences....resulting in very realistic and some really great characters. Even character who don't get regular page time make an impression.
Development of Tori and how she's gets influenced by actions of Fornax, Rick's realization of his fathers true self, Ivan and Helen's complex relationship, even Janet...all stellar characters. I can't appreciate this enough! The dynamics of New Science Sentries is another gem in this collection. They have the potential for being typecast and bland, but Drew avoids those pits and we feel for them both as fellow humans and as heroes.
A proper sequel! A fast paced cracking read with good character, plot development and overall fun!
Writing/Plot/Pace: +6
(+) One of the Hayes's best written books for sure. The books grips you from page 1 and steadily builds up a crescendo leading to the climax. The author has woven multiple sub plots, nicely as we get to know the current happening as well as getting hints to the macro plot. The writing is smooth and done well enough to keep the pace and suspense building all through.
(+) Good villains vs Bad heroes has been done to death before and thankfully the books doesn't delve there. By taking the the people behind the masks vs the masks themselves, we get something very fresh and digs much deeper into that standard good vs evil theme adding a lot of complexity and spice to the book.
(-) Post finishing the book, realize that the overall plot could have been fleshed out a bit better.
Characters: +9
Probably the real star of this book is character development!
Constant nuggets of back stories to build the characters giving more reality and weight to their thought process, actions and their consequences....resulting in very realistic and some really great characters. Even character who don't get regular page time make an impression.
Development of Tori and how she's gets influenced by actions of Fornax, Rick's realization of his fathers true self, Ivan and Helen's complex relationship, even Janet...all stellar characters. I can't appreciate this enough! The dynamics of New Science Sentries is another gem in this collection. They have the potential for being typecast and bland, but Drew avoids those pits and we feel for them both as fellow humans and as heroes.
December 30, 2024
Awesome book! 5 stars
Tori Rivas/ Hephaestus is now a full fledged member of the Villains Guild, and thing are going well. She now lives with Chloe and Beverly in a new apartment, her suit is better than ever and the Guild's new hideout is almost done....But then by happenstance she is saved by a new team of Heroes and she is thrust into the media Limelight as the cities new Damsel in Distress. And from then on things go even more sideways!
Like most of Hayes books this is a BIG one. with 862 pages this is his second largest book to date and all of it is interesting. With the world set up in the previous novel Drew gets to expand it in the second one. Like the previous novel the Multi-POV structure is used to follow multiple characters and give their view on various situations. (And sometimes the same situations to either hilarious or nail biting suspense) The central narrative of this novel circles around the sometimes strange relationships between Heroes and Villains and the curious danse of both their civilian and costumed identities around these topics.
Overall I thought this was a well done novel. Various characters got their chance to shine, but Tori as the central character got this novel to develop and find herself. She knows what she was, and where she is, but now she get to define where she wishes to go. Both for her Villain and for her civilian identities this book gave significant insight and satisfactory payoff. Oh and lest I forget, YES the fights are AWESOME!
So in short: I had to wait 10 weeks of delivery time and put 5 books 'on-hold' but it was worth it!
5 stars
Tori Rivas/ Hephaestus is now a full fledged member of the Villains Guild, and thing are going well. She now lives with Chloe and Beverly in a new apartment, her suit is better than ever and the Guild's new hideout is almost done....But then by happenstance she is saved by a new team of Heroes and she is thrust into the media Limelight as the cities new Damsel in Distress. And from then on things go even more sideways!
Like most of Hayes books this is a BIG one. with 862 pages this is his second largest book to date and all of it is interesting. With the world set up in the previous novel Drew gets to expand it in the second one. Like the previous novel the Multi-POV structure is used to follow multiple characters and give their view on various situations. (And sometimes the same situations to either hilarious or nail biting suspense) The central narrative of this novel circles around the sometimes strange relationships between Heroes and Villains and the curious danse of both their civilian and costumed identities around these topics.
Overall I thought this was a well done novel. Various characters got their chance to shine, but Tori as the central character got this novel to develop and find herself. She knows what she was, and where she is, but now she get to define where she wishes to go. Both for her Villain and for her civilian identities this book gave significant insight and satisfactory payoff. Oh and lest I forget, YES the fights are AWESOME!
So in short: I had to wait 10 weeks of delivery time and put 5 books 'on-hold' but it was worth it!
5 stars
January 16, 2021
Villains' Code book 2. spoilers for the first ahead.
Life in the world of a supervillain. . . opening with an alien invasion, and Tori and her friends watching from their apartment while Ivan watches from the apartment of his friend Wade, as if they were not the villains Hephaestus, Bahamut, Fornax, and Doctor Mechanical. Plus Tori's friend Chloe, who's neither a villain nor a hero, though super.
It is a long, many threaded plot. The launch of a new superhero team to carry on a legacy, Tori kidnapped in her civilian identity, the guild moving back into retribution, another alien invasion, intra-hero rivalries and friendships, Tori using some unwanted fame, a new villain base, and more.
Life in the world of a supervillain. . . opening with an alien invasion, and Tori and her friends watching from their apartment while Ivan watches from the apartment of his friend Wade, as if they were not the villains Hephaestus, Bahamut, Fornax, and Doctor Mechanical. Plus Tori's friend Chloe, who's neither a villain nor a hero, though super.
It is a long, many threaded plot. The launch of a new superhero team to carry on a legacy, Tori kidnapped in her civilian identity, the guild moving back into retribution, another alien invasion, intra-hero rivalries and friendships, Tori using some unwanted fame, a new villain base, and more.
August 13, 2023
It's very big, yet I have been reading nonstop for several days.
EDIT: The Villain's Code books are absolutely comfort reads for me.
EDIT: The Villain's Code books are absolutely comfort reads for me.
August 16, 2021
Very nice, very intricate, interesting and detailed superhero world. Great story and characters. Drew Hayes always writes a unique and action packed story with great ideas. Very recommended
October 23, 2023
Review originally posted at BooksOfMyHeart.net.
I loved Forging Hephaestus, the first book in the Villains’ Code series. I was introduced to a world where I followed villains going through training to join the Villains’ Guild. I was also able to watch as others went through superhero training. It was a long story at 27 hours, but I was lost into the world and amazing characters. So when Bones of the Past became available, I couldn’t wait to see where the story went this time.
In Bones of the Past, we now get to see the people who made it through training and now they’re rookies out in the world. We mostly follow Tori, who’s villain name is Hephaestus. She is considered a “meta”, a person with powers. But she’s also big on tech. She likes to build meta suits.
Tori ends up getting rescued by another group of rookie superheroes and then they move into her apartment building to keep an eye on her, not knowing that she and her roommates are also metas (one roommate is a villain too, the other is trying to stay out of the spotlight of both the villains and heroes). A villain befriending superheroes is easier said than done.
The part I loved most about this story was getting to know more about Ivan (Tori’s mentor who has gone by both Pseudonym now but is also the more notorious Fornax who has only been beaten once before). He is a father of two and his kids don’t know about him, but his ex-wife does.
Then there is Lodestar. She is unbeatable. She’s the only one who has been able to defeat Fornax. She’s also a mother. She’s the ultimate superhero. She does have a friendship with Ivan, which is interesting. The strongest villain and strongest superhero are close friends. They know how lonely it can be to be strongest and a bit on the outside.
Anyway, in this story, someone attacks a Starscout cluster camping trip that Tori, Ivan and Helen (Lodestar’s real name) with Helen and Ivan’s young daughters. Needless to say, they messed with the wrong group of people. And this was just a test for Fornax and he doesn’t take kindly to someone putting his daughters in harm’s way.
I don’t want to go into more of the story because of spoilers. I will say that the length of the first book or this one is a non-issue. Once you start the story, you fall into the world and characters and you want to keep listening even once you arrive at the end of the story. The world is very well developed and very unique. Then there are the characters. I really love both the heroes and the villains. I love that we got to spend more time with the characters in their everyday lives, not just as the villains and heroes that they are.I just had an overall fun time with this story.
Narration:
Amy Landon does a great job with the narration of this series. There’s a large cast of characters, both men and women, not to mention the characters that aren’t human. She nails all the voices. It’s a long story and she keeps my attention throughout the entire story. She really brings me into the world while listening. I’ve listened to her in other series and I always love her performance. If you haven’t listened to Ms Landon, you’re really missing out.
**I received a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it.
I loved Forging Hephaestus, the first book in the Villains’ Code series. I was introduced to a world where I followed villains going through training to join the Villains’ Guild. I was also able to watch as others went through superhero training. It was a long story at 27 hours, but I was lost into the world and amazing characters. So when Bones of the Past became available, I couldn’t wait to see where the story went this time.
In Bones of the Past, we now get to see the people who made it through training and now they’re rookies out in the world. We mostly follow Tori, who’s villain name is Hephaestus. She is considered a “meta”, a person with powers. But she’s also big on tech. She likes to build meta suits.
Tori ends up getting rescued by another group of rookie superheroes and then they move into her apartment building to keep an eye on her, not knowing that she and her roommates are also metas (one roommate is a villain too, the other is trying to stay out of the spotlight of both the villains and heroes). A villain befriending superheroes is easier said than done.
The part I loved most about this story was getting to know more about Ivan (Tori’s mentor who has gone by both Pseudonym now but is also the more notorious Fornax who has only been beaten once before). He is a father of two and his kids don’t know about him, but his ex-wife does.
Then there is Lodestar. She is unbeatable. She’s the only one who has been able to defeat Fornax. She’s also a mother. She’s the ultimate superhero. She does have a friendship with Ivan, which is interesting. The strongest villain and strongest superhero are close friends. They know how lonely it can be to be strongest and a bit on the outside.
Anyway, in this story, someone attacks a Starscout cluster camping trip that Tori, Ivan and Helen (Lodestar’s real name) with Helen and Ivan’s young daughters. Needless to say, they messed with the wrong group of people. And this was just a test for Fornax and he doesn’t take kindly to someone putting his daughters in harm’s way.
I don’t want to go into more of the story because of spoilers. I will say that the length of the first book or this one is a non-issue. Once you start the story, you fall into the world and characters and you want to keep listening even once you arrive at the end of the story. The world is very well developed and very unique. Then there are the characters. I really love both the heroes and the villains. I love that we got to spend more time with the characters in their everyday lives, not just as the villains and heroes that they are.I just had an overall fun time with this story.
Narration:
Amy Landon does a great job with the narration of this series. There’s a large cast of characters, both men and women, not to mention the characters that aren’t human. She nails all the voices. It’s a long story and she keeps my attention throughout the entire story. She really brings me into the world while listening. I’ve listened to her in other series and I always love her performance. If you haven’t listened to Ms Landon, you’re really missing out.
**I received a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it.
December 24, 2020
Once in a while you come across a book that is so intense, so well written, so cool, it lingers in your mind even after you finish reading it. It happened to me with this book. What Drew Hayes does that makes me love his books so much is that he is a master of creating words that feel real, where everything is tinted in shades of gray, even in a world of superheroes and villains nothing is white and black, sometimes you cheer for the "bad guys" while hating the supposedly "good guys". Some are exactly that they are supposed to be, but not falling into cliches, in a way, even with all the powers and magics in the world, what we read about in the book are real people, complex people, who had some good and bad inside them and can't be really easily defined.
While it seems that Tori is the main character, we get to see a lot of different characters around her, their lives, motivations, dreams and hopes, we get involved with them and end up liking and caring for all of them. Tori, the girl we met in the previous book has evolved and continues evolving, but her obstacles are not contained to the meta world, but her personal life and she has to learn to balance both sides of her personality, and when the stakes grow impossibly high, everyone has to step up their game, and we find out a lot about the characters, we get to learn more about their pasts and we learn to hate and love certain characters.
It's a long book, like really long, but it doesn't feel heavy, sometimes I felt like I wasn't advancing fast enough, I wanted to learn more, but we kept jumping from character to character, from story to story, and all of them were so good you needed to learn more and more. Despite the length, this is a book I wouldn't mind reading again, I feel like I went through it so fast that I lost some things.
While it seems that Tori is the main character, we get to see a lot of different characters around her, their lives, motivations, dreams and hopes, we get involved with them and end up liking and caring for all of them. Tori, the girl we met in the previous book has evolved and continues evolving, but her obstacles are not contained to the meta world, but her personal life and she has to learn to balance both sides of her personality, and when the stakes grow impossibly high, everyone has to step up their game, and we find out a lot about the characters, we get to learn more about their pasts and we learn to hate and love certain characters.
It's a long book, like really long, but it doesn't feel heavy, sometimes I felt like I wasn't advancing fast enough, I wanted to learn more, but we kept jumping from character to character, from story to story, and all of them were so good you needed to learn more and more. Despite the length, this is a book I wouldn't mind reading again, I feel like I went through it so fast that I lost some things.
April 13, 2021
Notes:
Whew! A whole ton of stuff happened and some of the smaller events felt more important than the main story arc within the book. I enjoyed this one more than the first book.
Whew! A whole ton of stuff happened and some of the smaller events felt more important than the main story arc within the book. I enjoyed this one more than the first book.
December 31, 2020
I liked the first book more, mainly because it was too long, the beginnings were kind of a chore to read because there wasn't much happening and for me the ending was so long as stretched out, the final battle was'nt all that satisfying especially the main villain was lackluster considering he was a criminal mastermind controlling everything Behind the scenes, I was also kind of annoyed about how much lodestar's powers were mentioned
June 29, 2024
Bones of the Past is an amazing follow up to Forging Hephaestus. It was exciting, funny and clever, just as one would expect a Drew Hayes book to be. Can’t wait for the audiobook to come out so I can reread it many many times
December 4, 2022
As with Super Powereds, this series gets better as you get more into it. The perfect escapist read!
June 30, 2025
Bones of the Past was a highly enjoyable read (as are most of the books by this author), but no matter how much I enjoyed it, I can’t escape the fact that this was not all that good a story. Don’t get me wrong, on sheer enjoyment factor alone, it’s worth four stars as this is a fun universe to spend your time in, but when talking about the actual story, it’s probably only a 3-star read at best.
My main reasons for coming to this conclusion are:
WEAK PROTAGONIST - Tori is the least interesting character in this book by a wide margin, and her storyline felt shallow compared to all the rest. Here's just a sample of some of the characters in this book. Which one would you pick as a protagonist?
1. An unbeatable superhero struggling to stay grounded and human in a world where everyone has impossible expectations for her.
2. A semi-reformed supervillain who has done unspeakable things and whose kids are starting to learn of his past.
3. An overlooked geek of a superhero with the ability to manifest any object from a video game, and is learning to punch outside his weight class.
4. A barista who thought she had a small power to make common idioms come true learns that she has so much more potential than anyone thought.
5. A genius inventor (who isn't as talented as at least two other super-genius-level inventors) who almost never uses her genius in any meaningful way. She has the talent, contacts and capital to easily achieve mediocre results with very little standing in her path.
If you're anything like me, then number 5 is not your protagonist of choice. In a series filled with fascinating characters, the author has somehow stumbled on the most bland of them all, who has no genuine reason to be at the centre of events, and for some reason, he made her the protagonist.
I just don't get it.
NEEDS TO BE TIGHTENED UP - There’s a lot of this book that could do with being removed or at least trimmed down. Personally, I cared nothing about the new superhero team or anything that came of that plot line. In a story with far too many characters already, they just took the attention away from other, more interesting storylines.
Additionally, the overall plot lacks focus for the majority of the story. It’s mainly just events happening, and while they do come together at the end of the book, there is a considerable chunk where it’s just the enjoyment of the material and the author's writing style that keeps my interest. Considering the slice-of-life style writing of this series, that shouldn't be so much of an issue. But lacking the compelling protagonist to drive a slice-of-life style story, it doesn't work all that well here.
OVERALL VERDICT
I really don’t want to come across as too negative here, because I did genuinely enjoy my time reading this book. There was nothing here that I hated, and there was a lot to like. Unfortunately, all the time we spend with Tori feels like time wasted, and in a book this length, that is a little frustrating.
It is still worth reading, though, and I look forward to the next book in this story. I just hope it’s a little more focused.
My main reasons for coming to this conclusion are:
WEAK PROTAGONIST - Tori is the least interesting character in this book by a wide margin, and her storyline felt shallow compared to all the rest. Here's just a sample of some of the characters in this book. Which one would you pick as a protagonist?
1. An unbeatable superhero struggling to stay grounded and human in a world where everyone has impossible expectations for her.
2. A semi-reformed supervillain who has done unspeakable things and whose kids are starting to learn of his past.
3. An overlooked geek of a superhero with the ability to manifest any object from a video game, and is learning to punch outside his weight class.
4. A barista who thought she had a small power to make common idioms come true learns that she has so much more potential than anyone thought.
5. A genius inventor (who isn't as talented as at least two other super-genius-level inventors) who almost never uses her genius in any meaningful way. She has the talent, contacts and capital to easily achieve mediocre results with very little standing in her path.
If you're anything like me, then number 5 is not your protagonist of choice. In a series filled with fascinating characters, the author has somehow stumbled on the most bland of them all, who has no genuine reason to be at the centre of events, and for some reason, he made her the protagonist.
I just don't get it.
NEEDS TO BE TIGHTENED UP - There’s a lot of this book that could do with being removed or at least trimmed down. Personally, I cared nothing about the new superhero team or anything that came of that plot line. In a story with far too many characters already, they just took the attention away from other, more interesting storylines.
Additionally, the overall plot lacks focus for the majority of the story. It’s mainly just events happening, and while they do come together at the end of the book, there is a considerable chunk where it’s just the enjoyment of the material and the author's writing style that keeps my interest. Considering the slice-of-life style writing of this series, that shouldn't be so much of an issue. But lacking the compelling protagonist to drive a slice-of-life style story, it doesn't work all that well here.
OVERALL VERDICT
I really don’t want to come across as too negative here, because I did genuinely enjoy my time reading this book. There was nothing here that I hated, and there was a lot to like. Unfortunately, all the time we spend with Tori feels like time wasted, and in a book this length, that is a little frustrating.
It is still worth reading, though, and I look forward to the next book in this story. I just hope it’s a little more focused.
May 22, 2023
Awesome book! 5 stars
Tori Rivas/ Hephaestus is now a full fledged member of the Villains Guild, and thing are going well. She now lives with Chloe and Beverly in a new apartment, her suit is better than ever and the Guild's new hideout is almost done....But then by happenstance she is saved by a new team of Heroes and she is thrust into the media Limelight as the cities new Damsel in Distress. And from then on things go even more sideways!
Like most of Hayes books this is a BIG one. with over 35 hours this is his second longest book to date and all of it is interesting. With the world set up in the previous novel Drew gets to expand it in the second one. Like the previous novel the Multi-POV structure is used to follow multiple characters and give their view on various situations. (And sometimes the same situations to either hilarious or nail biting suspense) The central narrative of this novel circles around the sometimes strange relationships between Heroes and Villains and the curious danse of both their civilian and costumed identities around these topics.
Overall I thought this was a well done novel. Various characters got their chance to shine, but Tori as the central character got this novel to develop and find herself. She knows what she was, and where she is, but now she get to define where she wishes to go. Both for her Villain and for her civilian identities this book gave significant insight and satisfactory payoff. Oh and lest I forget, YES the fights are AWESOME!
So in short: I had to wait 10 weeks of delivery time and put 5 books 'on-hold' but it was worth it!
5 stars
Tori Rivas/ Hephaestus is now a full fledged member of the Villains Guild, and thing are going well. She now lives with Chloe and Beverly in a new apartment, her suit is better than ever and the Guild's new hideout is almost done....But then by happenstance she is saved by a new team of Heroes and she is thrust into the media Limelight as the cities new Damsel in Distress. And from then on things go even more sideways!
Like most of Hayes books this is a BIG one. with over 35 hours this is his second longest book to date and all of it is interesting. With the world set up in the previous novel Drew gets to expand it in the second one. Like the previous novel the Multi-POV structure is used to follow multiple characters and give their view on various situations. (And sometimes the same situations to either hilarious or nail biting suspense) The central narrative of this novel circles around the sometimes strange relationships between Heroes and Villains and the curious danse of both their civilian and costumed identities around these topics.
Overall I thought this was a well done novel. Various characters got their chance to shine, but Tori as the central character got this novel to develop and find herself. She knows what she was, and where she is, but now she get to define where she wishes to go. Both for her Villain and for her civilian identities this book gave significant insight and satisfactory payoff. Oh and lest I forget, YES the fights are AWESOME!
So in short: I had to wait 10 weeks of delivery time and put 5 books 'on-hold' but it was worth it!
5 stars
March 17, 2021
Good
I really enjoyed everything in this book except the main plot. It's Drew Hayes at peak-Drew Hayes to be sure, but if you're reading this review (hi), you're probably already prepared for that.
There's great character development in this: Tori coming into her own as a villain and deciding what to do with her life, lots of wonderful Ivan and Helen content to chew through, some really cool Lodestar stuff, the climax/battle... It's all wonderful.
There's also a lot of stuff I wish I had skipped: forgettable, vague scenes with an unknown big bad, a legacy team learning what it's like in the real world, a very long puzzle box. None of the characters seemed to interest the author enough for him to really expand on them, and he never convinced me to care about them. Especially the big bad, which was a disappointment, as I kept hoping we would get some flashbacks to Prof. Quantum's catalyzing experiment.
That being said, as soon as I finished it, I was ready for more. More Nexus and Lodestar and Tori and Geek and Ivan, I want them all. I'll be rereading this book and I think I'll enjoy it much more on the reread, since I'll know what to skim and what to savor.
I really enjoyed everything in this book except the main plot. It's Drew Hayes at peak-Drew Hayes to be sure, but if you're reading this review (hi), you're probably already prepared for that.
There's great character development in this: Tori coming into her own as a villain and deciding what to do with her life, lots of wonderful Ivan and Helen content to chew through, some really cool Lodestar stuff, the climax/battle... It's all wonderful.
There's also a lot of stuff I wish I had skipped: forgettable, vague scenes with an unknown big bad, a legacy team learning what it's like in the real world, a very long puzzle box. None of the characters seemed to interest the author enough for him to really expand on them, and he never convinced me to care about them. Especially the big bad, which was a disappointment, as I kept hoping we would get some flashbacks to Prof. Quantum's catalyzing experiment.
That being said, as soon as I finished it, I was ready for more. More Nexus and Lodestar and Tori and Geek and Ivan, I want them all. I'll be rereading this book and I think I'll enjoy it much more on the reread, since I'll know what to skim and what to savor.
May 9, 2024
The start dragged on way too much. And then there was too much going on in the second half. There was no balance. I feel like this book could have been much shorter.
I would have liked it if the science sentries had been introduced in the first book, alongside Donald and all the other newbies.
I did kind of like them by the end, but I was annoyed they took away "screen time" from Tory. I was also annoyed that the other two villains were pretty much shoved to the background. Side note, why don't the newbies have a seasoned meta as the lead for their teams?
Audiobook - the narrator is good, but the way she does voices really, really annoys me. Especially the male voices. She uses a slang, and drags out the last word of each sentence. The worst was Ike.
I would have liked it if the science sentries had been introduced in the first book, alongside Donald and all the other newbies.
I did kind of like them by the end, but I was annoyed they took away "screen time" from Tory. I was also annoyed that the other two villains were pretty much shoved to the background. Side note, why don't the newbies have a seasoned meta as the lead for their teams?
Audiobook - the narrator is good, but the way she does voices really, really annoys me. Especially the male voices. She uses a slang, and drags out the last word of each sentence. The worst was Ike.
January 14, 2024
Did not like this one as much as the first… too many people with too much god-like power, too many small distracting elements like the amount of time people spent discussing strategy in the middle of an active fight, etc. I did enjoy the characters and larger story arc in general, it just felt like this needed a ton of editing.
July 25, 2021
I’ll be honest, I skipped a huge chunk of this one it just didn’t grab me and it was unnecessarily long. It just didn’t grab my attention the way Hayes’s other work has done.
January 3, 2023
I've loved most all of this author's other series, but this one just never quite hooked me as much as I wanted it to.
April 24, 2021
Rating 3.5 stars
This book was both enjoyable and a disappointment at the same time. I loved the Super Powereds series. I loved all the powers, all the training and all the different way they were able to use those powers. The story was good as well. Everything sort of came together and fit perfectly. I would say this book and its predecessor are in an adjacent universe. Same type of powers but told from the villain perspective. It fall way short of the Super Powereds series IMO though. There wasn't as much use or explanations of the powers as I would have liked. The story itself wasn't that great. Tori, the MC hasn't done much to make me really care about her. Her low points don't really seem that low. The problems she has to deal with aren't really that bad. The buildup to the climax wasn't well put together. It was just a series of events that played out and then all of sudden we had are final battle. There wasn't much tension during the finally and it was drawn out way to long. Many of the side characters storylines were much more interesting than Tori's. I would have loved to learn more about Loadstar and Ivan. Ivan having to deal with his kid finding out he is a villain. I would have loved to get more in depth into Cyber geeks power. The new heroes, the new science sentries never clicked for me. I would have liked more about their background and what they went through. Without that I found myself not caring much about them. Despite all that, I did enjoy listening to the book. My rant is about what this book could have been versus what it was. It could have been a 5 star book. I just wish the author focused on different things.
This book was both enjoyable and a disappointment at the same time. I loved the Super Powereds series. I loved all the powers, all the training and all the different way they were able to use those powers. The story was good as well. Everything sort of came together and fit perfectly. I would say this book and its predecessor are in an adjacent universe. Same type of powers but told from the villain perspective. It fall way short of the Super Powereds series IMO though. There wasn't as much use or explanations of the powers as I would have liked. The story itself wasn't that great. Tori, the MC hasn't done much to make me really care about her. Her low points don't really seem that low. The problems she has to deal with aren't really that bad. The buildup to the climax wasn't well put together. It was just a series of events that played out and then all of sudden we had are final battle. There wasn't much tension during the finally and it was drawn out way to long. Many of the side characters storylines were much more interesting than Tori's. I would have loved to learn more about Loadstar and Ivan. Ivan having to deal with his kid finding out he is a villain. I would have loved to get more in depth into Cyber geeks power. The new heroes, the new science sentries never clicked for me. I would have liked more about their background and what they went through. Without that I found myself not caring much about them. Despite all that, I did enjoy listening to the book. My rant is about what this book could have been versus what it was. It could have been a 5 star book. I just wish the author focused on different things.
February 9, 2021
Worth most of the wait
For many of the people reading this you probably just read Forging Hephaestus and are blessed to have not waited as long as the rest of us. Count that blessing and hold it dear because this book was worth the wait for the rest of us. Hayes brings Tori Rivas the patron saint of Bad *** ******* back in this and she’s living next door to the most interesting and socially inept capes we’ve met to date. The love interests are real too and yet take a real backseat to Tori’s lives as a villain and corporate drone making her way in the world. It will be interesting to see what her and Ivan’s lives look like in the next installation alongside Donald who maybe will recognize Lucy’s crush maybe he won’t (probably not though it’s Donald), maybe Bev will end up with that cape? Who knows? I don’t but I want to find out. Here’s to hoping the next is worth it too. Read it to the end and Pat attention because there are things I missed the first two times through that I only just caught now.
Now before you ask well why did you say worth most of the wait? You read it three times through....well I’m impatient as nine hells, and while this book was fantastic it wasn’t what all I’d hoped it would be after so long in the works. Hayes has an interesting sense of humor that relies on heavily puns and situation comedy that works for his style and characters. So it wasn’t the comedy. The action was tepid at first but it was better by the end. The book overall just lacked something undefinable. I was glad to buy it and read it, I just wasn’t as overwhelmed and excited as I thought I’d be. Maybe that’s on me, still let’s hope the next one comes a little sooner and I can take that back.
For many of the people reading this you probably just read Forging Hephaestus and are blessed to have not waited as long as the rest of us. Count that blessing and hold it dear because this book was worth the wait for the rest of us. Hayes brings Tori Rivas the patron saint of Bad *** ******* back in this and she’s living next door to the most interesting and socially inept capes we’ve met to date. The love interests are real too and yet take a real backseat to Tori’s lives as a villain and corporate drone making her way in the world. It will be interesting to see what her and Ivan’s lives look like in the next installation alongside Donald who maybe will recognize Lucy’s crush maybe he won’t (probably not though it’s Donald), maybe Bev will end up with that cape? Who knows? I don’t but I want to find out. Here’s to hoping the next is worth it too. Read it to the end and Pat attention because there are things I missed the first two times through that I only just caught now.
Now before you ask well why did you say worth most of the wait? You read it three times through....well I’m impatient as nine hells, and while this book was fantastic it wasn’t what all I’d hoped it would be after so long in the works. Hayes has an interesting sense of humor that relies on heavily puns and situation comedy that works for his style and characters. So it wasn’t the comedy. The action was tepid at first but it was better by the end. The book overall just lacked something undefinable. I was glad to buy it and read it, I just wasn’t as overwhelmed and excited as I thought I’d be. Maybe that’s on me, still let’s hope the next one comes a little sooner and I can take that back.
April 27, 2021
Book #2 of one of 2-3 Drew Hayes superhero series. I can't keep track. 35 hours, so more like 2.5 books mashed into one. Editors, be warned.
I rate on a curve, so 3 is still an enjoyable read. Just needed some editing / shortening to distil the best.
Enjoyed it enough that I'll look for book #3.
I rate on a curve, so 3 is still an enjoyable read. Just needed some editing / shortening to distil the best.
Enjoyed it enough that I'll look for book #3.
April 17, 2021
3.5 Stars
This is a big book with a long story-arc. The most unique element of an otherwise standard meta-human story is its exploration of friendships across the hero/villain divide. I suppose it could be seen as a metaphor that examines the growing divide between the political right and left in western nations. Regardless, I found it satisfying to see a powerful superhero portrayed without the overriding element of moral righteousness.
I'd have preferred Hephestus' moral awakening to have a better foundation. So many of society's old laws are shown to be flawed, or vulnerable to manipulation. In this light, a villain's guild would make more sense if its core tenant was more like - "We do not consent to be governed by the corrupt." Rather than the guild as portrayed, which exists merely to minimize the heroes' attention on criminal activity.
This is a big book with a long story-arc. The most unique element of an otherwise standard meta-human story is its exploration of friendships across the hero/villain divide. I suppose it could be seen as a metaphor that examines the growing divide between the political right and left in western nations. Regardless, I found it satisfying to see a powerful superhero portrayed without the overriding element of moral righteousness.
I'd have preferred Hephestus' moral awakening to have a better foundation. So many of society's old laws are shown to be flawed, or vulnerable to manipulation. In this light, a villain's guild would make more sense if its core tenant was more like - "We do not consent to be governed by the corrupt." Rather than the guild as portrayed, which exists merely to minimize the heroes' attention on criminal activity.
January 16, 2025
This is the second in the series and it's just as story packed as the first. The reader continues to follow Tori as the Gild of Villains rebuilds from the book one battle.
There are new villains and new superheroes and the second half of the book was hard to put down.
There are new villains and new superheroes and the second half of the book was hard to put down.
February 23, 2024
I think this was an awesome book. But it was unnecessarily long. Drew Hayes is always a character driven writer even when it is too much. I would’ve liked it more if it was shorter.
January 2, 2021
He did it again!
What makes for a standout book, IMHO, is the quality of the world the author builds. The depth of a character and the excellent dialogue can’t carry a novel if the world is a vacuum. In the second installment of this world (crossing my fingers for the next one) Mr. Hayes once again shines with skill at building the world that his fascinating characters inhabit, along with adding depth and thoughtfulness to his ever growing cast of characters. Bravo Mr. Hayes, Bravo!
What makes for a standout book, IMHO, is the quality of the world the author builds. The depth of a character and the excellent dialogue can’t carry a novel if the world is a vacuum. In the second installment of this world (crossing my fingers for the next one) Mr. Hayes once again shines with skill at building the world that his fascinating characters inhabit, along with adding depth and thoughtfulness to his ever growing cast of characters. Bravo Mr. Hayes, Bravo!
January 4, 2021
Another Great read
Simply put if you want to rival the MCU, Drew Hayes is your only choice to lead it.
This like most of his works is a roller coaster story, where the story of humanity plays out.
The powers and fights are stunning, yet pales in the human condition that is told.
If I hit the big lotto I will be calling him to create the next amazing series.
Simply put if you want to rival the MCU, Drew Hayes is your only choice to lead it.
This like most of his works is a roller coaster story, where the story of humanity plays out.
The powers and fights are stunning, yet pales in the human condition that is told.
If I hit the big lotto I will be calling him to create the next amazing series.
February 12, 2021
Amazing 1100+ page journey!
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