readers advisory for all discussion

I've asked this question of other individuals but never quite received the answer that I was hunting. So here goes.

I'm looking for novels, not graphic novels, but plain text and paper novels (okay e-books work too) with superheroes in them. Or, with superhero type characters though what I'm hunting is something set more in a world that resembles our own. They can be YA or adult fiction novels so long as it has something to do with superheroes.

If anyone out there can help?

I haven't read them yet, but George R R Martin has a very good series where he is editor and contributor : Wild Aces, it starts with Aces High.

Adam Christopher has some inteersting ooks with superheroes : Empire State, Seven Wonders, The Age Atomic

I have a shelf for this, but sadly, it's pretty sparse:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/...

Now, it's a bit hard to tell which kind of superheroes you're thinking about: existing Marvel or DC universe, something completely new and different, and so forth. Regardless - only novel that I know of with superheroes is X-Men: The Return by Chris Roberson.

Steve Jobs' biography. :D

For adult, Black and White is pretty awesome, and I also enjoyed After the Golden Age.

For kids, I've heard good things about Sidekicked (more middle grade than YA) but haven't read it yet myself. Dull Boy is a YA that's halfway decent (enjoyable enough but not amazing).

You can check out Snow in August. It has to do with the Golem, a superhero of sorts.

You piqued my interest, so I asked around. Three books were mentioned more than once; Soon I will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman, Devil's Cape, and Powerless. The only one I have actually read is Devil's Cape.

This is a stretch... Doesn't A Monster Calls kind of fit this, since he's, like, defeating a "monster"?

A Monster Calls is an extremely excellent book, but I wouldn't call it superhero-themed.

Okay, I wasn't sure since I've never read it. Never mind then. :)

Hunting Lila by Sarah Alderson (sorry there's no link) is a really good book! It's more of a YA novel but it has to do with what you're looking for. It's not exactly "superheroes" but people with special abilities. Another book is The Delta Project: Hide by Jessica Jaster.

I've read some of these and have the others on my to read list:

Trance, Seven Wonders, Ex-Heroes, Karma Girl, Vicious (out in Sept), After the Golden Age, The Rise of Renegade X, Black and White, Phenomenal Girl 5, Santa Olivia, The Damned Busters.

Here are the links to Sanam's recommendations Hunting Lila so you can check them out, Jonathan.
Hunting Lila
Delta Project: Hide

Thank you all, those kinds of suggestions are just what I was after.

There is also The Awakening (and others in that series by Michael Carroll, as well as Soon I Will Be Invincible.

there is also It's Superman! and adam christopher's other two books: Empire State and The Age Atomic. and, of course, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, if that counts.

there are also a ton of books about particular superheroes like The Last Days of Krypton and Enemies & Allies, if you want a list of those, and novelizations of superhero movies like The Dark Knight Rises: The Official Novelization, etc

This one is a children's book but The Cloak Society by Jeremy Kraatz is a good one.

I would agree that Chabon's Kavalier & Clay is a brilliant literary superhero novel - great stuff.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39...

I suspect I'm not supposed to self-promote but I can't help it when someone is looking for superhero fiction. If you like lady leads my book The Girl Who Would Be King is about two teenage girls with super powers. Just saying!

Seconding the terrific Soon I Will Be Invincible and of course The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. And really, no one's mentioned The Fortress of Solitude?

I've heard good stuff about Prepare to Die! and Emperor Mollusk versus The Sinister Brain but haven't gotten to either of them myself yet.

How super does he/she have to be? Nick Halloway isn't exactly a superhero, but he is invisible and Memoirs of an Invisible Man is a cracking book. (Once you start it you'll forget about the other three next to the bed)

Brandon Sanderson's Steelheart was good; I felt like I was watching a movie with all the action. It's YA, but has larger undercurrent themes.

Wasn't the best book I've ever read, but Raymond Benson has a superhero book. A son finds out his mother was a noted superhero in the 1950s/'60s. There are three books in the series. The only one I read: The Black Stiletto: The First Diary--1958

there is also this, which is pretty new:


Vicious

I personally didn't like it, but Those Who Walk in Darkness definitely fits: it's set in an alternative world, where many people have superpowers, and are indeed superheroes. It is the first in a series, I believe.

The Liminal People is another one.

Are you also interested in short stories? Masked is a decent collection and some of the authors in it also have novels with superheroes.

Hero is good. The main character is a gay teen whose parents were superheroes.

Here are a few I know of but haven't read: Superpowers
Project Superpowers
A Once Crowded Sky
Escape Clause
Captain Freedom: A Superhero's Quest for Truth, Justice, and the Celebrity He So Richly Deserves
Who Can Save Us Now?

The Lab (Agent Six of Hearts series)