⇒ PDF Free Devil Cape Discoveries Rob Rogers 9780786949014 Books

Devil Cape Discoveries Rob Rogers 9780786949014 Books

Download As PDF : Devil Cape Discoveries Rob Rogers 9780786949014 Books

Devil Cape Discoveries Rob Rogers 9780786949014 Books

In Devil's cape, the golden-age team of superheroes has just been murdered. The ripples that spread in the wake of this event will awaken a new generation of heroes.

Devil's Cape is an origin story done right, not just once but three times. It follows three people with very different motivations and origins, and their journey towards taking up the responsibilities of their predecessors. What I loved about this was that there was no simple 'do the right' thing choice. Each character is acutely aware - having it reinforced over and over again - that in Devil's Cape a superhero career historically doesn't end so much in glory as brutal death. And unlike Marvel or DC, these heroes stay dead.

With such horrific repercussions, the author still manages to do a solid job of justifying why each character makes the choice they do. Their motivations are complex and convincing, and their back-stories show us what's driving them. I particularly enjoyed the methodical, analytical point of view of Kate Brauer whose character carries aspects of Iron Man and Batman while not being a total cipher of either. Also enjoyable was Jason Kale who was clearly inspired by Wonder Woman and Superman but has darker secrets than either. The kindly, determined Cain Duccett rounds out the team nicely, with his reluctance to be a vigilante weighed against his need for redemption.

The balancing of the characters is one of the novel's strengths, with each character being given equal development and importance to the plot. The back-stories could be confusing occasionally, as the story kept switching point of view and time, but that was a minor quibble for me. The pacing was a little slow to start off with, as the various characters were set up, but around the middle it really hit its stride and just powered through until the final epic showdown.

There's not a whole lot of development for the antagonists. The Circus is a set of colorful one-dimensional villains that could have been pulled from a Saturday morning cartoon except for their gruesomely realistic edge. The real figure of interest is the shadowy Robber Baron who moves behind the scenes, manipulating people and events with effortless skill. His origin is mostly delivered through subtext, and very little is known about him or his motives. It was a little disappointing that he and the protagonists never directly confront each other, but the way this book is structured leads me to believe this was an intentional choice by the author. It feels like the first novel of a series and I was rather disappointed there was never a sequel.

Overall, I'd give this a 9/10 and definitely one of the top superhero novels I've read.


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Devil Cape Discoveries Rob Rogers 9780786949014 Books Reviews

Rob Rogers must, like, carve out his words with a chisel on a wall in a cave, it's taking so long for that sequel. (And there had best be a sequel.) There may come a time when you'll have a yen for storytelling so rich and heady and immersive that it's as if the author hadn't made stuff up so much as tap into some deep wellspring of pre-existing history and folklore and mythology. So, then, think of DEVIL'S CAPE - prose that is evocative and dark and delirious, as if Rogers is channeling the ghost of Tim Powers - which cannot be since Powers is still alive somewhere. Devil's Cape is a bustling city nestled like a canker in Louisiana. It is infamous for its wicked ways, a metropolis what's soaked in the blood of innocents and teems with corruption that snakes back centuries old. Founded in 1727 by a masked pirate, Devil's Cape, with its sordid past and festering present, is so well integrated into the narrative that it functions as another supporting character. This is an alternate history and a hard-boiled superhero tale. I love the noir atmosphere and the gangland flourishes, the Southern gothic brood and the real-world edge. Having burrowed some 30 pages in, I was clutched by dread and a sense of futility, this city seemed such a hopeless place to live in. Makes Gotham feel like a sunny-ass theme park.

The book opens with around 100 pages worth of flashbacks that span 35 years, so do be patient. The writer is laying in the setting's geography and colorful history and ill-gotten reputation. By the time the old timey chapters give way to present day, you're so caught up in the narrative it may as well be you yourself nervously walking the dangerous, sweltering streets of Devil's Cape. It's a world that feels lived in and scuffed around the edges. Rogers doesn't pull his punches. Here, men with good intentions are brutalized all the time with no retribution meted out. In Devil's Cape, vigilante justice is a laughable thing. Slipping on a cape and a domino mask doesn't convince the villains to cower in fear. It instead invites your being made a target. Then again, some acts of crime are so vile and remarkable that they trigger sweeping changes. One dark night and a ***SPOILER ALERT***, when the world's preeminent superhero team is ambushed and slaughtered, three strangers have had enough. They converge in Devil's Cape.

Has Rogers written a parable about man's innate corrupt nature? Is this a coming-of-age saga? Or a superhero origin story? Or a revenge story? Yes, yes, yes, and yes. DEVIL'S CAPE is... super-science hobnobbing with the occult, and the honoring of classic superhero tropes even as a spin is put on 'em, and a mini-excursion into the world of Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, and multiple arcs that track several new heroes' first steps (and missteps). Rogers writes the heroes-stepping-up thing so rousingly that you want to stand up and cheer for these guys the legacy superhero with the cutting edge tech, the scion of a crime family in whose veins course the blood of ancient Greek heroes, and the abominable bat-winged demon (who actually has a respectable day job). No end of ne'er-do-wells in Devil's Cape, but, no contest, the most arresting big bads are the mutated carnies known as the Circus d'Obscurite and the Robber Baron, the enigmatic underworld kingpin with an affectation for wearing a mask at all times. In fact, the sideshow freaks are so terrifying that even the clown from IT is scurred - and so badass that I fleetingly entertained the notion that "Nope, the good guys won't make it out of this one." And will they make it out? You should find out. It's such a good read. A sweep of compelling characters, the perps and the do-gooders. A setting that breathes like it's alive. Action sequences that crunch your bones up. A pace that is sometimes leisurely but sometimes hurtles to the tempo of strident war drums. Give Rob Rogers and his exceptional word's eye view a try, and then be prepared to be on his jock. I only wish he'd lay off the chisel and get with a Microsoft Word document or something. Sequel taking too long, bro.

Other recommended superhero books

- Marion G. Harmon's Wearing the Cape
- Peter Clines' Ex-Heroes
- Jim Bernheimer's Confessions of a D-List Supervillain
- Matthew Phillion's The Indestructibles
- Mur Lafferty's Playing for Keeps
- P.S. Power's Proxy (The Infected Book 1)
- Trey Dowell's The Protectors A Thriller
- R S J Gregory's Cosmic Girl Rising Up
- Blake M. Petit's Other People's Heroes
- Kirby Moore's Starfall City
- C.J. Carella's Armageddon Girl (New Olympus Saga, Book 1)
- Joshua Guess' Next (The Next Chronicle Book 1)
- Austin Grossman's Soon I Will Be Invincible
- George R.R. Martin's classic Wild Card anthologies
In Devil's cape, the golden-age team of superheroes has just been murdered. The ripples that spread in the wake of this event will awaken a new generation of heroes.

Devil's Cape is an origin story done right, not just once but three times. It follows three people with very different motivations and origins, and their journey towards taking up the responsibilities of their predecessors. What I loved about this was that there was no simple 'do the right' thing choice. Each character is acutely aware - having it reinforced over and over again - that in Devil's Cape a superhero career historically doesn't end so much in glory as brutal death. And unlike Marvel or DC, these heroes stay dead.

With such horrific repercussions, the author still manages to do a solid job of justifying why each character makes the choice they do. Their motivations are complex and convincing, and their back-stories show us what's driving them. I particularly enjoyed the methodical, analytical point of view of Kate Brauer whose character carries aspects of Iron Man and Batman while not being a total cipher of either. Also enjoyable was Jason Kale who was clearly inspired by Wonder Woman and Superman but has darker secrets than either. The kindly, determined Cain Duccett rounds out the team nicely, with his reluctance to be a vigilante weighed against his need for redemption.

The balancing of the characters is one of the novel's strengths, with each character being given equal development and importance to the plot. The back-stories could be confusing occasionally, as the story kept switching point of view and time, but that was a minor quibble for me. The pacing was a little slow to start off with, as the various characters were set up, but around the middle it really hit its stride and just powered through until the final epic showdown.

There's not a whole lot of development for the antagonists. The Circus is a set of colorful one-dimensional villains that could have been pulled from a Saturday morning cartoon except for their gruesomely realistic edge. The real figure of interest is the shadowy Robber Baron who moves behind the scenes, manipulating people and events with effortless skill. His origin is mostly delivered through subtext, and very little is known about him or his motives. It was a little disappointing that he and the protagonists never directly confront each other, but the way this book is structured leads me to believe this was an intentional choice by the author. It feels like the first novel of a series and I was rather disappointed there was never a sequel.

Overall, I'd give this a 9/10 and definitely one of the top superhero novels I've read.