By Carrie Vaughn
Tor Forge, $24.99, 304 pages
Celia West has spent her life being overshadowed by her superhero parents – Captain Olympus and Spark – because she herself has no special power. Focusing on building a life for herself, Cecilia breaks away from her parents and becomes an accountant. She gets dragged back into the superhero world after a tragic adolescent mistake comes back to haunt her, obliterating the life she has created.
After the Golden Age is a very clever idea of a story – the concept of what it would be like to be completely normal in a very abnormal family. The story itself, though, doesn’t quite live up to the idea. The plot is fine, but there isn’t enough time given to character development. Celia appears to be a flighty teen (although she’s 25) who doesn’t know what she wants and goes along with everything whether she wants to or not. There is also not enough time spent on learning about situations from the superheroes’ points-of-view, particularly in the case of Celia’s father, Olympus. This book is still enjoyable to read but leaves the reader feeling unsatisfied.
Reviewed by Barbara Cothern
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