Book Review: The Cloak Society #3: Fall of Heroes

Book Review: The Cloak Society #3: Fall of Heroes by Jeramy Kraatz

Disclaimer :  I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway on the premise that I would review it.   My copy was an uncorrected proof; some changes may be present in the final product.

This review has SPOILERS for the first two books in the trilogy, The Cloak Society and Villains Rising.  If you’re the sort of reader whose experience is lessened by having surprises revealed, you may want to check out a review for the first book instead.

Alex Knight was brought up in the Cloak Society, trained by his parents Shade and Volt to fight against the oppression of the Rangers of Justice, for the glory of the Society and its eventual takeover of the world for its own good.  Exposure to the outside world changed Alex’s perspective, and he turned against the Cloak Society.

In this volume, the Society has succeeded in killing, imprisoning or controlling all the Rangers, and replacing them with villains posing as “the New Rangers.”   With the help of their super-powered minions, the Deputies, they have Sterling City, Texas, in a stranglehold.

Alex now leads a ragtag team of kids mixing former Rangers trainees and Cloak Society defectors (and apparently a stray they picked up along the way.)   They have a plan to rescue the remaining real Rangers, but Alex’s mother Shade is cunning and pragmatic; she’ll use the resistance’s actions to advance the Society’schemes.

This is the third volume in a children’s (ages 8-12) superhero trilogy.  There’s a bit of advanced vocabulary, but this is usually explained in the dialogue, as one of the team (Misty) is a couple of years younger than the others, and needs these explanations.

There’s a fair bit of violence, and at least one character dies on-stage; Alex has to deal with his feelings about this, as he’s partially responsible.  If the young reader is particularly sensitive, they may not be ready for this book.

No mushy stuff, although determined shippers might see a hint of attraction between Alex and shapeshifting heroine Kirbie.

The author has gone to some trouble balancing out the powers and thinking about their implications so that none of the characters is too weak or powerful.  Non-powered people are also important and useful characters.

Older readers might find the story a bit simplistic philosophically, but I think there are enough shades of grey for the intended audience to have their imaginations sparked.

This book will be on sale 9/30/14; I’d recommend looking at the first two books in the trilogy (probably available through your library) to see if it’s suitable for your kids.

Update to add:  I have now discovered that this book was packaged through Full Fathom Five, a company that has abusive contract terms for their authors.  (You may be familiar with their most successful product, I am Number Four.)  This may influence your decision to purchase.