Calamity Book Review

Major Spoilers are included in this book review. Please read with caution.

Calamity is the final book in Brandon Sanderson’s superhero trilogy. After the events of the first two books, David Charleston is ready to end the war between Epics and non-Epics that Calamity—an Epic himself and not just a life-changing event—started. In this final installment of the series, David decides to forgo his “killing Epics” mindset in order to save Prof, who had succumbed to the darkness. Prof is the main antagonist of the novel, and David’s willing to do anything to save his mentor / friend, even if it’s just easier to kill him.

Using his girlfriend Megan as an example of an Epic who can fight back against the darkness, David plans to exploit Prof’s weakness—which is unknown—to bring him back to the side of good and once he’s done that, he wants to go after Calamity next. The recurring theme in this novel—in all of Brandon Sanderson’s novels—is pitting the main character against impossible odds that they somehow overcome. There were no easy answers in this novel, and whenever David thought he had everything figured out, there was always a setback that challenged his mission.

The fight scenes were incredible in this novel as Prof was now officially the most dangerous Epic in the world. I was immersed in every Prof-related battle; one fight had me comparing it to Mewtwo vs Mew from Pokemon: The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back.

While the novel had a definitive ending that struck my heart to pieces, I could see more adventures in the future. Maybe not a whole novel, but a spin-off novella wouldn’t hurt. I would love to see David and the Reckoners try to save the world more often. This novel’s classic superhero themes—power of friendship, love, strength of character, and faith—meshed really well together, especially toward the climax and resolution. Overall, I would recommend this series to anyone into the superhero genre. I’m going to miss David’s horrible metaphors.