Review: Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson (Audible)

5/5 stars 

Read Steelheart they said. It will be fun they said. Sure it was fun. So much fun! But it was also very, very heart wrenching. 

This was an absolutely phenomenal novel to audio book. Until the time I was listening to it while driving to pick up some Indian food for dinner and crying uncontrollably because of things that were happening. I must have looked very distressed to passerby's. 

“We were like deaf people trying to dance to a beat we couldn't hear, long after the music actually stopped.”

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The opening of the book was in the best fashion of Sanderson - straight into the action, straight into the story. And boy, that worked. I was invested from the get go. I was aghast from the get go. I loved it right away. And I am not a person who is very much into super heroes. I'd much rather epic fantasy and magic systems, not super powers. But this resonated. 

And the reason for that I think is because our main characters aren't heroes. They don't have any super powers. they are just people. People ridden by doubts and guilt of what they are doing, of how their doings are affecting other people. And I loved that. Many times in stories main characters don't pay any heed to the "little people", aka people who are just background of stories. So it felt nice to see characters wrestle with the "power" they were given to change things. 

“It’s good for you to think of this, son. Ponder. Worry. Stay up nights, frightened for the casualties of your ideology. It will do you good to realize the price of fighting.”

​Steelheart was promised to be a funny and action packed book. And it was action packed. But funny? It wasn't just funny - it was absolutely hilarious. Yes, there were sad moments, and moments that made my cry. But I don't think I've ever laughed as hard reading a book as I did listening to this one. 

“But even a ninety-year-old blind priest would stop and stare at this woman. If he weren’t blind, that is. Dumb metaphor, I thought. I’ll have to work on that one. I have trouble with metaphors.”

David is charming, sure. In a boyish kind of way, with his metaphors that don't work. But Cody? Cody is a hoot. My absolute favorite side character, probably ever. I liked all of the side characters, except really, one. I won't say which one because I don't want to impose bias, and even though there was a good reason for that character's behavior  - the hopes of connection were lost to me. 

As I listened to the audio book I feel the need to mention McLeod Andrews. He's phenomenal. Genius. Sure, the book was good on its own. Good. But he made it great. All of the accents, the reenactments, the emotions portrayed - each of them spot on and straight to the listeners heart. An amazing experience.