Super Powereds: Year 4: Super Powereds, Book 4

I've read a lot of super hero novels, and I have to tell you . . . no other author describes super hero battles as well as Drew Hayes. That's partly because we know so much about the students at Lander University's hero certification program by their senior year. We've read the battles from years past and seen how all of these seniors apply their skills to a variety of challenges, learn from their mistakes, and invent new combat strategies based on their unique powers. Because they're in a program learning how to be super heroes, the growth in both strategy and skill ensures that no two battles are ever the same. And it's always fun envisioning how you would handle a battle compared to what "actually" happens in the books. Whether that next battle is a competition with a fellow student or a life-and-death struggle with real villains, Drew's depictions almost never disappoint.The story line that begins building at the end of the first book and continues growing in complexity throughout the next three years is also compelling. Although there are a couple of loose ends you might notice if you've paid careful attention throughout the books, the author does a nice job of tying up everything of major importance by the end of this book.More important that the story or the individual battle scenes are the characters you see develop over four years. Drew does an amazing job at developing the characters of the seven students who reside in Melbrook over the years and their closest friends. Aside from the super powers, the characters are very real. We all know people who are socially awkward or don't pick up on social cues and those who can work a room with seemingly no effort. We know introverts and people who love to party. Everybody knows brainiacs and master strategists, but we also know people who lack book smarts while still having enough depth of character for us to love them and be good friends. We know people who are selfish and those who are altruistic. This series includes characters fitting all of the foregoing descriptions without making them seem one dimensional. Real people are a bunch of characteristics all mashed together, even if they are sometimes contradictory. Drew's characters are like that, but then he'll emphasize one character trait in a given situation to make the character shine and become more endearing.I came to this series a few years later than some (and after reading most of Drew's other books). I bought the first three years on Amazon before realizing the fourth one was being published as a web serial. But once I realized two or three chapters were being published each week, I began anxiously waiting every Monday and Wednesday night (and sometimes Thursday night if there was a bonus chapter) for the next installment. Several times, I tried to stop reading the chapters online so that I could read the entire book all at once after it was complete (thereby saving myself from the torture of cliff hanger after cliff hanger), but Drew is such a compelling story teller that I simply could not stay away. Even though I've already read the story, I bought it here because I know I'll be reading it again someday. Perhaps the best compliment I can give is that the entire series is worth rereading, even knowing how it ends.Although the "Super Powereds" story is over, I can't wait to see what Drew has planned next for this universe. He's made it clear that this series was about the main characters' college years, and that story is finished since they've now graduated from Lander (even if all of them didn't graduate from the HCP). Even so, we've already seen one spin-off published (Corpies) and another (Blades and Barriers) that was in the works on Drew's website before it had to be shelved for a rewrite. I'd love to see stories from the characters' intern years, even if it's just a collection of short stories rather than a novel without an over-arching story line. Note to Drew: If you can assemble five stand-alone short stories for your Fred novels, you can do it for these characters!I'll conclude with my one real disappointment in the series . . . Vince's hero name. Maybe other people like it, but I was really let down when it was finally revealed. Maybe that's because there was so much build up as people offered suggestions in comments to each chapter Drew published over the course of months. I'm not sure if Drew had the name picked out all along (a statement on his website makes it sound like he did) or if he felt like he had to use a name that nobody suggested. No matter the reason, the name he chose isn't half as good as "Energy Taker Lad" in my opinion, and much worse than many of the suggestions on his website. Every time I read the name, I think Vince sounds like a pervert who wants to molest every villain he meets. But at least the name isn't revealed until the very end of the series; so you don't have to read it many times.

This comes across as a run of the mill YA super hero college book, but it turns into so much more. A truly enjoyable read.

Obviously 100/10 rating. Everything is amazing. The ending was satisfying and the play on words was Legendary. This series will always be in my top books and live rent free in my mind.

It was a solid end to the series. Glad I read it. Could have been shorter and the end could have had more realistic negative consequences. But overall good.

Holy ... what a great read! I've already read the fantastic NPC series by the author... but this was just awesome...I truly hope the door left open at the end of this series means that there might revisit this great imaginary world again!

First off, even though I have a strong love for the fantasy genre I never thought I'd read a story about super heroes. I figured I got enough of that with comics and all the comic related movies and tv shows. Thankfully I had just finished reading the last Spells, Swords, & Stealth Book (which is another great series by Hayes you should go read) and decided to check out the Super Powered series. I am so glad that I did.This has easily become one of my favorite series that I have ever read. The thing that impresses me most is that with 5 major characters and many lesser characters, who still are pretty major, he never has a chapter that isn't fully engrossing no matter who it revolves around. This has been a problem I've run into with reading both Martin and Sanderson books, and I'm very impressed that Hayes is able to accomplish it so well.I only have one flaw with this fourth book which is that the ending feels rushed. ****Slight spoilers ahead...Maybe?**** There are so many things between what happens in the last major conflict and the final chapter that we just don't get to see. I have truly become attached to the characters, and would have liked to see the most about how the final conflict affected each one in the following months. I ultimately rated this book 5 stars because I know a book is great when my only issue with it is that I wish there was so much more.

In December 2013 I replaced an ancient first generation Nook with a brand new Kindle and decided to put a few books on it.One of those books was the first book in the Super Powereds series. I started reading and couldn't put it down. Then I went looking to see if there was any more of this story. There was! I got year 2 and tore through it and still wanted more. A look at Drew's Author page pointed me to his website where he was publishing Year 3 as a web serial, as he had done for year 1 and 2 before I had discovered them.This allowed me a front row seat to the construction of Year 3, until June of 2015 when it was published in its fullness. Yet another book to devour in a few hours.The adventure continued with Corpies, and now with Year 4. When my pre-ordered copy of Year 4 showed up on my Kindle at 0-Dark:30 last night, I devoured it again.Despite knowing how the story ends.I would advise any new-comer to the series to start with Year 1. Each year is self-contained, but the character growth in each volume is important to the overall story.In case I've been too subtle: I love this series.Drew has said that THIS story is done, but he may well return to this world with more stories. I look forward to it.

Still reading it, it's a MASSIVE book, well worth the £4 i paid. lets face it price per page makes it that (but lets face it all these books have given great value for money). The story is (as always) fantastic, however i think as Roy and Nick are now getting more serious I miss the wise cracks as in previous books they've been great.I think there is more waffle in this book, but can see Drew Hayes his rounding up all the stories, which makes it that way and know why he has to do it.Lets face it, if you've read the other 3 books, you're buying this anyways to find out what happens. if you've got to this page by accident, go back to powereds book 1 and read them all, you won't be disappointed.

I am actually sad these books have ended I've enjoyed them so much. I actually kept looking at how much book was left to read.The story of Vince, Alice, Mary, Hershel, Roy and Nick is finally over and they got a good ending. The attention to detail in day to day living in this coming of age story for the Heroes to be is wonderful, but perfectly balanced with the action. The storyline has been well paced and the characters have grown beautifully.

Classic science fiction of the 1950s and 60s had many great writers including Isaac Asimov, Robert A Heinlein, and E.E. “Doc” Smith. Edgar Rice Burroughs was a bit earlier and a different type of readings. In the current century, fantasy has largely replaced science fiction though Nathan Lowell’s work transcends both genres. Drew Hayes work would be appreciated by those who enjoyed Harry Potter and perhaps the Chrestomanci Tales of Diana Wynne Jones. Drew’s work is better written than G R R Martin’s by far and somehow more credible than Discworld, but it is readable. Give it a try.

But it was well worth the wait.I bought this book as soon as it was available on kindle, and have just read it cover to cover in four days. That's not to say it's short, because it isn't , I just couldn't put it down.I laughed, cried and got angry as the story unfolded and there was always the " one more chapter " voice in my head when I tried to put it down.This was an excellent read and I'm about to start over. If you are new to the series, please read the others first.This had one of the most satisfying epilogue I have ever read and while a door is firmly closed, a window has been left open (probably Alice).Enjoy folks and thank you Mr Hayes.

Lucked into reading year one when it first came out. Since then have relentlessly chased every subsequent release and devoured the works on his website. A phenomenal read with characters you connect with and worldbuilding you're left in awe of.If you're reading this reveiw on year 4 though, I'm sure you're already aware of this.