Sep 15, 2014: There Are No Heroes is a collaborative work about teen superheroes in a near future setting. Metahumans are a well established part of the world, with a basic government sponsored organization to regulate them. The POV changes roughly once a chapter, showing the world through the eyes of the primary cast as well as their enemies.

The story recently ended, or perhaps changed, due to one of the original authors striking out on his own. At least one new writer joined after this and the newest content is, if anything, a little better written. That said, the newest stuff hasn’t progressed enough for a real review so the remainder of this will address the work already in place.

Writing style and quality varies but not as much as you’d expect from a group effort. Several of the fight scenes are very well written, always a good thing in a superhero story. The powers often feel a bit generic but there are definite exceptions. One of the primary villains, Legion, has a backstory that really stood out.

The biggest downside is the rapid changes in POV. The cast is large enough that the frequent shifts make it difficult to identify who’s who in the beginning. Worse, I found it hard to invest in any of the characters. This isn’t because they all seem to have their own flaws. I love a protagonist that’s a monster on a leash or a well meaning bastard. There’s just no consistent voice to any given character. Also, since the POV shifts aren’t always linear, the overall story seems to progress slowly to me.

Fans of works with a large cast (Game of Thrones for example) could easily find a lot to like here. Those who want to follow hero they can love or a villain they can hate should probably look elsewhere.

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