Steelheart, which was published in 2013, is the first installment of Brandon Sanderson’s fiction trilogy. Sanderson is an American author who writes in the sci-fi and fantasy genres. He grew up in Nebraska and moved to Utah to attend Brigham Young University, where he continued his education in literature and creative writing. Over his years of writing, Sanderson has created a few fictional universes in which some of his other well received works have been set.
This is the first novel in the trilogy The Reckoners. The entire set is set in a post apocalyptic world, but when a mysterious object that orbited the world appeared, drastic changes occur. In Steelheart, a few random people have been changed by this object into “Epics,” or people who have superhuman powers or somehow defy physics as we know it today. However, these powerful people don’t use their special abilities for good; instead, they have enslaved or abused the rest of the humans and essentially rule the world by tyranny.
The protagonist of Steelheart is named David, who lives in Newcago, the post apocalyptic version of Chicago, which is run by Steelheart. Though Newcago is in relatively good condition compared to the rest of the United States, David still has his share of struggles. David’s father was killed by an Epic, which was the reason why he has joined the Reckoners, a secret resistance movement trying to end the rule of the Epics.
