Matthew Wayne Selznick

Brave Men Run by Matthew Wayne Selznick published 2005

This novel is in the genre of young adult superhero stories. It follows the story of a high school teenager who has always been different and finds out he is a Sovereign. This is the term coined by a person from this group that claims sovereignty for all members of the group. During the novel, he finds love, an enemy, and new friends. It is written in the form of diary entries by the main character interspersed with the point of view of the antagonist.

There are some problems with the plot and characterizations, but overall, it is written competently. It is set in modern times with standard YA themes. I thought it was ok, maybe a 2.5/5.


… (meer)

While it was not quite what I expected I liked "Pilgrimage". This book revisits Nathan Chambers a year after the events in "Brave Men Run". While 1 year has gone by for the protagonist, 5 years have gone by for the author.

When an author returns to a setting after a few years, the new book is often in a different style than the first. This is certainly true for "Pilgrimage". While there are still touches of 80's nostalgia (the story is set in an alternate 80's) there is more focus on how it is different from our world.

From the beginning of "Pilgrimage", Nathan is reluctant to join the Sovereigns. This was a let down at first, because learning more about Sovereigns was something I was looking forward to.

Another change in style the author made was using multiple Points of View to explore not just how Nathan has changed, but how the world has changed with the introduction of Sovereigns. We do get to meet Sovereigns who go to Donner's Institute, and in fact we get to meet Donner himself.

For those who liked "Brave Men Run", keep reading till at least the Byron Teslowski's chapter and I think you won't be disappointed.… (meer)

This coming of age story set in the 1980s is told from the point of view of a young teenager who has grown up knowing that he is different from other people, with special abilities that he keeps hidden. What he isn't prepared for is finding out that others like him exist--and what he thinks he knows about his own life isn't completely true.

I started listening to this as a free podcast from Podiobooks.com, and ended up buying a copy for myself and one for my nieces. Selznick does a good job of writing realistic teenage characters and his tale of a misfit kid will resonate with anyone who felt different growing up (even if we didn't turn out to have special powers, darn it).

I subscribe to a couple of different podcasts from Selznick and hope he publishes another book in the Sovereign setting.… (meer)