Broken by Susan Jane Bigelow

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Title: Broken

Series: The Extrahuman Union, book 1

Author: Susan Jane Bigelow

Genre: science fiction, dystopian, superheroes

Publisher: Book Smugglers Publishing

Date: March 22, 2016

Length: 258 pages

This book was free through my Kindle Unlimited subscription

In a post-war, future world, where first contact has been made with intelligent life and humans are colonizing the stars, the nations of Earth have been united under a central government. Extrahumans, those possessing supernatural abilities such as flight and strength, are required by this government to belong to the Union, where they can be trained, monitored, and weaponized.
Michael Forward is cursed with the ability to see the future – every possible future – when he gazes into another person’s eyes. All he has ever wanted is to escape the grim destiny he sees when he looks in the mirror, but when he is tasked with a mission that will define the course of human history, Michael finds he cannot refuse. Now, he needs the help of a homeless ex-superhero to save a baby who may become the key to humanity’s freedom.
Broken figured she was done with heroics when she lost the ability to fly and escaped the confinement of the Extrahuman Union. But then the world started to fall apart around her, and a desperate teenage prophet with a baby entered her life, offering her the possibility of redemption and a chance to fly once more.
In a time of spreading darkness, when paranoia and oppression reign, can these unlikely allies preserve a small ray of hope for a better, brighter future?

Description from Goodreads

Argh! This book! I enjoyed it and I hated it. But what I hated actually worked for the story, so it wasn't much a bad thing as it was just me not getting my way. And can I give a shout out to that gorgeous cover! I spotted this on The Book Smugglers and had to read it. My only cover complaint is that I'm assuming that's Michael on the cover and the facial hair makes him look much older than he actually is.

What I liked:

Michael: Fourteen your old Michael Forward can see some of a person's possible futures when he looks into their eyes. He's been able to see his possible deaths since he was 9 years old. He wants the long life he sees in some futures and he desperately wants to avoid the darker, more painful futures he most often sees. Michael has seen baby Ian's future and knows he will bring the humanity to peace through revolution or through brutal dictatorship. As much as he wants to run and hide, Michael can't bring himself to doom Ian and the rest of the galaxy. I thought Micael's stress and fear was well written. He was terrified of the "Evil Ian" possible future, but doing the right thing had a high chance of pain and disaster. Michael kept pushing on because he always had hope in the possibility of a better future, even for himself.

"I - I saw him shoot me once, when I was nine," Michael gasped. "I saw a moment. I just lived through it. I don't know how. If I had missed on word - I saw it. I saw it." Tears rolled down his cheeks. "God, I don't want to die."

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Michael wanted to. God, how he wanted to. Life. Fresh air. Love. The possibilities were intoxicating. But some things were worth so, so much more.

Broken: Poor Broken. She really irritated me at first because she was so focused on flight, but as I read on I realized she wasn't as two dimensional as I had first thought. When she lost her ability to fly she lost everything. Flight was her love and her reality and she didn't know how to function without it. Through her travels with Michael and in her flashbacks you start to realize that the government really screwed Extrahumans over. Not only were they forced to live in The Tower, they had no freedom of movement, they were sterilized, given new names, and it seems had their entire past wiped from their minds. Of course flying was so important, it was all Broken had, it was the only time she was free of control. She is also a Wolverine level healer. I didn't realize this at first and was confused when she died right away. No worries, she always comes back, so there really is no escape for her.

Flashbacks and Visions: Broken's flashbacks and Michael's visions were handled really well and weren't confusing or superfluous. I could empathize with Michael over how uncertain his visions could be due when faced with a rapid succession of future possibilities that flood his mind whenever he looked someone in the eye. Broken's flashbacks worked well with the flow of the story and helped drive her character development.

Hope: Hope is the theme that ties the story together and I didn't even really notice it until I started thinking about the review. Bigelow never beats the reader over the head with it.

What I'm on the fence about:

The story was surprising brutal at times, but it didn't always work: At first I was into it, a bit excited that the story was darker then I had originally thought, but sometimes it just seemed ridiculous and over the top. I think the times it didn't work were because we are seeing the action from Broken's point of view. Her life, what she remembers of it, has always been violent and brutal, so it means nothing to her to see someone ripped to pieces. Just another day at the office for Broken, but it felt flat to me.

Sky Ranger: He's just this strutting, pompous, brainless pigeon most of the time. I realize that he was raised to be a leader that the government could control, which would affect anyone's critical thinking skills. I do wonder how much of it is an act to protect the Extrahumans, or if he really is just a callous, self centered guy who is also trying to protect the Extrahumans.

Sky Ranger said nothing for a moment, then sat down and cupped his massive chin in his equally massive hand, crossing one leg over the other. Jesus, even his thinking is dramatic. All part of the same show, Michael supposed.

What didn't work for me:

Monica: Yes, she's in shock, she lost her family in a horrible manner, and she's being hunted, but all she did was whinge. She constantly complained about Michael not seeing the exact future no matter how many times he explained how his powers worked. I understand grief, coping mechanism, lashing out, etc., but I might have unrealistic expectations for my fictional characters.

Baby Ian is more of an accessory then part of the story: He's the driving force of the whole plot, but I frequently found myself wondering where he was because he hadn't been mentioned in so long.

The Thin Man: He was the looming doom in most of Michael's possible futures, but when we finally meet him he starts monologuing! Bigelow was trying to round out the character (He wasn't evil just to be evil, this was for greater good) but it went on too long.

Convenient plot devices: Baby Ian was one, the bumbling American Liberation Army was another. These guys are just playing army, members use comic book pseudonyms, and the leader is nuts. But they still manage to steal a hopper (like a flying bus), outfit it with stealth technology, and fly it from New York to Australia. Riiight. Janeane was an interesting character but towards the end of the book I was waiting for her to come in and fix the current problem. I didn't have to wait long.

Rating: 3.0

A book about a dystopian future where a mutant population is feared and controlled by a totalitarian government is not a new idea. But Broken was a fun read with elements disturbingly similar to current events (the hanging scene in Australia reminded me of ISIS). While the story had it's weak points, I really liked Michael and Broken and I'm interested in seeing how the story continues. I think I would like this book less if I had paid for it, but it's a nice book to get from the library or other book lending service. The whole series is available through Kindle Unlimited so I will be giving book two a try.

Have you read Broken? How did you like it? Do you think I had unrealistic expectations for Monica and the American Liberation Army? And most importantly, does anyone else have their enjoyment of a book change depending on if they purchased it or borrowed it? Is it just me, am I weird?