Reading some of the other reviews on Goodreads, I was afraid that Calamity wouldn’t live up to the expectation of the previous two Reckoners books. Luckily, at least so far as I’m concerned, it not only met the expectations I had for it, it exceeded them.

So far as the world building / settings go, each of the Reckoners books takes an ordinary city in the former United States and weirds it. First, we had Chicago made of steel. Then New York, mostly underwater and covered with glowing spray paint. This time around? The city of Atlanta, made of salt and on the move. It’s just such a bizarre visual that it could carry a decent bit of the story just on that alone. All the little details that entails (sweat breaks down the salt, buildings crumble) just make it all the more interesting.

Characterwise, I like David far more than I did in the first book, even though I think he had it too easy in his encounter with Calamity the first time around (starts at the end of Firefight, continues here). I like how his relationship with the team has grown and changed in a big way in this book, especially how it actually lets Megan and him be together.

Plotwise, I’m intrigued by the extra detail we got about Calamity and in particular the wider exploration of Megan’s powers and the alternate realities. I actually wish there had been a lot more. By the time we figure everything out and are about to get into the final battle… It just sort of ends. I wanted to know more! Particularly about how the relationship between powers and weaknesses actually did work. So it goes.

It’s still an enjoyable read. Well worth it if you either love reading Sanderson or slightly stranger superhero stories (or both like me!).