When Austin Grossman releases a new novel–particularly one that’s superhero themed–it’s an instant purchase for me. I enjoyed You and I loved Soon I Will Be Invincible, so I was really excited when I heard he had a new book, Fight Me.
Fight Me is pitched as “The Avengers meets The Breakfast Club.” It’s about a version of the modern-day world when having super powers is slightly more common than our reality. Four teenagers with special powers (one the result of an artifact, one because she’s from a fairyland world, one due to augmentation, and one who is just really really smart) are forced to go through a series of tests together after an incident at their school.
The novel jumps around in time quite a bit. It starts around 20 years after the original bonding experience, with each character separated and past their prime. Grossman is a master at this non-chronological literary technique, as it leads the reader to ask just as many questions about the way things were as they ask about the way things are or will be.
I don’t want to spoil anything else, but if you enjoy standalone superhero fiction (this isn’t the beginning of a series or part of an existing IP), I highly recommend Fight Me. Let me know what you think if you read it or if you have any other recommendations in this genre.
Bought this on your recommendation. Arrived yesterday – over 100 pages in already. Great so far. The characterisation of each character so far is nice. Interesting with the time jumps.
I’m so glad you’re enjoying it! I like that it’s a character-driven page-turner.