It’s Elliot’s 12th birthday and still no superpowers have materialised… Elliot’s parents and older sister are ‘meta-beings’, people with enhanced powers, and members of the Freedom Force, the greatest assembly of superheroes ever to fight supervillains. Without developing meta-powers, Elliot can’t join his family and the other supers when they go off to fight villains. Elliot however is determined to become a superhero, by fair means or foul, but when the foul means backfire and disaster strikes, it’s up to Elliot to fix the mess and defend Earth from not only the worst of supervillains but also some dangerous and aggressive aliens!
This is an enjoyable superhero tale with great world-building and a strong plot.
Favourite Character:
Dog-gone – the dog who can make himself invisible happens to be a German Shepherd. I love German Shepherds, though I have to say that Dog-gone does not act like the German Shepherds I’ve known, but then again, they can’t make themselves invisible!
Favourite thing about the book:
The worldbuilding. I loved the eight different types of meta powers and the different levels, nicely complemented by colourful character cards throughout the book. The different powers, in case you are interested, are energy manipulation, flight, magic, meta-morphing, psychic, super-intelligence, super-speed and super-strength. Each ability can be either limited (level 1), considerable (level 2) or extreme power (level 3). People without powers? Level zero – or zeroes, as the super call them.
I also enjoyed the inter-galactic element, as well as the role of the new girl in school, Cammie. My only gripe is with Elliot’s character arc. It wasn’t very strong given the set up was perfect for character growth. I also thought the resolution, although effective, was a little heartless. However I doubt kids would notice, and will instead revel in this fun super hero tale. It’s the first in a series as well.
TOTP (who marries being a super watchdog but absolutely no ability to turn invisible) and I award Epic Zero 7 out of 10 Diamonds.
Valinora Troy 
15 responses to “Book Review: Epic Zero by R. L. Ullman”
It’s like a video game deepened into a book. Good review, Valinora!
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Thanks Priscilla, and yes, it is! But a fun read.
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I love German Shepherd dogs too! Great review.
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Thanks. Iseult!
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This sounds like a great superhero story. The powers superheroes can have are cool. Congrats on your book release too! I hope it’s going well.
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Thanks so much, Natalie! 🙂
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I need to get back to this series. I read the first one and then got buried in a pile of other books. The main character was perfectly set up to carry the plot. Thanks for featuring your review on MMGM.
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Thanks for having me, Greg! 🙂
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There are so many good books out there! It’s too hard to keep up!!
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Nice review. Sounds like a good book for kids who love fantasy, super-powers, and DOGS!
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🙂 Indeed! 🙂 I’d like to have seen more of the dog but there is a lot more books in the series so I am sure he will play a bigger part! Thanks for reading!
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Sounds like a book that will appeal to kids/people who like superhero stories. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
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Yes, superhero fans enjoy it. Thanks for reading! 🙂
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This sounds like a book that will make a lot of kids happy. Thanks for telling me about it.
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Yes, it’s a fun one if you don’t mind Elliot’s lack of character arc (but that could come in later books!). Thanks for reading!
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