Sensation: A Superhero Novel (Kid Sensation)

The first book in the Kid Sensation series is a fun look at a world where superheroes have pretty much been in continuous existence and are now part of everyday life. Author Kevin Hardman introduces some interesting aspects, like the idea of superteams arranging game days for super-powered teens given that many of them don't have the opportunity to play with other kids for fear of harming them. Also the tryouts for superteams was a nice touch.The story is told in the first-person perspective from Kid Sensation's POV. Hardman does a great job of capturing what it's like to be a teenage boy and grounding the character despite his multitude of powers. The interactions between Kid and his grandfather and mother as well as other superheroes his age, like Paramount, Aqua or Smokescreen or Electra all feel very real. Hardman also adds in some interesting touches for different super-powers, such as the idea of super-vision being an ancillary power for super-speed.That being said, I think I would have to agree with others who argued that Kid is perhaps a bit TOO powerful. Flight, superhuman speed, intangibility, telepathy, telekinesis, teleportation, and shapeshifting is a bit much. I also felt that the intelligence of far smarter characters like Mouse and Braintrust was more or less ignored towards the end of the book so Kid could be the one who discovered the mole.The prose has some clunky moments and for some reason, the prologue is written in present-tense, a very jarring shift from the rest of the book. But overall a very enjoyable read. I read it within the span of a day and never felt bored.

I had stumbled on this book a week ago but dismissed it. I believe it was priced at about $8 for 200 pages which I found ridiculous (overpriced like his other book). So I was pleasantly surprised when I would up seeing it again only this time for the low low price of Free.This is a good example of a type of book that drives me nuts. It could have been so much more as either a series or just a longer book. Please don't get me wrong it is a good book for what it is but there are a lot of things from his powers to his family and friends that could have been fleshed out a lot more to add to the story. That's one reason why you see some other reviewers requesting a sequel.Jim is a fairly relatable teen with a teens attitude. One thing I loved is Jim is not the type to let bygones be bygones like SO many other heroes. No, if you wrong him he will call you on it. His powers are diverse and interesting and the fighting fairly good as well.The major downside is pretty much what I wrote above. Its short. This means that there is not a lot of character development, background info etc. All that said I still found it a nice, fun distraction for several hours and would have no problem, bearing in mind a good price, to picking up another in the same world.

Overall it is an enjoyable book and a good series. On the upside the stories are clean, well edited and overall fun to read. The characters and their interactions are the essence of the stories and the author creates characters that you can get into and enjoy watching doing their thing.On the downside, the world building is mediocre and fairly unbelievable, at least to me. Kind of comic bookish. Typical comic book style villains for example. Also, the author obviously is pretty ignorant about science. He tries to explain how powers work or how people use their powers and makes some really egregious errors with regard to science. For example he talks about how super speed can kind of mimic super strength. A really fast hit will act like a really strong hit, which is essentially true. Except, it ignores physics 101 and the idea of every action having an equal and opposite reaction. if the person doing the hitting didn't have super strength/durability a hit like that would pulp their arm. This is just one example of the many gross misunderstandings of science throughout the book.But, stock up on "suspend disbelief" buttons and the books are a fun read.

Enjoyable well edited read. A fatherless young superhero who manages to screw things up in the past manages to start figuring his place in the world. Let's see where this goes in the following novels. Fun read.

This was an interesting title which features a superhero with a vast assortment of powers that, as explained, end up being redundancies of each other. It makes me quite curious why to have such a character that has super speed but also teleportation or being both empathic and telepathic. I wonder if this somehow plays off down the road in later books as some sort evolutionary standpoint because of his alien heritage.Also, I'm also perturbed by the decision of his father not being a part of his life. I understand that he had another kid with his actual wife and that with their rocky relationship he needed to be there for his kid, but the same can be said about our MC. It makes no sense why he couldn't of stayed in touch and got to know his son and eventually introduce him to his half-brother.I do look forward to see how our MC and his father's relationship develop and what other sort of shenanigans he gets into. Though, I was severely disappointed with how the group of villains were introduced and nothing actually major happened with them.

A decent enough read, although some of the plot points and character interactions had me rolling my eyes at times. My gripe with this story is that it doesn’t have much of an original bone in its body. The story was an exercise in deja-vu. Which admittedly is hard to achieve with “superheroes” as the jumping off point. It’s been down to death at this point.For a young teenage boy this series will be entertaining enough.

Honestly, I don't understand the two extremely negative reviews.Yes, on one hand the protagonist does have rather a lot of powers. On the other hand, he doesn't have the classic super-strength and invulnerability (Hulk Smash!) so often he's forced to be quite thoughtful about how he uses his powers to resolve particular situations, which makes the story lines much more interesting. His back story makes him a real character, not just a person who got lucky in the power lottery.Many self-published titles would benefit from the use of a proof reader. This book is one of those - but the issues are not so bad as to get in the way of enjoying the book.I found this book and its successor to be very enjoyable to read. They're not quite in the same class as the "Wearing the Cape" series from a plot and character development point of view, but they're good fun.If you like superhero fiction, give this a try.

This book is a pretty nice light story to read an go along with your day. All in all, good story.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The plot was good and logical. I could understand the MC's motivations and that kept me invested in the book. I could not put it down. Well done Mr Hardman!The editing was excellent.Looking forward to read the next book!

This novel was an entirely solid contribution to the modern adult superhero genre. I dont know that it is the place to introduce a new reader to the genre, but having read a fair bit, I found it quite good. I dont recall any major problems with the editing or typesetting, and the story was interesting. I am certainly interested in the sequel. I wouldn't hesitate for a moment if it was on sale, for the full price, it was worth it for me.