I unapologetically love superhero stories, so when I saw Paragon listed as one of the audiobook review copies through Audio Book Boom, I finally took advantage of the service and requested a copy. It only took me a year and a half to finally take advantage of the service…
Paragon has many things I love in superhero stories. A morally gray protagonist undecided between paths of heroism and villainy? Awesome. A hero secretly dating a villain? More please. And an antagonist that’s murdering heroes and villains alike to steal their powers? That’s basically my Kryptonite (and why I still adore NBC’s original season of Heroes).
Unfortunately, there were also several parts of the story that didn’t work so well for me. The main character is virtually insufferable for most of the story, with an over-inflated ego and knack for self-righteously jumping to all the wrong conclusions. The only check on his superpowers is claustrophobia when he uses his force fields, which is refreshing—but also has no impact on the plot.
And while I get that prejudice is a thing, having everyone hate him because his father was a villain and his mother was a hero felt a bit on the nose. Especially since this is a world where superpowered students are literally given the option to choose heroism or villainy as equally viable career paths.
Paragon felt like it was striving for multiple tones, as well. It hits many of the beats of a Young Adult coming-of-age story, then has a character finally make up their mind to become a villain and brutally slaughter former allies. The language was also inconsistent, giving me the kid-friendly feeling of the movie Sky High but with casual F-bombs dropped left and right.
Overall, I did enjoy the book. The story was fun and the audio narration exceeded my expectations. Christopher Boucher had distinct voices for each character and was clearly working with a high-quality recording setup. If you like your superhero stories short and entertaining, and enjoy audiobooks, Paragon is worth checking out.
I received an audio review copy of this book through Audio Book Boom in exchange for a fair and honest review.
