Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Steelheart  By  cover art

Steelheart

By: Brandon Sanderson
Narrated by: MacLeod Andrews
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $24.95

Buy for $24.95

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

From the number-one New York Times best-selling author of the Mistborn Trilogy, Brandon Sanderson, comes the first book in a new, action-packed thrill ride of a series - Steelheart. Ten years ago, Calamity came. It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers. The awed public started calling them Epics.

But Epics are no friend of man. With incredible gifts came the desire to rule. And to rule man you must crush his will.

Nobody fights the Epics...nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans, they spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them.

And David wants in. He wants Steelheart - the Epic who is said to be invincible. The Epic who killed David's father. For years, like the Reckoners, David's been studying, and planning - and he has something they need. Not an object, but an experience.

He's seen Steelheart bleed.

And he wants revenge.

©2013 Dragonsteel Entertainment, LLC (P)2013 Audible Inc.

Featured Article: The Best Brandon Sanderson Audiobooks


Brandon Sanderson is one of the best-known and most popular fantasy authors working today. If you're entering his wonderfully magical worlds for the first time, it can be daunting. Never fear! This guide will walk you through the best Brandon Sanderson audiobooks, from his most well-known series to his lesser-known (but equally excellent) standalone novels. So buckle up and get ready for days (yes, literally, days!) of amazing listening.

What listeners say about Steelheart

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    23,686
  • 4 Stars
    10,460
  • 3 Stars
    2,734
  • 2 Stars
    532
  • 1 Stars
    290
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    24,370
  • 4 Stars
    7,898
  • 3 Stars
    1,653
  • 2 Stars
    253
  • 1 Stars
    133
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    21,296
  • 4 Stars
    9,294
  • 3 Stars
    2,866
  • 2 Stars
    598
  • 1 Stars
    288

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Incredible!

Wow! I really loved this audiobook! The premise - an event ten years before the bestows supernatural powers on some select humans turning them into Epics which leads to the downfall of society as these Epics tyrannically abuse their power - hooked me from the very start. David, the young narrator, watched the titular Steelheart kill his own father on the Epic’s rise to to power as the leader of Chicago (now dubbed Newcago). This set David upon a decade of determination to exact his revenge on this coldhearted and callous ruler.

David devoted ten years of his life to his plan - and he managed to join the elusive Reckoners, a group of non-Epics dedicated to bringing down the Epics and re-taking the world for “regular” humans. David impressed them with his knowledge and skill and finally created a new sort of family with this small group. A budding romance evan sprang up between him and the other newer member of the group. It was such a fun listen! The plot included some genuine shockers (along with some more predictable elements), but the book’s real strength was in the genuine quality to each character. David’s narration, too, added humour to all the excitement.

The strength of the story was further augmented by the very real skills of the reader, Macleod Andrews. He handled the accents with ease and gave a genuinely masterful performance. This was an incredibly fun listen and the sequel can’t come out fast enough! Hopefully the next installment will include even more of the Newcago setting!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A very good book

There were lots of plot twists, but I felt that they were broadcasted too loudly in advance. I enjoyed the book, but I would have liked it better had Sanderson played things a little closer to his chest.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

great story. great author

Would you listen to Steelheart again? Why?

I can't wait until the next book in this series.

What other book might you compare Steelheart to and why?

Has aspects of super humans like in X-Men.

Any additional comments?

Brandon Sanderson is a phenomenal writer. What drew me towards this book being so impressed with his other works. Very creative. Knows how to tell a story and capture the characters. I can't think of one flaw with this book. Just never wanted it to end.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Sanderson's Mythmaking

Brandon Sanderson builds worlds, his career has been built on creating vibrant world populated by fully realized characters with unique takes on magic and power. Steelheart is his answer to the superhero genre, starkly different than the traditional super power creations of other authors.
If you enjoy superhero fiction and character driven Scifi/fantasy this is the book for you.
I also suggest, "Soon I Will Be Invincible" and "Confessions of a D List Supervillan"

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Not what you may think

Any additional comments?

Of all of the books I have read, this one affected in a very different way. I know a book is good when I am done with it and I feel myself demanding more. Steelheart did this for me, but in a way I had never experienced before.

At the end of Steelheart I was left with a range of emotions I had never before at the end of a novel. Yes it had a good storyline, an intriguing world, and an entertaining blend of passion, humor, and action. Yes it left me guessing at what would happen next and it had not one twist, but several twists in the end. Yes it kept me on the edge of my seat and demanded I not put it down. Many great books have done this for me; Steelheart is the only book I have ever read where I was literally left missing it's characters.

When I finished the book, I wanted more, not necessarily because of the story or the action or the world, but because I wanted to spend more time with the people I had grown so attached to during the adventures we experienced together. When it was all over, I just didn't want to let go of them.

I look forward to the next book in the series.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Nice Sci-Fi Story

If you are into Sci-Fi, then this is a good story to listen too. Michael Andrews narrates it very well which makes it very easy to listen to. The Epic angle is very interesting, but the power of the human endurance is even better. A few twist and turns at the end make it a very complete book to listen too.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Attention Grabber!

I do a lot of driving - and I am always searching for a book that will grab my attention from the beginning - this is it! Great narration!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Steelheart review

What made the experience of listening to Steelheart the most enjoyable?

The performance and characters

What other book might you compare Steelheart to and why?

I don't think I've read any book like this. This has super villains and normal humans attempting to stop him.

Have you listened to any of Macleod Andrews’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No I have not but I hope to.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes most definitively it was hard to walk away.

Any additional comments?

Brandon Sanderson does a wonderful job in creating a series most people will love. He does a wonderful job in portraying what would happen if instead of superhero we had super villains and we had to stop them. Macleod Andrews does a wonderful perfomance and does a great job in portraying each character.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story

Where does Steelheart rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

top 20 for the year

What other book might you compare Steelheart to and why?

other dystopian society books with a bit of x-men mixed in

What does Macleod Andrews bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

he puts life into the character

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

yes but no spoilers

Any additional comments?

Very good book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An Amazing Story!

What did you love best about Steelheart?

I downloaded the free preview on a lark because I like superheroes and thought Sanderson's twist would be interesting. He had me hooked in 3 chapters!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Steelheart?

The accidental encounter with Nightwielder and the UV scanner.

What about Macleod Andrews’s performance did you like?

He was able to pull me into the story and hold my attention.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The scene in the closet, under the stadium.

Any additional comments?

A must read for fans of action, adventure, scifi, or superheroes. If this is a series, I want the next book now.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful