Castles: A Just Cause Universe Novel

The Just Cause Universe, Volume 7

By: Ian Thomas Healy

Narrated by: Brittany Nickel

Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's Summary

As a new president takes the White House, Just Cause returns to New York City for the first time in eight years, under the command of its newest leader: Mustang Sally. But not everyone is excited about the expansion of Just Cause. 

Senator Christine Goodwin, slighted by the team's leadership years before, has made it her mission to put all para-humans on a very short leash, while at the same time creating her own super-powered militia.  

With the media and America at large turning against Just Cause, Sally and her teammates must risk their lives and freedom to halt the Senator's plans, which threaten the futures of para-human people worldwide.

©2015 Ian Thomas Healy (P)2019 Local Hero Press

Just cause version of civil war

Mustang Sally takes on her new role as Leader of the New York branch of heroes. A governor looking to further political career sets her sights on the Oval Office and plans to get there through anti hero legislation. Mustang sally and her team also find themselves in pitched battles with villains who appear to be specifically designed to hate them and who harbor an “explosive” secret. A great addition the the just cause universe. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator or publisher

a lot of politics

a very nice storing with very original storyline that I quite enjoyed though I'm not a big and huge fan on politcs when it's good it's good and in this case it was absolutely perfect the story was very very good the narrator was very good as well and overall it was a wonderful listen to have

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review

No Law can hold a good super hero back

Wow, just when you think the series can't get any better the author brings out another big hitter. I just loved this book. Mustang Sally is put in charge of her own team and this gives the author a chance to write about some new characters with unique power sets that are just great. As well as a few new faces a lot of the characters that we have come to love over the course of series are also present and lending there skills and jokes to the plot. This book has a slightly different plot line or feel to the previous six books, in the the fact that the hero's themselves are the ones that find that they are on the wrong side of the law and are facing up against humans and politics. That is not to say there isn't any action because the book is still packed full of punches and plans that don't survive encounters with the enemy especially when the enemy is another super hero team. A great series that I just can't get enough of.
With a new President in charge the Just Cause team set up a new team in New York for the first time since 911 and the teenage speedster Mustang Sally finds herself in charge. Not everybody is pleased to have them back and an old enemy in the form of Senator Christine Goodwin will do everything in her power to close down the Just Cause team and parahumans in general. With Juice in the hot seat, Sally finds it is left up to her and her team to clear Crackerjack when he is arrested for shooting the senator. At the same time new parahuman teams are appearing to challenge Just Cause and they don't seem to mind that civilians are getting caught in the cross fire. When the Senator issues an arrest warrant for the team to answer for there actions Sally and the rest of her team find themselves on the wrong side of the law and on the run. Can the most recognisable people on the planet hide long enough to clear CrackerJack and stop the Senator from changing the law?
I liked the narrator she makes the story exciting but with so much going on you are sat on the edge of your seat anyway.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

New team and new challenges

It is a common theme in superhero works for teams or heroes to come under attack from those seeking to use or attack them for political gain and that is the main theme of this instalment in the series.

While a common theme, it isn't always the easiest one to get right as you have to get the balance of the threat from a non-powered opponent right to ensure the heroes are out of their comfort zone when it comes to the fight and this book manages to get that balance right with them being pushed to the limit at times.

While not an ideal entry-point to the series, the switch to New York for this new branch of Just Cause and a number of new heroes and villains being introduced, it works fine if somebody jumps into the series, but I'd recommend catching up on the earlier books if they do that.

The narrator gives another strong performance to follow-up from the previous instalment in the series, helping to nicely enhance the listener's immersion with a suitable range of tones for the cast.

Overall, this was an enjoyable listen in it's own right, while also setting up further complications for the team in subsequent books.

[Note - I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.]

A good superhero political tale

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

The Book

This is my third Just Cause universe novel and when I read the blurb I thought instantly of the Marvel Civil War story. There were elements of that here but it was still very much its own story.

The political aspect of the book obviously rubs some people up the wrong way seeing some comments on Goodreads. I did find it OK not having any relatable feelings towards U.S. politics and it just fit into a fictional world with some possible real world bias. There were elements of political thriller here alongside the expected super hero story and it blended well into an enjoyable tale.

The characters were good with the superheroes enjoyable fun and relatable in some ways and worked well alongside the story. Overall an enjoyable chapter in the series.

The Production

The book was read well, it was clear and she did try and do voices for the characters. I found her voice a little high for my liking but it was still easy enough to listen to and this is very subjective so check the sample yourself.