Axiom-man: A Superhero Novel [Axiom-man Saga, Book 1] [Paperback]

If this guy ever forms a supergroup, what would it be - the Rules of Justice?

Then you could have Law Man, Theorem Girl, Mr Proof, Lady Lemma, Corollary Woman, and Captain Hypothesis teaming up with him.

Axiom-Man is a rookie superhero, who operates in Winnipeg. It appears a strange blue guy in a computer delivered him his abilities, strength, flight and energy blasts from his eyes. Axiom-beams?

This short book alternates between his origin, and his current situation. That being, he has an average ordinary job in a call centre, and pines over the vapid chick in a nearby cubicle, whose intellectual thought of the day is 'which superhero should I have the hots for'?

He has to deal with the nuts and bolts himself, making a costume, hoping not to sweat while wearing it at work, nicking in to the lunch room to check the tv for emergency news. His boss, of course, is telling him off a lot for being late, ducking out of work, all the usual.

Everything changes when a new superhero turns up named Redsaw. Axiom-Man discovers he can tell when he is nearby, and there is a strange black cloud around that possibly have something to do with it.

A subplot revolves around the activities of Redsaw, and the problems of where he gets his powers from.

Needless to say, these two come into conflict over working methods, and the call centre cheerleader is in there somewhere.

This is a straight superhero story, the main character, Gabriel, is an complete boy scout type. He is trying to be nerdier as a disguise, and trying to do good, as you see when the US military tries to recruit him.

It is obviously set up to continue in another installment, as towards the end you find out that the advent of these two superbeings has religious overtones, and Axiom-Man appears to be on a mission, Blues Brothers style, with Redsaw theologically opposed, presumably.

This is all quite well done, except for the odd typos early on (a car has breaks for example). However, this is at a lower rate than some of the huge publisher efforts I have seen recently.

Recommended for a bit of old-school superheroing.

Being in the Lost Genre Guild means I know A.P. first and foremost as a horror writer. Now I'm not into horror at all, so I hesitated a while before finally deciding to read Axiom-man. After all, a caped crusader must be pretty harmless, right? So to be honest, I didn't know what to expect - but the cover looks pretty cool!

As it turned out, I needn't have worried about A.P.'s horror spilling into this book. It's totally harmless, yet anything but gutless! Easy reading, light-hearted and fun, I bet this will be a hit with the kids.

The superhero scenario may be fairly standard, but there are some new twists on it here. Gabriel receives his gift of power from a mysterious messenger who gives him a task to do - but he doesn't give him the suit and cape. Our intrepid hero has to trot off to fabric stores and learn to operate a sewing machine before he can show himself to the world at large. Meanwhile, he continues in his job at the call center and longs to get to know the girl in the opposite cubicle.

Winnipeg's emergencies often cause him to be late for work, which of course causes headaches with the boss. Gabriel is still learning to hide his powers, and rides the bus to work rather than flying. I found the sewing machine a nice touch, and also the backpack worn under the cape to carry his normal clothes for when he has to change again. Makes me wonder - why don't any other flying rescuers carry handbags? I mean, don't they need any stuff? ID and all that? Axiom-man is certainly the cleverest of all superheroes in this respect.

Another nice sideline is the bad guy's online marketing strategy. How to get rich via Internet in the 21st century. Read carefully - you might just learn something really useful! When the two opposing superheroes get in a fist fight, things get a bit messy and the action is a little rough. But I guess that's to be expected in a clash of superhuman powers. There's only a little blood and gore.

You'll find plenty of surprising twists and turns in this highly enjoyable story, and it'll leave you wanting more. The story is far from over, but the end of this book is very satisfying in and of itself. Axiom-man is a delightfully human superhero with true depth and spirituality. I look forward to seeing what A.P. and Axiom-man get up to next!

Axiom-man is one of the best books I've read this year. The story of Gabriel Garrison struggling to balance a superhero identity and everyday civilian life while solving the riddle of Redsaw kept me engrossed throughout. Axiom-man is a new superhero who is most importantly still human beneath his colorful blue costume.