The red star Calamity came, and suddenly a small number of people on Earth had superpowers. But they weren't superheroes -- they were tyrants. 
 Let's face it: realistically, that is what would happen if people suddenly got DC/Marvel-style superpowers. The heroes of "Steelheart" are the little guys -- ordinary people determined to take down the cruel Epics -- and Brandon Sanderson crafts a fascinating sci-fi novel around the concept. It's a dark, harrowing tale about the corruption that power brings, and what happens when it's yanked away. 
 Ten years, Calamity came -- and so did Steelheart, who conquered Chicago and made it his personal kingdom. Steelheart is invincible, super-strong, can control the elements, and his rage turns everything inorganic to steel. But ten years ago, someone made him bleed, so he killed everyone who had seen it. The only survivor is David, who devotes his life to studying the weaknesses of the Epics. 
 Now the city (renamed Newcago) is ruled by Steelheart and locked in eternal night. David inadvertently bumbles into a sting by the Reckoners, a vigilante group out to kill Epics -- and finds it's a little harder to join theme than he thought it would be. 
 The Reckoners reluctantly allow David to join, and use his extensive notes to plan out hits on the Epics who are loyal to Steelheart -- Nightwielder, Firefight, and Conflux. But the group is torn by fears about what killing Steelheart might cause -- and they don't have a prayer of killing him until they figure out his weakness. What's more, one of the Epics may be closer than they think. 
 In a world where dictators and governments perpetrate unspeakable horrors, most people with incredible unstoppable superpowers would quickly be corrupted, or end up wussing out and serving someone who is corrupt. Yet in "Steelheart," Sanderson reminds us that "You can't be so frightened of what might happen that you are unwilling to act" against tyranny. 
 And he conveys this with gritty, muscular action scenes and a dry sense of humor (Cody's ramblings about Scotland), as well as a "Newcago" perpetually gripped by night, poverty and terror. The plot is pretty complicated, with the Reckoners relying on their sharp wits and ingenuity to attack the Epics -- and the Epics themselves are pretty well-drawn, with different gradations and types of powers. 
 And Sanderson throws in some wickedly unpredictable twists as well, particularly the revelations about Steelheart himself. If there's a flaw in the plot, it's that one of the twists is a bit obvious -- you can tell that this character has a Deep Dark Secret in the woodworks. But the other twist is brilliantly unpredictable. 
 David is an excellent hero, in the same mold as the "extraordinarily ordinary" heroes that Sanderson writes so well -- self-deprecating, eager, a little dorky, with some haunting scars from the loss of his father. And the Reckoners are given a pretty solid personalities -- Cody, who defuses fear with humor; the fierce Megan; and the quietly paternal Abraham. 
 Whether it's a standalone or the start of a new series, "Steelheart" is a brilliant subversion of the superhero genre. Here, the superheroes are the little guys -- and their power is that they will never give in, despite their doubts.