Let's face it: if people started developing superpowers, at least one of two things would happen. One, at least some would be tyrannical. Two, they would immediately be abducted and used by the government. 
 And in Robison Wells' "Blackout," we get a serving of both scenarios -- a clever approach that keeps the first novel of this duology from ever becoming too morally black-and-white. It's a solid mixture of science fiction and sociopolitical thriller, set in a United States where terrorist attacks are almost a daily occurrence and martial law has been declared -- honestly, Robison Wells could have stretched a story this twisty into a trilogy at least. 
 After a massive terrorist attack that takes down the Hoover Dam, martial law is enabled in the United States. But this only hits home when the army starts arresting teenagers en masse from across the United States, treating them like criminals and imprisoning them in newly-built bases. But Aubrey has more reason to be afraid than most -- she is able to turn invisible (sort of), and she has just discovered that other teenagers have strange powers as well. 
 As the kids imprisoned discover that a lot of them actually have powers, they also discover why: the Erebus virus, a highly contagious disease that... somehow gives you superpowers. Superpowers with downsides, actually. 
 And as more terrorist attacks rock the country, the terrified kids are divided into people who don't have superpowers, and those who do -- with no idea of what is coming next. Aubrey, her friend Jack and countless other teenagers find themselves conscripted into the army, so they can use their abilities to ferret out terrorists and other fearsome empowered people. But they soon find that they don't know who they can trust, and who exactly is using them. 
 "Blackout" is a book that is almost too complicated for its length -- you have massive acts of terrorism, martial law, internment camps, military infiltrations, Green Beret missions, betrayals, and a few desperate trips on the road to escape the all-too-happy-to-blow-them-up military. It's a dark, gritty story that focuses on an all-too-realistic depiction of what would happen if people -- particularly the young -- were suddenly to develop powers. Mayhem, panic, and attempts to control. 
 Honestly, Wells could have easily unfolded this into at least two books' worth of story without losing any of the narrative punch. Perhaps my only problem with the story is that it sometimes moves too fast -- the characters sort of hurtle from one unpleasant situation to the next, without time to sit down and ruminate much on it. 
 But his writing is robust, muscular and full of explosions and weird powers, and Wells devotes a fair amount of time to not only coming up with powers, but the downsides that come with them (some experience physical side-effects, while others struggle with the limitations of their powers). And he winds another story through the main one, that of terrorists hiding amongst the innocent kids and manipulating Aubrey and Jack, as well as some clever twists that readers won't see coming (why Jack registers as a Positive). 
 The characters are also pretty well-drawn -- Aubrey as the "trailer trash" girl who has suddenly fallen in with the queen bee's clique, and Jack as her old friend whom she has abandoned in her rise in popularity. These two evolve and develop very organically as the story unfolds, and the low-key romance that starts is a pretty engaging one. On the flip side, we get some fairly well-developed antagonists, such as the cruel Alec (whose background is only hinted at) and the fiercely physical Laura. 
 "Blackout" is a starkly realistic take on the whole people-suddenly-developing-superpowers genre -- not a lot of superheroes or super villains, just a landscape of people you probably can't trust very much. On to the next book.