Have you ever read a story that you wish you’d written? No? Okay, I guess that’s just me then. But it’s exactly how I felt when reading this one. It has a slow transformation of its hero, power transfer elements, and there’s a nice sensual scene in the middle of the story. I mean, it’s even got a sexy antihero named Lilly! Marknew’s protagonist is far better spoken, however. ;)
I really enjoy Marknew’s stories. He’s the master of the turning of the tables trope, and his ladies are usually amoral and have no qualms about stealing strength from the men in their lives, and they are so fun to read as a result! No guilty conscience or moral wrangling for this girl! She’s all about stripping Superman of every ounce of his power, making no apologies for her actions to herself or anyone else. Her motivations are straightforward, and her efforts to go after them are as honest as it gets. Marknew also does a beautiful job of female muscle depiction and growth scenes.
But his mastery of the genre’s tropes isn’t his only strength. He’s a really strong writer. Lilly Lane is paced with textbook execution. He follows every escalation in the action with a brief rest to let the latest series of events sink in. He absolutely nails rising sine curve pacing methodology in this story. It’s so elegantly done that it gives the story a graceful flow, and it seems to move along effortlessly.
And then there are the signature Marknew touches that are so much fun. The old-fashioned names like Rosie and Jethro crack me up. I love them so much! The double L name musing on Superman’s part had me in stitches too. Those touches of tongue-in-cheek humor keep the story from growing too serious or dramatic and keep the tone more lighthearted than it otherwise would be. :)
The epilogues in this one were a nice touch, though I won’t comment on them specifically. It would give too much away. I will say that it was fun to run into some French dialog at the end.
If you’ve read it before, I encourage you to read it again. If you haven’t, you’ll love it…