Genre
Science Fiction
Setting and Context
Set in post-apocalyptic Manhattan-renamed Babylon Restored.
Narrator and Point of View
Narrator: David;
Point of view: First-person
Tone and Mood
The tone is neutral and the mood is suspenseful.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist: David Charleston / Steelslayer; Antagonist: Epics
Major Conflict
After eliminating Steelheart, David leaves for Babylon Restored where he has to encounter other Epics each with sinister motives. Furthermore, a conflict arises once it is revealed that some Epics are part of the Reckoners as David learns that not all Epics are corrupted.
Climax
The climax occurs when Val learns that Megan and David had a meeting and uses her as bait but David fails to warn her.
Foreshadowing
“And by then, it was just common knowledge that Epic weaknesses are bizarre and random. Only, what if they’re not?”
This foreshadows the discovery that Epic’s weaknesses are not arbitrary but rather originate from past experiences and fears found in their nightmares.
Understatement
N/A
Allusions
“The grandparents were a strange pair, fascinated by cults and old stories. It was a copycat killing, or an attempted one, based on an older tragedy in South America.”
The quotation alludes to the Jonestown Massacre.
Imagery
“Less than thirteen years had passed since Calamity, but already the highway was torn up with potholes and plants peeking up out of cracks like zombie fingers out of graves. Many cities we passed were decayed, windows shattered, buildings crumbling. I spotted some cities that were in better repair, lit by bonfires in the distance, but these seemed more like little bunkers, surrounded by walls with fields outside—fiefdoms ruled by one Epic or another.”
Paradox
“When I’d first found out, that had been difficult to reconcile. I’d grown up practically worshipping the Reckoners, all the while loathing the Epics. Discovering that Prof was both … it had been like discovering that Santa Claus was secretly a Nazi.”
Parallelism
“It was like one lumberjack had eaten another lumberjack, and their powers had combined to form one really fat lumberjack.”
Metonymy and Synecdoche
“That was kind of a large bomb to drop on me, just like that.”
Dropping a bomb is a metonymy for doing something unexpected.
Personification
“The gun you carried was literally your life—if it malfunctioned, you could be dead.”
