Zeroes (Zeroes, #1)

by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, and Deborah Biancotti

[Quirky Cat]

Zeroes is the first novel in a series of the same name, but that’s making it sound pretty dull. Zeroes is actually a really cool project, one that is being written by three different authors at once. And you know how much I love joint efforts.
Written by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanaga, and Deborah Biancotti, the Zeroes introduces us to a world in which some people have powers. These powers may not seem all that special at first glance. In fact, some of them seem downright dangerous or inconvenient. But this group – these Zeroes – has found a way to make it work. Or at least they’re in the process of doing so.
The Zeroes is made up of six different people with unique abilities and skill sets. First, there’s Nate. Also known as: Bellwether. He’s the leader of the group, or ‘glorious leader’ as some of the group have taken to calling him. His ability is one that can draw a crowd’s focus in on him. He’s also incredibly intelligent and has a data file on each and every member of the crew.
Next is Ethan, AKA Scam. His ability gets him into a lot of trouble. And it’s earned its own name; the voice. You’ll learn all about that as time goes on. But for now, just know that his voice will let him say the right thing – no matter the situation.
Also on the team are Crash), Anonymous), Flicker, and Mob. But to tell you about them would risk spoiling their plot arcs.

“Don’t call them heroes. But these six Californian teens have powers that set them apart. They can do stuff ordinary people can’t.”

The Zeroes was an amazing read, one I devoured from cover to cover. Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanaga, and Deborah Biancotti are a brilliant team, and I honestly can’t wait to read the rest of the series. As it stands, I’m actually fairly mad at myself for taking so long to get around to this series.
This was a whirlwind of a book, in all seriousness. It took no time at all to introduce the main plot – through Ethan getting himself way in over his head. From there it all seemed to flow smoothly onto the pages. Though that shouldn’t be too surprising, given how many authors were working to make this novel cohesive.
The different powers each kid had were well thought out and unique. But I especially love that each and every one of them also came with a negative. There’s a price to be paid, each time, and that makes everyone (well, most of them) cautious in the way the powers are used.
And those costs were pretty high at times. So high, in fact, that it was impossible not to feel for certain characters in particular (if you’ve read the book, then you know exactly who I’m referring to here). It added a shocking amount of emotion to what I thought was going to be a fun metahuman type story. And I love that.
I know that Zeroes is the first of a series, so I’m pretty lucky to have more of this series to dive into next. To my understanding, there are two more books in the series. Which I’ll happily take. The real question is: do I savor them, or jump right in?

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