As you may have noticed, if you’ve been following this blog, I have a weakness for superheros. The problem is that, for the most part, they don’t translate well to books. Without the pictures, superheros just don’t have the same oomph in books as they do in comics. And one of my favorite scenarios is the innocent bystander who is affected by those with powers, but who don’t have it themselves. This is the basic storyline that Carrie Vaughn’s After the Golden Age follows. Vaughn is mainly known for her Kitty Norville werewolf books, which usually aren’t my style, so this is the first book of hers that I read. So, let’s see what happens After the Golden Age.

Celia West is an junior accountant at a big accounting firm and she gets the break of a career when the DA asks for her to help go through the records in the tax case against the super villain Destructor. But West is a little reluctant to help due to two big reasons: first, her parents are the biggest superheros in the world and second, Celia had a Patty Hearst time during her teen years when she joined up with Destructor. Celia is also a professional hostage. Due to her parents high profile (and the fact that everyone knows they are Captain Olympus and Spark), Celia has found herself kidnapped more than usual.

As the case starts up, Celia finds herself with a new boyfriend (a police officer who is the son of the mayor) and a set of clues that lead back two generations to a time that most people have forgotten and many don’t want to bring back up. Celia finds herself digging back into her family’s history, a family that she has felt estranged from most of her life, and finding secrets buried that no one had wanted to bring up. Or, has someone else already found it.

Vaughn does a great job showing the troubling relationship between Celia and her parents. It’s clear that they all love each other, but the distance in their abilities has created a distance in the relationship. The romantic relationships Celia has are interesting as well. It doesn’t go down a path I was sure it was heading towards, but ends one relationship cleanly when another picks up. The plot itself is middling, but the emotional and personal issues surrounding the relationships is what makes this book interesting. If you like superhero stories that are light on action, but heavy on characters, then this is the book for you. Recommended.