Taken By OVERTAKEN: The Conclusion to OVERPOWERED’s Mystery

Overtaken
Written by Mark H. Kruger
Published by Simon & Schuster
May 5, 2015
Hardback, 406 pages

My last review was the first book of two, Overpowered. I was excited to have started at the beginning of a set and was impressed enough to find the second book to find out what happened to Nica and her friends in sleepy little Barrington Colorado. Was my effort worth it?

I think so.

The story picks right up where the last book ended. A surprising return puts Barrington in quite a state. Nica finds that there are those who blindly accept it and those who do not, creating cracks in the trust Nica has spent time building. Determined to discover more about the mysterious Bar Tech, the source and reason behind their superpowers, she makes some new unlikely alliances to try to bring them down while attempting to stop them from becoming bigger than their town’s borders. Does she succeed? Read the book.

It’s worth it. I’m not as smitten with the second book as I was with the first, but the story is still good. I understand that with this book, Kruger didn’t need to world build since one can assume they know the history from book one. Maybe the lack of that magic didn’t draw me in as much but it does allow for the story to jump right in. There’s more action than in the last book. This is understandable due to the events happening and the knowledge the kids now have regarding their powers. In this book, we see them using their powers on demand and for a purpose versus the last book when they are just learning to control them on command.

Questions are answered. There is some closure to this story, but at the same time I feel that it’s been left open so if Kruger wanted to continue, he could. It could be a complete toss up: leave it up to the reader’s imagination or pursue it. I would be interested to see how many characters would return in new stories. There are some new characters that I would be interested in seeing continue on based on where the story could go; but I won’t say more than that. No spoilers. However, with one of these kids and their power, I would love to see what could happen next. I’m not huge on spin offs, however this kid? I would love to see where Kruger could take them. There is an aspect of his power that reminds me of another book I positively reviewed, Haunters. Again, no spoilers, but check out my review and see if you can take a guess. These two have been interesting enough that I would pick up a third book. I probably would not actively search for it like I did this one, but I wouldn’t pass it up if I found on it a used book shelf.

I will state again, as I did in my review of the first book, that this was a good way to relax and take a break from adult thinking. Kruger manages to write teens without the ‘whininess’ they sometimes have when they’re pining over  each other. That I have respect for because there have been a few books I’ve put down because it was overly done. Kruger’s writing is solid, although some of the action scenes feel a little more loosely written but forgivable with the rest he has to offer.

All in all, I would recommend these two books. They are fun, an interesting idea, and good way to keep your mind thinking without wearing it down after a hard day at work.