Bingo 4: Favorite
Drew Hayes in one of my favorite contemporary authors. He’s got the right level of geek, trope, and fun, while still managing to stay interesting. Chilling Reflections is book 3 in the Villain’s Code series, and while there have been signs in previous volumes, this one makes it pretty clear that this series is tilting into a Marvel-style multi-verse area. One thing that definitely surprised me is how directly the side story series (Villains Vignettes 1) is involved. I’ve read that, and recently enough that I remember most of it, and good thing too, otherwise, there are definitely parts of the story that would feel pretty random.
Ivan goes off on a bit of a personal quest (so that Tori can work through some stuff without her mentor around, but that’s obviously not the stated reason), and if you don’t know the backstory from Vignettes, the episode wouldn’t make nearly as much sense. I am glad we got to see more of Auro though; that was one of my favorite parts of that sequence, and clearly it wasn’t just me.
One of the big multi-verse things that plays a huge role in several characters’ lives (and development in some cases) is meeting their counterparts from other universes. One of the main plot threads involves Chloe, whose been more of a side character with minor potential until now, and there’s definitely something going on with the New Science Sentries. Tori and Donald too both start facing the challenge of how to develop their abilities, and there are hints of both sides starting to figure out each other’s secret identities (one of them involves capri pants of all things, but that keeps the humor up in an otherwise potentially serious scenario). Lodestar and Ivan finally start making some progress on their big challenge after Ivan faces something of a crisis, and we also get to see more of his family. His older son Rick starts getting more involved in his dad’s meta-human world, and that’s most definitely going to be a point of tension in any follow ups. There’s also some big players being added to, taken out, or otherwise being brought into the story.
There’s a lot going on in this series, and I have to admit, it took me a little while to get into this one because it’s a little heavier and because it’s starting to get into some of the ropes that aren’t my favorite; in the end though, the general cozy is still hanging in there.