If you’re looking for something a little different, something quirky, say, or even geeky, with a superhero for our times, where there’s quiet courage and genuine pathos, a tragic backstory, the hope of a hesitant heart, romance, kindness and humour, then you need to read The Unlikely Heroics of Sam Holloway by Rhys Thomas.
Sam Holloway has survived the worst that life can throw at you. But he’s not really living. His meticulous routines keep everything nice and safe – with just one exception…
Three nights a week, Sam dons his superhero costume and patrols the streets. It makes him feel invincible – but his unlikely heroics are getting him into some sticky, and increasingly dangerous, situations.
Then a girl comes into his life, and his ordered world is thrown into chaos … and now Sam needs to decide whether he can be brave enough to finally take off the mask.
The beautiful cover should tip you off that this book is something special. Open it and you tumble headlong into the world of Sam Holloway’s alter ego. (I had way too much fun reading some of these Phantasm sections in my best film trailer voice. It is unavoidable. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.)
It’s clear from Sam’s impeccable taste in chocolate bars that he’s one of the good guys, despite life treating him cruelly. But you sense that, whether he’s in disguise, doing good deeds, or quietly living his ordered existence at home or in the office, he’s not dealing with past trauma and it’s holding him back. His friends are there for him when he wants to go to the pub or play board games but something seismic needs to happen to effect change. Enter Sarah, potential romantic interest and human catalyst.
The Unlikely Heroics runs the whole gamut of emotions. You laugh, you cry, you get mad, you get goosebumps; you wince, you sigh, you gasp with pain, you cringe with embarrassment; you feel like hugging or punching someone, and you just plain feel for Sam. It’s this emotional range together with its humour which makes The Unlikely Heroics work so well and has you rooting for Sam to open up, hopefully find happiness, and enjoy closure. Especially when this requires the book’s dark horse to step in and help.
The Unlikely Heroics is an engaging and affecting novel, showing the power of the imagination to shield us, the bravery there is in opening your heart and letting someone else in. Grab yourself some cherry Coke and a Toffee Crisp, suit up and geek out with The Unlikely Heroics. Because this superhero needs YOU.
The Unlikely Heroics of Sam Holloway by Rhys Thomas is published by Wildfire Books, an imprint of Headline. It is available as an audiobook and an ebook and in paperback from 9th August. You can find it at Amazon UK, Audible UK, Foyles, Hive (supporting your local independent bookshop), Waterstones and Wordery. This is the third novel from Rhys Thomas. His previous two were The Suicide Club and On The Third Day. You can follow Rhys on Twitter.
My thanks to the author and his publisher for sending me an early review copy.
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