In We Could Be Heroes, Jamie and Zoe both have superpowers and no recollection of their past life. Coincidence? Of course not. Jamie uses his memory reading and brain stunning power to rob banks that are FDIC insured, while Zoe prefers to use her superstrength, speed, and flying ability to stomp mudholes into bad guys. Both of these strategies have their merits—and problems. Naturally, behind these superpowers and lost memories is a vast conspiracy. As far as conspiracies go, this wasn’t so bad. I think the apt message here is beware of people who think they are trying to save the world because their idolatry and zeal for their cause will wind up steamrolling anyone who stands in their path.
I thought what made this story work is that the two main characters were very relatable, very much like ordinary people who just happened to be thrust into this situation. Both are very flawed. While Jamie is a little more refined, Zoe is more rough around the edges. But they worked well together. It was good to see them fail and overcome and fail and overcome. I felt the author was keeping it real with how two people like this would act given these extraordinary powers.
The story’s villains were just okay. There was a lot of predictability in terms of how things would turn out with the villains. I would much rather have had them take a darker turn than how the author handled it. I also felt that the ending had a bit of a deus ex machina feel to it. It didn’t kill the novel, but it could have been better. All in all, this was a fun read that I would recommend.
