Firebreak - A Superhero Story

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Joseph Jaegeris the world’s least famous superhero. When an alien reality ripped through Joseph’s hometown so many years ago, the residents that retained their sanity found themselves forever changed, able to perform great feats of strength and speed, to channel the raw forces of nature, to bend the rules of space and time.

Joseph was given all the power of a pocket lighter.

In this new world, he was insignificant. A curiosity.

At least that was how it seemed.

Now, Joseph leads a double life:

In one life he isFirebreak, the weak pyrokinetic and local comic shop owner in Gregory Basin, Montana.

In his other life he is a wanted man. Designation:Bravo One, the mysterious vigilante that hunts supers gone bad.

Joseph would like nothing more than to protect his town and tend his shop, his cover intact, but in walksCamila Johansen, an ambitious young Company agent intent on tearing Firebreak out of his small town life and thrusting him into the public eye.

Meanwhile, Bravo One may be needed once again as more and more supers fall into madness.

***This series has a potentially strong protagonist with clear weaknesses that he needs to work around. Exploring his potential will be a big part of the story. If that's what you're into, give it a shot.***

Information

Status: Hiatus
Year: 2022
Author: J.Drude

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.6/ 5.0
Followers: 230
Views: 89,347

Reviews

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Community Reviews(8)

SailWriteRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Read for superpowers, conspiracies and characters who have to play smart against strong foes.
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The world is rich and varied with the history and various powers that be having intelligent motivations and actions.
The characters introduced so far are interesting but I have a few worries about some of them. There's a lot of background still to be explored still which is probably why. (I'll pop these in a spoiler at the bottom.)
I'm really enjoying the ficiton so far but I feel like it's still getting started at 306 pages in. The main characters have been introduced but we are still learning about the protagonists background and character.
After showing fully positive meetings between the MC and the locals (including principal), why was the Sheriff so hostile?
Why is Cammy/Johansen so ready to disgard protocol for the MC?
LightningShadow7Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The story is extremely good with only a couple of story issues (in my opinion). It's an absolute great read about a super trying to help others in an Earth beset by villains and existential threats. The story is impeccable with great ideas and believable character development. It has likeable characters with strong motivations and an expansive world expertly described by the author. I'll leave it at that to avoid any spoilers but any prospective reader should totally read this hidden gem.
I find the character of Camila remarkably obnoxious for multiple reasons and Joseph's reactions don't really make sense to me. First off, he barely fights back against her and her continued attempts to make him into a marketable super which is entirely opposed to what he wants to do. In that situation, it makes far more sense for him to blow up at her and yell for her to leave, especially because her intro is her almost killing herself with her own idiocy to approach a super situation without knowing anything. Also, she ignores what Joseph says about not going into the house for 30 minutes which literally almost costs him his life when he has to save her for being stupid enough to rush into the situation without a mask of some sort or even an idea of what a lasher can do (even though she was thinking he was dying). I feel as if anyone in Joseph's situation would be pissed a new agent was rushing into a situation they were specifcally and repeatedly warned not to enter and as a result almost kill them both. Furthermore, I really liked the introduction of Wilhelm and his perspective and paranoia makes far more sense in terms of his reactions. For example, after Camila takes advantage of Joseph's injuries (which he took because of her) to steal his bandoliers and scan them his reactions is remarkably milquetoast. It's played more as a joke instead of a much more justified explosion of anger that someone risked their and his life and then while he was injured stole his stuff. They aren
AlsoJohnRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
How is this not first page on rising stars? How is this the first work by an author? These are fully fleshed out characters moving though an intricate environment. The underpowered super just might be the most over powered super and his secret identity has a secret identity. (along with a er "peculiar" uncle) That's just the tip of the iceberg. Read it. I've been reading since I was two (way last century) and this is as well done as anything I've read
Beaste01Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is really good. It's imaginative, well written and intriguing. The MC seems suitably underpowered for the challenges he faces. Add in a mysterious tortured back story, a devious and amoral female CEO and a young attractive, idealistic partner and you've got a lot to work with. Plus it's got the 'who guards the guards ' element the TV series The Boys wallows in. It's not as graphic or gritty as that but it's better for it. This is one of the best RR stories I've read. Hope Firebreak has the resilience for the long haul.
Currently_Sharing_ScreenRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Found this story about 3 hours ago. Have since caught up with the story to where it is now. Really looking forward to more when J.Drude starts Issue #2.
What to expect? A man trying to make the world a better place while not trusting the world at all. A woman trying to make the world a better place while not understanding the world she lives in. And a world trying to figure out how to deal with super heros, super villians, and super pychos that can create and destroy islands at will.
For me, a third of the allure of the story is the mystery of what happened/what is happening in this world the author is developing. Another third is an interest in the characters and how they devlope and interact, they're well written characters so far. And lastly, the power system is something I'm so looking forward to diving into deeper as Joseph realizes just what all he can do.
Thanks for sharing your imaginaion with us J.Darude! You've earned my first ever review. I look forward to what you next share.
DestroyatronMk8Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The Company thinks that Firebreak is a weak Supe that can make small flames. That's the way he likes it. His life gets more complicated when they send him a liason. Especially when she walks in on him fighting an extra-dimensional power using powers the company doesn't know he has. This is a banger of a story, good enough to be published traditionally.
STYLE: Firebreak is well paced, with an excellent mix of description, dialogue, and action. The descriptions paint a good picture, the dailogue sounds like real people talking, and the action is both brutal and visceral. The story structure and characterization are outstanding, and I constantly can't wait to see what happens next.
STORY: The worldbuilding is complex, but it's fed to you slowly enough that it's easy to grasp what's going on. This is one of those rare stories that's driven forward both by character interactions and by events outside of the MC's purview, which makes it a lot more dramatic. The author does a good job of both having a lot going on and making it easy to understand while keeping an element of mystery.
CHARACTERS: The characterizaion is excellent, with fully fleshed out people that interact in a believeablle way. Both Firebreak and his feisty liason are engaging and sympathetic, and the villains and side characters are also written with a fair amount of depth.
GRAMMAR: The author's grammar is better than mine. I didn't find any mistakes.
OVERALL: This is a tense, fun, baller of a series, and should absolutely be on Rising Stars or something. Give it a read. You won't regret it.
ProconRoyal Road
★★★★★ 4.5
Right off the bat, I want to let the author know that his combat sequences and transitions are as seemless as they are brutal, beautiful, and impactful. I won't lie, I even took some notes during those scenes where the character is 'thinking' while fighting without sacrificing the tension and ferocity of the moment.
Aside from that already excellent facet of the story, I want to point out how incredibly fleshed out each character already feels through expostional narrative and dialogue. I'm not the biggest fan of Johanssen at the moment, BUT that just speaks to how well the author can create a distnict personality for the reader to either like or dislike.
I highly recommened this story to people who like a strong protagonist and gruesome magic in a contemporary setting.
AmalgaMat1onRoyal Road
★★★★ 4.0
A low ranked hero trying to hide his true power. A hotshot rookie trying to prove herself. A world where so many things are going wrong at the same time. A lot is happening and, at the same time, not a lot happens.
The overall story is thrilling. The plot and world-building is amazingly well-written. The author provides a vivid amount of detail throughout the whole story and its characters. The MC's powers are very unique, which says something in this day in age. Just about the entire cast are as interesting as they are flawed, making the portrayed world feel that much more real. It almost felt like reading a well thought-out Netflix series. There is a lot of opportunity for growth and this series is shaping itself to being one of the greats.
There were several gripes that I had while reading book one, most of which are founded on two aspects. the "Struggle" and the "Mystery". The struggle comes from the fact that the MC went through the entire book crippled. Him dibilitated almost instantly, and how it put him at a severe disadvantage throughout the entire book (setting him up for mistake, after mistake...after mistake) , brought the tag "Strong Lead" into question. Is the MC's power strong? Potentially, world-changing. Does the MC have a strong background? He was trained by a tried-and-true war vet. Is the MC, himself, strong? Well...I guess as strong as a guy on his (almost literal) last leg could be. His handicap, while understandable, become more and more irritable with each following battle. Finally, the "Mystery". The MC has a mysteriously traumatic origin that could have been presented better as the story developed. It may take a second read to see all the early signs of said origin. But, at first glance, seemed to come out of nowhere near the end, more or less. Still, it's interesting to see how things play out.
Overall, this story is definitely worth a try and stands out from the typical Royal Road experience.