Book Discussion: Archenemies, by Marissa Meyer

NOTE: Archenemies is the sequel to Renegades by Marissa Meyer. I’ll try my best to include as few spoilers as possible for Archenemies, but there will probably be significant spoilers for Renegades in this post. If you are interested in reading this series, and haven’t read Renegades yet, you can find my spoiler-free discussion for book 1 here.

The Renegades are back! I really liked the first book in this series, and I was excited for this release.

Here’s the cover:

It looks great, and it’s a perfect continuation of the Renegades theme.

Here’s the synopsis:

Time is running out.

Together, they can save the world.

But they are each other’s worst nightmare.

Nova’s double life is about to get a lot more complicated:

As Insomnia, she is a fully-fledged member of the Renegades, a syndicate of powerful and beloved superheroes.

As Nightmare, she is an Anarchist – a group of of villains who are determined to destroy the Renegades. Nova wants vengeance against the so-called heroes who once failed her when she needed them most.

But as Nova, her feelings for Adrian are deepening, despite the fact that he is a Renegade and the son of her sworn enemies and, unbeknownst to Nova, he has some dangerous secrets of his own.

The line between good and evil has been blurred, but too much power could mean the end of their city – and the world – as they know it.

(As I mentioned, I liked Renegades a lot, so I was probably going to read this even if it didn’t have that great hook.)

As was the case with Renegades, Archenemies is told from the perspective of both main characters, Nova (AKA Nightmare) a member of the villain gang known as the Anarchists,  and Adrian (AKA Sketch) a member of the law-enforcing Renegades in the fictional city of Gatlon. Nova poses as a member of the Renegades to gather information for the Anarchists, while Adrian also leads a double life as the Sentinel, a vigilante who doesn’t always follow the rules. The complicated relationship that unfolds between these two is undeniably fun to read, though borderline diabolical on Meyer’s part. If there’s one thing that can be said about the writers of Speculative YA, it’s that we seem to really enjoy  torturing our characters.

One of the aspects of Archenemies that I was most pleased with is the improved development of the cast of supporting characters. We met a number of interesting individuals in Renegades, with a range of personalities as diverse as their powers. I was happy to see so many of them grow into dynamic characters, and play vital roles as the story progresses.

This brings me to what I think is the most important aspect of the book, the make-or-break feature: Meyer is very good at writing superheroes. With blockbuster superheroes being so popular today, it’s important for Meyer’s to stand out from the abundance of capes and masks in order to prevent this series from falling flat. Meyer reaffirmed that she is more than capable of writing fresh, creative heroes without losing the important comic-book qualities that she both relies on and lovingly mocks in Archenemies.

Meyer manages this by changing up the typical lineup of superpowers. Yes, there are the comic book staples like the invincible Captain Chromium, or Ace Anarchy, a powerful telekinetic, but these really represent a bygone era in the Renegades universe. The series is really driven by those with less common abilities. Adrian can make his drawings into reality, Nova never needs to sleep, Ruby’s blood hardens into gems, and Danna can transform into a flock of butterflies. Meyer continues what she started with these characters in Renegades, and introduces more powers that are creative, amusing, and often downright unusual, then skillfully incorporates them into the personalities of her characters in Archenemies.

In summary: Archenemies is a wonderful continuation of the Renegades series. Meyer develops a dynamic cast of characters with unique abilities that stand out in the superhero genre. Meyer tells an engaging story while setting up for the final installment of the trilogy.