I love MR's books and usually don't mind if a lot of his characters (particularly his male main characters) feel the same or act as cardboard cutouts.

Heads up though, getting the cast of characters right in your head does take a little time, but once you’re up to speed, it’s off and running. In the post-novel interview, Reilly revealed that he had begun writing Cobalt Blue as a screenplay, before expanding the story into the current, novel version.Both the United States and Russia have their own superhero, Cobalt and Fury Of Russia but Cobalt at seventy-nine has just died of heart failure and guess who has just become the villain! Cassie and Trey avoid harm while the Vice President is injured, and Cassie urges Trey to run while she flies straight up and damages the ceiling, brining tons of earth and cement down, separating them from Moscow and killing the Vice President.

There are several things that have unfolded over time, as well as several Character aspects to Furin (no spoilers), that are why he hates Cobalt so much, and her Children, and as a result, is going to kill them to seek revenge on her.

Cobalt Blue is a standalone novella by the master of breakneck-paced action thrillers Matthew Reilly, and I’ve loved most things he’s written, and enjoy superhero stories, so should’ve loved this. Of course, there is also Cobalt Blue, and this is who we are hearing the story from, Cassie Cassowitz (I’m so glad that Reilly went with a cool superhero alias name!

The scenes are quite gruesomely graphic at times and I was clapping for Golden Gary, Cassie and her husband Trey. Reflecting on the teachings of her parents and older siblings (except Black), she uses coloured sharpies to mark her helmet in her siblings' signature colours before she and Trey set out to prepare for the Furies' arrival. It was originally developed as a screenplay, and probably could’ve been okay as a full length novel, but at this length the flashbacks took over from any kind of character development - the heroine was too boring for words, and the plot was just stupid. Watching from afar, Cobalt Black is annoyed to see the Fury narrowly escape the blast and fly into the stratosphere, then walks away. It’s obviously inspired by The Boys, Shazam, and a dash of Marvel (I mean, Russia’s secret weapon, America’s greatest hero?The satellite released something, which in turn gave both of them superpowers – the full gambit, speed, strength, senses, flight. America’s Cobalt and The Fury of Russia have been enemies since a mysterious exposure from space gave them matching superpowers decades ago. So one day after Cobalt’s death, the Fury of Russia comes to America to kill her offspring and wipe out the country.

Publication Date 02 August 2022
Publisher Macmillan Australia
Thank you Macmillan Australia for a copy of the book. With each country having a superhero, we get a truce of sorts similar to the nuclear standoff during the Cold War. Interestingly, those original self-published editions of Contest have now become much sought after collectors' items.The coloured segments are flashback scenes that reflect significant lessons Cassie learns from her siblings and parents that shape how she accepts her role as a hero. Seeing Cassie's confusion, Argentov gloats that since she is unlike her siblings in that she was born naturally, the Fury wants to use her to seed his race of superhumans and will keep her as a slave. Oh, and he regularly threatens sexual violence against women, even threatening to turn our hero into a slave to breed with. Then again I might just be clued into this style and can more easily get ahead of the story than I could before. uk/landing-page/orion/orion-company-information/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Orion Publishing Group Limited.