Review: A superhero tale told with abandon
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 03 26, 2012
Most superhero stories play upon a central idea: maybe you don't have super-powers, but wouldn't it be awesome if you did?  The twist in Ben Brown's tale 'Enhanced' is that you might indeed have those powers, if you possess the right kind of 'ancient DNA' and the secret to unlocking its potential.  The action comes fast and furious in this story, as the protagonist Zac confronts this new truth in himself, and the reality that he must unleash these powers to save the world from others like him.  The others are led by a megalomaniac named Dominic, who naturally seeks to dominate the world with his 'superiority.'  Zac isn't alone.  His mentors include Dominic's father, Skinner- the very savant that discovered the secret of unlocking ancient DNA.  Then there is beautiful, competent Lea, another enhanced person who's powers pale in comparison to Zac's, but who's affection for the hero grows as the story progresses.  Zac also has another advantage - a secret base set up by Homeland Security and the assets of the world's military elite at his disposal.  Being the bad guys they are, the villains have their secret bases and technology to challenge this- along with an army of enhanced agents devoted to Dominic.  As the action unwinds like the sudden release of a super-tight spring, there are a few characters that don't make it to the end of the story.  Nay, that's not fair.  There are quite many that don't make it to the end, and most of their deaths are quite horrible, violent, and shocking.  Brown certainly doesn't shy away from the gruesome side of combat.Overall, the story develops some interesting ideas about human potential and technology, and I found the themes concerning abandonment worked well in gluing the story together.  Quite a few characters in the story wrestled with being abandoned to their fate, or not abandoning others to their fate, and the dialogue and friendship building around that theme was engaging and pulled one into the ensuing conflict.  While I enjoyed reading the story and found the conclusion to be be satisfying, I do think that some improvements would be needed to raise my rating for this one.  The pace goes through some wicked double-clutching on the curves, but that's to be expected with such frenetic action.  The description of action is often very strong; the narrative occasionally tells rather than shows.  Some of the under-villains are great, but the uber-villain seemed to remain something of a cipher- perhaps that was deliberately left for the next story to explore (and rest assured, Brown has left himself an option or two for that).  To rate another star, I also think that more in-depth exploration or explanation for the origin of the ancient DNA would be needed to increase credibility.  Fossil DNA does indeed exist in our cells- it is thought to be a kind of evolutionary 'parts repository' providing raw material for new genes, and it's a great idea to use it in this context.  But if these genes have superior adaptive qualities, why are they now dormant?  It seems to run counter to evolution.  How could Zac's body perform these incredible feats if there is no evidence of such behavior in past humans or their ancestors?  Perhaps all of these issues aren't too important, since most superhero stories lean towards younger adults, but the violence in this one is definitely far R, for the copious blood and gore crowd only.  I think the story should entertain those that like James Bond, superhero, and combat stories.  Just make sure that you hit the ground running, so you don't get left behind!