Panopolis is a rough place to be an average Joe. I came here looking for adventure and excitement, but nobody cares about one more normal guy in a city filled with super-powered Heroes. The closest I’ve come to glory is working in a bank that Villains often rob.
But then I maybe accidentally-on-purpose helped a Villain escape the Hero who was trying to save the day. Imagine my shock when, a week later, that Villain asked me out for coffee. One date turned into more, and now I’m head over heels in love with Raul.
Falling in love with the guy dubbed the Mad Bombardier isn’t without its downsides, though. I’ve had to deal with near-death encounters with other Villains, awkwardly flirtatious Heroes who won’t take no for an answer, and a lover I’m not sure I can trust. It’s getting to the point where I know I’ll have to make a choice: side with the Heroes, or stand fast by my Villain.
Either way, I think my days as a normal guy are over.
How was it?
Where There’s Smoke is a nice little story, easy to read and entertaining. It’s weird for me to read it in 2020 after the #MeToo movement and everything that followed because what the main character goes through reads like the premise of a lot of the stories about sexual harassment and abuse of power we’ve heard in the past couple of years. It gave me the creeps. So as the story goes along you start to cheer for the supposed villains, wondering why the “Good guy” is seen as such. There’s a complexity in the story that is wrapped in an easy-to-digest package, a subtle critique and mistrust of big corporations.
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Worn Out Spines 