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This isn't a perfect novel by any means. I'd argue some reviews are unfair with their expectations in getting mad at a novel about superheros fighting zombies for having superhero and zombie tropes in it, but that'd be screaming into the void of baseless accusations of racism and sexism.
That being said, there is definitely a heaping scoop of ogling going on with heroes and heroines alike.
If this was a Walking Dead-esque novel I'd take issue with something like the narrator describing a zombie's boobs in any level of detail, but each chapter of Ex-Heroes allows the narrative to be driven by a specific character, and a lot of the characters are surviving in an area of Hollywood they are intimately familiar with. Literally the only thing that changes is the physical appearance of the Exes (zombies), it makes sense they would take note.
I found the book to have an interesting take on the hyper-sexualization of heroines by having an asexual character who has incredible strength and mental capacity, but is cursed with the body of a Miss Universe winner (no really, she won Miss Universe while getting her doctorate). Her character arc doesn't involve her suddenly becoming not-ace after a trip to the bone zone, in fact she mentions an almost scientific experimentation with sex in college with both genders just to verify her stance on sexuality. Stealth is perfectly fine with her sexuality, and she's also perfectly fine using her physical attributes as a psychological weapon.
This is classic Clines in that Ex-Heroes has an ensemble of characters who slowly reveal the true story behind what the reader is seeing piece by piece, allowing for many "HOLY HELL" moments along the way as the puzzle piece mentally click in.
My only real issue with the novel is my issue with any superhero story: There exists a character (in this case Zzzap, a man who can turn into pure energy a'la The Human Torch) who could solve any problem in the book faster than the average human could process with their eyes. Several characters end up in situations where Zzzap could just fly in, make a bad guy's head explode by punching it, then fly away.
Instead we're given a half-assed explanation that Zzzap doesn't like flying through zombies or living people because it feels super icky to him.
Boo-frickin-hoo.
Except for a handful of moments in which Zzzap physically couldn't assist, there are no moments at which a protagonist is in peril during the "now" segments of the novel in which he couldn't fix the situation immediately with his powers.
As long as you can let go of that going in, this is definitely a fun read. I don't know if it's "five sequels" good but the first book has a satisfactory end that doesn't shamelessly set up a sequel.
That being said, there is definitely a heaping scoop of ogling going on with heroes and heroines alike.
If this was a Walking Dead-esque novel I'd take issue with something like the narrator describing a zombie's boobs in any level of detail, but each chapter of Ex-Heroes allows the narrative to be driven by a specific character, and a lot of the characters are surviving in an area of Hollywood they are intimately familiar with. Literally the only thing that changes is the physical appearance of the Exes (zombies), it makes sense they would take note.
I found the book to have an interesting take on the hyper-sexualization of heroines by having an asexual character who has incredible strength and mental capacity, but is cursed with the body of a Miss Universe winner (no really, she won Miss Universe while getting her doctorate). Her character arc doesn't involve her suddenly becoming not-ace after a trip to the bone zone, in fact she mentions an almost scientific experimentation with sex in college with both genders just to verify her stance on sexuality. Stealth is perfectly fine with her sexuality, and she's also perfectly fine using her physical attributes as a psychological weapon.
This is classic Clines in that Ex-Heroes has an ensemble of characters who slowly reveal the true story behind what the reader is seeing piece by piece, allowing for many "HOLY HELL" moments along the way as the puzzle piece mentally click in.
My only real issue with the novel is my issue with any superhero story: There exists a character (in this case Zzzap, a man who can turn into pure energy a'la The Human Torch) who could solve any problem in the book faster than the average human could process with their eyes. Several characters end up in situations where Zzzap could just fly in, make a bad guy's head explode by punching it, then fly away.
Instead we're given a half-assed explanation that Zzzap doesn't like flying through zombies or living people because it feels super icky to him.
Boo-frickin-hoo.
Except for a handful of moments in which Zzzap physically couldn't assist, there are no moments at which a protagonist is in peril during the "now" segments of the novel in which he couldn't fix the situation immediately with his powers.
As long as you can let go of that going in, this is definitely a fun read. I don't know if it's "five sequels" good but the first book has a satisfactory end that doesn't shamelessly set up a sequel.