17 new SFF books to get nice and cozy with this September
By Lacy Baugher
The Nobody People – Bob Proehl
The Nobody People is basically what you might consider to be literary fanfiction, a sort of prestige take on a concept that mirrors a premise we’re familiar with from Marvel’s The X-Men. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, let’s be clear – and this is hardly the first story about normal people with special abilities – but the bones of this story feel deeply familiar, right down to the special school for gifted youngsters at its center.
However, the heavy and obvious focus on the political ramifications of the existence of these “nobody people” marks Proehl’s work as something worth reading. From terrorism to religious persecution to social inequality and discrimination, this is a story that explores very heavy subject matter through a science fiction lens. And it’s a stark reminder that even though this is a novel that features characters who can turn themselves invisible, it’s a reality that isn’t that far from the one we’re living in now.
The official synopsis goes into a bit more detail.
"Avi Hirsch has always known his daughter was different. But when others with incredible, otherworldly gifts reveal themselves to the world, Avi realizes that her oddness is something more—that she is something more. With this, he has a terrifying revelation: Emmeline is now entering a society where her unique abilities unfairly mark her as a potential threat. And even though he is her father, Avi cannot keep her safe forever. Emmeline soon meets others just like her: Carrie Norris, a teenage girl who can turn invisible . . . but just wants to be seen. Fahima Deeb, a woman with an uncanny knack for machinery . . . but it’s her Muslim faith that makes the U.S. government suspicious of her. They are the nobody people—ordinary individuals with extraordinary gifts who want one only thing: to live as equals in an America that is gripped by fear and hatred. But the government is passing discriminatory laws. Violent mobs are taking to the streets. And one of their own—an angry young man seething with self-loathing—has used his power in an act of mass violence that has put a new target on the community. The nobody people must now stand together and fight for their future, or risk falling apart."
The Nobody People is available on September 3.