Fearless by Robin Parrish Published by: Bethany House Publishers (2007) 393 pages Rating: 10/10 Buy it Now:    Also by Robin Parrish: Relentless Merciless Offworld

In my review of Relentless, the first book of the Dominion trilogy, I said that this could be the beginning of something truly exciting. How right I was.

Fearless picks up not long after the stunning climax of the first book. Grant Borrows and his team of Loci (read the first book to find out what that means) are regarded as superheroes around the world. As bizarre natural disasters erupt across the globe, the Loci do their best to protect those around them. At the same time, new clues about the Secretum of Six, the mysterious organization that gave the Loci their powers, emerge, motivating Grant to track them down. He has no idea of the true scale of events in motion or the enemies arrayed against him.

If Relentless was a superhero origin story, then Fearless is a major superhero "event" story (one of those storylines that usually crosses over into other titles, etc.). Parrish is using many of the standard superhero tropes and concepts here, but he breathes new life into all of them. I recognize things I've read before, but only beneath the surface. The way in which they're presented is wholly unique.

Like its predecessor, this book reflects and illustrates spiritual truth without actually discussing it. In his desire to do that, however, Parrish may have stumbled a bit. There are a couple of occasions in the story when it would make absolute perfect, logical sense (within the story itself) for two characters to bring up Christianity, or at least some specific Christian concepts. It's rather glaring when they don't. Again, I don't mean that in the sense of this being a "Christian novel," but from a storytelling sense.

Be warned. As the second book of a trilogy, this novel continues the time-honored tradition of ending on a cliffhanger. And oh, what a cliffhanger. I was floored. I have no idea what happens next.

You may have started to read this review and decided against this title when you saw the word "superhero." Please don't let that be the deciding factor. These are much more than superhero stories, but that's the easiest thing with which to compare them. The best thing to call them is simply fantastic stories. Relentless... Fearless... One thing is absolutely certain: these books will leave you breathless. Highly Recommended.