DNF at 30%. I was not a fan of The Nobody People and I needed more of a reminder at the start of this book as to who was who. It felt a little overwhelming and I was struggling to remember details from The Nobody People. This is def a book you cannot read without the first in the series being read. May revisit eventually, but not for me at this time.

I jumped into The Somebody People by Bob Proehl having not read the first in the series, but after a few chapters of "wait, who is this and what can they do", I found myself engrossed in a story that delves deep into questions of humanity, the idea of tribes and society, and family and friendship. Proehl's prose can be dense, with heady ideas tossed around in single paragraphs that span the page, but excavating these mini-essays is well worth the readers time, as his characters growth and development is evident in their actions and thoughts. He does a wonderful job at world building, reflecting the changes of this dystopian (to some) world through the eyes of his multiple protagonists with skill and an eye for detail. I feel the need to go back and read the initial entry in this series; this is the kind of deep SF that could easily be held up against literary novels and their high-minded adherents as proof of concept.

Fatima Deeb didn’t realize that triggering the pulse had some drawbacks for the people who got their abilities. People who didn’t have abilities were uncomfortable with them. Families didn’t want one child with abilities especially deemed useless. Fatima was surprised when she discovered that her friend Patrick had been taken over by another who was trying to take over everyone that had talents. This person has had Patrick create an army beside having others with talents do terrible acts against their will. Can Fatima figure out what to do to stop this? Meanwhile a young girl with talents is hiding out with other talents. She is Emmeline. Fatima thinks that with Emmeline’s help they can overcome the person who is controlling her friend. Emmeline is willing to help but doesn’t know if she will succeed. Will she? How will she do it?

This novel is book 2 and the last book to read of the two book series. I enjoyed reading Emmeline’s journey to learning what she could and couldn’t do. She was surprised at moments when she used her ability. The story in some ways remind me of X-men but it is also different enough that I’m glad it was written. It reminded me of how people are afraid of other people who are different and how they react to that. I read this book as a stand-alone because I had not read the first book. I would had liked to read the first book as it would had given me some background of the characters in the novel. I will be getting the first book even though I know the ending as I am curious to know more. It’s a complex adventure novel in the realm of science fiction.

QUICK TAKE: I was a huge fan of THE NOBODY PEOPLE, a grounded, entertaining, and allegorical look at what would happen if people with superpowers "came out" during our current political climate. The conclusion to the duology, THE SOMEBODY PEOPLE, is a worthy follow-up (though I did have to read a big chunk of TNP again to refresh my memory about what happened in the first book) and solid conclusion to the story. I just loved the world Bob Proehl built, and could live in it for multiple books.

Great follow up to a fantastic debut novel. I am loving this thrilling world with well developed and interesting characters. It;'s a little like X men, but that's okay because I love the comic-bookish writing.

I had enjoyed the Nobody People and was excited to read this sequel. It was a great read with interesting familar characters. I look forward to more from the author.

This is the sequel to The Nobody People and if it has been awhile since you read that book, I would recommend that you stop now and go back and refresh yourself on the events from the first book. This two-book series reads like the author wrote the whole thing in one long 1200 page book and decided to split it up so there is really no reminders of what happened earlier or how the characters relate to one another.

It is now several years after the war between the Resonants (people with special powers/abilities) and "Baseliners" or just normal everyday people and the superpowers won. The losers are mostly sent to the western part of the United States in an area called "The Wastes" so you can get a feel for how normal humans are treated. It turns out that "The Pulse" (an event that gave a certain percentage of the population abilities) had some unintended consequences, such as allowing an evil actor to take control and use their powers against those who oppose them. Various characters from the first book take turns in alternating chapters with their points of view on events across the country along with flashbacks with details about how everything started.

I found that this book took awhile to get going. There was a lot of setup and not being able to recall exactly how characters related to one another and what they did in book 1 made things difficult to start with. It was probably about 40% before the action starts and you can start to see the pieces on the chess board moving. There were some good action sequences but it seemed inconsistent. Sometimes, there was a big build up and then resolution in a paragraph while other times in a similar situation, the resolution took several pages. It was fun reading about their powers but you only got to see a few up close.

Overall, I enjoyed the book but I think it suffered from having little to no summary of events from book 1 and somewhat inconsistent pacing. I would highly recommend reading the series back to back for peak enjoyment. It was a clever twist on the superpower/X-Men story.

THE SOMEBODY PEOPLE, by Bob Proehl, is the epic conclusion to his first book, THE NOBODY PEOPLE. In this altered reality, a certain number of people have been given supernatural abilities like flying, stopping time, teleportation, etc. Seven years prior to this book something called The Pulse happened, imbuing many more people with abilities, but there was still a large contingent of the population that had no special ability and seemingly never would. Because of a perpetual unrest between those with powers and those without, a plan is created to end the unrest and bring order back to the world, but it quickly becomes clear that nothing is as simple or as pure in intention as it seems.
The world Proehl creates is so imaginative and magical and the reader will spent a lot of time pleasantly exploring the world throughout the book. On the surface, one could compare the story to major storylines in a certain comic book series, but this book is so much more gritty and Proehl makes sure to make each of his characters very real and tangible in a way that other stories like this have not done. I did get a little lost at times with so many characters to follow and which ones have a history together and which ones don't, but it really didn't slow me down too much. The ending of the book is so mind-bending, so complicated, and so exciting I had to read the last few chapters twice.
THE SOMEBODY PEOPLE is such a unique and different novel that I can't wait to see what Bob Proehl comes up with next.

DNF at 7%. I enjoyed The Nobody People but needed more of a refresher at the start of this book. It jumped right back in and was a lot to keep track of/remember. Ultimately not what I’m looking to read right now but may return at another time. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

I really enjoyed The Nobody People, and I think I enjoyed this one even more. These stories have a similar idea to the X-men - some people have abilities that manifest, and have different ideas of how they should be used. And others think all with unusual abilities should die. This book was a more epic scope than the first - it follows a lot of characters as they try to deal with all the consequences engendered by book one. Regular people have been marginalized, and the dynamics, both good and bad, were interesting. I thought this was a satisfying ending to the story, and I enjoyed the journey getting there.

I'd like to thank the publisher for an advanced copy of the book!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

While I did enjoy The Nobody People, I just kind of didn't remember it. Therefore making this book a tad bit confusing, as it jumps right in to a year later. I don't know if it was the way it was written or the fact that I didn't much remember the other book that made it less enjoyable, maybe both?
I definitely think this is one of those cases where you really should read the duology back to back to get the full effect of the story and keep everything fresh in your mind.

This is the 2nd book in the Nobody People duology, expanding the back story and characters that were developed in the first book. Somebody People can be read as a stand alone but is a much richer experience for having read the first book.
The world is divided between people with "powers" and those without. There has been a war that left the divide with no clear advantages for either side and a whole middle with members from each side.
This book is very hard to review without giving away so much of the story. Bob Proehl writes an excellent tale of the consequences of divide and conquer tactics. Everyone loses something in the battle for equality but we all win when fate forces us to live together or die. A really excellent read.

Thank you so much for providing me with a copy of The Somebody People to read and review. I should point out that I loved The Nobody People, and perhaps I might, one day, want to return to this duology ender, however I found The Somebody People incredibly problematic and hard to get through. Too many slurs against non-Resonants, overt racist language, and homophobia for my liking. With everything going on, this was not the book for me.

I really enjoyed the first book and was excited to see where things went and how it all ends. It doesn’t have the same feel has the first book. It seems more jumbled and long and drawn out. Now that we know about Resonates, it’s all about what happened after the pulse (it isn’t pretty) and how/if it can be made better and then there is a new threat. This book was long and had a lot going on and was more difficult to follow. It seemed like there were even more characters to keep up with and more back stories. A lot of catching up with the main group of characters from the first book. Just a lot going on.

There are lot of interesting ideas in this tale of Resonants and humans- the haves and have nots- where the Resonants have special powers. Think X-Men. I was a fan of the first book but I was challenged more than a little by this one because it's a sprawling tale told by many narrators, some of whom were new and some of whom are carry overs from the first book. It seemed to me as if the two books were written at the same time and then split in half. That said, the issue of how individuals who are different (in this case, the humans are now the different) are treated, especially when the tables have been turned upside down. There's a puppeteer who has designs on domination and a group determined not to let him have that. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's entertaining.

3.75 stars

This book, much like The Nobody People, tells the story through many different people. It felt too thin at times and not a cohesive story that might have formed when told from, say two different perspectives. I’ve read a whole heck of a lot of books since The Nobody People and didn’t exactly remember the whole story so someone coming in blind might not like this book. I also think if you love the first you’ll love the second. Over all, the book was ok, I’m going to guess I’ll forget about it in a year much like book one. Don’t get me wrong it’s a good story there’s good pacing, it reads well, and it keeps you mostly engaged. I’m just someone how likes a more focused perspective in the story line.

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Somebody People

Author: Bob Proehl

Book Series: The Nobody People Book 2

Rating: 3/5

Recommended For...: Heroes like story, sci-fi

Publication Date: September 1, 2020

Genre: Sci-Fi

Recommended Age: 16+ (violence, slight gore, some romance, dictatorships)

Publisher: Del Rey Books

Pages: 624

Synopsis: Fahima Deeb changed everything seven years ago when she triggered the Pulse, imbuing millions of people with otherworldly gifts like flight, telekinesis, or superhuman strength. She thought that would herald the end of the hostilities between those with abilities and those without, but it instead highlighted a new problem: There is someone behind the scenes, able to influence and manipulate these newly empowered people into committing horrible acts against their will. Worse still, that shadowy figure is wearing the face of Fahima's oldest friend, Patrick Davenport. Fahima is horror-struck when she realizes that Patrick has built an army entirely under his control to wipe out all who oppose him.

With nowhere to turn and few she can trust, Fahima must rely on uncertain allies: Carrie Norris, whose illusion of a normal life vanishes at Fahima's reappearance. Clay Weaver, a retired soldier fighting to keep his husband and son safe--and to keep Patrick from taking over his mind. And, finally, Emmeline Hirsch, adrift and untethered from her ability to travel through time. Together, they might be able to topple Patrick's shadowy regime . . . though it may spell destruction for the entire world.

Review: The book is pretty good. It's a straight continuation of the first one. The book has good world building and good pacing. The plot of this one also kept me intrigued in the book. This is another book that will be great for tome topper as well!

Overall though, I don't think this book is as good as the first. The characters were a bit weirdly wrote and I can't fully describe it. The book had weird structure also and it didn't really grasp my attention. You also have to remember the last book and it would be best to read these back to back unlike what I did.

Verdict: It was good, but make sure to read book 1 first or you’ll be confused like me!

This sequel to The Nobody People is good, but it jumps right in so you really need to have read the first book before starting this one. This one also has a solid plot and the writing is well done, and the characters (especially Carrie) were compelling. I think both books are good, but I liked this one better than the first.

It's been seven years since the Pulse, an energy wave that unlocked superpowers in 2/3 of Americans and left the rest to be herded into the Wastes. Fahima struggles to engineer another Pulse without the incandescent Emmeline who powered the first one (and without the fatalities certain colleagues seem to relish) and then to get the rest of the world to sign on. Meanwhile, veterans like Carrie and Clay struggle just to live their lives and protect their families. And an enemy wearing the face of a friend keeps building an army of mind-controlled super soldiers. The sprawling cast and action take awhile to coalesce, but it's worth the wait.

This book was written well but after getting twenty percent in I realized it wasn’t quite my cup of tea. No complaints at all.