Sequel to the Nobody People, this begins sometime after the first book, after the Pulse and the Civil War that followed. It takes the first part of the book to determine this, following a few of the characters from the first book and some new ones, and it is slow and unclear and at first seemingly pointless. Then about 40 percent of the way in the story picks up as Patrick/the dark forces begin to clash in earnest with Fahima's people, and Emmeline once again comes out of the shadows. It makes for an exciting story to the end, but not much meaningful content beyond another villain using his powers to control absolutely. I found it dull and then disappointing.

The Somebody People is the sequel to The Nobody People, which needs to be read prior to reading this book. (The Somebody People really doesn't function well as a stand-alone.) This is a book that delves into the world of difference - what happens when some people have powers and others do not?

This book takes place seven years after the Great War, and those with powers have taken over, but things aren't quite the utopia the resonants had hoped for. This is a fast-paced fantasy book that explores concepts of prejudice.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

I absolutely loved The Nobody People. But I read it a year ago, and I don't remember a lot of the details although I do remember it being character-driven, which is where the challenge came for me this time around...

When I started this one, I expected at least some rehash of the first book - it has, after all, been a year since it came out and when you have a character-driven narrative, a little bit of a refresher on the intricacies of your relationships is a really helpful thing... Frankly I think Proehl did readers (and himself, in the shape of review comments) a disservice by not including some such referent. I found myself losing the thread on this one in a way that I don't recall happening with the first book, and I suspect it is because I was missing connections and references to earlier events. It made this one feel more dragee than I suspected actually was. The storytelling is still strong here, but I felt a little bit like I was coming into the room just after the action happened on a lot of the scenes, and it meant this one didn't resonate with me the way the first one did.

I enjoyed the book - it was still an interesting tale (albeit one that started a lot slower than I remember experiencing with the first book) but I have a feeling I missed a ton of things because I simply don't remember enough about the characters, situations, or world-building at this point to catch them. It was almost like reading this one cold, and it was tough as a result. I need to go back and reread TNP and then read this one again. I suspect it will make for a very different reading experience...

This is the sequel to The Nobody People. There is very little backstory so it's probably best if you have read that one first.

It's seven years after The Pulse, and by now you are either a Resonant or not. 

And that is pretty much all I know as I couldn't get into this one.

If you are a SciFi fan, this is your book. People who read them both love books. I just could not keep everyone straight.

NetGalley/September 1st, 2020 by Del Rey Books

This is the follow up to The Nobody People and you should really read that before starting The Somebody People.

That said, this book is wonderful! Seven years have gone by since the Pulse went off. The Pulse was set off in order to make more people into Resonants (people with special powers). This was intended to stop the hate from normal people but things did not go exactly as planned.

Now, Resonants are in charge and normal people have been pushed to the west. The man in charge of the Bishop School has decided to set off another pulse even though it will kill half of the people it touches. He also intends to do this worldwide! The Somebody People is the story of those who oppose him and who are willing to fight to stop him.

I really enjoyed this book. It kept my attention all the way through, and made me laugh and cry. I highly recommend The Somebody People!

Ultimately a satisfying conclusion to this two-part series. I think both books had some issues, but a strong plot, writing, and characters were enough to keep me hooked.

(Heads-up: there are no handy "Nobody" recaps or refreshers in "Somebody." If you haven't read the first book, you'll likely be lost on this one.)

I envy anyone who gets to read these two books back-to-back. There are loads of characters to keep track of. Taking a year off between books meant that I struggled to get back into the flow of things and remember what was going on. Tackling them together I imagine will result in a more rewarding experience.

I think this second book started out a wee bit shaky. For a good third of the book, there isn't really any clear villain or focus for the plot. Three central characters, Fahima, Carrie, and Clay are each working on different missions. These missions ultimately intersect. But, before they do, with the absence of a clear antagonist, things started to drag a bit for me personally. About halfway though the book however, the pace picked up and I started to really enjoy the ride.

As mentioned above, the characters in this book are outstanding. Loved Fahima, Emmaline, and (A new character? I can't remember if he was in the fist book) Clay. These are complex people with unique story lines, (I also loved the Bishop flashbacks). At first I was bummed that again this book was going to focus on Carrie, (a character I didn't really enjoy in the first book.) But I thought she was more fleshed out in this book, more interesting to get to know.

Overall, these are well-written books with some timely lessons on belonging, power, and politics and some lovely deep thoughts like this one: "preparedness and planning aren't the opposites of hope, but they run at strange angles to it."

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is a well written fantasy book with intricate characters and a fast paced plot. Told through multiple points of view the author takes us through the life of these very diverse characters and their abilities.
While the storyline was incredible, I did feel at times my mind start to drift as we are often bogged down with too many details and characters but overall a great novel.

I loved the first book and didn't know if I would like this one as much due to the last books ending and certain peoole no longer being viewpoint characters. However I absolutely loved this one and would recommend it in a heartbeat. The full scope of plans unfold, and though it's a very different story it's still grounded in reality. I highly recommend this, and will talk more about it closer to publication.

3.5 stars, and thanks to NetGalley for a review copy.

I really enjoyed [book:The Nobody People|43334292] (4.5 stars), which developed a strong premise in a satisfying way.

A year later, however, I barely remember any of the characters and have no attachment to them. And yet Somebody People makes no effort to remind the reader about where things stand or who these people are. I had to go back and skim the last couple chapters of Nobody People in order to get some things straight on the plot, but that didn't help that a bunch of characters are presented to me as though I just finished the first book immediately before opening the second.

One of the main characters is Carrie, who has a complicated web of relationships with a half dozen people, most of whom I still barely have any clear conception of after finishing the book. They all become important at some point, to, so it is frustrating trying to care about what is going on.

There were some cool individual scenes, especially the flashbacks to Bishop and his discovery of the resonance, but the overall plot was not very compelling. There was a lot of moving pieces around the board and bringing characters together, with an ending that felt too ambiguous and yet too similar to the first book.

There was also a particularly cringe-worthy passage where one of the bad guys stands next to an (apparently real) statue of Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden, and Julian Assange, and Carrie laments what might have been.

Many thanks to the publishers for the Advanced Reading Copy!

The Somebody People and it's precursor, The Nobody People, have an easy and oft-made comparison to the X-Men. People living on earth with powers that others don't possess, their genes changed permanently by an outside source. While this comparison is an excellent jumping off point (it's true - if you like the X-Men, you SHOULD read these books), it sells The Somebody People short. The Somebody People addresses xenophobia, family, and love - as well as the nature of time itself, death, and how you would act if someone amplified the very worst pieces of yourself.

Reading the Somebody People in the middle of a pandemic added an extra layer to the quality of the book; how do we treat others during a crisis? How do our good intentions go awry, or fall into place? Proehl is an excellent writer, and he gets at these questions without seeming trite or condescending.

I had a couple of complaints with the Nobody People, despite overall enjoying the book - some of the characters decisions were baffling to me, and I felt that pieces of it trudged along. None of these issues were present in the Somebody People. If anything, the characters became significantly more complex, vulnerable and likeable, in a way that often explained decisions made the book before. It is absolutely necessary to read The Nobody People before reading this book, and I would highly recommend both.

Thanks to Netgallery for the ARC and helping to keep another reader sane during the pandemic days.

Proehl's sequel I found to be a more enjoyable read, touching upon what a resonant/human world looks like after the war that was built up in 'The Nobody People.' Almost all the same characters are back, with a maturity to them that helps move the story along, to include an actual protagonist. In other words, less origin and more story. In a lot of ways the first half of the book is similar to Jonathan Hickman's current take on the X-Men, with what a 'nation' of powered would look like and what it would do. Unfortunately the second half of the book I felt lost its way with overburdened complexities regarding abilities and.. time travel (urg).

This could be a finale and it could be part of a trilogy, I'll admit the ending left it vague. If you're feeling nostalgic for a similar, modern twist on the mutant/X-Men genre, I'd recommend giving Proehl's novels a try.

What happens if, suddenly, a large part of humanity develops psychic powers of all varieties, and another portion does not? What will these powers look like, how will they work, what range of abilities will people have? Most importantly, what will they do with these powers once they have them? And if there is disagreement about how the powers should be used, what then? Some people believe that everyone should have the chance to develop powers, to resonate - but at what risk? Some people believe that those with powers and those without should live in harmony; others, that they should be separated permanently, with children moved across the divide when they, or don't develop powers of their own. Explore a future history in which these questions are addressed, and answered in many different ways. If you enjoyed comics such as the X-Men (as I did) this book will provide discussions of many of the issues raised, and never answered, in the comic books.

I ultimately enjoyed this book; however, I did find it hard to get into in the beginning. As is becoming more common, this novel is written from multiple points of view, with each chapter (usually) being narrated from the point of view of a different character. Following the changes in characters was difficult at first; it got better as the characters became more familiar; however, while the author generally referred to the character early in each chapter so the reader could identify him/her/them, the changes were still random and hard to follow. Individual characters did not have easily discernible voices that would make it easier to tell them apart. Once past that, the characters were intriguing and the writing made me want to know more about both the characters and the plot. The characters were interwoven across multiple timelines in ways that did not become truly apparent until the end of the book; this, too, was somewhat hard to follow. A section near the middle of the novel had a historical vignette that was noticeably longer than the chapters; this section was easier to follow and increased my interest in the rest of the book.

The Somebody People is the sequel to the Nobody People, a two-volume exploration of what happens when people have special abilities. As in the X-Men or the short-lived tv series, Heroes, people begin sprouting abilities such as invisibility, time travel, stretching, mind control, etc., etc., etc. and book one, The Nobody People, traces how a secret school (like in Harry Potter) is created where people learn to harness and control their abilities. It also features a secret world called the Hive where all the Resonants can communicate with each other. Book One also traces the reactions of a world without super abilities to these newly formed mutants and the results are not pretty as they purged from society into camps in the desert.

Book Two, "The Somebody People," picks up years later after the end of the great war, and it looks like the Resonants, those with powers, have won, and those without powers are pushed back beyond the Mississippi. This is a new world where many have special powers and there are places across the continent where the two groups strike an uneasy peace. But, there are schisms and divisions and the scattered resonants have to come back together to fight those who would divide the world into haves and have-nots (haves and have-nots of special powers).

Reading "The Nobody People" is almost a prerequisite to the "Somebody People." Without it, so much is lost, particularly a long history of relationships and what happened and so forth. Even having read the first book, not having read it recently, one finds one's self a bit lost at times. Also, be prepared for alternating chapters between many different disparate characters rather than one main character focus. Would have really liked to have one character such as Carrie be the focus. The story really starts to focus about thirty percent in.

A fun rollicking adventure. Many thanks to the publisher for providing a copy for review.