After The Golden Age

Ask yourself, “What would it be like to have superheroes as parents? And what if, unlike them, you had no super powers yourself?”

That’s the situation Celia West finds herself in New York Times bestselling author Carrie Vaughn’s new book, After The Golden Age.

Imagine yourself at the mercy of super villains who kidnap you in order to get to your parents or constantly being reminded of the fact that you are a liability to their fight against crime. Is it any wonder that Celia decides to strike out on her own, without any help or protection from her parents, trying to find a name for herself?

That’s exactly what she does and despite her parents she manages to carve out a career for herself as a forensic accountant. Things are looking pretty good until she is called in to take down a super villain, not for his violent crimes, but for evading taxes.


Bad enough he’s had dealings with her parents. Worse, she has a history with him—as his willing accomplice when she was kidnapped by him and manipulated to join him. It was all a ploy to get to her parents. Her part in it was to get back at her parents.


She relented or course, but the bitter taste of her past failure still lingers. Now she must put the past behind her and face the one man who knows her weaknesses and will be sure to try and exploit them.


After The Golden Age from Tor/Forge offers a slightly sinister twist to what it’s like to be the offspring of super powered humans. It examines what it would really be like to be placed in such a situation and how one might react-especially considering that they don’t have super powers themselves.


Filled with plenty of twists and turns and unexpected situations, the book is a clever and unique homage to the super hero genre.