Wow, what a read!

Various super-peopled worlds, like those in DC and Marvel comics, seem to have an extreme gradient of extra-ordinary abilities - either you are super, or you're not. Some others, eg. Mystery Men include people with very minor abilities, trying to get by in the shadow of 'the supers'.

Manifest Empire brings us a whole new reason for the existence of these abilities, and best of all - the way Cameron has written, it's believable. The super-powered folk, or 'Manifests', of Cameron's world arise mostly at random, and include Earth-native humans, extra-terrestrials, extra-dimensional entities and mythological beings. Oh, and the occasional object. Yes, mundane objects can Manifest, gaining sentience and communication abilities.

Cameron Trindall has provided us with not one story here, but several. Over the space of a year, Cameron takes us on a variety of journeys, following the lives of a slew of Manifests. A few are government sanctioned super-heroes, some their less-super colleagues. We see inter-generational interaction between a mother and daughter, one ramping down her super activities, the other just beginning. Trindall shows that being a Manifest is not necessarily fun, as fame and expectations encroach on private lives.

Cameron has not ignored the darker side of Manifestation, giving us a collection of 'bad guys' to think about.
And think I did. Questions arose for me, such as 'what is Evil?', and 'what is Good?'. 'Does focusing only on doing Good in fact produce some Evil?'. 'What would I call myself, should I Manifest?'. 'How much should I trust my government?'.

Add to all of that a particularly Australian point of view and setting, a visit to the Moon, some action in Hell, both a conspiracy and a prophecy, oh, and God as a bartender, and you have here an excellent book.

I recommend you read it.
Mr Trindall, I await the sequel. ;)
BG.