Oomph: A Little Super Goes a Long Way by Bart R. Leib

Oomph: A Little Super Goes a Long Way Reviews

• 
  Kirstie

  In the spirit of full disclosure, this anthology contains my own short story 'Short Circuit' (shortlisted in the 2013 Aurealis Awards), so my review will pertain to all the other stories - not my own. I have not let my inclusion effect what I feel about the other stories.
  
  Oomph: A Little Super Goes A Long Way is an anthology featuring a plethora of superheroes whose powers are not the typical powers that little kids wish for. From a woman who has a different power each Thursday (and has to figure out what it is), to a young man who always hears the exact line he needs to at that moment - if he's listening to his MP3 player on random - to a young lady with the ability to control blankets, there is no lack of powered heroes who refuse to let their (externally deemed) meager talents stop them from saving the day.
  
  Apart from the good feeling you get reading stories where people push past barriers there is no lack of strong female characters and the anthology also positively promotes QUILTBAG characters too.
  
  Usually when I read an anthology there's one story that I feel meh about. That story may not necessarily be bad, just it didn't quite click with me. I couldn't find that story in this anthology. In fifteen stories you'd feel sure there would be one, but I couldn't find it.
  
  I recommend this book for any fan of superheroes and for anyone who wants to feel like they can tackle anything - because that's the feeling this gives you.
• 
  Raj

  I only added this book to my wishlist because it had a story by a friend in it, but I'm glad that someone did buy it for me as it's a lot of fun. The premise of this anthology is that each of the stories contains heroes who have small powers. They're not invincible or can fly, but maybe have really tough skin, or can float just a couple centimetres above the ground.
  
  I think my favourite story was Knuckles by Ken MacGregor about a decent, working class guy who just went out there to help people because it was the Right Thing. I also enjoyed Dawn Vogel's Fortissimo Possibile and, of course, my pal's story The Writing is on the Wall, but then I always feel a bit of a thrill about anything set in Glasgow :-).
  
  One thing worth remarking upon is the number of female authors and protagonists in the collection. It shouldn't be worth remarking upon, but it's unusual to have a greater-than-half number of female authors.
  
  There were few misses here, I thought. Although I enjoyed The Breeze, it was very much a teen prom drama, the fact that the protagonist had a permanent breeze around her barely came into it. And it's not that I didn't enjoy Short Circuit, but it felt very much like one chapter or segment in a larger piece of work (that I'd certainly like to read!).
  
  So a fun collection worth reading by anyone who has a passing interest in the superhero genre.
• 
  Rebecca

  I thought I'd get sick of superhero stories, but the depth and variety of stories here made that impossible.
• 
  H Lynnea

  As with most short story collections, a mixed bag. I didn't feel it started out very strong, but it definitely improved. On the plus side, there are a number of well-written female protagonists, and some positive GLBT characters.
• 
  Beth Cato

  Includes my story "Hat Trick."