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Brighteyes
BRIGHTEYES: The Shutterclique #1
After experiencing a personal tragedy, Mitch Paulsen throws himself into solo superhero work as his alter ego—Cameraman—as a way of working through his personal pain. But when Brighteyes, a high-profile member of the Affiliates, the world-class superhero team, starts murdering supervillains, Mitch is thrown into the middle of a far-reaching conspiracy that threatens to upend his world. BRIGHTEYES, Book One of the Shutterclique Series, is a superhero action-adventure comedy thriller sure to leave readers breathless.
Action! Adventure! Romance!
BRIGHTEYES turns the superhero genre on its head with sharp focus and sharper writing!
After experiencing a personal tragedy, Mitch Paulsen throws himself into solo superhero work as his alter ego—Cameraman—as a way of working through his personal pain. But when Brighteyes, a high-profile member of the Affiliates, the world-class superhero team, starts murdering supervillains, Mitch is thrown into the middle of a far-reaching conspiracy that threatens to upend his world. BRIGHTEYES, Book One of the Shutterclique Series, is a superhero action-adventure comedy thriller sure to leave readers breathless.
Action! Adventure! Romance!
BRIGHTEYES turns the superhero genre on its head with sharp focus and sharper writing!
296 pages, Paperback
Published June 25, 2024
About the author
D.T. Neal
16 books33 followersBorn in Missouri, growing up in Ohio, and settling in Chicago, D. T. Neal has always written fiction, but only got really serious about it in the late 90s. He brings a strong Rust Belt perspective to his writing, a kind of "Northern Gothic" aesthetic reflective of his background.
Writing his first novel at 29, he then devoted time to his craft and worked on short stories, occupying a space between genre and literary fiction, with an emphasis on horror, science fiction, and fantasy. He has seen some of his short stories published in “Albedo 1,” Ireland's premier magazine of speculative fiction, and he won second place in their Aeon Award in 2008 for his short story, “Aegis.” He has lived in Chicago since 1993, and is a passionate fan of music, a student of pop culture, an avid photographer and bicycler, and enjoys cooking.
He has published numerous novels, SAAMAANTHAA, THE HAPPENING, and NORM—collectively known as The Wolfshadow Trilogy—CHOSEN, SUCKAGE, and the cosmic folk horror-comedy thriller, THE CURSED EARTH.
He has also published the superhero thriller novel, BRIGHTEYES and the short story collections, THE THING IN YELLOW and SINGULARITIES.
Additionally, he has published three eco horror novellas—“Relict,” “Summerville,” and “The Day of the Nightfish.”
AWARDS:
• 2008 Aeon Award, Second Place for “Aegis”
• 2009 Honorable Mention, “Best Horror of the Year,” edited by Ellen Datlow for “Aegis” and “Rotgut.”
• Runner-up, 2013 Best New Novel by a Chicagoan, Chicago Reader, for “Suckage”
• Shortlisted for the 2012 Aeon Award for “Day of the Nightfish.”
Writing his first novel at 29, he then devoted time to his craft and worked on short stories, occupying a space between genre and literary fiction, with an emphasis on horror, science fiction, and fantasy. He has seen some of his short stories published in “Albedo 1,” Ireland's premier magazine of speculative fiction, and he won second place in their Aeon Award in 2008 for his short story, “Aegis.” He has lived in Chicago since 1993, and is a passionate fan of music, a student of pop culture, an avid photographer and bicycler, and enjoys cooking.
He has published numerous novels, SAAMAANTHAA, THE HAPPENING, and NORM—collectively known as The Wolfshadow Trilogy—CHOSEN, SUCKAGE, and the cosmic folk horror-comedy thriller, THE CURSED EARTH.
He has also published the superhero thriller novel, BRIGHTEYES and the short story collections, THE THING IN YELLOW and SINGULARITIES.
Additionally, he has published three eco horror novellas—“Relict,” “Summerville,” and “The Day of the Nightfish.”
AWARDS:
• 2008 Aeon Award, Second Place for “Aegis”
• 2009 Honorable Mention, “Best Horror of the Year,” edited by Ellen Datlow for “Aegis” and “Rotgut.”
• Runner-up, 2013 Best New Novel by a Chicagoan, Chicago Reader, for “Suckage”
• Shortlisted for the 2012 Aeon Award for “Day of the Nightfish.”
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 22, 2024
I LOVED Brighteyes! I am a big superhero fan and this book was everything I have been looking for in a superhero novel. Cameraman is awesome and I loved the setup of stats for each hero/villain as they came onto the page. Great characters, great story, and a killer cover! Can't wait to read more in this series and by this author!
June 19, 2024
3.5* rounded up
This was a 'judge a book by its cover' pick as it immediately jumped out at me and I'm glad I picked it up.
In this book we follow Mitch 'the Cameraman' who has thrown himself into solo superhero work after experiencing a personal tragedy and who finds himself in the middle of a conspiracy that could completely upend his world after Brighteyes, a member of The Affiliates, starts murdering supervillains.
What we have here is essentially a narrative superhero memoir that could be a graphic novel which is filled with action, adventure and a personal touch that came as a surprise to me.
I found touches of Marvel, DC, Watchmen and The Boys scattered throughout this book and I think superhero fans will enjoy this refreshing take on this genre. It was a fun and engrossing tale that read quickly with bright and vivid world building and characters that were more fully fleshed out than you normally find in superhero stories (and for the female characters didn't fall on lazy and tired stereotypes).
If you want a superhero tale that feels modern and fresh then I think you won't go far wrong with this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for a digital review copy of "Brighteyes" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.
This was a 'judge a book by its cover' pick as it immediately jumped out at me and I'm glad I picked it up.
In this book we follow Mitch 'the Cameraman' who has thrown himself into solo superhero work after experiencing a personal tragedy and who finds himself in the middle of a conspiracy that could completely upend his world after Brighteyes, a member of The Affiliates, starts murdering supervillains.
What we have here is essentially a narrative superhero memoir that could be a graphic novel which is filled with action, adventure and a personal touch that came as a surprise to me.
I found touches of Marvel, DC, Watchmen and The Boys scattered throughout this book and I think superhero fans will enjoy this refreshing take on this genre. It was a fun and engrossing tale that read quickly with bright and vivid world building and characters that were more fully fleshed out than you normally find in superhero stories (and for the female characters didn't fall on lazy and tired stereotypes).
If you want a superhero tale that feels modern and fresh then I think you won't go far wrong with this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for a digital review copy of "Brighteyes" in exchange for my honest and voluntary review.
June 11, 2024
Loved it—can’t wait for the entire series!
June 17, 2024
I really didn’t know what to expect from this book, but the cover jumped out at me and I was intrigued by the description. I am glad that I gave it a shot! I really enjoyed this book. It seems that it is tthe first in a series and I’m excited to see where the author takes it all.
One of the things I really liked was the world-building in the novel. While the book focuses on a smallish cast of main characters—Cameraman, Victoriana, Inferna, Brighteyes, Decibelle, The Knack, and Minder—there are so many additional heroes and villains mentioned that I could see many books being added to the series and I would welcome that! There is also an appendix in the book that lists out the characters, villains, and organizations, thus far. That was a nice touch. There are also comic book style panels scattered throughout, and although this book is most definitely a novel, It was a fun bit of comic book-style that added to the over-all experience.
Speaking of characters, I liked them right away and truly cared about what happened to them over the course of the book. Each character is well-crafted and unique. (Inferna may just be my favorite so far!)
This book has a really good balance between action scenes and quieter moments. There is a vein of humor running throughout, as well, but the book is by no means a comedy. (Example: One of the mentioned heroes is named General Principles which made me laugh out loud.)
What I didn't expect was that BRIGHTEYES would hit me on an emotional level, but it did and I am glad for it.
Also, romance is mentioned on the cover, it is not a romance story. Love is absolutely and integral part of the book, but it is only a component of the book’s overarching plot.
The book is billed as a memoir and it reads that way. I enjoyed the style and tone of Cameraman’s delivery. I never lost interest in the story being told and breezed through it.
To sum up, I found BRIGHTEYES to a refreshing read. With so many superhero movies and tv shows out there already, it was nice to read a novel that honored the spirit of the superhero genre while having fun with it, too. Definitely recommended and looking forward to book 2!
Thank you to NetGalley and Nosetouch Press for the opportunity to read in advance!
(NOTE: I read this as an epub and and the formatting was clean and professional.)
One of the things I really liked was the world-building in the novel. While the book focuses on a smallish cast of main characters—Cameraman, Victoriana, Inferna, Brighteyes, Decibelle, The Knack, and Minder—there are so many additional heroes and villains mentioned that I could see many books being added to the series and I would welcome that! There is also an appendix in the book that lists out the characters, villains, and organizations, thus far. That was a nice touch. There are also comic book style panels scattered throughout, and although this book is most definitely a novel, It was a fun bit of comic book-style that added to the over-all experience.
Speaking of characters, I liked them right away and truly cared about what happened to them over the course of the book. Each character is well-crafted and unique. (Inferna may just be my favorite so far!)
This book has a really good balance between action scenes and quieter moments. There is a vein of humor running throughout, as well, but the book is by no means a comedy. (Example: One of the mentioned heroes is named General Principles which made me laugh out loud.)
What I didn't expect was that BRIGHTEYES would hit me on an emotional level, but it did and I am glad for it.
Also, romance is mentioned on the cover, it is not a romance story. Love is absolutely and integral part of the book, but it is only a component of the book’s overarching plot.
The book is billed as a memoir and it reads that way. I enjoyed the style and tone of Cameraman’s delivery. I never lost interest in the story being told and breezed through it.
To sum up, I found BRIGHTEYES to a refreshing read. With so many superhero movies and tv shows out there already, it was nice to read a novel that honored the spirit of the superhero genre while having fun with it, too. Definitely recommended and looking forward to book 2!
Thank you to NetGalley and Nosetouch Press for the opportunity to read in advance!
(NOTE: I read this as an epub and and the formatting was clean and professional.)
August 1, 2024
I am struggling to find a way to put all of my thoughts on this book into a few words, but I will start with this: if you read only one sci-fi book this year, PLEASE let it be this one!
This book genuinely has something for everyone. Queer rep, characters you can't get enough of, action, romance, and puns-a-plenty.
Brighteyes was such a complex character- fighting for justice and struggling to be understood-in a world that sees almost everything in black and white. To put it simply, she was COOL. So, so, unbelievably cool. (Not to mention that she's so obviously in love with her partner, Decibelle. We love to see some badass lesbian representation in this house).
There were some beautiful callbacks to classic comics while the entire story was fresh and entirely new. Such an incredible testament to Dave Neal's writing abilities!
Our narrator, Cameraman, was absolutely impossible not to love. He's snarky, he's funny, he's emotional, and most importantly, he's on the RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY! He fights the everyday supervillains (cops, politicians, racists, etc.) along with the super-supervillains that exist in his world. I'd argue he has the coolest superpower in the novel, as it is a superpower HE CREATED!
I have much much much love in my heart for this novel, and I cannot wait for Inferna! :)
This book genuinely has something for everyone. Queer rep, characters you can't get enough of, action, romance, and puns-a-plenty.
Brighteyes was such a complex character- fighting for justice and struggling to be understood-in a world that sees almost everything in black and white. To put it simply, she was COOL. So, so, unbelievably cool. (Not to mention that she's so obviously in love with her partner, Decibelle. We love to see some badass lesbian representation in this house).
There were some beautiful callbacks to classic comics while the entire story was fresh and entirely new. Such an incredible testament to Dave Neal's writing abilities!
Our narrator, Cameraman, was absolutely impossible not to love. He's snarky, he's funny, he's emotional, and most importantly, he's on the RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY! He fights the everyday supervillains (cops, politicians, racists, etc.) along with the super-supervillains that exist in his world. I'd argue he has the coolest superpower in the novel, as it is a superpower HE CREATED!
I have much much much love in my heart for this novel, and I cannot wait for Inferna! :)
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June 14, 2024I'm really excited by the description and the cover art, but there are so many typos in the first two paragraphs alone in the NetGalley ARC that it's unreadable. :(
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews