The second book in the Not All Heroes series, In Sekhmet’s Wake is 454 pages of post-superhero chaos set in 2061. The opening line sets the tone, “It had taken one-hundred and eighty-four years, seven months, and eleven days to create the United States of America—and merely six months to tear it in two.” With this, JD Rhodes throws readers directly into a world still recovering from near-apocalypse, where the “Golden Age” of superheroes ended badly and now everyone’s trying to figure out what comes next. The protagonist, Sabra Kasembe, has precognitive visions and is dating an android, which sounds weird but surprisingly largely works.
With several POV characters, the book mostly follows Sabra as her quest for truth evolves into something much bigger, a metaphysical struggle against the goddess-force Sekhmet and the cosmic entity Theia, both of whom seem to want to take over her body. Sabra’s haunted by visions of herself as a leonine avatar of destruction, and she’s trying to figure out if she’s meant to save the world or burn it down. Meanwhile, she’s in a complicated relationship with Revenant, a sentient android. If you’re slightly confused by all of that, so was I at first (and maybe still am). Thankfully, there is a plot summary of the previous book, but it’s only one brief paragraph.
The prose is well-constructed throughout, and very cleanly edited. Rhodes uses a rotating POV structure like Game of Thrones, with each chapter headed by its viewpoint character, Sabra, Jack, and occasionally Fisher. This helps to build a panoramic view of a world falling apart. The book keeps up momentum even when diving into philosophical territory, and when the writing connects, it’s genuinely hard to put down. Rhodes knows how to write action sequences that are bursting with energy while also maintaining a connection to the mind of the characters. The story’s detours into conspiracy are also particularly interesting.
What impressed me most is how Rhodes manages to subtly weave in deep ideas throughout. The novel asks real questions about power, A.I. and identity. The author puts it bluntly, “Can superheroes reconcile the contradictions within capital and themselves, does power corrupt, and is it gay if you’re a woman and she’s a goth-rock robot? Is it easier to end the world than end capitalism?” Rhodes grapples with these ideas through the book. The worldbuilding backs this up: the IESA (International Empowered Security Agency) acts as a quasi-UN force trying to police superhumans after near-apocalypse, while corporations and paramilitary groups fight for control of what’s left. It’s clear Rhodes put real thought into the worldbuilding.
The transhuman relationship between Sabra and Revenant is pretty unique. Their bond works on multiple levels, serving as the emotional anchor of the story and Sabra’s character development. The queer relationship between a human woman and a sentient android raises interesting questions about consciousness and humanity, which the book explores without getting preachy, sort of like the movie Her but far more action-packed. What’s most effective is how Rhodes uses their relationship to humanise the novel’s more head-scratching ideas.
Rhodes demonstrates strong control over tone and pacing throughout In Sekhmet’s Wake. The opening prologue, set amid the ruins of a divided United States, reads like military science fiction. As the story transitions into Geneva in 2061, the perspective shifts to Jack Harper and Sabra Kasembe. Here, Rhodes’s prose sharpens into a more noir-like style, such as Jack’s introduction at Cornavin Station, “At 7 A.M., with the sun just peeking over the horizon, the scattering of morning commuters felt the first trickle of a dam about to break.” Even in quieter moments, Rhodes manages to sustain tension. When a suicide bombing occurs, the description is particularly visceral, “Everything erupted in a single, awesome moment of heat, sound, and unfathomable force.”
With that said, the book does present certain challenges. Although there are a few guideposts, Rhodes largely provides minimal exposition, especially for readers starting with book two (like me). The plot may feel like a strange mesh of corporate conspiracies, paramilitary operations, mythological forces, and international politics in ways that can occasionally overwhelm the reader. At times, it feels like a lot of ideas thrown into a blender. If the book has a weakness, it lies, therefore, in accessibility. The story is, to put it simply, hard to follow. For those new to the Not All Heroes universe, early chapters may feel like parachuting into a war already in progress. Still, this is probably mainly a problem for those who haven’t read the first book, and the outlandish plot could be considered part of its appeal.
With its slightly off-putting book cover, I didn’t know what I was getting into when I started this book. Thankfully, by its conclusion, I can say In Sekhmet’s Wake is a really interesting, highly ambitious sci-fi thriller that I recommend. With its hybrid of action, philosophical questions, and character work (not to mention, LGBT/robot relationships), Rhodes’s novel stands as an ambitious story in these times when so many play it safe.
Final verdict: In Sekhmet’s Wake is a skillfully written, ambitious novel with a ridiculous plot that rewards your attention. The character work is excellent, the action is visceral, and the questions it asks about power are genuinely thought-provoking. For fans of Watchmen, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Disco Elysium, or anyone interested in superhero fiction that asks hard questions, In Sekhmet’s Wake delivers.
You can get your copy of “In Sekhmet’s Wake” or read it for free on Kindle Unlimited here!
