Review: Worm (Parahumans)

Overview

Warnings

Not for the faint of heart - It would be easier to list what not to warn for in this web series. At the very minimum, you need to be very comfortable with spiders, bugs, and other creepy crawlies being used in a weaponized way, body horror, and graphic violence.

Review

Strengths

• Many shades of grey, flawed characters, lots of complicated relationships.
• Intense and well-written action scenes
• Epic, powerful and disturbing supervillains

Flaws

• This starts off a bit on the slow side, and the bullying storyline didn't quite ring true or resonante. However, the plot really builds up after Taylor leaves high school.

This is primarily an action horror novel with romance mostly in the background.

This web series follows a teenage girl named Taylor, who develops an unusual superpower to control bugs, and her unconventional journey to becoming a superhero, which includes unexpectedly finding a home with a group of supervillains. It is a huge, sprawling work with a large and varied cast, most of whom operate in the shades of grey, regardless of their 'hero' or 'villain' label. Every time I think I'm ready to hate a character, there's a well-written interlude from their perspective that make me re-consider (e.g. Armsmaster). And I absolutely love the sheer creativity behind the different powers people develop.

The series does start off quite slowly, and the bullying storyline didn't really resonate with me. But once the main apocalypse arc kicks off, it's a non-stop ride to the end with a million twists and turns. It's a dark and tragic series, as you see Taylor commit awful atrocities in the name of the greater good - which is a running theme in the series as well. At what point do the ends justify the means? There are no easy decisions or answers in the novel. And even as you watch Taylor's fall from grace, you empathize with the difficulty of her choices.

This series does complicated friendships and relationships really well, my favorite being the one between Taylor and Rachel. All the characters are imperfect, desperate and with their own agendas, and they're often forced to work together and get along despite their differences.

I also adore the world-building, and the eldritch nature of the Endbringers and Eidolon.

I highly recommend this for people who are into morally grey characters, difficult ethical dilemmas, complicated relationships, and dark apocalyptic worlds filled with violence (but also hope amongst friends).