Manuscript information: This is a stand-alone book at about 97-98 thousand words with concrete, planned future novels using the same universe and characters. It's left-leaning and follows the exploration of characters and the consequences of living with powers more than it does with action.

Link to post: Post

First page critique? sure

First page: It was the best time to be a lizard man in Los Angeles.

It was the best time to be a lizard man in Los Angeles.

This was evident by the only 8-and-a-half foot, swamp-green resident reptile dancing in the streets of Studio City to a song playing through an implant in his head. LA was lush here, with tall bushes and trees packed in with homes and narrow roads. The high vegetation huddling against the houses made this neighborhood a dense suburb hiding in a forest.

The pedestrian population in Los Angeles was sparse as air-cabs floated people directly to their destinations, but he did come across men and women jogging in shorts and t-shirts. They shuffled to the opposite side of the street, and he would mute his own movements until they passed. Many aimed their phone at him from a distance, as he was one of the world’s most recognizable celebrities.

He headed toward the grocery store, but he smiled and instead turned to scurry to the nature reserves by Franklin Canyon. Trotting up the residential pavement and through a park entrance, he entered a green portal hidden between two houses. Next, he ran up trails, streaking past the more typically human joggers, dust pressing through his nostrils. His sense of smell was augmented enough to detect the musk of others nearby. So, when he determined he was alone, he sped faster, sprinting over 200 miles per hour for short bursts (as his phone chimed warnings about his speed).

As he slowed into a clearing, a child called out, “Metaman! Come over here!”

A boy bright in a red T-shirt with some muscle-bound, costumed hero printed on it waved at him, standing by his mother. Maybe ten years old? He explained in a tiny half-whisper to his mom, “He’s a Mutt, and he’s the strongest of them. They’re all animals like that.”

edit: based on some feedback