The Oracle Code

By: Marieke Nijkamp

Ilustrated By: Manuel Preitano

Blurb:

After a gunshot leaves her paralyzed, Barbara Gordon enters the Arkham Center for Independence, where Gotham’s teens undergo physical and mental rehabilitation. Now using a wheelchair, Barbara must adapt to a new normal, but she cannot shake the feeling that something is dangerously amiss. Within these walls, strange sounds escape at night; patients go missing; and Barbara begins to put together pieces of what she believes to be a larger puzzle.

But is this suspicion simply a result of her trauma? Fellow patients try to connect with Barbara, but she pushes them away, and she’d rather spend time with ghost stories than participate in her daily exercises. Even Barbara’s own judgment is in question.

In The Oracle Code, universal truths cannot be escaped, and Barbara Gordon must battle the phantoms of her past before they swarm her future.

Review:

I’m a fan of the entire Bat family, but Barbra is one of my favorites. The story reminded me some of Gwenda Bond’s Lois Lane stories, in that Babs is strong and modern and all around badass.

Babs has just had her accident putting her in a wheelchair. In this version she isn’t Batgirl yet, or possibly ever, but also isn’t yet Oracle. She’s a hacker. Her strong desire to help those in need is there as well. Still, she’s dealing with the aftermath of her accident and trying to figure out if she’s still the same person.

I thought the super creepy bedtime stories paired with the equally creepy art was fun. Which is odd cause I am not a fan of horror at all.

What I loved most about the story was that the girls were able to take down the bad guys on their own. They weren’t defeated by their disability, they were just as capable as before.

4/5