Scan barcode
ebal's review against another edition
4.0
It's like Dexter meets The Professional directed by John Woo in Space killing bad aliens & humans!
Much enjoyable, written in a humoristic way the emotional self-awareness journey of an genetic engineered hitman that tries to kill them all and find love at the same time with the help of moral AI that tries to keep him on track.
What not to like ?
Much enjoyable, written in a humoristic way the emotional self-awareness journey of an genetic engineered hitman that tries to kill them all and find love at the same time with the help of moral AI that tries to keep him on track.
What not to like ?
skybalon's review against another edition
5.0
Very enjoyable
Not your run of the mill science fiction story. And it isn't afraid to take big ideas while still being very entertaining.
Not your run of the mill science fiction story. And it isn't afraid to take big ideas while still being very entertaining.
addypap's review against another edition
3.0
This grew on me a little, not slightly above average and an interesting story.
wispirr's review against another edition
4.0
It's worth noting that Superego's author, Frank Fleming, is a former Babylon Bee writer. And you can definitely tell; this is a story with lots of sarcastic humor. It isn't quite a comedy per se, but more of a thriller with strong humorous elements, set in a far future interplanetary setting.
My feelings on this book are... complicated. Its greatest achievement is making its main character, a remorseless, aggressively antisocial hitman, actually likable. The action is fun, the pace is fast and never boring, and the last third of the book is pretty good. Overall I enjoyed it for what it did well.
However, my suspension of disbelief was stretched well past the breaking point in multiple places. The worldbuilding is very weak, and relies way too much on modern references given the setting. For a few examples, there's a SWAT team, an amusement park with whack-a-mole, and a character literally orders Coke at a restaurant (somehow that brand has survived for... how many centuries?). Much of the story is taken up by a buddy cop arc that never really felt believable, and its lack of plausibility is unsatisfyingly explained away toward the end. There's also a romance that never clicked for me at all. Most confusingly, that romance arc has a couple of (fade-to-black) sexual encounters that seem like they shouldn't be okay within the worldview of the female love interest or the author himself (like me, Frank Fleming is an outspoken Christian); they make sense for the main character, but I don't get why they exist outside of that.
All that said, I gave the book 4 stars because I did enjoy it a lot despite my issues with it. It's a fun popcorn action flick in book form, with interspersed bits of interesting observations about the world from a cynical main character who's learning that maybe he should care about, well, something. I'll probably read the sequels at some point.
My feelings on this book are... complicated. Its greatest achievement is making its main character, a remorseless, aggressively antisocial hitman, actually likable. The action is fun, the pace is fast and never boring, and the last third of the book is pretty good. Overall I enjoyed it for what it did well.
However, my suspension of disbelief was stretched well past the breaking point in multiple places. The worldbuilding is very weak, and relies way too much on modern references given the setting. For a few examples, there's a SWAT team, an amusement park with whack-a-mole, and a character literally orders Coke at a restaurant (somehow that brand has survived for... how many centuries?). Much of the story is taken up by a buddy cop arc that never really felt believable, and its lack of plausibility is unsatisfyingly explained away toward the end. There's also a romance that never clicked for me at all. Most confusingly, that romance arc has a couple of (fade-to-black) sexual encounters that seem like they shouldn't be okay within the worldview of the female love interest or the author himself (like me, Frank Fleming is an outspoken Christian); they make sense for the main character, but I don't get why they exist outside of that.
All that said, I gave the book 4 stars because I did enjoy it a lot despite my issues with it. It's a fun popcorn action flick in book form, with interspersed bits of interesting observations about the world from a cynical main character who's learning that maybe he should care about, well, something. I'll probably read the sequels at some point.
rebleejen's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book has an interesting concept that may not be executed perfectly, but it is very entertaining. Warning: it ends on kind of a cliffhanger. Fortunately, I enjoyed it enough to read the sequel.
mkaber's review against another edition
2.0
This story started off great. It's sort of a spacey Dexter, but with a little more to amuse. However, it devolved into a weird sort of generalized War on Terror and I just could not read "terrorist" as a descriptor one more time. I feel potential, but I don't feel any need to buy this book for a friend.
zade's review against another edition
3.0
Fleming's world-building is solid and believable. His protagonist, while not exactly someone you'd want to hang out with, is sympathetic enough. The plot is action-based and moves along well. This is a fun book and has enough thought-provoking elements to raise it above the level of mere fluff.
More...