Scan barcode
A review by mollymortensen
The Rules of Supervillainy by David Wood, Terry Stewart, Jim Bernheimer, C.T. Phipps
5.0
Gary is a normal guy in a fantastical world. That is until the best superhero in the city dies and a week later his magical cloak arrives on Gary's doorstep.
Gary decides to use the cloak to achieve his dream of becoming a Supervillain.
The world of Supervillainy contains almost everything; magic, gods, death, cyborgs, aliens, mad scientists, and more. But it still managed to feel like a real cohesive world.
The magical cloak that Gary 'found' is one of the Reaper's cloaks. It's powered by Death herself, which is why he can now see ghosts. When I heard his list of powers; intangibility, floating, fire, and ice powers, I was afraid he was over powered, but the author did a good job limiting him.
Did I mention that the cloak talks? But only to Gary, so most of the time it sounds like he's arguing with himself. The cloak is less than pleased that Gary wants to be a villain instead of a hero. But since Gary's now bonded with the cloak, they're stuck together for life.
The Good:
Gary was a very real, relatable protagonist. (Is it scary I related to a potential sociopath?) He's also a bit crazy. (Okay, maybe it isn't such a surprise I related to him.) But he still manages to be loyal and he truly loves his wife. Who was also a great character! She was strong willed with good morals (How she fell for Gary is anyone's guess) and she trained her whole life to be a supporter for superheroes, so she has kick butt fighting and hacking skills. Due to dating a Supervillainess in college (Yes, she's also bisexual) she was prevented from becoming a hero.
Gary's henchmen were also funny. Cindy's sense of morals was hilarious! (She hasn't got any)
It's no surprise that the plot was all over the place with a possibly insane main character, but it didn't suffer from this and was nicely paced. I only planned to try out this book, but before I knew it I was 20% in.
I enjoy comedic books, but their subjective and tricky to pull off. Supervillainy succeeded. I was entertained and even chuckled a couple of times. Almost the whole book was a joke, but it didn't feel forced or over the top.
The Bad:
Zombies. They aren't gross scary zombies at least, because their bites only turn you if you die, but I still don't like them.
I have a feeling this series will have plenty of zombies because of the whole Reaper's Cloak thing. If he doesn't use his powers, the dead rise. This Curse was placed on the cape by Death until the wearer proves themselves worthy.
Will I read the sequel? After that ending, yes!! (It wasn't a cliffhanger, but almost. The epilogue left things totally up in the air.)
Point of View: First Person (Gary/Merciless)
Predictability: 2 out of 5 (Where 1 is totally unpredictable and 5 is I knew what was going to happen way ahead of time.)
Mood: 4 out of 5 (Fun and funny! A light book in a gritty world.)
Source: Kindle Unlimited
My Rating: 9/10 Stars
Errors: low (24 that I highlighted on my Kindle) but numerous klunky sentences towards the end
Gary decides to use the cloak to achieve his dream of becoming a Supervillain.
The world of Supervillainy contains almost everything; magic, gods, death, cyborgs, aliens, mad scientists, and more. But it still managed to feel like a real cohesive world.
The magical cloak that Gary 'found' is one of the Reaper's cloaks. It's powered by Death herself, which is why he can now see ghosts. When I heard his list of powers; intangibility, floating, fire, and ice powers, I was afraid he was over powered, but the author did a good job limiting him.
Did I mention that the cloak talks? But only to Gary, so most of the time it sounds like he's arguing with himself. The cloak is less than pleased that Gary wants to be a villain instead of a hero. But since Gary's now bonded with the cloak, they're stuck together for life.
The Good:
Gary was a very real, relatable protagonist. (Is it scary I related to a potential sociopath?) He's also a bit crazy. (Okay, maybe it isn't such a surprise I related to him.) But he still manages to be loyal and he truly loves his wife. Who was also a great character! She was strong willed with good morals (How she fell for Gary is anyone's guess) and she trained her whole life to be a supporter for superheroes, so she has kick butt fighting and hacking skills. Due to dating a Supervillainess in college (Yes, she's also bisexual) she was prevented from becoming a hero.
Gary's henchmen were also funny. Cindy's sense of morals was hilarious! (She hasn't got any)
It's no surprise that the plot was all over the place with a possibly insane main character, but it didn't suffer from this and was nicely paced. I only planned to try out this book, but before I knew it I was 20% in.
I enjoy comedic books, but their subjective and tricky to pull off. Supervillainy succeeded. I was entertained and even chuckled a couple of times. Almost the whole book was a joke, but it didn't feel forced or over the top.
The Bad:
Zombies. They aren't gross scary zombies at least, because their bites only turn you if you die, but I still don't like them.
I have a feeling this series will have plenty of zombies because of the whole Reaper's Cloak thing. If he doesn't use his powers, the dead rise. This Curse was placed on the cape by Death until the wearer proves themselves worthy.
Will I read the sequel? After that ending, yes!! (It wasn't a cliffhanger, but almost. The epilogue left things totally up in the air.)
Point of View: First Person (Gary/Merciless)
Predictability: 2 out of 5 (Where 1 is totally unpredictable and 5 is I knew what was going to happen way ahead of time.)
Mood: 4 out of 5 (Fun and funny! A light book in a gritty world.)
Source: Kindle Unlimited
My Rating: 9/10 Stars
Errors: low (24 that I highlighted on my Kindle) but numerous klunky sentences towards the end