Soon I Will Be Invincible

A Novel

By: Austin Grossman

Narrated by: Coleen Marlo, Paul Boehmer

Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

Doctor Impossible, evil genius, diabolical scientist, wannabe world dominator, languishes in a federal detention facility. He's lost his freedom, his girlfriend, and his hidden island fortress.

Over the years, he's tried to take over the world in every way imaginable, using doomsday devices of all varieties (nuclear, thermonuclear, nanotechnological) and mass mind control. He's traveled backwards in time to change history, forward in time to escape it. He's commanded robot armies, insect armies, and dinosaur armies. A fungus army. An army of fish. Of rodents. Aliens. All failures. But not this time. This time it's going to be different.

Fatale is a rookie superhero on her first day with the Champions, the world's most famous superteam. She's a patchwork woman of skin and chrome, a gleaming technological marvel built for the next generation of warfare. Filling the void left by a slain former member, we watch as Fatale joins a team struggling with a damaged past, having to come together in the face of unthinkable evil.

Soon I Will Be Invincible is a thrilling first novel, a fantastical adventure that gives new meaning to notions of power, glory, responsibility, and (of course) good and evil.

©2007 Austin Grossman (P)2007 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

"The realm of comic book heroes and villains gets a dose of realism in this whimsical debut....Grossman dabbles in a host of themes - power, greed, fame, the pitfalls of ego...broadening the appeal of an already inviting scenario." ( Publishers Weekly)

"Austin Grossman has a superpower himself - it's called writing. This book is a new, winning, smart and funny way of interpreting our world. It's terrific." (Douglas Coupland)

Now that I have you at my mercy. . .

If you have ever groaned in tortured agony when the Super Villain pauses before dispatching that annoying hero into the component atoms he is made from, (allowing the Hero one last chance, why won't he kill him!?), or wondered what Heroes lives are really like, you will love this book.

The story is told through two vantage points, a new heroine just starting out, and an old hand Super Villain. You see into the inner psyche of an emerging hero and what makes them tick. You also get to plumb the depths of a Super Villain's mind as he plots to . . . TAKE OVER THE WORLD!!! MUHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!! Just flippin' awesome, that's what it is!

This is a wonderful enjoyable tale that will take you back to your days reading comics and addresses all those questions you might have had about your favorite Hero or Villain. Totally enjoyable, not too deep, and the narration was excellent.

I enjoyed it immensely. This is a very light read, not War and Peace, so judge it accordingly. Worth a book credit for sure! I'd write more but I have to work on my plan to . . . TAKE OVER THE WORLD!

Great Fun and a Different Point of View

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, if you liked the movie Megamind, you'll love this book.

What about Coleen Marlo and Paul Boehmer ’s performance did you like?

Wonderful performance by both narrators.

Really Fun Listen

Was doubtful when purchased,but was soon addicted. Dr. Impossible rules. Characters were well crafted. A sequel would rock!! Duel readers has a great feel. Enjoy this one

Root for the supervillian...I like it!!!

Any additional comments?

Humours book based on a supervillian's rise to the top. If you've watched the movie Megamind you can relate this book to what Megamind was going through. Lots of humor, super hero battles, revenge plotting and evil genius abound! Definately worth the read if you are into the not-so super hero genre. No graphic deaths or mayhem, just good clean family oriented evil :)

Pretty much what "they said"

Not a comic guy myself, but familiar enough through pop culture (all the superhero films, etc) that the treatment of the superhero mythology was easy to access

light and witty, and well paced so it didnt wear

the narration is EXCELLENT and the swapping of narrator (and first person character) keeps things from dragging

This one is extremely user friendly and just plain a hoot!

too many chimes

it's an OK story but having the chimes at the end of each chapter really pulls you out of the book the performance is good the storyline is solid some of the characters seemed single-minded.

Soon I will be a Better Book: A Lukewarm Review

What a nice premise does the book start with: let's start a super-hero story from the mind of the super-villain, and let's assume that it is the villain that is overpowered by a battalion - rephrase - an army, of heroes with powers that defy the imagination. To boot, put this villain in prison. Top this with an incredible male narrator: I had to check multiple times if it wasn't Anthony Hopkins putting in one of his finest performances. It's just such a pleasure to hear the book that I have to give it no less than four star and strongly recommend it for anyone who is looking for something entertaining.

The greatness is, so unfortunately, wasted by the author's complete lack of imagination beyond the starting point. There is no storyline to speak of, except bits and pieces that have been taken here and there, like the disappearance of a main hero (watchmen), the lost memory (amber), the imprisoned villain (the silence of the lambs). Like a game of Jenga, it seems that one could remove entire parts of the book without this being noticed in any manner by the reader.

A final personal thing: this may seem contradictory in a way, but I like and enjoy how authors can bring the realism into a super-hero story, and given it's not always easy to do. Here, many of the events do not ring true. Like, how can an ordinary man defeat superman in hand-to-hand combat? Why would a character on whom we are revealed information later on has acted in a particular manner earlier in the book? Why is the villain supposedly so intelligent and yet so repeatedly clueless? And, finally, is it still acceptable given the bar for good literature that we have now to use deus ex machina whenever the author wants it.

Very very disappointing.. see it for yourself, you will enjoy the ride anyways.

A fun listen

I found "Soon I Will Be Invincible" to be an easy book to get into even though I don't follow any superhero comics. The events and archetypes are fun concepts. I found this book comparable to "Watchmen" in that it gets into the superhuman psyche and the conditions of being an inhuman person.

Superheroes! Super villains! Super awesome!

Where does Soon I Will Be Invincible rank among all the audiobooks you???ve listened to so far?

Definitely is the top one third.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Dr. Impossible, the supervillain.

What does Coleen Marlo and Paul Boehmer bring to the story that you wouldn???t experience if you just read the book?

The narrators do excellent voice characterization and inflection.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It had plenty of funny moments.

Any additional comments?

Check it out if you like superhero stuff.

Paging Doctor Horrible!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely. I have a number of friends who grew up on superhero stories, and Soon I Will Be Invincible does a great job of paying homage to the genre while poking at some of the tropes, as well. A smart, sharply-written love letter to the idiom

What other book might you compare Soon I Will Be Invincible to and why?

Not a book, but SIWBI has a lot in common with Joss Whedon's "Doctor Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog" (sans the singing). Both came out around the same time, so it's definitely a case of parallel development.

What aspect of Coleen Marlo and Paul Boehmer ’s performance would you have changed?

Paul Boehmer was terrific. Coleen Marlo's take was a bit over the top for my taste. However, that's merely a preference issue, I'm sure.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Definitely!