Supervillainy and Other Poor Career Choices

By: J.R. Grey

Narrated by: Neil Hellegers

Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

Engineer. Survivor. Supervillain.

When a down-on-his-luck engineer ends up coming into possession of a rundown suit of power-armor, he sees an opportunity to make some quick cash by selling it off to the nearest supervillain.

Unfortunately for him, what should have been a quick and easy sale to pay off his debts quickly grows into an ongoing series of events that serve only to drag him deeper and deeper into the criminal underbelly of the city he calls home.

In no time at all, Erich finds himself fending off neo-Nazi gang members, crazed capes, and the dangerous affections of his newest employer's criminally insane daughter.

All he wanted to do was make a quick buck . . . .

©2019 J.R. Grey (P)2019 Tantor

As onorthodox a super hero as could be - s-villain

In a modern world where law and order are not guaranteed since emergence of superpowered individuals, master of his craft engineer barely scrapes enough to pay local racketeering group protection fee. Betting big he promises to deliver a technology powered suit that nulls the power gap between supe and regular person. And oh, does it spiral out of control heading downwards from there.

The world setting which isn't revealed all at once but in parts, some of which - the master - only in the epilogue, serves as a great carrot for the reader. While the protagonists receive their share of the background story and glimpses at the experiences that have molded them into what they are now, which are quite consistent and realistic (can be taken seriously), while the protagonists party's goons are nothing more than goons. This only continues to enforce the existing gap between the supes and regulars. And when the highlight is on a goon, you know it's for a good reason - chekhov's gun.

Hardlight's final is half a load of a breadcrumb. Hopefully more insight will be provided in part 2. In audiobook format the book just fly by. Either Mr. Grey's writing or Mr. Helleger's narration or just the length of the work, but I have a scratch for more poor career choices now.

Conclusion: 4/5. Listened on Audible included in plus catalogue. Narrated by: Neil Hellegers. Story with an unorthodox super hero setting. Has romance, dealing with trauma, a bit of mental health issues in the protagonists (perfectionism, daddy issues etc.). Certainly will continue with Supervillainy and Other Poor Career Choices: Book Two. Only con is that J.R. Grey literary career from 2019 only has two books. Terrible value for the length of the book - 2.28 $/hour ( 17.19 $ / 07 hrs 32 mins ).

Values:
Terrible: >1.66 $/hour
Bad: 1 - 1.66 $/hour
Good: <1 $/hour
Dream: 0.4 - 0.27 $/hour

This is origins of a D listed villain rated pg-13

I really like the story, plot and how screwed up the world is because of super powers. This is really good at world building and giving a history. A engineer who has to become war machine in order to survive. Unfortunately he doesn’t get the right girl

It was great

I do not have much more to say, I will be waiting that the book two is put in audible too

Real Villain

There are a few books which center around villains as the main characters. The main character is still some kind of good guy mixed with misunderstandings/past mistakes/special situations that, while it doesn’t retract from the story, still doesn’t leave you with an actual villain.

Some books take the opposite approach and give you a character that is borderline unlikable or so evil they border on unrealistic.

This book does it right. The main character is realistic, positive traits and flaws. However, when push comes to shove, their personality is clearly defined in an unambiguously villainous way. This isn’t a hero in a villain costume but someone you’d probably avoid in the real world.

Beyond the main character you have a supporting cast that are interesting in their own right. Everyone has depth to them and their own goals.

I loved this book.

The story is a lot of fun.

This author can keep the funny story line in the air throughout the book. Good narrator.

fun

very fun read not great, but fun, nice Meta vrs. can't wait to see more

Well worth the credit

Those who say that this is like d list super villain... Must not have continued to read the book when they found out our main character is building power suits.... Because that is about the only thing it had in common with the other book.

I believe the setup that was done for the character and he is minor romances was extremely well done. The story was engaging and it kept me wondering more about this world.
I will definitely be there when the next one comes out.

A good listen to book

I really enjoyed this book, I highly recommend picking it up. if you're a fan of sci-fi antihero books this is a good one.

Worth listening to

Good books that take place in a world with powers can be hard to come by, this is one of them got me through a night of coughing fits from covid

Poor choices indeed

This is another one of those books that dives deeper into the idea of the life of a villain. Sure it seems partially rushed in some cases, but in other chapters you really start to understand why they chose this line and the consequences of doing so. 8/10 really good read