Gladiator

De: Philip Wylie

Narrado por: Joel Simler

Hugo Danner—a man with a strength unparalleled. A man to physically rival any human, any beast, any machine, and maybe even the gods themselves. But will the world accept his existence?

Hugo didn’t ask for this gift that his father, brilliant biologist Abednego Danner, bestowed upon him; a “gift” that promises a life of greatness. From being a baby that can launch himself from a second-story window unscathed, a boy that can leap canyons and hurl boulders, a football star that can beat an opposing team single-handed, a man capable of crushing an entire enemy platoon with his bare hands; surely such a person could steer the entire world to their whims.

But, does the world hold any post for a man of such strength? What good is immortal muscle when your own humanity, and the world itself, want to hold you back? Are there imperturbable forces that could stop a man who is capable of moving mountains from realizing his destiny?

First published in 1930, Philip Wylie’s Gladiator precedes Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster’s Superman by eight years and is part of a foundation of incredible stories featuring individuals with powers beyond human limits. Fans of superheroes will be astounded by this early rendition of very modern tales.

Public Domain (P)2022 Spoken Realms

Well read and very entertaining

We listened to this on our way home from a trip and it really made the time fly by. The narrator did an excellent job of reading and brought us into the story.

A Peek Into the Public’s Mind in 1930

An interesting book not entirely realistic, but definitely a peak into public opinion in 1930. World War I is blamed on arms merchants and disarmament is considered to be a cure. Within a decade they would all be fighting another war partially brought about by these attitudes.

The Science Fiction classic

This book is a classic for a reason. In a very real way, this was the prototype for Superman and all the heroes that followed. The original origin story for Superman even had the residents of far off Krypton, as super human specimens very much like this novels hero, Hugo Danner. The premise here is a bit less science fiction in that Hugo is the result of an experiment by his father while he is Hugo was in utero. He is born very much resembling the original Superman with incredible strength, speed, stamina, and invulnerability. Alas, this was written years before Clark Kent ever showed up. So we have a story of an extraordinary individual who doesn't know how to put his talents to use. This premise, along with a rather cynical author, in my opinion, gives us the life story of a well meaning man who tries his very best only to have fate conspire against him. Part hopeful and part tragedy. This book deserves to be read and appreciated. I personally couldn't give it 5 stars because of the cynicism, which I found somewhat off-putting.