Almost Infamous

A Supervillain Novel

By: Matt Carter

Narrated by: Nicholas Techosky

Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's Summary

Eighteen-year-old Aidan Salt isn't a superhero. With his powerful (and unpredictable) telekinetic abilities, he could be one if he wanted to, but he doesn't. He's unambitious, selfish, and cowardly, and he doesn't want to have to deal with all the paperwork required to become a professional superhero. But since the money, fame, and women that come with wearing the cape are appealing, he decides to become the first supervillain the world has seen in more than 20 years: Apex Strike.

However, he soon finds villainy in a world where the heroes have long since defeated all the supervillains. While half the world's heroes seem to want him dead, the other half want to hire him as their own personal villain to keep them relevant. Choosing the latter course, Aidan enters a world of fame, fortune, and staged superhero fights that is seemingly everything he ever dreamed of...at least until he sees what truly hides behind the cape-and-mask lifestyle.

Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for listeners interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times best seller, a national best seller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.

©2016 Matt Carter (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

I DIDN'T WAKE UP DEAD, THAT WAS A GOOD START

SOMETIMES, NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO, LIFE JUST SUCKS
This did not go where I was hoping it would, but I still liked it. I was hoping for some real bad guy stuff. Turns out bad guys, can be good guys sometimes. This is super heroes, Hunger Games and America's Got Talent, rolled into an alternate world. This world is similar to ours, but different. I always love books, that contemplate what the world would look like, if history had turned out different.

THAT WILL PUT HAIR ON YOUR BALLS, SHE SAID
The main character is a 19 year old virgin male, so as all red blood American males know, all he thinks about is Kitty Kats. Some female reviewers were upset with the amount of times the P word was used. Ladies, studies show that most men think about sex every so many seconds. I was surprised in how often the F word was used. No one ever wanted to have sex or make love, it was always LET'S F, male or female. The story is very well written, and I believe that we are seeing the character grow and mature. All characters are grey, including the so called good guys. The book is also full of strong female characters, if you don't see that, you are not listening. Black Jack, Ghost Girl and Firewall are strong female characters.

THAT JOKE WAS FUNNY, UNTIL YOU STARTED LAUGHING
Techosky did a fine job, but I believe his timing was a little off. I kept thinking if only Wil Wheaton would have read the book, it would have been hilarious. It seems as if the book was written with Wheaton in mind. Don't let that stop you from buying the book, it is still an entertaining well written book.

If Carter writes any sequels, I will buy them.

Wow

I admit, I wasn't expecting much out of this one, and boy was I surprised. Not only was the story superb, the world building, and the character development were as well. Voice performance was also top notch. I loved this book from start to finish and am just thankful I found it. Kudos to Matt Carter.

A bit sexist but still fun.

I really enjoy this new genre of insight into superheroes and villains. The naivety of the main characters was engaging. The twists weren't terribly surprising but still fun. I found he relationships engaging. The conspiracy within conspiracy associated with the main story line seemed to be something that could really happen if superhero and villains were real. It's obvious that the writer is a young man or from that mindset. A bit too much sex from a superior male standpoint, but fun nonetheless. An enjoyable read. Just ignore the sexism (or enjoy it if that is your thing) and you'll enjoy it too.

Rated R

For strong sexual content and nudity, graphic, bloody violence and strong language.

Just to get that out of the way, I thought this was actually a really good book! I didn’t have any expectations for it, and was blown away. A totally original super villain story (as far as I know) with likable characters, hatable ones, and no one is safe. The narrator did a great job, and I feel for the man, he had to say so many swear words... kind of like going through an average day in high school. The only thing I didn’t love about the book was the sexual content. I’m a male. What this guy is thinking and saying is just disgusting to me, and the way he objectified women’s bodies, didn’t sit well. I do like that eventual he aged a little and got more mature, but still. A very good story, definitely worth a listen!

Good storyline; needs polish

I liked the story and character development. The ideas here show a lot of promise. Wish the author didn't think he needed to include the word "hashtag" every 10 minutes, nor use vulgarities for no apparent reason. I think he was trying to connect with his 16-25 audience, but it was distracting in an otherwise decent story.

Stupid Main Character Only Makes Stupid decisions

Reads as young adult military Scifi; stupid main character only thinks of penis. Good Narration.

Needless teen inner thoughts

Could be a good story but needlessly male teen graphic. I get it. Teen boys often only have internet thing on their minds - but this deep-dive into that isn’t needed and doesn’t make the story any better.

Cringe vocabulary

I enjoyed the story even if it was pretty obvious where it was going. I did not, however, enjoy the sex-related vocabulary. I get that the characters are teens but that doesn't mean they only know the word p*ssy and have to repeat it constantly.

Decent, but not a standout

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

The story was alright and a nice take on the superhero story, but I had a problem connecting with either side in the story so it was hard to truly become invested in the characters and their motivations.

Was Almost Infamous worth the listening time?

It's never a waste to pick up on a new author or narrator so this was easily worth my time.

Think Bret Easton Ellis without commentary

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

No it was not. I did finish the book start to finish because i wanted to give the story and author a chance to redeem it. I was hoping for one female character to matter at all and not just be there for another hero to try and have sex with. I wanted a story with some complex moral and ethical choices, however all you get with this book is a story that seems to be written by a 16 year old who is into fan fiction. Pass this book and pick up "Confessions of a D-List Supervillain" by Jim Bernheimer instead. More details are in additional comments area.

Would you ever listen to anything by Matt Carter again?

No

Did Nicholas Techosky do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

Narration of this book is great. Story is a different story.

Any additional comments?

Every female character in this story seems to only serve the purpose of being a sex object or plot device. It's frustrating when a story devolves to characters exchanging plot development while getting sexual favors. I would compare the amoral tone to Bret Easton Ellis's works if you were to remove any higher social commentary. Just groups of people murdering, taking drugs, having sex and instead of filling in logistics you make up a drug called montage to skip large gaps in time. Follow it up with some annoying hashtag history to fill in some of the world and you got a poorly developed, oddly politically conservation superhero story that devalues woman and doesn't have a real conclusion, moral, or proper story.Also the description made it seem more like a Supervillain appeared and heroes are really trying to win him over, i was not expecting a reality tv show spin-off lacking any real depth.If you want to hear a story about a supervillain that is much better i'd suggest "Confessions of a D-List Supervillain" by Jim Bernheimer. If you want something more for teen or young adults try "Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm a Supervillain" by Richard Roberts. If you want something a little more somber and don't mind focus being from villain to hero check out "Prepare to Die!" by Paul Tobin. Basically this genre is so full of really great stories that you should not waste your time with garbage like this. Lastly i'll add If you did like this book but want something with more substance try Bret Easton Ellis's "American Psycho".

Super hero's vs super villains

I did enjoy this book once the sex, drugs and parties ended. My one criticism is that for a group of acclaimed super villains they weren't very evil, well maybe one was and it took them a long time to rebel. I liked the idea if you can't make it as a hero then the only choice is become a villain with the story focused on that side of the fight, instead you got reality tv, where everything you see is fake and you actually like the bad guys more than the good guys. The story is more about friendship than world domination and epic battles. Don't get me wrong there were fights and I liked the characters. You saw the so called twist coming from a mile off and it was just a case of who would make it through to the end. I think I would like another book in this series, just more action and less teenage hormones but I guess it's building up the hero's sorry villains origin story.
Aidan is fed up of being in the shadows, the guy nobody knows, so when he starts to develop powers he decided the only way to make a name for himself is by becoming a supervilain. When his first job goes horribly wrong he is given a choice. Go to the tower and spend the rest of his life in a tube or right for his place on a super villain team. The hero's need villains to fight and have decided to run a competition to see who has what it takes to become there arch nemesis. Can Aidan make it to The last eight or will be get cut from the team?
I liked the narrator. He used a number of voices to bring the characters personalities to life and bring a voice to super villains.

could have been better

Has a good idea if heroes and villains through history, but then kind of falls into a teen guys love of drugs, parties and hot Women.

Weird but fun

It feels like you watched a fairly decent DC movie from a slightly darker dimension with alternative history. Not the best movie out there, not really that dark, not really that unique of a perspective, actually perhaps a bit teenage vanilla stuff, but you don't regret you watched it.
As a free book - that was fun, buying it - ahaha no.

Cheesey but enjoyable

An enjoyable book, even if cheesey and at times uninspiring. Very good performance at points!

Not interesting

Nicholas Techosky did a decent performance with clear characters.

The story was just not engaging for me. A sort of supervillain version of The Apprentice where candidates compete for evil roles. Or possibly Strictly Come Dancing. There were even three judges and silly challenges.

Characters were rather bland.

let down by such a poor main character

kind of enjoyed this as a free Audible book. Expected light fluff which is what I got for the most part but some odd choices like focusing on characters then completely dropping them and the main character being such a wishy washy idiot meant I was ultimately left annoyed.

it was ok

the story it's self was good but I just wanted to slap the main caricature, I suppose though you have to remember he is a teenager so his out look is different, but my god he was frustrating... the book was well read and the different voices given to the other characters brought them all to life ... I enjoyed it well enough but glad it was free .

Amazing take on superhero stories

Fast action, amazing character development, twists and laughs and crys. This story has it all!
It was an unexpected gem for me, and I enjoyed every moment of it. Coming of age story in a superhero world, with other worlds and dimensions, full of amazing characters, and interesting powers, needs a great skill to be woven so neatly, but not too complicated, and Mat did it first-rate!
Together with great narrating by Nicholas, this makes a beautiful find I will gladly come back to jn a future!

almost infamous, not one ill recommend

the story if you wish to call it that is based on more of historic dairy of the mc's path to becoming a super villan.
mush bits together then stretch a day out when action happens. this for me just fell short of what i expected.
the plus the narrator is pretty good.

Describing a woman as salvageable...

Describing a woman as salvageable because they have a 'good body' but a less than attractive face is atrocious. The story is unoriginal but I could overlook that if it didn't sound like it was written by a misogynistic horny teenager.

Narration was engaging enough and would listen to another performance by the narrator.