The Games of Supervillainy

By: C. T. Phipps

Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer

Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's Summary

Get ready for the action-packed follow up to The Rules of Supervillainy. This time with zombies, zombified heroes and villains, cults, magic, super-science, a dragon, a giant Nazi robot, a Greek demigod, and so much more! Gary and Cloak have returned from the supervillain prison on the moon only to discover the city he plans to conquer and rule with an iron fist has been overrun with the living dead. Once again taking up the mantle of Merciless: The Supervillain Without Mercy(tm). Gary will have to pull it together quickly, find his wife, his gang, and a whole lot of help to stop the Brotherhood of Infamy from slaughtering the population of Falconcrest City and opening a portal to summon a primal force of destruction. But Gary has a plan, or at least he's sure he'll have one soon. Just give him a second.

©2015 C. T. Phipps (P)2016 C. T. Phipps

Merciless is back!!!!

Merciless is back!!! Having returned from the Supervillian Prison on the moon only to discover that his city is overrun by Zombies, Gary knows that he is the only one who can save the world, well with the help from his friends but you know, it's mostly him!! Oh and his wife has been kidnapped (well kind of) by a devastatingly handsome Greek god. What is a supervillian to do??

While a little more serious than the first, this is still thoroughly enjoyable. Poor Gary, he so wants to be a supervillian but things aren't going his way and he is forced (snigger) to do the right thing. Now he has to save his city from the undead and try to hide the fact that the Greek God is extremely handsome (You need to read it to understand ;))

Once again, the author has given us some truly funny quips between Gary and his cloak and made me laugh out loud multiple times, yet he also managed to squeeze a lot of different emotions from me in this book. Gary gets to meet someone and it pulled at my heartstrings, but the biggest gut wrench was what happened to his wife! I have to say though that I loved the twist the author did at the end!! I can't say much else because I'll spoil it, so I'll just say, go read it NOW!!!!

Again, the amount of different characters were extremely well written and developed. Usually in books with so many characters I find some of them are just back ground noise, not so here. The author really gives each character time to grow! I loved the Greek God!!

The plot is also well written and thought out. We kind of have a bit of everything. "This time with zombies, zombified heroes and villains, cults, magic, superscience, a dragon, a Greek demigod, and so much more!" We also have a load of awesome pop culture reference that made me giddy :)

In all, a really excellent second book. This has a bit of everything and I can't recommend it enough. I love the world and characters this author has created and look forward to the third!!

Once again, Jeffrey Kafer nails it. He is Gary!!! I don't know what else to say about his narration that I haven't said before. He always does an amazing job with the performance and I never find any faults.

*I received a copy of this for review. This in no way affected my thoughts.*

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Wow, so much good stuff packed into this!

This is book 2 of the Supervillainy series, a comedic take on supers. After having been mistakenly sent the hero Nightwalker's magical cloak after he dies, Gary becomes Merciless: The Supervillain Without Mercy (tm). Thats right, he actually thinks of it that way. A hilarious romp as Gary and his minions Red Riding Hood (think Harley Quinn not quite as insane) and El Diablo, a down on hos luck former A list villain, Gary has to try and stop the Evil old god from being resurrected, stop the zombies from wrecking the town, and figure how to get paid at the end, while not having the wife, a vigilante hero named Night Huntress, leave him. Can Gary manage it, even with the help of Death herself (who bears a striking resemblance to his wife)? Well, you need to read it to find out. The characters are so funny, but have realistic motivations for their actions. There is a lot of snark that will keep you laughing the entire time. The setting, Falconcrest City, is a great setting, resembling Gotham and Metropolis, with a bunch of over the top villains adding character. Jeffery Kafer hits this one out of the park with his narrations, really bringing the characters to life. Any fan of Jim Bernheimer's D-List Supervillain books to Ben Bequer's Blackjack books will love this series.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

So good!

This is such a different and fun series. Take some super villains, add in some superheroes, stir the pot with a zombie apocalypse brought on by a cthulhu-type destroyer god bent on devouring the universe, and you might be close to the level of craziness this volume entails. Sprinkle it liberally with humor and really quirky sidekicks, to taste. The story is brilliant, and I'm starting the next book tomorrow!

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

It's Merciless ... Of Course I Loved It!

I have fallen in love with this series, and Merciless is one of my all time favorite character's. When I need a break from all the serious intense romance I listen too, it is awesome to come across a story that is so refreshingly different, full of banter, dry humor, and lots of laughs but what really makes this audiobook exceptional is the narration.

In my opinion, laughter is one of the best medicines, and anything that is humorous is best experienced when you can hear it or see it, and Jeffrey Kafer really delivered a hilarious performance. In addition to the humor, he did an outstanding job of capturing all the different tones from the driest of humor to the angst Merciless felt towards his loved ones.

Merciless, is such a multi-layered character! He was ever at odds with his internal feelings about being a supervillian, and is so in love with his wife. Each time he faced an obstacle, he just jumped right in with barely a thought or a plan, but somehow he managed to come out on top. Well, there were times when his henchmen, and wife would save him, but he never hesitated.

Loved the story, and the ending really surprised me! I can't wait to see how book three unfolds!

If you are looking for a good story, and laugh, I definitely recommend this story and series!

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

A fun start for the series

I didn't have high expectations coming into the story, but I found it oddly charming. A bit too absurd, but still fun.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

The Snark is Back

CT Phipps has once again proved that he can and will write the most snarky, sarcastic, and hilarious "villain" ever. Bar none these books are a great mix of humor and action with a small amount of love sprinkled in. This book delivers and narrator Jeffery Kafer brings it to life. I can't wait for the next one!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Just freaking brilliant

Nothing like a super villain with marital issues. The mix of real life problems, super villainy/heroism and comedy made this one of the very favorite books to listen to. As usual, Kafer does a bang up job of delivering the characters and lines.
Well done Mr. Phipps.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Let the Games begin!

I just finished listening to the Audible version of The Games of Supervillainy and C.T. Phipps delivers again. There’s so much going on and the story takes place over such a wide variety of environments that it keeps you entertained throughout. From the moon, to Falconcrest City, to Death’s lair, and back, you will not be disappointed.

Merciless and Cloak’s relationship seems to be getting better, or at least not outright contemptuous, and I’m extremely interested to see where the Mandi/Amanda storyline takes us in book 3 as well as Diabloman, what’s his deal? he seems much too powerful to be a henchman, maybe he’s just biding his time… I do kinda want Cindy to bite it. I envision her like Margo Robbie’s rendition of Harley Quinn, which is great in small amounts, but annoying with too much screen time. Oh, and Adonis too. Merciless doesn’t have a problem killing, so maybe I can use up my one fan request!

This is the third book I’ve read or listened to by Mr. Phipps. His knowledge of the occult and Lovecraftian lore is unparalleled and continues to develop in subtle ways throughout the Supervillainy Saga. Can’t wait to get the next one…although, that cyberpunk book, Agent G, that he wrote seems right up my alley. Choices, choices.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Zombies & more!

In this excellent follow up to the The Rules of Supervillainy, Gary Karkofsky (AKA Merciless: The Villain Without Mercy) has returned from the Moon prison to find Falconcrest City over run with zombies. Yep. Freaking zombies. Add to that, it appears his wife was kidnapped. Merciless and his henchpeople set out to stop the Brotherhood of Infamy, rid Falconcrest of zombies, and rescue his wife. Nothing goes as planned.

Once again, there’s a ton of humor in this book. The characters all take their jobs very seriously and that makes the humor stand out. Most of them have ridiculous supervillain/hero names but some of them have cool powers. So it’s this wonderful balance of the silly and the serious.

It’s a good thing that Gary has his sidekick, Cloak, which is his actual cloak. Gary needs all the advice he can process and Cloak is definitely willing to dish it out. Cloak used to be a superhero and one could argue Cloak is still trying to be that hero even though he is tied to Merciless at the moment. This creates some tension for Gary, who is relying on Cloak’s powers part of the time, yet Gary (especially when he’s dressed as Merciless) isn’t nearly as goodie-two-shoes as Cloak.

Some new characters are introduced into the story (and some are killed shortly thereafter, but every good superhero story needs it’s Red Shirts). I loved all the Canadian superheros. A fit of giggles overtook me on that one. I’m married to a Canadian so that whole section struck me as super funny. Then we have the supervillain Angel Eyes. His sheer beauty can overwhelm most mortals. Much to Gary’s consternation (and my amusement), he finds Angel Eyes attractive.

Besides all the humor, there’s little bits of seriousness tossed in. Gary and Mandy have hit a rough patch in their relationship. There’s all these zombies tearing up their beloved city. Then the author kicks it up a notch and Gary and crew have to deal with gods from the underworld. Without spoiling anything, there were some unexpected twists to the story. I was stunned and also impressed. I’m so very glad the next book is already out in audio format so I can jump in and see what happens to these characters next!

I received a free copy of this book.

The Narration: Jeffrey Kafer continues to do an excellent job with this series. I’m really enjoying his voice for Cloak this time around. His Canadian accents were great. His voices for female characters are good.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Fun and funny villain/hero

ready for a pragmatic villain? if you liked d list supervillain you should like this one. Lots of fun.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

It just keeps getting better

This is one of those where you really want to get the audio version, between the author's comic prose and the narrator's delivery, it really is a laugh a minute. This book is basically going to appeal to anyone who's vaguely geeky, male or female, especially if you're in your thirties or forties. With references from Tolkien and Pratchett to Ghost Busters and Star Wars, Phipps manages the kind of nerdy humour that leaves you laughing out loud, without needing to put anyone down or resorting to constant toilet humour. On top of all this the book actually has a genuinely interesting comic book type plot. I can't think of another author I can compare Phipps to because while there are authors who write similar stories, as a female a lot of the supposedly humorous writers leave me cold but I think most people who like shows like The Big Bang Theory would find themselves laughing along to this.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

A worthy sequel!

This second instalment of The Supervillainy Saga is every bit as good as the first. I'm a fan of superhero books in general and I think I now consider this series to be my favourite of the genre.

This story turned out to be exactly the sort of thing I expect to get when I pick up a superhero comedy novel. It was packed with action, had plenty of memorable characters, and was dripping with hilarious humor(mostly of the sarcastic variety). The plot was good and C.T. Phipps has an engaging writing style.

This picks up where the first book ended with Gary Karkofsky AKA Merciless:The Supervillain Without Mercy returning to his home town after escaping a super prison on the moon. Due to a transporter glitch a month of his life has disappeared. To make matter worse the city has been overrun by hordes of zombies and Mandy, his wife, has been kidnapped by a rival supervillain. Gary has to rustle up his evil henchmen, Cindy and Diabloman, to help him set things right. There was also the minor problem of having to save the world from being destroyed by a doomsday cult who are eager to summon their demonic master into the mortal realm!

The story was a ton of fun. I loved the banter between Merciless and his team and was caught up in the crazy happenings of the story. Gary and his friends are easy to love despite their villainous natures!

The ending was a bit of a shock. The best thing is that it almost guarantees a sequel. One which this guy will definitely be reading as soon as it gets released.

I doubt anyone could have read this better than Jeffrey Kafer did. He was a perfect fit for Gary and really got the tone of the story.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great 2. Book

Feeling a bit like a mix between Kickass, Ghostbusters, Indiana Jones and various super hero movies with plenty of funny pop culture references, witty dialog and plenty of action. I would love a movie of this series!

great read

awsome read great charactors and narrator would recomend this book and the first one. now gonna start book three

excellent as always

funny and witty, the story is always enjoyable. good narrator as well.
too bad for the ending however but it's good to know there is still another book to go through.