The Rules of Supervillainy

The Supervillainy Saga Volume 1

By: C. T. Phipps

Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer

Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

Gary Karkofsky is an ordinary guy with an ordinary life living in an extraordinary world. Supervillains, heroes, and monsters are a common part of the world he inhabits. Yet, after the death of his hometown's resident superhero, he gains the amazing gift of the late champion's magical cloak. Deciding he prefers to be rich rather than good, Gary embarks on a career as Merciless: The Supervillain Without Mercy. But is he evil enough to be a villain in America's most crime-ridden city? Gary soon finds himself surrounded by a host of the worst of Falconcrest City's toughest criminals. Supported by his long-suffering wife, his ex-girlfriend turned professional henchwoman, and a has-been evil mastermind, Gary may end up being not the hero they want but the villain they need.

©2015 C. T. Phipps (P)2015 Amber Cove Publishing and C.T. Phipps

Can I give this 10 out of 5??? AMAZING.

OK, I finished this a while ago but have only gotten around to writing my thoughts now, and that's simply because on finishing this the only thought in my head was phenomenal. I couldn't think of anything else to say about this!! Trying to write the review after finishing would of been like this: Plot - phenomenal, characters - phenomenal, overall - phenomenal! Doesn't make for a detailed review, but it's all I could think of! Let's hope after a few weeks of simmering that I can come up with something better ;)

Gary is a normal guy who, on receiving a magical cloak through the mail, turns into a supervillian (well, so he thinks anyway). i think the blurb pretty much explains it all so I'll try to make sense of my thoughts!

I'm hesitant to read Superhero/Supervillians books because a lot of them have fallen flat, that is until I read a certain other book called Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson and it blew me away! So upon starting this, I lowered my expectations from that book and plugged in my earphones. Well, I think this more than lived up to what I hoped and indeed, surpassed my hopes. It's right up there with Steelheart!!

This was such a fun and often times, hilarious listen. So many times I was laughing and snickering at the witty dialog and banter between Gary and the cloak, Gary and the supervillians and Gary and every other character! Its extremely well written and I loved pretty much everything about it.

All the characters were awesome but Gary was the best. He wants to be rich so decides that he will become Merciless: The Supervillain Without Mercy but ends up doing good things while thinking he is bad. His bond with the cloak was such fun because the cloak belonged to a brilliant superhero but now Gary owns it. It felt like, the cloak was rolling it's eyes at Gary and his antics! It was hilarious listening to the two of them!!

The world the author created was amazing too. There isn't any backstory, per say, but we don't need it. The author makes it such a way that you believe the world and are ready to dive right in. Magic is real, superheroes/villians are real and the normal folk just have to live with it. It's an amazing world and on I want to jump into again!!

Anyway, I loved everything about this, from it's fun and witty dialogue, to it's enjoyable cast of characters, and from it's well written and developed world to it's engaging plot, this is a must read! I am so impressed with this and am really really hoping book 2 comes out soon. It's definitely one that needs more exposure and one I hope gets it too!! Such a brilliant book and one I can't recommend enough.

Once again, Jeffrey Kafer nails it. He has such an easy voice to listen to and gives just the slightest change of tone to characters, that you find yourself glued to your earbuds. I always enjoy his narration and he is one narrator I will always recommend.

*I received this in exchange for an honest review from Audio Book Blast.*

Had so much potential!

"Left wing beta non-practicing Jewish man gets powers and decides to be only sorta evil."

The premise had great potential, and if you look past the overt political drive, it's a fun story. It's a twinkie of a book, lots of fluff and filler but not much meat, which I imagine was the point. The characters are a little flat and cliche, but again i believe that was the point. Drop the political agenda, and this book gets a great deal better! Overall though a fun listen! Especially since is the same narrator that does the "D-List Super Villain" books!

Good, but not great

Audibles kept suggesting this book to me, so I decided to give it a shot; it definitely seemed like the kind of book I would read. While it is in a genre which I enjoy, I only thought the book was OK. I wasn’t wowed by it. There were certainly things that made me laugh, but I didn’t think it was very worthwhile.

I really wanted to like it, but it was average. The narrator did a great job, the story just wasn’t notable. The plot line was lacking, and it was predictable.

Merciless Fun

If I was to compare this book to anything else I’m experienced with, I’d have to go with The Tick. Set in a world where superheroes are common, Gary Karkofsky acquires a magical cloak that once belonged to a legendary superhero. Now armed with fantastic powers and zero experience with them, Gary transforms himself into a supervillain named Merciless: The Supervillain Without Mercy.

The story is a fun romp through many of the superhero tropes, as we follow Gary along on his journey. Gary is a self-confessed villain, but he’s not exactly a bad guy. He’s terribly in love with his wife, he has a lot of moral hang-ups that prove he isn’t as evil or near as merciless as he romanticizes himself being. In many ways he’s just a regular guy that is fed up with his job, his government, police, and much of his society. So now he just wants to call the shots and be rich. I think most readers can sympathize with such sentiments, however Gary is someone who actually gets a chance at it.

We have a wide array of colorful characters, ranging from silly rival supervillains, mad scientists, henchmen, psychotic antiheroes, godlike super heroes, and everything in between. I chuckled regularly while listening and even laughed out loud a few times.

I have only one complaint with the book and that’s the end, meaning it doesn’t wrap up. Instead, it opens the doors to the next installment without fully resolving the first set of problems. While many people don’t mind a cliffhanger ending, I just don’t like it when they take me by surprise.

Narrator Jeffrey Kafer does a fantastic job with timing and injecting the perfect amount of emotions into the work. His characters all have distinct voices, which makes listening to it all the more enjoyable.

A continuation that doesn't live up

The first story was absurdly charming, but this sequel was borderline ridiculous and parts of it dragged on needlessly. Still, I may continue the story when the sequel is available. Maybe.

fun great

first half is definitely stronger than the second half but still an enjoyable read, I'm interested to see where it goes from here.

A fun read, very well performed

Beginning with a very creative, witty and original villainous anti-villain, and his haunted cape, Phipps takes us on a fun ride through a world of super heroes, super-villains, friendship and adventure. The book is pure fun, well written and very well performed.

great book, but the narrator needs work

this was a great and fun book to read, or listen to. but the narrator has the same voice for lots of different characters. so it's often really difficult to tell who is speaking, and to therefore keep track of the plot. but if you focus, you can figure it out. it's just a bit of an annoyance. definitely still worth listening to.

Fresh approach

I enjoyed this fresh approach to the super space. I enjoyed the comedy interwoven throughout. I really enjoyed the love story and faithfulness of the main character. I've not given much thought to the premise so was pleasantly surprised by the story line. Yes it takes a lot of suspended belief but hey it's an alt history comic book come to life kind of thing. You should expect that. Fun read overall.

Fun ride

Any additional comments?

I had a lot of fun with this book. Looking forward to many sequels.