Hungry Gods

Identity Crisis, Volume 1

By: J. D. Brink

Narrated by: Todd Menesses

New costume? Check. Superhero mentor? Check. Government conspiracy to cover up the End of the World? Uh... check?

Luke Gillis is barely dragging himself through college. Of course, if he wrote term papers the way he thrashed bank robbers, he’d probably be a doctor by now.

His mentor is the Miracle Worker. Yes, that Miracle Worker. Some say he’s more outlaw than hero, but beggars can’t be choosers.

Still, Luke must be doing something right. The U.S. Army has invited his alter ego—the dashing speedster Spitball—on a top-secret mission. With the country’s premier superhero team missing-in-action, this could be his big break.

If he doesn’t get eaten first...

If you like cosmic action and comic book heroes with a dash of grit and dark humor, you’ll love the adventures (and misadventures) of this college student turned costumed do-gooder.

Pick up Hungry Gods and start your internship into the Identity Crisis Universe today!

The Identity Crisis Universe (IDCU) takes the comic books you grew up on, gamma-irradiates them, and sets them loose upon the world. Superhero fiction that packs a punch!

©2014 J. D. Brink (P)2015 J. D. Brink

Superhero horror?

Two things I must admit starting out: I love superheroes, and I (mostly) hate horror flicks. Well, not all horror flicks, but I don't care for most things zombie. Still, the "superheroes for adults" moniker in the synopsis it looked like this might be a little different from the run-of-the-mill superhero book. Most of those that aren't from the major comic lines tend to be all about being a villain, so a book about the heroes would be a nice change of pace.

I have to say that while it doesn't quite live up to the "for adults" part of the description, this book was well worth my time. I say it is not quite "for adults" because Spitball (our main character) is VERY immature, and that was on purpose. You needed someone with fresh eyes to tell this story (no, it's not first person, but it is definitely first and foremost about him) so the newbie (and wannabe) superhero who needs lots of things explained to him makes a good central character. By immature, I mean he's a horn-dog who is a stereotypical Millennial (or at least what pop culture would tell us is the stereotype) who is all about image and social media followers.

Normally I'm not into the zombie story because it is less a sci-fi story and more a disaster survival story. Even other comic book zombie stories (like Marvel Zombies, which had like a dozen volumes) never thrilled me. This time around, though, the focus stays more towards the sci-fi realm. There's plenty of comic book tropes thrown in for good measure, but the way they are used kept me focused on the heroes and not on the possible apocalypse survival angle.

I loved Todd Menesses' narration for the story. While it wasn't groundbreaking, his style felt a lot like a narrator to a comic book cartoon or a voice-over guy in a movie trailer. It tended to keep the action moving and the tension levels high, and that really fit the story. His style might not have been as effective if the story was a long one with lots of fast and slow movements, but for a story of this length and almost constant intensity it really worked.

I noticed that this book is labeled as Book 1 of a series, even though to date no more have been released. My comment to that: please don't stop here. I'd love to see where this goes.

probably a good early teen book.

a little thin in the depth of the story for the adult reader, even for this genera.

Zombies and superheroes...yes please!

First off I love zombie books and movies, second to that I love superheroes as well..put the two together and you have a winning combination in my book. That's what this book has, great narration as well and a really cool story involving among other things a government coverup about the outbreak, however the source is very different from the usual tale. I won't spoil that one here you will have to listen for it yourself.

Could have been better but the narration.......

I can't believe the narrator talked like that for the whole story! I think the story would have been world's better and more interesting if the narration would have been different. seriously....Does this guy do movie trailers for a living? There were some pauses when there didn't need be, inflection in wrong parts of sentences, and the same pattern of talking for the whole story while narrating. I think the guy was trying to be intense the whole time maybe....? I think the narrator also missed the mark for spit ball but only by a little. The story was interesting enough for me to finish but I'm not sure if I will get the sequel if this same guy narrates it.

Youth super heros wannabe gets his groove.

this was a fun little story of a wannabe superhero getting to hang with the big boys. Fun but. not special.