Soon I Will Be Invincible

A Novel

By: Austin Grossman

Narrated by: Coleen Marlo, Paul Boehmer

Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

Doctor Impossible, evil genius, diabolical scientist, wannabe world dominator, languishes in a federal detention facility. He's lost his freedom, his girlfriend, and his hidden island fortress.

Over the years, he's tried to take over the world in every way imaginable, using doomsday devices of all varieties (nuclear, thermonuclear, nanotechnological) and mass mind control. He's traveled backwards in time to change history, forward in time to escape it. He's commanded robot armies, insect armies, and dinosaur armies. A fungus army. An army of fish. Of rodents. Aliens. All failures. But not this time. This time it's going to be different.

Fatale is a rookie superhero on her first day with the Champions, the world's most famous superteam. She's a patchwork woman of skin and chrome, a gleaming technological marvel built for the next generation of warfare. Filling the void left by a slain former member, we watch as Fatale joins a team struggling with a damaged past, having to come together in the face of unthinkable evil.

Soon I Will Be Invincible is a thrilling first novel, a fantastical adventure that gives new meaning to notions of power, glory, responsibility, and (of course) good and evil.

©2007 Austin Grossman (P)2007 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

"The realm of comic book heroes and villains gets a dose of realism in this whimsical debut....Grossman dabbles in a host of themes - power, greed, fame, the pitfalls of ego...broadening the appeal of an already inviting scenario." ( Publishers Weekly)

"Austin Grossman has a superpower himself - it's called writing. This book is a new, winning, smart and funny way of interpreting our world. It's terrific." (Douglas Coupland)

Decent, but Underdone

It's a fun book to listen to, though nothing in the story really makes the most of the fantastic setting. It mostly just feels like just another page in a longer story with no real reason that this is the part we get to see over any other. No character really gets their big moment; we never see either main character make the most use out of their unique talents. Doctor Impossible especially doesn't act like the smartest man on earth most of the time, just a very conceited man who builds contraptions offscreen. Overall, it feels more like a presentation of characters over a fully made novel, and reads like one big anticlimax.

Boehmer sounds like he had lots of fun with his performance, though both readers flub a few lines when it comes to using the right inflection. In short, this story had potential, but when it came to bringing it to life, it came up short.

A Goofy Fun Time

As many have already said this book is in dire need of some re-editing. The overall concept is a campy fun superhero book with a megalomaniacal supervillain reminiscent of Megamind. Doctor Impossible's chapter's were my favorite parts of the book but holy-flashbacks-batman. The flashbacks were so frequent and mishmashed into the current storyline it became very distracting and I often forgot if he was in past or present. If the author had instead rewrote the book in chronological order I think it would be a better book. But I still enjoyed the book and it makes for a great beach read or taking a break from your typical genres

Fantastic superhero story

An incredibly nuanced tale of superheroes. A deconstruction of the genre that's smart and well written.

Good Fun

This was a fun audiobook to listen to the story moves along at a fast pace and has many humorous moments throughout.Authur Grossman's story revolves around supervillian Dr.Impossible who starts the story imprisioned and he dosen't like it at all as he calls himself the smartest man in the world he can't wait to enact his next plan on taking over the world. The good guys who work to catch and stop Dr.Impossible in his plot are the champions with new member Fatale who has a fascinating story of her own .The narrators Paul Boehmer as the voice of Dr. Impossible brings to life the arrogance ,wittiness and evilness of the character . I especially enjoyed his narration of the final battle. Colleen Marlo does a good job also as the voice of Fatale she perfectly captures the alienation and outsider feel of Fatale . This story has an old style feel to it like the old radio Superman shows there is even musicalal introductions to each chapter a neat touch to me . Give this a listen you don't need to necessarily have any knowledge of comic book history or characters even though there are lots of comic references .

I Was Rooting For The Bad Guy By The End!

An amazing superhero genre tale performed to wonderful effect by the voice actors. Where's the sequel!?

Megamind for Adults

Really enjoyed this Audible book. Told in alternating chapters of the likable evil genius and new cyborg superhero; by the end you want good and evil to both win.

great story, great readers, horrible tinkly whoosh

I'm only on chapter 6 so far, and I already love the story. The two readers are doing a great job. and at each chapter there is this tinkling whoosh sound that is just pissing me off. I'm into the story, there's a cliffhanger ending of the chapter, and then the stupid tinkle woosh sound just kicks me right out of the story.

Loved it!

Wow. What a great book! If you haven't heard of this yet, are you in for a treat. This was one of the first of the Watchmen-type superhero books, funny and smart and well-written. The readers are first-rate, as well, and it's a pleasure to spend the time listening to this. My only regret is that his new book isn't available yet!

Good listen

Not super fast paced, but I enjoyed it. Action can bog down with flash backs, but doesn't get confusing. A sequel, if ever written, could actually be paced better without all the origin stories.

A great listen for classic superhero/villian lover

If you are at all a fan of the classic superhero vs. supervillain motif from the good ol' days of comic books and superhero cartoons, this is a great book to pickup and listen to. Told from two opposing perspectives of a superhero and a supervillain, it's a great revisit to the classic motif of the supervillain who wants to take over the world versus the superheroes who ALWAYS manage to defeat him. The chapters that follow the villain, Doctor Impossible, are by far the best parts of the book allowing you to really get inside the head of the bad guy, where he came from, what his motives are, how he feels when he gets punched by the hero, etc. It's a rarity to get such a well-written and well-rounded view into the mind of the archcriminal with enough humor and all-out fun to keep it light and interesting. Boehmer's voice was perfectly chosen for Doctor Impossible and his performance is superb, reminding me time and again of Will Farrell in "Mastermind," a close parallel to this story. Grossman has created a world of heroes with flaws (as they all should have) that is as much fun to explore as listening to the villain explore why he does what he does, what he thinks of all these crazy people in tights, and just how he'll win this time as opposed to the 100 other times he lost. To me, it's amazing these flawed heroes manage to win as often as they do in Grossman's world, just as much as it surprises me that someone as brilliant as Doctor Impossible has lost in some of the battles he did. Even still, the world, the story and the insights you get into the heroic and villain minds is a fun and enjoyable ride that makes the book a great read.