Superman Unveiled

By: Luis Herrera

Narrated by: David Bosco

Length: 4 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's Summary

What you are about to hear is the true, untold story of the god the world has come to know as Superman. There are many things that must be cleared regarding this "man", much lore and superstition that must be debunked if we ever hope to grasp his true identity and nature. The first fable that must be put to bed is the notion that Superman is an alien from Krypton, a fiction clearly made up to protect his actual identity. You see his story is real, and that is why it has been told, this is why you think you know it. However not unlike witnesses whose identity is closely guarded and kept secret for their own safety and wellbeing, so is the real Superman cloaked under the guise of comic books, myth, and legend.

Because your whole life you've been taught that he is an extraterrestrial from Krypton, you automatically dismiss his story as a farce and mission accomplished, all suspicion is nullified. This does not mean that he came to be via the womb of a terrestrial, which is also not the case. No, the real Superman was forged in the hellfire of Hades, wrought by the molten lava of the underworld and birthed by a spewing volcano.

©2017 Luis Herrera (P)2017 Luis Herrera

First, forget everything you know about Superman

I believe the trick to enjoying this book for what it is, is to forget every preconceived notion you have about superheroes in general and Superman specifically. This book feels epic in nature in that it spans several generations and goes through the rise and fall of several futuristic governments.

I think it might have been better named "The Coming of Age of Superman" and it could have ended for me about 2/3 of the way through. I had to learn the hard way to forget everything I knew about Superman. The author chose to give his Superman character the name of Jimmy in the first portion of the book, and I kept thinking it was Jimmy Olsen they were talking about for the longest time until it was finally explained that Jimmy was just the name he was using during this chapter in his life. Of all the names in the universe to choose, I wondered why he would choose Jimmy, the young photographer from the old TV series and movies I grew up watching.

Superman starts out as kind of a dick at first and slowly learns to grow up after 3000+ years of life. Don't worry, I'm not giving anything away - you can enjoy the story just fine knowing this because it's artfully written, and I'm telling you perhaps 10 minutes of an hours-long story. I should mention that I was provided with a copy of this book for an honest review.

This story is certainly a departure from the original hero we are used to, and I'd call it an alternate universe version of how things might have been. The author chose to write about more than just about Superman. You'll see when you read it since I don't want to spoil it for you. It's a fun ride if you stop trying to compare it to anything you know already.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Amazing book, NOT the Superman you're thinking of

I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

So, I really enjoyed this book. The narrator is quite talented, and creates a great listening experience with vocal effects. Now, the story, is one that, in order to enjoy, you must completely ignore everything you remember about Superman from the movies and DC Comics. This is NOT that guys tale. Think of this book as an alternate take on who Superman REALLY is. The story implies that the COMIC BOOK Superman persona is a diversionary tactic to keep attention away from this immortal being. I actually found this book to be quite thought provoking. It really makes you think about concepts like mortality and immortality and loss of everything around you as the years flow by. If you can disconnect yourself from what you know about Superman and listen to this with an open mind, I think you will really enjoy this well written, and well narrated book.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

surprise!

i started out reading what I thought was Superman gone evil. A twist I never saw coming!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

It's not Superman in this disjointed story

Purporting to be the true story of Superman, 'Superman Unveiled' tells of an immortal man named Magnus Janusian who was born in a volcano.

The problem is that other than an occasional comment of a character mentioning Superman there is nothing ion this story that in any way links it to the Superman story we know. The personality isnt similar, the history isn't in anyway similar, there are zero actions taken by the characters that align at all with the actions, character and belief of Superman. The themes and ideas told within the story There is no Superman in this story. It is an immortal person with completely different personality. If it wasnt for the one of two comments and the book title there would be nothing to link this story at all to the Superman mythos. The author is trading on the superman name to pique interest, but there is no similarities at all.

I'm also not clear on how the idea of Kal-el/Superman fits in here. DC Comics and the movies are mentioned as is him true story being hidden by the comics, but then characters within the story speak as if Superman is real not a comic book character. And Magnus was once supposedly going by Clark Kent. The Superman of this world died/disappeared in the 18th century. So was he using Clark Kent then? Or since? how do the comics fit with this, if he was a pre-19th century hero? There is a whole lot in here that just isn't clear or doesn't make sense.

I picked this up looking for a different take on Superman. But this is not a different take on him, it is a completely different and separate thing with no correlation.

And then, the 'Superman' character moves out of the story by around the midpoint. After midway through the book we move away from Magnus and his story (for what little it was), skip forward 40 years and get an almost unrelated governments collapsing, uprising of the people story. It then goes further and further off track with different bits and pieces that only partially tie back together. It's like the author had several different ideas for a story - the 'superman' one, the future uprising one and whatever else and just crammed them together with little regard for how they flow, and little regard for telling a complete story. The short run time for the multiple mini stories means that none get a proper run. There is a lot of telling rather than showing. We don't get to know Magnus/Superman directly - why he is the way he is, how he came to be etc - through the story but by a giant info dump. We are told he is this way, but never shown it.

The potentially redeeming factor here is the narration style. It's an almost old-fashioned style of the 'narrator' being an entity with their own personality but being completely separate of the story. The narrator makes asides, speaks directly to 'you, the reader' etc.

The narration by David Bosco is pretty good. He provides the 'narrator' with a haughty characterisation that suits it well. He provides a whole variety of voices and personalities for each of the characters. There is audio production overlays added for when there are radio or phone calls or the like, to make it clear that this is a remote person speaking. He is clear and well paced.
As a general thing I enjoyed Bosco's work and would listen to books by him again.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Entertaining

Super interesting and unique life story of Superman. I'm not a huge superman fan but I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
The narrator did a great job with all the different voices.
I received a free review copy in exchange for an honest review.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

An interesting take on the Superman mythos.

This book was given to me free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

This book provides an imaginative alternative to the traditional superman origin story. It is well written with good flow. It does have religious undertones and some outright references.

I found it a very interesting read (even as a traditional story fan) and it certainly gives you pause for thought. There are moments where the story slows and you wonder about the relevance however the story quickly brings that information to the forefront.

I loved the twist at the very end that ties the entire story together.

The narration is well done with good character distinction and a wide range throughout. The narrator has captured the essence of characters and this helps draw you further into the story.

In summation this is not a traditional superman story telling, it is a thought provoking look at the what if everything you know about superman is a lie. What if he had similar struggles to everyone of us?

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

The unlicensed untold story of Superman

Loved this. Grew up with Superman being my fathers favorite super hero watching all the Christopher Reeves movies. Loved the sections of this book that dealt with those movies. This is not the story of the DC Superman. This is the story of the Superman that could have spawned the myth/legend that became DC Superman. A wonderfully written but
Of fiction that was very well narrated. Thoroughly Enjoyed this wild romp through the past present and future. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Not my cup of tea.

Did not like the language in it.
Narrator did a good job.
I was given a free review copy of this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

0 of 1 people found this review helpful