The Science of Supervillainy

The Supervillainy Saga, Book 4

By: C. T. Phipps

Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer

Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's Summary

Gary Karkofsky a.k.a Merciless: The Supervillain Without Mercy (TM) returns in the fourth volume of the popular Supervillainy Saga. Having discovered the world's greatest superhero slain by his doppelganger from another reality, Merciful: The Supervillain with Mercy (TM), and the arrogant President Omega, Gary dedicates himself to overthrowing both. Unfortunately, this is harder than it looks since Merciful has all of Gary's genre savviness while President Omega has the entire brainwashed United States military behind him. In the end, though, there can be only one ruler of the world and two of these three feuding villains will have to go.

©2017 Charles Phipps (P)2017 Charles Phipps

What started off fun, became a chore to finish

Maybe this is true with all series... The first book in the series captured my attention and made me want to continue on to the next. But moving through the books beyond the first has been like walking through and increasingly viscous wall of Jell-O. Finishing off this last book in the series was more of a chore than a joy. While I love all of the snarky fun comments that Gary makes, and the pop-culture references galore (especially the nod to one of my favorite books "Soon I will be infamous") The story became so convoluted that I didn't even bother trying to follow it. I discovered Jeffrey Kafer in the D-List Villain books, and I am convinced the only reason I carried on with the series beyond the second book was simply for his endearing performance.

Not as good as the others

A very good series but I did not get as invested in this book. The story was just not as fun or quirky as the others.

So much fun.

Gary, aka Merciless, has woken up in a community of brainwashed people but with the help of Nightgirl he escapes. Other Gary is using his powers to rule Gary's home place. It's, once again, up to Merciless and cohorts to save the world, but by doing so they may have to become something they never wanted to be!!

OK so this is book 4 and by now you would think that the story has slowed down and become stagnant, but not so!! This is just as fast paced and entertaining as the other ones. It's also a little darker and a little more serious, but still has the wit and geekiness that I've come to expect from these books. The writing flows well and the story is exciting, intriguing and as well written as ever.

The characters that we've come to love are all present here, plus we get a new addition that you just know is going to be amazing!!! Gizmo has all the traits of her mom and dad and I loved her character. I can't wait to see what she will be like.

It's getting hard to write reviews for this series because I feel like I'm repeating everything I've said before!! I love this series and this author and highly recommend everything he writes. Can't wait for the next one.

Jeffrey Kafer is one of the best in the business. He makes for a perfect Merciless because he can bring across his snarky manner perfectly and has a strong grasp on using the right inflection at the right time. Brilliant.

Gary and Cloak are back!

The Science of Supervillainy is the 4th book of The Supervillainy Saga and neatly ties up the story arc and plot hooks developed throughout the first 4 books. One thing I really respect from Phipps writing style is his ability to write a crazy, insane plot full of ridiculous humor and situational comedy and still make me care for and connect to his characters. The Science of Supervillainy has some great, happy times, but also some really sad, heart-wrenching moments as well. All I can say without giving away too many spoilers is that you will understand what I mean by the end of the book.

I also really appreciate the diversity presented throughout the series. Though much of the series pays homage to the golden age of comics, Phipps has retained the nostalgic references to the classics while recreating the genre with a modern cast of heroes and villains in a way that shows clear respect for all people, diverse lifestyles, and personal expression. He doesn’t just play it safe and avoid these issues but instead makes them a major theme that runs throughout the series.

Jeffrey Kafer is perfect for this series. After four books in this series, his tone and ability to create a diverse cast of characters have made Kafer one of my favorite narrators. If you have never listed to him before, you should give this series a chance just to hear his performance. You will not regret it (unless you hate fun and laughing out loud while people look at you nervously because they don’t realize you are listening to a really hilarious audiobook).

Funny!

I really liked the first three books in this series, but this one was my absolute favorite! So much comedy gold and quotable quotes that I'm going to relisten and write down my favorites, just so I can use them when I'm telling people about the series. The narrator did an awesome job with this, as he has with the rest of the series. Worth every cent!

Gets a little too navel-gazing

Any additional comments?

So if your at this point in the series you know what's what with a Supervillainy book. Silly snark, pop-culture reference galore, wacky battles, and just and over the top power fantasy. Or I should say you knew what's what because in this book Phipps decided to give his main character a perfect daughter as part of the power fantasy. That decision to focus on family over superheroic sucks the life out of this book.

The humor goes from irreverent to family sitcom blandness and the story grinds to a screeching halt to switch focus on how adorable everybody is being. I binge listened to the first three books in the series but this one I could not make it a third of the way through this book. Phipps has been one of my top guilty pleasure reads, but he missed the mark on this one. I hate to say it, but I think the Supervillainy Saga has run it's course.

Fun and surprisingly deep

This is a great mixture of funny, deep, lighthearted, and serious. It has serious parts sprinkled with pop culture references and delightfully terrible jokes. It did get a little *hand waves in the air* supernaturally deus ex machina-ey multiple times, but it was very good. If you're looking for a with off literary genius, this is not it. If you're looking for a really interesting action packed and comedy packed romp that draws you in, you've found it. Can't wait to listen to more.

My favorite so far!

I've gotten really suckes into this series, and so far this one has got to be my favorite. The story is compelling and the narration is excellent. Lots of geeky pop culture references without feeling like the author is trying to prove geek cred.

Still good

Not as good as 123 but still enjoyable kid was weird relationships weird but still plausible

Fun characters and story

I really love Gary, aka Merciless, the Supervillain Without Mercy™. He wants to be a supervillain so bad he can taste it, but he always seems to be on the side of good in the end (even if he might not have the “superhero” way of getting there).

In The Science of Supervillany, he wakes up in a world where everyone is being drugged into a happy state by Other Gary, aka Merciful. Other Gary is Gary’s doppelganger from another dimension. He is making the world a more peaceful place by taking away free will of the citizens.

This Supervillainy Saga series has been a lot of fun from the beginning. I love this world he’s built where superheroes and supervillains are a daily thing. The characters are a lot of fun. There are some of the craziest supervillains, like The Typewriter, Icecream Man and President Omega. There are also some fun superheroes, Ultragoddess and Nightgirl. There is also Gary’s sidekicks, Cindy Wakowski aka Red Riding Hood and Diabloman. There is also Cloak, which is the cloak that gives Gary his supervillain powers, but is also sentient and has all the knowledge learned from previous wearers, including superhero,The Nightwalker. Cloak talks to Gary in his head and acts a bit like an angel on his shoulder and conscience. Last but not least, Mandy Karkofsky, Gary’s wife.

These characters are what really makes this series fun for me. I’ve really enjoyed watching them grow as characters. I love how they want to be villains, but just can’t seem to do what is best for mankind. I’m a big character driven reader, so I love it when an author really makes me care for characters, even if they are sentient objects like Cloak.

I don’t want to go into this story too much, to avoid spoilers for previous books. Just know this story seems to wrap up the story arc as the final battle finally happens. While, there was some sadness with the ending, I think it was very fitting for the series. I was happy with how it all wrapped up.

This is a fun series full of pop culture references, especially for the nerds out there like me. There are some references I didn’t get, but I got most of them. I think most people who’ve grown up with Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and the other classics of nerdom will enjoy all the lines that reference these stories.

If you want to try this series, do start with book one, The Rules of Supervillainy, and read in consecutive order or you will be completely lost.

Narration
Jeffrey Kafer continues to do a great job with the narration of this series. He really brings out the humor in these stories. He’s great with male and female characters. And his pace and tone are perfect for this series. I highly recommend people to checkout his work, if you’ve never listened to him before.

**I received a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it.

wonderful funny read. great story

great story full witty one liners and great movies and comic references. the rich cast of characters deliveries witty dialog . strong story full of rich comic and movie trops

Back again to save the day

I enjoyed this fourth instalment to the supervillainy series. You have to have read or listened to the previous books to stand any chance of understanding what is happening and a good and wide range of tv or movie knowledge helps too. The snarky one lines and come back continues as an acclaimed super villain battles to save the ones he loves and his city, just so he can take it over at a later date. There is plenty of action and things blowing up and a number of twists that you didn't expect but will certainly have you starting the next book right away.
Gary a.k.a Merciless and cloak have to fight there biggest foe yet, Gary - a.k.a Merciful from another timeline. Merciful has changed the world as Gary knows it, after world war 3 and the only way to put it back to rights is to form a resistance army full of evil henchmen. Some will die and as long as it's not someone he cares about Gary will stop at nothing to see the end of his evil doppelganger, who is masking his intentions as good. Gary knows how other Gary thinks and knows that it might just be a battle to the death, unless he has learnt some new tricks. Who will come out on top? And at what cost?
I liked the narrator he does a wide range of voices that just sound right for the individual characters and helps being the story to life.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

great finale

a nice ending to an enjoyable story. I'm not sure if I want another one or just let it end though.

Great Story.

This fourth instalment of The Supervillainy Saga did not disappoint. It was packed full of all the action, humour, and crazy super powered happenings that we have come to expect from the series. As hilarious as this series is it also has some dark and cynical moments that offers great balance to the story.

I'm still loving the adventures of Gary Karkofsky a.k.a Merciless: The Supervillain without Mercy. Roll on book 5!

Jeffrey Kafer is the perfect narrator for this series. He is good at most things and really gets the tone of the story.