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paladinboy's review against another edition
5.0
What a great book! Just plain super powered fun! Another layer on my super hero weekend cake (icing will be Avengers 2). Read this one first!
First read May 2015
Second Read June 2017
First read May 2015
Second Read June 2017
katla's review
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
xaphriel's review against another edition
3.0
As the final book I read on my Kindle before it was stolen by some jerk, I have mixed feelings about Confessions. I'll always remember it for that, though, which is a thing if not a review.
Mary Sue? Gary Stu? No, my name is Cal. I mean the tropes alone, Jesus Tapdancing Christ.
It's a fun read. Excessive on the tropes and predictable, but fun. Kinda all over the place, but fun. My enjoyment was spoiled by the loss of my right hand - I mean Kindle - but it's still a way to spend a few days. It's pulp, unabashed and proud. It's not pretending to be anything else, and I respect that.
Read it if you love Iron Man, also hate Iron Man, and you like it when the hottest girl in the world bangs the protagonist.
Mary Sue? Gary Stu? No, my name is Cal. I mean the tropes alone, Jesus Tapdancing Christ.
It's a fun read. Excessive on the tropes and predictable, but fun. Kinda all over the place, but fun. My enjoyment was spoiled by the loss of my right hand - I mean Kindle - but it's still a way to spend a few days. It's pulp, unabashed and proud. It's not pretending to be anything else, and I respect that.
Read it if you love Iron Man, also hate Iron Man, and you like it when the hottest girl in the world bangs the protagonist.
telegramsam's review against another edition
4.0
When I first started reading this book, I immediately enjoyed the characters and writing. However I noticed it was sliding towards the overdone power-fantasy narrative of awkward male gets awesome female. The writing and plot was good enough, I decided to stick around.
By the second half of the book, I found myself trying to guess which threads were going to lead to the end and by the end of the book, I realized I had completely forgotten about the power fantasy and hadn't even noticed when the author steered away from it.
Additionally, I read this as the audiobook with had great voice talent. I would definitely recommend the book to anyone who reads comics and/or enjoy prose super hero stories. I will be looking for any other books the author might have written.
By the second half of the book, I found myself trying to guess which threads were going to lead to the end and by the end of the book, I realized I had completely forgotten about the power fantasy and hadn't even noticed when the author steered away from it.
Additionally, I read this as the audiobook with had great voice talent. I would definitely recommend the book to anyone who reads comics and/or enjoy prose super hero stories. I will be looking for any other books the author might have written.
awpatton's review against another edition
2.0
Cal Stingel is on the D-List. He's smart, but not smart enough to avoid lawsuits by higher pay-grade heros. He's resourceful, but not motivated enough to really put his all into a life of crime. He's got his secret hideout and his supersuit, and it's enough for him.
Then the bugs come. Cal is so D-List that the bugs don't prioritize eliminating him or mind-controlling...and it's Cal's turn to shine!
There was a lot about this book that I really liked. The premise was a clever take on superhero tropes. I'm a sucker for a good "rooting for the bad guy" story, and tend to like my characters a little sarcastic and dark. No Supermen for me - give me Batman any day. Really earnest superheroes are my kryptonite. Cal isn't earnest. He's funny, sarcastic, and just the littttlllleessttt bit bitter, which is a recipe for success in my book. I also really enjoyed that the big bad ended up being what it was, successfully turning even more tropes on their heads -I always thought that a lot of superheroes would be narcissistic whackjobs if they were real. Ultraweapon was a stroke of genius.
So, that's a lot of positives! Why only two stars? This book suffered dearly from the lack of an editor. I found the grammatical errors and plot meandering very distracting. It's such a good, creative premise that I was very disappointed by how distracted I often was by the writing. I know that this was independently published, so I'm willing to make some allowances, but I really feel the book can't shine without a little more polishing.
Then the bugs come. Cal is so D-List that the bugs don't prioritize eliminating him or mind-controlling...and it's Cal's turn to shine!
There was a lot about this book that I really liked. The premise was a clever take on superhero tropes. I'm a sucker for a good "rooting for the bad guy" story, and tend to like my characters a little sarcastic and dark. No Supermen for me - give me Batman any day. Really earnest superheroes are my kryptonite. Cal isn't earnest. He's funny, sarcastic, and just the littttlllleessttt bit bitter, which is a recipe for success in my book. I also really enjoyed that the big bad ended up being what it was, successfully turning even more tropes on their heads -
So, that's a lot of positives! Why only two stars? This book suffered dearly from the lack of an editor. I found the grammatical errors and plot meandering very distracting. It's such a good, creative premise that I was very disappointed by how distracted I often was by the writing. I know that this was independently published, so I'm willing to make some allowances, but I really feel the book can't shine without a little more polishing.
something's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Rape and Torture
schlinkles's review against another edition
4.0
This is by no means a great book, but it was great at keeping me entertained.
corvinus's review
5.0
Absolutely entertaining. A fast paced thrilling albeit cheesy read! A fun read!
ssindc's review
4.0
Surprisingly entertaining!!! Frankly, I didn't expect much of this (but it sounded like fun). I expected, and to some extent this was, a poor man's Soon I Will Be Invincible (which I really enjoyed). It's a short book and, thus, a quick read (or romp). Personally, I didn't find it nearly as funny as Soon I Will Be Invincible, which often had me in stitches, and I can't wait for the movie (assuming they cast it correctly). But Confessions was plenty gratifying. I liked the premise, the protagonist, the perspective(s), the story line, the pacing, and the prose. Ah, the trials and tribulations of the tech-geek-inventor-super-hero-wanna-be....
Just to be clear, this is not a children's book. I'm not sure whether it merits an R, but it's at very least a PG-13 (with extra caution)....
Just to be clear, this is not a children's book. I'm not sure whether it merits an R, but it's at very least a PG-13 (with extra caution)....
pauliree's review
4.0
I'm a sucker for a morally grey hero, or in this case Supervillain (although even Cal doesn't think he's a supervillain, just a regular villain, or even a minion). Cal finds himself pretty much the only functioning super (in his case he has a super suit, not powers) left on the planet, with the rest of the world taken over by mind controlling bugs. He goes on to save the world and this is his story. It is funny, with plenty of snark (that is Cal's true superpower), and a bit of a love story too. Some of the superhero names will make you laugh out loud, and you are certainly cheering for Cal all the way through. So much fun.