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baronessekat's review against another edition
4.0
really 4.5 stars
Gary lives in a world where Superheroes and Supervillains are commonplace. He thinks nothing of it when his hometown Superhero is killed. That is until he received a package on his doorstep- the mystical cloak the Superhero had.
Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, he assumes the powers of the cloak. Only he chooses not to join the ranks of Heroes and follows his long time dream to be a famous Supervillain - Merciless the Villain who shows no mercy.
Only he has a horrible streak of "morality" that makes it hard to be truly evil. Add to that the the Cloak is sentient and highly opinionated. But what's a guy to do but what he can to make a name of himself, not overly piss off his wife and try not to get killed in the proceess.
******
Okay - this book was HYSTERICAL! I had to fight to not actually laugh out loud as I read this book on my lunch and get looks from my coworkers.
This is the first book in a series and you better believe that I will be looking into more.
Gary lives in a world where Superheroes and Supervillains are commonplace. He thinks nothing of it when his hometown Superhero is killed. That is until he received a package on his doorstep- the mystical cloak the Superhero had.
Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, he assumes the powers of the cloak. Only he chooses not to join the ranks of Heroes and follows his long time dream to be a famous Supervillain - Merciless the Villain who shows no mercy.
Only he has a horrible streak of "morality" that makes it hard to be truly evil. Add to that the the Cloak is sentient and highly opinionated. But what's a guy to do but what he can to make a name of himself, not overly piss off his wife and try not to get killed in the proceess.
******
Okay - this book was HYSTERICAL! I had to fight to not actually laugh out loud as I read this book on my lunch and get looks from my coworkers.
This is the first book in a series and you better believe that I will be looking into more.
audiobookmel's review against another edition
5.0
Review originally posted at RabidReads.ca.
4.5 stars
This book came on my radar when I posted my review of Villain's Rule by M.K. Gibson read by Jeffrey Kafer. Melissa @ My World...in words and pages, who saw that review on Twitter, pointed out this book to me. I'm so glad that she did. It was another really fun listen for me.
So, The Rules of Supervillainy is an interesting story. It focuses on Gary Karkofsky. Gary is just a guy, until he finds a package. It turns out to be the cloak of the newly deceased superhero. Now Gary isn't the superhero type. He is more of the supervillain type, so he decides to use the cloak for bad instead of good.
So, Gary decides to go in and break of a bank robbery for his first villainous act. He stops the bank robber and even kills some of them, which sounds good right? But he makes off with the loot instead of letting the bank have it back.
He then takes a call from the police chief. A rich man's daughter is kidnapped. The police chief wants the cloak-wearer to help. Gary, aka Merciless: The Supervillain Without Mercy! (which his sentient cloak reminds him is redundant). Gary agrees, but wants the reward that was offered.
Back to the cloak. It is sentient. The cloak knows a lot from being worn by superheroes over the many years. It keeps that knowledge as it moves from one wearer to another. Merciless is the first supervillain to wear the cloak, and this isn't something that the cloak likes. It wants to see Gary help people. Luckily, Gary isn't all bad. But you can feel the cloak's dismay sometimes.
I won't go into the whole story. Just know that this is pretty funny. There some really funny villains that Merciless fights, like Ice Cream Man and the Malt Shop Gang who shoot acid ice cream and freeze rays and Typewriter, who actually wears a typewriter on his head.
Then there are two characters who turn on their boss to takes sides with Merciless. Cindy Wakowski a.k.a Red Riding Hood. Cindy and Gary knew each other before becoming villains. They even had a fling back in the day. Gary is now happily married though. There is also Diabloman, who was at one time the most notorious villains of all time, until an ailment made it difficult for him. He is now acting as a henchmen for bad villains (as in not very good at their job), that is until Gary offers to pay him to mentor him in villainy.
This was a great start to a series. There are plenty of laugh out loud moments. I'm excited to pick up the next book in the series (which I've already downloaded).
Narration
So the first full-length book that I listened to with Jeffrey Kafer is very similar to this one. They are both funny books about villains. I was a little worried when I first started they would sound the same. However I needn't be worried, he tackled these two stories completely differently. With Villain's Rule, Jackson Blackwell is a very dry character that Jeffrey Kafer voiced very dryly. Gary Karkofsky in not a dry character, so Jeffrey didn't voice him dry at all. He does a great job with women's voices. I just love how he took two books that were very similar in premise, but he tackled them in a very different manner.
4.5 stars
This book came on my radar when I posted my review of Villain's Rule by M.K. Gibson read by Jeffrey Kafer. Melissa @ My World...in words and pages, who saw that review on Twitter, pointed out this book to me. I'm so glad that she did. It was another really fun listen for me.
So, The Rules of Supervillainy is an interesting story. It focuses on Gary Karkofsky. Gary is just a guy, until he finds a package. It turns out to be the cloak of the newly deceased superhero. Now Gary isn't the superhero type. He is more of the supervillain type, so he decides to use the cloak for bad instead of good.
So, Gary decides to go in and break of a bank robbery for his first villainous act. He stops the bank robber and even kills some of them, which sounds good right? But he makes off with the loot instead of letting the bank have it back.
He then takes a call from the police chief. A rich man's daughter is kidnapped. The police chief wants the cloak-wearer to help. Gary, aka Merciless: The Supervillain Without Mercy! (which his sentient cloak reminds him is redundant). Gary agrees, but wants the reward that was offered.
Back to the cloak. It is sentient. The cloak knows a lot from being worn by superheroes over the many years. It keeps that knowledge as it moves from one wearer to another. Merciless is the first supervillain to wear the cloak, and this isn't something that the cloak likes. It wants to see Gary help people. Luckily, Gary isn't all bad. But you can feel the cloak's dismay sometimes.
I won't go into the whole story. Just know that this is pretty funny. There some really funny villains that Merciless fights, like Ice Cream Man and the Malt Shop Gang who shoot acid ice cream and freeze rays and Typewriter, who actually wears a typewriter on his head.
Then there are two characters who turn on their boss to takes sides with Merciless. Cindy Wakowski a.k.a Red Riding Hood. Cindy and Gary knew each other before becoming villains. They even had a fling back in the day. Gary is now happily married though. There is also Diabloman, who was at one time the most notorious villains of all time, until an ailment made it difficult for him. He is now acting as a henchmen for bad villains (as in not very good at their job), that is until Gary offers to pay him to mentor him in villainy.
This was a great start to a series. There are plenty of laugh out loud moments. I'm excited to pick up the next book in the series (which I've already downloaded).
Narration
So the first full-length book that I listened to with Jeffrey Kafer is very similar to this one. They are both funny books about villains. I was a little worried when I first started they would sound the same. However I needn't be worried, he tackled these two stories completely differently. With Villain's Rule, Jackson Blackwell is a very dry character that Jeffrey Kafer voiced very dryly. Gary Karkofsky in not a dry character, so Jeffrey didn't voice him dry at all. He does a great job with women's voices. I just love how he took two books that were very similar in premise, but he tackled them in a very different manner.
galvon's review against another edition
lighthearted
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
tawallah's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
mollymortensen's review
5.0
Gary is a normal guy in a fantastical world. That is until the best superhero in the city dies and a week later his magical cloak arrives on Gary's doorstep.
Gary decides to use the cloak to achieve his dream of becoming a Supervillain.
The world of Supervillainy contains almost everything; magic, gods, death, cyborgs, aliens, mad scientists, and more. But it still managed to feel like a real cohesive world.
The magical cloak that Gary 'found' is one of the Reaper's cloaks. It's powered by Death herself, which is why he can now see ghosts. When I heard his list of powers; intangibility, floating, fire, and ice powers, I was afraid he was over powered, but the author did a good job limiting him.
Did I mention that the cloak talks? But only to Gary, so most of the time it sounds like he's arguing with himself. The cloak is less than pleased that Gary wants to be a villain instead of a hero. But since Gary's now bonded with the cloak, they're stuck together for life.
The Good:
Gary was a very real, relatable protagonist. (Is it scary I related to a potential sociopath?) He's also a bit crazy. (Okay, maybe it isn't such a surprise I related to him.) But he still manages to be loyal and he truly loves his wife. Who was also a great character! She was strong willed with good morals (How she fell for Gary is anyone's guess) and she trained her whole life to be a supporter for superheroes, so she has kick butt fighting and hacking skills. Due to dating a Supervillainess in college (Yes, she's also bisexual) she was prevented from becoming a hero.
Gary's henchmen were also funny. Cindy's sense of morals was hilarious! (She hasn't got any)
It's no surprise that the plot was all over the place with a possibly insane main character, but it didn't suffer from this and was nicely paced. I only planned to try out this book, but before I knew it I was 20% in.
I enjoy comedic books, but their subjective and tricky to pull off. Supervillainy succeeded. I was entertained and even chuckled a couple of times. Almost the whole book was a joke, but it didn't feel forced or over the top.
The Bad:
Zombies. They aren't gross scary zombies at least, because their bites only turn you if you die, but I still don't like them.
I have a feeling this series will have plenty of zombies because of the whole Reaper's Cloak thing. If he doesn't use his powers, the dead rise. This Curse was placed on the cape by Death until the wearer proves themselves worthy.
Will I read the sequel? After that ending, yes!! (It wasn't a cliffhanger, but almost. The epilogue left things totally up in the air.)
Point of View: First Person (Gary/Merciless)
Predictability: 2 out of 5 (Where 1 is totally unpredictable and 5 is I knew what was going to happen way ahead of time.)
Mood: 4 out of 5 (Fun and funny! A light book in a gritty world.)
Source: Kindle Unlimited
My Rating: 9/10 Stars
Errors: low (24 that I highlighted on my Kindle) but numerous klunky sentences towards the end
Gary decides to use the cloak to achieve his dream of becoming a Supervillain.
The world of Supervillainy contains almost everything; magic, gods, death, cyborgs, aliens, mad scientists, and more. But it still managed to feel like a real cohesive world.
The magical cloak that Gary 'found' is one of the Reaper's cloaks. It's powered by Death herself, which is why he can now see ghosts. When I heard his list of powers; intangibility, floating, fire, and ice powers, I was afraid he was over powered, but the author did a good job limiting him.
Did I mention that the cloak talks? But only to Gary, so most of the time it sounds like he's arguing with himself. The cloak is less than pleased that Gary wants to be a villain instead of a hero. But since Gary's now bonded with the cloak, they're stuck together for life.
The Good:
Gary was a very real, relatable protagonist. (Is it scary I related to a potential sociopath?) He's also a bit crazy. (Okay, maybe it isn't such a surprise I related to him.) But he still manages to be loyal and he truly loves his wife. Who was also a great character! She was strong willed with good morals (How she fell for Gary is anyone's guess) and she trained her whole life to be a supporter for superheroes, so she has kick butt fighting and hacking skills. Due to dating a Supervillainess in college (Yes, she's also bisexual) she was prevented from becoming a hero.
Gary's henchmen were also funny. Cindy's sense of morals was hilarious! (She hasn't got any)
It's no surprise that the plot was all over the place with a possibly insane main character, but it didn't suffer from this and was nicely paced. I only planned to try out this book, but before I knew it I was 20% in.
I enjoy comedic books, but their subjective and tricky to pull off. Supervillainy succeeded. I was entertained and even chuckled a couple of times. Almost the whole book was a joke, but it didn't feel forced or over the top.
The Bad:
Zombies. They aren't gross scary zombies at least, because their bites only turn you if you die, but I still don't like them.
I have a feeling this series will have plenty of zombies because of the whole Reaper's Cloak thing. If he doesn't use his powers, the dead rise. This Curse was placed on the cape by Death until the wearer proves themselves worthy.
Will I read the sequel? After that ending, yes!! (It wasn't a cliffhanger, but almost. The epilogue left things totally up in the air.)
Point of View: First Person (Gary/Merciless)
Predictability: 2 out of 5 (Where 1 is totally unpredictable and 5 is I knew what was going to happen way ahead of time.)
Mood: 4 out of 5 (Fun and funny! A light book in a gritty world.)
Source: Kindle Unlimited
My Rating: 9/10 Stars
Errors: low (24 that I highlighted on my Kindle) but numerous klunky sentences towards the end
stamatina27's review
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
gatun's review
5.0
The Rules of Supervillainy was a very fun listen. My son and I listened to it on a ten hour road trip. It kept both of us interested enough that neither of us napped. We both laughed out loud several times. All of the cultural references were a hit. The only one I had to explain to my 22 yr old son was the one related to the vice-presidential debate from the late 80's.
The characters, both super and normal, were great. The inanimate object character was a lot of fun. The action was fast paced. The description of the action and the heroes, villains and monsters were very well done. The one monster immediately brought to mind a boss from Dark Souls II. Describing items or people from fantasy worlds can be difficult because there is not usually a frame of reference in real life. Mr. Phipps did such a great job at the descriptions that I could draw (if I possessed any artistic ability, which I don't) pictures of them.
Jeffrey Kafer was a fantastic narrator. I have listened to his narrations before and enjoyed them. His speech is distinct and easy to follow. The voices and accents of the different characters were distinctive so I knew which characters were speaking.
I enjoyed this book so much, I already purchased the Kindle and Audible versions of the sequel. As soon as I can clear my present stack, I will dive into them.
The characters, both super and normal, were great. The inanimate object character was a lot of fun. The action was fast paced. The description of the action and the heroes, villains and monsters were very well done. The one monster immediately brought to mind a boss from Dark Souls II. Describing items or people from fantasy worlds can be difficult because there is not usually a frame of reference in real life. Mr. Phipps did such a great job at the descriptions that I could draw (if I possessed any artistic ability, which I don't) pictures of them.
Jeffrey Kafer was a fantastic narrator. I have listened to his narrations before and enjoyed them. His speech is distinct and easy to follow. The voices and accents of the different characters were distinctive so I knew which characters were speaking.
I enjoyed this book so much, I already purchased the Kindle and Audible versions of the sequel. As soon as I can clear my present stack, I will dive into them.