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aprilthelibrarian's review
3.0
Mr. Mike Bishop is one of my teachers, and we read this after taking a graphic novel class with him. It's an interesting take on super heroes. Although it follows some of the typical hero motifs, Geiger is more or less your anti-superhero. Until he became a hero, he hated anything that was less than high class art, including comics. So, it's ironic that he becomes what he has always despised.
larsinio's review
3.0
ultimately its a novel that wants to have its cake and it eat too. Be a satire and a serious novel.
I thought the premise and specifically its take on the subjectivity of taste and changing values, was great and challenged me on my own predilections. There arent enough fiction that make me question my own personal values.
I thought the characters Xavier, and the mick were great. Bishop struggles with others however.
The main problem is the plot with its focus on the superhero origin story and the resulting cleanup should have been a side plot. The book is intersperesed with segments from other characters to drive sympathy... but it was unnecessary and was really just a sideplot.
I thought it was a cheap tactic to have xavier die at the end from his radiation. I really dont know what point was trying to be proven here or make a comment on the "reality" vs "fiction"... but it all seemed a bit rushed and not particularly well written - just trying to tie up loose ends.
3 stars because its clever, but its a shame because it could ahve been a lot better.
I thought the premise and specifically its take on the subjectivity of taste and changing values, was great and challenged me on my own predilections. There arent enough fiction that make me question my own personal values.
I thought the characters Xavier, and the mick were great. Bishop struggles with others however.
The main problem is the plot with its focus on the superhero origin story and the resulting cleanup should have been a side plot. The book is intersperesed with segments from other characters to drive sympathy... but it was unnecessary and was really just a sideplot.
I thought it was a cheap tactic to have xavier die at the end from his radiation. I really dont know what point was trying to be proven here or make a comment on the "reality" vs "fiction"... but it all seemed a bit rushed and not particularly well written - just trying to tie up loose ends.
3 stars because its clever, but its a shame because it could ahve been a lot better.
testpattern's review
2.0
Too many half baked ideas sink this initially promising Southern superhero spoof.
msjenne's review
Another one that I don't really remember, so I must have been bored by it and given up.
jenne's review
Another one that I don't really remember, so I must have been bored by it and given up.
gengelcox's review
3.0
This one jumped off the shelf and into my hands. I’m a Bishop fan from years back–having read and loved books like [b:Ancient of Days|939920|Ancient of Days|Michael Bishop|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1179637272s/939920.jpg|924895], [b:No Enemy But Time|637400|No Enemy But Time|Michael Bishop|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1501707563s/637400.jpg|909468], [b:The Secret Ascension|27745504|THE WATCHERS Lost Secrets of Ascension, Resurrection and Perfection|William Henry|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1447035176s/27745504.jpg|47726540] (aka Philip K. Dick is Dead, Alas), and [b:Unicorn Mountain|1363889|Unicorn Mountain|Michael Bishop|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347616908s/1363889.jpg|2000340]–and I hadn’t even known that he had a new book coming out.
Not only that, but a book that really piqued my interest. Bishop’s doing his own version of [b:Watchmen|472331|Watchmen|Alan Moore|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1442239711s/472331.jpg|4358649] here–what if a “superhero” really existed in our world. But the operative word on the title page is that this is a comedy. For all his realism, Bishop is actually writing in the tradition of [a:James Branch Cabell|92665|James Branch Cabell|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1207156655p2/92665.jpg] and [a:Thorne Smith|171139|Thorne Smith|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1358230465p2/171139.jpg], warping our reality to actually satirize it.
It has confirmed my expectations. Xavier Thaxton is the Fine Arts editor at the local newspaper–a man who hates popular culture. But slowly he finds that popular culture is what he needs, and what he is becoming. The conclusion is a statement about “art,” that most nebulous of terms.
Not only that, but a book that really piqued my interest. Bishop’s doing his own version of [b:Watchmen|472331|Watchmen|Alan Moore|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1442239711s/472331.jpg|4358649] here–what if a “superhero” really existed in our world. But the operative word on the title page is that this is a comedy. For all his realism, Bishop is actually writing in the tradition of [a:James Branch Cabell|92665|James Branch Cabell|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1207156655p2/92665.jpg] and [a:Thorne Smith|171139|Thorne Smith|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1358230465p2/171139.jpg], warping our reality to actually satirize it.
It has confirmed my expectations. Xavier Thaxton is the Fine Arts editor at the local newspaper–a man who hates popular culture. But slowly he finds that popular culture is what he needs, and what he is becoming. The conclusion is a statement about “art,” that most nebulous of terms.
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