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songwind's review
4.0
[b:Soon I Will Be Invincible|645180|Soon I Will Be Invincible|Austin Grossman|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1176689611s/645180.jpg|955983] is an entertaining book that embraces the superhero genre without irony or self-consciousness.
The book tells the stories of two enhanced humans. One is a villain, named Doctor Impossible. He is possibly the smartest human being on the planet, and suffers from Malign Hypercognition Disorder.
Fatale is a cyborg who had half her body rebuilt after a horrible bus accident in Brazil. After a tour with the NSA, she in invited to join the Champions, the world's premiere superhero team, to help them find the escaped Doctor Impossible and the missing superhero ColdFire.
As the story progresses th, histories of the characters are revealed, Doctor Impossible's plans progress, and the web of connections between them all become apparent.
This book is very well written, with moments of real brilliance. It is not as good at the end as it is at the beginning, but still very good. There were a few disappointing factors. One is the obviousness with which the author lifted the Champions from DC's Justice League. There are differences, of course, but all the main beats are there. Another is not really a fault with the book but with the reviewers and marketing. In several places it mentions that the book turns superhero tropes inside out. I just don't see it. It seems like the people who said that (reviewers and marketing drones alike) haven't read a superhero comic in a long time, or perhaps not at all. Soon I Will Be Invincible was a very well written example or a thoughtful, character driven, post-[b:Watchmen|472331|Watchmen|Alan Moore|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175041710s/472331.jpg|4358649] superhero story.
I will definitely be reading this one again.
The book tells the stories of two enhanced humans. One is a villain, named Doctor Impossible. He is possibly the smartest human being on the planet, and suffers from Malign Hypercognition Disorder.
Fatale is a cyborg who had half her body rebuilt after a horrible bus accident in Brazil. After a tour with the NSA, she in invited to join the Champions, the world's premiere superhero team, to help them find the escaped Doctor Impossible and the missing superhero ColdFire.
As the story progresses th, histories of the characters are revealed, Doctor Impossible's plans progress, and the web of connections between them all become apparent.
This book is very well written, with moments of real brilliance. It is not as good at the end as it is at the beginning, but still very good. There were a few disappointing factors. One is the obviousness with which the author lifted the Champions from DC's Justice League. There are differences, of course, but all the main beats are there. Another is not really a fault with the book but with the reviewers and marketing. In several places it mentions that the book turns superhero tropes inside out. I just don't see it. It seems like the people who said that (reviewers and marketing drones alike) haven't read a superhero comic in a long time, or perhaps not at all. Soon I Will Be Invincible was a very well written example or a thoughtful, character driven, post-[b:Watchmen|472331|Watchmen|Alan Moore|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175041710s/472331.jpg|4358649] superhero story.
I will definitely be reading this one again.
katyanaish's review
3.0
This is a twist on the classic superhero story, in that its told from the perspective of a supervillain. Its actually a lot of fun, with lots of humor and the occasional poignant moment. It does get a little cliched at times, but its all good.
embereye's review
3.0
This was a fun superhero book. Some of the mysteries I guessed very early on, some I did not. Although this has been done before (the humanity of superheroes), I still enjoyed a slightly different take on the theme and the writing made me chuckle.
ptothelo's review
4.0
I wish we found out more about Doctor Impossible's past exploits, but sometimes even a couple of words is enough to paint a vivid picture of the character and the world. It was pretty fun read about the the nuts and bolts of being a super villain, being part a superhero team.
linden_tea's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
marvelousmooch's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
azidy's review against another edition
adventurous
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? Yes
1.5
flerpi's review
3.0
Rating: 3 stars
Short Review:
Interesting concept, and the first time I’ve personally read something like it, though I doubt it’s unique. It seems like something I should’ve really like, and while I did like the idea, the book itself wasn’t a page-turner. In fact, I think the reason I even liked it as much as I did is because it falls into one of my favorite plot/story-telling niches. While not bad, this book is lacking something that could’ve made it good.
Long Summary:
The main thing I like about this book is that it tries to approach super heroes and super villains as humans. If these types of characters existed, what would they really be like? Even supers are unlikely to have perfect lives that revolve around their masked lives. So Grossman has their supposedly invincible leader die, the team’s new leader is bulimic, and the happy couple is divorced. That’s kinda different, right?
But wait! The invincible leader isn’t really dead, the new leader isn’t really bulimic, and the (un)happy couple seemingly get back together.
So… that kinda ruins everything. At the very end of the story, Grossman yanks away some of the most serious flaws/problems with this superhero team. I mean, I was starting to like the book – almost really like it – and then in the climax, all of that happens. Granted, there are some minor issues still around. For example, the female narrator - a new member of the team - decides to resign; she wasn’t that interesting of a character though, so who cares? It’s like Grossman couldn’t decide if he wanted a happy ending or – and this would’ve fit better – a bittersweet ending, so it ended up with something that was neither, and thus didn’t work.
Then there were some parts of the book that were just random. There was an encounter between Mister Mystic and Impossible that lead you to think there’d be more about Mystic in the book, but there never was. It was like a loose thread. Then Fatale starts accusing Elphin of not being a real fairy. She’s on a team with a cat-man, a glass woman, a shadowy magician, a near-invincible flying woman, and she herself is a cyborg, but she can’t believe Elphin is a fairy?
Speaking of Fatale, she never really seems to do anything. She misses the first big fight, then is quickly disabled in the main fight. She talks about her past and all the cool things she did, but it’s the past; the reader never gets to read it. Since the reader never actually gets to read about her doing anything good, she’d pretty much useless in the book. Her only role is to serve as an outside perspective on the super team.
Also, Corefire is a rip-off of Superman, which I guess is the point, but Damsel’s weakness is ripped off Superman too, which makes me question Grossman’s creativity.
Ultimately a decent book – at least, I don’t regret reading it – but it has issues and falls short of what it could’ve been.
Short Review:
Interesting concept, and the first time I’ve personally read something like it, though I doubt it’s unique. It seems like something I should’ve really like, and while I did like the idea, the book itself wasn’t a page-turner. In fact, I think the reason I even liked it as much as I did is because it falls into one of my favorite plot/story-telling niches. While not bad, this book is lacking something that could’ve made it good.
Long Summary:
The main thing I like about this book is that it tries to approach super heroes and super villains as humans. If these types of characters existed, what would they really be like? Even supers are unlikely to have perfect lives that revolve around their masked lives. So Grossman has their supposedly invincible leader die, the team’s new leader is bulimic, and the happy couple is divorced. That’s kinda different, right?
But wait! The invincible leader isn’t really dead, the new leader isn’t really bulimic, and the (un)happy couple seemingly get back together.
So… that kinda ruins everything. At the very end of the story, Grossman yanks away some of the most serious flaws/problems with this superhero team. I mean, I was starting to like the book – almost really like it – and then in the climax, all of that happens. Granted, there are some minor issues still around. For example, the female narrator - a new member of the team - decides to resign; she wasn’t that interesting of a character though, so who cares? It’s like Grossman couldn’t decide if he wanted a happy ending or – and this would’ve fit better – a bittersweet ending, so it ended up with something that was neither, and thus didn’t work.
Then there were some parts of the book that were just random. There was an encounter between Mister Mystic and Impossible that lead you to think there’d be more about Mystic in the book, but there never was. It was like a loose thread. Then Fatale starts accusing Elphin of not being a real fairy. She’s on a team with a cat-man, a glass woman, a shadowy magician, a near-invincible flying woman, and she herself is a cyborg, but she can’t believe Elphin is a fairy?
Speaking of Fatale, she never really seems to do anything. She misses the first big fight, then is quickly disabled in the main fight. She talks about her past and all the cool things she did, but it’s the past; the reader never gets to read it. Since the reader never actually gets to read about her doing anything good, she’d pretty much useless in the book. Her only role is to serve as an outside perspective on the super team.
Also, Corefire is a rip-off of Superman, which I guess is the point, but Damsel’s weakness is ripped off Superman too, which makes me question Grossman’s creativity.
Ultimately a decent book – at least, I don’t regret reading it – but it has issues and falls short of what it could’ve been.