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A review by songwind
Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman
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.