Well it made me laugh

The combination of a great story with a brilliant narrator made this really worth recommending, as there are so few genuinely funny fantasy books for geeks. While not quite up there with the greats like Terry Pratchett this is fun with just enough darkness to draw you into the plot. Fun with numerous comic book and film references to make you laugh. While it's not a literary game changer, the fact that it doesn't try too hard is part of it's charm. Despite my concerns when reading the description, it's actually one that should appeal to both male and female listeners. I would have liked it to be longer but I'll definitely be buying the rest of the series. Probably not for those who only get through one book a month as there are probably enough 5 star books to keep you busy but for those of us who are frequent listeners, know far too much about comic book law and 80's movies, i'd give this a try.

5 people found this helpful

Haha! I love all the snark!

Set in the imaginary Falconcrest City, superheroes, monsters, and supervillains clash and clatter together. Gary Karkofsky has delusions of grandeur, specifically of becoming the lead supervillain for the city. He was given a magical cloak that gives him formidable powers. With this new wardrobe and a small group of henchpeople, Gary has big plans for the city.

First and foremost, there is humor everywhere in this book. I love that much of the humor is told in a straight manner, the characters taking the plot seriously even as they come up with corny supervillain or superhero names. For instance, Gary’s alias is Merciless: the Supervillain without Mercy. Now wouldn’t that make you quiver in your boots? 😉

So Merciless gets on the bad side of the Malt Shop Gang when one of their own, the Ice Cream Man, is taken out in a robbery that Merciless interfered in. The plot thickens when Merciless is contacted by the police to assist in a kidnapping – the girl’s parents are rich and Merciless is poor. He’s in it for the money. However, the local superheroes don’t take kindly to Merciless’s misdeeds. That’s quite a bit on the man’s plate!

You recall that magical cloak? Yeah, well that cloak actually has a personality and likes to be called Cloak. And it likes to argue with Merciless at the most inopportune times. Ha! This often incited chuckles from me. Cloak turned out to be one of my favorite characters.

Mandy, who is Gary’s wife, doesn’t feel quite the same way about supervillainy as Gary does. In fact, you could say she’s a bit on the opposite end of the spectrum. This causes some grief and consternation for our main character, partially because he really does love his wife quite a bit. I really enjoyed that Mandy was not a toss away character and held her own throughout the story, adding to the plot and the humor. She’s got some skills herself and that adds some twists to the plot.

I was very happy to see characters of various sexual orientation in this book. Hooray! SFF needs more of this! The story wraps up well enough, with the main characters going head to head with an unexpected monster. Not everything was tied up neatly but the next installment of the series is already available, so I think enthusiastic listeners/readers like myself can just jump into that. It was really the humor that made this book excellent for me. The plot was secondary to the characters and their interactions with each other.

The Narration: Jeffrey Kafer was a great voice for Gary/Merciless. He delivered the humor in the intended dry tone which made it that much more amusing for me. As usual, he had distinct character voices for everyone and his female voices were believable.

What I Liked: The humor; supervillains unite! or not!; Cloak and his timely lessons; Mandy and her skill set; great cover art; excellent narration.

What I Disliked: Nothing – I really enjoyed this book!

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own.

1 person found this helpful

A wild, but sometimes confusing romp

What made the experience of listening to The Rules of Supervillainy the most enjoyable?

Jeffery Kafer does a really good job of performing a snarky super villain.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The world is a bit confusing, at times I didn't know what to make of it, supers (both good and bad) seem to run roughshod over national government. At times there are floods of exposition, and then things are causally tossed in and then not mentioned again (such as Atlantis).
Gary Karkofsky (aka Merciless) is a very odd character, at times he is extremely moral (he is outraged when some anti-heroes cause collateral damage to get to him), but feels no remorse when he casually murders someone who gets in his way; he hates authority and has somewhat anarchist/socialist view points, but at the same time wants to rule the world and get rich, the character doesn't seem to make a lot of sense (at least to me)

Which scene did you most enjoy?

No one scene particularly stood out.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It was decent enough that I could have done, had my schedule allowed for it.

Any additional comments?

Other books have covered the same ground, and done so better (D-list supervillain series, for example), but it not a terrible book by any stretch of the imagination.

1 person found this helpful

Fantastic!

This superhero/supervillain novel turned out to be just the sort of fun romp it promised from its synopsis.

Gary Karkofsky is just a normal guy living in a world filled with all sorts of people with superpowers. He lives with his wife in the suburbs and used to work as a bank teller before he lost his job. Opportunity knocks for Gary when the magical cloak of his home towns greatest superhero gets delivered to him in the mail. Rather than take up the selfless mantle of the heroic Nightwalker Gary instead decides to indulge in his life long dream of becoming Merciless: The Supervillain Without Mercy!

The whole story was as crazy and as fun as it sounds. Gary was an easy to root for guy. He loved his wife, cared for his friends, and was not quite as evil as he wished he was. Though he did have his villainous moments!

The world was pretty fun. It was the sort of over the top type of superhero world that you get while watching a movie like Marvel's Avengers. Which is great. This actually had a similar tone to the Avengers movies with plenty of humor and crazy action mixed in with likeable characters who were never short of a witty bit of banter.

The only real flaw I can spot is that this was such a short story. With the open ending I hope we do not have to wait long for the sequel.

Jeffrey Kafer did a fantastic job with the narration. He really got the tone of the story and has the perfect sort of voice for narration.

1 person found this helpful

Great Listen

At times laugh out loud listen. The story of the world's newest Super Crook, Gary aka Merciless. Fun, exciting and at times poignant. The story falls in two parts, the first his 'rise' as he takes to a life of crime, the second his 'fall' as he is incarcerated and seeks escape. Perhaps stronger in the narrative as his rise is set out, the book sets the scene for hopefully more adventures. I would definitely get more of this author.

1 person found this helpful

So you want to be a Super-Villain

Ooo look, a magic cloak, lets put it on. Should I use these powers for good! Umm, No.
A Good book, lots of action about a guy trying to be a super villain but without hurting the innocent.
But things don't always go to plan.

Very different and enjoyable

Not often that I sit back and really make time for a book, but this one was a refreshing change. Complete nonsense but well put together fun that was a pleasure to listen to. I'm not one to outright laugh at a book but it raised a few wry smiles so that's a pretty decent endorsement. Jeffrey Kafer is a awesome narrator and almost did a faultless performance IMO. But I really wish that there was more of a difference between the main character and his cloak. It was sometimes very difficult to follow the conversation.

Fun fun fun!

I quite like this anit-hero premise, and it is an interesting ride from battling crazed up supes to ultra-max prison in moon.
So how does less than average villain does it? Well, with the help of super-cloak that speaks only to him of course! (In Jeffrey Kafer's voice, which is quite good perhaps even one of the best ;)
"This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review."

refreshingly Grounded for the fantasy it contains

The language symbol in the puns ample. Satisfying, imaginative considering the saturation of the market with superpowers with dry humor where I cut myself laughing out loud in the car While driving. I guess it is superhero fiction for those that are fed up with superheroes.

Book might not rule the world but it does rule

I really enjoyed this book and downloaded the next book before it even finished. It is a lot of fun with snarky dialog and plenty of action, it's the type of book that doesn't take itself to seriously and is all the better for it. Lots of cool names for both the good guys and the bad guys that would give the Avengers a run for there money. Loyalty doesn't matter when you have super powers and sided can be switched when you are fighting to the death, as long as you do it with style and a quirky catchphrase. I don't normally listen to the next book in the series straight away (preferring to space out the enjoyment) but with Zombies taking over the city (the next book) I can't just leave it there.
When someone leaves a cloak on his doorstep Gary Karkofsky picks up the mantle and becomes the supervillian he has also was wanted to be. He is no ordinary villain though, he only kills bad guys and people that need killing like people that annoy him (kidding). He tries to follow the super villain handbook and the 1st rule is not to kill super heros. But what happens when the super hero themselves aren't to worried about killing innocents to get there target. What happens then? Gary is about to find out. He stops the ice cream man from robbing a bank, only to turn around and rob it himself (well I said he was a villain) a long will his sidekicks, ex girlfriend Cindy and Diabloman. The city that hired him (well okay he blackmailed the city into paying him) to take out the ice cream man turns on him and sends anti hero's to take him out. With the death of the anti heros Gary is sent to the moon where he stirs up a whole lot of new trouble for himself. What does it take, to take over the world?
I like the narrator and think he is a big part of why I enjoyed the book so much. I hope he sticks with the series.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.