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Jesse's review

Soon I Will Be Invincible: A Novel
by Austin Grossman (Goodreads author!)

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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/645180.Soon_I_Will_Be_Invincible_A_Novel?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="Soon I Will Be Invincible: A Novel" border="0" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1176689611m/645180.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/645180.Soon_I_Will_Be_Invincible_A_Novel?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">Soon I Will Be Invincible: A Novel</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/71155.Austin_Grossman">Austin Grossman</a> 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2666947?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
 rating: 5 of 5 stars I'm only 50 pages into this book so far so I can't review the whole thing, but so far its brilliant!
 
 Two really interesting main characters; one the worlds 4th most intelligent being trying to conquer the world right this time, and the other a cutting edge cyborg that has lost most of her past and is trying to find her future.
 
 Throw in a very unique world peopled with interestingly realistic Super (meaning those with super-human abilities/skills) history and very human super-humans, and you've got a great book. This is almost like the Incredibles for a more adult audience, with a drop of Alan Moore's "The Watchmen" thrown in.
 
 So far I haven't enjoyed and sided with a bad guy this much in a book in my entire life. Evil Genius' really do have all he fun!
 
 More to come later.
 
 Ok, just fantastic book. Its yet another deconstruction of the superhero genre, yet its very original.
 
 I totally want to be Dr. Impossible. This man is the coolest super-villain I've seen to date. Yet he is also very real. In some ways I have to dislike him, cause come on man...get over the slights of highschool and college. On the other hand, they shaped him into a character that took the path less traveled. Through out the book he reflects on how he could have gone the path of a hero, but so no. I shall not compromise. I am me, and I will not change just to make things easier. And that is a great character. He's a villain, who is a narrative hero. Which also means that the secondary characters are hero's who are not narrative heros. Cause hero's of myth and legend don't go with the flow. They don't compromise, they freakin break out and go against the current. Jesus, Gilgamesh, Arthur, Hercules; these are characters that broke the mold and bucked the status quo.
 
 That being said, the secondary hero characters are incredibly interesting deconstructions of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman,..etc. It is their flaws AND merits that make them interesting.
 
 The narrative takes and interesting pattern as it jumps from villain to hero, showing us both views on events. Its nice to see Dr. Impossible go from focal point in one chapter, to outsider in the next chapter.
 
 I just feel like gushing about this book. Mainly because it so unique. You don't find novels about Supers often, let alone ones that deconstruct the whole genre and rebuild it right before your eyes. Graphic novels have done this for years, but not regular novels. So I'm so happy to see the book and hope to see more writing from this author, even if its not about Supers. He did a fantastic job, kept me always wanting more, and created an interesting story that leaves room to keep going at the end; or maybe just stop right there.
 
 <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/133010?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Jesse's review
rating:
recommended for: Anyone who likes good writing and/or deconstructed super-heros/villians

I'm only 50 pages into this book so far so I can't review the whole thing, but so far its brilliant!

Two really interesting main characters; one the worlds 4th most intelligent being trying to conquer the world right this time, and the other a cutting edge cyborg that has lost most of her past and is trying to find her future.

Throw in a very unique world peopled with interestingly realistic Super (meaning those with super-human abilities/skills) history and very human super-humans, and you've got a great book. This is almost like the Incredibles for a more adult audience, with a drop of Alan Moore's "The Watchmen" thrown in.

So far I haven't enjoyed and sided with a bad guy this much in a book in my entire life. Evil Genius' really do have all he fun!

More to come later.

Ok, just fantastic book. Its yet another deconstruction of the superhero genre, yet its very original.

I totally want to be Dr. Impossible. This man is the coolest super-villain I've s...more I'm only 50 pages into this book so far so I can't review the whole thing, but so far its brilliant!

Two really interesting main characters; one the worlds 4th most intelligent being trying to conquer the world right this time, and the other a cutting edge cyborg that has lost most of her past and is trying to find her future.

Throw in a very unique world peopled with interestingly realistic Super (meaning those with super-human abilities/skills) history and very human super-humans, and you've got a great book. This is almost like the Incredibles for a more adult audience, with a drop of Alan Moore's "The Watchmen" thrown in.

So far I haven't enjoyed and sided with a bad guy this much in a book in my entire life. Evil Genius' really do have all he fun!

More to come later.

Ok, just fantastic book. Its yet another deconstruction of the superhero genre, yet its very original.

I totally want to be Dr. Impossible. This man is the coolest super-villain I've seen to date. Yet he is also very real. In some ways I have to dislike him, cause come on man...get over the slights of highschool and college. On the other hand, they shaped him into a character that took the path less traveled. Through out the book he reflects on how he could have gone the path of a hero, but so no. I shall not compromise. I am me, and I will not change just to make things easier. And that is a great character. He's a villain, who is a narrative hero. Which also means that the secondary characters are hero's who are not narrative heros. Cause hero's of myth and legend don't go with the flow. They don't compromise, they freakin break out and go against the current. Jesus, Gilgamesh, Arthur, Hercules; these are characters that broke the mold and bucked the status quo.

That being said, the secondary hero characters are incredibly interesting deconstructions of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman,..etc. It is their flaws AND merits that make them interesting.

The narrative takes and interesting pattern as it jumps from villain to hero, showing us both views on events. Its nice to see Dr. Impossible go from focal point in one chapter, to outsider in the next chapter.

I just feel like gushing about this book. Mainly because it so unique. You don't find novels about Supers often, let alone ones that deconstruct the whole genre and rebuild it right before your eyes. Graphic novels have done this for years, but not regular novels. So I'm so happy to see the book and hope to see more writing from this author, even if its not about Supers. He did a fantastic job, kept me always wanting more, and created an interesting story that leaves room to keep going at the end; or maybe just stop right there.
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message 1: by Tom

07/04/2007 09:27AM

This is on my list to read next.