BOOK REVIEW: v IS FOR VILLAIN BY PETER MOORE

Intro: For the review today, another superhero novel. I have a thing for superhero novels because they are so darn fun to read. I intend to write one myself in time, and it’s good to see what is on the market. This novel, as I mentioned a moment ago with superhero novels, was a fun read, but was a little on the childish / cheesy side. Written by Peter Moore, he does a good job of getting inside the average youths mind when special abilities are involved.

Premise:  This story revolves around Brad Baron, a kid who goes to a school, and lives in a world, where having super powers are the norm. Brad battles his own personal demons as he tries to escape the large shadow that is cast by his largely famous, and powerful, older brother.  Eventually, not so powerful Brad finds himself hanging with the wrong crowd. You know, the normal teen stuff. Only Brad, and his friends, intends to do more with their powers than just hang out at the mall and smoke.

The Good:  This story put a simple vibe on the common superhero genre. In this world superheroes have been around for a long time. Even going as far as saying that beings seen as gods (Zeus, Hades, etc) were some of the first superheroes to live. I personally liked this because I just don’t see it often. I also loved how this reminded me of a Disney movie. Sounds funny, but think of Sky High or Up Up and Away. Same premise. The best part however, was that the main character wasn’t really a hero. He has all of the ability to become one, but he doesn’t. It delivered on a portion of normal life when you’re a teen and have one of two choices that can change your life.

The Bad: Now the bad. Overall I really didn’t like Brad.  I liked his idiot, overly powered, brother more than him. First, I get it, you’re brother is the top hero to be. So what? That doesn’t give him enough reason to want to be a bad guy. Not only that, but he seems like he wants to go down the wrong path just because he wants to fit in with his new friends, even though he has some pretty cool old friends. My other issue was the lack of action in this book. I don’t mean explosion, fights, type of action either. I mean literally they aren’t doing much in the realm of ANYTHING. They mostly either eat food, or hang at their base.

Final Verdict: C or 6/10