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Heroes & Villains
(Heroes & Villains #1)
by
As the superhero Starburst, Vereint received only derision and mockery. All his heroic endeavors resulted in nothing but humiliation. No matter how hard he tried, the world could only see him as a joke.
Eventually he was pushed into the life of a supervillain. He changed his name to Darkstar and began his reign over Megacity. He was unstoppable... yet somehow he managed to ...more
Eventually he was pushed into the life of a supervillain. He changed his name to Darkstar and began his reign over Megacity. He was unstoppable... yet somehow he managed to ...more
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Kindle Edition, 1st Edition, 211 pages
Published
June 1st 2011
by Harper Kingsley
(first published January 1st 2011)
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Community Reviews
Showing 1-30
Start your review of Heroes & Villains (Heroes & Villains, #1)
I loved this story. The beginning was really great and I really loved Starburst and felt so bad for him, he even made me cry a couple times. Warrick was a huge asshole for the first half of the book, i liked him but he was irritating in his assholism. So much happens in this book it was crazy exciting with all the events and craziness going on. My favorite was the bank scene at 19% not sure what it was but something about that scene just makes it stand out to me.
The book was hilarious the ...more
The book was hilarious the ...more
While reading this book, it reminded me of some combination of my favorite old superhero cartoons and comic book stories coming to life in modern day m/m romance style!
The story has a lot of detail centering around a world made up of humans and metahumans with varying degrees of supernatural powers. Vereint (aka Starburst / Darkstar) is the equivalent of a mega metahuman with power galore who is virtually indestructible. He always dreamed about using his power to be a superhero, but alas, it’s ...more
The story has a lot of detail centering around a world made up of humans and metahumans with varying degrees of supernatural powers. Vereint (aka Starburst / Darkstar) is the equivalent of a mega metahuman with power galore who is virtually indestructible. He always dreamed about using his power to be a superhero, but alas, it’s ...more
Hilarious. Vereint is the perfect villain, but I think he should have ended like an antihero. Despite this, it's perfect.
Jun 05, 2011
Harper Kingsley
added it
· (Review from the author)
Shelves:
world-of-awesome,
sci-fi,
romance,
i-wrote-this,
male-male,
novel,
superhero,
enemies-to-friends,
pg-13
I have always had a giant fondness for stories about people with more than human abilities. Telepaths, vampires, fairies, whatever, I love them all. And probably my favorite sub-genre of metahuman fiction is the superhero genre.
For "Heroes & Villains" I pictured a world where superheroes are like the police and supervillains are just criminals. There's a lot of praise for the famous superheroes, but the just everyday ones don't get much attention at all. To that end, my mind spawned ...more
For "Heroes & Villains" I pictured a world where superheroes are like the police and supervillains are just criminals. There's a lot of praise for the famous superheroes, but the just everyday ones don't get much attention at all. To that end, my mind spawned ...more
I did not finish this story. I managed to get halfway through and gave up.
The star is for the concept. I like the idea of a hero turning into a villain and being really good at it. The execution was awful. I did not believe the main character's motivation. I didn't sympathize with any of the characters and the story could have used a better editor.
Examples:
overuse of the word too
too handsome
too good looking
too beautiful
too powerful
overuse of chill:
chill
chill out
chill down (??)
overuse of:
kind of ...more
The star is for the concept. I like the idea of a hero turning into a villain and being really good at it. The execution was awful. I did not believe the main character's motivation. I didn't sympathize with any of the characters and the story could have used a better editor.
Examples:
overuse of the word too
too handsome
too good looking
too beautiful
too powerful
overuse of chill:
chill
chill out
chill down (??)
overuse of:
kind of ...more
I loved this book! I felt like I was reading some of my favorite comic books but compacted all into a couple of characters and sent out to do whatever--so of course Batman and Superman were going to fall in love. It was like a no brainer.
Vereint really wants to be a superhero, but everything just goes wrong for him and he ends up miserable. People make fun of his superhero name because he didn't think of the candy when he was choosing it, and none of the other superheroes give him any kind of ...more
Vereint really wants to be a superhero, but everything just goes wrong for him and he ends up miserable. People make fun of his superhero name because he didn't think of the candy when he was choosing it, and none of the other superheroes give him any kind of ...more
Wow. I liked this a lot. I like how this is definitely not the normal superhero kind of story, and I have to say I would want to read more stories with similiar plots - a superhero turns bad and you actually cheer him on!
I definitely recommend this story. Five stars!
I definitely recommend this story. Five stars!
2013 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention (5* from at least 1 judge)
Reviewed on The Blogger Girls
It’s hard for me to write this review because I loved the premise of the book but I had a huge issue with the execution. I LOVED Vereint as a character. He just wanted to help people, that was his dream, and then when he tries he gets bullied so much that he’s miserable because he’s not living up to the other superheroes who are bullying him. When he turns into a villain, I was super excited because he was no longer self-conscious and miserable. He decided not to ...more
It’s hard for me to write this review because I loved the premise of the book but I had a huge issue with the execution. I LOVED Vereint as a character. He just wanted to help people, that was his dream, and then when he tries he gets bullied so much that he’s miserable because he’s not living up to the other superheroes who are bullying him. When he turns into a villain, I was super excited because he was no longer self-conscious and miserable. He decided not to ...more
Albeit somewhat cheesy, I can't deny that I really, really loved this book!
Heroes & Villains follows a character named Vareint who starts as a hero named Starburst but is unfortunately taken for granted by the people and taken as a joke and a wannabe by fellow heroes as well. Long story short, good bye Starburst and hello Darkstar. Vareint becomes a villain and everything is so much better from then on.
I understand Vareint's predicament being a superhero. It's a lot of hard work. Being a ...more
Heroes & Villains follows a character named Vareint who starts as a hero named Starburst but is unfortunately taken for granted by the people and taken as a joke and a wannabe by fellow heroes as well. Long story short, good bye Starburst and hello Darkstar. Vareint becomes a villain and everything is so much better from then on.
I understand Vareint's predicament being a superhero. It's a lot of hard work. Being a ...more
I loved this book and Vereint. I felt like I was reading a story from Tiger and Bunnys world.
...more
3.75 Stars.
I couldn’t put it down. The romance was really well written and well thought out. I’m currently looking for the next book in the series.
Review posted on World of Diversity Fiction Reviews
2.75 Stars
This was one of those stories I wanted to love but just couldn’t. I love superheroes, comics and fantasy, so I was really looking forward to reading this book. It is such a great idea and I could see this one being a really good story, the bones are there but so are things that bog it down.
Vereint starts out as a superhero, it’s something he really wants to be but he can’t seem to get the hang of it. He has powers galore which he has ...more
I just finished this --
I really liked the ideas behind it -- super-people leading ordinary lives. Some of the details were very nice (superheroes needing to pee during a drawn-out battle, choosing love over career, still needing to make a living while being a super-anything, liability insurance for supers, Superman-as-housewife, and so on). Using this idea, the book had the potential to say some interesting things about Real Life vs. Potential Life vs. Fantasy Life.
Note that this is more of a ...more
I really liked the ideas behind it -- super-people leading ordinary lives. Some of the details were very nice (superheroes needing to pee during a drawn-out battle, choosing love over career, still needing to make a living while being a super-anything, liability insurance for supers, Superman-as-housewife, and so on). Using this idea, the book had the potential to say some interesting things about Real Life vs. Potential Life vs. Fantasy Life.
Note that this is more of a ...more
Oh, dear... I must note that I have not finished this book, so that may color your view of my comments.
I liked the concept, but quickly Vereint, the newbie guy with super powers who is trying hard to be a world-class super-hero, REALLY worried me.
His motivation wasn't so much trying to save people as wanting to do something with his abilities and get respect and attention. After just a couple of months of getting no respect and only bad attention (unwarranted, the other super-heroes are not ...more
I liked the concept, but quickly Vereint, the newbie guy with super powers who is trying hard to be a world-class super-hero, REALLY worried me.
His motivation wasn't so much trying to save people as wanting to do something with his abilities and get respect and attention. After just a couple of months of getting no respect and only bad attention (unwarranted, the other super-heroes are not ...more
In an alternate universe, it isn’t so uncommon to be a metahuman – a human with extraordinary powers. However, it is only the most talented metahumans that go on to become superheroes.
Vereint has always dreamed of becoming a superhero, but after setting himself up as one, and calling himself Starburst, he is ridiculed by the media.
Early on in this novel there is an interesting tension set up between Vereint and Warrick (Blue Ice); however, this tension is relegated to a sub-plot as the main plot ...more
Vereint has always dreamed of becoming a superhero, but after setting himself up as one, and calling himself Starburst, he is ridiculed by the media.
Early on in this novel there is an interesting tension set up between Vereint and Warrick (Blue Ice); however, this tension is relegated to a sub-plot as the main plot ...more
2.5 Stars - This was a long book, not just in pages but in feel. There was a place where it could have almost been two books in the same series. As we were first introduced to the characters all I could picture was an adult version of the cartoon movie Mastermind, with both characters being more jerkish and immature. Verient also reminded me a little of Syndrome from the Incredibles, but with less bloodlust. In the end they both redeemed themselves, and the book was ok. However, I never really
...more
3.5 stars.
Satisfying.
Started off interestingly enough, but too much jumping around with all the characters. Blue Ice & Darkstar never quite made it for me as a couple.
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Author of science fiction, fantasy, and romance.
Things to expect: Plot over porn. Superheroes duking it out in violent action scenes, sometimes followed by emotional fallout. Sarcastic romance, sappy sentimentalism, and genuine jerk behavior. Cutting edge technology discussed, dismissed, and developed by superscientist billionaires. Strange and possibly disturbing blog posts that might be funny, ...more
Things to expect: Plot over porn. Superheroes duking it out in violent action scenes, sometimes followed by emotional fallout. Sarcastic romance, sappy sentimentalism, and genuine jerk behavior. Cutting edge technology discussed, dismissed, and developed by superscientist billionaires. Strange and possibly disturbing blog posts that might be funny, ...more
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