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Malevolence
Recently paroled supervillain Nicholas McHenry wants to get back in the game, cracking bank vaults and superhero skulls.
But not even twenty-four hours go by before McHenry is arrested and humiliated by the world's foremost superhero team.
Framed as the mastermind of a plot to take over the world, McHenry needs to clear his name with the heroes--But between him and his retribution stands an army of his villainous brethren, all of whom want him dead.
But not even twenty-four hours go by before McHenry is arrested and humiliated by the world's foremost superhero team.
Framed as the mastermind of a plot to take over the world, McHenry needs to clear his name with the heroes--But between him and his retribution stands an army of his villainous brethren, all of whom want him dead.
62 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 3, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 22, 2013
Not a bad start. It could benefit from some depth of character development, including the heroes.
February 23, 2013
I have a soft spot for superhero fiction, but it's rare to find one that's any good. This one is good. :)
April 23, 2021
Where the Hell did these good reviews come from. This was a too short, generic cookie cutter book.
A poor version of "confessions of a D list supervillain".
The author has obviously put no real effort into writing this novella.
A poor version of "confessions of a D list supervillain".
The author has obviously put no real effort into writing this novella.
June 28, 2013
(Review originally published on Otherwhere Gazette)
It’s no secret that I, like most geeks, appreciate a good superhero story. But sometimes a good supervillain story is just as good, if you can identify with the main character.
Malevolence is such a story. We meet the villain/hero in prison, just about to finish out his 15-year sentence for crimes committed as The Machinist, a cyborg supervillain. He gets a mysterious message from an incoming inmate, which is where I’m going to stop so as not to spoil the story.
In this kind of story, the main difficulty is in making a character evil enough to be believable as a bad guy, but sympathetic enough that the reader is interested in what happens to him. Author Alexander Maisey does this quite well for his debut novel. There were also blissfully few grammatical errors, which are all too common in self-published works (and which are a bugaboo of mine).
The one quibble I have is that some of the characters seemed too close to their comic-book counterparts. I mean, a smart-mouthed teenaged male with flame-based powers calling himself Torch? And a female with one demon parent called Ravensoul? (Check the membership of the Teen Titans from the 1980s if you don’t get that one.) However, the writing and story were good enough that I can forgive that.
For the price (currently $2.99), it’s hard to beat this for a good value on a good story.
It’s no secret that I, like most geeks, appreciate a good superhero story. But sometimes a good supervillain story is just as good, if you can identify with the main character.
Malevolence is such a story. We meet the villain/hero in prison, just about to finish out his 15-year sentence for crimes committed as The Machinist, a cyborg supervillain. He gets a mysterious message from an incoming inmate, which is where I’m going to stop so as not to spoil the story.
In this kind of story, the main difficulty is in making a character evil enough to be believable as a bad guy, but sympathetic enough that the reader is interested in what happens to him. Author Alexander Maisey does this quite well for his debut novel. There were also blissfully few grammatical errors, which are all too common in self-published works (and which are a bugaboo of mine).
The one quibble I have is that some of the characters seemed too close to their comic-book counterparts. I mean, a smart-mouthed teenaged male with flame-based powers calling himself Torch? And a female with one demon parent called Ravensoul? (Check the membership of the Teen Titans from the 1980s if you don’t get that one.) However, the writing and story were good enough that I can forgive that.
For the price (currently $2.99), it’s hard to beat this for a good value on a good story.
March 21, 2013
This book was a very quick read. I've mainly given it three stars because it read like part of a book and not a full book which left me feeling a bit cheated. In fact I felt like I'd read the opening section of a larger novel - not the first book in a trilogy - about a real villain who has done time for his crimes. He comes out of jail not exactly reformed but willing to give being a bad guy a second chance as he doesn't see any other option only to find himself in a frame for a crime he doesn't want to be associated with. The book was rather similar to Confessions of a D-List Supervillain without the sense of humor and irony.
January 18, 2016
I enjoyed this novella as a City of Heroes player, it reminded me of the game. It was very good in that regard. I feel that if I hadn't been a player of the game some of it would have been a little difficult to follow. But otherwise a very well written story.
February 9, 2013
I kind of wrote this, so I like it.
March 15, 2013
More, please!
April 25, 2013
Okay in concept, but the execution wasn't what I hoped for. Not a whole lot of depth here.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews