Superego

Superego #1

by Frank J. Fleming

Rico has a problem. The experimental program that gave him the high intelligence and lightning reflexes he needs as a hit man for a galactic crime syndicate left him incapable of internalizing moral imperatives the rest of us take for granted. It takes real effort for him to pass as a normal human being and he avoids it whenever he can. But he has a job he loves, a fast ship and plenty of cash. So life is good.

When Rico takes an assignment on a planet where a major political conference seeks to bring more order to the galaxy, he accidentally thwarts a terrorist attack and has to pose as a visiting cop from a faraway world. To complicate matters, he partners with a local female cop and soon realizes he has fallen in love. That shouldn’t happen! But not everything is as it seems, and as the story speeds along from one unexpected plot twist to another, Rico discovers the secret of his own identity and faces a terrible choice.

Will Rico live to become fully human? Or will he die just as he grasps what has been missing from his life? Frank Fleming’s exciting debut novel combines action, romance, and moral philosophy in an entertainingly combustible mix

Genres: Science Fiction, Thriller, Audiobook, Action, Fantasy, Space Opera, Science Fiction Fantasy

236 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 2, 2014

About the author

I used to write political satire, but then I got sick of politics and now sticking to science fiction and fantasy. It's supposed to be more serious writing, but people keep calling them comedies :(

Newsletter: http://frankjfleming.com

Reviews

[Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story follows the surprisingly likable Rico as he accepts his latest mission. I say surprisingly likable because Rico is the genetically engineered product of an experimental program. The program succeeds in some ways as he has an increased intelligence, lightning quick reflexes, and an increased resistance to pain. Unfortunately the genetic tinkering is not perfect and has left poor Rico with a limited ability to feel emotions. All of this leaves Rico highly suited to his job as a hitman. He gets the job done no matter what and is not burdened with emotions or morals!

Rico generally avoids other people as he has a problem fitting in. He understands emotions, but does just not feel them much himself. Since this story was told in the first person we got to hear some of Rico's hilarious observations on the behavior and actions of the "normal" humans he encounters along the way. His only real companion is his ships AI. Hilariously the AI is trying to learn to be more human and only has Rico as an example. The chats between the pair are some of the most entertaining bits of the book.

While waiting in a cafe for the arrival of a contact on his latest mission Rico is unwittingly caught up in a terrorist attack. He kills the terrorists and is hailed as a hero by the locals. Rico poses as holidaying police officer from a distant planet in order to explain away his skills and the possession of his guns. Before he knows what is happening he is assigned a partner and dragged into helping track down the rest of the terrorists.

In an interesting twist Rico begins to develop an emotional attachment to his new partner. It is interesting to follow his emotional development over the course of the story.

The book had a few flaws. For one it is a Christian tale was not so subtle in getting its message across to the reader. That said, it did not overly detract from the story.

The story ended on a bit of a cliffhanger so I hope a sequel is in the works.

Rating: 4 stars.

Audio Note: This was read by Joel Richards. He might not be the best narrator I've ever heard, but he did a decent enough job with this and seemed to understand the tone of the story.

Reread Update: This held up pretty well on reread. I think I enjoyed it exactly the same amount the second time around.

[Matthias · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started Frank Fleming's Superego not knowing what to expect. I've read his blog for years and always enjoyed his sharp wit, but I was uncertain how that would translate into a longer dramatic form factor. I was very... very impressed. Superego is a fast-paced and engaging story of Rico, a psychopathic hitman (not a killer... a hitman) who follows a job deeper and deeper into a plot of intrigue involving intergalactic politics. Rico is a wonderfully realized and hilarious character who observes his special talent for killing things with an endearingly dispassionate detachment. In the same way you might tell someone about the tepid food you endured on your last night out, Rico will narrate the vicious path of unending destruction he wrecks on his way to chat with one of his targets.

Rico's persona is the highlight of this book and make it a joy from beginning to end, but the really compelling elements come when Rico has to interact with an actual person who he comes to see as more than a mobile stack of meat in between him and the next person he gets to kill. Diane, a police officer who always seems to end up shooting piles of people, becomes a counterpart to Rico through the book. She starts off just lending balance to the narrative becomes a key part in the question of whether or not Rico will be able to complete his mission or (for lack of a better term) grow a soul.

As an end note here, I must say that I've never picked up a book in which the tagline added so much to the reading. When I started, I thought the tag line "Can a genetically engineered psychopath grow a conscience, get the girl, and save the galaxy? Two out of three ain't bad." was a throw-away gag. But as I raced through the final third of the book, I found myself trying desperately to figure out which two of the three things were going to be true. Fleming does a great job balancing the narrative between these three goals right up until the end, which is just about perfect.

Superego is a great debut novel and I'm looking forward to more from Fleming in the future.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story started off great. It's sort of a spacey Dexter, but with a little more to amuse. However, it devolved into a weird sort of generalized War on Terror and I just could not read "terrorist" as a descriptor one more time. I feel potential, but I don't feel any need to buy this book for a friend.

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book rated from "pretty good' to "not bad" but I think I should go the 4 stars as it's an interesting story. (As I've said before) I'm not sure I'd say this is an "enjoyable" book (at least in some ways) but it is a good story.

This is another enhanced hitman who is good at what he does (really I mean this guy is the "real thing" the guy you send to get the target that "can't be got"). But (of course) things don't go on along as they always have and upon that twist hangs a (the) story.

As you have probably picked up the general idea behind this novel isn't totally original but the hook is one that hasn't been done (exactly) before (that I know of).

I finished this one some time ago and am just now getting around to saying what i think. So...good book, maybe not the best but still good.

[K L · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't like it. Then I did. The first few pages were like a bucket of cold water. The writing style is action-oriented and brief. Fleming's background in satire really shines through in the character of Rico. The author makes the universe's most unrelateable character, well... somehow relatable. Rico is a pretty evil dude (even his trusty A.I. sidekick thinks so), yet we're drawn to his flaws, humor, and by the end of it, his brokenness. But that's only part of it. There's plenty of witty dialogue, plot twists, and shoot-outs, too.

Nothing scares people more than honesty, as the book says, and the prose is refreshingly to-the-point. I highlighted some profound bits that came out of nowhere (not all authors can naturally make that shift between light-hearted and serious, hilarious and contemplative). Subtly, you can see while Rico doesn't have really have a conscience, the book does! On a surface level, it seems merely a sci-fi romp with a lot of pew-pew-ing, and it is. But you will be taken by surprise if that's your sole expectation. Although, I don't want to hype it up too much; I don't think anyone can love this book as much as I did.

I laughed a lot. Oh my gosh, I cried twice but mostly at the end. Putting up an act in all social situations is draining, and Rico is happy alone-- at least, he thought so. Then he does finally find one person he can stand (and who can stand him), but as soon as things are looking up, Rico self-sabotages. His character is in flux between a restless knowledge he's missing something essential (even beyond just lack of emotion), and a belief that it doesn't matter anyway; the universe is a pointless, cruel place. The climax is essentially the end of the book, when these two ideas clash. Of course, there's a lot of plot development and reveals inbetween, but it was Rico's internal struggle that made the book for me.

The uncomfortable truth about human nature is there is a tiny bit of Rico in all of us. While most of us actually have a very developed sense of right and wrong, human beings can still be very callous, especially to those who've wronged us. And the world can be a very cold place. This, really, in my mind, is what "Superego" was about. Raising questions on many topics, but mainly: what do we exist for? does it matter? and why are we kind to others? It it really social norms and laws holding us in place? What is the difference between justice and revenge? Is violence justified when it's directed at really terrible people? Also, briefly, the societal need for pants. :)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I started reading it over again. It exceeded my expectations, and I'd certainly recommend it. I went straight to the sequel, which was thankfully already released by the time I read "Superego." Because, my gosh, author, you really gave us a helluvah cliffhanger!

[Kagama-the Literaturevixen · Rating 1 out of 5]

In the far future assassin Rico is Genetically engineered to be an amoral killer.But after Rico finds himself after a hit without a next job, he decides to lay low on a human settled planet.He ends up averting a terrorist attack on the planet. After being mistaken for a cop and having his guns taken from him he gets involved in finding the terrorists.

The most troubling thing about this book isnt that the protagonist is a psychopath,I mean I have read Dexter and Silence of the lambs. No the thing that bothered me with this book was the terrorists as muslims and involved christianity just made me so uncomfortable.

Furthermore our psychopath main character couldnt go so long in the book without thinking about his mental aberration. I would think someone who is born like this wouldnt even think about this som much.That would just be how they were.

...and then there is the love interest,a female cop who keeps mentioning her emotional baggage.Shes like so messed up dont you know. It made me think of a review I once read about the Girl with the Dragon tattoo and how there is this tough female character but with huge issues. She really needs someone to fix her.

Oh and there are bible studies in this book.

I cant help but wonder why why this book is set in the future...take out all the mentions of scifi stuff and it could just as well take place in our modern day.

[Scott S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great book. I was afraid it would be a little outside of my taste, but I couldn't get enough. The pacing was great, the humor well distributed and the story fun and captivating.

The narration was well done.

I didn't realize this was my third time through. Relistened because of the sequel's release. Just as good as I remembered!

[Michael Ngo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting protagonist and lots of character development for him. I liked the twist and didn't see it coming. I liked the relationship. There's a lot of interesting philosophical questions in here like purpose, justice, suicide, and the meaning of life.

[cool breeze · Rating 5 out of 5]

Psychopath antihero Rico is one of the finest and most twisted literary achievements since George MacDonald Fraser’s Flashman.

The book is full of gems like:

"As a child, I fantasized about killing all humans until I was the only one left, though that really was infeasible without access to weapons that could destroy on a global scale. A daydream, really."

"This is why I don’t like being a hero; it complicates things to the point of ruining the simple pleasure of gunning people down in a shootout."

“Hana’s son and daughter are fine. She’s with them now.” It was as if Diane read my mind and picked the absolute opposite of anything I cared about to tell me.

"It was almost refreshing to talk to a politician — that meant I wasn’t the only one in the room pretending not to be a sociopath."

[Chris James · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still don't know how to rate this book. It was entirely predictable and the themes were troubling in their religious naivety (why would it still be Muslim vs Christian thousands of years hence?), but it was written in an engaging and enlightening way. I gave it 3 because it was a 2 star story told with great skill and engagement.

[MRDA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compelling worldbuilding, inconvenient allegorising, and jet-black psychopathic humour, all filtered through a thoroughly engaging protagonist. Awesome, if not without certain instances of incongruity (and sappy, cringeworthy dewiness!).

[Dan Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Curiously enough this book reminded me of "The Stainless Steel Rat", a book I read oh-so-many-years-ago during my teen years. Perhaps it was the oversized personality of Rico the hitman and the often dryly comic overtones of his reflections on both himself and the state of the universe.

Yes, a stainless steel rat where James DiGriz is a genetically altered amoral psychopathic hitman instead of a bluff intergalactic thief.

It seems strange that one can use the terms "comic overtones" and "psychopathic hitman" in the same review, but there it is and there you are. You as a reader are spared directly confronting this oxymoronic state since early on in the story the hitman Rico is placed into a situation where he has to "pretend" to be a normal (even heroic) cop; this means we know that Rico is evil (and non-empathic) because he keeps telling us so but with a few exceptions we really don't see it.

In fact, what we do see is a man struggling to break free of the life-prison in which he finds himself. He falls in love (which should be impossible) and we see that our bloody, tainted anti-hero is struggling to create a moral path of action for himself when he has no inner-compass that he can lean upon to help guide him. He is trying to create his own SuperEgo.

This gives a depth to the latter chapters of this novel that Stainless Steel never had - and I'm not sure my nihilistic teen-self would have appreciated it. Older-me does.

Again, this makes the novel rather peculiar. Rather curious. Stainless Steel was not great-literature; it was a bluff, over-the-top adventure series. SuperEgo has strong elements of that genre which gives it a superficial and ham-fisted beginning - frankly, it was not until well into the book that I began to warm up to it. By the end of the book I genuinely cared for the two main characters and their helpful AI side-kick (Dip) and I was cheering Rico and Diane as they struggled to find the path to redemption.

Because unlike Rico I have empathy. Yet even so I find myself screaming to the heavens, "Just show me the path I need to follow! Just tell me what to do!" and, like Rico, I hear nothing.

[Micah Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's worth noting that Superego's author, Frank Fleming, is a former Babylon Bee writer. And you can definitely tell; this is a story with lots of sarcastic humor. It isn't quite a comedy per se, but more of a thriller with strong humorous elements, set in a far future interplanetary setting.

My feelings on this book are... complicated. Its greatest achievement is making its main character, a remorseless, aggressively antisocial hitman, actually likable. The action is fun, the pace is fast and never boring, and the last third of the book is pretty good. Overall I enjoyed it for what it did well.

However, my suspension of disbelief was stretched well past the breaking point in multiple places. The worldbuilding is very weak, and relies way too much on modern references given the setting. For a few examples, there's a SWAT team, an amusement park with whack-a-mole, and a character literally orders Coke at a restaurant (somehow that brand has survived for... how many centuries?). Much of the story is taken up by a buddy cop arc that never really felt believable, and its lack of plausibility is unsatisfyingly explained away toward the end. There's also a romance that never clicked for me at all. Most confusingly, that romance arc has a couple of (fade-to-black) sexual encounters that seem like they shouldn't be okay within the worldview of the female love interest or the author himself (like me, Frank Fleming is an outspoken Christian); they make sense for the main character, but I don't get why they exist outside of that.

All that said, I gave the book 4 stars because I did enjoy it a lot despite my issues with it. It's a fun popcorn action flick in book form, with interspersed bits of interesting observations about the world from a cynical main character who's learning that maybe he should care about, well, something. I'll probably read the sequels at some point.

[Bill Krieger · Rating 3 out of 5]

 
Superego is good, not great. I'm rolling with a (shaky) 3 bill-star rating.

First, I am a big fan of the author, Fleming. He is a "Senior Writer" for the Babylon Bee, which is a very funny satire website, https://babylonbee.com/about. Also, we learn in his notes after the story that he's a nerd: "Frank is a Carnegie Mellon University graduate and works as an electrical and software engineer when he's not writing. He lives in Austin with his wife and four kids and is a really cool dude." Excellent!

OK, I like Superego, but it's a tweener. It's sort of pulp fiction, sort of a regular novel. It has elements of science fiction, action, and drama. It's funny, but not really that funny. Etc. You get the idea.

So, there are parts I liked: humor, raunchy, ultra-violent. Overall, it's a light, enjoyable read. The first person narrator, however, is very emotionally flat. That's sort of the hook; that our anti-hero (Rico Vargas, ha) doesn't care about anything, and that makes us care less about him. This sociopath angle is a constant theme and drains energy from the book.

QOTD

After I used him to break the coffee table, I threw my full body weight into a blow to the side of his knee, shattering it and making sure he wouldn't try to get back up.

"Sorry for the rough introduction," I said, keeping my voice quite calm, "but I wanted to make it clear that I am a very violent person who is going to kill you."

- Rico, Superego

A good read. thanks...yow, bill

PS – Um. Babylon Bee is hysterical: https://twitter.com/TheBabylonBee/sta...

 

[Kyle Massin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened on Audible

Would you listen to SuperEgo again? Why?
No, I mean to be fair I probably would not listen to most audio books again, It is a lot of time and I would rather listen to new books.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?
Was probably the vastness of the universe. So far my audio books have comprised of Martian, Memoir, Cibola Burn. So all fantastic books in their own right. However none have been galactic in scale. So it was interesting in that there is all sorts of fun and weird creatures and races in the universe.

What three words best describe Joel Richards’s performance?
I was initially very unimpressed. I thought I may have made a mistake with this book. However after seeing reviews I was interested. As the book goes on I feel any lack of performance on his part is due to the writing. It is not bad but compared to the above mentioned books it is not as smart haha. That being said as the book goes on you realize Joel is doing the best he can. The writing is not bad do not get me wrong but I have just been spoiled with my previous listens. As the book goes on you realize that Rico is not the most emotional being so when Joel gets the ability to expand his performance through the new characters you realize the first few chapters are just Joel being Rico. He did a good job and I ended up getting invested in the characters. I will be looking up Joel's other works and check him out again.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
No Morals, No Problem

Any additional comments?
This book starts off slow and Joel sounds like he phones it in. However as the book gets going you realize Rico in general is emotionless and just going through life. Once the cast expands Joel brings them to life. Not the most intelligent book but sometimes you just need to turn your brain off and enjoy it. I ended up very much enjoying this book. Would I recommend? If on a deep sale sure or if you like these types of books of course. It is very different from my previous reads. If another book comes out I would pick it up in a heartbeat.

[Chris Esposo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent book sci-fi book about a sociopathic hit man finding his "humanity". As saccharine as that reads, it only ever verges as such towards the end. Most of the book does a decent job conveying the internal dialogue of an amoral ultra-rational individual as he meanders his way through various conflicts. Although it never really hits the real disturbing level, which is good, since this is meant to be a more light-hearted book.

The book leaves the possibility open of having a sequel, which I'd be open to checking out. Not much "world building" here which is counter to much modern sci-fi, and the story is only real sci-fi on its outer veneer, it could have been placed in modern times with some moderately non-trivial modifications to the plot.

Conditional recommend as light summer reading

[Trish R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good book. I was a little skeptical at first because Rico was clearly a killer and didn't seem to care who he killed. But then he had to pretend to be a cop from another planet and started killing terrorists. And that's where he met Diane, another cop. One reviewer said Diane was an "avid Christian," which couldn't have been further from the truth. She went to church to try to be a better person because she wasn't bothered so much when she killed the bad guys and that bothered her. She was a great match for Rico.

Romance was nothing and so was the swearing, which I thought was really stupid. A book of killers and no one swore? C'mon. I'm not sure I want to read the second book. But you never know how it changed since it took almost 5 years to write the second book.

As for the narration: Joel Richards did an awesome job. He read the book perfectly.

[R. Andrew Lamonica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hitman finds Jesus in the far future was not what I expected. The writing was not bad, but the plot was predictable and boring and the main character failed to be sympathetic or interesting. Perhaps this could be seen as some kind of conservative allegory. But, aside from being vaguely anti-government, vaguely pro-christian, and vaguely disapproving of women-who-do-not-dress-modestly it doesn't even really promote an ideology.

I'm not sure why it gets as many stars as it does. Maybe something happens later in the series that is worth reading. But, since the only character I found fun explodes in the final pages, I will never know.

[Kristin. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting yarn with great characters

Superego was fun from the first sentence! The main character is a contract killer for an interplanetary agency. As negative as that might sound, Rico ends up following his next assignment where he becomes a hero, much to his chagrin! He meets Diane, a rather rogue cop, and he develops feelings for her- a first for him because of the genetic adjustments made to his embryonic self. True emotions had been engineered out of him. The story never dulls!

[Dominyk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly it was very tedious - and not in an interesting way - as the author tried to describe emotions and normal human interactions through the mind of a sociopath.

Also while the action was good, it was described in unimaginative shorthand ("so I shot him") that lacked actual tension or excitement.

[Theodore H Ung · Rating 3 out of 5]

Echoes of The Puppet Masters

Learning Rico's origin was a bolt out of the blue. His flat affect gave the whole story a shade of narrative grey. My ratings staff at one, if I get to the end; two, if I didn't suffer. Three means I might seem another in a series, or by the same author.

[Evaggelos Balaskas · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's like Dexter meets The Professional directed by John Woo in Space killing bad aliens & humans!

Much enjoyable, written in a humoristic way the emotional self-awareness journey of an genetic engineered hitman that tries to kill them all and find love at the same time with the help of moral AI that tries to keep him on track.

What not to like ?

[Zade · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fleming's world-building is solid and believable. His protagonist, while not exactly someone you'd want to hang out with, is sympathetic enough. The plot is action-based and moves along well. This is a fun book and has enough thought-provoking elements to raise it above the level of mere fluff.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun ride

A great story, funny, smart, with interesting plot twists, and a decent treatment of religious belief. Light on science, but a great exploration of human psychology and how we relate to one another

[Bonhomous · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting

It's going to take me some time to process.
How to take an unredeemable character and have him be redeemed without getting too melodramatic. There might have been some melodrama, but I enjoyed the read.

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Light sci fi - it takes place on another planet but that’s actually semi-irrelevant to the plot, which is a hitman falls in love. There’s some funny writing in it but for a Christian author I was disappointed in some of the content he included.

[Jacob Heiner · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not worth the time. The author tried to have a sociopathic protagonist but really ended up with an unlikable butthole.

[Mike Klein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable

Not your run of the mill science fiction story. And it isn't afraid to take big ideas while still being very entertaining.

[Soima Traian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting

A very realistic first person view of the mind of a sociopath hit man of the future, with excellently crafted characters, lots of action, and unpredictable plot twists.

[David J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Entertaining!

I loved Mr Fleming's humor and unique approach to shining his own particular shade of light on the human condition...