Mayhem and Madness: Chronicles of a Teenaged Supervillain

by J.A. Dauber

Bailey never meant to be the bad guy in the bulletproof robotic suit, but with every mission he gets closer to finding his father . . . and he can't stop now.

Bailey is a pretty average teenager in a pretty average town. He runs track, gets decent grades, and has an unrequited crush. So what is a super-powered flying suit of computerized armor doing twenty feet under his boring suburban home? Bailey needs to know where it came from, if it belonged to his long-missing father, and most importantly, if it can be used to bring his dad back.

This lightning-fast adventure inspired by classic comic book tales pushes a good kid to his limits and questions the difference between a hero and a villain. One day he's getting beat up by the captain of the football team, the next day he's robbing banks on Fifth Avenue, stealing diamonds from Tiffany's, and zooming through aerial dogfights. But how much bad is Bailey willing to do to bring his dad home safely?

For fans of Iron Man, superhero stories, and dark humor.

Genres: Science Fiction, Superheroes, Young Adult, Crime, Young Adult Science Fiction, Adventure

304 pages, Hardcover

Published August 13, 2019

Reviews

[Helena Echlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this action-packed adventure tale and its many twists and turns. Bailey is a high-school student whose dad went missing in fourth grade. One day he accidentally discovers a bunker twenty feet under his house, containing “Mayhem,” a bulletproof robot suit that was famously used to rob banks (spoils went to the poor). Thanks to the scientific genius of its creator, Mayhem has a full complement of superpowers and Bailey can’t resist trying it out. Soon he’s in league with the mysterious “Mr. Jones” who wants to help Bailey rescue his dad from the Bloody Front, a bunch of evil terrorists. But Mr. Jones is not all he seems and Bailey must figure out the truth with the help of best friend Caroline, a fellow fan of The Great British Bake-Off and Star Trek (useful when she has to decipher a coded message in Klingon). Expect tons of zany humor and a little romance, though it’s not easy getting a girl to accompany you to the winter formal when you’re trying to stop a villain from blowing up the world. This fresh and funny story is a must-read for fans of the spy and superhero genre.

[Teresa Bateman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A missing father, a distracted mother, a best friend who is a girl but not the unavailable girl you are crushing on--hey, being a teenager can be challenging. Now add in a newly discovered room in the basement that contains a robotic suit and things can become really complicated. The person wearing this suit, known as Mayhem, was responsible for bank robberies, but disappeared when Bailey's father went missing. Now the teen is intrigued and trying the suit out for himself. Little does he know that it will put him in the power of an evil genius, force him to commit crimes, lead to deaths, and reveal some interesting truths about his own family. Oh, and the reader is being set up for a sequel. Told in the first person in an oral journal style, this lets Bailey tell the story while also expressing how he feels about it. Combine Iron Man with a teenage Spider Man mentality, and toss in a strong incentive to break the law, and you've pretty much got Bailey. This is aimed at secondary readers, and superhero fans will enjoy it.

[Koki de la Vega (Author-to-be) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don't take my rating as a reflection of the book's quality. The writing was actually well done (reminded me heavily of Rick Riordan's narrating style).

I was just expecting the main character to be more like Artemis Fowl combined with Dirk Lloyd from the Dark Lord books - teen bad guy with high tech gear. Instead, the main character, Bailey, is doing 'bad guy' stuff to save his dad (so he's actually a good guy).

So my rating is just for me only. I gave it a 2 out of 5 because I got bored and didn't finish (but I think others might like it more than I did. I just prefer my baddies to be more bad).

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in one sitting and couldn't put it down. I immediately ordered a copy for my nephew. I was particularly drawn to the idea that the book was inspired by classic comic books, and feeling a bit nostalgic, was curious to see if the author was able to bring the thrill and excitement of those classic comic books to life in his work. He did. His tale was captivating, and he ended the book in a way that would suggest a sequel, which I am very much looking forward to reading as well!

[Maddy Hoffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thrilling! Such a fun ride. Devoured it in under a week and can't wait for another.

[Acontadacarol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh... Kind of mediocre, the story felt kind of empty, like parts that were really dramatic and suppost to hit hard didn't do much, plus I think the choice of having Bailey narrate the whole thing in-universe took away from the story a lot. Like for the first half, until the story caught up to the teaser at the beginning was alright, but from then on is a mess of "this happened like this", and "im telling you about it here", and "this is about to happen". For such an action packed story, it felt really underwhelming to not be allowed to follow the hero in real time.
That being said tho i read the entire thing because i still liked it of course, the premise is really interesting, the plot twist was actually good and i love how the book was never afraid to have shit actually go wrong, as it realistically would in a situation like this.
Very angsty, fun read, just the writing was a bit lacking.

[Brianna M · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was written as if it's being spoken aloud by a teenager and honestly, does sound like it. It succeeded what it was trying to do, but I have to say, it did feel like mostly a summary instead of a story. A lot of "Mum told me to take out the laundry," instead of " 'Could you take out the laundry?' asked Mum."

Again, that was the feel the book was aiming for. It succeeded, sounded how someone would describe an event agterwards instead of living through the event. It did just feel like a summary.

But there were a couple of fun twists. I enjoyed the general concept of the suit. Bailey did feel very much like a teenager.

[Aiyannagenus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would recommend this book to anybody who is interested in coming of age books. Mayhem and madness is full of suspense and many other emotions as you read through the book. You can get to know the characters and their intentions and very well displays the life of a teenage Bailey. While finding out that his dad was kidnapped he goes to his dads rescue. I thought that this was such an interesting concept. When he found out that he had to rob banks to get money just to save his dad, he would be ending up on the news, people would mistake Mayhem for evil. But little did they know he was only trying to save his dad.

[Aeryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the concept. Boy with a missing father grows up to realize his father was once the city's biggest supervillain. It sounds wonderful! Unfortunately, I couldn't get behind the writing style. It was well written, I just believe the issue I had with it was the structuring of said writing. If I were to get into petty details, I would have to say that I also did not find Bailey likable as a main character, even if that was some sort of hidden objective. I have nothing against the author, I just wish to voice my opinion.

[Abbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This supervillain story by J. A. Dauber is comic book inspired and will appeal readers who enjoy first person action. It was ok but not my favorite. I wanted Bailey to deal more with the unintended consequences of his actions.

Read more at Bookish Adventures.

[Nate Menia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main character is Bailey, a teenager. After his dad disappeared, he was depressed. when Mr. Jones tells him that Baily's dad is with the bloody front, Mr. Jones "Helps" him find his dad. Mr. Jones is actually planning to double-cross Baily. Can Baily use the suit to save his dad?

[Zachary M. Solomon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wowzer's a Terrific read

It's very rare for me to have so much fun Reading a book. Good dialog And twists and turns Aplenty

[Sean Clancy]

It was a good book if you like super bid robot suits fighting people I liked it very much

[Jennifer Wrage · Rating 2 out of 5]

FYI: I won this book on goodreads.com. I found this book hard to get in to. The characters and plot just never developed in the way I had hoped. I had a difficult time finishing it.

[Abdou djermakoye · Rating 2 out of 5]

the story was nice at first but it quickly got boring. This may be due to the fact that i don't like to read. this story is sad and got me very sad. this story is full of surprises

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh

[Kosh Gott · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found I didn't like any of the characters, not even in the villain-protagonist kind of way. DNFed at about 50%.