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Spider-Man: The Gathering of the Sinister Six

(Sinister Six #1)

Adam-Troy Castro,

Tim Paige (Narrator)

4.07 · Rating details · 111 ratings · 8 reviews

On several occasions, a half-dozen of Spider-Man's greatest enemies have banded together as the Sinister Six. Now, at the behest of a deadly benefactor known only as the Gentleman, the Chameleon has been tasked with assembling a new Sinister Six with the most ambitious scheme yet! Soon, he has recruited the Vulture, freed Electro and Dr. Octopus from prison, and been joine ...more

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Published October 1st 2019 by Dreamscape Media (first published March 1st 1999)

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· 111 ratings · 8 reviews

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Mar 10, 2020 Thomas rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020, superhero

Superhero comic book stories are straight-up bonkers. I'm not sure how I haven't really noticed this before, especially after seeing Alan Moore deconstruct them so well in Supreme, but when an author summarizes all the events that have happened to a given character when introducing them in his story, it gives attention to it. I mean, Razorback the character should be a clue, but when you find out he went to space and fought Thanos ... well, sometimes I'm a little dense.

I think part of what Castr ...more

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Mar 05, 2020 NephriteON rated it really liked it

Shelves: reviewed, comics-audios

The following review was published in the online newspaper The Orkney News in March 2020. Link here. https://theorkneynews.scot/2020/03/21...

Spider-Man: The Gathering Of The Sinister Six by Adam-Troy Castro

Hello again to my readers! I think it’s time I return to the realm of auditory superheroes. So why don’t I bring us back to the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man? Unlike last time with Spider-Man: The Darkest Hours this isn’t an adaptation of a comic book storyline but – as far as I can make o ...more

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Feb 19, 2021 Adam Graham rated it really liked it

The first of the Sinister Six trilogy of text novels by Adam-Troy Castro finds a sinister "Gentleman" gathering together the Sinister Six, but one of them-Mysterio is launching a deadly plot of his own against the acting community.

I have to admit that this book did kind of pull the rug out from under me. Initially, at the start of the book, the focus was on the Gentleman, his cruelty, and his plan to take on Spider-man for reasons unknown, as well as to destroy the city and somehow reap a handso ...more

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Jan 25, 2018 Stephen Holtman rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is the first book in the Sinister six trilogy. It’s about how this criminal mastermind known as the Gentlemen tries to assemble the afore mentioned Sinister Six, while at the same time, Mysterio wrecks havoc on various movie related places such as sets, movie theatres and Etc.. This book was great because it gave you a glimpse into what happens in the Superhero’s life without straying too far from the points that we are use to. I don’t want to completely ruin what happens. Because it has en ...more

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Jul 18, 2014 Jaq Greenspon rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2014, fantasy, lithuania, science-fiction

I'm not sure if I've ever actually read a prose version of an actual comic character which wasn't a novelization of a film (I read the original Superman novel back in the 70s) but I love comics (and this book was written by Adam-troy Castro, an acquaintance) so I figured I'd give it a shot.

It's good. It's also the first book of a trilogy and so sets things up nicely for the next two installments. In this one, a mysterious villain known only as The Gentleman (original to this series of books) is I'm not sure if I've ever actually read a prose version of an actual comic character which wasn't a novelization of a film (I read the original Superman novel back in the 70s) but I love comics (and this book was written by Adam-troy Castro, an acquaintance) so I figured I'd give it a shot.

It's good. It's also the first book of a trilogy and so sets things up nicely for the next two installments. In this one, a mysterious villain known only as The Gentleman (original to this series of books) is reforming the supervillain team of ever changing members, The Sinister Six (This time around featuring Dr. Octopus, The Chameleon, Electro, The Vulture, Mysterio and Pity, who is the new kid on the block). The problem is Mysterio, who has his own agenda to deal with before he can commit to the team. And that agenda is to destroy the lives and/or careers of the people who mocked his directorial debut in Hollywood. As motivations go, it's not a bad one. Of course, things get personal when the first victim is an old friend of Mary Jane Watson-Parker, wife of Peter Parker who is also The Amazing Spider-Man. This drags our hero into the fray with his own set of motivations beyond the simplistic idea it's his job to save people.

The book moves along at a good pace, never really feeling like a novel of over 300 pages. Castro really captures the flavor of Spidey's personality while at the same time allowing us inside his head to feel his fear when his wife is in danger. He also fills the books with innumerable nods and winks to popular culture, other marvel comics, and even characters from that other company which also does superheroes. I got a fair few of them but I guarantee I didn't get them all. But they are not so intrusive that if you don't get them you don't feel like you're being left out of the joke. Instead, you just read straight past them. If you do catch it, though, it's good for a momentary laugh before you move on.

Where I did have a slight problem, though, and why this gets a four and not a five, is twofold. One, there were some language issues. The amount of repetition of words and ideas did get intrusive after a while. It felt like the book needed one more pass from the copy editor since a lot of these particular passages had the feeling of making a change on one end of the sentence without cleaning up the other end - something we all do, but in this case should have been caught. The other problem had to do with Peter and Mary Jane's marriage. We get a lot of how in love they are and that's wonderful. As I said earlier, it's really nice to see Spider-man nervous not because he's fighting the bad guy, but because he's worried about getting home to the missus or, worse yet, she herself is in immediate danger and he can't afford to make a mistake. But then there are scenes where we get back story - like she was friends with the first of Mysterio's victims, which don't come out until they become major plot points. As a married couple, this seems to be one of those things which would have been discussed, especially since it started and was continuing during the time of the marriage. Further, there's a scene at a gloriously bad Broadway Musical (and a side kudos for nailing the musical-style lyrics) and we find out later Mary Jane was in the running for the lead of that particular play. As an actress, devoted to her husband, you would think he'd have been told she almost got the lead in huge broadway hit. We find out they had fights over here career path in the past so why did she never mention her prominent audition before the show was shut down by a bad guy?

It was these few moments which pushed me right out of the book. There weren't many, mind you, but enough that it left me a little disappointed, especially since the rest was so good. ...more

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Jun 20, 2015 Jim C rated it liked it · review of another edition

My actual rating is 3.5 stars.

This is the first book of a trilogy. It is a book that takes place in the Marvel universe. Even though the title suggests this would concern the Sinister Six, they are the minor storyline. This story concentrates on Mysterio and his plans to revenge on those who he believed that have wronged him in the past. Our favorite wall crawler plans to stop him.

This was an enjoyable read and this author has penned several books in this universe and I have not read a bad one f ...more

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Apr 30, 2011 David rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, science-fiction

I've grown up watching the Spider-Man animated series, and I thought I should give this book a try. However, it takes on a darker feel than the shows featuring the web-slinger. This book had certain elements that are completely different from the animated series, but still a good plot.
An old friend of Mary Jane's has died, and a lot of people are saddened. However, Mysterio appears at the funeral and mocks the man, attempting to murder the people on the site, but is stopped by Spider-Man. Mary J ...more

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Michael Rayzer rated it really liked it
Dec 15, 2016

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Feb 07, 2021

Apr 22, 2012 Jason rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Fantastic opening act in this very entertaining trilogy.

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About Adam-Troy Castro

Adam-Troy Castro

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Adam-Troy Castro made his first professional sale to Spy magazine in 1987. Since then, he's published 12 books and almost 80 short stories. Among those stories are "Baby Girl Diamond" (nominated for the Bram Stoker Award) and "The Funeral March of the Marionettes" (nominated for the Hugo and Nebula Awards in 1998). "The Astronaut from Wyoming," a collaboration with Jerry Oltion, appeared in Analog ...more