From the Bookshelf of What is Life without Books…

Old School Evil

Brian Cave

Start date: July 1, 2021

Finish date: September 30, 2021

Discussion: Books We Read Together

Find A Copy At

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of -1 topics — 141 comments total

Books We Read Together

Indie Books vote here 2025
By Aly , Book Monster and group creator · 31 posts · 44 views

last updated Sep 28, 2025 02:43PM

Let's vote A List Books 2025
By Aly , Book Monster and group creator · 11 posts · 23 views

last updated Sep 03, 2025 12:16PM

showing 1 of 1 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Jun 19, 2020 Jeremy Jones rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2020

The wacky 80’s Saturday Morning cartoon villains you knew and loved didn’t go away, they just got old.

Tucked away in the Hidden Brook retirement home Max Malice, former head of an army of mutated dog-people, the Muttants, is forming a plan to escape. But to do that he will need his long-lost son, Jayce who, himself, is clinging to the edge of society. Homeless and living from one day to the next his life changes when one of his father’s henchmen makes an attempt on his life.

Malice sends his son The wacky 80’s Saturday Morning cartoon villains you knew and loved didn’t go away, they just got old.

Tucked away in the Hidden Brook retirement home Max Malice, former head of an army of mutated dog-people, the Muttants, is forming a plan to escape. But to do that he will need his long-lost son, Jayce who, himself, is clinging to the edge of society. Homeless and living from one day to the next his life changes when one of his father’s henchmen makes an attempt on his life.

Malice sends his son on a mission to find the other proteges from his fellow retired supervillains. But in the process, Jayce discovers a world that he only thought existed in cartoons.

The only real downside I see to this book is that there is a cultural experience required to fully enjoy this book. And that is being a kid in the ’80s sitting cross-legged on the living room floor in your pajamas on a Saturday morning with a bowl of sugar cereal watching those action-adventure cartoons. The ones where bad guys are thwarted week after week by a team of heroes who constantly remind us about the Power of Friendship (awww)

Luckily, being a child during that time and place, I really dug this. And, frankly, anyone with even a tangential idea of the genre will be able to appreciate this story. But the subtle themes, references, and over-all style might be lost on someone who didn’t grow up with those glorified toy commercials. The author clearly has a deep love for them and it shows.

There are a couple of points where I feel like the plot gets away from the characters and their motivation becomes a little muddy. Especially in the middle, I found myself trying to remember what exactly they were trying to accomplish and why.

But, overall, I really enjoyed this. The over-the-top characters, the ludicrous technology, the inexplicable plot twists, the brooding villians, and the inept henchmen, all of it is captured wonderfully in this story about a young man coming to grips with who he is. And, not to give anything away, the big reveal at the end was really, really well done. Why did an entire generation grow up with heroes like G.I. Joe, Thundercats, He-Man, She-Ra, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, etc. The answer lies in Old School Evil. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

May 22, 2018 Bleakly marked it as to-read

May 29, 2018 Kim marked it as to-read

Jun 23, 2021 Macey marked it as to-read

Sep 27, 2021 E.F. marked it as to-read

Group Home Bookshelf Discussions

Photos Videos

Send invite Members Polls