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Marshall Conrad: A Superhero Tale
Someone is murdering the good people of Greenfield, and there’s talk of a serial killer on the loose. Finding him should be an easy job for a guy with super-powers; too bad he keeps falling out of the sky. If Marshall Conrad has any hope of ending the killing spree, he’ll need a little help from a morbidly obese shop keeper (who just happens to be a witch) and a hard-drinking senior citizen with a penchant for lifting heavy objects… like auto- mobiles. Corrupt cops, ogres, thirty-six-year-old Siamese cats, and of course, the netherworld. All in a day’s work when you’re trying to save your city from a simmering evil that’s about to be unleashed.
276 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 2, 2009
12 people are currently reading
114 people want to read
About the author
Sean Cummings
41 books132 followersSean Cummings is a fantasy author with published works ranging from traditional urban fantasy to the zombie apocalypse. He lives in Saskatchewan Canada with his wife, a retired racing greyhound and a huge spotted dog.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
February 23, 2009
Marshall Conrad is not a superhero. Oh sure, he can fly, has unnatural strength, can move things kinetically, and spends a lot of his time protecting the citizens of Greenfield from would-be criminals, but he's still just a stubborn and anti-social middle-aged crank. After all, it's not like he wears a costume or has a special crime-fighting name.
Reading the first chapter, I wasn't sure how well I'd take to the main character. Marshall is sarcastic, grumpy, and doesn't care much about what other people think or feel. What could have made for an incredibly annoying protagonist, though, actually made him more endearing and relatable. Nearly everyone hates their job; so does Marshall, and he'll tell you all the reasons flying and crimefighting aren't what they're cracked up to be. The book is first person narrative, liberally peppered with Marshall's sarcastic thoughts and observations, and the strong voice is a big part of what makes the book so readable.
And readable it is. Fast-paced with colourful characters, Unseen World is sometimes gritty and sometimes witty but always a lot of fun. Cummings has packed a lot into only 257 pages, and every single one of them flew past at the speed of a reluctant superhero.
Since I haven't gone into the secondary characters yet, let me take a moment to mention how much I loved them. Marshall has to deal with an inquisitive upstairs neighbour/love interest, an old woman with a penchant for alcohol who just might be more sarcastic than even he is, a friendly shopkeeping witch full of interesting secrets and contacts, and an overweight cat who may or may not be a double agent. Not one of them wound up being quite what you expected upon first encountering them, and they made for some loveable complications to Marshall's life.
If I have a complaint, it's that there was a whole lot going on. Yeah, I know, usually it's a good thing, but there were so many new characters and ideas being introduced, it was at times a little overwhelming. New kinds of critters or magic from the unseen world would show up, have a little bit of explanation, and then disappear again, and I think the book might have benefited if some of these introductions were saved for future volumes. There were just enough minor loose ends to indicate this is the beginning of a series, so there's plenty of time for future worldbuilding.
Basically, though, I enjoyed reading and have to say this is a great book to pick up if you're into urban fantasy but are over the vampires and werethings prowling around most of them. Or, y'know, if you like urban fantasy at all, really. (The tone is reminiscent of Harry Dresden, but without the overt sexism or aggressive-to-the-point-of-stupidity moments.) The superhero aspect gives just enough of a twist to keep the story from turning into the same thing we've all read a few too many times, and Cummings's writing keeps you in the world, reading "just one more chapter" until you discover you've finished the entire book.
Reading the first chapter, I wasn't sure how well I'd take to the main character. Marshall is sarcastic, grumpy, and doesn't care much about what other people think or feel. What could have made for an incredibly annoying protagonist, though, actually made him more endearing and relatable. Nearly everyone hates their job; so does Marshall, and he'll tell you all the reasons flying and crimefighting aren't what they're cracked up to be. The book is first person narrative, liberally peppered with Marshall's sarcastic thoughts and observations, and the strong voice is a big part of what makes the book so readable.
And readable it is. Fast-paced with colourful characters, Unseen World is sometimes gritty and sometimes witty but always a lot of fun. Cummings has packed a lot into only 257 pages, and every single one of them flew past at the speed of a reluctant superhero.
Since I haven't gone into the secondary characters yet, let me take a moment to mention how much I loved them. Marshall has to deal with an inquisitive upstairs neighbour/love interest, an old woman with a penchant for alcohol who just might be more sarcastic than even he is, a friendly shopkeeping witch full of interesting secrets and contacts, and an overweight cat who may or may not be a double agent. Not one of them wound up being quite what you expected upon first encountering them, and they made for some loveable complications to Marshall's life.
If I have a complaint, it's that there was a whole lot going on. Yeah, I know, usually it's a good thing, but there were so many new characters and ideas being introduced, it was at times a little overwhelming. New kinds of critters or magic from the unseen world would show up, have a little bit of explanation, and then disappear again, and I think the book might have benefited if some of these introductions were saved for future volumes. There were just enough minor loose ends to indicate this is the beginning of a series, so there's plenty of time for future worldbuilding.
Basically, though, I enjoyed reading and have to say this is a great book to pick up if you're into urban fantasy but are over the vampires and werethings prowling around most of them. Or, y'know, if you like urban fantasy at all, really. (The tone is reminiscent of Harry Dresden, but without the overt sexism or aggressive-to-the-point-of-stupidity moments.) The superhero aspect gives just enough of a twist to keep the story from turning into the same thing we've all read a few too many times, and Cummings's writing keeps you in the world, reading "just one more chapter" until you discover you've finished the entire book.
May 29, 2016
I think this is a 3.5 for me, so I'm rounding up to 4 stars.
Marshall Conrad is a 40-something grumpy bloke. He lives with Walter, an overweight Siamese cat, and makes a living designing websites and selling things on Ebay. In his spare time, he's a superhero. He spends his nights thwarting crime and protecting the town of Greenfield. He can fly—well, mostly; sometimes his power deserts him and he falls out of the sky. He's somewhat psychic—he learns of crimes via foresight that comes with a vicious migraine. He's incredibly strong—providing his powers are actually working. He's sarcastic as all hell, and he absolutely does not wear spandex. Oh, and Walter may be a double agent.
But Marshall is stumped when a teenager is murdered, and he had no prior knowledge of it. He attends the police press conference to try to learn more, and meets Stella, local curiosity shop owner and witch. Through her, he learns that he is a Vanguard, a powerful being, and that there is a lot more to this world, and others, that he had never dreamed of. Then Ruby arrives; she's a tiny, hard-drinking pensioner who's tough as nails and can wipe the floor with Marshall. she's there to train him, but as more murders reveal the existence of a supernatural serial killer, time is running out for Marshall. Add in the complication of his interefering, but incredibly sexy, upstairs neighbour, Marnie, and Marshall's life is suddenly really complicated.
This was a darkly humorous urban fantasy, that steered clear of vampires and shifters, but did bring in magic, faeries and ogres. The small cast of characters are all strong, well-drawn individuals, each with their own quirks and flaws. The plot took a little while to get going, but moved along at a good pace once it did. There's a rich mythology throughout the book, and it was an interesting mix of superhero and supernatural. The humour is quite dark and very dry, which might not be to everyone's taste, but I appreciated it. This was certainly entertaining, and the combination of urban fantasy and superhero (who didn't necessarily want to be one and didn't really know how he did things or what was going on) worked rather well.
Marshall Conrad is a 40-something grumpy bloke. He lives with Walter, an overweight Siamese cat, and makes a living designing websites and selling things on Ebay. In his spare time, he's a superhero. He spends his nights thwarting crime and protecting the town of Greenfield. He can fly—well, mostly; sometimes his power deserts him and he falls out of the sky. He's somewhat psychic—he learns of crimes via foresight that comes with a vicious migraine. He's incredibly strong—providing his powers are actually working. He's sarcastic as all hell, and he absolutely does not wear spandex. Oh, and Walter may be a double agent.
But Marshall is stumped when a teenager is murdered, and he had no prior knowledge of it. He attends the police press conference to try to learn more, and meets Stella, local curiosity shop owner and witch. Through her, he learns that he is a Vanguard, a powerful being, and that there is a lot more to this world, and others, that he had never dreamed of. Then Ruby arrives; she's a tiny, hard-drinking pensioner who's tough as nails and can wipe the floor with Marshall. she's there to train him, but as more murders reveal the existence of a supernatural serial killer, time is running out for Marshall. Add in the complication of his interefering, but incredibly sexy, upstairs neighbour, Marnie, and Marshall's life is suddenly really complicated.
This was a darkly humorous urban fantasy, that steered clear of vampires and shifters, but did bring in magic, faeries and ogres. The small cast of characters are all strong, well-drawn individuals, each with their own quirks and flaws. The plot took a little while to get going, but moved along at a good pace once it did. There's a rich mythology throughout the book, and it was an interesting mix of superhero and supernatural. The humour is quite dark and very dry, which might not be to everyone's taste, but I appreciated it. This was certainly entertaining, and the combination of urban fantasy and superhero (who didn't necessarily want to be one and didn't really know how he did things or what was going on) worked rather well.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 23, 2010
First off, I have to say that I've been a huge fan of Sean Cummings since I read Shade Fright and Funeral Pallor, books 1 and 2 in hia Valerie Stevens series. I was really excited when I found out he has a new book coming out. Unseen World is the first book in the Marshall Conrad series.
The first chapter of Unseen World is a blog post written by Marshall Conrad. The main character is claiming that he wants to explain the strange events that have been happening in Greenfield. From that post, we get a very small glimpse of what will be happening in the rest of the book. It's a very original way to start the book. I was definitely intrigued and hooked. No need to say that I knew from the first chapter that Unseen World was going to be a very enjoyable read and it turns out I was right.
Marshall Conrad is a crime-fighting middle-aged guy with a few unusual abilities. He can fly...most of the time, he has super strength and psychic abilities. He's also a self-described hermit living with his thirty-six-year-old Siamese cat with secrets of its own.
In order to save Greenfield and survive the summer solstice, Marshall needs the help of an obese shop keeper who also happens to be a witch, an old drinking lady and a young upstairs neighbor who is also Marshall's love interest despite that he's old enough to be her dad and she sometimes annoys him. All the characters are very fun and diverse.
One of the things I particularly enjoy with this book is that it's not your typical urban fantasy novel. There's no vampires or shape shifters like we're used to read about these days in this genre. Unseen World is very unique and refreshing.
The book is written in a first person narrative and it's packed with humor, witty dialogues and action. Unseen World does not disappoint. It's a great book for readers loving urban fantasy novels. For those of you who've read the Valerie Stevens series (I sure hope you did, if not you're really missing out on some awesome reads!), I think you'll find Unseen World to be as fun and enjoyable.
So if you're looking for a great read to start the new year, pick up Unseen World which comes out in January.
The first chapter of Unseen World is a blog post written by Marshall Conrad. The main character is claiming that he wants to explain the strange events that have been happening in Greenfield. From that post, we get a very small glimpse of what will be happening in the rest of the book. It's a very original way to start the book. I was definitely intrigued and hooked. No need to say that I knew from the first chapter that Unseen World was going to be a very enjoyable read and it turns out I was right.
Marshall Conrad is a crime-fighting middle-aged guy with a few unusual abilities. He can fly...most of the time, he has super strength and psychic abilities. He's also a self-described hermit living with his thirty-six-year-old Siamese cat with secrets of its own.
In order to save Greenfield and survive the summer solstice, Marshall needs the help of an obese shop keeper who also happens to be a witch, an old drinking lady and a young upstairs neighbor who is also Marshall's love interest despite that he's old enough to be her dad and she sometimes annoys him. All the characters are very fun and diverse.
One of the things I particularly enjoy with this book is that it's not your typical urban fantasy novel. There's no vampires or shape shifters like we're used to read about these days in this genre. Unseen World is very unique and refreshing.
The book is written in a first person narrative and it's packed with humor, witty dialogues and action. Unseen World does not disappoint. It's a great book for readers loving urban fantasy novels. For those of you who've read the Valerie Stevens series (I sure hope you did, if not you're really missing out on some awesome reads!), I think you'll find Unseen World to be as fun and enjoyable.
So if you're looking for a great read to start the new year, pick up Unseen World which comes out in January.
February 6, 2015
I love mixed genres... this is a super hero story + an urban fantasy (witches and fairies) story. I enjoyed this book immensely, and am planning to read everything this author has written.
May 30, 2017
Surprise
As I was reading the first few chapters I was ready to put down a boring book. Then zap i was hooked.
Marshall conrad turned out to be an interesting character. I really enjoyed reading the rest of the book. It was action packed.
I am looking forward to reading more of his adventures.
As I was reading the first few chapters I was ready to put down a boring book. Then zap i was hooked.
Marshall conrad turned out to be an interesting character. I really enjoyed reading the rest of the book. It was action packed.
I am looking forward to reading more of his adventures.
September 26, 2018
8 out of 10
it was pretty good.. W i l l W a i t f o r s e q u e l
it was pretty good.. W i l l W a i t f o r s e q u e l
February 13, 2020
Very fun
Not you normal superhero but so much fun to read. I liked his grit and enjoyed his learning about his new world.
Not you normal superhero but so much fun to read. I liked his grit and enjoyed his learning about his new world.
April 1, 2018
This started promisingly and I liked the central character being a curmudgeonly middle-aged superhero, but then it goes a bit two-dimensional (his 20 years younger neighbour and himself fall in love with each other, despite not having much in common or much time on the page together) and ends with a cascade of sudden and pointless twists that sort of leave you wondering what the point of it all was.
December 29, 2014
Entertaining but needs editing and a bit of refinement
This was a fun read. Generally action packed story with some interesting twists on traditional memes. But there were some obvious misspelled words or homophones used incorrectly. Also, the main character's development could have used a bit more time. Overall, I recommend the book and I would like to see a sequel but I would hope for a bit more character development and time to build explanations for the implausible bits of the story.
This was a fun read. Generally action packed story with some interesting twists on traditional memes. But there were some obvious misspelled words or homophones used incorrectly. Also, the main character's development could have used a bit more time. Overall, I recommend the book and I would like to see a sequel but I would hope for a bit more character development and time to build explanations for the implausible bits of the story.
February 10, 2011
Review coming soon!
August 5, 2014
Delightfully witty and thoughtful. Now I must find other stories by the author.
January 30, 2015
Unusual
I really liked the pace of the book. All the elements came together. The characters we unusual and likable. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes fantasy books
I really liked the pace of the book. All the elements came together. The characters we unusual and likable. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes fantasy books
July 28, 2018
A little too angry, a little too bitter for me too like. As in some inconsistencies that kept distracting me from the sorry and you get an okay superhero book, but nothing great.
July 28, 2015
Fun read. Hope for another one.
November 21, 2016
Amusing fantasy novel with a well thought out anti-hero. Cost me 2 Euros at a book fair, read it cover to cover on a rainy Sunday.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews