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Almost Infamous: A Supervillain Novel
Eighteen-year-old Aidan Salt isn’t a superhero. With his powerful (and unpredictable) telekinetic abilities he could be one if he wanted to, but he doesn’t. He’s unambitious, selfish, and cowardly, and he doesn’t want to have to deal with all the paperwork required to become a professional superhero. But since the money, fame, and women that come with wearing the cape are appealing, he decides to become the first supervillain the world has seen in more than twenty years: Apex Strike.
However, he soon finds villainy in a world where the heroes have long since defeated all the supervillains. While half the world’s heroes seem to want him dead, the other half want to hire him as their own personal villain to keep them relevant. Choosing the latter course, Aidan enters a world of fame, fortune, and staged superhero fights that is seemingly everything he ever dreamed of . . . at least until he sees what truly hides behind the cape-and-mask lifestyle.
However, he soon finds villainy in a world where the heroes have long since defeated all the supervillains. While half the world’s heroes seem to want him dead, the other half want to hire him as their own personal villain to keep them relevant. Choosing the latter course, Aidan enters a world of fame, fortune, and staged superhero fights that is seemingly everything he ever dreamed of . . . at least until he sees what truly hides behind the cape-and-mask lifestyle.
328 pages, Paperback
First published April 5, 2016
53 people are currently reading
763 people want to read
About the author
Matt Carter
13 books152 followersMatt Carter is an author of Horror, Sci-Fi, and Superhero fiction. He has used his lifelong love for writing, history and the bizarre to bring novels like Almost Infamous: A Supervillain Novel, Pinnacle City: A Superhero Noir (co-authored by his wife, Fiona J.R. Titchenell) and the Prospero Chronicles young adult horror series (also co-authored by Titchenell) to life. He is represented by Fran Black of Literary Counsel and lives in the usually sunny town of San Gabriel, CA with his wife and the myriad of strange fictional characters and worlds that live in his head.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
March 21, 2018
This was one of the stranger superhero/supervillan novels I've read in the genre. It read a bit like a male YA wish fulfilment story but the world Carter created still managed to be pretty cool and interesting and the story had a surprising amount of depth to it so it easily held my attention from start to finish.
This was set in a fairly typical superhero world. The twist was that the heroes of the modern age had eradicated the villains around 20 years before this book started in an initiative that had become known as The War on Villainy. All the supervillains either got killed or captured leaving only the heroes. 18 year old Aiden Salt is a kid going nowhere and so when he starts to develop powerful telekinetic abilities he decides it would be cooler, and easier, to become a supervillain than a superhero. Try-outs for the superhero teams are pretty tough! He dons the mantle of Apex Strike and tries to start a comeback for super-villainy. It goes wrong pretty fast and in a shockingly spectacular fashion! After that Aiden finds himself caught up in a conspiracy he never imagined was possible but that might still give him everything he wanted.
I did like the story. The plot was interesting and it had enough twists and turns to keep me fully engaged. Aiden was one of those weirdly likeable characters despite the fact that he was a bit of a waster and quite villainous at times.I felt like the secondary characters were good. A lot of them were interesting and most of them had a decent amount of depth to them. The story even touched on a few interesting topics like corruption, propaganda, mental health issues, and the problems within the criminal justice system while also managing to have a little fun parodying a few reality TV shows and things like Suicide Squad.
I liked a lot of what went on in the story but feel like I would have enjoyed this a whole lot more if some of the humor had been a bit less crude and if it did not have such a strong male wish fulfilment feel to the story. Aiden literally drinks, smokes, snorts, and fucks everything in sight as he makes the most of his fame. It was particularly annoying that ALL of the attractive female characters ended up in his bed. It made it feel like that was their only real purpose in the story which is a pity as a lot of them developed into strong enough characters towards the end of the book.
Despite having a decent amount of humor this was actually a fairly dark story. It never got too dark or bleak but there was a surprising amount of death, drug abuse, and manipulation that this always felt like quite a gritty story.
All in all I did enjoy this strange mix of a story but was left with the feeling that with just a few tweaks this could have jumped from "enjoyable" to "excellent".
Rating: 3.5 stars. I'm rounding up to 4 stars here on Goodreads as this really was quite readable.
Audio Note: I felt like Nicholas Techosky gave a great performance of the audio. He had decent character voices and seemed to get the tone of the story.
This was set in a fairly typical superhero world. The twist was that the heroes of the modern age had eradicated the villains around 20 years before this book started in an initiative that had become known as The War on Villainy. All the supervillains either got killed or captured leaving only the heroes. 18 year old Aiden Salt is a kid going nowhere and so when he starts to develop powerful telekinetic abilities he decides it would be cooler, and easier, to become a supervillain than a superhero. Try-outs for the superhero teams are pretty tough! He dons the mantle of Apex Strike and tries to start a comeback for super-villainy. It goes wrong pretty fast and in a shockingly spectacular fashion! After that Aiden finds himself caught up in a conspiracy he never imagined was possible but that might still give him everything he wanted.
I did like the story. The plot was interesting and it had enough twists and turns to keep me fully engaged. Aiden was one of those weirdly likeable characters despite the fact that he was a bit of a waster and quite villainous at times.I felt like the secondary characters were good. A lot of them were interesting and most of them had a decent amount of depth to them. The story even touched on a few interesting topics like corruption, propaganda, mental health issues, and the problems within the criminal justice system while also managing to have a little fun parodying a few reality TV shows and things like Suicide Squad.
I liked a lot of what went on in the story but feel like I would have enjoyed this a whole lot more if some of the humor had been a bit less crude and if it did not have such a strong male wish fulfilment feel to the story. Aiden literally drinks, smokes, snorts, and fucks everything in sight as he makes the most of his fame. It was particularly annoying that ALL of the attractive female characters ended up in his bed. It made it feel like that was their only real purpose in the story which is a pity as a lot of them developed into strong enough characters towards the end of the book.
Despite having a decent amount of humor this was actually a fairly dark story. It never got too dark or bleak but there was a surprising amount of death, drug abuse, and manipulation that this always felt like quite a gritty story.
All in all I did enjoy this strange mix of a story but was left with the feeling that with just a few tweaks this could have jumped from "enjoyable" to "excellent".
Rating: 3.5 stars. I'm rounding up to 4 stars here on Goodreads as this really was quite readable.
Audio Note: I felt like Nicholas Techosky gave a great performance of the audio. He had decent character voices and seemed to get the tone of the story.
February 6, 2017
That’s it. I tried. I really did. I have not gone down this path before, but I have decided that from this year I will not be wasting time I could have been spending on great books by trudging through awful ones. And so, without further ado, my first DNF award goes to Almost Infamous.
It started off promising with a mini history of superheroes and supervillains in this alternate version of the universe. This is a world where superpowers have always existed, well, at least since 1854, where superhuman existence was first acknowledged. A few lucky people who have manifested powers are not the sum of otherworldly beings on this planet though. There are beings called Atlantians and Lemurians, alien races that have invaded earth such as the Grays, the Traknet, and the Roball Empire, man-made villains thanks to mad-scientists and even Egyptian gods. Yup, the whole pantheon is walking the earth. Luckily, peace has been the order of the day since the War on Villainy ended. With nothing much else to do , superheroes have become the new celebrities, starring in movies, endorsing products and politicians whilst defeating the occasional attempts of new villains trying to make a name for themselves. These are easily dealt with though, and all is well in the world. The story’s protagonist, Aiden Salt, is just starting to come into his powers and sets out to become the first new supervillain in number of years. All good. Things go awry though, and he is captured, but not before displaying massive potential for his new profession. Then things get even more interesting. All is in fact, not so well in the world. All the great supervillains of the past are dead, captured, defeated. The good guys or superheroes are starting to be seen as irrelevant. Their funding and sponsorships are being cut, there are no more perceived threats, no more reason for them to be worshipped as gods among men. Fortunately for them, they have a plan. Aiden and other promising young villains that have been caught in the recent past are being sent off to a secret island where they will be trained to realize their full potential and then be pitted against minor superheroes in a contest of sorts. The prize? A spot as one of the seven members of a new team of supervillains that will bring back the fear and glory of the old days and along with it, the need for superheroes.
Sounds good right? Yep, I was all aboard. Hard to believe it could go wrong, but it did. It went south SO FAST. I almost want to give myself a pat on the back for sticking around till just past the halfway mark, but credit to the author for the secondary characters who managed to keep me going so long. Yep. The main character is a despicable, horrible, sleazy, sex-obsessed excuse for a human being. I know that he is the villain, or one of them, in this story, but I just could not stomach the guy and he made the book ultimately unbearable.
Matt Carter CAN write. The story was good, the writing was quick and funny and there was a lot of potential. I just HATED the main character and it ruined my enjoyment. Looking at the reviews I seem to be in the minority though, so if the plot suits your fancy definitely try it.
It started off promising with a mini history of superheroes and supervillains in this alternate version of the universe. This is a world where superpowers have always existed, well, at least since 1854, where superhuman existence was first acknowledged. A few lucky people who have manifested powers are not the sum of otherworldly beings on this planet though. There are beings called Atlantians and Lemurians, alien races that have invaded earth such as the Grays, the Traknet, and the Roball Empire, man-made villains thanks to mad-scientists and even Egyptian gods. Yup, the whole pantheon is walking the earth. Luckily, peace has been the order of the day since the War on Villainy ended. With nothing much else to do , superheroes have become the new celebrities, starring in movies, endorsing products and politicians whilst defeating the occasional attempts of new villains trying to make a name for themselves. These are easily dealt with though, and all is well in the world. The story’s protagonist, Aiden Salt, is just starting to come into his powers and sets out to become the first new supervillain in number of years. All good. Things go awry though, and he is captured, but not before displaying massive potential for his new profession. Then things get even more interesting. All is in fact, not so well in the world. All the great supervillains of the past are dead, captured, defeated. The good guys or superheroes are starting to be seen as irrelevant. Their funding and sponsorships are being cut, there are no more perceived threats, no more reason for them to be worshipped as gods among men. Fortunately for them, they have a plan. Aiden and other promising young villains that have been caught in the recent past are being sent off to a secret island where they will be trained to realize their full potential and then be pitted against minor superheroes in a contest of sorts. The prize? A spot as one of the seven members of a new team of supervillains that will bring back the fear and glory of the old days and along with it, the need for superheroes.
Sounds good right? Yep, I was all aboard. Hard to believe it could go wrong, but it did. It went south SO FAST. I almost want to give myself a pat on the back for sticking around till just past the halfway mark, but credit to the author for the secondary characters who managed to keep me going so long. Yep. The main character is a despicable, horrible, sleazy, sex-obsessed excuse for a human being. I know that he is the villain, or one of them, in this story, but I just could not stomach the guy and he made the book ultimately unbearable.
Matt Carter CAN write. The story was good, the writing was quick and funny and there was a lot of potential. I just HATED the main character and it ruined my enjoyment. Looking at the reviews I seem to be in the minority though, so if the plot suits your fancy definitely try it.
July 12, 2022
I liked the premise more than the actual book. Was excited to read a book from a villain points of view ab not from the hero. But unfortunately it wasn't as great as I had hoped
January 16, 2022
Notes:
Currently on Audible Plus
1st One Star Rating for 2022
The writing was rough, plot was too thin, the humor was aimed for pre-teen males, and I was bored. It was mildly amusing to listen to the story at 3.5x speed.
Currently on Audible Plus
1st One Star Rating for 2022
The writing was rough, plot was too thin, the humor was aimed for pre-teen males, and I was bored. It was mildly amusing to listen to the story at 3.5x speed.
April 18, 2016
3.5 of 5 stars https://bibliosanctum.com/2016/04/18/...
If you’re a fan of comics and are looking for a clever, humorous, and merciless riff on the superhero genre, then Almost Infamous is most definitely the book for you! Matt Carter’s novel is a wildly entertaining, satirical take on the characters and worlds we imagine when we picture the Marvel or DC universes, and as a twist, his protagonist is a horny, uppity teenage supervillain.
To get a sense of the zaniness you’re in for, just take a peek at the book’s first few pages, featuring a “Brief History of Superheroes.” Super powers—whether you were born with them, cursed with them, granted them as a result of radioactive freak accident, changed by a gene-splicing experiment gone wrong, and so on and so forth—are just a common fact of life. Superhumans are real. Oh, and by the way, so are Atlanteans, Lemurians, magicians, aliens, demons, golems, mortal gods who walk the earth, and pretty much every kind of power-endowed beings you can think of. All real.
Over time, these powered-individuals have altered the course of history and changed the face of the earth. Some of them have used their abilities for good. Others, not so much. In 1969, the conflict between the “good guys” and the “bad guys” came to a head, kicking off the War on Villainy. After more than twenty years of fighting, the Heroes eventually prevailed, neutralizing the last real threat. With supervillains more or less eradicated, people of the world today live in relative peace and safety, watched over by an international superhero team called the Protectors.
All that changes the day eighteen-year-old Aidan Salt decides to put on a cheap homemade costume and an old motorcycle helmet, dubbing himself the supervillain Apex Strike. However, his first act of villainy goes completely wrong, and soon after, he is captured by the Protectors. To his surprise though, instead of locking him away, the superheroes make him an offer: a chance to participate in a secret operation called Project Kayfabe. The world has not seen a real supervillain in decades, and superheroes are gradually losing their relevance. They need Apex Strike and others like him on a fake supervillain team in order to stage elaborate mock battles and kick start their popularity once more, showing the world why it still needs its heroes.
This is where the description of the book is a bit misleading, because it makes it sound like Aidan was just handed the job. In reality, dozens of supervillains are vying for a spot on the this team, and the first part of the novel is actually a hilarious reality show-type competition, where the “judges” of Project Kayfabe put their “contestants” to the test before narrowing the field down to the final seven. It was not at all what I expected when I picked up this book, and it was fun and exciting to meet all these other supervillains (all with powers ranging from the very cool to the very ridiculous) and then trying to guess who will end up making it to the end of the trials with Aidan/Apex Strike (whose spot on the team is a given). The results were entertaining and sometimes surprising.
The best part about this book is the world that the author has created. As a nod to the superhero comics we know and love, it feels instantly familiar, but at the same time it’s also offbeat and unique. Matt Carter makes a lot of pop culture references and parodies superhero movies and comics to great effect. I especially loved the little flavors that were thrown in, like the “Supervillainy 101” anecdotes inserted at the end of each chapter. I always say that it’s the little things like that which make a huge difference, and this case, they help Almost Infamous stand out from other superhero novels that don’t spend near as much time and effort on the world-building.
Perhaps my only criticism is the protagonist. Some characters and I simply start off on the wrong foot. Most of the time, through growth and development of the character, I end up warming up to him or her, but sadly this was not the case for Aidan Salt. He is spineless. He is naïve. He is unambitious. He chose to be a supervillain, because being a superhero is too much work and he’s just too lazy. And the only reason he wanted to become famous is because he thought that would help him get laid!
Now, one can argue that Aidan isn’t meant to be likeable character. For fans of underdogs and anti-heroes, I can see some appeal there. Personally though, his attitude was just too much to take, and there were certain juvenile, repulsive things he did (like spying on the girls while they were showering, for example—ugh) that I just couldn’t look past. In spite of his evolving character arc and the major changes he goes through, he just never grew on me, which was a shame. Still, that was probably the only damper on my experience. You’d think not being able to connect with the main character would be a pretty big issue, but in fact it was only a minor hiccup, for I ended up falling in love with so many of the other characters and enjoyed the refreshing diversity of the cast. The storytelling is great, and I sped through the intensely fast-paced and action-filled plot.
Almost Infamous is a quick, solid novel that does exactly what it sets out to do: to be one hell of a fun read! Highly recommended for fans of superhero fiction and comic book lovers, especially if you enjoy the gritty stylings of comics like Garth Ennis’ The Boys. I had an absolute blast with this dynamic tale of sex, drugs, and supervillainy.
If you’re a fan of comics and are looking for a clever, humorous, and merciless riff on the superhero genre, then Almost Infamous is most definitely the book for you! Matt Carter’s novel is a wildly entertaining, satirical take on the characters and worlds we imagine when we picture the Marvel or DC universes, and as a twist, his protagonist is a horny, uppity teenage supervillain.
To get a sense of the zaniness you’re in for, just take a peek at the book’s first few pages, featuring a “Brief History of Superheroes.” Super powers—whether you were born with them, cursed with them, granted them as a result of radioactive freak accident, changed by a gene-splicing experiment gone wrong, and so on and so forth—are just a common fact of life. Superhumans are real. Oh, and by the way, so are Atlanteans, Lemurians, magicians, aliens, demons, golems, mortal gods who walk the earth, and pretty much every kind of power-endowed beings you can think of. All real.
Over time, these powered-individuals have altered the course of history and changed the face of the earth. Some of them have used their abilities for good. Others, not so much. In 1969, the conflict between the “good guys” and the “bad guys” came to a head, kicking off the War on Villainy. After more than twenty years of fighting, the Heroes eventually prevailed, neutralizing the last real threat. With supervillains more or less eradicated, people of the world today live in relative peace and safety, watched over by an international superhero team called the Protectors.
All that changes the day eighteen-year-old Aidan Salt decides to put on a cheap homemade costume and an old motorcycle helmet, dubbing himself the supervillain Apex Strike. However, his first act of villainy goes completely wrong, and soon after, he is captured by the Protectors. To his surprise though, instead of locking him away, the superheroes make him an offer: a chance to participate in a secret operation called Project Kayfabe. The world has not seen a real supervillain in decades, and superheroes are gradually losing their relevance. They need Apex Strike and others like him on a fake supervillain team in order to stage elaborate mock battles and kick start their popularity once more, showing the world why it still needs its heroes.
This is where the description of the book is a bit misleading, because it makes it sound like Aidan was just handed the job. In reality, dozens of supervillains are vying for a spot on the this team, and the first part of the novel is actually a hilarious reality show-type competition, where the “judges” of Project Kayfabe put their “contestants” to the test before narrowing the field down to the final seven. It was not at all what I expected when I picked up this book, and it was fun and exciting to meet all these other supervillains (all with powers ranging from the very cool to the very ridiculous) and then trying to guess who will end up making it to the end of the trials with Aidan/Apex Strike (whose spot on the team is a given). The results were entertaining and sometimes surprising.
The best part about this book is the world that the author has created. As a nod to the superhero comics we know and love, it feels instantly familiar, but at the same time it’s also offbeat and unique. Matt Carter makes a lot of pop culture references and parodies superhero movies and comics to great effect. I especially loved the little flavors that were thrown in, like the “Supervillainy 101” anecdotes inserted at the end of each chapter. I always say that it’s the little things like that which make a huge difference, and this case, they help Almost Infamous stand out from other superhero novels that don’t spend near as much time and effort on the world-building.
Perhaps my only criticism is the protagonist. Some characters and I simply start off on the wrong foot. Most of the time, through growth and development of the character, I end up warming up to him or her, but sadly this was not the case for Aidan Salt. He is spineless. He is naïve. He is unambitious. He chose to be a supervillain, because being a superhero is too much work and he’s just too lazy. And the only reason he wanted to become famous is because he thought that would help him get laid!
Now, one can argue that Aidan isn’t meant to be likeable character. For fans of underdogs and anti-heroes, I can see some appeal there. Personally though, his attitude was just too much to take, and there were certain juvenile, repulsive things he did (like spying on the girls while they were showering, for example—ugh) that I just couldn’t look past. In spite of his evolving character arc and the major changes he goes through, he just never grew on me, which was a shame. Still, that was probably the only damper on my experience. You’d think not being able to connect with the main character would be a pretty big issue, but in fact it was only a minor hiccup, for I ended up falling in love with so many of the other characters and enjoyed the refreshing diversity of the cast. The storytelling is great, and I sped through the intensely fast-paced and action-filled plot.
Almost Infamous is a quick, solid novel that does exactly what it sets out to do: to be one hell of a fun read! Highly recommended for fans of superhero fiction and comic book lovers, especially if you enjoy the gritty stylings of comics like Garth Ennis’ The Boys. I had an absolute blast with this dynamic tale of sex, drugs, and supervillainy.
June 7, 2022
A decent riff on cynical superheroes a la "The Boys" that gets a little too porny for comfort.
Carter's 2016 "Almost Infamous" has a solid premise: superpowered humans exist among the general populace but after decades, most supervillains have been largely tamped out (see: "The War on Villainy") such that our superheroes ("The Protectors") spend more time filming movies and commercials than actually fighting evil.
So when 18 year old Aidan Salt decides to use his telekinetic powers to make some easy money but in the process inadvertently kills a C-list superhero, he becomes a major supervillain. Good start. Regrettably, the novel becomes a hunger games/squid game/hogwarts mishmash as Salt and other various "villains" are captured by the Protectors and thrust into a "competition" to decide who will become the fake foil to the Protectors to keep the gov't money flowing (Project Kayfabe). Think the Washington Generals to the Harlem Globetrotters. It's enjoyably cynical, but the Hunger Games execution is too derivative to be satisfying.
The best parts of the novel are the interstitial worldbuilding sections between chapters where Carter fleshes out the history of the superhero world and history. These little vignettes were consistently inventive and well-done.
Oh and Aidan is horny. Like REALLY REALLY horny. And this is where the book just kind of goes off the rails. I'm fine having a teen protagonist, even one with sexual urges. But Carter goes to needlessly graphic lengths to describe the various blowjobs that Aidan gives/receives. The scene where Aidan is being serviced on a massage table next to his mentor being similarly serviced was a bridge too far for me. Dude, enough.
Eventually, the Washington Generals decide they don't like losing and learn the Globetrotters aren't *that* good of guys so they kind of fight back. There's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it climax to the novel but overall, the excessive sex detracted from what would otherwise be an enjoyably cynical look at Superhero Inc.
Carter's 2016 "Almost Infamous" has a solid premise: superpowered humans exist among the general populace but after decades, most supervillains have been largely tamped out (see: "The War on Villainy") such that our superheroes ("The Protectors") spend more time filming movies and commercials than actually fighting evil.
So when 18 year old Aidan Salt decides to use his telekinetic powers to make some easy money but in the process inadvertently kills a C-list superhero, he becomes a major supervillain. Good start. Regrettably, the novel becomes a hunger games/squid game/hogwarts mishmash as Salt and other various "villains" are captured by the Protectors and thrust into a "competition" to decide who will become the fake foil to the Protectors to keep the gov't money flowing (Project Kayfabe). Think the Washington Generals to the Harlem Globetrotters. It's enjoyably cynical, but the Hunger Games execution is too derivative to be satisfying.
The best parts of the novel are the interstitial worldbuilding sections between chapters where Carter fleshes out the history of the superhero world and history. These little vignettes were consistently inventive and well-done.
Oh and Aidan is horny. Like REALLY REALLY horny. And this is where the book just kind of goes off the rails. I'm fine having a teen protagonist, even one with sexual urges. But Carter goes to needlessly graphic lengths to describe the various blowjobs that Aidan gives/receives. The scene where Aidan is being serviced on a massage table next to his mentor being similarly serviced was a bridge too far for me. Dude, enough.
Eventually, the Washington Generals decide they don't like losing and learn the Globetrotters aren't *that* good of guys so they kind of fight back. There's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it climax to the novel but overall, the excessive sex detracted from what would otherwise be an enjoyably cynical look at Superhero Inc.
June 18, 2021
I like it, is something you would totally found in a comic book
March 13, 2016
This was such a fun read!
Aidan Salt has powers. The problem is, so do a lot of other people. He's idolized some of the biggest superheroes his entire life and wants to be just like them. With the riches and fame, who wouldn't? The only problem is, becoming a major super hero isn't easy when everyone else is trying to do the same. Then one day it hits him, he doesn't have to be a superhero, he can be a supervillain. Supervillains have been gone since the War on Villainy and Aidan believes it's time for a true supervillain to return.
So he gets a costume (all black leather and a motorcycle helmet) and a name (Apex Strike) and sets about his first mission to rob a small liquor store. Things go wrong from the beginning and it becomes very clear that being super, villain or hero, is not what it seems.
Aidan Salt has powers. The problem is, so do a lot of other people. He's idolized some of the biggest superheroes his entire life and wants to be just like them. With the riches and fame, who wouldn't? The only problem is, becoming a major super hero isn't easy when everyone else is trying to do the same. Then one day it hits him, he doesn't have to be a superhero, he can be a supervillain. Supervillains have been gone since the War on Villainy and Aidan believes it's time for a true supervillain to return.
So he gets a costume (all black leather and a motorcycle helmet) and a name (Apex Strike) and sets about his first mission to rob a small liquor store. Things go wrong from the beginning and it becomes very clear that being super, villain or hero, is not what it seems.
January 5, 2017
Plot: 4.5*
Characters: 4*
World-building: 4.5*
A perfect book for a quick read.
I'll hopefully create a more detailed review later, but wanted to get my first impressions down now. This book starts slowly and builds up a head of steam that just keeps growing. For the first 50 pages, I thought it would be a 2* book...maybe 3* at best, but the author knew what they were doing.
This book is one of the better I've read when it comes to character building. To avoid spoilers, I won't say much here, but I am glad that I decided to read to the end.
The plot is cliche, but extremely well executed.
World-building is top notch. The universe is consistent and the environment is well thought out and described.
Characters: 4*
World-building: 4.5*
A perfect book for a quick read.
I'll hopefully create a more detailed review later, but wanted to get my first impressions down now. This book starts slowly and builds up a head of steam that just keeps growing. For the first 50 pages, I thought it would be a 2* book...maybe 3* at best, but the author knew what they were doing.
This book is one of the better I've read when it comes to character building. To avoid spoilers, I won't say much here, but I am glad that I decided to read to the end.
The plot is cliche, but extremely well executed.
World-building is top notch. The universe is consistent and the environment is well thought out and described.
May 30, 2017
I do not recommend this book. I finished it so I didn't absolutely hate it but I don't think its a good read for what I can only assume was a target audience of 16-19 yo boys who don't normally read.
The premise, while not the newest thing in the world, is fun and many of the mentioned characters and events are creative and interesting. However, the main character is a grade-A asshole, who grows little as a person. I'm sure this was the point/intention but still, I just don't feel that young adults need to be idolizing a sex-obsessed, quick to drugs, selfish teenager.
The premise, while not the newest thing in the world, is fun and many of the mentioned characters and events are creative and interesting. However, the main character is a grade-A asshole, who grows little as a person. I'm sure this was the point/intention but still, I just don't feel that young adults need to be idolizing a sex-obsessed, quick to drugs, selfish teenager.
June 27, 2022
3.5 stars
I'm binging on superhero novels at the moment. This one has been on my to-read list for ages, and I finally gave it a bash this weekend.
There are a number of layers to the narrative. The first layer of the story is about Aidan Salt, a fairly nondescript, socially awkward teenager who doesn't even really fit into his own family. He realises that he has super powers and decides to try a life of crime, accidentally killing a superhero on his very first attempt at robbing a bottle store.
What follows is an indictment against just about everything that makes us tick as human beings. The writing is very, very clever, with some not-so-gentle mockery of our current fixation with talent shows and a wonderful scene where Voice of the Nation channels Simon Cowell. The author paints a sordid picture of the superhero celebrities, with sex, drugs, murder and conspiracy. The narrative also contains what must be the cleanest, least graphic sex scene I have ever read.
There is plenty of swearing, which some readers may find offensive. I don't recommend it for readers under the age of 18.
I'm binging on superhero novels at the moment. This one has been on my to-read list for ages, and I finally gave it a bash this weekend.
There are a number of layers to the narrative. The first layer of the story is about Aidan Salt, a fairly nondescript, socially awkward teenager who doesn't even really fit into his own family. He realises that he has super powers and decides to try a life of crime, accidentally killing a superhero on his very first attempt at robbing a bottle store.
What follows is an indictment against just about everything that makes us tick as human beings. The writing is very, very clever, with some not-so-gentle mockery of our current fixation with talent shows and a wonderful scene where Voice of the Nation channels Simon Cowell. The author paints a sordid picture of the superhero celebrities, with sex, drugs, murder and conspiracy. The narrative also contains what must be the cleanest, least graphic sex scene I have ever read.
There is plenty of swearing, which some readers may find offensive. I don't recommend it for readers under the age of 18.
June 19, 2017
A story from the bad guy's perspective. Excellent. A quick and enjoyable read from start to finish... if you can tolerate Aidan Salt. Everything seemed to make Aidan think of sex. It was kind of irritating. And there was a lot of sex in the book. Aside from that, the supervillains ninja warrior try outs were very entertaining and the reason why it was all necessary in their world made perfect sense. All the members of Aidan's little group were unique and interesting and mostly lovable, and it hurt (me, anyways) when one of them was cut or killed.
Haven't done one of these in a while, it's nonsensical casting time!
I wanted to punch Aidan Salt/Apex Strike pretty much the entire book, so I pictured him as Christopher Mintz-Plasse in his Red Mist costume from Kick-Ass, because he was kind of punchable.
I don't believe Iron Bear was actually Russian, but still, I pictured him as Iron Man's Russian opponent, Crimson Dynamo.
Showstopper I kept seeing in a ridiculously goofy outfit, there was such a character in the New Warrior comics, Hindsight Lad. Maybe add a couple of pounds to him.
The Imp from Hell, Odigjod was my favourite characters. Awesome powers of teleportation and shapeshifting and, I think, several other Hell-related powers AND he spoke in broken English. As much as I love demonic images, when he was introduced, I saw him instantly as Rebel warrior/tail gunner Bistan, from Rogue One.
Trojan Fox was Cerberus from Ex-Heroes, as seen here on the cover of the second book, just with actual powers plus the mech suit.
Felix/Geode was first described as a giant boy covered in crystals. I saw the crystals but they eventually morphed into those bone things that covered some of Doomsday from the DC Universe. Just make his face a little friendlier. He was one of my favourites too, because you first saw him selflessly help other villains he was supposed to be competing against.
Only a singer from a metal band could be cast for Nevermore, in this case, Mizuho Lin, one of the singers from the Brazilian band, Semblant. Her powers of manipulating and bringing to life her tattoos made me think of Green Lantern meeting the Shadow Hunters.
Artok was obviously Namor looking for a secondary job.
Ghost Girl, who wore a porcelain mask and could read your sins, didn't sound like a supervillain, rather a character from a horror movie, like The Strangers.
I actually could not remember how Spasm was described, but he eventually became Solo from the Marvel Universe.
Circus was clearly one of the extras from the Paper Mario games, and during the few times he was 3D and a real boy, I saw him as Magnus Bane from Shadow Hunters/Mortal Instruments series.
Carnivore was not a shark, but I saw him as a shark anyways. Half man, half shark. There's one of those already in the DC Universe, King Shark.
Though there were many heroes, there was only one that I actually pictured all the time, Helios, who appeared as Ozymandias from the Watchmen. The chapter where Aidan and Helios were supposed to bond on arch nemesis day was really well done.
Recommend this book to any one who liked Kick-Ass or the Ex-Heroes series.
Haven't done one of these in a while, it's nonsensical casting time!
I wanted to punch Aidan Salt/Apex Strike pretty much the entire book, so I pictured him as Christopher Mintz-Plasse in his Red Mist costume from Kick-Ass, because he was kind of punchable.
I don't believe Iron Bear was actually Russian, but still, I pictured him as Iron Man's Russian opponent, Crimson Dynamo.
Showstopper I kept seeing in a ridiculously goofy outfit, there was such a character in the New Warrior comics, Hindsight Lad. Maybe add a couple of pounds to him.
The Imp from Hell, Odigjod was my favourite characters. Awesome powers of teleportation and shapeshifting and, I think, several other Hell-related powers AND he spoke in broken English. As much as I love demonic images, when he was introduced, I saw him instantly as Rebel warrior/tail gunner Bistan, from Rogue One.
Trojan Fox was Cerberus from Ex-Heroes, as seen here on the cover of the second book, just with actual powers plus the mech suit.
Felix/Geode was first described as a giant boy covered in crystals. I saw the crystals but they eventually morphed into those bone things that covered some of Doomsday from the DC Universe. Just make his face a little friendlier. He was one of my favourites too, because you first saw him selflessly help other villains he was supposed to be competing against.
Only a singer from a metal band could be cast for Nevermore, in this case, Mizuho Lin, one of the singers from the Brazilian band, Semblant. Her powers of manipulating and bringing to life her tattoos made me think of Green Lantern meeting the Shadow Hunters.
Artok was obviously Namor looking for a secondary job.
Ghost Girl, who wore a porcelain mask and could read your sins, didn't sound like a supervillain, rather a character from a horror movie, like The Strangers.
I actually could not remember how Spasm was described, but he eventually became Solo from the Marvel Universe.
Circus was clearly one of the extras from the Paper Mario games, and during the few times he was 3D and a real boy, I saw him as Magnus Bane from Shadow Hunters/Mortal Instruments series.
Carnivore was not a shark, but I saw him as a shark anyways. Half man, half shark. There's one of those already in the DC Universe, King Shark.
Though there were many heroes, there was only one that I actually pictured all the time, Helios, who appeared as Ozymandias from the Watchmen. The chapter where Aidan and Helios were supposed to bond on arch nemesis day was really well done.
Recommend this book to any one who liked Kick-Ass or the Ex-Heroes series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 19, 2022
This one starts rough. None of the characters are likable and are, in fact, mostly amoral. Aside from that, there's not much new here. The hero as villain and villain with a supposed heart of gold stuff (although, again, the main character's "heart of gold" comes a little too little and a little too late to ring as anything more than a plot machination). That said, it's still worth sticking around to the end. By the time we finish, Carter has pulled off an entertaining, if derivative piece.
May 13, 2020
This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 2.5 of 5
AhhhhhhhhhhhIiiiiiiiii...I don't know quite what to make of this.
Aidan Salt is an 18 year old boy with super powers. Powers can come about in different ways, and they can be really good (flight, strength, speed, etc) or they can be kind of useless and uninspiring (the ability to soak up water, for instance). Aidan has some pretty awesome power, but he's not sure what he wants to do with it. Well ... he is sure ... he wants to use his power so that girls, one in particular, will adore him and have sex with him.
Aidan lives in a time when super villainy has been abolished. The super heroes have managed to keep the villains completely in check. Anyone trying to become a super villain is dealt with swiftly and thoroughly. And yet, Aidan would kind of like to go the villain route. He puts together a pretty cool costume, comes up with a cool name (Apex Strike), and most importantly, comes up with a cool catch phrase. And so off he goes to rob a simple store, just to test out how the villainy idea goes. But he doesn't strike fear into the employees - in fact, they fight back - and when a D-list superhero shows up, Aidan begs for leniency. Unfortunately, the superhero has a bit of a sadistic streak and won't stop punishing Aidan, so Aidan fights back. Hard. And the superhero is turned inside out.
Aidan tries to lay low and hide out, terrified that a squad of superheroes will come and blow him to smithereens. They do come, but not to destroy him, but to enlist him. The superheroes want to form a villain squad that will terrorize the people (but not too much) and fight the superheroes in scripted battles. Sometimes the villains will win, but mostly the heroes will win. Why? The people and the government who funds the heroes have forgotten what it really means to have heroic protectors. Once villainy was eradicated, complacency set in.
Apex Strike may become the most feared villain in the entire world, but Aidan Salt will pal around with the world's greatest superhero, sharing drinks, sharing drugs, sharing women. It's the best possible scenario Aidan could ask for.
Author Matt Carter really has a talent for building a story. The world-building here is fun. We get some of the history of super heroes and the history of the great super villains of the past. We also get a really wild, fun story with exciting characters, a well-built plot, and some fantastic action. This was easily a 4.5 or a 5.0 book.
Except...!
Too much of the book devolves into teen-boy sex fantasy. Seriously too much. Aidan's entire motivation for 90% of the book is to get laid. Early on Aidan describes his motive:
I was willing to overlook this as he went on and the story developed, but just when I thought this was completely behind us, we spend way too much time with Aidan the virgin having sex for the first time. And just like a teen boy's fantasy, the girl initiates everything and he worries about everything (size, stamina, pleasing her) and of course he's pretty much above perfect in every way. And later on, he's sexually satisfying the hottest supermodels on the planet during his 'off' hours.
I really liked so much of this book. The plot twists were well done, the overall story arc was really fun to ride with, and most of the characters were pretty interesting and well fleshed out. But just a I would settle in to the book, Matt Carter would remind me that I wasn't supposed to enjoy it too much, and he'd throw in some main character sex-obsessed fan-boy moment to bring the enjoyment level down a notch or two.
I really don't know how to rate this book. The driving force of the main character to 'get some pussy' (his words, not mine) easily makes this a one star book. But take out the main character (and really, you could) and you have a fantastic world, plot, and exciting cast of characters that could easily make this a five star book. So sadly, it falls somewhere in between, where it will languish in obscurity. Which is probably where it belongs because really you can't recommend this book and tell the reader to ignore a few moments. You have to ignore the main character to enjoy this book.
Looking for a good book? I really wish I could recommend Almost Infamous by Matt Carter, but I can't. On one hand, a 2.5 star rating doesn't reflect so much of the book, but on the other hand, 2.5 stars is very generous.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
AhhhhhhhhhhhIiiiiiiiii...I don't know quite what to make of this.
Aidan Salt is an 18 year old boy with super powers. Powers can come about in different ways, and they can be really good (flight, strength, speed, etc) or they can be kind of useless and uninspiring (the ability to soak up water, for instance). Aidan has some pretty awesome power, but he's not sure what he wants to do with it. Well ... he is sure ... he wants to use his power so that girls, one in particular, will adore him and have sex with him.
Aidan lives in a time when super villainy has been abolished. The super heroes have managed to keep the villains completely in check. Anyone trying to become a super villain is dealt with swiftly and thoroughly. And yet, Aidan would kind of like to go the villain route. He puts together a pretty cool costume, comes up with a cool name (Apex Strike), and most importantly, comes up with a cool catch phrase. And so off he goes to rob a simple store, just to test out how the villainy idea goes. But he doesn't strike fear into the employees - in fact, they fight back - and when a D-list superhero shows up, Aidan begs for leniency. Unfortunately, the superhero has a bit of a sadistic streak and won't stop punishing Aidan, so Aidan fights back. Hard. And the superhero is turned inside out.
Aidan tries to lay low and hide out, terrified that a squad of superheroes will come and blow him to smithereens. They do come, but not to destroy him, but to enlist him. The superheroes want to form a villain squad that will terrorize the people (but not too much) and fight the superheroes in scripted battles. Sometimes the villains will win, but mostly the heroes will win. Why? The people and the government who funds the heroes have forgotten what it really means to have heroic protectors. Once villainy was eradicated, complacency set in.
Apex Strike may become the most feared villain in the entire world, but Aidan Salt will pal around with the world's greatest superhero, sharing drinks, sharing drugs, sharing women. It's the best possible scenario Aidan could ask for.
Author Matt Carter really has a talent for building a story. The world-building here is fun. We get some of the history of super heroes and the history of the great super villains of the past. We also get a really wild, fun story with exciting characters, a well-built plot, and some fantastic action. This was easily a 4.5 or a 5.0 book.
Except...!
Too much of the book devolves into teen-boy sex fantasy. Seriously too much. Aidan's entire motivation for 90% of the book is to get laid. Early on Aidan describes his motive:
Villainy, however, wasn’t my first idea.
At first, like every kid, I wanted to be a superhero. They got all the money and endorsements, and had their faces smeared across numerous posters (yeah, I had posters of El Capitan and The Gamemaster on my walls, so what?), and pussy . . . lots of it. If I was ever going to stand a chance at fame, fortune, and pussy, becoming a superhero was my best bet.
I was willing to overlook this as he went on and the story developed, but just when I thought this was completely behind us, we spend way too much time with Aidan the virgin having sex for the first time. And just like a teen boy's fantasy, the girl initiates everything and he worries about everything (size, stamina, pleasing her) and of course he's pretty much above perfect in every way. And later on, he's sexually satisfying the hottest supermodels on the planet during his 'off' hours.
I really liked so much of this book. The plot twists were well done, the overall story arc was really fun to ride with, and most of the characters were pretty interesting and well fleshed out. But just a I would settle in to the book, Matt Carter would remind me that I wasn't supposed to enjoy it too much, and he'd throw in some main character sex-obsessed fan-boy moment to bring the enjoyment level down a notch or two.
I really don't know how to rate this book. The driving force of the main character to 'get some pussy' (his words, not mine) easily makes this a one star book. But take out the main character (and really, you could) and you have a fantastic world, plot, and exciting cast of characters that could easily make this a five star book. So sadly, it falls somewhere in between, where it will languish in obscurity. Which is probably where it belongs because really you can't recommend this book and tell the reader to ignore a few moments. You have to ignore the main character to enjoy this book.
Looking for a good book? I really wish I could recommend Almost Infamous by Matt Carter, but I can't. On one hand, a 2.5 star rating doesn't reflect so much of the book, but on the other hand, 2.5 stars is very generous.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.
May 10, 2020
While not terrible, this book was a big disappointment. A couple of years ago I was on a big superhero reading kick and this book came up repeatedly as being worth the read. Since it wasn't available in my local library at the time I almost went ahead and bought it. Boy am I glad I didn't now.
This book essentially has two serious problems: the MC and the story. The MC decides, in a world where all other super villains have been defeated, he can pull it off. So he studies past criminals and gets himself a suit to hide his identity. Never mind that the suit restricts his vision, voice and movement and that he can't actually control his powers, the MC still goes ahead and attempts to rob a convenience store. And fails. Phenomenally.
This, however, brings him to the attention of a group of heroes who want villains they can control so the heroes can make headlines. The MC is kidnapped and threatened and for some reason complies willingly even going so far as to befriend all the heroes he can along the way in a "I'll be your lapdog" sort of way.
Eventually the MC wises up and what does he do? Resigns his leadership position. Granted the MC should resign as he was only the leader because the heroes said he was and the heroes based their choice on name recognition, not ability. HOW IS THIS A MAIN CHARACTER IN A BOOK???? Frankly I only finished this book because it wasn't very long and I kept expecting it to get better because of all the horribly inaccurate online comments.
The main problem with the story is its complete lack of originality. How many books, movies, tv shows, etc. have used the story: set up group 'A' so group 'B' benefits? Every time an American president sends troops into hostility someone claims its to raise approval ratings. This story line is so commonplace it is beyond trite and this is only a workman like presentation of the story.
Bottom line: Not terrible but also not worth the time it takes to read it.
This book essentially has two serious problems: the MC and the story. The MC decides, in a world where all other super villains have been defeated, he can pull it off. So he studies past criminals and gets himself a suit to hide his identity. Never mind that the suit restricts his vision, voice and movement and that he can't actually control his powers, the MC still goes ahead and attempts to rob a convenience store. And fails. Phenomenally.
This, however, brings him to the attention of a group of heroes who want villains they can control so the heroes can make headlines. The MC is kidnapped and threatened and for some reason complies willingly even going so far as to befriend all the heroes he can along the way in a "I'll be your lapdog" sort of way.
Eventually the MC wises up and what does he do? Resigns his leadership position. Granted the MC should resign as he was only the leader because the heroes said he was and the heroes based their choice on name recognition, not ability. HOW IS THIS A MAIN CHARACTER IN A BOOK???? Frankly I only finished this book because it wasn't very long and I kept expecting it to get better because of all the horribly inaccurate online comments.
The main problem with the story is its complete lack of originality. How many books, movies, tv shows, etc. have used the story: set up group 'A' so group 'B' benefits? Every time an American president sends troops into hostility someone claims its to raise approval ratings. This story line is so commonplace it is beyond trite and this is only a workman like presentation of the story.
Bottom line: Not terrible but also not worth the time it takes to read it.
February 14, 2017
I couldn't finish this. I was really excited by the introduction but couldn't get past the first 1/3 of the book. If you were ever a hormonal teenage guy, and you enjoy super villain/hero stories, you may enjoy this, but otherwise, the story keeps getting side tracked by the main characters lust with brief flickers of interesting events occurring before the lust reoccurs.
January 19, 2022
Was pleasantly surprised with this one.
December 22, 2023
Not stinky, not perfect. Very nice and good time.
October 5, 2025
ALMOST INFAMOUS by Matt Carter is a supervillain novel loosely inspired by the movie ALMOST FAMOUS starring Kate Hudson and Billy Crudup. For those who aren't familiar, it's a story about a teenager getting pulled into the life of a band where he is exposed to massive amouts of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Valuable lessons are learned, romances occur, yada, yada. As a huge fan of supervillain fiction, narrow superlative as that may be, I was always intrigued by this book but only recently got around to reading it.
The premise is that this is a superhero world that has largely resolved its problems of supervillainy. History went in an extremely different manner in this world and the book opens by giving a short summary rang from Atlantis existing, R'lyehian cultists taking over Hawaii, Canada being annexed by the USA after it was part of a massive colonialist uprising during WW, and the Villain War where the heroes killed every single supervillain alive. This is treated as a good thing but anyone who is suspected of being a supervillain is sentenced to permanent stasis in prison. This has left a lot of superheroes with nothing to do but self-promote.
Aidan Salt is a teenage boy who just wants to be rich and get laid. Which is at least two statements redundant. Born with the mutant ability of extremely powerful telekinesis that he's only now developing, he makes the ill-advised decision to become a supervillain and steal some cash. It's a situation that goes from bad to worse when a superhero shows up, plans to kill him rather than take him in, and then ends with Aidan crushing said superhero like a bug. Aidan soon ends up grabbed by shadowy forces and is told he is now part of PROJECT: KAYFABE. If you know anything about wrestling, you might now realize what the superheroes want from him.
What follows is a fascinating journey as Aidan Salt, now known as Apex Strike, finds himself trotted out to be the world's most dangerous villain. The heroes are quite willing to hang out and share in their groupies, drugs, as well as obscene wealth. Aidan and the others are still criminals with the threat of being turned into the Tower at any point but get to enjoy life until then. It doesn't hurt that Aidan is still incredibly young and crushing on two of his teammates with Ghost Girl (A disfigured but athletic antihero) and Nevermore (A French Goth girl).
The book is full of fantastic concepts, interesting side characters, and a plot line that is somewhat predictable but still enjoyable to follow. So do I recommend it? Eh, with caveats. The book is, uh, well, it's a lot of sexism. It's deliberate because Aidan is a teenage boy but it's still there. He's constantly objectifying the women around him, spying on them in the shower, and genuinely behaving like a creep. There's also some sadistic stories in the past that are played for humor that doesn't really land like a Robin equivalent's family getting murdered before he went into porn.
In conclusion, it's a book I recommend but with a lot of caveats. I just don't find the edgy humor and sexism as fun as the book wants me to do. On the other hand, it is definitely a labor of love for the genre.
The premise is that this is a superhero world that has largely resolved its problems of supervillainy. History went in an extremely different manner in this world and the book opens by giving a short summary rang from Atlantis existing, R'lyehian cultists taking over Hawaii, Canada being annexed by the USA after it was part of a massive colonialist uprising during WW, and the Villain War where the heroes killed every single supervillain alive. This is treated as a good thing but anyone who is suspected of being a supervillain is sentenced to permanent stasis in prison. This has left a lot of superheroes with nothing to do but self-promote.
Aidan Salt is a teenage boy who just wants to be rich and get laid. Which is at least two statements redundant. Born with the mutant ability of extremely powerful telekinesis that he's only now developing, he makes the ill-advised decision to become a supervillain and steal some cash. It's a situation that goes from bad to worse when a superhero shows up, plans to kill him rather than take him in, and then ends with Aidan crushing said superhero like a bug. Aidan soon ends up grabbed by shadowy forces and is told he is now part of PROJECT: KAYFABE. If you know anything about wrestling, you might now realize what the superheroes want from him.
What follows is a fascinating journey as Aidan Salt, now known as Apex Strike, finds himself trotted out to be the world's most dangerous villain. The heroes are quite willing to hang out and share in their groupies, drugs, as well as obscene wealth. Aidan and the others are still criminals with the threat of being turned into the Tower at any point but get to enjoy life until then. It doesn't hurt that Aidan is still incredibly young and crushing on two of his teammates with Ghost Girl (A disfigured but athletic antihero) and Nevermore (A French Goth girl).
The book is full of fantastic concepts, interesting side characters, and a plot line that is somewhat predictable but still enjoyable to follow. So do I recommend it? Eh, with caveats. The book is, uh, well, it's a lot of sexism. It's deliberate because Aidan is a teenage boy but it's still there. He's constantly objectifying the women around him, spying on them in the shower, and genuinely behaving like a creep. There's also some sadistic stories in the past that are played for humor that doesn't really land like a Robin equivalent's family getting murdered before he went into porn.
In conclusion, it's a book I recommend but with a lot of caveats. I just don't find the edgy humor and sexism as fun as the book wants me to do. On the other hand, it is definitely a labor of love for the genre.
April 11, 2023
Supervillain stories often focus on a corrupt superhero to keep their villain from looking too, well, villainous. In this case, it appears that all the superheroes are quite corrupt. After murdering all the villains twenty years before the story begins, the heroes are unhappy to discover that governments don’t want to keep financially supporting them without all the villains terrorizing the public. So, they come up with a plan to keep the government money flowing—create a supervillain team, plan out its dastardly crimes, and then foil them in a very theatrical way. All they need is a bunch of pliant supervillains.
To get these villains they begin kidnapping young teenagers as they start showing their powers for the first time. Many of these teenagers are on the wrong side of the law, but they don’t get trials or due process or a chance to better themselves. They get taken to the old hideout of a now deceased (read murdered) supervillain and held there—many for years—while the superheroes plan a supervillain comeback.
Enter Apex Strike, a dumb eighteen-year-old with delusions of grandeur and a budding power who accidentally turns a superhero inside out in his first public appearance. A couple of day later, Apex is kidnapped while in his civilian identity. Again, I say “kidnapped” because Apex is not arrested and put on trial as he frankly deserves. He’s taken to the aforementioned island lair and put through a series of tryouts by the heroes in which they wish to take seventy some villain-wannabes (actually, not all appear to want to be villains) and whittle them down to the seven people they want for their supervillain team.
Is this disturbing yet? Because it gets worse. To show their captives they are serious, the heroes start by murdering one of the villains. They then tell their captives that they have put a device inside each of them and can kill them whenever they want. They go further, telling them they have erased all memory of their existence from their loved ones. They then say the winners will get wealth and fame and a great life while carrying out their hero-planned dastardly attacks and the rest will be kept comatose until needed by the heroes (you know, as replacements in case their team of villains gets killed).
Our idiot hero is actually grateful to the heroes for this opportunity to live his dream. He doesn’t seem bright enough to realize that ultimately this has to end in his death because the heroes can’t let anyone find out that they are actually, well, villains.
All of that being said, this disturbing plot actually moves pretty quickly, has nice action, and the super dumb (maybe that’s a secondary superpower—incredibly dumbness?) protagonist, Apex Strike, is fairly likeable even as you cringe at his stupidity. While far from the best of the supervillain subgenre, Matt Carter has put together a nice story. I’d like to think he’s going to have Apex grow up enough to realize that the world needs real heroes to take down the phony ones pretending to be heroes for the rest of the world.
To get these villains they begin kidnapping young teenagers as they start showing their powers for the first time. Many of these teenagers are on the wrong side of the law, but they don’t get trials or due process or a chance to better themselves. They get taken to the old hideout of a now deceased (read murdered) supervillain and held there—many for years—while the superheroes plan a supervillain comeback.
Enter Apex Strike, a dumb eighteen-year-old with delusions of grandeur and a budding power who accidentally turns a superhero inside out in his first public appearance. A couple of day later, Apex is kidnapped while in his civilian identity. Again, I say “kidnapped” because Apex is not arrested and put on trial as he frankly deserves. He’s taken to the aforementioned island lair and put through a series of tryouts by the heroes in which they wish to take seventy some villain-wannabes (actually, not all appear to want to be villains) and whittle them down to the seven people they want for their supervillain team.
Is this disturbing yet? Because it gets worse. To show their captives they are serious, the heroes start by murdering one of the villains. They then tell their captives that they have put a device inside each of them and can kill them whenever they want. They go further, telling them they have erased all memory of their existence from their loved ones. They then say the winners will get wealth and fame and a great life while carrying out their hero-planned dastardly attacks and the rest will be kept comatose until needed by the heroes (you know, as replacements in case their team of villains gets killed).
Our idiot hero is actually grateful to the heroes for this opportunity to live his dream. He doesn’t seem bright enough to realize that ultimately this has to end in his death because the heroes can’t let anyone find out that they are actually, well, villains.
All of that being said, this disturbing plot actually moves pretty quickly, has nice action, and the super dumb (maybe that’s a secondary superpower—incredibly dumbness?) protagonist, Apex Strike, is fairly likeable even as you cringe at his stupidity. While far from the best of the supervillain subgenre, Matt Carter has put together a nice story. I’d like to think he’s going to have Apex grow up enough to realize that the world needs real heroes to take down the phony ones pretending to be heroes for the rest of the world.
September 22, 2021
Honestly? It was a bit rough in the beginning, there's some really coarse and juvenile stuff in this book, but the core concept is akin to The Boys, and coming from a bigger comic book name, I think the juvenile stuff probably would have taken a backseat to the, frankly, incredible world-building and alt history stuff. Matt captures the feeling of a superhero comic REALLY well, creating a rich fictional history and mining from a lot of different comics and characters to flesh out the world. The result is a very fun story, with a surprising heart in it, dare I say, even better than Mark Millar tends to add.
My main gripe was the main character. He never really pushes into likable territory, which makes his arc a bit unbelievable. He starts out as a horny, kinda racist teenage incel, and ends up... not really expunging those traits, but learning to become a better person in other ways. It's just listening through his voice is so weirdly distasteful. And I think that's part of the point of the story, Aidan is a supervillain, so you can't really, truly hold it against him? Even so, there's a weird joy (like Millar) that seems to come from the kinda gross objectification. If you squint, you can MAYBE see some commentary in there, and there's a line or two to address it, but it's not enough to really make me believe that the author isn't just being sensational.
Those minor gripes aside, I really enjoyed listening to this one. Scratches the superhero itch in a lot of ways, especially creating a fully-formed superhero world.
One last gripe - the names are, for the most part, terrible. I know a lot of the cool superhero names are already taken, but a liiitle more through can go into these, in my opinion.
My main gripe was the main character. He never really pushes into likable territory, which makes his arc a bit unbelievable. He starts out as a horny, kinda racist teenage incel, and ends up... not really expunging those traits, but learning to become a better person in other ways. It's just listening through his voice is so weirdly distasteful. And I think that's part of the point of the story, Aidan is a supervillain, so you can't really, truly hold it against him? Even so, there's a weird joy (like Millar) that seems to come from the kinda gross objectification. If you squint, you can MAYBE see some commentary in there, and there's a line or two to address it, but it's not enough to really make me believe that the author isn't just being sensational.
Those minor gripes aside, I really enjoyed listening to this one. Scratches the superhero itch in a lot of ways, especially creating a fully-formed superhero world.
One last gripe - the names are, for the most part, terrible. I know a lot of the cool superhero names are already taken, but a liiitle more through can go into these, in my opinion.
December 15, 2024
I happen to really love this “twist on the superhero/supervillain” genre-I find it fascinating and very representative of human nature. “Almost Infamous” falls into that category and does a pretty good job. The characters are all pretty well developed and the world-building was great. Even though Aidan can be a pretty crude male teenager, he is rather likeable and grows into an adult outlook. There is a lot of emotion and heart and the superpowers are very creative. Excellent book and one that I thoroughly enjoyed reading! One of my faves of the year! I actually didn’t want it to end-I wanted more of these characters and this world.
“Eighteen-year-old Aidan Salt isn’t a superhero. With his powerful (and unpredictable) telekinetic abilities he could be one if he wanted to, but he doesn’t. He’s unambitious, selfish, and cowardly, and he doesn’t want to have to deal with all the paperwork required to become a professional superhero. But since the money, fame, and women that come with wearing the cape are appealing, he decides to become the first supervillain the world has seen in more than twenty years: Apex Strike.
However, he soon finds villainy in a world where the heroes have long since defeated all the supervillains. While half the world’s heroes seem to want him dead, the other half want to hire him as their own personal villain to keep them relevant. Choosing the latter course, Aidan enters a world of fame, fortune, and staged superhero fights that is seemingly everything he ever dreamed of . . . at least until he sees what truly hides behind the cape-and-mask lifestyle.” (From the book blurb).
“Eighteen-year-old Aidan Salt isn’t a superhero. With his powerful (and unpredictable) telekinetic abilities he could be one if he wanted to, but he doesn’t. He’s unambitious, selfish, and cowardly, and he doesn’t want to have to deal with all the paperwork required to become a professional superhero. But since the money, fame, and women that come with wearing the cape are appealing, he decides to become the first supervillain the world has seen in more than twenty years: Apex Strike.
However, he soon finds villainy in a world where the heroes have long since defeated all the supervillains. While half the world’s heroes seem to want him dead, the other half want to hire him as their own personal villain to keep them relevant. Choosing the latter course, Aidan enters a world of fame, fortune, and staged superhero fights that is seemingly everything he ever dreamed of . . . at least until he sees what truly hides behind the cape-and-mask lifestyle.” (From the book blurb).
January 12, 2023
I did enjoy this book once the sex, drugs and parties ended. My one criticism is that for a group of acclaimed super villains they weren't very evil, well maybe one was and it took them a long time to rebel. I liked the idea if you can't make it as a hero then the only choice is become a villain with the story focused on that side of the fight, instead you got reality tv, where everything you see is fake and you actually like the bad guys more than the good guys. The story is more about friendship than world domination and epic battles. Don't get me wrong there were fights and I liked the characters. You saw the so called twist coming from a mile off and it was just a case of who would make it through to the end. I think I would like another book in this series, just more action and less teenage hormones but I guess it's building up the hero's sorry villains origin story.
Aidan is fed up of being in the shadows, the guy nobody knows, so when he starts to develop powers he decided the only way to make a name for himself is by becoming a supervilain. When his first job goes horribly wrong he is given a choice. Go to the tower and spend the rest of his life in a tube or right for his place on a super villain team. The hero's need villains to fight and have decided to run a competition to see who has what it takes to become there arch nemesis. Can Aidan make it to The last eight or will be get cut from the team?
I liked the narrator. He used a number of voices to bring the characters personalities to life and bring a voice to super villains.
Aidan is fed up of being in the shadows, the guy nobody knows, so when he starts to develop powers he decided the only way to make a name for himself is by becoming a supervilain. When his first job goes horribly wrong he is given a choice. Go to the tower and spend the rest of his life in a tube or right for his place on a super villain team. The hero's need villains to fight and have decided to run a competition to see who has what it takes to become there arch nemesis. Can Aidan make it to The last eight or will be get cut from the team?
I liked the narrator. He used a number of voices to bring the characters personalities to life and bring a voice to super villains.
January 6, 2024
Almost Infamous by Matt Carter, is a twist on the normal superhero genre, where instead of focusing on the superheroes, we focus on up and coming Aidan Salt, better known after an incident in the beginning of the novel as APEX STRIKE. After this incident, he is taken into Project Kayfabe, where after the War on Villainy where this universe's versions of the Avengers known as the Protectors completely and utterly "destroyed" villainy, Aidan is recruited to be a new supervillain to keep the heroes relevant.
Long story short, this book is like the rock n Roll version of superherodom and supervillainy. Drugs, sex and rock n Roll. Once things get too much, well that is where things go from bad to worse for Aidan and his friends. I won't reveal but while it did drag on somewhere in the middle, the epic climatic battle really brought me back and while I do believe that this is a one and done by Matt Carter, it made me wonder for a prequel series, like covering the Gamemaster or even El Capitan. Hell I'd even take a novella about Spongeman. Yes there is a hero called Spongeman in this book, I just pictured Spongebob.
All in all, I would give Almost Infamous a shot, it caught my interest because I've always been into the Superhero genre, and this was a nice little flip to the trope.
Long story short, this book is like the rock n Roll version of superherodom and supervillainy. Drugs, sex and rock n Roll. Once things get too much, well that is where things go from bad to worse for Aidan and his friends. I won't reveal but while it did drag on somewhere in the middle, the epic climatic battle really brought me back and while I do believe that this is a one and done by Matt Carter, it made me wonder for a prequel series, like covering the Gamemaster or even El Capitan. Hell I'd even take a novella about Spongeman. Yes there is a hero called Spongeman in this book, I just pictured Spongebob.
All in all, I would give Almost Infamous a shot, it caught my interest because I've always been into the Superhero genre, and this was a nice little flip to the trope.
April 6, 2025
DNR
A social reject with 'super powers' thinks world owes him and goes to become a public nuisance. Study? Self-Improve? Stay consistent? That's for the chums. Aidan knows best. The minute of fame in media is all that matters. When the consequences of his short lived strategic genius come to bite his behind a government conspiracy swipes him up.
Personally, the gaining in contemporary fame genre of 'realistic' superheroes is a great way to remind a wider audience of the age old adage of power corrupting, and (occasionally) what the average Joe can do to stand up to the oppressive as-is rule. In 'Almost Infamous: A Supervillain Novel' MC follows his animalistic - reproduction, substance abuse, social rank -desires and is more like a leaf in the wind, being a nuisance to everyone.
Conclusion: 2/5. Listened on Audible included in the plus catalogue. Narrated by: Nicholas Techosky. 'Almost Infamous: A Supervillain Novel' read as 'A Confederacy of Dunces' in contemporary setting with people with super powers. Terrible value for the length of the book, buying it with USD- 2.03 $/hour ( 19.95$ / 09 hrs 51 mins ).
Values:
Terrible: >1.66 $/hour
Bad: 1 - 1.66 $/hour
Good: <1 $/hour
Dream: 0.4 - 0.27 $/hour
A social reject with 'super powers' thinks world owes him and goes to become a public nuisance. Study? Self-Improve? Stay consistent? That's for the chums. Aidan knows best. The minute of fame in media is all that matters. When the consequences of his short lived strategic genius come to bite his behind a government conspiracy swipes him up.
Personally, the gaining in contemporary fame genre of 'realistic' superheroes is a great way to remind a wider audience of the age old adage of power corrupting, and (occasionally) what the average Joe can do to stand up to the oppressive as-is rule. In 'Almost Infamous: A Supervillain Novel' MC follows his animalistic - reproduction, substance abuse, social rank -desires and is more like a leaf in the wind, being a nuisance to everyone.
Conclusion: 2/5. Listened on Audible included in the plus catalogue. Narrated by: Nicholas Techosky. 'Almost Infamous: A Supervillain Novel' read as 'A Confederacy of Dunces' in contemporary setting with people with super powers. Terrible value for the length of the book, buying it with USD- 2.03 $/hour ( 19.95$ / 09 hrs 51 mins ).
Values:
Terrible: >1.66 $/hour
Bad: 1 - 1.66 $/hour
Good: <1 $/hour
Dream: 0.4 - 0.27 $/hour
November 29, 2016
I'm not sure this is really a 4-star book, but I enjoyed it.
It's clear right off that this book is not trying to be Serious Lit'ra'tr.
And it starts off a bit dorky, much like its protagonist.
But as the silly-but-consistent plot unfolds, Aidan grows up before our eyes.
It's probably best seen as a YA book,but it's not bad at all.
There's the usual casual sex of novels - the "we've been together for eight pages, let's get it on" kind - but at the same time Aidan is learning that there's THIS kind and THAT kind, and there's an important difference.
This is another novel of the standard "he had no idea how strong he was until ..." kind, but it isntl really a problem. I do wonder if someone will someday write about a protagonist who is NOT particularly strong but has learned how to be effective. Indeed, this book came fairly close to doing that, but in the end Aidan seems to rank pretty darn high on the power list.
I don't see this one having a sequel, but Carter's next one is worth watching for.
It's clear right off that this book is not trying to be Serious Lit'ra'tr.
And it starts off a bit dorky, much like its protagonist.
But as the silly-but-consistent plot unfolds, Aidan grows up before our eyes.
It's probably best seen as a YA book,but it's not bad at all.
There's the usual casual sex of novels - the "we've been together for eight pages, let's get it on" kind - but at the same time Aidan is learning that there's THIS kind and THAT kind, and there's an important difference.
This is another novel of the standard "he had no idea how strong he was until ..." kind, but it isntl really a problem. I do wonder if someone will someday write about a protagonist who is NOT particularly strong but has learned how to be effective. Indeed, this book came fairly close to doing that, but in the end Aidan seems to rank pretty darn high on the power list.
I don't see this one having a sequel, but Carter's next one is worth watching for.
November 9, 2022
I see a lot of the reviews for this have it tagged as Did Not Finish, and, I can understand that. The first third of this book was pretty tough to get through, the main character is so unrelatable/annoying/frustrating and the constant horniness is egregious. I figured it was short enough though to power through and see how it finished... and it got better?
There's a very interesting world wrapped up in this book, the 'Super Villainy 101' interludes were great and most of what kept me going. There's even some pretty decent social commentary on many levels. It's a shame its all through the lens of a walking hormone though. I can see that the intent was the redemption arc of our protagonist, it just started at such a bad place that it didn't work for me.
Giving the first third of the book a sold 0 stars, the middle third 2 stars, and the final third 3 stars, averaging to 2 with a bonus for the Super Villainy 101 sections.
There's a very interesting world wrapped up in this book, the 'Super Villainy 101' interludes were great and most of what kept me going. There's even some pretty decent social commentary on many levels. It's a shame its all through the lens of a walking hormone though. I can see that the intent was the redemption arc of our protagonist, it just started at such a bad place that it didn't work for me.
Giving the first third of the book a sold 0 stars, the middle third 2 stars, and the final third 3 stars, averaging to 2 with a bonus for the Super Villainy 101 sections.
March 31, 2019
I wanted to like it. I love super villains. But i couldnt finish it. I hated the main character and the premise while interesting in concept. Made for an unappealing story. The main character is dumb, cowardly, and the only time he does something of his own accord was at the beginning when he makes his first villain outing and gets caught. Besides the character the whole book seems like it was written by a teenager with great writing skills.
The world itself was great. The stories of past villains are more interesting than the main story itself. Sadly, the entire reason i like villains, clever determined fighting against the powers with an edge of darkness, is completely and totally absent in this story.
Good writer, terrible main character. Not much better side characters.
The world itself was great. The stories of past villains are more interesting than the main story itself. Sadly, the entire reason i like villains, clever determined fighting against the powers with an edge of darkness, is completely and totally absent in this story.
Good writer, terrible main character. Not much better side characters.
May 31, 2022
The book is written to appeal to a wide age range, so while it doesn't exactly read like a young adult book, it's definitely still written to be a simple read.
Almost Infamous was fun. It's not the book that's going to make me grab my friend group and convince everyone to read it as I start a fan club and start petitioning Hollywood to turn it into a live action series. Very predictable as well.
This is like a book version of a popcorn flick. Sometimes you aren't interested in reading something heavy, or long, or whatever. You just want to shut your brain off and be entertained. Well, this is the book for you.
Almost Infamous was fun. It's not the book that's going to make me grab my friend group and convince everyone to read it as I start a fan club and start petitioning Hollywood to turn it into a live action series. Very predictable as well.
This is like a book version of a popcorn flick. Sometimes you aren't interested in reading something heavy, or long, or whatever. You just want to shut your brain off and be entertained. Well, this is the book for you.
March 10, 2019
while the transitions are awkward, and reading in the voice of an 18 year-old makes the story even more awkward and uncomfortable, the fact that aidan / apex strike actually evolves as a human being and person over the course of the novel really elevates almost infamous above most superhero novels. it's on par with soon i will be invincible in terms of self-awareness and subversion of standard tropes. the various aspects of the novel have been explored in actual comics like planetary and the boys, but the way carter weaves everything together makes it fairly noteworthy.
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