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The Dire Saga #1
Born
No memory, no resources, no secret lair, and no time to find her feet; this is the story of a self-made villain, and her fall into strife. Fleeing from unknown enemies and an early death, she emerges into a city gone dark in the aftermath of a complete systems failure. Hounded by heroes, menaced by gangs, and helped by the most unlikely of allies, she claws her way up from weakness to strength and works to build a better future for those who deserve it. To survive, she'll need strength to stand toe-to-toe against secretly supernatural foes, compassion to work with the dregs and outcasts of a broken society, and cunning to outwit intelligences beyond human ken. The challenge is great... but she is Dire. And Icon City will never be the same again. This is the first novel from the "Tales from the Teslaverse" project.
281 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 26, 2015
153 people are currently reading
689 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
January 17, 2016
IT. WAS. SO. GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love Dire!!! Love! Her! Writing was, super, super, super great! It was funny. There were feels. It reminded me of Worm except, you know, shorter. It was so glorious and I want the next book soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo bad...
February 1, 2019
How could I not have known about this amazing series before? This is one awesome anti hero story and so complex while having a somewhat funny but at the same time serious Heroine. I just love how Dire speaks in 3rd person because she has too. It's not forced at all and really makes her all that more interesting for it. Many authors try these kind of things and really force them and it just doesn't work. But Andrew Seiple makes it feel natural the way he writes Dire. I can't wait I am jumping on to the next book ASAP!!!!
September 29, 2024
Can't recommend this series
-I keep thinking that I LOVE Andrew Seiple, until I go to read more Andrew Seiple.-
I somehow failed to mark this book as read in June of 2020, so admittedly this is my recollections from 4 years ago. This one edgy, sometimes cringey, but really interesting despite or because of how uncomfortable it made me. It was engaging enough to have read the entire series, but after reviewing the entire series I'm left with an over all feeling of disappointment and regret.
Some really interesting ideas here. but I doesn't go anywhere worthwhile.
MAJOR SPOILER
-I keep thinking that I LOVE Andrew Seiple, until I go to read more Andrew Seiple.-
I somehow failed to mark this book as read in June of 2020, so admittedly this is my recollections from 4 years ago. This one edgy, sometimes cringey, but really interesting despite or because of how uncomfortable it made me. It was engaging enough to have read the entire series, but after reviewing the entire series I'm left with an over all feeling of disappointment and regret.
Some really interesting ideas here. but I doesn't go anywhere worthwhile.
MAJOR SPOILER
April 3, 2017
This book (as well as its sequels) very quickly made it to my 'favorite books of all time' list!
Dire: Born by Andrew Seiple is superhero (or, rather, supervillain, or maybe even just a book that takes place tangentially to people with superpowers) book about a lady called Dire who wakes up with no memories, some supervillain tech, and a video message from her past self saying that she’s erased her own memory for reasons that Dire doesn’t get to know because before she finishes watching it, a bunch of assassins come for her. She proceeds to hide out in a homeless shantytown and befriend the people there while dealing with the local (really terrifying and brutal) gangs and trying to figure out her past.
It’s simultaneously really dark and violent, really witty and hilarious, and really fundamentally hopeful and optimistic. The subject matter is gritty and dark but the narrative voice rejects that almost entirely in tone.
Also, Dire is literally incapable of not speaking in the third person and keeps doing campy supervillain things like cackling and building power armor covered in a skull and spikes, and then getting personally offended when people are like ‘Wow, that’s campy supervillain stuff!’ because no, of course the angry skull on the spike collar is adorable. At the same time there’s a good deal of murder and superpowered drugs and much, much worse - and what you’d expect to see when living in a homeless shantytown in a gang-infested town in a world where superpowers exist and the Y2K end of the world just hit. Serious things are treated with the levity they call for, but the book is by no means depressing.
This is shockingly sympathetic the story of how Doctor Dire decides to take over the world!
Dire: Born by Andrew Seiple is superhero (or, rather, supervillain, or maybe even just a book that takes place tangentially to people with superpowers) book about a lady called Dire who wakes up with no memories, some supervillain tech, and a video message from her past self saying that she’s erased her own memory for reasons that Dire doesn’t get to know because before she finishes watching it, a bunch of assassins come for her. She proceeds to hide out in a homeless shantytown and befriend the people there while dealing with the local (really terrifying and brutal) gangs and trying to figure out her past.
It’s simultaneously really dark and violent, really witty and hilarious, and really fundamentally hopeful and optimistic. The subject matter is gritty and dark but the narrative voice rejects that almost entirely in tone.
Also, Dire is literally incapable of not speaking in the third person and keeps doing campy supervillain things like cackling and building power armor covered in a skull and spikes, and then getting personally offended when people are like ‘Wow, that’s campy supervillain stuff!’ because no, of course the angry skull on the spike collar is adorable. At the same time there’s a good deal of murder and superpowered drugs and much, much worse - and what you’d expect to see when living in a homeless shantytown in a gang-infested town in a world where superpowers exist and the Y2K end of the world just hit. Serious things are treated with the levity they call for, but the book is by no means depressing.
This is shockingly sympathetic the story of how Doctor Dire decides to take over the world!
February 13, 2019
Another story where the bad guys are the good guys
I'm a bit burned out on super genius villains. I'm also tired of protagonists not having memories. Throw in the villains are better people than heroes and it's three strikes and you're out. The rest of my review will have spoilers.
The Good.
There's action galore. You feel the hits, and there are plenty of them.
I liked comparing heroes and villains with the baby faces and heels of pro wrestling.
The quotes starting each chapter have excellent exposition.
The Way Tooms was dealt with.
The Bad.
It took itself too seriously. This story would have been better as a farce.
Dire had no memory, but instinct made her an amazing and ruthless fighter. This conveniently allowed her to win fights with all supers against her.
I didn't care for the supporting characters. There should have been more bad people with the bums.
The Technical.
There is violence and profanity galore.
The book ends with a cliffhanger. There are at least five sequels.
Dire speaks in an absurd manner. It will either come across as quirky or annoying.
I'm a bit burned out on super genius villains. I'm also tired of protagonists not having memories. Throw in the villains are better people than heroes and it's three strikes and you're out. The rest of my review will have spoilers.
The Good.
There's action galore. You feel the hits, and there are plenty of them.
I liked comparing heroes and villains with the baby faces and heels of pro wrestling.
The quotes starting each chapter have excellent exposition.
The Way Tooms was dealt with.
The Bad.
It took itself too seriously. This story would have been better as a farce.
Dire had no memory, but instinct made her an amazing and ruthless fighter. This conveniently allowed her to win fights with all supers against her.
I didn't care for the supporting characters. There should have been more bad people with the bums.
The Technical.
There is violence and profanity galore.
The book ends with a cliffhanger. There are at least five sequels.
Dire speaks in an absurd manner. It will either come across as quirky or annoying.
February 9, 2021
Wow. This was a really cool book. I’ve been looking all over for hero villain books where the good-evil line is blurred and this fit just right. There were a few curveballs was in the book that threw me (many genres, one book). Creatures and characters I didn’t think would belong. But somehow the author made it work. I definitely recommend this book. Especially if you’ve read and liked the book Perdition, by Ann Aguirre. Both books lie in the grey areas of right and wrong, and both are utterly captivating.
March 15, 2019
So far it looks like this book is a "what if Nikola Tesla's stuff wasn't stolen by the Government and he was allowed to built his stuff on a large scale" type novel, mixed with some superhero fantasy.
If the protagonist builds "cool" stuff I might continue, otherwise this is going to be a slog.
This book really wasn't for me. I love books where the protagonist uses their brain and hands to build outrageous things, but this novel was just the protagonist reacting to everyone else's chess moves. The protagonist doing what needs to be done and not crying about it is a plus, but there was not enough mad scientist tinkering for my liking.
From how this book ended, it looks like book two might have more time for building stuff, but I doubt it. The author already set the tone of how he wants these novels to go, and I don't see more time dedicated to building stuff and less time reacting to people.
It was nice and all how the author showed that a lot of times the "good guys" does more harm than the villains. But I don't read these books for the human condition.
If you like your novels about people and their feelings, then this is for you. I only tried this because I liked the author's teddy bear novel, and wanted to see if he had anymore hidden gold.
I only like my scifi when it focuses more on the science fiction technology part, and less on the human condition feelings.
2.5/5 Stars
If the protagonist builds "cool" stuff I might continue, otherwise this is going to be a slog.
This book really wasn't for me. I love books where the protagonist uses their brain and hands to build outrageous things, but this novel was just the protagonist reacting to everyone else's chess moves. The protagonist doing what needs to be done and not crying about it is a plus, but there was not enough mad scientist tinkering for my liking.
From how this book ended, it looks like book two might have more time for building stuff, but I doubt it. The author already set the tone of how he wants these novels to go, and I don't see more time dedicated to building stuff and less time reacting to people.
It was nice and all how the author showed that a lot of times the "good guys" does more harm than the villains. But I don't read these books for the human condition.
If you like your novels about people and their feelings, then this is for you. I only tried this because I liked the author's teddy bear novel, and wanted to see if he had anymore hidden gold.
I only like my scifi when it focuses more on the science fiction technology part, and less on the human condition feelings.
2.5/5 Stars
January 27, 2019
A very good super hero book with a couple of shortcomings. The first being that the author sets up a larger mystery in the background and makes no headway on it so the reader may be left with a sense that the book lacks resolution. The MC, Dire, is a super genius. For some unknown reason Dire does brain surgery on herself to edit her memories. Unfortunately her lair is attacked at just the wrong time and Dire must flee before getting all the information she left herself. Stumbling into an unknown night the MC is taken in by a group of homeless trying to get by on a public beach. These homeless are at odds with the powerful gang that claims the beach as its own. Dire is pulled into this conflict only to discover (1) that she is still being hunted by whoever invaded her lair; (2) some heroes don't deserve the acclaim they receive; and (3) this world may just need a super villain to save it from itself.
The smaller issue is that the resolution dragged even though it was action-packed. This is because it takes the fairly familiar approach of the MC being captured only to turn the tables. Here, however, the author gives hints at Dire's backup plans but then writes the big showdown as if those plans don't exist, something I lost patience with almost immediately.
Bottom line: A well above average super hero book that I enjoyed greatly.
The smaller issue is that the resolution dragged even though it was action-packed. This is because it takes the fairly familiar approach of the MC being captured only to turn the tables. Here, however, the author gives hints at Dire's backup plans but then writes the big showdown as if those plans don't exist, something I lost patience with almost immediately.
Bottom line: A well above average super hero book that I enjoyed greatly.
April 1, 2016
I'm not one for reviews usually but I've been on a self published reading binge and when a book has this few reviews I feel like it's my responsibility to at least drop a quick review of my thoughts.
This book is basically a supervillian's origin story. Superpowered fiction has been on the rise lately and this was one that jumped out at me while looking through offers on kindle unlimited.
I pretty much loved everything about it. The characters are great, the dialogue fantastic and the plot has such a great pace it was hard to put down. As someone who has barely stepped out of the traditionally published box I was stunned at the quality of this debut self published book. Good characters and good plot ideas were not that big of a surprise, but the level of polish displayed made it feel like I was reading a book from a veteran of the industry.
Honestly if your interested in superpowered fiction and supervillians in particular you need to at least try this book. Right before I started writing this review I noticed that the sequel is out. I know what I'm reading for the next few days and I hope It stands up to this first offering.
This book is basically a supervillian's origin story. Superpowered fiction has been on the rise lately and this was one that jumped out at me while looking through offers on kindle unlimited.
I pretty much loved everything about it. The characters are great, the dialogue fantastic and the plot has such a great pace it was hard to put down. As someone who has barely stepped out of the traditionally published box I was stunned at the quality of this debut self published book. Good characters and good plot ideas were not that big of a surprise, but the level of polish displayed made it feel like I was reading a book from a veteran of the industry.
Honestly if your interested in superpowered fiction and supervillians in particular you need to at least try this book. Right before I started writing this review I noticed that the sequel is out. I know what I'm reading for the next few days and I hope It stands up to this first offering.
November 27, 2022
TL:DR: Fun, escapist, science-fantasy featuring...err...quite a bunch of stuff including, but not limited to: Y2K (y'all remember that?!), a gritty alternate-history Earth with Tesla-based broadcast electricity, some kind of Tesla-influenced superpowers, heroes and villains (not to mention amnesiac ex-(super?)villains) and a whole lot more that I'm electing to leave out so you can discover it as you go. I'm definitely going to read the next book in the series! Note that this is definitely adult content (there's a bunch of death, murder, profanity galore and several scenes that reference sexual assault).
TL: Dire: Born is, I think, an origin story. The titular Dire is our protaganist, and we join her as she confusedly stumbles out of danger with her(?) ex-Lair(?) under attack and crumbling around her. As the rest of the book is about her, she obviously, escapes. The book tracks her assimilation into (or perhaps subsumption of) a new social circle and her unplanned (re?)growth into a leadership position. It's an action-packed super-hero cum sci-fi/fantasy story but, on reflection I felt that his book was startlingly similar to Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy: Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars in that, yes, there is technology at the forefront, but the plot is far more about personal interactions and their effect on the human elements of a narrative than on the raw outcomes of actions.
There's a lot to like here. Dire herself is a rather Pragmatic Hero, one might, these days, be inclined to say something about being "on the spectrum", but I think the point of a spectrum is that you'll find everyone represented on it, so it's kinda silly to say such things I guess. Anyway, Dire is remarkably pragmatic and transactional in her resolution of issues (social or otherwise) and her amensic state leads her to significantly question the social structures that those around her just take for granted as "the way things are". This does, on occasion, lead to some rather overt politics but this really only surfaced as blatant author-insert flag-waving the once - the rest of the time it just came across as naive questiong that made sense in the context of the character.
Dire aside, there are plenty of interesting characters that make up the supporting cast, and a lot of them get fleshed out in a more than passing fashion! As appears to be Mr Seiple's way (this is the second series of his that I've read now), he's more than happy to knock off a character or two if he thinks it makes sense, although for the poor bastards in Dire's universe, death is a far more permanent affliction.
The story kicks off in a no-questions-asked homeless camp and a number of the residents slowly fade in from the background over the course of the story, but by the time the end of the book rolls around, there's still a huge amount to know about soooo many of the characters. That, and the open-ending, really make it read like part one of a series, it's pretty clear Mr Seiple wanted to write more than what appears here and in fact there's a lot of insight to be gained into the character and worldbuilding on the Sufficient Velocity forums where, I think, Dire might have first appeared). The world is really cool and the "conclusion" definitely leaves you with far more questions about what else is beyond the plot horizon, in both directions! That said, you will get a satisfactory conclusion for the main plot arc, it's just very obviously set up for part two.
I definitley enjoyed this book, but I'm running with 3-stars because there were a few things that prevented it from hitting the 4-star mark (if I could do halvesies, this would definitely be in the 3.5 range. My short-list of annoyances includes:
- Dire's definitely a Mary Sue. To be fair, that's kinda the point of the character, but she really is good at all the things and regardless of her incredibly standoffish nature (or at least, what comes across as such) everyone loves her, and that does seem to paper over some potential cracks in the plot on occasion, it's also just really annoying;
- The skeleton of the plot is quite obvious from the end of the first chapter, I pretty much knew what was coming in the final chapter at that point but, and this is a pretty big but, there are a lot of things that I did not see coming! In particular, the final third of the book threw several remarkably unexpected plot twists into the mix;
- There are so many "twists" and they generally add to the fun eh, too much.
Overall, great ideas and I very much look forward to learning a lot more about this world in book two.
I listened to the Audible (Podium Audio) version of this book, superbly narrated by Amy McFadden. Although there are a number of gravelly-voiced characters (men and women) as well as kids and higher-pitched folk, they all get a relevant, unique and consistent voice. Mrs McFadden really knocks it out of the park!
TL: Dire: Born is, I think, an origin story. The titular Dire is our protaganist, and we join her as she confusedly stumbles out of danger with her(?) ex-Lair(?) under attack and crumbling around her. As the rest of the book is about her, she obviously, escapes. The book tracks her assimilation into (or perhaps subsumption of) a new social circle and her unplanned (re?)growth into a leadership position. It's an action-packed super-hero cum sci-fi/fantasy story but, on reflection I felt that his book was startlingly similar to Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy: Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars in that, yes, there is technology at the forefront, but the plot is far more about personal interactions and their effect on the human elements of a narrative than on the raw outcomes of actions.
There's a lot to like here. Dire herself is a rather Pragmatic Hero, one might, these days, be inclined to say something about being "on the spectrum", but I think the point of a spectrum is that you'll find everyone represented on it, so it's kinda silly to say such things I guess. Anyway, Dire is remarkably pragmatic and transactional in her resolution of issues (social or otherwise) and her amensic state leads her to significantly question the social structures that those around her just take for granted as "the way things are". This does, on occasion, lead to some rather overt politics but this really only surfaced as blatant author-insert flag-waving the once - the rest of the time it just came across as naive questiong that made sense in the context of the character.
Dire aside, there are plenty of interesting characters that make up the supporting cast, and a lot of them get fleshed out in a more than passing fashion! As appears to be Mr Seiple's way (this is the second series of his that I've read now), he's more than happy to knock off a character or two if he thinks it makes sense, although for the poor bastards in Dire's universe, death is a far more permanent affliction.
The story kicks off in a no-questions-asked homeless camp and a number of the residents slowly fade in from the background over the course of the story, but by the time the end of the book rolls around, there's still a huge amount to know about soooo many of the characters. That, and the open-ending, really make it read like part one of a series, it's pretty clear Mr Seiple wanted to write more than what appears here and in fact there's a lot of insight to be gained into the character and worldbuilding on the Sufficient Velocity forums where, I think, Dire might have first appeared). The world is really cool and the "conclusion" definitely leaves you with far more questions about what else is beyond the plot horizon, in both directions! That said, you will get a satisfactory conclusion for the main plot arc, it's just very obviously set up for part two.
I definitley enjoyed this book, but I'm running with 3-stars because there were a few things that prevented it from hitting the 4-star mark (if I could do halvesies, this would definitely be in the 3.5 range. My short-list of annoyances includes:
- Dire's definitely a Mary Sue. To be fair, that's kinda the point of the character, but she really is good at all the things and regardless of her incredibly standoffish nature (or at least, what comes across as such) everyone loves her, and that does seem to paper over some potential cracks in the plot on occasion, it's also just really annoying;
- The skeleton of the plot is quite obvious from the end of the first chapter, I pretty much knew what was coming in the final chapter at that point but, and this is a pretty big but, there are a lot of things that I did not see coming! In particular, the final third of the book threw several remarkably unexpected plot twists into the mix;
- There are so many "twists" and they generally add to the fun eh, too much.
Overall, great ideas and I very much look forward to learning a lot more about this world in book two.
I listened to the Audible (Podium Audio) version of this book, superbly narrated by Amy McFadden. Although there are a number of gravelly-voiced characters (men and women) as well as kids and higher-pitched folk, they all get a relevant, unique and consistent voice. Mrs McFadden really knocks it out of the park!
August 18, 2016
So there an AI's, some bound to hardware, other on the net, and the net ones won the y2K war and for some reason thought Dire was working for the hardware ones, of which her mask is one it seems. Or possible the "smartframe". Which she says she lost at the end, but I don't see why it couldn't escape.
From the 'heroes' which are pretty much useless. Tomorrow Force is a good name- they're always late.
All the before-chapter blurbs make it sound like she goes bad later, but then everyone think she's bad now so I'll take that with a grain of salt. The world sucks, if wants to rule it let her.
Hopefully she also learned to put some security in her suit. And more things to use out of it.
Kind of weird Sparky's friend all let each other die as well, so it's not all on him even if it's all true. And even if it is, it was clearly the right call anyway.
She better have some kickass armor next book!
From the 'heroes' which are pretty much useless. Tomorrow Force is a good name- they're always late.
All the before-chapter blurbs make it sound like she goes bad later, but then everyone think she's bad now so I'll take that with a grain of salt. The world sucks, if wants to rule it let her.
Hopefully she also learned to put some security in her suit. And more things to use out of it.
Kind of weird Sparky's friend all let each other die as well, so it's not all on him even if it's all true. And even if it is, it was clearly the right call anyway.
She better have some kickass armor next book!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 23, 2017
I loved this.
Dire is kind of adorable. She has a sort of no-nonsense way of approaching everything that's a joy to see unfold. Dire is a fairly stereotypical mad scientist/supergenius. Except, she isn't. She's quirky and weird, but she's relatable, likable, and a little naive. She's logical, but not emotionally null. She's more than just the tropes. She is Dire. My favorite character I've read about this year.
It did take a bit of an unexpected turn midway through but there were enough hints beforehand that it wasn't completely out of nowhere.
It's not perfect. Some extra time with some of the other characters would've been nice. could've used some more foreshadowing. The moment felt weak because I didn't know the character. Probably best shown by how I can't even remember this character's name right off hand.
Dire is kind of adorable. She has a sort of no-nonsense way of approaching everything that's a joy to see unfold. Dire is a fairly stereotypical mad scientist/supergenius. Except, she isn't. She's quirky and weird, but she's relatable, likable, and a little naive. She's logical, but not emotionally null. She's more than just the tropes. She is Dire. My favorite character I've read about this year.
It did take a bit of an unexpected turn midway through but there were enough hints beforehand that it wasn't completely out of nowhere.
It's not perfect. Some extra time with some of the other characters would've been nice. could've used some more foreshadowing. The moment felt weak because I didn't know the character. Probably best shown by how I can't even remember this character's name right off hand.
May 9, 2016
This is an in medias res style story, where our protagonist begins with no memory, few resources and is thrown directly into the fray. It is a book of action, of corruption, of hope, and of betrayal. It is a book which examines how different people can look at the same event, and see different things.
It's a nitty-gritty battle in the streets, far from sky scrappers, limos, personal assistants; and far from plausible deniability.
Tightly plotted, well written, this is the story of a dark, action hero, with some surprisingly poignant emotional scenes. I feel I should clarify: It is the story which is dark, the protagonist herself is not particularly brooding or dark, rather, she's pragmatic (perhaps even ruthless) in the face of the darkness that she finds surrounding her.
Good stuff, if you like super hero stories, or action stories (or both) give it a try!
It's a nitty-gritty battle in the streets, far from sky scrappers, limos, personal assistants; and far from plausible deniability.
Tightly plotted, well written, this is the story of a dark, action hero, with some surprisingly poignant emotional scenes. I feel I should clarify: It is the story which is dark, the protagonist herself is not particularly brooding or dark, rather, she's pragmatic (perhaps even ruthless) in the face of the darkness that she finds surrounding her.
Good stuff, if you like super hero stories, or action stories (or both) give it a try!
March 13, 2017
Probably the first supervillain origin story that I've read that was compelling and made sense (well, as far as superhero/villain things go anyway.) Dire, because of her origin, is very straightforward and a bit naive, tackling problems directly. Her circumstances bring her into conflict with both the villains and the heroes of the setting in an understandable way.
The author has a very full feeling universe they've developed for the setting, embracing the comic-book kitchen sink-ness of superpowers but doesn't let it act as an excuse to be "wacky comics: Am I right!" like a few other authors I've read.
I'd definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a solid read in the supers genre.
The author has a very full feeling universe they've developed for the setting, embracing the comic-book kitchen sink-ness of superpowers but doesn't let it act as an excuse to be "wacky comics: Am I right!" like a few other authors I've read.
I'd definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a solid read in the supers genre.
November 17, 2020
Great debut.
The book covers the origin story of DOCTOR DIRE! & sets up (somewhat) the Teslaverse.
In the chaos of Y2K , a group of homeless people are left to fend for themselves against a bloodthirsty gang--and DIRE! discovers her purpose.
I look forward to the next DOCTOR DIRE! saga. I really hope we get to see Dire become the hammy and Nazi-punching villain we met in Dire Worm .
The book covers the origin story of DOCTOR DIRE! & sets up (somewhat) the Teslaverse.
In the chaos of Y2K , a group of homeless people are left to fend for themselves against a bloodthirsty gang--and DIRE! discovers her purpose.
I look forward to the next DOCTOR DIRE! saga. I really hope we get to see Dire become the hammy and Nazi-punching villain we met in Dire Worm .
April 6, 2016
Wow! I haven't been this excited about an author since I first read Richard Kadrey's book Sandman Slim. Not only is the writing excellent, but the characters are amazing and the plot is refreshingly original. I highly recommend this book, as well as Mr. Seiple's other works. I can't wait to see the great things to come from this author!!
April 29, 2016
Very good, strong language
It reminds me of a cross between the series EX (superpowers and post civilization) and Dark Tidings (solving fantasy world problems through necessary actions, good and bad). Also, brings to mind the web serial Worm (reluctant villain saves the world). Excited to read the next one.
It reminds me of a cross between the series EX (superpowers and post civilization) and Dark Tidings (solving fantasy world problems through necessary actions, good and bad). Also, brings to mind the web serial Worm (reluctant villain saves the world). Excited to read the next one.
February 27, 2016
Why did I wait to read this?
Much better than average superhero book. Lots of action, no romance, complicated universe with very unclear lines between heroes and villains. Looking forward to the next in the series.
Much better than average superhero book. Lots of action, no romance, complicated universe with very unclear lines between heroes and villains. Looking forward to the next in the series.
June 25, 2016
Science fiction, superheroes, and geniuses--the first installment in this series is fantastic, funny, entertaining, well-written, and not too dark or full of itself while still delivering on the drama.
Those who loved "Worm" and the Parahuman universe will be right at home here.
Those who loved "Worm" and the Parahuman universe will be right at home here.
January 29, 2016
More please
This needs to become a series. Loved the story and was well rounded but this was a hero origin story. Now it begins.
This needs to become a series. Loved the story and was well rounded but this was a hero origin story. Now it begins.
May 6, 2019
I just didn't care to finish. Super hero books just aren't my thing, I suppose.
March 14, 2025
Read this if you like: The "grounded superheroes" concept of Worm but not the reality of reading 1.6 million words of story
Dire Born is an example of how a good cover isn't necessarily a high-quality cover. I'm pretty sure my eyes passed over the Audible version multiple times without even registering it but I saw the text version's cover once and thought "now hold on a second". It might be amateurish but it's also evocative.
The book itself is pretty good. Hero-villain combat as a semi-authentic show is an interesting concept and has some interesting side effects. For one, a tacit acceptance by everyone that superpowered people are on a level different from normies, but they're closely related enough that they want each other's approval and either way fighting is more fun if nobody dies. For another, it makes a certain amount of sense for a higher life form to have different rules in practice - if you rob banks and steal paintings, the superheroes will put you in jail, but they expect you to get out one way or another, they just don't want you to be seen getting away with it. The more damage to bystanders and other superpowered goons you do, though, and the more likely it is Batman will respond to your masquerade violations with a masquerade violation of his own (hitting you with his bat-car instead of arresting you). It also characterizes villains as being more anti-system than anti-good, it's just that a lot of people hate the system for not enabling their bad behavior. Overzealous activists get the villain label but, again, as long as they don't hurt anyone they won't get seriously hurt themselves. The Civil Rights movement is named as a moment when "heroes" and "villains" wound up on both sides because what each one wanted the government to do in specific was separate from how much they trusted it in general.
Enter Mrs. Dire. She had her memory wiped for reasons she can't remember, so she's never experienced the halcyon days when heroes saved people, villains got punched into prison, and occasionally someone would try to be the Joker or the Punisher and get turned into red graffiti. Her life began during a dark time in the early 2000's when the strong did as they willed and the weak did what they must. She's also smart. Really, really smart. So smart that the formative days of her new life do not include a lesson in the difference between "being able to solve problems better than anyone" and "being able to solve any problem". And that's where the supervillain tendencies come in. When she decides to save society the way she solved Icon City's gang problem (by using toxic gas, flamethrowers, and a personal army).
I give it four stars because the last few pages felt very clunky despite being thematically-aligned. The ending is, in my estimation, the most important part of a work artistically, although the beginning is where most of the sales come from. Overall I think that this is what "realistic superheroes" as a concept ought to be, an exploration of why these nonsense tales of costumed weirdos resonate so much and what these archetypical characters are supposed to represent in terms of real-world personalities.
Dire Born is an example of how a good cover isn't necessarily a high-quality cover. I'm pretty sure my eyes passed over the Audible version multiple times without even registering it but I saw the text version's cover once and thought "now hold on a second". It might be amateurish but it's also evocative.
The book itself is pretty good. Hero-villain combat as a semi-authentic show is an interesting concept and has some interesting side effects. For one, a tacit acceptance by everyone that superpowered people are on a level different from normies, but they're closely related enough that they want each other's approval and either way fighting is more fun if nobody dies. For another, it makes a certain amount of sense for a higher life form to have different rules in practice - if you rob banks and steal paintings, the superheroes will put you in jail, but they expect you to get out one way or another, they just don't want you to be seen getting away with it. The more damage to bystanders and other superpowered goons you do, though, and the more likely it is Batman will respond to your masquerade violations with a masquerade violation of his own (hitting you with his bat-car instead of arresting you). It also characterizes villains as being more anti-system than anti-good, it's just that a lot of people hate the system for not enabling their bad behavior. Overzealous activists get the villain label but, again, as long as they don't hurt anyone they won't get seriously hurt themselves. The Civil Rights movement is named as a moment when "heroes" and "villains" wound up on both sides because what each one wanted the government to do in specific was separate from how much they trusted it in general.
Enter Mrs. Dire. She had her memory wiped for reasons she can't remember, so she's never experienced the halcyon days when heroes saved people, villains got punched into prison, and occasionally someone would try to be the Joker or the Punisher and get turned into red graffiti. Her life began during a dark time in the early 2000's when the strong did as they willed and the weak did what they must. She's also smart. Really, really smart. So smart that the formative days of her new life do not include a lesson in the difference between "being able to solve problems better than anyone" and "being able to solve any problem". And that's where the supervillain tendencies come in. When she decides to save society the way she solved Icon City's gang problem (by using toxic gas, flamethrowers, and a personal army).
I give it four stars because the last few pages felt very clunky despite being thematically-aligned. The ending is, in my estimation, the most important part of a work artistically, although the beginning is where most of the sales come from. Overall I think that this is what "realistic superheroes" as a concept ought to be, an exploration of why these nonsense tales of costumed weirdos resonate so much and what these archetypical characters are supposed to represent in terms of real-world personalities.
June 7, 2020
A fun read that's strangely touching
I really fell in love with the Threadbare Verse so I went looking for more Andrew Seiple. Book one of the Dire Saga is a very effective intro to a new universe with great characters and solid world building. This is another super villain protagonist books. I've read a few of these by now, and this one has the most heart. Dire, or Doctor Dire is of the super genius / inventor flavor with no small dash of bond villain (natural leadership +3 to inspiring minions). I cared a lot about the people in this book but there was one thing that kept throwing me out of the suspension of disbelief over and over and that was this: Doctor Dire's supposed genius has massive blind spots and idiocies. She has the means to do things legitimately but that never seems to occur to her. Example #1: To protect a homeless camp she spends enough money to have bought property legally and housed every person in that shanty several times over.
Yeah, yeah- It's not an action adventure book if you feed the hungry by going to the store and buying food. There were several times where an obvious solution was at hand but would have kinda' been the end of the book. the dull anticlimactic end with fewer dead friends and civilians. -Don't get me wrong I liked this book a lot, but you can't say you wish to avoid destruction when you eschew all the nondestructive options. I could say I wish to avoid beer, but I push aside all the bottled water and Gatorade to reach for the last beer in the back of the fridge.
Anyway, I like Dire. She is a flawed character, but a little too conveniently flawed in just the way to cause misunderstandings with the local heroes, escalate the conflict, and drive the story toward an explosive conclusion.
Andrew Seiple get less sloppy in later books but he keeps the charm and the heart.
I really fell in love with the Threadbare Verse so I went looking for more Andrew Seiple. Book one of the Dire Saga is a very effective intro to a new universe with great characters and solid world building. This is another super villain protagonist books. I've read a few of these by now, and this one has the most heart. Dire, or Doctor Dire is of the super genius / inventor flavor with no small dash of bond villain (natural leadership +3 to inspiring minions). I cared a lot about the people in this book but there was one thing that kept throwing me out of the suspension of disbelief over and over and that was this: Doctor Dire's supposed genius has massive blind spots and idiocies. She has the means to do things legitimately but that never seems to occur to her. Example #1: To protect a homeless camp she spends enough money to have bought property legally and housed every person in that shanty several times over.
Yeah, yeah- It's not an action adventure book if you feed the hungry by going to the store and buying food. There were several times where an obvious solution was at hand but would have kinda' been the end of the book. the dull anticlimactic end with fewer dead friends and civilians. -Don't get me wrong I liked this book a lot, but you can't say you wish to avoid destruction when you eschew all the nondestructive options. I could say I wish to avoid beer, but I push aside all the bottled water and Gatorade to reach for the last beer in the back of the fridge.
Anyway, I like Dire. She is a flawed character, but a little too conveniently flawed in just the way to cause misunderstandings with the local heroes, escalate the conflict, and drive the story toward an explosive conclusion.
Andrew Seiple get less sloppy in later books but he keeps the charm and the heart.
April 30, 2022
I read this book after listening to the audiobook of Fate, which is listed as book 0.5 in the series. As a result, I was incredibly confused by this book. Characters who considered themselves enemies of Dire in Fate had no clue who she was in this book, even when she used her name. I spent a fair amount of time thinking something must have happened with the memories of everyone or that Dire had traveled back in time, which led to her having no memories and nobody knowing who she was yet. Instead, I think that Fate just should have not been labeled as 0.5 in the series and actually takes place after this book. Either way, it totally ruined this book for me. I might have rated it at three stars instead of two if not for Fate. I also did not like that, even by the end of the book, you do not really uncover much of anything about who Dire is or why she ended up where she was with no memories at the start of the book. I get that mysteries can be compelling in stories, but if you never get any closer to solving them, they just kind of are annoying. The whole villains and heroes concept was mildly interesting but nothing too unique. This just felt like a mildly entertaining generic superhero book with a number of faults. It had some interesting stuff about most heroes and villains putting on an act like pro wrestlers are often thought to do, and I enjoyed hearing about this side of things. It was funny for the characters to make fun of how it has to be an act for villains to escape from prison so often. Still, the book just was okay in the end. There are way better superpowered people books out there. I definitely do not recommend reading this.
Want to read
July 4, 2023The Dire series is amazing.Basically a Doctor Doom type bad guy. They start out on the street with Amnesia during a world wide blackout, and slowly build there way up to being one of the most feared Villains in the world.I loved the way the amnesia was eventually explained. A noteworthy fact about this series: It started out as Worm fanfiction!The “original” was a story where the titular character got dimensionally displaced into worm and proceeded to be op and muck up canon (pretty standard for fanfics).
the Doctor Dire series, which was spun off a Worm fanfic to begin with. AU where Tesla won the electricity wars and all forms of superpowers coexist at once. Follows the PoV of an Anti-Villain (for example: she tries to blow up the Yellowstone Caldera, but in a controlled way so that it wouldn't be catastrophic -> heroes stop her and pacify the volcanic activity permanently) who deliberately gave herself brain damage to lock her identity away. Six books, all on Amazon. Start with DIRE:BORN.
Strong Female Protagonist. A webcomic with an amusing message that might as well be an AU of Worm. Follows the life of an open cape of the Brute persuasion who semi-retired after getting tired of the PR aspect of superheroics. There's a severe undercurrent of fridge horror related to power expressions and the (as yet unrevealed) origins of powers themselves.
u/NickedYou May 06 '19
Seconding Strong Female Protagonist. While not as constantly dark and disturbing and depressing as the Wormverse, it still goes places many wouldn't, and it's interesting to explore moral ambiguity in a world that has gone less to shit.
the Doctor Dire series, which was spun off a Worm fanfic to begin with. AU where Tesla won the electricity wars and all forms of superpowers coexist at once. Follows the PoV of an Anti-Villain (for example: she tries to blow up the Yellowstone Caldera, but in a controlled way so that it wouldn't be catastrophic -> heroes stop her and pacify the volcanic activity permanently) who deliberately gave herself brain damage to lock her identity away. Six books, all on Amazon. Start with DIRE:BORN.
Strong Female Protagonist. A webcomic with an amusing message that might as well be an AU of Worm. Follows the life of an open cape of the Brute persuasion who semi-retired after getting tired of the PR aspect of superheroics. There's a severe undercurrent of fridge horror related to power expressions and the (as yet unrevealed) origins of powers themselves.
u/NickedYou May 06 '19
Seconding Strong Female Protagonist. While not as constantly dark and disturbing and depressing as the Wormverse, it still goes places many wouldn't, and it's interesting to explore moral ambiguity in a world that has gone less to shit.
September 16, 2019
Dire straights
I really enjoyed this. The fact that Dire the main character is basically genius gadgeteer. This is set into a Y2K apocalyptic sort of world. A world where the villains like Dire are the heroes and the heroes are basically villains. The cops are corrupt and no one has any power because of Y2K.
Dire wakes up in her lair without any memory of the past. She ends up on a beach with a bunch of homeless people. She confiscates an Iron Man like armor from a dead superhero. She has plenty of adversaries. The Black Bloods. WEB. Heroes. There is plenty of action.
The quirky thing about Dire is she speaks in the third person. It is never divulged why. I guess I have to read the next volume. The characters that support dire from the homeless group are fleshed out. Some have powers the rest don't. There is even vampires in this to some extent. AI's. This whole story takes place in a matter of days.
I always loved the original Iron Man in his kitbashed bulky repulsorless armor. Dire is the female version of Tony Stark. She even has a nice stash of cash amongst the homeless. An added bonus was a group of supers called the Steam Punks. I hope they are around in the next and future volumes. I gave it 5 stars. I read it pretty quick. It reminded me of Forging Hephaestus Villains Code. Another enjoyable book. If you are into villains, heroes, technology, steam punk, Y2K conspiracy give this a whirl.
I really enjoyed this. The fact that Dire the main character is basically genius gadgeteer. This is set into a Y2K apocalyptic sort of world. A world where the villains like Dire are the heroes and the heroes are basically villains. The cops are corrupt and no one has any power because of Y2K.
Dire wakes up in her lair without any memory of the past. She ends up on a beach with a bunch of homeless people. She confiscates an Iron Man like armor from a dead superhero. She has plenty of adversaries. The Black Bloods. WEB. Heroes. There is plenty of action.
The quirky thing about Dire is she speaks in the third person. It is never divulged why. I guess I have to read the next volume. The characters that support dire from the homeless group are fleshed out. Some have powers the rest don't. There is even vampires in this to some extent. AI's. This whole story takes place in a matter of days.
I always loved the original Iron Man in his kitbashed bulky repulsorless armor. Dire is the female version of Tony Stark. She even has a nice stash of cash amongst the homeless. An added bonus was a group of supers called the Steam Punks. I hope they are around in the next and future volumes. I gave it 5 stars. I read it pretty quick. It reminded me of Forging Hephaestus Villains Code. Another enjoyable book. If you are into villains, heroes, technology, steam punk, Y2K conspiracy give this a whirl.
October 17, 2018
Awesome book, my new favorite for Super Villains.
I just finished the Audible version.
It's excellent. A girl wakes up with no memory but built to be a Super Villain. Dire refers to Dire's self in the third person, has an evil laugh and everything Dire builds tends to be in dark colors with lots of spikes. Dire isn't Evil, just pragmatic.
This is an alternate universe where Tesla completed more of his projects and about that time superpowers started popping up. Y2K coincided with a complete blackout.
This is Dire's story about trying to figure out who Dire is and protecting those Dire loves.
I bought this based on the strength of the Threadbare series and wasn't disappointed.
I just finished the Audible version.
It's excellent. A girl wakes up with no memory but built to be a Super Villain. Dire refers to Dire's self in the third person, has an evil laugh and everything Dire builds tends to be in dark colors with lots of spikes. Dire isn't Evil, just pragmatic.
This is an alternate universe where Tesla completed more of his projects and about that time superpowers started popping up. Y2K coincided with a complete blackout.
This is Dire's story about trying to figure out who Dire is and protecting those Dire loves.
I bought this based on the strength of the Threadbare series and wasn't disappointed.
October 3, 2020
Great story telling
Normally i wouldn't even give this book a second glance. It touches on most of the genre types that don't interest me. Super hero, steam punk, dystopia, etc. I enjoyed a few other books by this author so I have the sample a try. I was hooked on the first page. Every time the author threw in something new, if think this is it. I'm going to start gagging and lose my immersion. Never happened. Kudos to the author for skillfully drawing me into a world of normally not enjoy.
Normally i wouldn't even give this book a second glance. It touches on most of the genre types that don't interest me. Super hero, steam punk, dystopia, etc. I enjoyed a few other books by this author so I have the sample a try. I was hooked on the first page. Every time the author threw in something new, if think this is it. I'm going to start gagging and lose my immersion. Never happened. Kudos to the author for skillfully drawing me into a world of normally not enjoy.
November 7, 2018
why do all heroes in this book suck ?
they don't wait to acquire info or details before judging and condemning.
plus, they let people die...all the effing time.
well, anyway, it's a good book. Great author. Good narration (audio version)
they don't wait to acquire info or details before judging and condemning.
plus, they let people die...all the effing time.
well, anyway, it's a good book. Great author. Good narration (audio version)
February 29, 2020
A great supervillain story
Amnesiac, Dire must use all the smarts she's got to survive in a chaotic world a few steps over from ours- with superheroes and villains, and a global catastrophe that's left modern society reeling. Which is she, hero or villain? She follows definite moral principles, she cares for people, but cross her and you won't like what happens. I appreciate how well the author keeps her against ever increasing odds, instead of having her win every fight.
Amnesiac, Dire must use all the smarts she's got to survive in a chaotic world a few steps over from ours- with superheroes and villains, and a global catastrophe that's left modern society reeling. Which is she, hero or villain? She follows definite moral principles, she cares for people, but cross her and you won't like what happens. I appreciate how well the author keeps her against ever increasing odds, instead of having her win every fight.
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