I, Villain

by Marcus V. Calvert

My current alias is Benjamin Cly.

Just over 10 years ago, I retired from my life of violence and became a fixer – a middleman of sorts. Clients brought me their problems. My talented contractors “resolved” them. As long as the money was right, I worked every side of the law and didn’t think twice about it. Until one of my biggest clients tried to set me up.

Then things went sideways.

I lost my growing criminal empire at the drop of a hat. A lot of people started trying to kill me. I should’ve run away and hid in some distant corner of the world. But that’s not my style. I don’t run. I thrive.

And in a corrupt metropolis like Pillar City, I’ll just start a new empire. But I can’t be a fixer again. Nor do I want to be a mobster – this town has plenty of those. No, I’m going to do the last thing anyone would ever expect a “harmless” guy like me to do: become a crimefighter.

Seeing as I can steal super powers with a touch, it might be fun . . .

209 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 16, 2014

About the author

Who am I?

I’m that guy with the unfettered imagination who doesn’t seem to fit in anywhere. Who thinks up storylines like a vampire owing child support or how aliens could be responsible for a zombie apocalypse.

Put me in a cubicle and it’s hell. A warehouse floor, kitchen, or anything else not involving creative thought? About the same. Think of me as a compulsive writer who comes up with more ideas than I could ever hope to put to paper/CPU.

When I was 9, I taught myself how to type. By 12, I had banged out my first books off an old Underwood typewriter. Alas, I was told I was gonna be a lawyer. The longer I pursued that pipe dream, the less I wrote.

Then, after not going to law school and graduating with a useless Masters degree, I dabbled in corporate America for a few decades. One day, I realized that I had no business in the normal workplace, chatting about silly stuff with normal people. Granted, I worked with plenty of delightfully strange folks, I didn’t want to ladder climb or wait 40+ years to retire.

Along the way, I wrote out twisted thing after twisted thing. Then, in 2010, I received a promotion. Then I met an editor and paid off my $%&?ing student loan. For the first time in my adult life, I was debt-free.

That lasted all of 2 months.

I wrote my first anthology, Unheroic, in 2011.
The Book Of Schemes (2012) was another anthology.
Protected (2013) was my third.

By then, people were screaming at me to write a novel. Something about my short stories not being long enough (oy!). I ended up banging out a super villain trilogy called I, Villain:

I, Villain (2014)
Murder Sauce (2015)
Frag Code (2016)

By 2014 I picked up my entrepreneurial self-confidence. By late 2015, I quit my long-time day job and went full-on. Then my long-time self-publishing firm (under new management) crapped on me, via a mix of lousy customer service and unit price increases. Long-story-short, I had to retire all SIX of my first-edition books. Truly ruined my 2016.

Now, after many ups and downs, I’ve got 2nd Editions out under the following titles:

Unheroic: Book One (currently on Amazon)
Unheroic: Book Two (currently on Amazon)
I, Villain (currently on Amazon)
Murder Sauce (currently on Amazon)
Frag Code (currently on Amazon)

The Book Of Schemes: Book I (currently on Amazon)
The Book Of Schemes: Book II (by spring of 2018)
Batchery: Volume 1 (by winter of 2018)

And my next novel in the I, Villain world: The Coin Game (sometime in 2018)

For my current fans, please note:

*Batchery is a new project of mine. Think of it as my version of a "How-To" book for aspiring writers. Unlike the plenty that exist now, this one will be useful. :)

*I’m going to retire the Protected title and fold most of its short stories into Unheroic and B.O.S.The theme’s just not as funky-strong as the first two.

*The 2nd Editions will have new stories thrown in with most of the old ones my fans have come to adore (like Pimp My Spy Car or Life Tax)

Time’s sort of my ally. My biggest obstacle’s money (for now). I was planning to take the year off, do 10 books, and then get back into the game. Instead, my selling season unexpectedly kicked off this past May. Odds are I’ll only have 6 books ready by X-mas (not bad).

Selling at conventions is my main source of revenue.The books kinda’ sell themselves, as do the repeat sales (once they’ve been read). The problem’s that buying vendor slots costs money and most of my piddly resources were tied into getting six books up and out within a 12-month span.

I’m lucky to have some awesome people in my camp. Without ‘em . . . I don’t wanna go there. I bit off more than I could chew and can now see light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.

So, that’s enough about me. My goal’s to drop a ton of awesome books before I die—simple as that. If you want to look my works over in Amazon or follow me on Facebook, thanks. If you want to help me

Reviews

[midnightfaerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing piece of new-age fantasy, this high-action thriller was brimming with lively technology and a new breed of humans. From Grace, the psi-hacker and my personal favorite, to Forecast, the precog on the team, who gave futuristic visions to anyone she touched, this little novel was way too short, but it packed a punch. Before you could really appreciate the specialized weapons or the magical abilities of the characters, you were moved to a new scene, a new person, a new explanation. While this kept the plot from ever getting dull, it inhibited the reader from really falling in love with a character to any degree of depth. With the newest fantasy and science fiction coming out, I rarely see them below 150K words. I realize Calvert is a fairly new author, but I think he needs to consider more character and plot building to really be taken seriously on the market. Besides the fact that I wanted it longer, there wasn't much else I didn't like about it. The storyline was unique and refreshing, with super powers in the characters that were just rare enough not to be considered copies of other popular fiction. This kept the book in a class of its own, without the reader ever tiring of yet another character with special abilities. I loved how our protagonist, Cly, went from bad to good guy, but never fully converted all the way, instead residing somewhere in the middle. It made him a character most readers could relate to. The world they lived in was an interesting twist, with most of it gone wrong, but the bad guys still able to co-exist due to their specialties in this unusual world of crime. I also loved how Cly always seemed to be one step ahead of his enemies. And although I enjoyed the ending, I have to note (without giving too much away) that the mutation of his powers, while cool, seemed to be a little like cheating to me.

Overall though an commendable, tight little book, from an author with a fantastic imagination. I'd recommend to anyone who enjoys fantasy or science fiction, is tired of the same plots and abilities being overdone, and is looking for a quick read. Highly entertaining!

ClassicsDefined.com

[Jessica Villalobos · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised to find this book and this author. If you're anything like me, you might enjoy browsing through the library and reading blurbs and reviews until you find the perfect book that strikes just that cord in you. This was one for me. The concept of a bad guy forced into a life of doing good, well, it was too good to pass up. And let me tell you, I was not disappointed! I couldn't put the book down and now I have to go look up the next one and spend money I wasn't planning on spending. My congratulations to the author. This was a super entertaining read with non-stop action and a novel premise. The protagonist is a very morally grey character who you can't help rooting for, especially against all the obstacles he faces. And the ending!!! It wasn't a cliffhanger and yet it still leaves everything set up perfectly for the next book. I can't wait to read more!

[Dawn-Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

If there's one thing that Marcus Calvert knows how to do, it's tell a good story. His first novel, I, Villain is the tale of Benjamin Cly, a "fixer" who, through a violent set of circumstances, is forced into a life of community service. In the world of the novel, this means he now has to be a "good guy" while not interfering with what his former colleagues have going on as they run the city.

The plot remains interesting and engrossing throughout, with quite the cast of characters. There are flawed heroes and likable villains, some with superpowers and most with weaponry. The action scenes and firefights are great, with just enough detail to give them depth but not too much that the action slows down at all. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

[Jarvis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A deliciously dark, original take on the antihero.
Benjamin Cly is the kind of morally messy protagonist who keeps you rooting for him even when he’s doing all the wrong things. The premise, a retired fixer who can steal superpowers with a touch, is brilliantly executed and leads to tension, surprises, and scenes that slammed my heart into my ribs. Fast-paced, gritty, and wildly entertaining.Recommended for fans of morally grey protagonists, urban fantasy thrillers, and anyone who likes their heroes complicated.

[Tony Duxbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm no Sci-fi fan, so most of the tech stuff went straight over my head, but it's an action-packed page-turner. A story that doesn't stop for breath and is set in a world you hope never comes to pass. Let's face it, Benjamin Cly is a scumbag, but you just have to see how he gets out of the next problem. Not for the faint-hearted, but if you can stand the gore, it's a cracking read. Recommended read.

[Nathan Curtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Benjamin Cly is a fixer. He solves problems, even when they're people. However, when a job does not go quite the way he expects, he finds himself in a completely unexpected position....that of a super hero.

Anyone who has followed my reviews knows that I enjoy super hero books, but this one is a little different. Benjamin Cly is not really meant to be a super hero in the traditional way. He has no problem with hurting or even killing people, and his attitude is clearly not that of a hero. That said, he is one of the more original characters I've read in a long time, but I don't want to get into the reasons why too much for fear of spoilers.

In summary, the biggest complaint I had about this book was that it wasn't long enough.

[Stephen Schneider · Rating 3 out of 5]

This, I believe, is the 5th book by Marcus. Rather than a collection of short stories, it's a full length novel. I enjoyed this book quite a bit, more so than the first collection of short stories. The story was engaging and fun to read, couldn't wait to find out what happened next. The last 1/3 was a bit disjointed and seemed rushed. The end almost didn't seem connected to the rest of the story, it just seemed to have something new added and didn't fit in some ways. Just thought there could have been a bit more earlier alluding to what was coming at the end and it would have felt like it flowed better.

[Emmy Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This slick, fast-paced superhero tale is an entertaining romp. The editing is a little woolly at first, but I quickly got into the story of Cly's fall from criminal grace and soon none of that mattered. It's a fun vision of a world where superheroes coexist with (and sometimes are) the mundane. Schemes within schemes. Hoping for a sequel!