The Secrets of Supervillainy

The Supervillainy Saga #3

by C.T. Phipps

Merciless, the Supervillain without Mercy (TM) is back with even bigger problems! How far will he go to fix his wife's current state of being a soulless vampire? Can he ignore his growing feelings for Cindy, despite their difference over the new Star Wars movie? Can he survive the wrath of the President of the United States (who he accidentally stole billions from)? While he ponders those personal issues, Death has a new mission for him. The greatest hero on Earth has killed and she isn't pleased. Death wants the murder solved and the perpetrator given the kind of justice only the Avatar of Death can dish out. Unfortunately for Gary, that's only the tip of the psychotic iceberg. Cover Art by : Raffaele Marinetti

Genres: Superheroes, Fantasy, Audiobook, Urban Fantasy, Humor, Science Fiction, Fiction

214 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 4, 2016

About the author

C.T Phipps is a lifelong student of horror, science fiction, and fantasy. An avid tabletop gamer, he discovered this passion led him to write and turned him into a lifelong geek. He is a regular reviewer on Booknest.EU and for Grimdark Magazine.

He's written the Agent G series, Cthulhu Armageddon, the Red Room Trilogy, I Was A Teenaged Weredeer, Lucifer's Star, Psycho Killers in Love, Straight Outta Fangton, The Supervillainy Saga, and Wraith Knight.

Blog: http://unitedfederationofcharles.blog...

Website: https://ctphipps.com/

C.T. Fanclub: https://www.facebook.com/groups/14917...

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/ctphipps

Reviews

[Gavin · Rating 5 out of 5]

C.T.Phipps The Supervillainy Saga has fast become my favourite series in the genre. This third instalment of the series was packed full of all the action, humor, and crazy super powered happenings one could wish for.

The story can feel a little crazy and over the top at times but it works because Phipps gets the mix between the humour and the drama perfect. There is tons of laugh out loud moments but all a few heartfelt ones. Another real success is the characters. Merciless - The Superhero Without Mercy(Gary) is an easy guy to like, despite being a supervillan, and he is supported by a great cast of secondary characters.

This third instalment picks up a year after the shock events of the second book. Gary is still in mourning after the death of his wife and desperate to find a way to bring her soul back to her still animated vampire body! On top of that he has to fight his developing feelings for his sexy sidekick, Cindy, and deal with the fact that President Omega has placed a hit on him.

I enjoyed the story a lot and love how many pop culture references Phipps manages to squeeze into the story.

Rating: 4.5 stars.

Audio Note: Jeffrey Kafer is perfect for this series!

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Secrets of Supervillainy (The Supervillainy Saga #3) by C.T. Phipps is a book that you can love the villains and the heroes. (Mostly the villains) All of these books in this series are witty, clever, make you giggle, groan, and are excellent reading when you are in a bad mood. They will cheer you up, get your mind off reality, and you can enjoy the silliness of supervillainy! (evil laugh)
I enjoy these books and fortunately for me, the author knows I like them and sends me them to read...the review is voluntary. Although I am reading them out of order, it doesn't bother me, they are fun no matter when or how you read them! The characters are very imaginative, the plot super fun with crazy twists and turns (yes, it has a plot), and you get attached to the characters after a couple of books. They are so darn...evil! You can't help but like them. So, come to the dark side...there are giggles over here.

[AudioBookReviewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

My original The Secrets of Supervillainy audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

Gary better known as Merciless, Super Villain, has his hands full.  He wants to be a super villain but still finds himself being the super hero … for all his badness, he still does ultimate good just in a roundabout way.   The story talks about his struggles to rescue his wife Mandy from the soulless life of being a vampire – his love for her seems consuming until he falls for another and then voices if it’s possible they can all have a consensual and approved relationship …

The President, Mr. Omega wants to destroy all the supers – heroes and villains; death wants Ultra God’s death avenged and Gary has to deal with both.  The question comes down to whether or not Gary can save the world, stop President Omega, restore his wife’s soul, solve the murder of Ultra God and still be a super villain?

Lots of action and new characters from the earlier books.  And Merciless does not stop with the cliches or sardonic humor EVER.

The writing style of C.T. Phipps is unique – Merciless, aka Gary, argues to himself and with his cloak while most of the conversations are witty cliches or movie references that we his audience know but not the characters in the book who look at him like he’s lost his mind.  The writing is fast as is the action and not as detailed as it could be.  But the premise is awesome.  How many people would think it would be this hard to be a super villain?  Who would have thought that being a hero was not necessarily a choice or easy but rather a struggle of mega proportions?

Jeffrey Kafer is the narrator who skillfully performs this audiobook.  His ability to be Gary is amazing.  He does not get tongue-tied or bust out laughing or moaning when there are some really bad cliches.  He slips into the characters easily and gives voice to them. He sounds just what one would expect Merciless to sound.  He brings the “comic” like tale to life as only some can – he is one of the best skilled at this feat.

This book for anyone who enjoys sardonic humor, action,  old-fashioned super heroes/villains and graphic novels

There were no issues with the audio production or quality of this book.

Audiobook was provided for review by the author.

[MagePro · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the Supervillainy Saga is an ongoing one, it's going to be tough to outdo this one for the next book. This installment holds its place as a standalone book from the rest of the saga. Not only does our main character, Gary, have a murder mystery to solve, but continue his quest to get his wife, Mandy back as well as make sure the whole of existence doesn't get wiped out... again. (and again?)

Phipps use of pop culture references may end up dating the book series, but until then, it serves as a great deal of humour for those who can catch onto their usage. He has added the involvement of some new characters to the mix that add to the excitement. Gary's sister and niece perform vital roles and look like they will be the key to future stories. They also add quite a bit of humour themselves beyond the classical pop culture references.

Without giving away anything exciting, it was interesting enough to read twice and get the Audible version with Jeffery Kafer. Well worth the price and time.

[HobbitFromPA · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just really enjoy this series. Some of the pop culture references in this one were my favourite to date. These books are not meant to be "The Great American Novels" just to be fun and that's what you get. I look forward to the next in the series to see how they get out of the latest mess (or do they?). Hurry up and get the next one out C.T. Phipps.

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phipps obviously adores superhero comics and this series is a loving satirical homage to them. In this third installment, Merciless is trying to find a way to bring his wife’s soul back into her vampiric body while dealing with the hilarious mess of his life. To make matters worse, a massive conspiracy to take over the world is underway and the conspirators have decided they need to take Merciless out first. Naturally Merciless, who insists he’s not a hero, is coming up with reasons to stop the bad guys.

Merciless’ growing frustration at his inability to save his wife is an insight into one of the ways true villains are made. We feel his pain and Phipps expertly makes use of this throughout the story, so much so that I think the story wouldn’t have worked without it.

All of that being said, that wasn’t even my favorite part of the novel. That comes in the form of one of the principal villains—the President of the United States. Think about that for a moment. How do you fight a president who is secretly planning to take over the world when you plan to keep living (mostly publicly) in those same United States? It’s a great dilemma, and a great novel.

If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.

[Eric Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author seems to be getting into a cheesy fun groove where he's trying to outcrazy himself. Which is fun. The writing is getting better too.

[Bookwyrm Speaks · Rating 5 out of 5]

In which Gary Karkofsky, aka Merciless, The Supervillain without Mercy™, makes and executes plans to bring his wife back from undeath. Thats right, undeath. After his battles with the undead and an old god in book 2, in which his wife was brought back from death after Gary makes a deal with Death, only she's brought back as a vampire. Gary is now desperate to save her, willing to make any deal to bring her back as herself. He does this while facing a whole new threat from one of the most powerful people in the world, with resources far beyond what Gary is prepared to handle. All while trying to deal with his increasing feelings for Cindy, his Henchwoman Red Riding Hood. What do you do when your in love with two women, one a blood sucking fiend and the other an amoral henchwoman? Seems Merciless™ has a case of first world villain problems. This is a much twistier story than the first two, but in a good way. It ratchets up the intensity and keeps you coming back for more.
This is s very character driven story, as are the first two. Even though it is dealing with costumed heroes and villains, It is basically a story of characters and their relationships between each other and their environments.The characters are so well put together you can get in the head of each of them, and see their motivations and logic. This makes them very accessible. The dialogue is crisp and sharp, with snark and touching moments abounding. It actually had me choked up a couple of times. The worldbuilding is so good. You can see in your head the streeets and buildings of the city and definitely dont want to go on vacation there!
As far as narration, Jeffrey Kafer does his usual outstanding job, bringing each character to life, and keeping the narration moving smoothly. He really adds a lot to the audiobook. This is a must listen to audiobook if you are in any way into metahumans.

[Gemini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intresting read but for me it was a little all over the place. I think Gary is about to get a thruple with Mandy and Cindy. And I'm not sure how I feel about that.

[Brock Deskins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good story continues. Every bit as good as the previous 2.

[Trevor Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

review to come

[Steve Trelfa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another absolutely bonkers adventure for Gary and his crew.

This one definitely opens up the universe(s) more and gives us a better read on our core cast of misfits.

Definitely worth continuing with the series.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Note: This book really works best if you’ve read the previous two books.

Set almost 1 year after the ending of Book 2, The Games of Supervillainy, Gary returns to continue the nefarious fight as Merciless, the Supervillain without Mercy! The end of Book 2 left Gary’s wife, Mandy, in a bit of a lurch. She’s now a blood sucking soulless vampire and no one wants to hang out with her. Gary has continued his search for a way to bring back Mandy’s soul but hasn’t had any luck. At least, not until Death rears her ugly head once again and makes an offer Gary can’t refuse. Earth’s greatest hero has died and Death wants Gary to hunt down the killer. In exchange, she offers to bring one soul back from the abyss.

Of course, Gary be the single-minded, bull-headed, stubborn idiot that he is, he can’t refuse. Even as he strives to solve this case to bring back his wife’s soul, he comes to realize he has deep romantic feelings for his long-time friend and current henchwench, Cindy. To complicate matters, his ex-girlfriend Gabrielle (AKA Ultragoddess) is also on scene bringing up old feelings.

Besides Gary’s complicated love life, there’s plenty of action, snark, and pop culture references. I personally enjoyed the references to one of Phipps’s other books, Esoterrorism. Gary has plenty of friends doing their best to keep his stupidity from killing him. Cloak is always handing out advice whether you want it or not. El Diablo Man and his luchadero mask! So funny! One of the newest supervillains is the Fruitbat. Yep. Every time he was mentioned, I had to giggle. Besides Gary’s friends and coworkers, we meet his niece and his mom. His niece wants to join the family business but Gary firmly insists she’s too young for it. Meanwhile, his mom sees dead people; in fact, most of her good friends are dead.

With the help of some time travel shenanigans, things get twisted and weird – all in a good way. Honestly, it’s the humor and the costumes that keep this plot together and amusing. I was laughing throughout the book. The Supervillain/Hero names, costumes, and powers were always amusing to me even if Gary did not find them so. I also enjoyed the flashbacks, several of which explored Gary’s former relationship with Gabrielle.

Besides Gary, Cindy is my favorite character. She’s a villain to be sure, but she does have scruples and she is loyal to her friends. I love picturing her in her Red Riding outfit, a basket full of weapons. Yes, I would not want to tick Cindy off! Her wit and humor, often inappropriate, had me laughing the most. If Gary doesn’t hook up with her then I might just see if she’s free for beer.

I received a free copy of this book.

The Narration: Jeffrey Kafer makes a great Gary the Merciless once again. I also continue to like his voice for Cindy with it’s regional accent. There were a few emotional scenes in this book (like when Gary meets with his parents and such) and Kafer did a great job of portraying those emotions.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review originally posted at RabidReads.ca.

3.5 stars

Merciless, the Supervillain without Mercy (TM), aka Gary Karkofsky along with Cloak have their hands full in this book. Gary is trying to fix an issue with this wife that happened in the previous book. He has also, once again, found himself doing things for the side of good. Gary has always wanted to be a supervillain, ever since his supervillain brother died. Now that he has that chance, he keeps finding himself on the superhero’s side.

This time, he is fighting President Omega. Of course, Merciless has his helpers. Little Red Riding Hood aka Cindy, his favorite henchwench and best friend is there to help. Diabloman is there to help as well. Then there is also the superhero, Ultragoddess, aka Gabrielle. Oh, and she is Gary’s ex-fiancee. There are some new supervillains too, Fruitbat and Nicky Tesla. I really loved Fruitbat (but then I really I love fruit bats in real life (they are just so cute).

I was a little surprised by the bit of a love triangle. Gary does seem to have some relationship drama with his wife’s current issue, his henchwench is in love with him, and his ex-fiancee all fighting against President Omega. Oh Death makes a couple of appearance too. She gives Gary some pretty difficult choices to make.

I will say that I didn’t like this story quite as much as the first two books. I thought Gary had a little too much relationship drama and was throwing himself a bit too much of a pity party. I did still enjoy the story. There are a ton of one-liners that I loved. There is also some good action scenes. As always, there are great pop culture references. I’m excited to get to the next book.

Turning back to the Merciless Mobile I hit the remote on my keys and the vehicle lowered into a secret alcove beneath the streets. I then headed to the front gate that open automatically at my presence and walked to the front door. Diabloman headed off to his unmarked white van.
“See those diamonds get to the Children’s Relief Fund.” I called out to Diabloman.
“I would not steal from children’s mouths.” Diablo Man called back. “Everyone else, yes.”
I chuckled.
“Do you think he is going to take any?” Cindy asked.
“Nah.” I said. “He’s skimming off the top from all the other businesses, just like you.”
“Only for good causes” Cindy said, putting her hand over her breast. “I being a very good cause.”

Narration
Jeffrey Kafer continues to do a great job with this narration. He always adds the correct inflection needed for the scene. I think he does a really great job with the male and female voices. Kafer has quickly become one of my favorite narrators.

**I like to thank the author for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

[Douglas · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is an above average book with one of the worst endings I've ever come across. I suppose this is technically a SPOILER but this book can't be seriously reviewed without discussing ending. The bad guy is discovered and defeated but his plan to kill millions is still rolling forward. The book ends.

In one paragraph my rating of this book went from 3.8 stars to 1. Such a moronic ending is absolutely unforgivable and is nothing more than an attempt to get people to buy the next book, NOT BECAUSE OF GOOD WRITING BUT TO GET THE END OF THE STORY.

Bottom line: Don't waste your time or your money.

[Mikhail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got about a third of the way through and gave up. Not even entirely sure why I enjoyed the previous two books, but this one just failed to click. Some of it might be that the jokes/plots just started to pall (particularly the romance angle), and some of it is that the plot takes a bit of a left turn (new characters out of nowhere, personality changes... I mean, there's a reason for it and there's a timeskip to explain it, but still).

Still has some genuinely hilarious moments, but not enough for me to keep reading.

[Vincent Dellay · Rating 1 out of 5]

So, so, soooo difficult to get through.

The dialogue, which is supposed to sound snappy and clever, is just cringe worthy and amateurish. The first book in this series was decent, the second and third had good concepts.. but again.. the vapid dialogue and lame characters made is mediocre at best. This book doesn't even have the clever concepts.

The constant pop culture references are not cute.. just painful.

Overall, just a lousy read. I'm done with this series. Go check out "Super Powereds" by Drew Hayes or "The Reckoners" series by Brandon Sanderson instead...

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this new outing with Gary aka Merciless in his one step forward, two steps backwards life of craziness. However, I do think this is the weakest book in the series to date, mostly because of the very abrupt ending which made me feel like a whole section of the book was missing. Also this made the plot seem somewhat unfocused and a bit pointless to me as this is obviously only half of a story, still despite this annoying development I'll still pick up the next book in the series.

[Chelsea · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is the literary equivalent of a typecast actor trying to prove his chops in a low-budget indie drama.

Took a decent main character and the cute deference to his love of his wife and made him pathetic and codependent. The storyline has slowly devolved into hard to follow Freudian nonsense. This is either the result of being on deadline, out of support ideas or both.

[Julie Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. This is book three in the series and as all the books follow on from each other you need to be prepared to get the whole series and listen to them in the right order, I have, but I haven't been disappointed yet. The books are full of action, with good guys taking on the bad guys...well okay it's not that black and white. I like the fact that with this series anything can happen and usually does and not always what you are expecting. The characters are interesting and with cool names it is easy to get swept up in the fantasy world. The humour is just a bonus. Off to start the next book as it left the last one on a bit of a cliff hanger.
Gary aka Merciless saved the city from being destroyed, despite being a super villain but he was unable to save the love of his life, his wife. Unable to let her go just how far will he and his team of super villains go to get her back? He also has other problems such as the president wants him dead and has taken out a hit on him. Oh and someone killed the greatest super hero to have ever walked the planet, Ultra God and replaced him with a robot. Death and the hero's daughter, um Gary's ex girlfriend, want Gary's help to find out who killed him and to put a stop to what ever plan they have cooked up now. Is the hit and the death of Ultra God connected? It's hard to be a villain when you have to keep saving the city so that you can destroy it.
I like the narrator and have listened to a few books read by him and have enjoyed them every time. He is a master at his work and has the perfect timing to deliver the punch line

[Mervi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book starts about a year after the second in the series, The Games of Supervillainy.

Gary Karkofsky also known as Merciless, the Supervillain without Mercy, is in a pickle: his wife was turned into a vampire and not the sexy kind either but a soulless monster. He’s been looking for a cure, but nothing has worked, so far. He’s also developing feelings for his henchwoman Cindy, who is also his ex-girlfriend. And Death has a job for him. Apparently, the greatest superhero of all time was killed far sooner than they should have been, and Death wants Gary to kill the murderer. Also, the superpowers that the Cloak grants Gary have been fading and president Omega wants Gary dead.

Yeppers, the terrible love triangle rears up its ugly head and once again I loathe it. It’s mildly amusing in this book but quite frankly I’d have liked the book a lot more without it.

Still, for the most part this was just as funny as the previous two books. We get more superhero plot twists and even a flashback to times when Gary was dating Gabrielle, the Ultragoddess. We also get more pop culture references, such as Cindy and Gary disagreeing over Star Wars: the Force Awakens!

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Phipps obviously adores superhero comics and this series is a loving satirical homage to them. In this third installment, Merciless is trying to find a way to bring his wife’s soul back into her vampiric body while dealing with the hilarious mess of his life. To make matters worse, a massive conspiracy to take over the world is underway and the conspirators have decided they need to take him out first. Naturally Merciless, who insists he’s not a hero, is coming up with reasons to stop the bad guys.

I enjoy these novels, even if the first three have been a little too slow moving for my preference. My favorite parts are always the flashback scenes to Merciless’ college days when he’s unknowingly dating Ultragoddess, the greatest heroine in the world. They are always quite humorous and masterfully capture that nostalgic feeling old comics can bring to mind. The other thing I love about these books is how Phipps brings all the great themes and plot devices of comics into play in frankly ridiculous fashion. It just makes them fun.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book, continuing Phipps' realistic imagination of what would world with superheroes and villains actually look like, especially focusing on the darker aspects. Merciless, the Supervillain without Mercy (TM) is left to deal with all the choices he made in the first two books. Instead of letting his wife stay dead after sacrificing herself; Merciless brought her back as a homicidal vampire and is now on the lookout for a way to return her soul. Despite the fact that everybody from his haunted cloak, best friend to Death herself tells him that this might be a very bad idea. If that was not enough Merciless has to solve the murder of one of the greatest and most powerful superheroes who ever lived. Despite the fact that according to Death this hero was somehow killed before his destined death. If these challenges were not enough he also has to deal with unresolved feelings for his hot sidekick, the return of his super powered ex-girlfriend, the logistics of running a supervillain empire and a hit put upon him by an unexpected (at least to him) foe; Merciless might be a little over his head.

This book has some seriously funny scenes and pokes a great deal of fun at the supervillain/superhero tropes. Time travel, coming back from the dead, press releases, clones, magic, cyborgs, almost nothing gets left out. Merciless claims to be a supervillain despite his actions and continuously takes a serious introspective look at his reasons and the consequences of his choices which brings this book above just another irrelevant parody. The books jumps scene to scene between irrelevant comedy, fight scenes, introspection of grief and loss to both selfishness and selflessness of loss. All in all, a good read and continuation of a series.

[StLOrca · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Secrets of Supervillainy, Volume 3 in the Supervillainy Saga, finds Gary Karkovsky (perhaps better known as Merciless, the Supervillain Without Mercy) back in Falconcrest City after having fought off the Brotherhood of Darkness and their attempt to unleash the Elder Gods.

All is not well, however: Gary's wife, Mandy, was killed and then resurrected as a vampire. Gary has spent the last couple of years trying to find a cure...but there may not be one. Gary also finds himself falling for his ex, Cindy, just as she leaves for another gang. Oh, and the President of the United States is a mass murderer from the far future who wants to destroy the world and rule the pieces.

Believe it or not, this book is just as funny as the first. Author CT Phipps deftly blends screwball comedy and serious emotional depth. The characters each have distinct personalities that play off each other in unexpected ways (ditzy Cindy is actually a keen observer of humanity; dour henchman Diabloman is a religious authority and doting father). There is a fourth volume on the way; I can't wait.

[Jordan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I took a break from this series because while the last one was good it got to be a little much, the drama didn't always meld with the humour to well at times. So I thought I'd come back with fresh eyes, and carry one with the story.

Just awful. I hate to say it about any author's work because they've put the time in and had the guts to put it out there. But honestly 30% my head was spinning from jumping from serious topics to terrible jokes (this is how the writer works, but too too much) and when the pirate ship popped up I was done. I finished it but honestly I genuinely regret taking the time to bother.

Now if you a a new reader to the series I have no idea why you'd start checking out #3, but if you did the first two books are fine. It doesn't conclude anything for you but the story is interesting the grammar and editing are perfectly fine and genuinely an enjoyable read. If your moving from #2 I honestly couldn't recommend #3, but if you are a fan of the first 2 I certainly don't think I could persuade you from trying.

[BookLoversLife · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poor Gary! He tries so hard to be bad but fails miserably all the time! This series has quickly become one of my favourites and this edition just cements that fact!

This one takes place months after the events of the last book. Gary is still deaths b**ch and he is trying to find a cure for his vampire wife, all the while trying to battle his feelings for his henchwoman. During this, he has to try to solve the mystery of who killed the greatest super hero of all time and work alongside his beautiful superhero ex. Could life get anymore complicated?? You betcha it could, but you'll have to read it to see what happens: Hint... it involves a corrupt president and another Gary(s) ;)

I love so much about this book, and indeed the series. It's a simple case of a writer having fun and writing a book that encompasses a fun, geeky, lovable character getting into trouble no matter whether he does good or bad! Gary is such a wonderful character, I love his wit, his tongue in cheek attitude, his pop culture references and above all, his relationship with his cloak!! Every book in the series has never failed to deliver a funny, witty, light hearted yet addicting read. I thought I knew where the book was going, but I had no idea!! This book really shifted my expectations and now I need to know where it's going. I need book 3 ASAP!!

In all, this was a wonderful addition to an amazing series. There isn't anything I didn't enjoy about it and I devoured the book as quick as I could. Highly recommend!!

Jeffrey Kafer makes for a perfect Gary. He has a way of delivering Gary's wit and attitude perfectly and really makes you giggle with his delivery. He also does a perfect Cloak, you can almost hear him rolling his eyes when Gary get's going ;) This is a perfect example of a perfect book for a perfect narrator which makes it perfectly perfect!!! ;)

*I received this as a gift but voluntarily reviewed it. This in no way affected nor influenced my thoughts.*

[Jeff Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not your typical superheroes

C.T. Phipps delivers another incredible story of Merciless and his team of highly entertaining sidekicks. Gary and his crew are the most disfunctional family you will ever meet. While the humor draws you in and the wicked pace keeps you turning pages it is the heart of the story that really resonates after you have put this one back on your carasuel, or shelf.
The only reason this isn't 5 stars is because the editing was so bad on this one. At least in the version I have there was a section where a paragraph ended up a page early. I don't generally knock for editing but it actually did detract from the flow of the story on more than one instance. But I still can't wait for the next installment. In the meantime I think I'll try some of C.T.'s other works.

[Ammon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easily, my favorite entry in the SuperVillainy series so far. I laughed way more this time around and (finally) found some redeeming characteristics in Merciless (he's still an evil super villain, don't get me wrong).

Secrets does a great job of poking fun at recurring comics tropes. The whole multiverse/alternate realities storyline was reminiscent of DC's long-running Earth One/Two/Prime etc. storylines especially and managed to be funny while still being respectful to the source material -- as good parody should be.

Narrator Jeffrey Kafer is perfect for this series. I'm enjoying his reading as much as I am the story.

***Full Disclosure: I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

[S. D. Howarth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Typically hilarious, and not just for nerdy pop culture references. Merciless is once again outmanoeuvred and just survives being bombed back to the stone age. Shame for the gizmo battering but several entertaining twists compete merciless’ relationship troubles against an evil president in a terminator twist and gives him a lesson in pure evilness. The big trick will be keeping which world and version of who is who and what is what when the story concludes in the next book. Or even this book?

As a return to Work listen it is well worth the purchase to retain your sanity. I’d have preferred a more definitive ending as it subtly set up round two, but having a longer saga us no bad thing. Far more enjoyable than the superhero overload on TV.

[Ed Nemo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Humorous and action packed is a hard combination to get right. This book succeeds marvelously. The contrast between types of comic villains is astounding. It's the comparison between Dr Doom and the Red Skull. Dr Doom is less a monster, than a deeply flawed genius who is trying to get what he wants at nearly any means necessary. Now, take away the hubris, make him a fan of pop culture, and place him in a weird love triangle and you sort of have Merciless. (The Red Skull is just a dick.)

This series continues to impress me with its offbeat humor and ruthless take on the comic book lifestyle. When I set the book down it makes me want to start working on my own supervillain costume.