Review: The Games of Supervillainy

The Games of Supervillainy by C.T. Phipps
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Games of Supervillainy is the next great book in The Supervillainy Saga. The first book in the series was full of superhero tropes and classic comic references and the second book continues the nostalgic fun, but this time Phipps alters the recipe -- he’s added some zombie apocalypse, a bit of evil cult, and a generous dollop of Lovecraftian horror with a dash of dragon and giant Nazi robot for extra tang. The entire book is full of witty humor and parodies of fantasy, sci-fi, and horror genres which are a clever and fun play on the classics. Even with the humor and spoofs, Phipps still manages to make his characters interesting and has created them with unique personalities and interpersonal relationships, which continue to develop throughout the story. The inner (and occasionally outer) dialog between Gary and Cloak remains one of my favorite parts of this series so far.

Jeffrey Kafer brings this book alive in the audible version. His performance continues to wow me as he narrates the story with engaging action, lovable characters (even the villains!), and hilarious dialog. Phipps and Kafer together make this book a great success.

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Review: The Rules of Supervillainy

The Rules of Supervillainy by C.T. Phipps
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Rules of Supervillainy (The Supervillainy Saga Volume 1) is a fun, light-hearted parody of the superhero genre that elicits nostalgia for the golden age of comics. The Supervillainy Saga is purposely packed with superhero tropes and comic references but is still wildly entertaining with a roller-coaster ride of a plotline. All the poking-fun at the genre does not prevent it from being a great superhero story (or supervillain story, I suppose) and its satirical approach is fun, clever, and unique; Phipps really enjoys writing Supervillainy Saga and it’s a labor of love by someone who has a life-long passion for comics. If you are only into serious superhero stories, this book may not be for you. However, if you love a good humorous story with witty characters that is not afraid to make fun of itself, it is a great read (or listen!).

The narration is excellent and really brings life to the book's characters. Jeffrey Kafer is a talented narrator that has really managed to capture (or create) the personality of the primary characters through unique voices and makes this book very entertaining to listen to. The narration for the audiobook has also made me realize that Kafer has a wide range and is an excellent voice actor; I’ve listened to Kafer narrate more serious stories and at first, I did not recognize his voice as the narrator for The Supervillainy Saga. I am very impressed with his performance and ability to match the narration with the overall tone of the text he is reading.

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