Review: Banebringer

Banebringer by Carol A. Park
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Banebringer was a surprise. An extremely pleasant one. I took a chance on a new author and I’m not often wow’d by most of the newcomers I try out. The story has an interesting premise full of fictional mythology involving altered humans known as banebringers. Banebringers are the source of magic, but also the source of horrible creatures known as bloodbanes which rise when a banebringer dies. Because of this, banebringers are hated and feared; much of the book’s plot involves social issues from our own world, such as prejudice, discrimination, and political hypocrisy. It’s very well done and the social justice undertones do nothing to diminish the plot or enjoyment of the story.

Along with its unique premise, Banebringer also delivers solid storytelling and compelling, deeply flawed characters. Both of the primary characters in the story are antiheroes whose actions are driven by the pains of their past traumas. They wage a constant battle between their desire to forgiven for their sins and the fear of the vulnerability that letting go of their rancor and self-loathing would bring. Their distress is almost tangible at times. The characters are not unrealistic paragons of good and the “realness” of the presentation of their wounded psyche brought the point of view portrayal into dark and uncomfortable places. Banebringer is not a pleasantly light and happy tale and that is one of the reasons I loved it.

I suppose at its very core you could call this a love story. Or at least a love adjacent story. Ok, fine, it’s more of a story of lust, hate, and very painful sexual tension. I’ve never been so close to screaming “just screw and get it over with!” at imaginary characters from a book before -- but that should show just how real and authentic the characters sometimes felt.

Banbringer was performed by Eric Bryan Moore, a new-to-me narrator that brought the story and characters to life with vivid and engrossing execution. Moore produced unique voices for an entire cast of male and female characters but his best work was portraying the two primary characters, complete with their self-hatred, tortured psyches, and tension-filled interactions. Park and Moore have definitely been added to my respective lists of authors and narrators to look out for. A special thanks to Eric Moore who provided me a copy of the audiobook -- I was happy to write this voluntary review.


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Review: The Tournament of Supervillainy

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

C.T. Phipps kills it in the Tournament of Supervillainy. In a good way. After things were wrapped up nicely in book 4 of the series, I was very sad to think that we’d see no more of Gary, Cindy, Diabloman, and others -- but I was never so happy to be wrong. The Tournament of Supervilliany continues the adventures of Gary (AKA Merciless, the Supervillain without Mercy™) after the events of the first 4 books have wrapped up, but it doesn’t feel like the series is getting old or stale; in fact, the Tournament has been one of my favorite books since the first book in the series. It’s written in the same style as the previous books, but the formula doesn’t get old as each book takes on a different nostalgic element of those who grew up in the ’80s and ’90s -- this time it’s classic “fighting” games like Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter.

The entire Supervillainy Saga is just plain fun, entertaining reading (or listening) that doesn’t take itself too seriously, yet still manages to tell some great stories and develop amusing characters that you’ll grow to love. If you haven’t tried any of the series, go back and start on book 1, The Rules of Supervillainy. Don’t try to think about it too hard and just sit back and enjoy the ride.

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Review: The Future of Supervillainy

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

Do you like riding dinosaurs, killing Nazis, and, fighting terrorist Supervillains? Then the Future of Supervillainy is for you! But seriously, this book is great for so many reasons. Still the same irreverent, hilarious fun, but now Gary is in the center of the earth, kickin’ Nazi ass and trying to free the native kingdoms of the land from the evil tyranny of Tom Terror. It brings me back watching Land of the Lost on Saturday mornings -- but with the Nazis from Indiana Jones.

C.T. Phipps has kept this series going now into book six, often moving into new, interesting literary territory that I’ve never experienced in a book. I doubt the adventures of Gary will be an example of classic literature in 50 years, but the way that Phipps ties together the multiverse of his storytelling worlds is impressive. Having characters from different series “guest star” in the Supervillainy books (books 5 and 6) may seem like a silly gimmick, but it’s done really well and has gotten me to branch out and look into genres and series that I would have normally ignored.

Kafer continues his perfect performance in this series and provides an ideal voice acting to bring life to the different characters. His range is amazing and at times I feel like there’s no way the books are being narrated by only a single person. The only drawback for me is that Kafer is so good at delivering punchlines and narrating comedy, I may never be able to listen to him narrate a serious book again -- sorry Tyler Barron.

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