Soon I Will be Invincible (Vintage) - Austin Grossman

Pure fun and cleverly written

I'm not much of a fiction writer, but the author has a good concept at work that keeps the reader interested. He switches back and forth between two characters, a rookie superhero and a old hat supervillain, each taking the lead narrator position every other chapter. So, once you might start getting board with the superhero type, you get to suddenly get back into the mind of the book's supervillain.

The story is indeed a comic book story, but it also parodies and brings out the inherent realities that would arise if superheroes were indeed real. So, you get to find out the superman-like character is not loved by everyone because he can be kind of a self-obsessed jerk and the League of superheroes in the book have a pr department and book deals and the like.

The story is pretty simple and straightforward, which works in context of the book, because the lack of intricacy of the plot is made up for by looking at a straightforward series of events from two different and opposing points of view. This method of storytelling allows the reader to have fun being in on all the in-jokes about comic book heroes as well as still making you wish you were a superhero. The author does an exceptional job at making you feel bad for the villain and yet completely realize he's self-sabotaging.

My only problem with this book is it makes me yearn for a sequel (something I'm not sure I've ever actually read in fiction). And I worry that Austin will simply move onto other things. Oh well, it was still loads of fun.

The most awesome mad science novel I have ever read

Aside from Phil Foglio's Girl Genius this is the greatest tale of science gone wrong that I have ever read. What really makes this such a great story is Dr. Impossible himself, a dark yet understandable character.

The ZORK of comic books. The WATCHMEN of novels

This is a great book! Sure, it's not completely a comic book -- or a graphic novel. There are no drawings to look at. That is, if you discount the Chip Kidd / Bryan Hitch art. But, I can see them in my head as I turn the pages. I'm drawing the images from my own imagination. And what's better than the pages we each conjure ourselves? IT'S NEVER WRONG!!

And of course there are a lot of holes in the story:
1) Dr. Impossible's secret "alien gas"
2) The heroes couldn't tell that Galatea was a robot?!?

But there are 3 moments of genius in this novel. But you, gentle reader, need to do a little work. And when you do, the result will be most satisfying

- Who was that random tourist actually looking at when he says, "I think that's Dr. Impossible."
- The trail of the Pharaoh's hammer, from the seventies to present day
- And most importantly, why was the lead female heroine named "Damsel?" The real answer lies in your high-school science books!!

Enjoy your reading. And when you're done, try the audiobook for a different experience. It's two vocal performances that you thoroughly enjoy. SOON!

Ideal for fans of "superheros" and "super villans"

The Champions, a world famous group of superheroes, is changing. Some old members are gone and new members are coming on board. One new member is a new modern cyborg, part human and part machine, named Fatale. But villains don't take a vacation so that new trainees can get up to speed. Super villain Doctor Impossible, an evil genius who is always trying to find some way to take over the world, has escaped from his latest prison and is once again gearing up his diabolical plans. While Fatale tries to find her place to fit in with the existing Champions group, she also wants to find Doctor Impossible and prove her worth.

This young adult sci-fi book reads like a comic book without the pictures. It is the story of one young woman in the process of becoming a superhero and the story of a super villain getting one more chance to rule the world. The story is very fast paced with a whole lot of different heroes and criminals cropping up in the story. Several times I felt like I had dropped into the middle of an existing series-but this is the debut book. While the story is good, I could have used a few less characters to keep up with.

The story jumps from following Fatale to following Dr. Impossible. I loved Fatale's character and how she grows and matures into a heroine through the story. I wasn't nearly as interested in what Dr. Impossible was thinking and wanting, although I do think the information was a vital part of the story. I guess I'm just not a fan of super villains.

I also liked learning about many of the secondary characters but I think I would have enjoyed it more if their stories were in different books in the series with more details about each of them and their relationships instead of everything being in one book.

On the whole I liked the book and would read a sequel.

Armchair Interviews says: If you are a fan of superhero or super villain stories, this book is a pretty fun adventure!

Clever parody and examination of a genre

Austin Grossman's debut novel Soon I Will Be Invincible rests on two points of view: that of super villain Doctor Impossible, who has an IQ of 300 and rookie superhero female cyborg Fatale. And there is the battle between good and evil, with people trying to take over the world in one way or another, but it's not always clear exactly who is doing what. Addressing childhood, shame, love, lust, and the weird twists of fate that make us who we are, the book shows how sometimes the difference between one path in life and another might be a chance word, a bit of kindness, and someone understanding. My daughter wasn't too fond of the writing, though for the most part I enjoyed it, with trite comic book dialog craftily placed to create a kind of character chiaroscuro, only the contrast not being between literal light and dark, but the metaphoric public and private parts of someone's psyche that help define the whole person. There were times that I thought the story got badly out of hand - for example, one character realizes the real identity of another and states it, when a hint would have done the trick and left one area of tension and suspense for resolution at the end for greater effect. But overall, worth the read and a book I can recommend.