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Villains Inc. (2012)

by Marion G. Harmon(Favorite Author)

4.07 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1475125968 (ISBN13: 9781475125962)

languge

English

genre

Paranormal Fantasy

publisher

CreateSpace

series

Wearing the Cape

review 1: OK, I totally wrote an enormous review for this and somehow it got deleted (which makes me very frustrated!)But as I said in my previous review, I think the difference between Hope/Astra and Jacky/Artemis as narrators is the difference between Ben and Jerry's Phish Food and a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup.Astra's stories are like Phish Food--super complex and delicious but sometimes they get messy and confusing.Artemis's stories are very concisely written and much less complex/confusing, but on the whole, just as satisfying and wonderfully mixed.I have to say, yes, that my main gripe with Hope's books is the sheer amount of characters and the way they seem inadequately introduced. I had to make judicious use of the X-ray function on my kindle app because I wasn't sure who was w... moreho (question: who is watchtower and what does he do exactly?) Complex characters are introduced with simple one-liners, and are almost never physically described (ex: Lei Zi--I'm assuming she's Chinese [because HELLO, that's a Chinese name!] but what does she look like? How old is she? Does she have any interesting battle scars? I want details!) A glossary of characters/superheroes/supervillains would be really nice.I'm also really sad that Hope seems tragically drawn to awkward tension-filled moments with older men and still hasn't admitted that the tabloids have the right of it--that Astra and Artemis are destined to be together. Forever. As lesbian lovers. Astra, darling, Artemis bit you and it FELT FANTASTIC WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH YOUR LIFE.I'm really happy, PS, that the Bees are Phi Mus (being a Phi Mu myself). There should definitely be judicious use of the phrase "LIOB/Love in Our Bond" in the future novels. That is, in fact, the chosen sign off for every Phi Mu and also it fits the story line great. PLEASE TAKE NOTE!I'd also like to see more exploration and explanation of super powers. For example, I could have sworn that Rush couldn't interact with everything when he's all hyperspeed, but I guess now he can carry things with him? Also, Artemis is hUMAN now, and can go out in the sun, so why can't she go to mist in the sunlight? Also sometimes Hope's obsession with "Asian culture" (and God, that is a cringe-worthy phrase! Asia is AN ENORMOUS CONTINENT WITH SEVERAL DIVERSE ETHNIC GROUPS SO PLEASE WTF DOES THAT MEAN) tends to get a bit weeaboo at times, and I'd really like it if the non-white characters got some more description and background other than a vaguely ethnically coded name and a power (other than Riptide, who is adequately described and thus is the standout badass of the book).Things I did like: a) I think it's hilarious that Hope's solution for every doomed love thing ever is "HEY LET'S GET ENGAGED." She's SUCH a good little catholic girl.b) Riptide and his judicious use of Spanish insultsc) Artemis. Just Artemis. I'm in love with Artemis. d) Iron Jack--his backstory is SO FUCKING TANTALIZING. WE NEED MORE IRON JACK.e) Max Fisher was amazing and his origin was fantastic and we need more of that. All in all, satisfying, crunchy with tantalizing bits, and intriguing--and I'm sad that I'm almost done with this series!
review 2: Another great piece of 'how would superheros work in the real world' fiction. Giving away nothing more than a dust-jacket would - directly, this is the story of Astra, traumatized from the events of Wearing the Cape, doing a Nancy Drew impression as she tries to stop a time-traveler's prophecy of a supernatural bogey-man from killing her friend. And, more generally it's about the consequences of criminals adapting their operations to a world full of supers, and what happens when that goes wrong. It is good stuff, maintaining the standard of Wearing the Cape, but it is a different type of story. There's less 'becoming' and more 'noir-story' with the protagonists coming under attack every time she/they take a step towards uncovering the villains - which keeps the action ticking over at a decent clip, but it's also a little predictable. For all the noir about it though, the story plays out more like a true story than fiction - i.e. although the final conflict is satisfying and fitting, it's perhaps not between who you think it might be. less

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