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Soon I Will Be Invincible

by Austin Grossman

Other authors: See the other authors section.

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
1,9381188,524 (3.69)51
A wildly entertaining first novel about good and evil, narrated by a cape-wearing superhero and a nefarious supervillain. Doctor Impossibleevil genius, mad scientist, diabolical time-traveler, wannabe world dominatorhas just broken out of prisonagain. He's tried to take over the world in every conceivable way: doomsday devices (nuclear, thermonuclear, nanotechnological), armies (robot, insect, dinosaur, fungus, fish), mass mind control, even a corporate conquest (Impossible Industries LLC). Each time, he has been foiled. This time, it's going to be different. Fatale, a gleaming technological marvel built by the NSA as the next generation of warfare, is living in Boston, watching TV and listening to the police scanner. A woman of skin and chrome with a long silver ponytail, she's given the chance every superheroine dreams of: to join a once-famous group of beautiful young heroes, newly reunited to stop Dr. Impossible. In alternating chapters, we see Dr. Impossible plan his comeback, and we watch the good guysFatale, Damsel, Blackwolf, Feral, CoreFirecome together in the face of unspeakable evil. Featuring a cast of superheroes and supervillains with remarkably human emotions who inhabit a world strangely similar to our own, this is an outrageous adventure with a literary benta smart take on power and celebrity, glory and responsibility, and those old standbys, truth and justice.… (more)
  1. 40
    After the Golden Age by Carrie Vaughn (FFortuna)
    FFortuna: Soon I Will Be Invincible is the same concept, with a lot of attention on the supervillain.
  2. 10
    Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks (DovSherman)
  3. 10
    Playing For Keeps by Mur Lafferty (DovSherman)
  4. 10
    Transmetropolitan Vol. 01: Back on the Street by Warren Ellis (ahstrick)
  5. 10
    Wearing the Cape by Marion G. Harmon (TomWaitsTables)
  6. 00
    Superpowers by David J. Schwartz (nsblumenfeld)
  7. 00
    From the Notebooks of Dr. Brain by Minister Faust (ShelfMonkey)
  8. 00
    The Indifference League by Richard Scarsbrook (ShelfMonkey)
  9. 11
    Watchmen by Alan Moore (sturlington)
  10. 00
    Behind the Mask: A Superhero Anthology by Tricia Reeks (Euryale)
    Euryale: Short stories also exploring the theme of superheroes and villains in their downtime.
  11. 00
    The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente (brianjungwi)
    brianjungwi: Different, but in the superhero genre
  12. 00
    All Those Explosions Were Someone Else's Fault by James Alan Gardner (Carnophile)
    Carnophile: Both books lovingly play with the conventions of superhero comic books.
  13. 00
    Going Through The Change by Samantha Bryant (sturlington)
  14. 00
    A Once Crowded Sky: A Novel by Tom King (Vulco1)
    Vulco1: kind of cynical take on a superhero world. Pretty pointed satire and deliberate homages abound with some good humor, both shallow and deep. Something for people that know superhero comics inside and out as well as newcomers just wanting an interesting read.
  15. 00
    Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots (NKillham)
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» See also 51 mentions

English (116)  French (1)  All languages (117)
Showing 1-5 of 116 (next | show all)
I read this in ARC and it was a fun read and a definitely solid first novel. While I enjoyed the time spent alternating between the heads of the reluctant hero and the megalomaniacal supervillain, its structure was a lot of build-up and not as much punch as one might want out of the climax. Still, with all the world building and the interesting character bits in this book, it's forgiveable. Still, very solid and enough to make me look for this author's next book.

SES ( )
  SESchend | Feb 2, 2024 |
As much as I wanted to, I didn't make it through this. The first few chapters narrated by Dr. Impossible were captivating. I loved his voice - both the actual voice actor on the audiobook and the tone and attitude of the character himself. But then the super heroine spoke. While the voice actor for this heroine was creditable, the attitude and role of the character were insufferable. All she did was dump information about herself and the rest of the super hero camp. Then I noticed that Dr. Impossible was starting to do the same thing. Both of them were doing a lot of telling with only a little showing and both first-person narrators were dumping more information than they could have possibly been privy to. The author was simply showing off. In my mind, the author also didn't help things by writing in the present tense, rather than past. I'm sure this was a stylistic choice, and it worked for some scenes, but really felt wrong for most. Other reviewers have pointed out similar takes on superheroes that were done better. I may have to give one of those a try. ( )
  zot79 | Aug 20, 2023 |
An entertaining novel about superheroes and supervillains. Not especially profound, but the author clearly has a love for silver age superhero stuff (and a respect for and understanding of the genre that The Incredibles did not). It's reasonably effective at getting into the heads of the two narrating characters (a young hero and an experienced villain). The most fun bits involve the glimpses into the histories of the other characters, their full stories being held tantalizingly out of reach (something that today's superhero comics cannot resist diving into ad nauseous). As a serious examination or deconstruction of the genre (which I always feel mainstream fiction about superheroes is striving to be), it feels simplistic compared to, say, almost anything Alan Moore has written, but on its own terms it's entirely entertaining. ( )
  mrawdon | Aug 9, 2023 |
A fun read, putting superheroes in a modern day atmosphere. Witty, sometimes predictable, but enjoyable. Takes a persepctive from both the villian and the hero. ( )
  misterysun | Feb 27, 2023 |
Loved the idea of the book, liked the execution.

I really wanted Doctor Impossible to find a new path. Something to get him out of his rut, to let go of his hate, to get out of the hero-villain dynamic. Oh well. ( )
  tornadox | Feb 14, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 116 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (4 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Austin Grossmanprimary authorall editionscalculated
Boehmer, J. PaulNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Brèque, Jean-DanielTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Kidd, ChipCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Langowski, JürgenTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Marlo, ColeenNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Spear, GeoffCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
Dedication
To my parents, Allen and Judith Grossman
First words
This morning on planet Earth, there are one thousand, six hundred, and eighty-six enhanced, gifted, or otherwise-superpowered persons.
Quotations
When you can't bear something but it goes on anyway, the person who survives isn't you anymore; you've changed and become someone else, a new person, the one who did bear it after all.
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Wikipedia in English (3)

A wildly entertaining first novel about good and evil, narrated by a cape-wearing superhero and a nefarious supervillain. Doctor Impossibleevil genius, mad scientist, diabolical time-traveler, wannabe world dominatorhas just broken out of prisonagain. He's tried to take over the world in every conceivable way: doomsday devices (nuclear, thermonuclear, nanotechnological), armies (robot, insect, dinosaur, fungus, fish), mass mind control, even a corporate conquest (Impossible Industries LLC). Each time, he has been foiled. This time, it's going to be different. Fatale, a gleaming technological marvel built by the NSA as the next generation of warfare, is living in Boston, watching TV and listening to the police scanner. A woman of skin and chrome with a long silver ponytail, she's given the chance every superheroine dreams of: to join a once-famous group of beautiful young heroes, newly reunited to stop Dr. Impossible. In alternating chapters, we see Dr. Impossible plan his comeback, and we watch the good guysFatale, Damsel, Blackwolf, Feral, CoreFirecome together in the face of unspeakable evil. Featuring a cast of superheroes and supervillains with remarkably human emotions who inhabit a world strangely similar to our own, this is an outrageous adventure with a literary benta smart take on power and celebrity, glory and responsibility, and those old standbys, truth and justice.

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