The Horror of Supervillainy by C.T. Phipps Narrator: Jeffrey Kafer
Series: The Supervillainy Saga #7
Published by Crossroad Press on March 8, 2021
Genres: Fantasy
Length: 6 hours and 57 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Author
Goodreads
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Gary Karkofsky, a.k.a. Merciless: The Supervillain Without Mercy™, has decided to give up supervillainy and embrace the path of righteousness. Unfortunately, he's terrible at it, and no one wants him to be their superheroic protector. That all changes when a talking raven arrives with the perfect quest to make his mark: Rescue the president's daughter from Dracula.
Unfortunately, Gary is being led into a trap. The location of Dracula's castle is in Satan Swamp, which is where Gary suffered one of the few defeats of his life. There's also a camp full of superpowered children, the return of alternate reality allies, a pair of psycho killers in love, and the return of an old enemy.
Enjoy the latest installment of the Supervillainy saga!
Always love to be back in the world of Gary Karkofsky a.k.a Merciless: The Supervillain without Mercyâ„¢. The Horror of Supervillainy starts off with Gary reading Harry Potter again (though he erases his memory of them so he can experience them for the first time all over again, and who wouldn’t do that, with so many great series if they had that ability?) when a talking raven shows up in his office. David, the talking raven, wants to hire Merciless to rescue the president’s daughter from Dracula.
Of course that isn’t as straightforward as it sounds, nothing with Gary and the gang is never what it seems. For one, there are many different universes and time isn’t always linear. Throughout this series, there are many different worlds Gary inhabits and the rules aren’t always the same. The same is true here and he is even in more than one world and in an area that is between worlds. This gives the author a lot of room to change things up, so something that happened before is able to be changed in future books. So someone can die in a previous book and be back to life here (hey, the way Phipps handles bringing a character back to life better than the fact that they gave Jedi’s healing powers that didn’t exist for the first eight movies).
So, not only does Gary basically have to not fall into the trap set for him, he again, has to save the world and his friends. Gary has gotten quite a few friends over the years. I really enjoyed Jane Doe (the weredeer from the Bright Falls Mysteries series) and Case/G (sentient robot from Agent G series), not to mention Cindy (Red Riding Hood from this series and Gary’s mistress and mother to one of his kids), Mandy (vampire also from this series and Gary’s wife??, are they still married if she’s dead, this is something that Gary ponders in the story).
Anyway, this story has everything I expect from a C.T. Phipps story. Fun characters that love to be snarky and throw out one-liners. More pop culture references than you can shake a stick at. But mostly, these stories are just fun to get lost in, which we all need after the past year of lockdown. Between the fun banter and the amazing narration, I really get lost in the story when I’m listening to the audiobooks. The stories aren’t deep, but they’re so enjoyable. I always look forward to my next book set in this universe (and there are many series that all live in this universe, each series can be read on their own or as part of the group, though I do recommend starting each series at the beginning, but I’m a stickler for that with every series). If you’re looking for a story to just have a good time with fun characters, this is a great series for that.
Narration:
Jeffrey Kafer really helps make this series what it is (I’ve never tried to read the books, only listened, so I can’t comment about how it is to read these). He really brings out all the characters personalities. Kafer has no problems with the large cast of male, female and even children in this series. I’ve never heard Kafer pick a voice that didn’t match the character perfectly. If you’ve never listened to him perform an audiobook, you’re really missing out.
Listen to a clip: HERE
About Jeffrey Kafer
An award-winning, Los Angeles audiobook narrator, Jeffrey Kafer has performed over 375 titles in all genres from indie authors to bestsellers.
About C.T. Phipps
C.T. Phipps is a lifelong student of horror, science fiction, and fantasy. An avid tabletop gamer, he discovered this passion led him to write and turned him into a lifelong geek. He is a regular reviewer at The United Federation of Charles and the author of Agent G, Cthulhu Armageddon, The Red Room series, Lucifer’s Star, Straight Outta Fangton, and The Supervillainy Saga.
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I started listening to audiobooks when a new book in a series was coming out and I wanted to get a refresher, but didn’t have time to read all the books (I think it was Anita Blake). I fell in love. I stayed with strictly re-reading books that I’d already read for a long time. I eventually tried an audiobook for something that I hadn’t read first and was hooked there too. Now, I listen to audio for both re-reads and first time. I have some series that I’ve given up reading and only listen. I try to get any many books/audiobooks from the library to help save on my budget. Books on CD and the newer digital downloads from the library really allow me to listen more. I then purchase my favorites (because who can wait in line for your favorite book??) and less mainstream books from Audible or some other online retailer.
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I keep saying I’m going to try these. Your reviews always entice me with Gary and his exploits and surrounding characters.
Thanks Sophia. It is a very fun series.
I’m with Sophia. I’ll get here. I just have to plan to do it. Excellent review!
The characters in this series are so much fun. I love my time with them.
I have had some luck with CT Phipps and Jeffrey Kafer in the past. This series sounds like so much fun. Hopefully someday!
Jeffery Kafer really does bring the stories out more. I’ve never actually read a Phipps book, but I can’t imagine it. But then I’m that way with so many audiobooks.
I so love reading your reviews of this series. It sounds like so much fun. Glad you are still enjoying it.
Thanks so much, Jen. I have a great time with Phipp’s characters.
I have book 1 on my wishlist and I’m quite curious to try it
I hope that you’re able to try this author sometimes soon. He is one of my favorites.