Andrea Vernon and the Superhero-Industrial Complex by Alexander C. Kane Narrator: Bahni Turpin
Series: Andrea Vernon #2
Published by Audible on April 4, 2019
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Length: 11 hours and 7 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Purchased
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Barnes & Noble
More than a year after she helped save the world from the Sparnaxian invasion, Andrea Vernon is in a good place. Her boss is giving her greater responsibility and she’s getting to travel a lot (although her fill-in is hopeless at making coffee); things could be getting even more serious with her 8’ 4” superhero boyfriend, The Big Axe; and she has a really fun new BFF, Never More.
Small issue, though, with that last item - Never More is a supervillain bent on world domination, and it looks as if nothing can stop her. Especially since Congress is determined to bring the Corporation for UltraHuman Protection and all of “Big Supe” under government control.
Even with mankind’s greatest heroes fighting back, will it fall on Andrea to save the day - again?
I was very excited to be back in the world of Andrea Vernon, assistant to Mrs Oh, president of Corporation for UltraHuman Protection, aka CUP. She is now traveling around the world to help with issues in other parts of the world, including Europe, which is where we find her at the beginning of the book. She is tasked with trying to follow Never More, a supervillain with several similarities to ravens. She isn’t very good at hiding, but it could also be that ravens always pay attention to the world around them.
Never More and Andrea hit it off, even if they are on opposite sides. Never More has an ingenious way to take over the world. Do it legal through corporate takeover. She buys the second largest hero corporation. She works with lawmakers to deregulate superhero corporations. Once she gets the contract to control prisons for supervillains and lets them all free. Now Andrea and her US Senator brother are the only ones working to take Never More and her corporation of supervillains masquerading as superheroes. Funny thing is, Andrea and Never More continue to be friends because they are able to be open and honest with each other and share things that many other people wouldn’t understand.
In this book, CUP has a new superhero in the ranks. GLARE! This superhero (I honestly can’t remember the gender, but it really doesn’t make much of a difference with this particular character), shines as bright as the sun. GLARE is also not able to speak in a normal voice, everything is loud (think Oprah when she was giving away prizes on her show, “you get a car, and you get a car”). GLARE! also burns up any fabric that comes in contact with his skin, so he walks around naked, though truthfully, you can’t see anything through the brightness. But then there is also the bare ass on the chairs, which is denied until Inspector Well Actually shows his ability to be a great lie detector. This entire scene where we first meet GLARE! had me laughing hysterically.
I really loved this sequel. It has all the humor as the first book, maybe a bit less silly humor, but plenty to make you laugh. I also think this one had a bit of a better plot. Not that the first one had a bad plot, this one is just a bit better, in my opinion. And we really get to see several real heroes in action, and that have nothing to do with superpowers, but the ability to put others over themselves, no matter the consequences. I really look forward to the third, and the most recent, audiobook published. I’m really hoping the series continues. I might be able to tell better when I listen to book 3, Andrea Vernon and the Big Axe Acquisition, which was released in 2021 and these have been released every other year. 🤞
Narration:
In the review for book one, I told you one of the big reasons I picked up this series is because Bahni Turpin was the narrator. She is one of my absolute favorites. I’ve grabbed several books narrated by her by authors I didn’t know. She does such a great job with her narrations. She puts so much passion into each character. I don’t know what else to say about her. If you haven’t listened to something she’s performed, you’re really missing out.
Listen to a clip: HERE
About Bahni Turpin
Bahni Turpin is a Los Angeles-based actress with many television and film credits in addition to being an award winning narrator. She is honored to have been awarded an Audie for Best Female Narrator, 2015, Audible Narrator of the Year, 2016, and American Library Association’s Voice of Choice for 2017. In 2018, Bahni won best female narration again, and was also inducted into the Audible Hall of Fame. She is a two-time Odyssey Award winner, and was also named as one of Audiophile’s Golden Voices for 2019.
Bahni Turpin is also a famous TV and film actress. She started her career in 1987 with the film called “Tiszta Amerika”.
2010 Best Voice in Fiction: PRECIOUS
The talented narrator is now a devoted listener, too, but she came to audiobooks with a bit of skepticism. Another actress referred her to Books on Tape, where she later auditioned. “It was very strange to me at the time because I didn’t listen to audiobooks then.”
In time, Books on Tape engaged her to read A PIECE OF CAKE, by Cupcake Brown, and Bahni was hooked. She had always liked reading aloud and found the assignment to be a comfortable and enjoyable gig. Of course, she’s continued. But sometimes she’s surprised at a director’s requirements. “I auditioned for a new company, and the director was so picky,” she says. “Every time you cleared your throat, you had to restart the paragraph.”
Bahni, who now loves listening to women’s stories as she tools around Los Angeles, was mesmerized by her own voicing of the character Minny in THE HELP, by Kathryn Stockett. “While listening, I forgot it was me I was listening to,” says Bahni, who enjoyed the book’s rich emotions and vivid characterizations of several female characters.
The experience of absorbing audiobooks can be challenging for some modern listeners, Bahni feels. The heavy reliance on television for entertainment has led some to forget how to listen without a visual component. But she doesn’t draw a line between acting and narration. Bahni reads each book before recording and makes notes about how each character should sound. “I like to give each one a characterization and really try to read the way I feel the text should be heard. I especially enjoy doing dialects.”
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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 own the 3 books in this series. Now I just need to start reading them.
I hadn’t heard of this one but it sounds interesting.
I love that you found this series because you like the narrator. I’ve done that before too.
This sounds fun
This definitely sounds like a fun story! Thanks for sharing!