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D-List Supervillain #0.5
Origins of a D-List Supervillain
Even D-List Supervillains have to start somewhere. Follow Cal Stringel’s misadventures as he climbs to the lowest levels of supervillany in the prequel to the smash hit, Confessions of a D-List Supervillain. Angry that he wouldn’t be known as the engineer who made Ultraweapon’s force blasters, Cal resigns to chase after a bigger, better paycheck. However, the Promethia Corporation isn’t going to let him go that easily and sets out to make his life a living hell. Fed up at being pushed around by a company with an endless supply of lawyers and litigation, Cal sets out to build his own version of Ultraweapon’s powered armor and take his revenge! What Cal doesn’t count on is just how hard this is going to be. Along the way, he will make both friends and enemies and discover how hard hitting rock bottom can feel. Whether Cal is trying to smooth talk his way out of the prison for supervillains, haggle with nefarious employers over the price of his inventions, or battle with the Gulf Coast Guardians, he’s in for one wild ride! He’ll need to learn that when money is tight that everything has a price – from the cost of making weapons for a psychotic speedster to how much to charge for taking the blame for a drunken rampage through Las Vegas.
216 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 5, 2014
71 people are currently reading
1136 people want to read
About the author
Jim Bernheimer
32 books438 followersJim lives in Chesapeake, Virginia with his wife Kim, and daughters Laura and Marissa. By day, he works as a Systems Administrator on a government contract and runs his own side Information Technology consulting firm, EJB Networking, which can be found at www.ejbnetworking.com
Blessed (or cursed depending on your point of view) with an overactive imagination, Jim has long been a fan of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Seeking to put that imagination to use, he has started to write his own orginal works in hopes of making his mark on the literary world.
Jim's literary influences include well known writers such as Robert Heinlein, Edgar Allen Poe, J.R.R Tolkien, and the not so well-known C.T. Westcott.
Blessed (or cursed depending on your point of view) with an overactive imagination, Jim has long been a fan of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Seeking to put that imagination to use, he has started to write his own orginal works in hopes of making his mark on the literary world.
Jim's literary influences include well known writers such as Robert Heinlein, Edgar Allen Poe, J.R.R Tolkien, and the not so well-known C.T. Westcott.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 122 reviews
October 2, 2018
This superhero/supervillain story was a lot of fun! It was packed with action, humor, and interesting characters. It also had plenty of cool superpowers and sci-fi technology and a fun world and a good story.
Cal Stringel works for the Promethia Corporation and is part of the team that makes popular superhero Ultraweapon's armoured battle suit. Things go wrong for Cal when he gets into a dispute over a patent right for part of the design. The credit all goes to Ultraweapon so Cal quits in protest. A bad mistake as Promethia Corporation gets him blacklisted from working anywhere decent again to set an example to their other employees. After years of litigation end with Cal working at a local mechanic shop and lawyers from the Promethia Corporation blocking the patent to his new invention he decides enough is enough and sets about making his own armoured suit so he can take revenge. It all goes wrong pretty quickly as Cal slides into the life of a low level supervillain as he needs the cash to buy all the fancy tech for his battle suit!
The story was a whole lot of fun. Cal was not always a likeable guy but he was an engaging character and stuffed full of sarcastic humor so he was a fun character to follow on his adventures. He was also fairly tame for a supervillain and mostly going against people who had wronged him so that helped with being able to sympathise with his plight.
The story, tone, and world remind me a lot of C.T.Phipps Rules of Supervillainy series. Which is a good thing as that is the best superhero series I've read! I'd say this series is a little darker than Phipps series in content and suffers from a tiny bit of misogyny but nothing too serious to hurt the story. It just means Cal does not end up as likeable as Phipps protagonist.
One of the best bits about this book was Bernheimer's ability to bounce between hilarious moments to ones that could really engage me emotionally. It gave the story a good balance. On the whole Bernheimer's writing was quite engaging and his story had no problem holding my full attention!
This is actually a prequel to Confessions of a D-List Supervillain but I ended up reading it first as Audible had it listed as the first book in the series. Thanks a lot for the mislabelling Audible! I feel like it worked well as an introduction to the series but I'll have to see if that damages my enjoyment of Confessions any when I get to it as I'll already have absorbed the world building that a first book usually spends a bit of time on.
All in all I felt like this was one of the better superhero/supervillain books I've read and was every bit the fun romp the blurb promised it would be. I'm looking forward to following more of Cal's escapades in the rest of the series!
Rating: 4.5 stars. I'm rounding down a bit as I felt Cal could have been a tiny bit more likeable with just a few minor tweaks.
Audio Note: This was narrated by Jeffrey Kafer. He did a great job with the audio and is suited to this type of story as he has a good voice for narration and gets the tone of the sarcastic humor and when to switch into serious mode for the deeper parts of the story.
Cal Stringel works for the Promethia Corporation and is part of the team that makes popular superhero Ultraweapon's armoured battle suit. Things go wrong for Cal when he gets into a dispute over a patent right for part of the design. The credit all goes to Ultraweapon so Cal quits in protest. A bad mistake as Promethia Corporation gets him blacklisted from working anywhere decent again to set an example to their other employees. After years of litigation end with Cal working at a local mechanic shop and lawyers from the Promethia Corporation blocking the patent to his new invention he decides enough is enough and sets about making his own armoured suit so he can take revenge. It all goes wrong pretty quickly as Cal slides into the life of a low level supervillain as he needs the cash to buy all the fancy tech for his battle suit!
The story was a whole lot of fun. Cal was not always a likeable guy but he was an engaging character and stuffed full of sarcastic humor so he was a fun character to follow on his adventures. He was also fairly tame for a supervillain and mostly going against people who had wronged him so that helped with being able to sympathise with his plight.
The story, tone, and world remind me a lot of C.T.Phipps Rules of Supervillainy series. Which is a good thing as that is the best superhero series I've read! I'd say this series is a little darker than Phipps series in content and suffers from a tiny bit of misogyny but nothing too serious to hurt the story. It just means Cal does not end up as likeable as Phipps protagonist.
One of the best bits about this book was Bernheimer's ability to bounce between hilarious moments to ones that could really engage me emotionally. It gave the story a good balance. On the whole Bernheimer's writing was quite engaging and his story had no problem holding my full attention!
This is actually a prequel to Confessions of a D-List Supervillain but I ended up reading it first as Audible had it listed as the first book in the series. Thanks a lot for the mislabelling Audible! I feel like it worked well as an introduction to the series but I'll have to see if that damages my enjoyment of Confessions any when I get to it as I'll already have absorbed the world building that a first book usually spends a bit of time on.
All in all I felt like this was one of the better superhero/supervillain books I've read and was every bit the fun romp the blurb promised it would be. I'm looking forward to following more of Cal's escapades in the rest of the series!
Rating: 4.5 stars. I'm rounding down a bit as I felt Cal could have been a tiny bit more likeable with just a few minor tweaks.
Audio Note: This was narrated by Jeffrey Kafer. He did a great job with the audio and is suited to this type of story as he has a good voice for narration and gets the tone of the sarcastic humor and when to switch into serious mode for the deeper parts of the story.
August 27, 2021
If I had known this was a prequel novel to Bernheimer’s D-List Supervillain series, I wouldn’t have started with it, but would have started with book 1, Confessions of a D-List Supervillain. Prequels that try to explain how events got to where a series starts (as opposed to simply telling a good story) are challenging and I don’t think Bernheimer was totally successful in this book. The tale is enjoyable, but not quite as magical as I was expecting. The problem is that the plot is more focused on explaining how Cal became a supervillain instead of on a suitable challenge for him. (By contrast, the cliffhanger at the end of the book is very exciting and makes me very hopeful for Confessions.)
On the positive side, Cal’s backstory is engaging. Having invented the force blaster that makes the hero, Ultraweapon, so dangerous, he is outraged when he isn’t publicly credited with his invention. What’s worse, he’s blacklisted as a warning to other employees and his company then sets about making him unemployable anywhere. Finally, in desperation, he turns to crime and is pathetic at it. I suspect this was supposed to be somewhat humorous, but it didn’t make me laugh. The rest of the novel is dedicated to Cal trying to get his supervillain career going.
Why supervillains are not successful is an obvious underlying theme of the story which I suspect will continue throughout the series. I’m definitely interested in reading the next book, but quite frankly this first one is not the one you should start with.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
On the positive side, Cal’s backstory is engaging. Having invented the force blaster that makes the hero, Ultraweapon, so dangerous, he is outraged when he isn’t publicly credited with his invention. What’s worse, he’s blacklisted as a warning to other employees and his company then sets about making him unemployable anywhere. Finally, in desperation, he turns to crime and is pathetic at it. I suspect this was supposed to be somewhat humorous, but it didn’t make me laugh. The rest of the novel is dedicated to Cal trying to get his supervillain career going.
Why supervillains are not successful is an obvious underlying theme of the story which I suspect will continue throughout the series. I’m definitely interested in reading the next book, but quite frankly this first one is not the one you should start with.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
December 1, 2020
Very entertaining and interesting superhero story. Well I guess technically he starts out as a villain but you know he is a good guy at heart. Nice read. Recommended
July 1, 2014
Disclaimer 1: The author provided me a copy of this book.
Disclaimer 2: I loved the first (second? prequels are so confusing) book in this series so much that I would have bought it had the author not given me a copy.
Disclaimer 3: Perhaps my rating was bumped a little bit because I immediately reread Confessions right after finishing this one (the author literally stopped this book right where Confessions began; if you can resist rereading the first – second? – after you finish this one, you obviously have more willpower than me.)
About This Book – Origins of a D-List Supervillain tells the story of Cal’s fall from a promising engineer designing weapons for Ultraweapon to, through a series of questionable choices, become a low-level “super” criminal.
Why to Buy This Book – It’s a fun read. The voice and writing flow well and keep you entertained throughout. As an aspiring author myself, I have to admire how effortless the author achieves those more-difficult-than-they-seem qualities. I also love how lighthearted the story felt given that the material could be perceived as fairly dark.
Why Not to Buy This Book – From a story standpoint, I’m not sure what this book adds to the series. It feels like little information is imparted about Cal that I didn’t already know from the backstory given in Confessions.
Bottom Line – To be honest, I wasn’t excited at all about reading a prequel, even for a series that I love. I’m glad that I did, though, as this book was quite enjoyable. Most of all, Origins made me eager for the sequel to Confessions, which I understand is coming out this year. (Can’t wait!) Five Stars!
Disclaimer 2: I loved the first (second? prequels are so confusing) book in this series so much that I would have bought it had the author not given me a copy.
Disclaimer 3: Perhaps my rating was bumped a little bit because I immediately reread Confessions right after finishing this one (the author literally stopped this book right where Confessions began; if you can resist rereading the first – second? – after you finish this one, you obviously have more willpower than me.)
About This Book – Origins of a D-List Supervillain tells the story of Cal’s fall from a promising engineer designing weapons for Ultraweapon to, through a series of questionable choices, become a low-level “super” criminal.
Why to Buy This Book – It’s a fun read. The voice and writing flow well and keep you entertained throughout. As an aspiring author myself, I have to admire how effortless the author achieves those more-difficult-than-they-seem qualities. I also love how lighthearted the story felt given that the material could be perceived as fairly dark.
Why Not to Buy This Book – From a story standpoint, I’m not sure what this book adds to the series. It feels like little information is imparted about Cal that I didn’t already know from the backstory given in Confessions.
Bottom Line – To be honest, I wasn’t excited at all about reading a prequel, even for a series that I love. I’m glad that I did, though, as this book was quite enjoyable. Most of all, Origins made me eager for the sequel to Confessions, which I understand is coming out this year. (Can’t wait!) Five Stars!
November 4, 2016
A delightfully enjoyable adventure told from the wrong side of the secret lair, Confessions of a D-list Supervillain effectively balances lighthearted silliness with touching sincerity as it tells the origin story of Mechani-Cal, a fourth-rate supervillain with delusions of mediocrity.
Mechani-Cal, a.k.a. Calvin Stringer, is a brilliant engineer whose life takes a dark turn when he tries to leave his job at a superhero’s corporation over a patent argument. He’s metaphorically kicked in the teeth by his ex-employer and spends the rest of the book trying to pull himself up by his armor-powered bootstraps.
This reminds me quite a bit of Brandon Sanderson’s The Reckoners series. Jim Bernheimer doesn’t bring the same deft touch with a large ensemble cast, but he does just a good a job of building a believably fantastic world of superheroes and supervillains while exploring the motivations of one well-developed central character. He also handles the romance subplot much more maturely.
The story moves quickly, giving us sufficient motivation to root for our intrepid villain while simultaneously making it clear that Cal is not a good person. The humor hits the right notes, effectively allowing the author to hand-wave away the more ridiculous aspects of the world, while the overall tone remains serious enough that the eventual tragedies hit with real weight.
It’s often hard to recommend a superhero novel to people who aren’t already interested in the genre, but at the end of the day this is basically another form of fantasy, and it’s so fast, fun, and well-written that I’ve already started the next book in the series.
Mechani-Cal, a.k.a. Calvin Stringer, is a brilliant engineer whose life takes a dark turn when he tries to leave his job at a superhero’s corporation over a patent argument. He’s metaphorically kicked in the teeth by his ex-employer and spends the rest of the book trying to pull himself up by his armor-powered bootstraps.
This reminds me quite a bit of Brandon Sanderson’s The Reckoners series. Jim Bernheimer doesn’t bring the same deft touch with a large ensemble cast, but he does just a good a job of building a believably fantastic world of superheroes and supervillains while exploring the motivations of one well-developed central character. He also handles the romance subplot much more maturely.
The story moves quickly, giving us sufficient motivation to root for our intrepid villain while simultaneously making it clear that Cal is not a good person. The humor hits the right notes, effectively allowing the author to hand-wave away the more ridiculous aspects of the world, while the overall tone remains serious enough that the eventual tragedies hit with real weight.
It’s often hard to recommend a superhero novel to people who aren’t already interested in the genre, but at the end of the day this is basically another form of fantasy, and it’s so fast, fun, and well-written that I’ve already started the next book in the series.
January 21, 2015
4/5 stars
The plot evolves around an engineer working for a high tech company who one day decides that he wants to quit after inventing a new weapon and finds out that the company has decided to screw him for leaving them. After he reaches bottom being unable to get any job as a technician or engineer, he takes the path of a villain being fed up of playing by the rules.
He steadily climbs back to the surface and builds his own power suite to help him take his hits up until he is caught and sent to jail. There he meets other super villains with super powers and stars building a network that he uses later on after he is set free on parole.
The story goes straight for the meat, it builds on the character nicely and doesn't feel like it drags over the character or world building for too long. It reminded me a bit of the Scalzi books, so if you like that writing give this one a go.
Overall I had fun listening to the book and the character is witty and sarcastic enough to crack a smile or two from time to time.
What else could you ask for?
The plot evolves around an engineer working for a high tech company who one day decides that he wants to quit after inventing a new weapon and finds out that the company has decided to screw him for leaving them. After he reaches bottom being unable to get any job as a technician or engineer, he takes the path of a villain being fed up of playing by the rules.
He steadily climbs back to the surface and builds his own power suite to help him take his hits up until he is caught and sent to jail. There he meets other super villains with super powers and stars building a network that he uses later on after he is set free on parole.
The story goes straight for the meat, it builds on the character nicely and doesn't feel like it drags over the character or world building for too long. It reminded me a bit of the Scalzi books, so if you like that writing give this one a go.
Overall I had fun listening to the book and the character is witty and sarcastic enough to crack a smile or two from time to time.
What else could you ask for?
July 12, 2014
A sequel that's really a prequel.
At last we get a follow-up to the Confessions of a D-list Supervillian, but the real follow-up will be this fall. This explains how our not quite hero got where he was at the beginning of the other story. Fans of the Thunderbolts or Venom will love this.
Merged review:
At last we get a follow-up to the Confessions of a D-list Supervillian, but the real follow-up will be this fall. This explains how our not quite hero got where he was at the beginning of the other story. Fans of the Thunderbolts or Venom will love this.
At last we get a follow-up to the Confessions of a D-list Supervillian, but the real follow-up will be this fall. This explains how our not quite hero got where he was at the beginning of the other story. Fans of the Thunderbolts or Venom will love this.
Merged review:
At last we get a follow-up to the Confessions of a D-list Supervillian, but the real follow-up will be this fall. This explains how our not quite hero got where he was at the beginning of the other story. Fans of the Thunderbolts or Venom will love this.
June 29, 2018
This book was a DNF.
January 18, 2016
It's the story of Cal Stringel a.k.a Mechani-Cal, who goes on to save the world from a series of disasters caused by the dysfunction of a major superhero. I liked Confessions but was rather annoyed we never got to actually see what being a supervillain was like for Cal.
Origins corrects that flaw by showing us how Cal got involved in supervillainy, what he did while he was Mechani-Cal, and what he was thinking during it. Even better, we get an idea of how supervillains "operate" in the Confessions world. Jim Bernheimer puts a great deal of thought into how supervillains acquire their toys, network, and operate. We even get a look into things like prison life and how they launder their money.
This book presents a sleazy underbelly to the world of bright costumes and wacky devices, which is an interesting choice. Supervillains are, at heart, petty criminals who just happen to have a bit of theatricality going for them. They spend their money at strip clubs, bars, and on drugs with the remainder going to pay for bigger crimes. It's a reflection of real-life criminal mentality and helps explain why they're always pulling off bigger heists.
Cal gets a less sympathetic portrayal here than in the prior volume, where he seemed to be a villain-in-name-only. Here, it's made clear Cal's excuses for his criminal behavior are just that. He markets high-tech weapons to very dangerous people and hurts a lot of people who are only peripherally involved in his vendetta against Ultraweapon. I liked this because it makes Cal's redemption arc actually a redemption arc.
Origins expands on the number of supervillains and superheroes in the setting too. Previously, there was just the Pantheon and a couple of extra superheroes but this novel hints at potentially hundreds of good guys and bad guys duking it out across the globe. It's bad enough they have a Super-Max prison entirely for supervillains.
There's a decent bit of satire re: the American prison system with the author illustrating how it transformed Cal from an amateur bank robber into a full-blown criminal mastermind. Of course, that may just be showing the prison system as how it is versus any attempt at satire. Cal joining up with outfits like General Devious and the Evil Overlord's is only a slight exaggeration as to how many ex-cons end up in real-life criminal networks.
I liked the supporting cast with Vicky, General Devious, the Biloxi Bugler, and Joseph being the standouts. I was very fond of lesbian character, Maxine Velocity, and am kind of sad her story went the way it did. Confessions characters Aphrodite and Wendy don't play a major role in the book but get referenced enough to let you know they exist. Cal's romance with Vicky is doomed to fail since we know he gets with Aphrodite in future volumes but it's still sweet. Besides, I rather like her as she reminds me of my favored ship in the series (Wendy/Cal).
In conclusion, Origins is a great example of superhero prose. It's objectively better than Confessions and something all fans of the original novel should check out. Indeed, I recommend they read it beforehand.
10/10
Origins corrects that flaw by showing us how Cal got involved in supervillainy, what he did while he was Mechani-Cal, and what he was thinking during it. Even better, we get an idea of how supervillains "operate" in the Confessions world. Jim Bernheimer puts a great deal of thought into how supervillains acquire their toys, network, and operate. We even get a look into things like prison life and how they launder their money.
This book presents a sleazy underbelly to the world of bright costumes and wacky devices, which is an interesting choice. Supervillains are, at heart, petty criminals who just happen to have a bit of theatricality going for them. They spend their money at strip clubs, bars, and on drugs with the remainder going to pay for bigger crimes. It's a reflection of real-life criminal mentality and helps explain why they're always pulling off bigger heists.
Cal gets a less sympathetic portrayal here than in the prior volume, where he seemed to be a villain-in-name-only. Here, it's made clear Cal's excuses for his criminal behavior are just that. He markets high-tech weapons to very dangerous people and hurts a lot of people who are only peripherally involved in his vendetta against Ultraweapon. I liked this because it makes Cal's redemption arc actually a redemption arc.
Origins expands on the number of supervillains and superheroes in the setting too. Previously, there was just the Pantheon and a couple of extra superheroes but this novel hints at potentially hundreds of good guys and bad guys duking it out across the globe. It's bad enough they have a Super-Max prison entirely for supervillains.
There's a decent bit of satire re: the American prison system with the author illustrating how it transformed Cal from an amateur bank robber into a full-blown criminal mastermind. Of course, that may just be showing the prison system as how it is versus any attempt at satire. Cal joining up with outfits like General Devious and the Evil Overlord's is only a slight exaggeration as to how many ex-cons end up in real-life criminal networks.
I liked the supporting cast with Vicky, General Devious, the Biloxi Bugler, and Joseph being the standouts. I was very fond of lesbian character, Maxine Velocity, and am kind of sad her story went the way it did. Confessions characters Aphrodite and Wendy don't play a major role in the book but get referenced enough to let you know they exist. Cal's romance with Vicky is doomed to fail since we know he gets with Aphrodite in future volumes but it's still sweet. Besides, I rather like her as she reminds me of my favored ship in the series (Wendy/Cal).
In conclusion, Origins is a great example of superhero prose. It's objectively better than Confessions and something all fans of the original novel should check out. Indeed, I recommend they read it beforehand.
10/10
May 28, 2017
I really like this story and have been eager for it ever since I finished the first book a couple of years ago. There wasn't as much humor, but it was awesome none-the-less. It was good to get some back story on Cal.
There was a short section of the book that had me fearing Mr. Bernheimer was determined to have a throw-back to every place/person/thing/topic mentioned in the first book, but it didn't take too long for him to get it out of his system.
The books only real flaw is that there is a ton of "evil rich" class warfare type talk. I don't know if this comes from Mr. Bernheimer or from Kal. Either way my response would be the same. If you see every successful person as an affront to your existence you need to man/woman up and get on with your life. I'm thankful for a strong work ethic that allowed me to claw my way out of the poverty I grew up in. I wonder how far I would have made it if I had instead just sat around talking about how "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer". Oh wait I do know what would've happened. I would have gotten poorer, creating a self fulfilling prophecy.
There was a short section of the book that had me fearing Mr. Bernheimer was determined to have a throw-back to every place/person/thing/topic mentioned in the first book, but it didn't take too long for him to get it out of his system.
The books only real flaw is that there is a ton of "evil rich" class warfare type talk. I don't know if this comes from Mr. Bernheimer or from Kal. Either way my response would be the same. If you see every successful person as an affront to your existence you need to man/woman up and get on with your life. I'm thankful for a strong work ethic that allowed me to claw my way out of the poverty I grew up in. I wonder how far I would have made it if I had instead just sat around talking about how "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer". Oh wait I do know what would've happened. I would have gotten poorer, creating a self fulfilling prophecy.
July 14, 2014
I hadn't expected the early days of Calvin Stringel to be as entertaining as this book was. When you leave a person with no options either they fold or find a new path you hadn't anticipated and in this case the only that seemed open to Calvin was supervillan. However, as the reader is about to find out the supervillan world is no easier to navigate than that of the hero world. I enjoyed this novel. Its not padded out and tells the story it needs without wandering all over the countryside and gives you a laugh along the way. I'm now waiting for book 3 to be published later in the year.
May 11, 2016
This is a prequel to Confessions of a D-List Supervillain.
As it turned out, the few lines to how Cal got started as a supervillain make for quite a large and interesting story. This one got a little bit less of an emotional impact that the previous (Read: Confessions) because now you know how it ends, but Origins remains an excellent read in the superhero genre.
Not as good as Confessions, but well above the curve.
As it turned out, the few lines to how Cal got started as a supervillain make for quite a large and interesting story. This one got a little bit less of an emotional impact that the previous (Read: Confessions) because now you know how it ends, but Origins remains an excellent read in the superhero genre.
Not as good as Confessions, but well above the curve.
June 14, 2016
I strongly recommend reading this book BEFORE reading Confessions of a D List Supervillain. This helps you to see the steps and frustration of losing a job in an epically dickish way. A job you're overquallified for, so you get revenge by becoming a supervillain. (like you do) Problem is that he's way out of his depth and vastly underfunded. This leads to hilarious results. I recommend this if you're a fan of Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog or examining different twists on the superhero genre.
August 23, 2016
This is a prequel to Confessions of a D-List Supervillain.
As it turned out, the few lines to how Cal got started as a supervillain make for quite a large and interesting story. This one got a little bit less of an emotional impact that the previous (Read: Confessions) because now you know how it ends, but Origins remains an excellent read in the superhero genre.
Not as good as Confessions, but well above the curve.
As it turned out, the few lines to how Cal got started as a supervillain make for quite a large and interesting story. This one got a little bit less of an emotional impact that the previous (Read: Confessions) because now you know how it ends, but Origins remains an excellent read in the superhero genre.
Not as good as Confessions, but well above the curve.
January 2, 2015
I loved the sarcastic humor and wit. My husband loved the setting and adventure. The main character is relatable and likable, maybe all the more because his moral compass has range! The story was entertaining and we started the Confessions book right on the heels of Origins. I have the audio version of this book, and think the narrator is very believable as the voice of the protagonist.
January 9, 2015
Superhero fiction is an interesting mix of fantasy and SF and a lot of it can be mediocre, but this book is anything but. The character development is REALLY impressive and isn't filled with black-and-white plot lines, but strong shades of gray.
a fun read with some real meat on it. That's not the normal fare for most books...so much the better. I can't recommend this book strongly enough.
a fun read with some real meat on it. That's not the normal fare for most books...so much the better. I can't recommend this book strongly enough.
January 31, 2015
Satisfying. Shows events in Cal Stringel's life from his getting the fired, the origins of Hillbilly bobby and his hideout, the origin of the Biloxi Bugler, up to the invasion of the mind controlling parasites immediately prior to Confessions. Just as good as original and re-readable.
August 4, 2014
I found this to be an excellent prequel to Confessions of a D-List Supervillain. I am eagerly awaiting the 3rd one this fall!
August 19, 2014
I was hoping for something almost as good as the first book and was surprised and pleased to find that this book may actually be better. Can't wait for the next offering from Bernheimer!
November 6, 2014
I enjoyed this book even better than the first one. In fact I am re-reading the first book again.
December 16, 2014
A prequel. Good read. Maybe a 4.5.
March 16, 2015
great nod to.the original book while delving into the origins of the antihero
July 13, 2015
4.5 Stars. This series is awesome! I so love Cal! This is really a fun and enjoyable read.
January 25, 2015
I liked Origins better than Confessions. I read Origins first.
March 8, 2021
For being such a brilliant guy, Cal Stringel makes a lot of really dumb decisions. Not to say he doesn't know it. Not to say he doesn't make an effort to do better. Only to clarify, Cal is the type of person who runs out of options, frequently, and as a consequence, the electrical engineer with a mind for weapons technology may find himself on the wrong end of pulse blaster of his own making if he's not careful. ORIGINS OF A D-LIST SUPERVILLAIN tracks Cal's final days as a tech developer for the world's greatest hero to Cal's early days as an entrepreneur climbing free of the wreckage of a world that's gone to hell.
This is a fun prequel novel for readers familiar with Cal's efforts to save the world from mind-controlling insects. His efforts to earn and then lose the second love of his life. And his subsequent effort to carve sweet, sweet revenge into the history books as he pummels his rival into the pavement. Before all of that madness, there were the smaller-scale endeavors that viewed Cal as a rough-around-the-edges engineer who never got his due. No tech developer for Ultraweapon, the jerkwad hero, ever walked away the job with his or her head held high, and Cal was just the same. Too bad for Ultraweapon and the superhero community, Cal doesn't give up so easily.
The first half of ORIGINS OF A D-LIST SUPERVILLAIN is a bit slow. There isn't much new or intriguing about a criminal whose subpar efforts get him nabbed by the feds, tossed into prison, and so forth. The author deserves plenty of credit for making Cal a relatable character, despite his innumerable failings. However, the rote and sidewinding excursion of which Cal takes invariably means he's the type of guy who fails into success. Not exactly compelling.
But the fun is in the details. The early jobs (hit up a community bank or a pawn shop?). The oddball compatriots (a villain who makes tiny moss henchmen?). The reintroduction of familiar heroes (the mouthy teen from NYC?) and villains (the unsympathetic master of electricity who always breaks out of jail?). ORIGINS OF A D-LIST SUPERVILLAIN pulls out all of the stops when it comes to framing and building a world in which all of this craziness feels lived-in. By the time Cal meets the lovely and inscrutable Victoria Wheymeyer, their fated pairing is both flagrantly sentimental and expertly outlined. If only Evil Overlord didn't blow up his base in the Cascade Mountains.
This is a good book to round out Cal's worldview. It's much more in the character's head than others, and gives readers a more consistently nuanced perspective of the chaos surrounding the heroes versus villains commentary typical of such narratives. Cal's not a good person, but he never really pretends to be one. Cal's not a horrible person either. And yet, it seems that playing the bad guy usually occurs when things are going best for him. Who knew?
This is a fun prequel novel for readers familiar with Cal's efforts to save the world from mind-controlling insects. His efforts to earn and then lose the second love of his life. And his subsequent effort to carve sweet, sweet revenge into the history books as he pummels his rival into the pavement. Before all of that madness, there were the smaller-scale endeavors that viewed Cal as a rough-around-the-edges engineer who never got his due. No tech developer for Ultraweapon, the jerkwad hero, ever walked away the job with his or her head held high, and Cal was just the same. Too bad for Ultraweapon and the superhero community, Cal doesn't give up so easily.
The first half of ORIGINS OF A D-LIST SUPERVILLAIN is a bit slow. There isn't much new or intriguing about a criminal whose subpar efforts get him nabbed by the feds, tossed into prison, and so forth. The author deserves plenty of credit for making Cal a relatable character, despite his innumerable failings. However, the rote and sidewinding excursion of which Cal takes invariably means he's the type of guy who fails into success. Not exactly compelling.
But the fun is in the details. The early jobs (hit up a community bank or a pawn shop?). The oddball compatriots (a villain who makes tiny moss henchmen?). The reintroduction of familiar heroes (the mouthy teen from NYC?) and villains (the unsympathetic master of electricity who always breaks out of jail?). ORIGINS OF A D-LIST SUPERVILLAIN pulls out all of the stops when it comes to framing and building a world in which all of this craziness feels lived-in. By the time Cal meets the lovely and inscrutable Victoria Wheymeyer, their fated pairing is both flagrantly sentimental and expertly outlined. If only Evil Overlord didn't blow up his base in the Cascade Mountains.
This is a good book to round out Cal's worldview. It's much more in the character's head than others, and gives readers a more consistently nuanced perspective of the chaos surrounding the heroes versus villains commentary typical of such narratives. Cal's not a good person, but he never really pretends to be one. Cal's not a horrible person either. And yet, it seems that playing the bad guy usually occurs when things are going best for him. Who knew?
April 25, 2018
Only the fact that Jeffrey Kiefer was the narrator and did an amazing job of it saved this book from being garbage. Instead it falls under complete mediocre. I've a few other series like this but with a few differences. Tbh it read like a generic bland copy of those. That is to say if you blended them together and made a few changes. I'm not entirely sure I will give the next book in the series a shot at this time. Really disappointed with the really obvious shit cliffhanger at the end. Actually you can't even call it that, because that indicates there was an ending to the book when there was none. It just bam stopped in the middle of the freaking action, was like cutting out the last part of a movie and saying you will see this in the next one. I am usually pretty tolerable when it comes to cliffhangers and see them as okay mostly. However this is something I can't recall seeing before. Did the author even have an editor look at this ending? It is such a blatant desperation move to get sales up I can't let it pass. It's like telling ppl here buy my book it's great. Oh I forgot to mention FYI the ending cuts out in the middle of the action and you need to buy the next book to know what happens. If this is any indication on what to expect from this author I think I'll pass. Seems to try hard to be 1 thing 1 minute and then doing a 180. Goes from MC having a moral compass even though he's a villain to not caring about killing ppl. Enter zombies all of a sudden at the end part and does it remind you of anything? Copy C.T Phipps (The Supervillainy Saga) much?
June 24, 2017
So you have finished Confessions and now you're here.... Origins is better than Confessions in everyway that matters. It is better written. It has a better plot. It has more interesting gadgets. It has a more compelling and emotional love interest. Cal's trials are both funnily more smelly and in a low key way more devastating. It is a more complete tail and frankly it does a better job setting up for the next book then Confessions did by a long shot.
The one problem being its a prequel. So if you hate prequels then you might have a little bit of a problem with it. If you go in knowing that you'll enjoy it as much as I did.
The one problem being its a prequel. So if you hate prequels then you might have a little bit of a problem with it. If you go in knowing that you'll enjoy it as much as I did.
April 3, 2020
Overall a great book. While we had already learned much of Cal in Secrets of a D-List Supervillian I really enjoyed going back to this book and learning more about Vickie and her and Cal's relationship. It also gives some more background on Hill Billy Bobby and who doesn't love Hill Billy Bobby? We are working on listening to the whole series and absolutely enjoy sitting down at night to listen. Jim Bernheimer has done a great job setting up this world and creating an anti hero that everyone can identify with as he struggles to figure out who he is and what he is supposed to do. If you like anti heroes, then you will love these books!
September 4, 2017
Mediocre, from the cover art to the ending. Needless vulgarity sprinkled over bland characters in a plot that that doesn't end up feeling satisfying... and in fact brings a new threat out of no where at the very end just to provide a cliff-hanger ending so that people will be more likely to want to pick up the next book. Sorry, but while it's far from the worst book I've ever picked up, it sure isn't leaving me wanting to pick up book #2.
It's a shame, since there were some interesting ideas mixed into a premise that could have resulted in a much better story.
It's a shame, since there were some interesting ideas mixed into a premise that could have resulted in a much better story.
September 25, 2019
I am a bit surprised about the high rating. The premise is nice and the book is an easy read, but that‘s about it. There is no plot; there are no stakes or emotions. It’s just about Cal Stringel an engineer who has a grudge against Promethea and turns villain over it. There’s no conviction behind any of this Cal just lives his life away. The relationships are similarly undercooked. Sometimes it hints at more with Vicky and Joe but that never gets explored much.
Maybe the real story begins in the first book but after this lackluster prequel, I’m not very keen to find out.
Maybe the real story begins in the first book but after this lackluster prequel, I’m not very keen to find out.
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