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The Rules of Supervillainy
- The Supervillainy Saga Volume 1
- Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer
- Series: The Supervillainy Saga, Book 1
- Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Action & Adventure
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Publisher's Summary
Gary Karkofsky is an ordinary guy with an ordinary life living in an extraordinary world. Supervillains, heroes, and monsters are a common part of the world he inhabits. Yet, after the death of his hometown's resident superhero, he gains the amazing gift of the late champion's magical cloak. Deciding he prefers to be rich rather than good, Gary embarks on a career as Merciless: The Supervillain Without Mercy. But is he evil enough to be a villain in America's most crime-ridden city? Gary soon finds himself surrounded by a host of the worst of Falconcrest City's toughest criminals. Supported by his long-suffering wife, his ex-girlfriend turned professional henchwoman, and a has-been evil mastermind, Gary may end up being not the hero they want but the villain they need.
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What listeners say about The Rules of Supervillainy
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- AudiobookMel
- 12-26-17
Such a fun story. Brilliant performance by Kafer
This book came on my radar when I posted my review of Villain's Rule by M.K. Gibson read by Jeffrey Kafer. Melissa @ My World...in words and pages, who saw that review on Twitter, pointed out this book to me. I'm so glad that she did. It was another really fun listen for me.
So, The Rules of Supervillainy is an interesting story. It focuses on Gary Karkofsky. Gary is just a guy, until he finds a package. It turns out to be the cloak of the newly deceased superhero. Now Gary isn't the superhero type. He is more of the supervillain type, so he decides to use the cloak for bad instead of good.
So, Gary decides to go in and break of a bank robbery for his first villainous act. He stops the bank robber and even kills some of them, which sounds good right? But he makes off with the loot instead of letting the bank have it back.
He then takes a call from the police chief. A rich man's daughter is kidnapped. The police chief wants the cloak-wearer to help. Gary, aka Merciless: The Supervillain Without Mercy! (which his sentient cloak reminds him is redundant). Gary agrees, but wants the reward that was offered.
Back to the cloak. It is sentient. The cloak knows a lot from being worn by superheroes over the many years. It keeps that knowledge as it moves from one wearer to another. Merciless is the first supervillain to wear the cloak, and this isn't something that the cloak likes. It wants to see Gary help people. Luckily, Gary isn't all bad. But you can feel the cloak's dismay sometimes.
I won't go into the whole story. Just know that this is pretty funny. There some really funny villains that Merciless fights, like Ice Cream Man and the Malt Shop Gang who shoot acid ice cream and freeze rays and Typewriter, who actually wears a typewriter on his head.
Then there are two characters who turn on their boss to takes sides with Merciless. Cindy Wakowski a.k.a Red Riding Hood. Cindy and Gary knew each other before becoming villains. They even had a fling back in the day. Gary is now happily married though. There is also Diabloman, who was at one time the most notorious villains of all time, until an ailment made it difficult for him. He is now acting as a henchmen for bad villains (as in not very good at their job), that is until Gary offers to pay him to mentor him in villainy.
This was a great start to a series. There are plenty of laugh out loud moments. I'm excited to pick up the next book in the series (which I've already downloaded).
Narration
So the first full-length book that I listened to with Jeffrey Kafer is very similar to this one. They are both funny books about villains. I was a little worried when I first started they would sound the same. However I needn't be worried, he tackled these two stories completely differently. With Villain's Rule, Jackson Blackwell is a very dry character that Jeffrey Kafer voiced very dryly. Gary Karkofsky in not a dry character, so Jeffrey didn't voice him dry at all. He does a great job with women's voices. I just love how he took two books that were very similar in premise, but he tackled them in a very different manner.
30 people found this helpful
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- Helen
- 08-10-16
Delightful story, disappointing narration
The story was good, with plenty of twists and well developed characters, but I had to give up on the audiobook about halfway through and just read the rest. The narrator didn't do different voices for the characters, which normally doesn't bother me, but with first person present and Cloak constantly snarking at Gary's internal monologue, it was hard to distinguish which character was speaking. It turns out that in the print version, Cloak's comments are italicized, which is why we don't have "[sarcastic quip], Cloak said" more often, and another reason why the narrator should have done more to make Cloak distinctive. It was also a huge missed opportunity for comedy, because right when Cloak is introduced, his voice is described as "dry and otherworldly, as if Christopher Lee had Darth Vader's reverb".
However, I had a lot of fun with this book, because not only was it hilarious, but it dug into some of the criticisms I have of the superhero genre with surprising wisdom. Gary is a lot like an adorably anarchistic Harry Dresden, who is one of my favorite fantasy characters, and his relationship with Mandy is heartwarming. All told, I'm definitely looking forward to reading the rest of the series, and just doing the silly voices in my head.
14 people found this helpful
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- erobbins33
- 11-29-16
Fun!
I'm a huge fan of the Dresden Files and Bill the Vampire. This series is starting off in the same irreverent, hilarious tone. The nerdy, yet loveable, hero (well, supervillain), the quirky sidekicks... my son and I listened to the first 2 hours of this on Sunday afternoon in the car. We both resumed on our personal devices as soon as I stopped the car. It's now Tuesday, and he's asked me to purchase the next book! This is huge! Phipps is a new to me author, but quickly becoming a favorite. Kafer does a great job with the audio, his voices are all perfect, and the sound quality is excellent.
23 people found this helpful
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- FullMetal
- 01-18-20
Had so much potential!
"Left wing beta non-practicing Jewish man gets powers and decides to be only sorta evil."
The premise had great potential, and if you look past the overt political drive, it's a fun story. It's a twinkie of a book, lots of fluff and filler but not much meat, which I imagine was the point. The characters are a little flat and cliche, but again i believe that was the point. Drop the political agenda, and this book gets a great deal better! Overall though a fun listen! Especially since is the same narrator that does the "D-List Super Villain" books!
7 people found this helpful
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- Doro626
- 01-09-17
Not what I was looking for
In my constant search for something as good as Dresden files, Iron Druid, Grimnoir, or the steelheart series I come across a lot of " almost, but not quite as entertaining" stories.
The constant focus on the main character and his life made the story boring. His first two engagements as a Supervillain should have been funny or exciting (especially with the outcomes given) but I found myself not really caring. I was constantly waiting for the story to engage me.
The closest book I can compare it to the Confessions of a D list Superhero, where you discover that not all heroes are heroic and not all villains are evil. This never got to that level or deconstruction
I think the overemphasis on his wife and his past relationships (the writer really went deep into all of the main characters relationships) kept the story from developing. It's a shame, because it seems to be a pretty well thought out universe where some fun, funny and exciting stories can be told.
18 people found this helpful
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- Ericarseneau
- 07-01-18
Interesting concept
I enjoyed the concept. The narration is ok but not enough differentiation between characters in my view.
Worth a listen though.
4 people found this helpful
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- Nelson
- 04-07-21
Some light-hearted fun.
I guess the only problem I had with this book was the narration. Just subpar.
3 people found this helpful
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- Tara Ellis
- 11-04-15
A Prime Example of A Professional Audiobook!
I read the book, and enjoyed it enough to also listen to the audiobook. When I saw that Kafer was the narrator, I knew I couldn't go wrong. I was NOT disappointed. A well-written book, it is further translated into an even greater experience by a flawless narration. I highly recommend it, and I'm looking forward to Charles Phipps next book!
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- The Bookwyrm Speaks
- 03-20-17
Turns metahuman tropes on their head!
In which Gary Karkofsky receives the intelligent magic cloak of Falcon Crest City's greatest superhero, The Nightwalker, in the mail, and decides screw being a hero, I'm becoming a supervillain and getting rich! So starts Rules of Supervillainy, as Gary, an unemployed bank clerk, embarks on a hillarious path to crime as Merciless, The Villain Without Mercy™. Thats right, they even reference the Trademark. That is the kind of humor strewn throughout the book. As Gary struggles to become the villain he want to be, he does pull off some impressive heists and other villainy. Along the way, he picks up a henchwench...err, henchperson (don't be sexist, Gary), in the person of Red Riding Hood (think a more stable Harley Quinn) and a henchman in El Diablo, a one time A-lister down on his luck, but looking for another chance at the big leages. As they grow Gary's criminal career, Gary must deal with his wife, who is not inclined to villains, and the need to use his powers, which are required tobe used, since this keeps the dead from rising, since his cloak is one of the Grim Reapers cloaks. Along the line he gets the wrong kind of attention and gets arrested by UltraGod, the worlds greatest superhero. After being brought to the moon and tried and imprisoned, Gary becomes part of a plan to escape hatched by a megamaniacal villain bent on world conquest. Along the way, he runs into Some other old friends and aquaintences, and ends up fighting a couple of Jewish demigods (not an easy thing for a jewish guy like Gary) When he returns to earth, things are much changed, and Gary will have to deal with a very different Falcon Crest City. Will he continue on his quest to be the big villain, or will his better side win out? Only one way to find out, and thats to take a listen!
The characters are a real strength of this book. From Gary and his obsessive need to be a great villain, Red's need to just be amoral and crazy, El Diablo's need to be useful and relevant again and all the other myriad characters interacting with them in such funny ways make for great characters. Even the personality of the cloak is hilarious and snarky, all while helping Gary. The characters are well rounded, even the crazy ones, and the dialogue is just superb. Falcon Crest City is a great setting, well described and sounding like a place you wouldnt want to visit on a vacation, unless getting held hostage by a supervillain is your idea of a good time. The pacing is great, with never a slow scene.
As far as narration, what can I say other than Jeffrey Kafer hits another one out of the park! Great voice work for each character, especially Red Riding Hood, my personal favorite of his many voices. He never lets the story lag, keeping even pacing throughout. This is some of his best work, in my oipinion. All in all, a five star effort all around. If you are big into comics or metahuman stories,this is a must have!
6 people found this helpful
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- Rain
- 11-14-15
Amazing - Get it!
This is honestly one of the best books I have ever read/listened to in my entire life, and I have read a lot of books. The cover and blurb did not catch my attention. I passed over it the first time I saw it, but a friend mentioned it, so I listened to the audiobook. Within a few minutes, I downloaded it on Kindle Unlimited to enjoy it twice. I will reread and re-listen to it many, many times.
The humor is very unique and exactly in my taste. I could not ask for anything better than this book. The plot is very silly, but the humor is threaded into it brilliantly. If this author had a hundred books like these, I would buy a new bookshelf and fill it with them. I have never gushed over a book before, except for one book series that is still my favorite. My friends can't get me to shut up. I can't believe I almost missed out on this treasure.
I want to include quotes from the book, but I'll leave the surprise for the readers/listeners.
The narrator did this book justice. He brought an amazing book to life. I loved the performance and his dry tone was perfect for Gary. I did have some trouble confusing Gary with the cloak's voices, but it wasn't distracting.
Overall, Jeffrey Kafer did a great job and I would be happy to listen to more audiobooks by him. C.T. Phipps did an absolutely amazing, fantastic, exceptional, brilliant job and I WILL read anything he publishes. I want the second book in this series yesterday.
I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
37 people found this helpful
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- Kindle Customer
- 10-24-15
Well it made me laugh
The combination of a great story with a brilliant narrator made this really worth recommending, as there are so few genuinely funny fantasy books for geeks. While not quite up there with the greats like Terry Pratchett this is fun with just enough darkness to draw you into the plot. Fun with numerous comic book and film references to make you laugh. While it's not a literary game changer, the fact that it doesn't try too hard is part of it's charm. Despite my concerns when reading the description, it's actually one that should appeal to both male and female listeners. I would have liked it to be longer but I'll definitely be buying the rest of the series. Probably not for those who only get through one book a month as there are probably enough 5 star books to keep you busy but for those of us who are frequent listeners, know far too much about comic book law and 80's movies, i'd give this a try.
5 people found this helpful
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- DabOfDarkness
- 08-30-19
Haha! I love all the snark!
Set in the imaginary Falconcrest City, superheroes, monsters, and supervillains clash and clatter together. Gary Karkofsky has delusions of grandeur, specifically of becoming the lead supervillain for the city. He was given a magical cloak that gives him formidable powers. With this new wardrobe and a small group of henchpeople, Gary has big plans for the city.
First and foremost, there is humor everywhere in this book. I love that much of the humor is told in a straight manner, the characters taking the plot seriously even as they come up with corny supervillain or superhero names. For instance, Gary’s alias is Merciless: the Supervillain without Mercy. Now wouldn’t that make you quiver in your boots? 😉
So Merciless gets on the bad side of the Malt Shop Gang when one of their own, the Ice Cream Man, is taken out in a robbery that Merciless interfered in. The plot thickens when Merciless is contacted by the police to assist in a kidnapping – the girl’s parents are rich and Merciless is poor. He’s in it for the money. However, the local superheroes don’t take kindly to Merciless’s misdeeds. That’s quite a bit on the man’s plate!
You recall that magical cloak? Yeah, well that cloak actually has a personality and likes to be called Cloak. And it likes to argue with Merciless at the most inopportune times. Ha! This often incited chuckles from me. Cloak turned out to be one of my favorite characters.
Mandy, who is Gary’s wife, doesn’t feel quite the same way about supervillainy as Gary does. In fact, you could say she’s a bit on the opposite end of the spectrum. This causes some grief and consternation for our main character, partially because he really does love his wife quite a bit. I really enjoyed that Mandy was not a toss away character and held her own throughout the story, adding to the plot and the humor. She’s got some skills herself and that adds some twists to the plot.
I was very happy to see characters of various sexual orientation in this book. Hooray! SFF needs more of this! The story wraps up well enough, with the main characters going head to head with an unexpected monster. Not everything was tied up neatly but the next installment of the series is already available, so I think enthusiastic listeners/readers like myself can just jump into that. It was really the humor that made this book excellent for me. The plot was secondary to the characters and their interactions with each other.
The Narration: Jeffrey Kafer was a great voice for Gary/Merciless. He delivered the humor in the intended dry tone which made it that much more amusing for me. As usual, he had distinct character voices for everyone and his female voices were believable.
What I Liked: The humor; supervillains unite! or not!; Cloak and his timely lessons; Mandy and her skill set; great cover art; excellent narration.
What I Disliked: Nothing – I really enjoyed this book!
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own.
1 person found this helpful
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- Alex
- 06-15-16
A wild, but sometimes confusing romp
What made the experience of listening to The Rules of Supervillainy the most enjoyable?
Jeffery Kafer does a really good job of performing a snarky super villain.
How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?
The world is a bit confusing, at times I didn't know what to make of it, supers (both good and bad) seem to run roughshod over national government. At times there are floods of exposition, and then things are causally tossed in and then not mentioned again (such as Atlantis).
Gary Karkofsky (aka Merciless) is a very odd character, at times he is extremely moral (he is outraged when some anti-heroes cause collateral damage to get to him), but feels no remorse when he casually murders someone who gets in his way; he hates authority and has somewhat anarchist/socialist view points, but at the same time wants to rule the world and get rich, the character doesn't seem to make a lot of sense (at least to me)
Which scene did you most enjoy?
No one scene particularly stood out.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
It was decent enough that I could have done, had my schedule allowed for it.
Any additional comments?
Other books have covered the same ground, and done so better (D-list supervillain series, for example), but it not a terrible book by any stretch of the imagination.
1 person found this helpful
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- G. P. Brown
- 04-06-16
Fantastic!
This superhero/supervillain novel turned out to be just the sort of fun romp it promised from its synopsis.
Gary Karkofsky is just a normal guy living in a world filled with all sorts of people with superpowers. He lives with his wife in the suburbs and used to work as a bank teller before he lost his job. Opportunity knocks for Gary when the magical cloak of his home towns greatest superhero gets delivered to him in the mail. Rather than take up the selfless mantle of the heroic Nightwalker Gary instead decides to indulge in his life long dream of becoming Merciless: The Supervillain Without Mercy!
The whole story was as crazy and as fun as it sounds. Gary was an easy to root for guy. He loved his wife, cared for his friends, and was not quite as evil as he wished he was. Though he did have his villainous moments!
The world was pretty fun. It was the sort of over the top type of superhero world that you get while watching a movie like Marvel's Avengers. Which is great. This actually had a similar tone to the Avengers movies with plenty of humor and crazy action mixed in with likeable characters who were never short of a witty bit of banter.
The only real flaw I can spot is that this was such a short story. With the open ending I hope we do not have to wait long for the sequel.
Jeffrey Kafer did a fantastic job with the narration. He really got the tone of the story and has the perfect sort of voice for narration.
1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 11-02-15
Great Listen
At times laugh out loud listen. The story of the world's newest Super Crook, Gary aka Merciless. Fun, exciting and at times poignant. The story falls in two parts, the first his 'rise' as he takes to a life of crime, the second his 'fall' as he is incarcerated and seeks escape. Perhaps stronger in the narrative as his rise is set out, the book sets the scene for hopefully more adventures. I would definitely get more of this author.
1 person found this helpful
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- Jason Burton
- 11-19-20
So you want to be a Super-Villain
Ooo look, a magic cloak, lets put it on. Should I use these powers for good! Umm, No.
A Good book, lots of action about a guy trying to be a super villain but without hurting the innocent.
But things don't always go to plan.
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- Richard C
- 11-18-20
Very different and enjoyable
Not often that I sit back and really make time for a book, but this one was a refreshing change. Complete nonsense but well put together fun that was a pleasure to listen to. I'm not one to outright laugh at a book but it raised a few wry smiles so that's a pretty decent endorsement. Jeffrey Kafer is a awesome narrator and almost did a faultless performance IMO. But I really wish that there was more of a difference between the main character and his cloak. It was sometimes very difficult to follow the conversation.
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- M. Lehiste
- 09-23-20
Fun fun fun!
I quite like this anit-hero premise, and it is an interesting ride from battling crazed up supes to ultra-max prison in moon.
So how does less than average villain does it? Well, with the help of super-cloak that speaks only to him of course! (In Jeffrey Kafer's voice, which is quite good perhaps even one of the best ;)
"This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review."
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- AGGELOS IOAKIMIDES
- 09-05-20
refreshingly Grounded for the fantasy it contains
The language symbol in the puns ample. Satisfying, imaginative considering the saturation of the market with superpowers with dry humor where I cut myself laughing out loud in the car While driving. I guess it is superhero fiction for those that are fed up with superheroes.
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- Julie
- 09-01-20
Book might not rule the world but it does rule
I really enjoyed this book and downloaded the next book before it even finished. It is a lot of fun with snarky dialog and plenty of action, it's the type of book that doesn't take itself to seriously and is all the better for it. Lots of cool names for both the good guys and the bad guys that would give the Avengers a run for there money. Loyalty doesn't matter when you have super powers and sided can be switched when you are fighting to the death, as long as you do it with style and a quirky catchphrase. I don't normally listen to the next book in the series straight away (preferring to space out the enjoyment) but with Zombies taking over the city (the next book) I can't just leave it there.
When someone leaves a cloak on his doorstep Gary Karkofsky picks up the mantle and becomes the supervillian he has also was wanted to be. He is no ordinary villain though, he only kills bad guys and people that need killing like people that annoy him (kidding). He tries to follow the super villain handbook and the 1st rule is not to kill super heros. But what happens when the super hero themselves aren't to worried about killing innocents to get there target. What happens then? Gary is about to find out. He stops the ice cream man from robbing a bank, only to turn around and rob it himself (well I said he was a villain) a long will his sidekicks, ex girlfriend Cindy and Diabloman. The city that hired him (well okay he blackmailed the city into paying him) to take out the ice cream man turns on him and sends anti hero's to take him out. With the death of the anti heros Gary is sent to the moon where he stirs up a whole lot of new trouble for himself. What does it take, to take over the world?
I like the narrator and think he is a big part of why I enjoyed the book so much. I hope he sticks with the series.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
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- Brandon
- 09-12-16
Brilliant
One of the best books I've read/listened to in a while would recommend this to anyone looking for a fun way to pass some time
2 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 02-10-21
excellent author and narrator
I absolutely loved this book and can't wait to continue the series , good job to everyone who worked on it
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- Christopher Edwards
- 05-21-18
Interesting idea, but horribly written
This is a decent enough premise for a book, however the author writes like a sexually frustrated 14 year old boy who thinks he is much MUCH cleverer and funnier than he actually is. The image conjured up is sort of like a nerd, but without the intelligence usually associated with nerds. The kind of sexually frustrated man-boy who reads a lot of comic books but isn't actually very bright. He seems to be laughing at his own jokes throughout the book, while nobody else is laughing. It didn't help that towards the end it went off on some religious kick (he seems to have issues with his Jewish heritage as well as women). Overall a pretty painful experience. The narrator was good though.
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- Anonymous User
- 08-31-17
Superlisteney
The only thing i did not like with this story is that it ended. i cant wait to get the next book. listen to this book people its a must.