Soon I Will Be Invincible: A Novel

This is more of a playful homage to the superhero genre then a deconstruction of it (read "The Watchmen" if you want that), that mostly works because the author appreciates that the villains are almost always more fun then the heroes. In this case particularly since Dr. Impossible is so driven by his resentments and ambitions and enthusiasms (Wil E. Coyote could have been his godfather) that he dominates the book, whereas the team of heroes tasked with bringing him to justice, yet again, are so suffering from the thousand-yard stare that they've lost much of their flair, but they haven't quite yet become anti-heroes. The exception is the new gal Fatale, a cyborg ex-intelligence operative who sees the Champions as a meal ticket (it takes show more a lot of upkeep to keep a half-machine girl going you know), and who has the cynical and conflicted anti-hero pose down pat. Much of the payoff of the novel comes in the form of Dr. Impossible and Fatale having their own personal moments of insight, and moving beyond mere obsession and embracing promethean drive. If I have a particular problem with this book it's that early on Fatale reminds me too much of Justina Robson's character Lila Black, though Grossman does wind up with a character that's considerably different in outlook from Robson's take on the half-machine girl. show less

I wasn't supposed to check anything out at the library. (How often do these entries start out this way?) Well, I was only supposed to be checking out a movie for movie night, when it occurred to me that after all this time, I'd never been in the library's fiction section. I wandered over there and of course ended up checking out two books, even after I'd just been lecturing myself on not meeting my 2013 goals for reading from my to-read shelf. Ooops. But I'd been meaning to read this book for over a year since I'd met Austin in Austin and someone (Penny? Dad?) had grabbed the last copy of Invincible from the shelf at Book People. That should count for something, right?

Invincible was good, but I kept wanting it to reach just a tiny bit show more farther for greatness. It is a novel of superheroes and villains driven by real people problems. A common enough theme in comics, but the novel format allows for more introspection. The characters were interesting, but so dry that I never had enough empathy for them for the book to really get its hooks into me.

Grossman's next book is still on my to-read list. I want to see where he goes from here. show less

This review and others posted over at my blog.

I only recently heard of this book, despite it being out for so long and it was another vacation find that I was very excited about. This book switches between narration from Doctor Impossible and Fatale and while I enjoyed both, Dr. I. was certainly my favorite. He’s snarky and cynical, yet incredibly self-assured and stubborn in his quest for world domination.

As the story progresses we learn of the Doctor’s origin, as well as that of his arch-nemesis who he just happened to create. We hear of his many failed plans and his impressive plans and extensive genius, and despite his hubris, he felt surprisingly real and I was rooting for him from the start.

While this book is set in the show more present day, it’s clear Grossman did a lot of world building, as the Doctor does give information about past battles and the history of supers. There’s even a timeline in the back of the book which added some substance to the story (I recommend looking at this partway through the book rather than waiting until the end like I did.) There’s even a glossary of sorts with details on the different heroes and villains.

I flew through this book and appreciated having both the “hero” and “villain” sides of the same story. show less

I’m a comics fan, though I don’t read them much any more, and I generally enjoy superhero prose. Other than Marvel and DC novelizations and adaptations, this genre used to be pretty hard to come by, save for George R. R. Martin’s Wild Cards series and John Varley’s old Superheroes anthology. In the last few years, we’ve seen a resurgence of superhero fiction – which I’m glad to see – and this is one of the most popular and widely-known of these recent efforts.

Please note that some mild plot spoilers follow.

Soon I Will Be Invincible is really two interlinked stories, told in first-person perspective in alternating chapters. The first concerns Dr. Impossible, a super-villain “evil genius” who has been defeated a dozen show more times by the super-heroes of the setting and begins the novel in prison. As an evil genius who always has a plan, he quickly escapes to try to take over the world again. The second story is told from the perspective of Fatale, a novice cyborg superheroine who has just been invited to join the world’s premier superhero team. She and her teammates are desperate to find and stop Dr. Impossible, not the least of which because he is suspect numero uno in the death of the world’s most powerful superhero.

Grossman examines and in some cases deconstructs the various tropes we have come to expect in all comic-book superhero stories. Present here are analogues of all the major superheroes (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, etc.), along with some unexpected ones (e.g., there is a retired superheroine who is an adult analogue of Lucy from the Chronicles of Narnia). Everyone in the book is flawed, heroes and villains alike – which adds to the book’s charm – but it’s clear that Grossman loves the genre, unlike some authors (who shall remain nameless here) who set out to deconstruct and thereby destroy the genres they dissect. Characterization is thorough and vivid, the plot is clever with plenty of action and plotting, and the dialogue is witty. Grossman is an extremely talented writer and I hope we see some more fiction from him soon. Soon I Will Be Invincible came out in 2008 – what’s taking you so long, man?

The novel is action-packed, insightful, funny, and at times, poignant. I enjoyed it thoroughly. I give this one 4 stars out of 5, and I’d have rated it higher had the ending been stronger. If you enjoy superhero comics or prose at all, you should check this one out, as it made quite a splash when it came out, and is a strong entry in the genre.

Review copyright 2011 J. Andrew Byers show less

I think this is probably only the second novel I've read about superheroes. I read comics every day, but I was never that excited about reading prose about superheroes. This was fun and sometimes brilliant, but also sometimes boring for me. It definitely had a "Despicable Me" vibe, just not as silly. I loved the insight into the "criminal mind".

I love this book. It's flawed and too many characters talk too bluntly about their origins like it's all a big old group therapy session, but I love the psychology of the book. I love the contrasting viewpoints of the heroine and villian. I love that Dr. Impossible seems so sick of the bullshit, that both sides are having identity crises all over the place, that the Superman-analogue is a jerk and the Batman-analogue is autistic. I love that the author took the concept down to the sociological level, that superpowers affect everything from the economy to the housing market to the neighborhoods gathering around superfights like they would a car accident. This book is so, so full of happy for me.

This is a must read for anyone who appreciates good sarcasm. If you don't particular like super heros or comic books you can still appreciate the rich irony and oh so delicious cynicism the author dispenses with a shovel.

Also a surprisingly feminist message is delivered in the end. Which just tickled me to no end. I could just feel the the greasy taco slide from the fleshy fingers of the Fanboy Comicbook Guys as the they read the final chapters. The insipid "What?!" frozen to their face as they realize "I have read a Grrrl book!"

I will be looking for more works from mister Grossman.