Thanks to Shannon at Reads & Reels Blog Tours for providing an ebook in exchange for an honest review.
Release Date: Available Now
390 Pages
Synopsis: Dr. Agon, a megalomaniacal inventor with an arsenal of lethal gadgets. Motley, a wisecracking jewel thief with nothing left to lose. Chillpill, a cryogenic drug lord who just wants a normal life. Baelphegor, a demonic psychopath with an ugly score to settle.
They’re the most dangerous supervillains on Earth, and they’re about to pull off the perfect crime. There’s just one catch: if they succeed, they might accidentally save the world.
From the skyscrapers of Apex City to the gates of Hell itself, the Antagonists are pursued by violent superheroes and billionaire vigilantes. But as loyalties are tested and old hatred are rekindled, the line between friend and foe begin to blur…
I absolutely loved Rafael Chandler’s slice and dice horror novel, Mask Beneath Her Face (2017), so when I saw that Shannon from Read & Reels was offering The Astounding Antagonists for review during the month of June, I immediately requested an ebook.
This book was written in 2014 and is as exciting as the premise promises. It’s a nice twist where the superheroes have become villains, while the er, villains aren’t exactly perfect either, but wind up being more relatable and likable. I wish the mainly Caucasian superheroes were a little more well-rounded instead of all being selfish, self-involved, corrupt, petty, homicidal jerks, but the diversity of the Antagonists mostly made up for their lack of character development. Just about every minority and gender is represented with this group of reluctant protagonists. The dialogue between the characters is sharp and witty and I found myself laughing more than once. If I had to pick a favorite character, it would be Motley the witty, snarky jewel thief. For me, she was the heart and soul of the book. I absolutely loved her and found myself looking forward to her scenes.
The plot itself is clever and fun and provides enough twists that makes it stand apart from other books in this genre. It also covers many real world issues such as government corruption, illegal immigration, misogyny, abuse of women, pollution, internet spying, religious fanaticism, and other societal woes we’re discussing now on a daily basis. While I had absolutely no problem with the political side of this, I can see where more conservative readers might.
The Astounding Antagonists is an enjoyable read, yet also has quite a bit of thought-provoking substance to it. It’s action-packed and brutal at times, yet imminently fun and I breezed through it in two days. If you enjoy this genre, I highly recommend it.
About the author:
By day, I write screenplays for video games. I wrote the stories and dialogue for Dark District, Final Eden, Gangstar Rio: City of Saints, MAG, Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation, Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour, Rainbow Six: Lockdown, and SOCOM 4. Thus far, I’ve worked as a scriptwriter and/or story designer for Gameloft, Kabam, Sony, and Ubisoft.
By night, I’m a novelist. I wrote The Astounding Antagonists, Dracula: The Modern Prometheus (written with Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker), Hexcommunicated, and Mask Beneath Her Face. I’m hard at work on my fifth novel.
In my spare time, I design tabletop role-playing games and sourcebooks, including Dread: The First Book of Pandemonium, Lusus Naturae, Night of the Slashers, No Salvation For Witches, Obscene Serpent Religion, Pandemonio, Spite: The Second Book of Pandemonio, The Starship From Hell, Teratic Tome, ViewScream, and World of the Lost.
I’ve also written nonfiction including Fundamentals of Game Development (written with Heather Chandler), The Game Writing Handbook (which was a finalist for the 2007 Game Developer Front Line Awards), and various articles for Gamasutra.com and Writers Digest.
I’m a gamer, a gorehound, a kaijuphile, and a metalhead.
Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn.
Website: http://www.rafaelchandler.com
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/default/e/B001JRYYUA/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/797404.Rafael_Chandler
raistlin0903 said:
Nice one Kim! Although of course I am back just a few days and I am already adding books to my to already way too big to read list. So not good lol.
Seriously this totally sounds like my kind of book. Thanks for yet another great and wonderfully written review (and recommendation 😀).
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Michel. I think this is definitely your kind of book! (Sorry)
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raistlin0903 said:
Lol…no apologies necessary. Already added it on Goodreads 😊
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
🤗🤗🤗
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beetleypete said:
A supervillain novel? It’s going backwards. 🙂 Started with comics, went to TV and film, now back to books.
Best wishes, Pete.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Superheroes/supervillains have gotten quite popular again in literature. There’s a huge amount especially in Tween and YA novels.
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Reads & Reels said:
Great review! He’s got a really cool style doesn’t he? I’m glad you enjoyed it
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Shannon! He certainly does. I want to read Hexcommunicated next.
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Reads & Reels said:
I’m sure he would be thrilled!
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thebookwormdrinketh said:
Oooo! Action packed and thought provoking! I also got this one from Shannon and I can’t wait to get to it!! I LOVED the Mask a beneath her Face, so I’m glad to see that this one was also enjoyable, if not maybe a little more deep? Great review!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I can’t wait to hear what you think Nicole!
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bookbeachbunny said:
You had me at supervillain! Another book for the old TBR 🙂
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Yay! I have a feeling you’d love Motley like I did.☺️
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jennifertarheelreader said:
This sounds intriguing, and I love the supervillain angle, too! Great review, Kim!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Jennifer! The villains here are definitely entertaining!😈
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fragglerocking said:
Ooh Kim, I just might have to do this one.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Yay!🤗
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mlbradford said:
Is there a lot of monologues in this novel? Gawd, I’m always annoyed when supervillains do that! 🙂
Had some of my own health problems this past month so trying to resume my blogging (keep up my good work?) and catch up with my friends’ blogs:
Bless u
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
There are some, but not enough to be annoying. I honestly think you’d like this Brad.
I’m so sorry to hear you’ve been under the weather. I hope you’re feeling better. And thanks for the link.
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mlbradford said:
Feeling better, thanks, but still not @ maximum power
Still got a backlog of your recommended reads to get thro first! 😉
Cheers!
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Carrie said:
Great review Kim! This sounds much better than the Disney title did but I’m not surprised since his other was a wild ride.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Carrie. I think you’d like this.☺️
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Carrie said:
I don’t know if it would top the cheesy horror read though. LOL
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I didn’t like it quite as much as The Mask Beneath Her Face, but it was still fun.☺️
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jowensauthor said:
Oh, sounds fun! The comic book geek in me tells me to add it to my TBR 😀
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Yes!😁
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Didi Oviatt - Author said:
I need to read this!! I loved the Mask Beneath Her Face, so Rafael is definitely on my ‘must read all their books list’!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I’d love to know what you think of this Didi.🤗
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robbiesinspiration said:
This sounds very intriguing, Kim. I don’t usually read books about superheros or supervillians but there is always a first time.
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deesradreadsandreviews said:
Great review, lovely lady! ⭐️💕
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Deanna!🤗
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LizScanlon said:
Ahh, I really really liked this book, as well and was glad to read your review and that you enjoyed it! Motley is defo a firecracker 😀
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Liz!☺️
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Dani☆Touch My Spine Book Reviews☆ said:
Fantastic Review, Kim!!!💚💙💚 I will have to check out this one because I loved his last one!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Dani. I think you’ll have fun with this.🤗
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Dani☆Touch My Spine Book Reviews☆ said:
We will have to see!😊
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The Shameful Narcissist said:
I love stories that flip the script on the villains and the heroes. This is a definite add for me!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Woot!😁
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Michelle Morrison said:
This sounds like an interesting take on superheroes and villains.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
It definitely is Michelle.☺️
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lostartofreadingblog said:
I do enjoy a good superhero/ villain story. Awesome review
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