Iāve been drawn to mad scientists since watching Looney Tunes cartoons. Marvin the Martian and Wile E. Coyote (who always emphasized his middle initial and title: Genius) were always my stars. And those Acme gadgets! I thought, One day, Coyote will get that pesky Road Runner! Fast forward to adulthood, and Iāve figured out Iām not only queer but on the spectrum. Iāve channeled my atypicality into my nerdy writingāqueer teens who develop superpowers in Queeroes, a superhero-obsessed āDNA normalā heroine in Generation Manifestation, and a neurodivergent time-looper inThe Timematician. One day, with the right Acme device, I still plan to rule the world. Genius!
I really connected with evil genius Doctor Impossible and his whacky world of superheroes. In grade and high school, I felt like I was the one who was overlooked, which was often the good days; getting noticed generally meant I was being made fun of and bullied. But to take revenge, to show my plebeian classmates the (imagined) might that lay within me, how glorious that would be! Hahaha! Evil laugh aside, as Doctor Impossible does just that, I also enjoyed his vulnerable needs, longings, and regrets. And the lives of the heroes are not all they are cracked up to be. While not as stark (or violent) as The Boys, Grossman also exposes the toll superhero biology can take on the mind and body. A fun and poignant read.
Doctor Impossibleāevil genius, would-be world conquerorālanguishes in prison. Shuffling through the cafeteria line with ordinary criminals, he wonders if the smartest man in the world has done the smartest thing he could with his life. After all, he's lost every battle he's ever fought. But this prison won't hold him forever.
Fataleāhalf woman, half high-tech warriorāused to be an unemployed cyborg. Now, she's a rookie member of the world's most famous super-team, the Champions. But being a superhero is not all flying cars and planets in perilāshe learns that in the locker rooms and dive bars of superherodom, the menā¦
I went into this with a vision of the classic Frankenstein monster in my head from the James Whale moviesāa square head and sparkplugs poking out of his neck. I love Whaleās aesthetic (especially his Bride of Frankenstein), but it doesnāt do justice to Shelleyās prose as Dr. Frankenstein looks in horror upon his creation. āI had gazed on him while unfinished; he was ugly then, but when those muscles and joints were rendered capable of motion, it became a thing such as even Dante could not have conceived.ā This lyricism drew me in and made me realize thatās why I love to be a writer: like Dr. F., I get to play godāno matter the unhealthy obsession nor the horror of some of the monsters I create.
One of the BBC's '100 Novels That Shaped Our World'
'That rare story to pass from literature into myth' The New York Times
Mary Shelley's chilling Gothic tale was conceived when she was only eighteen, living with her lover Percy Shelley on Lake Geneva. The story of Victor Frankenstein who, obsessed with creating life itself, plunders graveyards for the material to fashion a new being, but whose botched creature sets out to destroy his maker, would become the world's most famous work of horror fiction, and remains a devastating exploration of the limits of human creativity. Based on the thirdā¦
Delve into this internationally best-selling series, now complete! A fast paced laugh-out-loud mix of Urban Fantasy and Mystery.
I can tell when youāre lying. Every. Single. Time. Iām Jinx, a PI hired to find a missing university student, I hope to find her propped up at a barāyet my gutā¦
Given my belief that Thanos had a point (what science-math-oriented person canāt tremble at the algorithm of over-population?), itās no surprise I enjoyed an anthology of different takes on mad scientists and what drives them. I got my fix of humorously boastful ego-maniacs, such as Professor Incognitoās itemized āapologyā to his girlfriend (with attempted sincerity because of their coupleās therapist). And the variety of these tales exposed me to a bevy of villainy, from a psychologist who uses the āsoftā sciences to unleash the insanity within stable scientists because āeveryone deserves the opportunity to go madā to a side-hustling villainy coach whose budget forces her to choose between new tech plating or weapons-grade plutonium. Whatās a would-be world conqueror to do? Relatable.
From Victor Frankenstein to Lex Luthor, from Dr. Moreau to Dr. Doom, readers have long been fascinated by insane plans for world domination and the madmen who devise them. Typically, we see these villains through the eyes of good guys. This anthology, however, explores the world of mad scientists and evil geniuses - from their own wonderfully twisted point of view. An all-star roster of bestselling authors - including Diana Gabaldon, Daniel Wilson, Austin Grossman, Naomi Novik, and Seanan McGuire...twenty-two great storytellers all told - have produced a fabulous assortment of stories guaranteed to provide readers with hour after hourā¦
Emperor Mollusk is the evil genius Iāve been waiting forāhaving conquered earth (and alienated the rest of the galaxy), heās retired from world domination to pursue (mad) science for the sake of science. Heās got just enough sense of responsibility to stick around to protect earthās denizens while his inflated ego allows him to ignore that his creations are often whatās putting the planet in peril. Arguments over nomenclature (is it a reverse temporal receiver or an anti-time radio?) made this lol funny, and the fast pace kept me turning pages. I love a good mashup, and this had the right mix of sci-fi archetypes, including a lizard warrior, a Tarzan-like alien in a dinosaur land, an Atlantean goddess, and of course the mysterious āBrainā in an exosuit.
Who says supervillians can't retire? EMPEROR MOLLUSK has done it all. Sometimes twice. He's destroyed Saturn (well fine, not all of it---but 2/3rds!), created giant monsters, and until recently he was the Emperor of Earth. Yes, he still has the titles and the people are always looking to him for salvation when the aliens attack, but really, he keeps telling everyone he's retired. He's got better things to do...Like feed his pet ultrapede, Woola. Or buy groceries. But now, he's been marked by a legendary death cult for reasons unknown. And, honestly, feeding an ultrapede wasn't really utilizing his enormousā¦
Two women, a century apart, seek to rebuild their lives after leaving their homelands. Arriving in tropical Singapore, they find romance, but also find they havenāt left behind the dangers that caused them to flee.
Haunted by the specter of terrorism after 9/11, Aislinn Givens leaves her New York careerā¦
Dr. Jekyllās point of view triggers so much in me, I couldnāt leave his story off the list. Iām currently obsessed with Integrated Family Systems (IFS) therapy, which is all about everyone having different parts. IFS posits that none of these parts are bad, but when Dr. Jekyll cleaves himself into disparate halves, his Mr. Hyde runs amok and is very much characterized as evil. Hydeās a clear allegory for addiction and rage. Other qualities, like sex, are unfortunately largely ignored. Reading this through a modern lens, I longed for messages of integration (rather than the judgey disintegration that follows). As an author, maybe thatās what draws me to this storyāa desire to rewrite it with a healthier (woke?) ending.
Dr. Henry Jekyll is a well-liked and respected physician. When he calls upon his lawyer, Mr. Utterson, to draw up a new will to include a strange new beneficiary, Mr. Utterson takes it upon himself to investigate the identity of this strange man. But nothing sufficiently prepares him for the truth he will uncover! Classics Illustrated tells this wonderful tale in colourful comic strip form, offering an excellent introduction for younger readers. This edition also includes theme discussions and study questions, which can be used both in the classroom or at home to further engage the reader in the workā¦
With his unique abilities, Doctor BetterThan has all the power (and gadgets!) he needs to thrash pesky superheroes intent on thwarting himāand make them pay for decades of disrespect. āTriumphi!ā Destroying the world solves everything. Until shecomes along. On the cusp of total victory, fellow tech maniac Mairi Lin Monroe plays her surprising hand, and sparks fly as she and her cybernetic lady-matons threaten to transcend Doctor BetterThanās grand plan. Can he achieve new depths of deceit to defeat her and be the last person standing? Can he become The Timematician? Or has he finally met his match?
"Witches take on the patriarchy in this epic feminist fantasy." Spirit Sight book 1 volume 1 is an award-winning debut epic fantasy novel written by Ross Hightower, the first in the six-book Spirit Song series. Winner of numerous awards, including the Readers Favorite Fantasy Finalist and the Eric B Hofferā¦
Resting Places follows one womanās journey after the devastating news of her sonās death. Elizabeth ekes out a lonely and strained relationship with her husband while trying to lose her grief in alcohol. A chance meeting with a man on the side of the road spurs her to travel cross-countryā¦