Audiobook Review: Villains Rule by MK Gibson
- KA
- Oct 29, 2017
- 4 min read
I need to talk to you about this book I just listened to. It’s a little different to what you normally see on here but, it is hilarious. Please bear with me because my review process for romance is pretty structured so I don’t quite know how this is going to go.
This is one of the most entertaining books I've ever read/ listened to. Do you like Fantasy? Comedy? Epic adventures? If when you're watching the latest Thor movie you're more entertained by Loki, then this is definitely the book for you!
Hi, how are you? Yes, I am talking to you, the reader of the this book’s description. It’s rude not to answer a person when they ask you a question. OK, I get it, 4th wall breaking is overdone. Get over it. This book, Villains Rule, is a fantasy action-comedy which you have to read. Not because it redefines the genre, far from it. But rather for what it contains. A villain’s tale. How often do you get to read a story where the villain is the protagonist? No, not an anti-hero, or a brooding monster, nor a hero thinly disguised as a villain. And not evil. If you want evil, take that nonsense to therapy. No, I mean a villain’s villain. The ones who use their power because they can, while morality is only a philosopher’s complex. This is the story of Jackson Blackwell, the Shadow Master and the top villain adviser. Sadly, even the top villain occasionally gets double-crossed. Trapped in one of the fantasy realms, Jackson has to use his skill and wits to exploit the rules, points out the genre flaws, undermine godly authority, and win the day. Because, that is what villains should do, shouldn’t they? Read this book, have a few laughs, and find out.
PURCHASE LINKS
Written By: M. K. Gibson
Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer
Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
Unabridged
Release date: 04-19-17
Language: English
Publisher: Amber Cove Publishing
REVIEW
Ratings:
Story - 5 Stars
Performance - 5 Stars
Overall - 5 Stars
This review is going to be on the shorter side, not because I don’t have a lot to say about it, but because I don’t want to write a review full of spoilers and with a number of twists and turns in this book, I would be hard-pressed not to say something spoilery.
Jackson Blackwell aka Shadow Jack aka Shadow Master aka The Villain who makes villains better – yes, he’ll answer to any and all of them, is on a quest and every good quest needs a hero, he is not it! And definitely, don’t refer to him as an anti-hero. But in true villain fashion, he finds himself some heroes to bend to his will and they embark on an adventure that is full of twists, turns, and shocks.
MK Gibson has written a book that is not only funny and action-packed but also endearing. This book was hilarious, I don’t remember the last time I laughed this much, and I’m talking laugh of loud in public and getting weird looks sort of laughing. If you like superhero books/ movies etc, I think you’ll like this book, the character of Jackson talks to the listener for the entire book (4th wall breaking at its finest), think Deadpool and it works. It works really well, I think the book wouldn’t have been half as funny without it. Even the chapter headings are humorous. It has a fantasy feel to it, an epic adventure that just grabs the listener’s attention and doesn’t let go. It even has a little romance... yes, I said it, and it’s true. The chapters are short. The pop culture references throughout the book were entertaining and if you watched some of the shows mentioned you’ll find yourself chuckling away when innocent bystanders (read two thriller/ adventure authors) are talking about the show and all you can think about is this book. Maybe you’re looking at the cover right now and thinking ‘meh, not my thing’ well, shush but I thought the same thing, it wasn’t until I listened to the sample and read the synopsis that I was hooked…so give them a shot before counting this book out.
I love the characters in this book. Jackson, of course, was hilarious and I even found myself laughing at things I ordinarily wouldn’t have found funny. His team of heroes was an unlikely bunch which made them all the more interesting, you never know what angle they were working on or if they would find out the truth and abandon Jack. The reveal towards the end was shocking and a character steps up that you’ll never see coming as the evil lord that Jackson must face.
So, I have a confession, I’ve listened to many, many Jeffrey Kafer performances and I’ve rated a good bunch of them at 5 stars, I’m now thinking I need to go back and drop a star or two on some of them (joking, I would never do that) because this one really blew me away. His comedic timing was on the mark and the vocal fluctuations really emphasised some key moments. Sometimes with the amount of characters a book like this has, it’s hard to keep track of who is who but that wasn’t the case with this performance, each character was uniquely performed. Kafer never fails to entertain but I think this performance was something special. The overall production was smooth with no issues that I noted.
To keep up to date with all things MK Gibson:
To keep up to date with all things Jeffrey Kafer:
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