Heather’s Bookshelf: Worst Hero Ever
Author: Archer Thorn
Released: 04/05/25
Genre: Adult Comedy SciFi- Superhero
“Skypuncher saved the world again. What a jackass.”
“Worst Hero Ever” introduces Jim Riven, an ex-superhero who’s sworn off anything to do with spandex, capes, and crime fighting. His sister died fighting for the Spectrum- a premier team of superheroes. Since then, he gave it all up to run a bar.
Jim’s okay with leaving everything behind until someone shows up with news that his sister may not be dead after all. Known as Lock and Lode, he and his sister made up a team and if he has a chance to get her back, he’s willing to do anything - including breaking into Spectrum for answers.
Spectrum opens up a competition they’ve run before- an opportunity for young superheroes to show what they have and become one of the key few premier heroes. Jim sneaks in with ease, but he soon finds the competition is not what it was advertised to be. Something has corrupted Spectrum and they’re determined to hunt and kill any of the new recruits.
Will Jim and his reluctant team of newbies-with-powers be able to find out the truth? Will they even survive? And will Jim ever see his sister again?
Trigger Warning: violence, adult language
Overall, I enjoyed this story. The story’s told through Jim’s POV. He’s a grumpy, broken, and sarcastic protagonist who sometimes talks to himself. He also happens to have the power to manipulate and control electrical items. His sister Summer (Lock) was his partner (when he went by Lode), but she perished when working for the Spectrum. Jim’s character often flips back in time to revisit what happened to himself and his sister. These flashbacks are intertwined with the current events at Spectrum’s isolated building. Jim’s a great protagonist. His cynicism and the flashbacks break up the tension of the current events while also providing a quicker pace for the story. Along the way, he forms a found-family with fellow newbie-supers who are also trying to survive. Kelvin’s an old friend of Jim’s with insecurities and the power of invincibility. Natalie’s the crowd optimist who can manipulate rock and stone. Zoe’s a thief that with her own powers…each of them demonstrate their own personalities through their powers and their actions around the unfortunate circumstances surrounding them. The powers and names of superheroes are a fun little ride. Many are familiar and derivative of other shows/movies like the woman who can manipulate tornadoes (Storm from X-men) or the fastest woman on Earth (A-train from The Boys). There’s a lot of fight scenes throughout the story, which are made more interesting by the powers and humor, but there’s still a lot and it gets a bit repetitive. The biggest issue is the ending- or lack there of. There’s absolutely no ending here. It’s like the author said, “and I’m done” and just ended the book. I understand this is a book 1, but if you’ve read any of my previous reviews, I’m not a fan of cliffhangers and I’m certainly not a fan of this disappointing stop.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
An adult comedy-scifi- superhero-centric with an interesting protagonist and well-developed back story. Repetitive fight scenes and a lack of an ending limit this tale.
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