Book picks similar to
No Master Plan Here by Joel Burdick


superhero
superheroes
fantasy
science-fiction

Confessions of a D-List Supervillain


Jim Bernheimer - 2011
    Even then, you don’t really have to. It’s not like it’s going to change the outcome or anything.”Those are the words of Calvin Matthew Stringel, better known as Mechani-Cal. He’s a sarcastic, down on his luck armored villain. Follow his exploits as he gets swept up in a world domination scheme gone wrong and ends up working for this weak willed, mercy loving heroes. Immerse yourself in his epic battles and see what it’s like to be an outsider looking in at a world that few have ever experienced.Climb into Cal’s battlesuit and join him on his journey. Will he avoid selling out his principles for a paycheck and a pardon? Can he resist the camaraderie of being on a super team? Does he fall prey to the ample charms of the beautiful Olympian Aphrodite? How will he survive the jealous schemes of Ultraweapon, who wears armor so powerful it makes Cal’s look like a museum piece?See the world of “righteous do-gooders" through the eyes of someone who doesn’t particularly care for them.And remember - Losing an argument with a group of rioters isn’t a good excuse to start lobbing tear gas indiscriminately at them. You’ve only got so many rounds and it’s going to be a long day, so make sure you get as many as possible with each one.

The Rules of Supervillainy


C.T. Phipps - 2015
    Supervillains, heroes, and monsters are a common part of the world he inhabits. Yet, after the death of his hometown's resident superhero, he gains the amazing gift of the late champion's magical cloak. Deciding he prefers to be rich rather than good, Gary embarks on a career as Merciless: The Supervillain Without Mercy. But is he evil enough to be a villain in America's most crime-ridden city? Gary soon finds himself surrounded by a host of the worst of Falconcrest City's toughest criminals. Supported by his long-suffering wife, his ex-girlfriend turned professional henchwoman, and a has-been evil mastermind, Gary may end up being not the hero they want but the villain they need.

Superheroes Anonymous


Lexie Dunne - 2014
    So when a villain attacks editorial assistant Gail Godwin and she’s rescued by superhero Blaze, it’s a great story, and nothing more. Until it happens again. And again. Now, the media has dubbed her Hostage Girl, nobody remembers her real name, and people are convinced that Blaze is just Gail’s boyfriend Jeremy in disguise. Gail’s not so sure. All she knows is that when both Jeremy and Blaze leave town in the same week, she’s probably doomed. Who will save her now?But when the villains miraculously lose interest, Gail is able to return to her life…until she wakes up strapped to a metal table by a mad scientist who hasn’t read the news. Escaping, and now more than human herself, she’s drawn into a secret underground world of superheroes. She’ll have to come to terms with her powers (and weakness) to make it in the new society, and it’s not easy. After all, there’s a new villain on the rise, and she has her sights set on the one and only Hostage Girl.

Blackjack Villain


Ben Bequer - 2012
    A small-time villain. I know I’m not a big leaguer, but more than one wannabe hero has ended up in traction after getting in my way. I mostly stick to easy stuff, though, like popping banks and armored cars, and make a little money where I can. Living good is nice, you know?I thought I had it all figured out, until I found a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: A slot in a big time super villain team.The gig seemed like a dream. Steal bits of dusty old crap from different parts of the world and make serious cash. But little would I know that what would start small would end up sending me halfway across the galaxy (or was it to a different dimension?), and at the end of it all the fate of our planet, and everyone living in it, would be in my hands.Oh, and I met a girl.A girl that changed everything.

Other People's Heroes


Blake M. Petit - 2002
    Imagine a world where people bend steel in their bare hands, where champions dart across the sky, where avengers step out of the shadows to protect the innocent. Imagine a man larger than life protecting the innocent, imagine a family of heroes, imagine warriors dedicated to the safety of mankind. Imagine you've worshiped them your entire life. Then imagine it's all a hoax. Imagine that your champions are actors, the fights choreographed... imagine the real heroes vanished a decade ago. Imagine you're the only one who knows the truth. And imagine what you would do to put things right...

The Astounding Antagonists


Rafael Chandler - 2014
    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 hatreds are rekindled, the line between friend and foe begins to blur...

Subject 12 (Guild Files, Volume 1)


S.W. Douglas - 2010
    Unfortunately his ex-boss has other plans and drives him from hiding in a violent confrontation. In an attempt to get his bearings again, he seeks out his ex-girlfriend and finds himself getting drawn deeper and deeper into conflict with himself, his former employer, and the very 'heroes' he'd disdained for so long.

Black and White


Jackie Kessler - 2009
    Jet is a by-the-book hero, using her Shadow power to protect the citizens of New Chicago. Iridium, with her mastery of light, runs the city’s underworld. For the past five years the two have played an elaborate, and frustrating, game of cat and mouse.But now playtime’s over. Separately Jet and Iridium uncover clues that point to a looming evil, one that is entwined within the Academy. As Jet works with Bruce Hunter—a normal man with an extraordinary ability to make her weak in the knees—she becomes convinced that Iridium is involved in a scheme that will level the power structure of America itself. And Iridium, teaming with the mysterious vigilante called Taser, uncovers an insidious plot that’s been a decade in the making…a plot in which Jet is key.They’re both right. And they’re both wrong. Because nothing is as simple as Black and White.

The Indestructibles


Matthew Phillion - 2014
    A ballerina vigilante. A boy with an alien sharing his brain. A girl with a black hole for her heart. And, a werewolf. This is the next generation of heroes Doc Silence has gathered together, a random collection of amazing kids he hopes to train to make the world a better place. But Silence isn't the only one collecting super-powered teenagers. In the shadows, a dark organization — long thought destroyed — has been building a better monster, combining sentient hurricanes with car crash survivors, crafting designer cyborgs, girls made of fire and boys made of pure rage. What is this mysterious organization's goal? And what does it have to do with Doc's past, and his team's future? Will Doc Silence have enough time to teach them to be heroes before they are called upon to save the world — and will his team be ready to accept the mantle as their generation's brightest stars? The Indestructibles introduces Jane, Kate, Billy, Titus, and Emily— Solar, Dancer, Straylight, Fury, and Entropy — to the world as they learn how to use their bizarre powers. Along the way, they also discover something about themselves and whether they have what it takes to save the world. Meanwhile, the mercenary Agent Black and the mysterious Rose find themselves pawns of a villainous organization who plan on changing the world, starting with the creation of a living, breathing, sentient storm system they're able to bend to their will. The Indestructibles, coming soon to a neighborhood near you.

Marrow


Preston Norton - 2015
    With a perfect score on his finals, the ability to smash through walls, and leaps that can launch him over a city block, the Sidekick Internship Program is bound to place him with a top-notch superhero mentor for the summer. But when a series of disastrous events lands Marrow on academic probation, he is forced to team up with Flex - a drunk, hippie, bum with the power of elasticity. The two Supers' powers and personalities clash as they are forced to overcome their differences to prevent the return of Cosmo City's most notorious foe, a supervillain so powerful, no one will survive the cataclysm he is sure to unleash."If you can't get enough of superhero and comic book movies, read Marrow now! It's like stuffing an action movie into your head. The twists will surprise you." -- Adam Glendon Sidwell, Bestselling Author of CHUM and EVERTASTER.

Wearing the Cape: A Superhero Story


Marion G. Harmon - 2011
    Which made her superhuman breakthrough in the Ashland Bombing, just before starting her freshman year at the University of Chicago, more than a little ironic. And now she has some decisions to make. Given the code-name "Astra" and invited to join the Sentinels, Chicago's premier super-team, will she take up the cape and mask and become a career superhero? Or will she get a handle on her new powers (super-strength has some serious drawbacks) and then get on with her life-plan? In a world where superheroes join unions and have agents, and the strongest and most photogenic ones become literal supercelebrities, the temptation to become a "cape" is strong. But the price can be high-especially if you're "outed" and lose the shield of your secret identity. Becoming a sidekick puts the decision off for awhile, but Hope's life is further complicated when The Teatime Anarchist, the supervillain responsible for the Ashland Bombing, takes an interest in her. Apparently as Astra, Hope is supposed to save the world. Or at least a significant part of it. ------------------------ Wearing the Cape is a 300-page superhero novel for anyone who ever loved comic-book heroes, and wonders how they might behave in the real world.

Extraction


Kevin Hardman - 2013
    Having previously received aid from a young psychic named Rudi, Jim feels obligated to return to the favor and rescue her from the federal facility where she’s being held.But breaking into a top-secret, heavily-fortified government installation is never walk in the park, especially when said installation has top-of-the-line security systems, trigger-happy guards, and its own team of formidable supers. It will take a bold and audacious plan to get Jim - and the friends who volunteer to help him - inside.Unfortunately, breaking in is only half the problem (and the easy half, at that); they also have to break back out…

Nobody Gets the Girl


James Maxey - 2003
    Nicolas Knowbokov built his time machine. On the machine’s maiden voyage, Dr. Knowbokov accidentally changes history so that Richard is never born. Now trapped in a world that has no memory of him, Richard is an invisible, intangible ghost to everyone but Dr. Knowbokov and the scientist’s two superheroine daughters, Rail Blade and the Thrill.Assigned the codename Nobody, Richard becomes the world’s ultimate spy, invisibly battling the super-powered terrorist army run by the mysterious mastermind Rex Monday. The fate of the free world is at stake as the superhuman battles escalate, wiping entire cities from the map, threatening the survival of all mankind.Who can save us from the looming apocalypse? Nobody!

Super Sales on Super Heroes


William D. Arand - 2017
     He has the ability to modify any item he owns. To upgrade anything. Sounds great on paper. Almost like a video game. Except that the amount of power it takes to actually change, modify, or upgrade anything worthwhile is beyond his abilities. With that in mind, Felix settled into a normal life. A normal job. His entire world changes when the city he lives in is taken over by a Super Villain. Becoming a country of one city. A city state. Surprisingly, not a whole lot changed. Politicians were still corrupt. Banks still held onto your money. And criminals still committed crime. Though the black market has become more readily available. And in that not so black market, Felix discovers he has a way to make his power useful after all, and grasps a hold of his chance with both hands. Warning and minor spoiler: This novel contains graphic violence, undefined relationships/partial harem, unconventional opinions/beliefs, and a hero who is as tactful as a dog at a cat show. Read at your own risk.

The Awakening


Michael Carroll - 2006
    But Danny and Colin 13 are changing. Danny moves at the speed of light, Colin is surprisingly strong. Their parents, the lost generation of superhumans, have watched and waited for these changes. So have others who will do anything to stop them.