| Title | : | Nobody Gets the Girl (Whoosh! Bam! Pow!, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0972002626 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780972002622 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 244 |
| Publication | : | First published July 7, 2003 |
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!
Nobody Gets the Girl (Whoosh! Bam! Pow!, #1) Reviews
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The setup of this story was pretty good. It was a superhero version of the Invisible Man with a twist. Unfortunately the ideas behind this story were the only good thing it had going for it. It ended up being below average superhero fare that tried to mix humour, action, and drama but did not manage to do any of those things particularly well.
The premise was good. Richard Rogers was an ordinary man until one day he woke up in a world where no one could see him. A time travel experiment by Dr. Knowbokov resulted in him never being born! Only Dr. Knowbokov and his two super-heroine daughters could see Richard. Which makes him an ideal spy for their superhero team.
It should have been a fun story but instead it ended up flopping. Some of the superpowers, including Richard's, were pretty cool but sadly the characters in this story were a total bust. Richard was an asshole. The longer the story went the less and less I cared about the guy which is saying something as he made a bad first impression! The secondary characters were not a lot better. Only a few of them played a large role in the story and none were very likeable. It made it hard to care about saving this world.
The book also had a weird flow. The first third of the story was fairly promising with Richard trying to figure out what had happened to him. The middle phase was less fun as he joined with the Knowbokov family to fight the supervillain but it was still OK. The final third was a disaster as both Richard and the story took a massive turn for the worse. I nearly DNF'ed this one with just 20% remaining after Richard resorted to using his superpowers to spy on a woman taking a piss. Yeah...this one went really bad from that point onwards.
The "romance" Maxey tried to add into the story was also total cringe. Two woman on the planet could see Richard so of course he fucked them both. The fact that they were sisters made it even worse.
All in all this was a superhero tale that had a fun premise but ended up being really awful.
Rating: 2 stars. I'm probably being kindly with the 2 star rating.
Audio Note: Emerson Hardy was passable but not great. -
I just can't pass up a superhero novel. Few rise above mediocre, but they're like space operas, I am always looking for the one that shines above the rest.
Nobody Gets the Girl is better than average. The worldbuilding and the plotting was excellent. James Maxey creates an internally consistent world packed with all the usual superhero tropes — the supergenius super-technologist who is a one-man Illuminati, his supergenius nemesis, giant baby dolls trashing cities, superheroes and supervillains with creative but familiar powers, power-ups that turn the merely formidable into world-shaking, time travel and alternate universes, and of course, clever twists.
The main character, Richard Rogers, wakes up one day to find his life is literally gone. His house is occupied by strangers. His wife is gone. Nobody can see or hear him. Finding out how this happened and the "rules" of his new existence is just the first part of the book. Richard becomes a minion of "Dr. Know," who has two beautiful daughters, all of them working to bring about world peace and an end to poverty, starvation, and disease.
How likely is that, really?
It turns out that the Knowbokovs are, to put it mildly, a dysfunctional family, and Richard, a snarky Everyman sort of protagonist, gets whipped back and forth by one revelation after another.
He also gets to nail both of the hot sexy superbabes despite being a mostly passive dork whose "power" is that the rest of the world doesn't know he exists. One cannot help suspecting a bit of authorial self-insertion.
I enjoyed the book quite a lot. Any superhero story requires a certain amount of suspension of disbelief, but this one manages to make everything fit logically together if you just accept the first big credibility gap. It's a "believable" superhero world with a story that escalates to a true world-saving adventure.
The only flaw that keeps it from being a nearly perfect superhero book is that the writing was so bland as to be almost sterile at times. Imagine someone narrating a thrilling story to you with a flat stare and a monotone; grammatically perfect, but devoid of affect. James Maxey uses straight dialog to carry many of his scenes; the dialog is fine, and while I applaud any writer (especially a superhero writer) who avoids overly-emotive descriptions, Maxey went a little too far in the other direction, sometimes requiring the reader to guess whether someone is speaking angrily, sarcastically, or sadly, and what their state of mind is. Likewise, no scene was lacking in clarity, but I actually found myself wishing for more adjectives and some sentences that weren't simply plain narrative style.
The author's notes at the end of the book say that he wrote the first draft in about a month and a half. It was obviously polished prior to publication, but the fast pace and high-concept plot with relatively sparse prose can be explained by the fact that it was, for practical purposes, a NaNoWriMo novel. But given all that, not bad. -
This isn't just a novelization of something perceived as a comic book. It's very purposefully written as a novel, without the reliance on visual cues something transferred from another medium tends to have. It's got a strong start, an interesting premise, thought-provoking ethical questions, and some great, sympathetic moments from a hero who's suddenly thrown into a world that makes no sense to him.
So why the low rating? Well, unfortunately the second half the book didn't live up to the first half. After a careful buildup of both situation and character, the book stopped trying to show me things and fell back on telling, which led to a number of moments where I had to set the book down to say "wait... wut?" There's a lot of time devoted to showing the relationship between Richard and Sarah, and while it doesn't have to be true love, there's a strong friendship and sex between then, and Richard refers to her more than once as his girlfriend. One chapter later he's sleeping with her supposedly protective older sister, who he's barely spoken to, and professing his love for her. Say it with me now: "wait... wut?" (There are other things that really needed to be fleshed out more for me to be able to accept them, but that was probably the biggest and the most easily explained.)
The last couple of chapters peter out into aimless wanderings, which makes for a rather forgettable resolution to a book that started out with such promise. And that kind of thwarted promise frustrates me, so if you don't mind, I'm going to be over there growling about what might have been. -
Nobody Gets the Girl is the kind of book that makes me want to break out all those reviewers' cliches like "a non-stop thrill ride" and "a giant roller-coaster of a book," though maybe it's just the summer movie trailers seeping into my prose. All kidding aside, if you're looking for a summer beach read and you're not crazy about Danielle Steel or Jackie Collins, give Nobody a try. It's a clever superhero parody about a man named Richard Rogers who suddenly finds himself invisible. He makes the best of the situation by becoming a superhero named Nobody and fighting crime alongside the nubile Rail Blade and the Thrill, while seeking to bring his visibility back. Maxey's characters are relatable, despite (or in Richard's case, maybe because of) their superpowers, for which the author has provided an ingenious explanation. I thought Rail Blade's powers were awesome, and was tickled by the notion of a giant, gun-headed baby doll wreaking havoc through Seattle's streets. Despite the heavy punning and moments of delightful absurdity, Nobody Gets the Girl isn't just a string of superhero jokes; it's fast-paced and entertaining without insulting one's intelligence. Aside from a romance that that feels a bit tacked on, this is a lively and engaging read, perfect entertainment for a plane ride off to parts unknown.
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I received this book from a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.
I love superheroes. I read lots of comic book collected editions. I watch lots of superhero movies and TV shows. And recently, I have been reading super hero novels.
This book is a tenth anniversary printing, so the original came out sometime in 2003/2004. Even knowing that, I felt like the story was very up-to-date and never felt "behind the times"
James Maxey built everything into this story. There are time travel, teleporters, alternate time lines, "mutant" powers, powerful telepaths, invisible men, evil twins and space travel. The story also includes angst, anguish, romance, and political intrigue.
I really loved the main character, Richard a.k.a. Nobody. He has to deal with being in a different time line from his own and then being thrown into the super hero business. All the while, he tries to make the most of what his present reality gives him.
If you like superheroes...don't miss this one! -
I bought this book based solely on the title and the cover art on the paperback edition (infinitely superior to the cover they used on the Kindle version, IMHO).
I wish I'd read the book description. I was thinking this was going to be a story about an empowered super heroine without all the angst that riddles the women of Marvel and DC. Nope. It's about a selfish, self-centered wanna be comedian and, sadly, all the super heroines are utterly angsty second-rate characters. Not impressed with the characters (shallow) or the writing (snarky narrator asides get old quick) in this and will not read any more in the series. -
I'm really glad I read this novel, because otherwise I would have always wondered about it. I heard an interview with the author a year or so ago, and with a musician that had composed an album to accompany the novel. It is not a great work of fiction, but it's still entertaining, competently written, and sufficiently strange for my tastes.
Nobody Gets the Girl is superb in terms of the weird comic book ideas that are thrown around. A ferokinetic, a hundred foot tall baby doll with a giant pistol for a head ("Baby Gun"), an indestructible carnival geek who can eat anything, a half-mad supergenius telepath who can read the minds of everyone in the world. And of course Nobody, the man who was ret-conned out of existence because of an incident with a time machine and the purchase of a condom. Consensus reality says that he never existed, but he remembers his own existence. As a result whenever there is a human observer, Nobody is invisible and intangible, unable to effect or be effected. However, when is unobserved he can make changes, the world's most formidable spy and saboteur. He's also alone, save for the crazy superpowered family that can see him. Call him a victim of consensus reality.
The book is funny and bloody and well plotted and paced. Some of its conclusions about superhumans and their effect on the world (and vice versa) are old hat, dating back to Watchmen and its ilk. The characters are not as interesting as the world they live in, and certain relationships-- like the one in the title-- are a bit unbelievable. A writer really has to earn something that he's billing as true love, and I don't think it's a success in that regard. Still, a good read and certainly worth your time if you like super hero stories with some unexpected turns.
For more on comics, humanity, morality and the world check out
The Stupid Philosopher, aka a place where I put my words. -
The thing about superhero stories, the good ones anyway, is that the powers that make a superhero are almost always some sort of metaphor for human traits or human foibles or human tragedy. No one knows this better than James Maxey. The powers possessed by his stories’ superheros are always as much a curse as a blessing. And I don’t mean in a nice problem to have sort of way. I mean in the gut wrenching, screwed up life to the point of being embarrassing level of problems. Nobody Gets The Girl is the first novel in Maxey’s Whoosh! Bam! Pow! series and it’s an action-filled, world at peril, who will save the day superhero story. But it’s also a great introduction to Maxey’s unique take on the screwed up lives of people living with the curse of their superhero powers.
The story follows the tale of Richard Rogers, suburban schlub, dedicated husband, but no particular ambition except maybe to quit his day job and live the life of a stand-up comic. But then one day he turns into a ghost. Just like that. Bewildered, frightened, and sad that he’s been cut off from the world, he begins a sad and desperate search for why this happened to him. Turns out his ghostdom is an unfortunate accident of the work of a mad scientist called Dr. Know and the scientist’s two superheroine daughters, Rail Blade and the Thrill. The more Richard Rogers accepts that there’s no going back to his normal life, the more he gets caught up in Dr. Know’s world-saving battles with Rex Monday, another mad scientist who has his own plans for how things Ought To Be.
So yeah, there are epic battles. The superheroes have to battle it out because, well that’s what superheroes do. The rest of the world suffers. And does Richard ever find his way back to the corporeal world? Or does he find peace? Does he find love? Hard to say, but the title of the story gives you a clue. -
If you love superhero tropes, read this book. If you hate superheroes, read this book.
It deconstructs the whole superhero genre in a way that is both fascinating and horrifying but somehow still stays true to silver age ideals. -
Nobody Gets the Girl by James Maxey
So here we have an admitted superhero novel and I wasn't sure what to expect. It has a prologue and I'm not usually a fan of those. Add to that the content of the prologue dripped of definite cartoon-y tropes. Then we move to Richard Rogers your everyman; married with a geeky job and a penchant for enjoying entertaining at comedy clubs.
I have to give the writer some extra marks for having the poor man have to make the decision about cheating on his wife when his own fantasy encounter with a supposed comedy club fan makes her entrance. At that point though the reader is still wondering where this is going. After reluctantly staying faithful he returns home for the night and sneaks into bed so as not to wake the wife. The next morning he wakes up to find out that he's nothing more than a ghost in a world that has been turned on its head.
From this point forward the novel develops a clear plot with good writing and a fine pace. It takes a while of wondering what is happening before the good Dr. Know. shows up to straighten things out. The Dr.'s answers are not all that welcome when he tells Richard that he's been erased from history because of the Dr.'s experiments with time travel. Conveniently the Dr. has decide not to time travel anymore because of the consequences and he therefore can't get Richard's life back. That leaves Richard with a decision of whether to live out the rest of existence as a wandering ghost or join the Dr. in his fight to bring peace to the world.
The doctor's two lovely daughters sweeten the deal; at least until Richard uncovers the fact that the whole family is dysfunctional.
I found the plot quite easy to follow and the writing was well done making the story easy to follow though some major parts of the plot were predictable. The overall story idea and several of the threads seemed original in the manor in which things were put together and there was at least one point where I almost felt, as a reader, that we were moving into one of those Robert Heinlein utopia scenarios. But James Maxey deviously turns some of that on its ear, as the thread of the dysfunctional family starts leaving the reader worried about the the direction that the Dr. is trying to take his utopian world.
There are no easy outs and no simple solutions and this is not a good verses evil superhero novel. These are complex characters that drive a story that is full of complex threads that all come neatly to an interesting conclusion. And even though Nobody gets the girl, no character in this story makes it through totally unscathed.
Great Sci-Fi for the Sci-Fi fans; contains some interesting notions about time and reality.
J.L. Dobias -
I first encountered the fiction of James Maxey with the 2002 short story "Empire of Dreams and Miracles." That was followed a few years later by "To Know All Things That Are in the Earth" and "Silent as Dust". I was excited when I read those stories because to me, they represented a significant new voice in science fiction that was unique and probably soon to be The Next Big Thing.
I also distinctly remember deciding not to buy his debut novel, Nobody Gets the Girl, in 2003 because it sounded too much like a comic book, and I was not really into superhero stories. But somewhere along the way, about a decade later, I bought the ebook. Then, yet another five years down the road I finally got around to reading it.
The truth is, this is a surprisingly good novel. It is light and often humorous but at the same time not afraid to go to some really dark places and aggressively deconstruct the tropes of its comic book roots. Richard Rogers is an everyman in a world filled with superheroes, but he has never given them much consideration until he wakes up one morning to find he is invisible. He turns for help to a mad scientist, Dr. Know, and his two crime-fighting daughters. He is enlisted in a battle against a team of supervillains, but the moral ambiguities of their war soon leave him questioning which side is good and which is evil.
Maxey's novel has interesting, complex characters with complicated histories but its real power is in the mixing of fantasy and science fiction ideas. In addition to the comic book tropes you expect--superpowers and evil twin arch-villains--he mixes in a heavy dose of time travel paradox and quantum physics. The story's themes owe a lot to Alan Moore's Watchmen. Like that seminal classic, this novel explores how humanity might react if superheroes existed in real life, the consequences of a superhero who abuses power in the name of the greater good, and how dysfunctional family relationships taint motivation over time.
In the fifteen years since this novel was published, the author has stayed busy publishing 13 more novels and two short story collections, including two sequels to Nobody Gets the Girl. -
Nobody Gets the Girl is a thoroughly entertaining read. While it does contain some troupes, James Maxey cleverly weaves the story into its own unique adventure. While, I would not say it is the best superhero book, I did really enjoy it and would recommend it for some lighthearted reading. (3.5 stars)
Stats:
Plot- The plot was the typical superhero plot, gain powers, figure out who you are, save the world. Though it is often utilized it did manage to keep my attention and contained some fun components . (3 stars)
Characters - The Characters were fun and both complex and somewhat two-dimensional particularly when it came to romance. However, the book simply may have been too short for them to truly develop. (3 stars)
Storytelling – The author's style is imaginative but sometimes meandering. However, he is still able to keep the story moving forward and fun. (3.5 stars)
World Building – Nobody Gets the Girl is set in a vibrant and interesting alternate near future world. The setting relatable and genuinely makes you feel that you have entered a comic book. (4 stars)
Magic System- This book takes contains an interesting and enjoyable take on superpowers, their origin, and the dangers that come with such power. (4 stars) -
I don't know that I would have picked this book up if it were not for WTS. I have stalled on a couple of things I've been reading lately but this book certainly didn't have that issue. I bought it Thursday afternoon and had it finished by Friday afternoon. It was fast.
It actually felt like I wanted to see it as a graphic novel, not a novel. There were parts that felt like they were full page panels.
I came away from the story wondering if I liked the hero or not. I think he's got a lot going for him, but he's also got a lot going against him. He starts as a regular guy and ends up working with comic book style characters to "save the world" but he's also a murderer. I look forward to a discussion about this one. -
In a nutshell, the book was fun. F-U-N, fun. It made for an enjoyable read that left me wanting to get my hands on the follow-up as soon as possible. Regardless of how it might seem, you don't have to be a comic book fan to enjoy this book (I'm not). You just have to enjoy a good story that's chock-a-block with humor and fun (there's that word again) characters, then you're on the right track. If you want a book that will keep you and your friends from the coffee shop up late discussing the book's influence on early 21st century philosophy and religion, then you're probably in for a disappointment, and in need of some new hobbies.
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A comic book style world for mature audiences, our protagonist, Richard Rogers, awakens one morning to find that the rest of the world no longer recognizes his existence. To be functionally invisible is a somewhat useful talent, but not what you would normally think of as a real super superpower. And yet, Roger has a major role to play in the battle between the big league superheroes and supervillains.
Please write a sequel. I liked this book a lot. I love the twists to the standard hero saves the world tale. The superheroes are great.
Warning: adult situations. -
The joke is that the protagonist is named Nobody.
This wasn't awful but it felt kind of grim and joyless.
"Nobody" is an invisible man; at one point he spends a chunk of time being an invisible-undetectable voyeur. It's in rather poor taste. -
I did enjoy this book but found I enjoyed the first half of the book more than the second, it seemed to fade and a lot more of the time was spent explaining theories than the action scenes you expect with a super hero book. Kudos to the author for trying to give the story deep (and a twist) but In my opinion it didn't work and I would have preferred my action. Also with super heros like to be able to tell the differences between the good guys and the bad guys (give or take a few side swapping). I have mixed feeling about the characters and I did like them to begin with but by the end of the book I felt In different and didn't really care what happened to them. Don't get me wrong I did like the book and I like the way the super power came about and the unusual powers but it might be a while before I give book two ago, especially as book two focuses on the bad guys more but I will give it ago just to see what the author has in store for them.
What happens when no body knows you exist? Richard Rogers went to bed one night with a job, a wife and a life only to wake up the next morning In someone else's house, with no way of communicating and not even his parents having any knowledge of his existence. The only man who can see him, along with his two daughters, is the man that created the mess he finds himself in. So what do you do if no one can see you? Spy on women in locker rooms? Pretend to be a ghost? Travel around with the president? Sleep in the white house or the playboy mansion? Or do you join a super hero team and fight the monsters and evil villains that you have only seen on tv and always believed was made up using special effects? Of course doing that is never easy because not everything is black and white.
The narrator was very dramatic and was just right for a super hero book. -
Generous 3 stars. I mean, I liked it even though it was very much the definition of an "ok" book.
"Nobody Gets the Girl" is very VERY light reading but at least it didn't waste a lot of time getting moving and for fans of the supes genre, it doesn't necessarily disappoint. Our protagonist, Richard, is miraculously thrust from one reality to the next in the span of a bad night's sleep. And quite obviously, James Maxey has read a LOT of comic books.
However, having read my own share of comics over the years, I hate to admit that the book follows a rather obvious plot - blatantly so in some instances. I'll have to check the dates but it seems to borrow a lot from 'Watchmen' at least in terms of moral conundrums and how to solve (or cause) them. There are few surprises even though the characters do generate a modicum of sympathy for different reasons.
You also don't mind disliking the characters you're supposed to dislike (I think?) if for no other reason than they like to hit beehives with sticks. I hate to call them villains, because we all know that GOOD comics in today's age blur those lines completely. Still, it's hard to argue with some of the thoughts about how to actually get humanity to care for the planet and get along with each other - whether they want to or not, gosh darn it!! And honestly, I kind of have a feeling that's what's in fact happening in a lot of places...
For what I paid for the book, I'm not disappointed per se, even if I finished it in what I'd consider as less than one sitting. I'll probably read the next books in the series, too, because they're all priced to go if you know where to look. Shop around kids. That's free advice, use it! -
On the whole I found this book to be an entertaining one, but it felt like it started out a fair bit stronger than it finished, the question of whether a person who no longer exists due to problems caused by time travel has more right to live than those who now exist because of the changes is an interesting one that the main character probably got over a bit too quickly before he joined forces with the person that caused the problems in the first place.
The range of powers of the heroes and villains in this book were varied, mostly avoiding the usual mainstays of the comic book world or when using them doing so in a slightly different manner. However, the times when the focus shifted to a confrontation between the characters, the writing didn't quite manage to capture the visual nature inherent in an action scene so they didn't hold the attention as well as they might have done. The pacing of the book felt a little uneven too, building to a peak about half to two thirds of the way through before descending from there even with the main confrontation being later on in the book.
The narration was similarly a little mixed, the tone and style for each character was distinctive enough and helped to enhance the more character-focused parts of the book, but the pacing of the narration felt a little too slow in the action scenes where it felt like the focus was more on trying to convey the weightiness of a scene rather than the pace of it.
Overall, despite my slight criticisms, this was a book that I definitely enjoyed listening to, finishing it in only a few sittings and I will definitely look out for more from this author in the future.
[Note - I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.] -
I got a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The story is about Richard Rogers, a wannabe comedian, who wakes up in his house but there are strangers in his bed. What has happened to his life? Where is his wife? Who are these people in his bed? Why can't these people see him? Intriguing premise and open to the story. While you learn about how and why all this is happening to Richard, the book is really good and interesting. I was ready for a great ride. However, when you get to the second half of the book, it all goes a little wonky. There are a lot of speeches -- which are stiff and odd, things happen or are said which make you think, "say, what??" and some of the relationships, given what was occurring in the first half, are just not believable. There are some action sequences in the second half which are fun [very comic book] but they did not make up for the other lackluster situations. So while I really liked the first half, I did not enjoy the second half nearly as much.
I listened to this book -- the narrator, Emerson Hardy, overall did a good job. -
This is a pretty fantastical story. Baby gun was the most ridiculous character ever but also pretty cool. I figured out the identity of Monday pretty easily. The characters abilities & the explanations of how they have powers were cool and some original. I like the idea of this story continuing. I would definitely read or listen to the next installment. Can humanity survive without someone trying to mold the world to their imagination?
Narration was excellent. Hardy did a wonderful job!
I was voluntarily provided this review copy at no charge by the author, publisher and or narrator. -
This review refers to the audiobook version.
A guy gets turned into an invisible, intangible being by a scientist who then offers to help him fight crime. This scientist is a super-genius with two super hero daughters but the family is quite dysfunctional. Everything is not as it seems and scientist might not be the good guy after all....
This book takes some dark and unexpected turns.
I received a free copy of this book and chose to write a review. -
Too Much Fun
I love the premise of this book. It has everything I need to spend a quiet afternoon reading. On my way to get the next one right now! -
Good escape
Good escape reading. Many unbelievable scenes but fun read. Reads like a comic book without the pictures. Read it soon
