Evil UnLtd: The Root Of All Evil [Kindle Edition]

When I downloaded the sample for Evil UnLtd, I was initally slightly put off by the sheer amount of swearing in the internal monologue in the introductory incident. I dithered slightly over whether to go on and buy the book, but though more expensive than the ones I've tried to date, the premise appealed enough that I figured I could spare two quid - and actually I'm glad I did!

The idea behind it is that in this book, the heroes are the villains and the villains are the party-pooping irritants who just spoil the fun. Oh, and occasionally attempt homicide....

The book is twice the price of other indies I've read, but also twice the length. The story is funny and well-written, and though there are the occasional slip in the formatting, it was rarely enough to pull me out of the action, and in places there were sentiments witty enough to make me laugh out loud (or at the very least smirk widely).The characters are very appealing; Dexter is slimy but not offensive and his frustrated-evil-genius is very entertaining. Mr Knucks and Evil Robot made me laugh; Tanith Troy is possibly one of my favourite women in some time, and Rolph Stengun (love the name, btw) is not so stereotyped as to not work (his cleaning obsession is a nice touch).

Slightly weaker characters would be Prof Doomladen, who is a bit bland though not unamusing, and Mr Ferret, who I didn't take to so much; but I did like the various other aliens. I was a bit baffled by the feline baddie, though it did give him added threat-value to have claws.

Issues with this? One or two formatting errors - a half-sentence somewhere about 80% of the way through (no page numbers, sorry!) and for my tastes, in conversation it would be clearer if it started on a new line when a new person starts speaking. However, the only one that broke the spell of the reading was the half sentence, so not overly vexatious.

So should you buy this book? Depends on your tastes. To liken it to Robert Asprin or Good Omens or Douglas Adams is possibly setting it up for a fall, but it is written in that whimsical style, with that sort of humour. If it looks like your sort of humour, you could definitely do worse!

I liked it a lot, and when I've finished this will be looking to see if there's a sequel yet.
JAC.

Every so often, I read a book that catches me completely off-guard and I fall head over heels in love with it. Either it's a random find discovered while browsing in a bookshop or it's in a genre I don't read very often. In 2010, Evil UnLtd: The Root of All Evil by Simon A Forward was that book. Or, more accurately, that ebook.

The main character of Dexter Snide is a wonderful creation. As the evil mastermind behind the thoroughly modern criminal organisation that is Evil UnLtd, he is brilliantly aloof, holds just about everyone in contempt, and is the proud possessor of a biting wit. He excels at formulating excessively complicated plans which are often frustrated, thus forcing him to wing it with a flair only he could bring to such an endeavour. He assembles a suitably motley crew of villains: I loved the muscle of the operation, Mr Knucks, who has cybernetic arms that he can take off and send to do a workout - I mean, just how cool is that?! I also grew very fond of the Hatchling, a bad tempered stegasaurus-like creature who spends most of his time in an egg, waiting to unleash all his pent-up fury whenever he's released; then there's Evil Robot, who's always handy in a fight and is biding his time to restore his kind to their rightful place in the universe; poor old Professor Doomladen, who is nervous, apologetic and bumbles his way to discoveries that he can never remember so he can repeat them; and then there's Tanith Troy, who's my kind of heroine, confident, assertive, ballsy, adventurous, and with a wit to match that of Dexter's, she'll happily tease her opponents into submission, if her sex appeal and charisma doesn't floor them first. The only character I didn't especially warm to was career criminal, Mr Ferret, but I think he might have suffered from being overshadowed by the sheer brilliance of the others.

Naturally, with all of these villains, there has to be a hero and he comes in the form of "tanned gorilla" Rolph Stengun: The Muscles from Nova Stockholm. I really don't need to say anymore about him, do I? Good, I thought not.

Evil UnLtd: The Root of All Evil is a genius space farce. Dexter Snide and his associates bumble their way through a series of (mis)adventures with a view to accumulating as much power, notoriety and wealth as they can. It is a wickedly funny, extremely well-written sci fi comedy that reads like a mash-up of Douglas Adams meets the TV sit-com, Red Dwarf, and one of my favourite sci fi tribute films, Galaxy Quest. It's literate sci fi, chock full of humour and word play with some lovely nods to the genre and a wonderfully fitting cast of characters. Happily, as you'll also no doubt have noticed, The Root of All Evil is only Part 1 in the Evil UnLtd series and Simon is currently working on Evil: Part 2. This makes me excessively happy, as I can't wait to rejoin this band of villains on their next scrapes as they chase Evil domination of the Universe. I suggest you beam the first volume down to your eReader and buckle up for the ride. It's great fun being Evil.

I bought this on a whim because I'd been reading Andy Briggs' "Hero.com/Villain.net" books and Mark Walden's H.I.V.E. series of books and this book also involved the villain-as-hero concept. But this book is seriously bonkers! In a good way. Dexter Snide is our evil protagonist and he's a man with serious competency issues. Packed with madcap schemes and a cast of hapless sidekicks, this is a rollercoaster of a story. So, strap in and enjoy the ride...