Alex Killey

I actually don't mind the idea of a story surrounding the child of a famous superhero who feels like they will always be in their parent's shadow. It's the execution that I find to be rather lackluster. Mandy not only isn't very interesting, but she follows the edgy teenager archetype a little too much, and all the side characters did was just be side characters. From the start, you can make a good prediction as to where the story is going to go, the personal conflict, the antagonists, and how it will be resolved. And unfortunately, it doesn't offer any clever or new ways to get to said resolution, which I would have given credit for. Even if you know the ending is predictable, make the journey fun, which it fell short of. The art looks more webtoon than traditional DC, which not only isn't my kind of vibe, personally, but I don't think it did the characters or the story any favors. I feel this would have been more forgiving if it didn't involve an already established superhero (Starfire). Had it gone the Incredibles route and made a brand new hero, it could open more possibilities and fluidity with the character and the established world that comes with said character. That way you're not bound by the set characteristics, goals, and flaws of whichever hero you chose to be the protagonist's parent. I give it some credit for attempting to be something new, despite the very early criticisms it received. Mandy is definitely not Starfire, and probably won't be remembered as fondly either.

Now here me out here. This book, almost, could have been the 'Freddy Got Fingered' of literature. Now to anyone who is a fan of that cult classic, I mean that in a good way. For those who don't know, Freddy Got Fingered was a movie written by and starring Tom Green, a somewhat successful comedian who employed a lot of ''random shock humor'' in his work. When given the opportunity to make his own movie, Green took this as an opportunity to make the most disturbing, inconsistent and unapologetic film to ever hit the big screens. From day one his goal was to win a Razzie. He didn't care that critics destroyed it and audiences didn't know what to think because thats exactly what he intended to happen. This was a guy who played by his own rules, and took every ounce of criticism with stride and didn't care in the slightest. In his eyes, the film was a masterpiece, not because he thinks its good but because it served its purpose to enrage and confuse common movie goers into watching it and fueling its legacy, which continues to this day. You'd be forgiven for thinking Norman Boutin (which may or may not be the authors real name) wanted to do something similar. Empress Theresa is written inconsistently from the very first chapter, with almost random events and tangents that add nothing to the overall story. Even the idea of a young woman with Superman level powers and almost no character flaws that would make Rey 'Skywalker' blush, sounds like something that would bomb for how formulaic and boring it appears. Almost like Naked Came the Stranger, which was intentionally terrible, but ended up becoming a best seller. But here's why I said it almost worked. Norman Boutin is not Tom Green. Boutin believes his work is a masterpiece, period, and that any and all forms of constructive criticism is heresy of the highest order. Unwavering in his ideals, Boutin has locked himself in a soundproof room with a one way mirror so he can view everything without having to worry about others finding out how he really feels. But if his own website is anything to go off of, he doesn't handle it very well. If Tom Green had written a book like this, you know he'd walked out to receive his national book award for the worst book of 2014 with his own red carpet and a bottle of Jack Daniels. It should be noted that I barely paid a dime for this book. I found it randomly at my local goodwill and, as someone who has a habit of reading bad literature, I couldn't help myself but think at how much better this could have been. I don't think even a great author could save this book from obscurity or failure, but at least it would have been an attempt.

This must be that secret 10th level of Hell Dante forgot to put in his work. Having said that, I've read every one of Onisions books and left a review for each one, because if I don't, I fear my soul will not rest in the afterlife. There is so much yet so little to unpack. This book is the quintessential alpha male fantasy for every edgy teenager who currently is going through some edgy teenage dilemmas. The writing is similar with his previous works. Full of typos, misconceptions of how to properly structure a paragraph and overall, unpleasant to the eyes. The story is as bare bones as can be and you know everything thats about to happen. The characters are all stereotypical, which can work if that was the intention and it was executed well. Which it wasn't. Overall, there is little to recommend unless you want to use this as an example for your second grade English class on what not to do when writing a book. Though, please think of the children and just read them some Dr. Seuss instead. They'll be better off in the long run.