Everyone needs a hero sometimes

[gblnking]

Besides the old standbys from Marvel and DC, does anyone have recomendations for superhero novels? (Not graphic novels)

 

[AE35Unit]

Hmmm this would seem to depend on one's definition of the word superhero. One could argue that the character in Richard Mattheson's I Am Legend is a superhero tho I've not read it,and I may have misspelled the author there!

 

[Connavar]

There are superhero novels but i havent read any. You can prolly look it up in wiki.


AE35: Robert Neville is far from a superhero. I think the thread starter is looking for superheroes like Batman,Spiderman,Daredevil but in book form and not in comics form.

 

[Anthony G Williams]

Well, you can try my novel Scales, which has the advantage that you can download the ebook for free!

See: The future of humanity rests in his hands

 

[Hypnos164]

Nobody Gets the Girl - James Maxley (Hero, guy wakes up invisible ...)

Soon I Will be Invincible - Austin Grossman (Super villan ... escapes from high security prison, again, and sets out to conquer the world).

Both are quite enjoyable novels using a more or less "comic book" world / setting

Also recommended are the Wild Cards collections - Edited by George R R Martin - a long running shared world series featuring "mutant" supers featuring short stories from an array of authors (including Roger Zelazny).

Not, to my knowledge, a vast sub-genre

 

[Mark Robson]

Try Hero.com by Andy Briggs ... or if you prefer the bad guys, then you could read the other side of the story Villain.net. It's just being made into a cartoon series in the US by Cartoon Network, I believe. (The books are aimed at YA)

OUT IN GERMANY!

or

This fantastic promotional website: Hero.com / Villain.net - Which side are you on?

 

[Ian Whates]

Hypnos164 has already mentioned these, but you have to get hold of the 'Wild Cards' books, especially the early ones.

George R.R. Martin, Roger Zelazny, Walter Jon Williams, Howard Waldrop and a host of others, all having fun in a world where an alien virus has been released, killing many, disfiguring many more besides, but granting super powers and strange abilities to some. Super heroes and villains abound, with a few falling somewhere in between.

 

[D_Davis]

I think that the Stainless Steel Rat books are very comic booky in their aesthetic.

This is a newer collection of short stories that is supposed to be pretty good:

I've also always considered Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination to be inline with the superhero mythos. That Bester also wrote golden age comic books bolsters this opinion.

And I'd be shocked if Theodore Sturgeon's More Than Human didn't inform the creation of the X-Men and other mutant-based heroes.

 

[gblnking]

Thanks to all for pointing me in the right direction. I'll start looking through all of your suggestions.

 

[Sargeant_Fox]

You should give Robert Mayer's Super-Folks a chance. It was one of the first deconstructions of the superhero genre, and influenced Alan Moore, who's arguably the greatest superhero writer ever.

 

[dask]

The WEIRD HEROES series edited and developed by Byron Preiss may be of interest to you. Edmond Hamilton's Captain Future adventures, while not a perfect match, may fit nicely also.

Not that long ago I remember seeing a new paperback in Barnes and Noble I swear was edited by Stan Lee and had new superhero stories written by major sf writers. (Unless I dreamed it.)

 

[dask]

Saw a new one at the book store tonight: WHO CAN SAVE US NOW? edited by Owen West and John McNally.

 

[thepaladin]

A little late answering, but I just got here...have you read Bad Monkeys?

 

[dask]

A little late answering, but I just got here...have you read Bad Monkeys?

What's it about?

 

[Saeltari]

Bad Monkey!

Sorry, couldn't resist... I tried, really I did...

And to add to the original request, are there any 'hero' type books that aren't compilations or anthologies?

 

[thepaladin]

Bad Monkeys.....defies short definiton actually. begins as a law enforcement interview with a character who claims to a member of a group who steps in and executes "bad monkeys". that would be indivuals like child molosters, serial killers, "those who live from the suffering of others" etc. If I say any more I could ruin it for you.

 

[dask]

Bad Monkeys.....defies short definiton actually. begins as a law enforcement interview with a character who claims to a member of a group who steps in and executes "bad monkeys". that would be indivuals like child molosters, serial killers, "those who live from the suffering of others" etc. If I say any more I could ruin it for you.

Sounds cool. Probably would make a good movie if put in the right hands. Maybe Frank Miller.

 

[dask]

Bad Monkey!

Sorry, couldn't resist... I tried, really I did...

Well, since you really tried, that's okay.

And to add to the original request, are there any 'hero' type books that aren't compilations or anthologies?

A few of the volumes in the WEIRD HEROES series mentioned are novels: QUEST OF THE GYPSY (volume 3) by Ron Goulart; NIGHTSHADE (volume 4) by Walter B. Gibson; THE OZ ENCOUNTER (volume 5) by Ted White and Marv Wolfman.