Almost Infamous: A Supervillain Novel

Superheroes aren’t just real in Aidan’s world; they’re dominant. These days, no villain would dare stand against The Protectors. That is, until Aidan puts his own burgeoning powers to the test, becoming the villain Apex Strike and accidentally kills a superhero in his first outing. Aidan is soon captured, only to find himself with an opportunity: playing a villain so that the heroes remain important. It seems like a path to power, money, girls, and everything Aidan ever dreamed of… but is it?

Almost Infamous has a tough job: telling a compelling story where most, if not all, of the characters are bad guys. But Matt Carter makes it seem effortless, offering a funny, dark, and thoroughly enjoyable story about friendship, heroism, and the lengths to which we’ll go to disrupt the status quo when needed.

Playfully riffing on the coming-of-age hero-worship tones of the film Almost Famous. Almost Infamous manages to feel both personal and epic in equal measure, reminding us of the individual and global stakes in Aidan’s actions, but never losing sight of who the characters are. Even at his most villainous or most heroic, Aidan remains kind of a jerk. That’s part of the charm.