2 out of 4 stars
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Notoriously Nefarious by Sergio Black is the first in a series about Nefarious Warstar, a Superior (one who has a second soul in their body) with extreme powers. Nefarious was not always the powerful Superior he is now. Born to Superior parents who had superhuman abilities, Nefarious prayed for his ascension day when his powers would be released and he could rise up against the Nazis as well as the Anti God known as HIM. Nefarious will have to be careful not to be consumed by his dark side, however, as the exceptional power he now possesses has the ability to corrupt the soul.
This was definitely a difficult review as I got halfway through the book and realised I had no clue what it was about and had to start over. The first half of the book is chaotic, both in terms of story and writing. The second half has a story but is interspersed with so much it becomes difficult to determine what is actually important to the storyline and what is not. In the blurb, the author talks of legends and myths and bringing in heroes of old, but a lot of these he has made up himself.
There was confusion at the beginning of the book with the introduction of Nazis and the SS, and it seemed as though the book was using real times and places as they mention Waco and Boise. The next thing there is a Neu Germany and doctors who dissect Superiors. So, essentially the story is about a child that had Superiors as parents but who have both been murdered, and he has been crippled and disfigured by the murderer who is an ancient Anti God. He is then called to ascend and the 16-point Star of Vergina grants him enormous powers (of which some are telekinesis, invisibility, blood that crystallises, skin impervious to wounds, and a killing stare). He then goes on a rampage and starts killing those he deems evil. On the other side of the coin, Lisa Ann works for the Mad Doctor Andrew Rush who is a Nazi fanatic and is a dissector of Superiors. Lisa is found out to be more than she seems and the Doctor needs to use her in experiments against Nefarious. This base idea then has joined to it: 15ft wolves who can change into sleeping bags, a vampire, angels and demons, a paedophile serial killer, a number of beings with abilities who love torture, rape and killing, and a being who has been waiting for a prophecy to come about for 5000 years. There is swearing, homophobia, lesbianism, and talk of consensual sex as well as rape. It’s a lot to take in, and the author has thrown the reader into the middle of a maelstrom.
So, not only is the story exceptionally strange and confusing, but the editing throws the reader right off. It goes from incorrect punctuation to POV jumps as well as Nefarious referring to himself in first and third person in the same paragraph, to tense jumps in the same paragraph, to spelling mistakes (it took me a while to figure out he was using turrets for Tourettes, for instance), to incorrect words being used for something. Some phrases were very strange like: “... eye hawking her desirable cheekbones.” There were continuity errors where a woman opened her coat to show her naked body and a few lines later she is unbuttoning her uniform blouse. The author has used a plethora of adjectives where one will do and has tried to write on a “higher level” than necessary so sentences like these were found often (taken verbatim): “The suit fits him like a second skin, creating an air of sinister awe and admiring appeal,” or “Nefarious stares down at the Red Team with overpowering eye prowess,” but the one that threw me was: “Lisa Ann gives a break your neck nod and smiles brightly, as she swallows the Mad Doctor’s words as if she were Monica Lewinsky gobbling Bill Clinton’s wrinkled musty nutsack.” Some other ideas that were very off-putting in the book were scenes like where the Doctor would use balls of phlegm as hair gel.
Even though I didn’t enjoy the book, I think it would make a good graphic novel. The action lends itself more to sketches and then much of the added wordage could be left out so that the base idea shines through. I took a star off for editing and a star off for the delivery of the story but I’ve rated Notoriously Nefarious 2 out of 4 stars as with some work it could turn into an interesting idea. In its current form, I don’t know who I would recommend the book to, though, as it is hard work to get through.
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Notoriously Nefarious
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