This is a humorous satire of typical comic book tropes with a relatively sound plot. As a written story, it's short (48 pages), but I expect that the author would like to have it illustrated at some point. As a fun poke at the genre, this is a good writing exercise. But it doesn't seem like a fully launched idea yet.

I'm really sorry to have to say that this book wasn't my cup of tea. I only finished it because of the short amount of pages. Had it been longer, I would probably have stopped reading and just DNFed it.

The author has no doubt a lot of creativity and skills in the application of narrative devices which I have a lot of respect for. But the story just wasn't as captivating as I'd wished it to be (pun not intended). And you'll only be able to understand that pun, when you've read the book, so hey maybe check it out? (Don't let my negative review deter you from reading this book.

Honestly, I wanted to write a longer review about this book, but I just can’t find any motivation because I really didn’t enjoy it all to well. I hope you guys will like it better and give it a shot anyways. I’ve seen a lot of great reviews of this book, mine’s just not one of them.

Light-hearted and Very Imaginative Meta That Works

O.K., this is such a clever, sly, funny and insightful novella that it's worth devoting a moment to properly describe its unique and entertaining setup.

On the one hand you have superheroes and supervillains with silly names and odd and quirky superpowers. "Origami Man", "Bemused Girl", "Chesty Cough Girl". They have the usual problems - finding a lair, paying for the fission reactor and the destructo beams, keeping the noise down so neighbors don't complain. You get the idea. Lots of this is very funny, although it's also been done well by others. For me, the real reading reward is on the other hand.

Throughout the story we encounter cats. These aren't normal cats. Each cat is in charge of a trope or meme or convention of the comic book/ superhero genre. They maintain the narrative laws. So, you have Continuity Leopard, who assures that the continuity of the story is maintained. When the heroes enter a building on the first floor and try to escape out a back window they find that that window is fifteen stories above the ground. That's not right, so they all glare at Continuity Leopard, who shrugs and brings the window down to ground level, maintaining the continuity of the story.

The genius here is that the cats appear all through the story, not as characters, but rather to shepherd the story along as a written piece of fiction. The is Correct Punctuation Lion. There is a Tangent Tiger, who keeps track of sub-plots. There's Narrative Pace Cougar, who moves the heroes along if the action begins to slacken. There's even a sad house cat who is in charge of extremely obscure references. (His job is impossible because if references are too obscure readers are resentful; if too many people get them, then it's not obscure enough.)

The plot doesn't really matter. It's basic hero versus villain. But the plot gives the characters something to do. The rest of the book is the characters interacting with each other as characters in a book, and interacting with the cats as they keep an eye on the story. (At one point the characters discuss whether they trust the book's author's competence to pull the whole writing project off properly.)

The upshot is that you get funny and pun-filled hero and villain names and powers. That's usually all that books like this do. But then you get wickedly funny and sometimes pretty edgy commentary on every aspect of fiction writing and especially superhero fiction writing, mostly through the deadpan comments of the cats and the testy exchanges between the cats and the characters. Finally, you get a general breakdown of the fourth wall since the book characters know they are book characters and keep comparing what's happening to what should be happening in a properly plotted and written book.

This is dizzy stuff and behind it all it is practically a class in writing fiction. But it's never that obvious and never heavy handed. It's more like the author, the characters, the cats, and you the reader, are all just having one big fun time pretending to write, read, and be in a book. I know that sounds very meta, because it is, but it absolutely works. (This is short, even for a novella, and that's probably for the best, because the book wraps up before the premise wears out.) If you like meta-fiction, and especially playful meta, and you aren't looking for an actual superhero story, this could be just the tonic you need.

So, as I say, a real hoot and a definite one-off that's worth looking at. An exceptionally happy find. (Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

very punny, great humour. I really enjoyed this book. friends have joked around about odd superheroes in the past, this goes beyond that and creates a really fun world that knows its a story.

absolutely would recommend to friends (hero geeks, grammar geeks, book worms, etc)

This book felt like it was trying so hard to be meta that it lost the joy of telling a story. I was incredibly intrigued by the premise so I'm disappointed. DNF.

This novella is a well written, 4th wall breaking genre parody, best enjoyed by writers and people who know comic book and story tropes. I’m not sure the average reader would get the full experience, because there’s no real plot or characters—although there are some good puns and jokes, so maybe give it a try?

I laughed at the title so that completely set the tone for this short story. This was a silly superhero-trope-busting ball of tongue in cheek fun. I thoroughly enjoyed the cats the best. In the beginning there are a LOT of Aptly Named Characters that I didn't fully get to appreciate in the moment because of the rapid fire introductions, but they get more built out as the story goes along. All in all, a very amusing quick read.

"The Adventures of Technicality Man" is a funny short story with some of the weirdest superheroes with the most obscure powers you'll ever meet. I thought it was a great idea to somewhat ridicule the conventions and tropes of the average superhero narrative and the idea of having cats as the guardians of the narrative was really funny too. This is a nice read if you are looking for a light parody of the superhero genre.

I recommend grabbing a copy of this short ebook and reading it in one sitting. It will probably take as much time as watching a movie (or TV show if you're quick) because it's very silly and you want the characters to remain fresh in your mind.

I loved this story. If it was a Monty Python sketch, the Colonel would declare it too silly and shut it down. I think you probably have to have a certain sense of humor and appreciation for language and storytelling to appreciate as much as I did, but I'll try to do my best to give you some highlights what it's all about.

Technicality Man is, technically, a superhero due to "super-powered pedanty". Coming off of a surprise victory, he puts together a team of self-aware characters to advance the narrative of good vs. evil. The group operates within the Laws of Narrative Practice. Said laws are governed by cats (yes, cats!) who maintain order within their specified domain. For example:
Continuity Leopard
Tangent Tiger (CL's nemesis)
Narrative Pace Cougar
Metaphorical Jaguars
Obscure Use of Semi-colon Ocelot
Censorship Panther
Correct Punctuation Lion (Patrolling Internet forums keeps CPL very busy!)
Prudish Manx
Sexual Attraction Lynx (his job has gotten much harder since the advent of fanfiction)

Without the cats maintaining narrative order, anything can happen. Semicolons can run amok, the bad guys may be able to take over the world, and anything random can happen without Continuity Leopard around.

The superheroes in the story are just as random and humorous as the cats who maintain narrative order. I very much enjoyed reading this and I'm glad I had time to read it straight through without losing track of any of the characters. There is a large and colorful cast of villains, heroes, the cats, and even a tech support guy on the character list.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author/publisher for providing me with a copy to review. [GOODREADS]