[contains spoilers]
Diary of an Evil Genius was an okay book. There were times when I feel the author let too much of himself into the work. For instance, though the book has its own author -- Gary Patella -- it is a book that is supposed to be read as a diary written by the character Victor. However, at times, things that "Victor" would say seemed more of a way for the ACTUAL author to clarify things. For instance, on page 39, "Victor" goes into a rant about ending sentences with prepositions.
"I have a feeling that I'm going to end a few sentences with prepositions. What do I care? It's not like this is the next best-selling novel or something. It's a journal; my journal. And I can write anything I please. In fact, I'm not sure why I actually go on about it every time I end a sentence this way."
This instance is not the only time "Victor" goes into a rant about proper grammar or punctuation. I just don't think that fits along the lines with his character. It seems forced. It seems more likely that it is the author's way of justifying not using correct grammar through "Victor."
Also, it really bugs me that you don't get to read any of the EVIL PLANS FOR WORLD DOMINATION. In the diary, Victor justifies this by saying that he doesn't want anyone who reads his diary in the future to steal his plans, but at the same time, it makes for a much less interesting book. When I signed up for the giveaway, I really thought this book was going to be a humorous account of an evil genius' rise to power. It turned out to be more of a mildly-bad dude's reflections on his henchmen's hobbies. I mean, at the end, you don't even get to find out if Victor's takeover of the world actually succeeded or not! The whole time, I was reading this book thinking, "Okay... well... I wonder if he will actually succeed?" And I never found out if he did or not. I could have dealt with the fact that he never actually goes into any of his evil plans... but not even finding out if Victor's plans succeeded? That's the whole point!!!!! Arg!
However, I feel I'm being very negative about the book, and I don't want to be. It wasn't a bad book. I really enjoyed some of the quirky sides to Victor's character, and I loved hearing about each henchman and his special passion. I mean, for God's sake, one of the henchman collects butterflies!!! How quirky and adorable is that? Ha. And the account of Victor's failed engagement? Priceless. There are definitely some entertaining aspects to this book, and I did have fun reading it. I was just hoping for a bit more.
Diary of an Evil Genius was an okay book. There were times when I feel the author let too much of himself into the work. For instance, though the book has its own author -- Gary Patella -- it is a book that is supposed to be read as a diary written by the character Victor. However, at times, things that "Victor" would say seemed more of a way for the ACTUAL author to clarify things. For instance, on page 39, "Victor" goes into a rant about ending sentences with prepositions.
"I have a feeling that I'm going to end a few sentences with prepositions. What do I care? It's not like this is the next best-selling novel or something. It's a journal; my journal. And I can write anything I please. In fact, I'm not sure why I actually go on about it every time I end a sentence this way."
This instance is not the only time "Victor" goes into a rant about proper grammar or punctuation. I just don't think that fits along the lines with his character. It seems forced. It seems more likely that it is the author's way of justifying not using correct grammar through "Victor."
Also, it really bugs me that you don't get to read any of the EVIL PLANS FOR WORLD DOMINATION. In the diary, Victor justifies this by saying that he doesn't want anyone who reads his diary in the future to steal his plans, but at the same time, it makes for a much less interesting book. When I signed up for the giveaway, I really thought this book was going to be a humorous account of an evil genius' rise to power. It turned out to be more of a mildly-bad dude's reflections on his henchmen's hobbies. I mean, at the end, you don't even get to find out if Victor's takeover of the world actually succeeded or not! The whole time, I was reading this book thinking, "Okay... well... I wonder if he will actually succeed?" And I never found out if he did or not. I could have dealt with the fact that he never actually goes into any of his evil plans... but not even finding out if Victor's plans succeeded? That's the whole point!!!!! Arg!
However, I feel I'm being very negative about the book, and I don't want to be. It wasn't a bad book. I really enjoyed some of the quirky sides to Victor's character, and I loved hearing about each henchman and his special passion. I mean, for God's sake, one of the henchman collects butterflies!!! How quirky and adorable is that? Ha. And the account of Victor's failed engagement? Priceless. There are definitely some entertaining aspects to this book, and I did have fun reading it. I was just hoping for a bit more.
