The Mad Scientist's Guide to World Domination

 

The Mad Scientist's Guide to World Domination: Original Short Fiction for the Modern Evil Genius by John Joseph Adams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Halloween Bingo 2021

I was thrilled with this new category for Halloween Bingo this year, Mad Scientists and Evil Geniuses. Apparently, looking at the list of books that I've read, I have a weakness for this kind of character. You can't have a superhero without a really good villain. Batman is less impressive without the Joker. What's the point of Spiderman if there's no Doc Octopus or Green Goblin? Muahaha!

I was glad to see Seanan McGuire’s Laughter at the Academy included here, as I love most of her writing. As I expected, she produced an interesting angle on the villain in question. You'll enjoy it if you've studied the social sciences and been sneered at by an engineering student.

Another favourite for me was Jeremiah Tolbert's Instead of a Loving Heart. And I now realize that it too is about the contrast between the “detached scientific" point of view and the artist. I personally think that this dichotomy is exaggerated in literature, as I don't think many real life scientists are heartless, soulless people. But I guess it makes a point about science serving all people, rather than people serving the evil genius.

I was pleasantly surprised by The Angel of Death Has a Business Plan by Heather Lindsley. It reminded me (in the best ways) of Hench by Natalie Zina Walscots. Both deal with the business of being a super villain from a female point of view. The Angel of Death has some interesting customers for her super villain coaching business.

A contribution by Diana Gabaldon was a complete surprise. I hoped for something different from her usual, but that was not to be. It was a side story to Claire and Jaime, it was bloated and meandering, and it would have been improved by tight editing. I also had overly high hopes for Theodora Goss' story. If you aren't already familiar with the Athena Club novels, I'm not sure you would care one bit about this short fiction.

There are a lot of stories here, more than I can comment on individually. Many of them are by well-known authors. Some writers may be favourites of others. Overall, it was a good assortment, featuring both male & female perpetrators and a vast array of evil plans.




View all my reviews