Andrea Vernon and the Corporation for UltraHuman Protection

By: Alexander C. Kane

Narrated by: Bahni Turpin

Think superheroes are tough? Try having one for a boss, or co-worker. That’s the predicament Andrea Vernon finds herself in as the heroine of Alexander C. Kane’s debut audiobook. Drowning in debt, and forced to move back into her parents’ Queens apartment, Andrea starts looking for a job. Luckily for her, she finds herself recruited—well, really kidnapped—by the Corporation for UltraHuman Protection (C.U.P.), an organization that deploys superheroes. Suddenly Andrea must contend with co-workers who can shoot lightning from their fingertips, face the imminent destruction of humanity, and juggle a fledgling romance with a giant lumberjack. It’s all in a day’s work for the would-be novelist turned superstar secretary.

Audible Hall of Fame narrator Bahni Turpin is perfectly cast as a normal person finding herself in abnormal circumstances. Turpin brings to life an entire cast of quirky characters, along with their heroically funny antics in the cubicle next door. If you’ve ever wondered what a genetically altered rhinoceros sounds like, or needed to take a break from your own office drudgery, this is the comedy for you.

©2017 Alexander C. Kane (P)2017 Audible Originals, LLC.

Enjoyable and hilarious

I loved this audiobook for the most part. In fact it only fell a little short of a 5 star rating because the multiple viewpoints happening concurrently were a bit confusing and pulled me out of the story a little. But for a debut novel I thoroughly enjoyed it. The puns, the tongue in cheek jokes, the ridiculous situations and the visuals had me laughing out loud. I think the most intriguing aspect was how the corporation was an entity and character on its own and carried part of the story. I highly recommend if you enjoy satire.

The love child of Douglas Adams and Stan Lee!

Wow, what a great surprise! The perfect blend of contemporary sci-fy and humor. I loved it!

Andrea Vernon is perennially broke, an oft-unemployed European Studies/English double major (minor in Psychology) who has wasted most of her twenties trying to finish her historical retelling of Chancellor Metternich's love life -- while toying with the idea of moving to Haiti to do noble work that will be "celebrated for generations". Or maybe she could do both?

In a moment of aimless desperation she fills out an online job application. The job is Administrative Assistant; the requirements of which are typing skills and the ability to never ask questions. Moments after she hits "send", she is propelled into the world of the Corporation for UltraHuman Protection (CUP) run by the no-nonsense Ms. Persephone Oh.

By the way, the Southern Ms Oh is never without a homespun quip, like, "The U.S. government, bless its heart, couldn't run a candy store in Hungry Town." If Kane ever publishes a collection of her quotes on running a business, I would buy it in a heartbeat.

Kane describes the office world perfectly, that is, if your daily cubicle adventures included managing super hero teams who are on contract to take care of the world's dark forces, such as "invading aliens, crazed millionaires bent on world domination, and mutant armies."

Sure, this is Andrea's story, but it's also the story of every CUP employee on the profit-sharing plan: from super heroes obsessed with their matching 401K contributions, to staffers in mundane departments like Customer Service, Sales & Operations, and Human Resources. All of them try to get out of their CUPnet training sessions (think Salesforce) and sexual harassment awareness workshops just like the rest of us.

Everything is a joy: all the super hero monikers, the character backstories, the schemes of each super hero management company competing for contracts, the lingo of invading aliens... all of it is amazingly fun and lighthearted... and it just sounds so true to human nature that you can't help but laugh out loud.

Bahni Turpin is now my favorite narrator. She does an outstanding job capturing every personality, handling male and female voices perfectly and performing every accent from multiple "New Yawk" -isms to the mythical Pharoah County, Georgia twang of Ms Oh.

If you love humor and science fiction and have sat through more than one Marvel Comic movie, you won't be disappointed in this book.

If your a ninth grader you'll just love it

This book I think was intended for the junior high set. And maybe I'm just too old and stuffy to enjoy it.

My favorite audiobook this year (and maybe ever)

Would you listen to Andrea Vernon and the Corporation for UltraHuman Protection again? Why?

Absolutely. The writing and the performance of this book will surely draw me in again. I hope the author and the narrator collaborate more in the future.

What did you like best about this story?

The variance of super heroes, their names, and back stories. I don't even like super heroes and I loved this book. Inspector Well Actually..., Kitchen Sink (KITCHEN SINK WILL FIGHT!), Crabbie, and the sexual awakened Rhino were my favorites.

What about Bahni Turpin’s performance did you like?

Her range was incredible. Narrators can make or break titles and I can't think of one criticism for her performance. She knocked it out of the park with all of her voicing - from Georgia twang to Aliens to Brooklyn. She could voice a full cast book on her own. She was amazing!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The whole book was a great ride. I loved everything from super hero sexual harassment training to the finale.

Any additional comments?

Love how it's adult in nature without resorting to swearing on any page. Not that I have anything against swearing, I just feel the author was able to carry a mature story that's accessible to a wider audience without throwing in language that would turn off some.

Watchmen meets Mad Men.

a refreshing take on the superhero World enjoyable to follow the protagonist as she finds her place in it. I wish more novels would take this approach. hysterically reminded me of a combination of the Watchmen with a mix of Mad Men quite funny.

the narrator Bahni was fantastic; she fit the character very well and voiced all the other characters superbly. I wish more audible books would employ female narrators instead of resorting to male narrators I hope to listen to more books narrated by Bahni.

A fun read. A great narrator.

I really enjoyed this urban comic book style super hero story with a Black female protagonist with Caribbean roots and a diverse cast left to save the Bronx. Really?? Check it out.

Not as good as the reviews said

Like everyone I read the reviews to get a sense of the books. I feel like reviewers were way to kind to this book. I was hoping for something in the vain of CT Phipps or MK Gibson’s book. Although you did get some of that snarky, on the nose humor, this book fell way short overall. Andrea really got on my nerves! How is it that she went from this shiftless, wayward person, to an all star overnight? I guess that’s the point of the humor in the book but it just maybe me roll my eyes out loud. Anyhoo I did see it through as I was interested in how things shaped up. Like most people said the narrator was awesome and is definitely the saving grace for this book. If your are looking for a different more cynical, funny, and just plain out of the box thinking on super heroes and super villains try the others I mentioned.

30 Rock meets X-Men

Loved this book. Picked it based on cover art because I was curious how this plus sized woman of color ( who reminds me a lot of myself) could possibly fit into a super hero story. Wasn't sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised by how witty and relevant the story and characters were. Would love a part 2.

Good for a laugh

This book grew on me as I listened. I found it a little juvenile in some areas. This book was definitely written by a man trying to be a woman's voice. He didn't quite get it.
The plot was interesting enough to have me listen to the end.

Awesome

Great story! Hilarious characters in a surreal world! I highly recommend this to anyone with a thing for superheroes, regular heroes, or corporate satire.