Title: Super Born: Seduction of Being
Author: Keith Kornell
Publisher: Audacious Press
ISBN: 9780982645208
Pages: 266, Paperback
Genre: Fiction/Science-Fiction
Reviewed by: Gary Sorkin, Pacific Book Review
Book Review
Wow — Keith Kornell sure can write! I would imagine a musical score by John Williams playing as the hypothetical cinemascope camera zooms in upon O’Malley’s Bar in Scranton Pennsylvania and goes in for a close up of the face of a beautiful, seductive blonde with piercing eyes that change from grey, to blue, then to green as she stares at the lens and penetrates the minds of the viewers. Altered by a mutation caused by “epsilon radiation” in her community, the men of Scranton mutated to idiots, imbeciles and morons, whereas the radiation had the opposite effect on the women in the town, having them become super empowered. Paralleling the Marvel Comic’s superhero characters in superpower profiles, the Bitch-In-Black, known as the B.I.B., is real, and nothing like the candy coated vanilla Superman. She is real down to her equivocating values of morality and insatiable sexual desire.Keith Kornell narrates the story through the eyes of a reporter, not the Jimmy Olsen or Clark Kent kind, but a cool, hip and intelligent street-smart thinker, disbeliever, but totally impressionable character. His words flow like a combination of the Guy Noir character in Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion radio show, mixed with a Mickey Spillane tough guy. Kornell hits you with candid talk, a bit harsh at times but doesn’t hold back on his inner most thoughts, and that is totally refreshing in a super-hero story. Not the “G” rated thinking that needed to pass the censor’s desk in the 1960’s, but a cool, Internet savvy way of take-it-or-leave-it talk. Kudos to Keith Kornell!
Saving a doomed commercial airplane when one engine explodes and the other flames out, or foiling a bank robbery are the common super hero acts of defining events, but Keith Kornell takes the B.I.B. back to being a 33 year old single working mom, with day-to-day stress and normal values. He cleverly interlaces the dialogue of the reporter, along with the story of the superwoman, writing her thoughts in italics. This proves to be an original juxtaposition of storylines, an entertaining relief of characterization and he makes it work in an extremely enjoyable fashion in his book.
Time flew by as I paged the eBook version of this crafty piece of contemporary fantasy. Before I knew it I was approaching the end of the story but found myself yearning for more. Reading it on a Saturday afternoon was the perfect time of the week for taking in some childish fun, coupled with fresh and exciting creativity. One thing’s for sure – I want more! The good news is that there’s more to come.
