Superhero

A Novel

By: Tim Blake Nelson

Narrated by: Zach Villa

“A uniquely nuanced and engaging perspective on the oddness of Hollywood...Superhero goes inside baseball in all the best ways: unbiased, at times ridiculous, and wonderfully, uncomfortably accurate. It begs to be read because it is so damned good.”—Amanda Seyfried

A-list actor Peter Compton and producing partner Marci Levy exist in the rarefied air of Hollywood’s elite. Their status as a married power couple is unmatched, their presence in any room transformative and god-like. But as their private jet lands in Atlanta to begin production on a tentpole superhero movie, even their privileged position will come under threat by the massive pressures of such an undertaking.

Compton, a self-educated recovering addict, sees the role of Sparta comics superhero Major Machina as the opportunity to transcend his already stratospheric platform. As director Joel Slavkin, Oscar-winning DP Javier Benavidez, and a crew of hundreds arrive in Atlanta to begin shooting, it doesn’t take long for the production to be embroiled in the tension and egos that drive the film. But when video of Peter’s disastrous on-set behavior goes viral, Peter and Marci’s partnership will be challenged as it never has before. As the stakes grow ever higher, it may just take a superhero to save them.

With his signature wit and razor sharp dialog, Tim Blake Nelson invites the reader to walk alongside him as he enters the closely-guarded world of industrial strength cinema.

©2025 by Tim Blake Nelson. (P)2025 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Some love, and some will be bored to death

I found myself both touched and disappointed in the story. First of all the reader was fantastic. He had to bring to life, dozens of characters of all genders and ages, and was able to give each a distinct, personality and believability.
Speaking of characterization, that was definitely, what I like best about the novel. So many different characters, and so many different points of view, I had no idea who I was supposed to root for. No heroes and no villains. I found the most central character of Peter should be quite repulsive, and then at the end began to feel guilty about my negative thoughts. All the characters were so evenly, balanced with bad and good, I wasn’t sure how to feel about them. I expected there to be humor because it was called a satire yet I did not Find any of it funny. In fact, it was more dark and depressing yet very emotional.
The thing I like least was, there was virtually no action in the story. When something did happen, it happened so quickly, I’d have to go back again to make sure I read correctly. the dialogue was extremely entertaining and well written, and yet I wanted something to happen!  the author, went into depth and colorful description for each of the characters, including minor ones, making me feel like I’ve known them all my life, but again describing them, and telling their thoughts aloud got a bit tiresome when nothing was happening. He also went into a lot of detail describing, the business of making a movie. To enjoy this one would need more than just a passing interest in cinematography. All in all I feel I did gain a deeper understanding of what goes on in Hollywood and I’m glad I read the story.