The Mad Scientist's Guide to World Domination: Original Short Fiction for the Modern Evil Genius

Bottom line first: This anthology IS worth your time and money. If you are a fan of SF (and if you are reading a review about this book, you are ...) this is a fun read, with enough good stories to keep you reading and asking for more. You THINK you know the plot - Evil mad scientist plots something big and horrible, complete with Lightning/sparks/robots/<add-your-own effect> and hero thwarts him. But these stories still manage to add twists and surprises (would you have guessed at a Political-science "Mad scientist" plotting world domination? I didn't think so.) In addition, Many stories add in a humor layer for extra fun. The one exception is Diana Gabaldon's story "The space between". Quality of writing aside (see below) this story, which takes up about 20% of the book, simply does not belong in this anthology, and sticks out like a sore thumb. "Mad Scientist" is a Science-Fiction concept. Fantasy-based stories struggle to fit. this story simply does not have any scientist or science, mad or otherwise. Even the sort-of-science mentioned (Alchemy) is really a very minor plot device, and while reading the story you keep asking yourself - why is this story here? I had the additional issue of simply not liking the way this story is written. I found it slow and long-winded, and I found myself fighting the urge to skip ahead and get to the point, if I could find it. I realize Ms. Gabaldon is a best-selling author with MANY fans, but it turns out I am not one of them - at least not by this story. I am an avid, compulsive reader. I wil read EVRYTHING. I read the labels on food containers at dinner. When I have to fight the urge to read LESS of a story, I know it's not my cup of tea. My taste - no offence to Ms. Gabaldon, and her many fans.

I was surprised at how good most of the stories were. I really enjoyed the different writing styles, and the way the authors portrayed evil geniuses under a new light. As a science fiction fan, I find it refreshing to see a new outlook in the whole concept of good vs evil. Most of the stories were solid (character description, plot, etc...), and captured my attention to the end, there were only a couple of them (I won't say which) I could've done without. And although I REALLY enjoyed Diana Gabaldon's The space between, I felt that it didn't belong in this anthology. Overall a really good book, I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys short stories and to those who were always rooting for the bad guy instead of the superhero!

Amusing read with no lack of "tongue in cheek" humor. It recounts the days of world threatening evil men and women who came into being in comic books, cartoons and SciFi pulp magazines. Our various evil doers did their best to overtake a confused frightened world and usually failed. Some continued to move forward against overwhelming odds but alas, history reveals that no caped villain has ever been sworn into higher office and his or her counterparts have not, as yet, been able to take control of our lives. If you were a SciFi buff in the 50s and 60s, get your copy of this book and chuckle along with the rest of us. For those of you born into the computer and instantaneous age of constant connection...well. I am not so sure born you would see the humor or even understand the desire to take over the world.

Are you a Villain Sympathizer!? Do you have delusions of grandeur? Stay up late night plotting a world takeover? Or perhaps find yourself with an insane cackle or a desire to create weapons of mass destruction!? You do!!? Well then The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Domination is EXACTLY the short fiction collection for you! Villains can make or break a book for me, and I think if I could picture myself in a story, I would so be a villain. They have the best toys, and the in my mind some outrageous looking nutso fun. Alright maybe up until they die anyhow. When I came across this collection, a little voice inside my head was chanting, please don’t suck, please don’t suck. Haha! Thankfully a mad genius must have compiled it because there was nary a story I didn’t enjoy. Be warned the content, style, and overall atmosphere of the stories vary greatly. Some are hilarious (Professor Incognito Apologizes: An Itemized List), others are dire and some can even be a bit crass. I was going to hash out and rate each individual story, but alas I got so wrapped up that I just couldn’t be bothered to stop between stories. Plus there is a nifty little description at the front of each so why should I ruin the fun for you. I can tell you this though, if the theme of the collection appeals to you, I have no doubt that it will be enjoyed. ​ What…you’re still here!? *Breaks out her mind control ray gun* – if you’re a fan of the super villain, mad scientists, or just like to root for the bad guy at times, The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Domination is a collection definitely worth its salt.​

I've read about half of this so far and feel that I can leave a positive review without worrying that the remainder of the book won't be as good as the first half. Great little stories, from a variety of perspectives and good quality writing throughout. Get this book... you won't be disappointed!

As I've said about another book that I've reviewed, many of the stories in this collection were fun to read. Some were lighthearted or humorous. Some were definitely more "dark", more along the lines of a horror story. Most were well written and most of the story lines and plots were quite good. Of course, since this was a collection of short stories by different authors, my ratings of individual stories would range from so-so to really excellent and entertaining; some were enthralling, some gripping. I thought that most were at minimum "pretty good", worth reading. For a reader who enjoys fantasies of all kinds, this was a good read, and mostly a fun read. Very enjoyable. I hope that another collection like this is forthcoming.

Diana Galbadon's Outlander has started an obsession with me. I have to know about all the character's in her books. In this collection she tells us about Joan and Michael. It is so good that I hope she starts a spin off book based on them. I am sure the rest of the stories are just as good, but I only have eyes for Galbadon at this time and it is definitely worth the read.

A mostly mediocre collection of stories, with a few which actually had good twists on the mad scientist concept. Highlights: Laughter at the Academy - Seanan McGuire Ancient Equations - L.A. Banks Clunkers: The Space Between - Diana Gabaldon The Pittsburgh Technology - Jeffrey Ford The Food Taster's Boy - Ben H. Winters The blurbs before each story were also very annoying, and often gave away plot elements which should not have been revealed. And after each story, the editor made sure to plug as many of his anthologies as possible.

This was actually a very good anthology. But, somewhat predictably and unfortunately, it got hit hard by a few mediocre yet very lengthy pieces. Rather than wasting bits & bytes upon such stuff, let me enumerate those pieces which I loved. They were: 1. Seanan McGuire's 'Laughter at the Academy'; 2. Daniel H. Wilson's 'The Executor'; 3. Theodora Goss's 'The Mad Scientist's Daughter'; 4. Carrie Vaughn's 'Harry and Marlowe Meet the founder of the Aetherian Revolution'; 5. Laird Barron's 'Blood and Stardust'; The rest were good, but seemed to be dragging on rather excessively, in the name of character development etc. Also, the humour quotient was decidedly low. Nevertheless, it was a good anthology overall.

A mad anthology: every story inside takes you on a different route that leads to the same ending: a bloody good time. Complex, entertaining takes of genius twisted and deformed, sharpened and brilliant, horrifying and inhuman. It'd be mad to miss this one!

I only got this book for the diana gabaldon bit. Haven't read the rest yet but I will when I've feel in the mood for it

The book is very fun to read. It offers a new prospective of the supervillains. The way it is composed is nice, however I didn't like reading the editor's introduction to each story before reading it. It took away some of the mystery in the story

I really liked this compilation. Stories are diverse and entertaining. The book arrived quickly and in terrific shape and I will be keeping this one in my collection of favourites. :-)