Alumni Bookshelf

This book is filled with stories of good and evil and love and war, but beware! Readers have reported losing themselves within the pages of this book. Be careful, for your life will change in ways that are most extraordinary and unanticipated! Jake reads this strange warning, having no clue as to the true meaning of these words in the battered book his uncle gives him. As Jake opens up the pages, he finds himself living in two worlds. In the present day, Jake goes to school, plays with his friends, and devours books. However, whenever he reads from his uncle’s book, he is transported to medieval Aquitaine, where he becomes Jacques. A boy of a Noble House, destined to accomplish great things, meeting the mysterious Amanda who shows him a world full of infinite possibilities in a kingdom on the brink of war. As he reads the book, Jake begins to wonder if it is possible for a reader and a character to fall in love with each other.

Why did Robin Laughlin (aka Failstate) think being a superhero on a reality show would be a good idea again? Things seemed so simple: win the show, become an official, licensed hero. But with his brother, Ben (aka Gauntlet) stealing America’s heart and his own powers proving too unwieldy even for the monitored studio challenges, Robin begins to wonder if his calling isn’t to save the world after all. Until one of his competitors is murdered. Vowing to find the killer, Robin sets out on a very real quest to unmask the hidden villain. Can Robin find justice? Or will his lunk of a big brother ruin everything?

A young superhero. A legend reborn. And a whole mess of zombies. Failstate (aka Robin Laughlin) thought his life would get easier after he’d earned his superhero license. But now a legendary superhero has returned from the dead…along with a horde of shambling horrors who want to eat his brains. New Chayton’s other licensed heroes are indisposed, meaning that the whole weight of protecting the city has fallen on Failstate. And nobody thinks he’s up to the challenge. At least he has help from his older brother, Gauntlet, and his best friend, Veritas. Or does he? As if the zombie apocalypse weren’t enough, complicating things are not one but two beautiful girls vying for Failstate/Robin’s affections—and his own powers are doing something…interesting. In the superhero business, interesting is bad. Legends walk the streets of New Chayton. If Failstate can somehow survive the next few weeks, he could become one of them.

Abaddon will destroy you all! Robin Laughlin (a.k.a. the superhero Failstate) has finally achieved his dream. Not only is he a licensed vigilante, but he’s respected by his fellow heroes, feared by criminals, and he’s finally achieved peace in his family, especially with his brother, Ben (a.k.a. the superhero Gauntlet). That, plus the love of his girlfriend, Charlene, has made life good. But then Failstate learns a secret about his father. Rather than the loving family man he remembers, Failstate’s father was a criminal who got himself killed when he crossed the wrong people. Before he can process this new information, he receives a warning that a villain named Abaddon is coming to New Chayton. The message is all the more disturbing since it’s delivered by Lux. She died in Failstate’s arms a year earlier. How can she possibly be alive? Those mysteries will have to wait, though, as Abaddon storms New Chayton, strewing death and destruction in his wake. But he’s not the only newcomer. Unusual heroes are appearing throughout the city. Can Failstate get to the bottom of the reappearance of Lux, the influx of new heroes, and the truth behind his father’s past–all while keeping Abaddon at bay? Abaddon may prove to be Failstate’s greatest nemesis. But what will Failstate have to sacrifice along the way?