Book picks similar to
The Astounding Antagonists by Rafael Chandler
superhero
superheroes
fiction
super-heroes
Heroine Complex
Sarah Kuhn - 2016
Working for one is even harder.Evie Tanaka is the put-upon personal assistant to Aveda Jupiter, her childhood best friend and San Francisco's most beloved superheroine. She's great at her job—blending into the background, handling her boss's epic diva tantrums, and getting demon blood out of leather pants.Unfortunately, she's not nearly as together when it comes to running her own life, standing up for herself, or raising her tempestuous teenage sister, Bea.But everything changes when Evie's forced to pose as her glamorous boss for one night, and her darkest secret comes out: she has powers, too. Now it's up to her to contend with murderous cupcakes, nosy gossip bloggers, and supernatural karaoke battles—all while juggling unexpected romance and Aveda's increasingly outrageous demands. And when a larger threat emerges, Evie must finally take charge and become a superheroine in her own right... or see her city fall to a full-on demonic invasion.
Cassidy Jones and the Secret Formula
Elise Stokes - 2010
An alternate cover edition can be found here.Cassidy Jones is your typical teenager-- that is, until a seemingly harmless accident in the laboratory of a world-renowned geneticist turns her world upside down.Discovering incredible strength, speed, and enhanced physical senses that defy logic, Cassidy embarks on an action-packed adventure that has her fighting for answers...and for her very life.Don't miss the other action-packed books in Cassidy Jones Adventures! Cassidy Jones and Vulcan's Gift, Book TwoCassidy Jones and the Seventh Attendant, Book ThreeCassidy Jones and the Luminous, Book FourCassidy Jones and the Eternal Flame, Book Five
We Could Be Villains
Missy Meyer - 2014
Besides, she has her own problems to worry about: her career isn’t going anywhere, she doesn’t have a boyfriend (or any prospects), and most of her weekends are spent escaping into video games that are way more thrilling than anything that will ever happen to her. And worst of all, her thirtieth birthday is right around the corner. But everything changes the day she runs into Nate—a chance encounter with a handsome stranger that turns her quiet life upside down and throws her into the middle of a world of heroes, villains, and adventure. In We Could Be Villains, Sarah learns that there’s a very hazy line between the good guys and the bad guys. With the help of an unexpected journey, a motley team of professionals, and some eye-opening backstory about the heroes she’s grown up watching, Sarah just might find the job, romance, and excitement she’s been waiting for.
Sensation
Kevin Hardman - 2013
Unlike most of his contemporaries, however, Jim actually had the goods: a plethora of super powers that would have been the envy of any meta on the planet. But when his tryout with the Alpha League - the world's premiere group of supers - goes disastrously wrong, Jim basically becomes an outcast. Two years later, Jim is still bitter about what happened to him. However, he soon finds himself the centerpiece in an odd turn of events that gives him a second chance at his dream. But nothing is as easy as it sounds, as Jim soon discovers. Among other things, he’s made an enemy of a prospective super teammate, he’s being stalked by an unknown pursuer, and a shadowy cabal bent on world domination has identified him as the only obstacle to their plans. It’s a lot for one super to handle, even with a smorgasbord of abilities. But if saving the world were easy, everyone would do it…
Metamorphosis
Kevin Rau - 2011
The meteor shower that altered the heroes also mutated many others in Metrocity, causing a scene of chaos at Iron Cross General Hospital as Lance and Stephanie are captured by law enforcement, and Rael must free them.The friends join the Homeland Extraordinary Response Organization (H.E.R.O.), and seek to stop a mutant named Shrinker as she gathers new supers to build an army of bloodthirsty mutants in her plan to cause anarchy. Her evil squad kidnaps normal humans to feed those mutants, and it becomes a race against time to find the anarchists before they murder the people.While searching for the villain's base of operations, the group must learn their powers and overcome the problems associated with telepathy, a strong blood thirst, and strength capable of crushing steel under one’s fingers. They also begin to take part as heroes in the city, and discover that having powers is not as easy as it appears - in heroic actions or in normal life.H.E.R.O. – Metamorphosis is the first novel in a growing series of action-based superhero novels based on the Metrocity division of H.E.R.O. It acts as the introductory novel to the supers and how three of the main characters fight crime and deal with disasters in the city. The novel leads the way into the H.E.R.O. series as a growing roster of H.E.R.O. agents take part in various events and disasters.H.E.R.O. – Metamorphosis is a full-length novel of approximately 122,000 words. An preview is included of the first five chapters of H.E.R.O. – New Markets as a bonus.The ongoing series currently consists of these novels (as of early 2012):H.E.R.O. - MetamorphosisH.E.R.O. - New MarketsH.E.R.O. - Rise and FallH.E.R.O. - Dark ResearchH.E.R.O. - HordeH.E.R.O. - ParagonH.E.R.O. - Illustrated Guide (behind-the-scenes book w/pictures of characters, doesn't fit into a specific order in the series)H.E.R.O. Shorts - GatecrasherH.E.R.O. Shorts - SilverlashH.E.R.O. - Gene Front (coming soon)“I'm half way through the last book, Horde ... the characters have become like friends and I don't want to leave them. Thank you, Kevin, for writing this series. I felt like a kid again reading it. The series can be summed up in one word, ‘FUN.’” - Dale R. Bille“… I just couldn't stop flipping the pages of HERO.This book is smoothly written. It flows well, and although the story isn't groundbreaking, it has its own brand of charm. It has all the cool super hero stuff you want, and the 3 main super heroes are very well fleshed out. Their internal dialogues and character development are really what gives this book a (super) leg up on other similar novels.” – Gregory Ciallella“This was fun to read, and if you're a twenty-something then you'll enjoy the characters and their relationships. Action like X-men, romance like Twilight, bloodier than both but nothing too serious.” – Geeky guy"Greatest superhero book series ever..." - Taylor Robbins
Velveteen vs. The Junior Super Patriots
Seanan McGuire - 2012
But when you had once been Velveteen, child super-heroine and one of The Junior Super Patriots, West Coast Division, you were never going to be free, even if your only power was to bring toys to life. The Marketing Department would be sure of that.So it all came down to this. One young woman and an army of misfit toys vs. the assembled might of the nine members of The Junior Super Patriots, West Coast Division who had come to take her down.They never had a chance.Velveteen lives in a world of super-heroes and magic, where men can fly and where young girls can be abducted to the Autumn Land to save Halloween. Velma lives from paycheck to paycheck and copes with her broken-down car as she tries to escape from her old life.It's all the same world. It's all real. And figuring out how to be both Velveteen and Velma is the biggest challenge of her life, because being super-human means you’re still human in the end.Join us as award-winning author Seanan McGuire takes us through the first volume of Velveteen's — and Velma's — adventure.
The Rise of Renegade X
Chelsea M. Campbell - 2010
But when he discovers the shameful secret she's been hiding all these years, that the one-night stand that spawned him was actually with a superhero, everything gets messed up. His father's too moral for his own good, so when he finds out Damien exists, he actually wants him to come live with him and his goody-goody superhero family. Damien gets shipped off to stay with them in their suburban hellhole, and he has only six weeks to prove he's not a hero in any way, or else he's stuck living with them for the rest of his life, or until he turns eighteen, whichever comes first.To get out of this mess, Damien has to survive his dad's "flying lessons" that involve throwing him off the tallest building in the city--despite his nearly debilitating fear of heights--thwarting the eccentric teen scientist who insists she's his sidekick, and keeping his supervillain girlfriend from finding out the truth. But when Damien uncovers a dastardly plot to turn all the superheroes into mindless zombie slaves, a plan hatched by his own mom, he discovers he cares about his new family more than he thought. Now he has to choose: go back to his life of villainy and let his family become zombies, or stand up to his mom and become a real hero.
Masked
Lou AndersMike Carey - 2010
This brilliant new collection features original stories and novellas from some of today’s most exciting voices in comics, science fiction, and fantasy. Each marvelously inventive tale shows us just how far our classic crusaders have evolved—and how the greatest of heroes are, much like ourselves, all too human. In “Call Her Savage,” MARJORIE M. LIU enters the dark heart of a fierce mythic heroine who is forced, by war, to live up to her own terrible legend. In “A to Z in the Ultimate Big Company Superhero Universe (Villains Too),” BILL WILLINGHAM presents a fully-realized vision of a universe where epic feats and tragic flaws have transformed the human race. In “Vacuum Lad,” STEPHEN BAXTER unveils the secret origins of the first true child of the space age—and disproves the theory that “nothing exists in a vacuum.” In “Head Cases,” PETER DAVID and KATHLEEN DAVID blast through the blogosphere to expose the secret longings of a Lonely Superhero Wife. In “The Non-Event,” MIKE CAREY removes the gag order on a super-thief named Lockjaw . . . and pries out a confession of life-altering events. Also includes stories by Mike Baron • Mark Chadbourn • Paul Cornell • Daryl Gregory • Joseph Mallozzi • James Maxey • Ian McDonald • Chris Roberson • Gail Simone • Matthew Sturges . . . and an introduction by Lou Anders, “one of the brightest and best of the new generation of science fiction editors” (Jonathan Strahan, The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year).
Just Cause
Ian Thomas Healy - 2007
Mustang Sally runs. A third-generation superhero, Sally's life changes forever when she fights and loses to the notorious villain Destroyer, who killed her father just before she was born. She dedicates herself to tracking him down so she can even the score.When all you can do is run, you'd better be fast, but can even the fastest girl in the world run quick enough to save her teammates' lives from Destroyer and his growing parahuman army?
Enemies & Allies
Kevin J. Anderson - 2009
Anderson. One of today’s most popular writers pits the iconic superheroes against Lex Luthor and the Soviets—and each other—in a spellbinding story of destiny and duty set against the backdrop of America’s Cold War era.
Avengers vs. X-Men Omnibus
Brian Michael Bendis - 2012
Magneto! Spider-Man vs. Colossus! Captain America vs. Gambit! And more! Plus: For the first time ever in print, Marvel's groundbreaking Infinite Comics are collected, revealing key events through the eyes of Marvel's major players. It's Marvel's biggest event ever - but will the Avengers or the X-Men emerge triumphant?Collecting: Avengers vs. X-Men 0-12, AVX: VS 1-6, Avengers vs. X-Men: Infinite 1, 6, 10, & materiel from Point One
The Refrigerator Monologues
Catherynne M. Valente - 2017
A ferocious riff on women in superhero comics.A series of linked stories from the points of view of the wives and girlfriends of superheroes, female heroes, and anyone who’s ever been “refrigerated”: comic book women who are killed, raped, brainwashed, driven mad, disabled, or had their powers taken so that a male superhero’s storyline will progress.
NextWave: Agents of H.A.T.E., Vol. 1: This is What They Want
Warren Ellis - 2006
(a subsidiary of the Beyond Corporation®) put NextWave together to fight Bizarre Weapons of Mass Destruction. When NextWave discovers that H.A.T.E. and Beyond are terrorist cells themselves, and that the BWMDs were intended to kill them, they are less than pleased. In fact, they are rather angry. So they make things explode. Lots of things. Starring Monica Rambeau (formerly Captain Marvel and Photon), Aaron Stack (Machine Man), Tabitha Smith (X-Force's Meltdown), monster-hunter Elsa Bloodstone and the Captain! Guest-starring Fin Fang Foom!Collecting: NextWave: Agents of H.A.T.E. 1-6
Arena Mode
Blake Northcott - 2013
Until one morning, after a dangerous fall lands him in the emergency room, he discovers that a tumor is pressing against his brain.Unable to afford experimental but potentially life-saving surgery, Moxon takes drastic action; he volunteers for Arena Mode: 2041's most vicious sporting event, where thirteen superhumans fight in an urban combat zone for a multi-billion dollar prize.Moxon is forced to battle opponents possessing ungodly speed, strength, and abilities once thought to exist only across the pages of superhero comics - and he's armed with nothing more than his rapidly-diminishing brain cells.With the odds stacked impossibly against him, Moxon fights to not only survive the wrath of the other competitors, but to unlock the mysteries buried within the Arena itself.Discover the series that has been nominated for the prestigious BSFA Award (Arena Mode, Best Novel of 2013), has been ranked #1 on Amazon in the US and the UK (Arena Mode, Superhero and Dystopian categories, May 2015) and is currently part of the high school curriculum in the state of Florida.
Karma Girl
Jennifer Estep - 2007
An intrepid reporter, Carmen's dedicated her life to unmasking the spandexwearers, all because her fianc? turned out to be a superhero, and a cheating one at that-sleeping with none other than his nubile nemesis. Exposing the true identities of the nation's caped crusaders and their archenemies has catapulted Carmen from her sleepy southern hometown to the front pages of the country's biggest newspaper, "The Expos?." Hobnobbing with millionaires and famished fashionistas is all in a day's work for a woman on the trail of the Fearless Five and Terrible Triad. But when Carmen gets the scoop of her career, her life comes crashing down around her. And even Bigtime's sexiest superhero, Striker, may not be able to save her.