The New Heroes

The New Heroes (US series title: Quantum Prophecy) is a series of novels and short stories by Michael Carroll, first published in January 2006 by HarperCollins in the UK. The stories centre on realistic depictions of superhuman abilities manifesting in the world and the subsequent appearance of superheroes and villains. The first trilogy follows young adolescents as they become aware of their abilities and the danger that those powers may put them in. In December 2007, the author published a collection of short stories entitled Superhuman, which expanded upon the mythology.

The first in the original HarperCollins trilogy is titled The Quantum Prophecy (ISBN 978-0007210923, January 2006), the second is Sakkara (ISBN 978-0007210930, October 2006) and the third Absolute Power (ISBN 978-0007210947, July 2007). A prequel series has been completed, this series includes four novels, beginning with Super Human. The other three novels in the prequel series are: The Ascension, Stronger, and Hunter. Crossfire, released in October, 2015, is the first book of a third and final series that will consist of Crossfire and at least one more novel all taking place after the original trilogy. See: Future of the series.

The Quantum Prophecy

The first of the original trilogy.

Plot summary

The story opens with a seemingly random battle among the many superhumans that inhabited the western world, set ten years ago at the foot of a gigantic tank that was on its way to New York City. During the course of this slugfest, the superheroes and supervillains all seem to lose their abilities.

Ten years later, Colin Wagner and Danny Cooper, the children of these superhumans are discovering their abilities and they soon learn that they have also inherited their parents' enemies. The teenagers are kidnapped in order to calibrate the machine that might take away their powers and stop a war that was prophesied by Danny's father, the man once known as Quantum. Danny was believed to be the cause of this war, and so he allowed the supervillain known as Façade to take his place to let Maxwell Dalton record his visions of the future as he broke down. They had hoped to avert it by stripping the world of superpowers ten years ago, but the machine was destroyed and Danny's powers continued to manifest. The new machine would be unstable, and potentially kill hundreds of thousands of people, but it was a risk they were willing to take. With the help of old heroes, including the frozen in time Renata Soliz (Diamond), they stop this from happening and have those behind the plot taken away. By the end of the book, they realise how much risk is involved in becoming superhuman, with Danny's arm now missing, his real father dead, and many lives irrevocably changed.

US Title and Publishers

In the United States, the series was originally published by Philomel Books, as Quantum Prophecy, and so the titles of the books were changed. The series is to be republished by Puffin Books starting in 2008. The first is called The Awakening (ISBN 0399247254, April 2007 and ISBN 978-0-14-241179-7, May 2008).

Acclaim

The Quantum Prophecy was nominated for the Ottakar's 2006 Children's Book Prize.[1] The book received positive reviews from nearly all critics, but some criticised the kitsch marketing of the series.

The Gathering

The second of the New Heroes trilogy.

Plot summary

Sakkara revolves around the titular superpowers research facility in the heart of the United States. The adolescent superhumans of The Quantum Prophecy return. Their covers are blown and they are forced to flee to the US in order to protect themselves from attack and publicity. The facility that they hide in is thought to be secret, until its name is known around the world following a terrorist attack in which the supervillain-turned-assassin leaves the word "Sakkara" spraypainted on the wall of an airport after killing dozens of people. Someone among the "New Heroes" or "old heroes" has broken protocol, but everyone is a suspect. As more and more attacks begin to occur, the pattern emerges that they are going after Trutopians. Trutopians are an international organisation designed to give each of its members security and equality, but with reduced freedoms. It is revealed that they are run by the antagonist of the last novel, Victor Cross, who has his own ideas of international peace and wishes to impose them on the world.

US Title

The Gathering (ISBN 978-0399247262, July 2008)

Acclaim

Nominated for Best Novel in the British Science Fiction Association Awards in 2006.

The Reckoning

A direct continuation of the previous book.

Synopsis

Not so long ago, the world believed superhumans dead after a great battle wiped out heroes and villains alike. Ten years later, "The New Heroes", a group of second-generation youngsters possessing superhuman powers have emerged and are now faced with difficult decisions when their leader Colin Wagner runs away in the midst of a political attack from the globe-spanning Trutopian organization led, unknown to them, by their enemy Victor Cross and his accomplice Yvonne. The pair have begun to plant the seeds of a dark shadow game that will manipulate the heroes into a series of actions that threaten to throw the world into war. If the planet is to survive, the new heroes will have to fight harder than they have ever have before.

Plot summary

The lives of the teenagers have been changed forever, and they decide to proactively use their powers of their own free will, in order to better the world. Collin does not know that the Trutopians are led by Victor Cross and he soon finds himself under the spell of Yvonne's mind-control. Unable to resist Yvonne's orders Collin soon finds himself turned against his fellow heroes, fighting on the side of the very people he had vowed to bring to justice.

US Title

In the United States, Absolute Power, the third book in the series, is published under the title The Reckoning. (ISBN 978-0142415702, June 2010)

Superhuman

Superhuman is a collection of short stories set in the New Heroes universe. One story is long enough to be considered a novella, however. The author released the book exclusively through the New Heroes website in December 2007, and each one is signed and numbered. It is limited to 1,000 copies.

Stories

Below is a list of the individual stories contained in the book. The book also contains a number of articles, and has a foreword written by Michael Scott.

Super Human

A place-holder for the cover of a prequel to the events of the New Heroes trilogy called Super Human was released on the official New Heroes website. It was released May 13, 2010.

Plot summary

A mysterious group is trying to bring Krodin, a four-thousand-year-old super human, forward in time to control the modern world. The story begins with Abby, a seemingly average girl with the power of superhuman strength, but only with metal. She is in the middle of working at a dinner when a television report comes on about a siege at a nearby warehouse that a terrorist group is using to hold hostages. Abby rushes to the scene, along with a mysterious and quiet boy that would come to the dinner daily. Abby and the boy (who is revealed to be Thunder and has the power of sound wave manipulation) try to infiltrate the warehouse with the help of Paragon and the US Military.

The Ascension

Another prequel to the events of the New Heroes trilogy, and a sequel to Super Human, The Ascension was released summer 2011. The plot involves Krodin who has mysteriously survived death by being sent back in time by six years after his battle with Abby, Thunder, Roz and brawn. In the present the kids begin to notice changes in their America. It was released on June 30, 2011 and is the fifth book in the New Heroes series.

Stronger

The sixth book in the New Heroes series was released on June 14, 2012. It is the backstory of Brawn, a rather minor villain of the series up until this point.

All Gethin Rao wants is to be like every other boy his age. But normal twelve-year-olds aren't blue. And they certainly aren't thirteen feet tall. That's what happens when his superpowers kick in. And from that moment on, his life is never the same. Nicknamed Brawn and treated as a villain - a monster - Gethin spends years on the run or as a prisoner in a secret military facility. When he finally falls in with a group of superpowered teens he becomes the one thing he never thought he'd be: a hero. But as the years pass Gethin learns that being a good guy is a lot more difficult than he thought.

Hunter

The defeat of the near-invincible villain Krodin has left a void in the superhuman hierarchy, a void that two opposing factions are trying to fill. The powerful telepath Max Dalton believes that the human race must be controlled and shepherded to a safe future, while his rival Casey Duval believes that strength can only be achieved through conflict.

Caught in the middle is Lance McKendrick, a teenager with no special powers, only his wits and the tricks of a con artist. But Lance has a mission of his own: Krodin's ally, the violent and unpredictable supervillain Slaughter, murdered Lance's family, and he intends to make her pay.

Hunter was published in the US on May 1, 2014.

Crossfire

The world is slowly recovering from the chaos of the Trutopian War, but that was only the beginning. A dangerous enemy has emerged, and the New Heroes quickly find themselves outmatched and outnumbered. When their enemy starts to pick off their colleagues one-by-one, the realize that in order to win, they must fight the battle on the enemy's terms... But how far are they willing to go to save the human race?

Crossfire is the eighth book overall and is the first book of a final series taking place after the original trilogy. It was published world-wide in October, 2015.

Future of the series

As viewable on his website, Michael Carroll has said that there are ten books planned for the Quantum Prophecy series. After the original trilogy, there is the prequel series (with 4 novels) and then a follow up series. The first novel in this new series is "Crossfire", the other two novels do not have titles as of yet. After the new series is published the Quantum Prophecy Series will be complete.[2]

Heroes

New Heroes (Current series)

Heroes (Prequel Series)

Background Heroes

Villains

Villains throughout the novels:

References

  1. ↑ Description of The Quantum Prophecy
  2. ↑ http://www.michaelowencarroll.com/qp/questions.htm

External links

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