Video: Class Heroes Book Series Trailer

Stephen Henning has created four new short films to promote his Class Heroes YA series about teenaged twins who gain superpowers in an accident.

I've read and reviewed all of the books so far (A Class Apart, What Happened in Witches Wood, London Belongs to the Alchemist and the novella Where's Lolly).  You can buy the books via Amazon, the first one is free.  Just a warning, the third book ends on a cliffhanger.

The first of the videos is now up on youtube and gives a general introduction to the series and each of the books:



The other three videos will come out over the next three weeks and introduce each of the protagonists: Sam (Samantha), James and Lolly.

This isn't the first set of videos the author has created, he's done a series of fake news reports surrounding the events of the books, which you can also find on his youtube channel, White Hat Films.

Here's the synopsis for book 1, A Class Apart:

Teenage twins James and Samantha Blake are caught up in a seemingly random terrorist bombing while on a school trip. Many of their friends are killed. When the twins wake up in hospital, their lives have changed forever.

The doctors are amazed at the speed with which James and Sam recover from their injuries and, when the twins begin to exhibit extraordinary powers, it is obvious that something incredible has happened.

As James and Sam attempt to overcome their fears and embrace their new abilities, a series of murders and disappearances start plaguing the hospital. The twins aren't the only ones with special abilities and it becomes apparent that someone is coming for them.

Will James and Sam be able to survive the nightmare into which they have been plunged? Who, or what, is behind the murders at the hospital? And was that terrorist incident quite so random after all?

Book Review: London Belongs to the Alchemist by Stephen Henning

Pros: fast paced, multiple plotlines, real consequences for decisions, lots of plot twists

Cons:

For Parents: kissing, drug use (with consequences), bullying, gun violence, rioting

Sam and James are back in London returning to school for the first time since the bus bombing that gave them their powers and killed several of their classmates.  They’re coerced into attending a party run by the Alchemist, who hands out a new drug called Super D and falls for Sam.  Back at school the twins face bullying and their world is turned upside down when Lolly Rosewood comes calling.

This book has a bit of everything: drugs, guns, first love, grounding, bullying, and more.  It stays age appropriate, though things get bloodier than I’d expected.  Seeing the characters make difficult decisions and then deal with the consequences keeps things real.

Everything’s fast paced and several plotlines interweave to create a complex story where it’s hard to guess what’s going to happen next.

Lolly’s plot arc was very surprising, both in how she was treated by others and also in her personal growth by the end of the story.

This is the 4th book in the Class Heroes series, but not the last, as there are aspects of the story left open at the end of this novel.

Novella Review: Where’s Lolly? by Stephen Henning

This is a novella that takes place after Class Heroes book 2, What Happened in Witches Wood.  While it is possible to read this without reading the 2 novels that precede it, this novella does somewhat spoil aspects of the second book’s ending. 

The story focuses on Lolly Rosewood, on the run from the police, in London, looking for help after the events of book 2.  The story’s fast paced, and involves lying, sex and bad decisions.

Due to her loss of powers, Lolly’s more sympathetic here than in the novels, though she does make choices that make you forget how young she is.

It’s a fun, quick read.  And while you can read it as a stand-alone, those who have read the novels will obviously get more out of it.

Book Review: What Happened in Witches Wood by Stephen Henning

Pros: interesting characters, compelling story, quick pacing 

Cons: Stannard asks others to do illegal things

For Parents: no sexual content or swearing, a decent amount of violence (shootings, beatings, attacks using superpowers - deaths, when they happen, are off page)

What Happened in Witches Wood is the second book in the Class Heroes trilogy.  If you don't want spoilers, check out my review of book 1, A Class Apart.  The author has also done some creative news reports that act as a prequel for this book.  You can learn about ghost sightings in Witches Wood, and about earning money as a drug test subject for G-Netik.

Fourteen year old twins Sam and James are living with their mom at their Grandparent's farm after their hosptial stay in London.  Their dad's censure on using powers doesn't hold up under his absence and the twin's boredom, and so Sam uses her superpowers to run into town.  She witnesses a pair of men rob the post office and can't let them get away.  Her decision puts her in the path of Sir Michael Rosewood, millionnaire and CEO of G-Netik, a local genetics laboratory.  He's also the father of a creepy young woman named Lolly, whom the kids saw in London in connection to their bombed school bus.

Meanwhile, the woods outside their house plays host to various ghost hunters, looking for the ghost of their dead aunt.  A girl who looks a lot like Sam.

Told in a series of very short chapters, this book hooks you and never lets you go.  Jumping between viewpoints allows you to know what everyone's doing and thinking while making the plot speed by. 

The characters were interesting.  A few times I wished the twins would figure something out faster, but then I would remind myself that they're 14 and wouldn't necessarily see the connects the way an adult would.  And they solved Katie's mystery before me, so...  

I was amazed by the complexity of Sir Michael's opperation and how quickly he arranges things with the twins.  His powers were creepy, and make it understandable why those without powers would fear those with them.

There's a decent amount of violence in the book, mostly dealing with superpowers (people being beaten up, fire, telepathy).  While there are accounts of death, the death scene itself is always off page.

My only major complaint with the book was that Detective Inspector Stannard keeps asking other people to do dangerous and illegal things to further her investigation.  Considering she's supposed to be on the side of justice, her putting other people's lives on the line for evidence she can't even use (at least not in court) was surprising, and made me question her motives.

While tying up most of the loose ends, the book did leave a few things open for a third volume.

Free Kindle ebooks: Class Heroes

Author Stephen Henning is letting readers get their hands on both of his books, A Class Apart and What Happened in Witches Wood for free on February 5th and 6th.  This only applies to the Amazon kindle editions, but if you don't have a kindle you can still read the books on other devices that allow apps.  The links are to the US editions, but this offer includes the UK editions as well.  I believe Canadian accounts can still get the US book from that site, but I know they've made some changes so don't quote me on that.

I read and really enjoyed A Class Apart, and What Happened in Witches Wood is on my soon to be read pile.

Here's the synopsis for book one, to whet your appetite.

Teenage twins James and Samantha Blake are caught up in a seemingly random terrorist bombing while on a school trip. Many of their friends are killed. When the twins wake up in hospital, their lives have changed forever.

The doctors are amazed at the speed with which James and Sam recover from their injuries and, when the twins begin to exhibit extraordinary powers, it is obvious that something incredible has happened.

As James and Sam attempt to overcome their fears and embrace their new abilities, a series of murders and disappearances start plaguing the hospital. The twins aren't the only ones with special abilities and it becomes apparent that someone is coming for them.

Will James and Sam be able to survive the nightmare into which they have been plunged? Who, or what, is behind the murders at the hospital? And was that terrorist incident quite so random after all?

Book Review: A Class Apart by Stephen Henning

Pros: very interesting characters, good pacing, fair amount of suspense and action, compelling

Cons: story jumps between heads a lot, actions seem sped up at times

For Parents: some violence and deaths, no language or sexual content

The school bus 14 year old twins James and Samantha Blake are on is bombed, while returning from a field trip.  The survivors are taken to Brent Valley General Hospital where strange things start happening.  The twins discover they have somehow developed super powers and that someone is after them.

Despite the media blackout surrounding the hospital, Jasmin Sharma of 24/7 Interactive News is going for a big story and she doesn't care what laws she has to break or who she has to cozy up to in order to get it.

The twins are interesting protagonists, and Mr. Henning does a good job of showing their good and bad sides (how Sam is bullied but won't fight back, how James is popular but feels like he should do more to protect his less popular sister).  Even more interesting - mostly due to her duplitious nature - is Jasmin.  She's beautiful, intelligent and ruthless.  Minor characters are also fairly well fleshed out, giving the story nice depth.

In many ways this reminded me of the X-Men storyline that introduced Kitty Pride (the Dark Phoenix Saga).  The kids doubt their sanity when odd things happen and only slowly realize that they now have special abilities.

The pacing is good, with time for the characters to question what's going on in the hospital and for action packed scenes, making the book hard to put down.  The climax itself is pulse pounding if a bit over the top.

While jumping between heads to know what everyone is thinking was common in the past, most writing advice guides now recommend page breaks if you're going to change heads, in order to maintain clarity.  I had no problem following the jumps but other readers may find the technique confusing.

There were a few scenes where the action seemed sped up.  For example there's a scene where Sam is trying to put out a fire.  The implication is that she's trying hard to do this for several minutes, and yet she manages to successfully put it out in the same sentence that explains how hard this is for her. 

In the end it was a quick, fun read.  And while the book ties up one plot arc, there is definitely more to the story. 

Book Excerpt - A Class Apart

I don't normally read self-published books (I'm a bit of a snob that way, I find most of the ones I've seen have been rife with grammatical errors and/or in severe need of editing).  So it's with great pleasure that I post this excerpt from Stephen Henning's self-published novel, A Class Apart.  I'll be posting my review of it tomorrow, but wanted to show off its prologue (with the permission of the author), which was so well written I agreed to give the book a chance.  The rest of the novel is just as well written, and is the start of a series involving teens who acquire super powers.

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Prologue

Sunday 12 June

Samantha Blake sat up in her hospital bed. She tried to read the article about her on the 24/7 Interactive News website, but her eyes kept flicking nervously to the door of her private room. Nobody was there.

      The article had been updated only five minutes ago. It was chilling and surreal to read about the events that she was experiencing – as they were actually happening. The text flowed across the screen of her phone.

      Breaking News – School Bus Bombing – Were Twins Targeted?

      Fears that teenage twins were targeted in terror attack, amid reports of SECOND strike in victims’ hospital!

      Sam could feel her heart thumping and her pulse quickening as she read the piece. Targeted? Really? Her and James? They must be the twins referred to, as there hadn’t been any others on the coach. Surely the bombing hadn’t been an attack on them? It was stupid! Who would want to target them?

      Sam looked around nervously. The report claimed there been an attack on the hospital. Within the isolation of these four walls, she had heard nothing, seen nothing. She was alone, but she could almost imagine an assassin in the bathroom, or a bomb under her bed. She had no way of being sure, because she could not move from the bed or leave the room. She wished her brother, James, was here.

      Eight days ago it had been their 14th birthday. They’d had a big party with all their school friends. Many of them were no longer alive.

      Now she lay in this hospital bed, cold, alone, scared and hungry.

      She scrolled further down the page. There was another video report, but this one was from three hours ago.

      Mystery Death Dive at Bomb Survivors’ Hospital

      Bosses refuse to confirm whether a teenage boy has fallen out of 36th-storey window at Brent Valley General

      Sam watched the video, her heart in her mouth. The reporter was standing outside the hospital, pointing at fragments of glass on the ground and a broken window at the top of the huge building. The reporter said that eyewitnesses had claimed that a body had come through the window, although the whereabouts of the body was unknown and unexplained.

      Three hours ago, James had told her he was heading up to the 36th floor. That was the last she had heard from him. Could it have been James who had fallen out of the window?

      Sam jumped in fright. Through the glass panels in her door, she saw a shape. A figure in the corridor. She couldn’t see who it was. Friend or enemy?

      Samantha Blake shrank down into her bed. Even with the amazing things that she could do, she had reason to be fearful.

      The door opened, and Sam breathed a sigh of relief. It was a friend. Everything was ok.

      And then all of a sudden, it wasn’t...

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The Author has also set up some cool websites, one for the book itself, one for 24/7 Interactive News (with a few 'news broadcasts') and a blog written by the twins.