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Phenomenons: Season of Darkness
Inspired by the rise of the Phenomenons, costumed heroes who fight the good fight on behalf of the common man, society has begun to climb out of the depression into which it was plunged by the financial crisis of 2008.
The Captains of Industry—the richest men and women in the United States, who’ve been capitalizing on the misfortunes of others to expand their formidable economic and political power—strike back at the Phenomenons, attacking them with an army of shadowy henchmen. But they don’t stop there. They go after the heroes’ miraculous powers as well, making them erratic, unpredictable, and in some cases causing them to vanish altogether.
The Captains of Industry gloat over their adversaries’ misfortunes—until they see that they’re not safe either. More and more, it seems an even greater and more villainous entity is pulling the Captains’ strings, with no compunctions about sacrificing them in the process.
Who is this mysterious and fearsome figure? What do they want? And to what lengths will they go to carry out their unholy agenda?
From the streets of the city to the wintry northlands of Wisconsin to secret bunkers in the nation’s capital, the Phenomenons band together, taking courage from new allies and old—hoping it will help them survive this most brutal season of darkness!
In creating the Phenomenons, we’re buoyed by the considerable talents of some of the most inventive science fiction and fantasy writers Ilsa J. Bick. Michael A. Burstein. Russ Colchamiro. Peter David. Keith R.A. DeCandido. D.H. Eisenberg. Mary Fan. Michael Jan Friedman. Robert Greenberger. Glenn Hauman. Dan Hernandez. Paul Kupperberg. Aaron Rosenberg. Hildy Silverman. Geoffrey Thorne. Marie Vibbert.
If you love super-heroes, you’ll love the world of the Phenomenons!
The Captains of Industry—the richest men and women in the United States, who’ve been capitalizing on the misfortunes of others to expand their formidable economic and political power—strike back at the Phenomenons, attacking them with an army of shadowy henchmen. But they don’t stop there. They go after the heroes’ miraculous powers as well, making them erratic, unpredictable, and in some cases causing them to vanish altogether.
The Captains of Industry gloat over their adversaries’ misfortunes—until they see that they’re not safe either. More and more, it seems an even greater and more villainous entity is pulling the Captains’ strings, with no compunctions about sacrificing them in the process.
Who is this mysterious and fearsome figure? What do they want? And to what lengths will they go to carry out their unholy agenda?
From the streets of the city to the wintry northlands of Wisconsin to secret bunkers in the nation’s capital, the Phenomenons band together, taking courage from new allies and old—hoping it will help them survive this most brutal season of darkness!
In creating the Phenomenons, we’re buoyed by the considerable talents of some of the most inventive science fiction and fantasy writers Ilsa J. Bick. Michael A. Burstein. Russ Colchamiro. Peter David. Keith R.A. DeCandido. D.H. Eisenberg. Mary Fan. Michael Jan Friedman. Robert Greenberger. Glenn Hauman. Dan Hernandez. Paul Kupperberg. Aaron Rosenberg. Hildy Silverman. Geoffrey Thorne. Marie Vibbert.
If you love super-heroes, you’ll love the world of the Phenomenons!
270 pages, Paperback
Published January 6, 2023
About the author
Michael Jan Friedman
374 books209 followersMichael Jan Friedman is an author of more than seventy books of fiction and nonfiction, half of which are in the Star Trek universe. Eleven of his titles have appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list. Friedman has also written for network and cable television and radio, and scripted nearly 200 comic books, including his original DC superhero series, the Darkstars.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 12, 2026
note: I was a kickstarter backer for this book
With the Phenomenons books, Crazy Eight has created a super hero anthology that takes place in our world like George R R Martin's Wild Cards series. The main difference is that Wild Cards reads to me as incredibly grimdark; maybe because it was started in the 1980s? The other big difference is that there's definitely more of a liberal bent to Phenomenons. That might make you more likely to read it, more likely to avoid it, or you might feel indifferent about that. Interestingly, both anthology series mostly take place in New York City.
In this volume each story carries the overall story forward in an almost overlapping way. It made the 2 or 3 stories that seemed more standalone really stand out. I haven't read volume 3 yet, but since I haven't seen any new Kickstarters recently, perhaps this was always meant to be a trilogy rather than a long-lived series like Wild Cards.
Since we're in the second volume, the authors have more room to expand on the characters rather than introduce us to them and their powers. This makes this book a more compelling narrative than the first volume. However, as the second book in the trilogy (or more?) the overarching story is left incomplete. You'll likely enjoy each of the entries on their own, but you won't get a final resolution on the main antagonist or what their overarching plan is. (Although the final story gives some very compelling hints)
It would be a bit odd to jump straight into this book, so I'll say that if you enjoyed volume 1, you'll likely enjoy volume 2 even more since we get deeper into the characters.
With the Phenomenons books, Crazy Eight has created a super hero anthology that takes place in our world like George R R Martin's Wild Cards series. The main difference is that Wild Cards reads to me as incredibly grimdark; maybe because it was started in the 1980s? The other big difference is that there's definitely more of a liberal bent to Phenomenons. That might make you more likely to read it, more likely to avoid it, or you might feel indifferent about that. Interestingly, both anthology series mostly take place in New York City.
In this volume each story carries the overall story forward in an almost overlapping way. It made the 2 or 3 stories that seemed more standalone really stand out. I haven't read volume 3 yet, but since I haven't seen any new Kickstarters recently, perhaps this was always meant to be a trilogy rather than a long-lived series like Wild Cards.
Since we're in the second volume, the authors have more room to expand on the characters rather than introduce us to them and their powers. This makes this book a more compelling narrative than the first volume. However, as the second book in the trilogy (or more?) the overarching story is left incomplete. You'll likely enjoy each of the entries on their own, but you won't get a final resolution on the main antagonist or what their overarching plan is. (Although the final story gives some very compelling hints)
It would be a bit odd to jump straight into this book, so I'll say that if you enjoyed volume 1, you'll likely enjoy volume 2 even more since we get deeper into the characters.
Displaying 1 of 1 review