Freaks Anon by Matt Darst

by Matt Darst

Collection notices. Disapproving looks. Sleeping in a van. Life’s hard for wannabe superhero. Things get harder still when Centurion’s sidekick, Henry, dies.The police say Henry’s death was an accident. Centurion knows better. Henry’s death is part of a bigger pattern. Someone’s murdering children, kids with extraordinary psychic and physical abilities, across the South and Midwest.He needs to find the killer fast. In Chicago, his prime suspect has already set her sights on friends Astrid and Kim. But these teens aren’t like anything he’s ever seen. They’re special. Like Henry.Centurion will face spies, monsters, and the ultimate the Chicago auto pound. If he doesn’t watch out, he might just find he’s the one in need of saving.Freaks Anon is a paranormal superhero tale. Included with the novel is the dystopian short story Monument. All proceeds from the sale of Freaks Anon will be donated to Stand Up to "Darst works his magic in horror once again, this time expanding into the realm of superheroes in an exciting mash-up that fans of both comic books and the paranormal are sure to enjoy!"- Stuart Conover, ScienceFiction.com"I had so much fun reading Freaks Anon. Being a huge Alan Moore fan, I’m always hoping to read something intelligent when it comes to superheroes. I crave material like that…and with its great writing and believable characters, Freaks Anon nails it. It’s a fanboy’s dream. I once read that you should only keep the books you will read again, and I’ve tried to live by that. I will definitely keep this book."- Frank Hrin, Fearshop.com Horror Podcast"As with Dead Things, Matt Darst has created another sublime world. Freaks Anon is a dark, weird fairy tale of monsters and heroes. Excellent."- Rich Hawkins, Author of The Last Plague and The Last OutpostAbout the Up to Cancer (SU2C) is an initiative created to accelerate innovative cancer research that will get new therapies to patients quickly and save lives now. SU2C brings together the best and the brightest researchers and encourages collaboration instead of competition among the entire cancer community. The charity received a grade of A- from Charity Watch in September 2015. Approximately 77% of SU2C's cash budget is spent on programs versus overhead. Thank you for helping me stand up to cancer.

Paperback

First published February 29, 2016

About the author

Matt Darst got hooked on books early. He read recreationally at first, but soon began hitting the hard stuff after discovering a dog-eared copy of "Salem's Lot."

By twelve, Matt’s addiction to the written word took a turn for the worse. He started writing…for fun. His experimentation with notebooks (a classic gateway) led to dabbling with typewriters.

Matt went cold turkey in law school. He decided to straighten out his life. He got a job, a house, and a dog. His normal life was good. Still…

Pen and pad call to Matt late at night, cooing his name, telling him to take one last hit of fiction. Sometimes, when Matt’s weak, he heeds the siren call of the drug. He wakes from each blackout amid reams of freshly written pages, pages that have seemingly written themselves. Somehow, they coalesced into a book.

"Dead Things" is Matt’s first novel.

Reviews

[Nev Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Free flowing. Perfectly paced from start to finish. Fast when it needs to be and slow when it has to be. Imaginative. Exhilarating. Thrilling. Fun. Scary in parts. This book really has it all."

See here for the full review:

Freaks Anon

[Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Freaks Anon is a fantastic book, intriguing and well paced, with great characters and an exciting tight plot that grabs you right from the start.

Centurion is an awesome character and the book is intriguing from beginning to end, jumping between timelines and keeping the action moving from character to character each of whom are fully fleshed out characters with unique qualities and motivations.

I really enjoyed this book and was pleasantly surprised to see that the quality of writing was way beyond my expectations for a small press novel; it is absolutely on par with something by Neil Gaiman or Stephen King. I'm always worried about small press books because you don't really know what quality you're going to get and there's so much stuff out there that it's hard to do all the research and reading yourself to find the few gems, but this is definitely one of them.

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Freaks Anon is what most fans of superheroes and horror want but seldom get. Great writing with believable characters and a story that captures your imagination from page one. It brings superheroes into the 21st century and is backed up by a wonderful historical back-story that re-writes werewolf lore.

[Renee A Gonzalez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it! Read it way too fast!! 4 stars simply because I want to know more about Chee, Astrid, and Kim!! Fun read. Loved the way the historical background was incorporated into the story and especially loved when it all comes together. I hope there's more to follow because these characters are great and have so much potential. I very much appreciate Darst's strong female characters!

[Tina Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

Shape shifters, witches, superheroes oh my. A great book written superbly by Matt Darst. A story full of twist and turns, murder, good vs evil and a superhero to cheer on. Non stop action, edge of your seat horror. Bloody brilliant.

[Michelle Carrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A superhero murder mystery with a paranormal twist. Excellent.