Spellbinders: Overpowered

by Andrew Auseon

Rewrite the rules of the game in the next installment of this hilarious and epic illustrated series about a middle schooler whose gaming fantasies become his reality.

"My favorite new fantasy series.”
—Max Brallier, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Last Kids on Earth series

After the universe-altering events of his last adventure, Ben Whitlock is trapped in an endless magical nap, and nobody across the realms knows how to wake him. But that won’t keep his loyal quest party from trying their hardest. Merv searches the seemingly endless House of Reflection for a cure, while Niara, Agnes and Drake return to Lux, where it all began, to find answers from their ultimate enemy (although they have so many these days, it's hard to keep track).

Meanwhile, Ben is stuck with the Spellbinder who first got him into this mess in a mind-bending dream world...and it appears his mind is the one that's bent. Can he escape before it finally breaks? Fighting their way back to one another, the party must face their greatest desires and their greatest fears. But when you play with magic, the rules are always being rewritten...and nothing is as it seems.

416 pages, Hardcover

Published June 3, 2025

About the author

Andrew Auseon is a writer of novels for young people, and a designer of video games. He holds a B.A. from Ohio University and a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults from the prestigious Vermont College.

He lives in Baltimore, Maryland with his wife, Sarah Zogby, and their two daughters.

Reviews

[Teresa Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is tricky to rate because if you are into gaming and fantasy worlds it rates a 4 but if not, it can be a bit tedious and rate a 3. To understand the story you need to have read book 1 and 2 because this story picks up where the last one ended: Ben saving the universe by drinking all the power and magic collected over centuries and the immediately falling into a deep sleep/dream state. To Ben, everything seems real and he is struggling to see things as just a dream and not a reality. His friends have gathered to try to find a way for Ben to wake and to save him, but as always, things are complicated. And because they are still in middle school, they have to go to school, and appointments...oh, and of course there is potty humor scattered throughout the book. The highlight of the book is how the characters are able to work through complicated human relationships, the main one being between Ben and his father. So overall: a nice story that will be a hit with gamers.

[Leamon Tuttle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading the latest Spellbinders! Merv was my favorite character throughout the series, and I love how their story wrapped up. No spoilers, but the big reveal at the end made my jaw drop! If you love great adventures and big laughs, you should read this book.