HeroNet Files Book 1

by Wayland Smith, Dara Hannon, Harry Heckel

This book is written for age 14 and up and may be considered inappropriate for children due to strong language, violence, and adult themes.

An anthology of novellas by Wayland Smith, Dara Hannon, and Harry Heckel.

HeroNet Files Vol. 1 contains three novellas about new superheroes and how they learn to come to grips with their powers and responsibilities. And each other.

In the first novella, Argent and The Cobalt Rose by Wayland Smith, Laura tries to start her career as the Cobalt Rose and winds up with the mysterious loner, Argent, as a mentor. Argent discovers that he has at least as much to learn about life from her as she has to learn about heroing from him.

In Murphy's Hero by Dara Hannon, Tiger Iron of the world-famous superteam, the Wardens, must investigate a questionable new hero, Murphy, who may be stealing money from the drug dealers she stops.

Finally, in Hidden Strengths by Harry Heckel, when Scott develops his own powers, he joins an underground superhuman fighting league and finds himself losing control of his life. Meanwhile, the gladiatrix Diamond decides that he is her hope to escape the brutal world of powered combat.

250 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2014

Reviews

[Abrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book to pick for my first foray into the hero genre. I enjoyed seeing the character development that went on in all three stories- it helped me to get into the stories more, even though they are quite outside the norm of what I tend to read. Enough general stuff, since there are three stories, I'll give my thoughts on each one individually.

Argent and the Cobalt Rose
It was fun to follow a brand new hero from her debut and see her develop and improve, as well as to see why she chose the hero life and all the training and hard work she put into it. The interaction between Rose and Argent was amusing and engaging throughout. The final battle drew me in and I was very glad I didn't have to put the book down before I finished it! I don't know if I would have had the willpower to walk away without finding out what happened. Definitely enjoyed this one.

Murphy's Hero
This is my favorite of the three stories, probably because the fangirl in me related to Murphy so well. This story was less about the adventures of a hero and more about her development as one. I enjoyed seeing Tiger Iron's development, as well, and how even an experienced hero still has his moments of growth and of vulnerability. I also enjoyed seeing a bit about an organized group of heroes (aka the Wardens) and how they interact and operate together.

Hidden Strengths
This was my least favorite of the three stories. I just had a bit of trouble getting into it. I can't quite put my finger on why, I just didn't enjoy it as much as the other two. It was still a good story and I liked that it showed the dark side of the world of beings with powers. It makes sense that there would be those who exploit those with powers and even engage in trafficking them.

The fact that the title of this book includes "Book 1" seems to imply that there will be another HeroNet Files book coming, at some point. I'll definitely be looking forward to it!

[Lel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book but I didn't love it. It was a nice change of pace to see new superheros starting out but I wasn't really interested in the romance elements in all the stories.

[Wayland Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bias warning, I'm one of the authors of this one, so I liked it and rated it highly. ;)