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The Good Fight
The Pen & Cape Society, in conjunction with Local Hero Press, is proud to present The Good Fight, an anthology of superhero fiction from some of the best authors working in the genre. Collected within this volume are stories by Scott Bachmann, Frank Byrns, Marion G. Harmon, Warren Hately, Drew Hayes, Ian Thomas Healy, Hydrargentium, Michael Ivan Lowell, T. Mike McCurley, Landon Porter, R. J. Ross, Cheyanne Young, and Jim Zoetewey. After enjoying the stories in The Good Fight, please be sure to check out the works of the individual authors, because they're just super! Stories “Bedtime Story” by Scott Bachmann “Two Hearts” by Frank Byrns “Omega Night” by Marion G. Harmon “Zephyr Phase Zero” by Warren Hately “Out of Mind” by Drew Hayes “Archenemy” by Ian Thomas Healy “Hunting Rabbits” by Hydrargentium “The Fire of the Fly” by Michael Ivan Lowell “ A Frosty Reception” by T. Mike McCurley “Who is . . . the Whitecoat?” by Landon Porter “Rocco” by R.J. Ross “First Date” by Cheyanne Young “Thawed” by Jim Zoetewey
186 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 5, 2014
101 people are currently reading
185 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
August 6, 2019
This was a pretty good collection. There was nothing that I would call absolutely outstanding, but there weren't any stories that I really hated either so I can't complain. There were definitely a wide range of writing styles and focuses. Some were your more 'classic' superhero stories of them fighting crime but some were just snapshots of superheroes with their friends or family so it didn't feel repetitive. Each story has a short bio about the author and sometimes a bit of background information about their particular superhero universe. This is a nice idea so they don't spend their limited page space on background exposition, but also I think a short story should be able to stand on its own which some of these barely do. Overall an interesting read but I don't think I will be buying the rest of the series.
May 26, 2016
Some of the other reviewers seemed to be irritated by the fact that these were merely shorts rather than full-sized novellas. It’s nice that it gives the reader a taste of each author. Admittedly I had reorganized my kindle by page count, so I knew how long the entire anthology was before I started and had been expecting everything to be relatively short. In all, I’d probably give this a 3, but some of the stories were a lot of fun, but overall this didn’t sell me in picking up The Good Fight 2: Villains.
Bedtime Story by Scott Bachman (I got bored quickly and skimmed it. Just a lot of action without really making the characters stand out any)
Two Hearts by Frank Byrns (I liked this one, but it did seem too drama-drama without much actually setting it as a superhero story. I did like the idea of partnered superheroes like Firestorm and how they’d have to deal with what happens when one moves on. But the story felt like either the end of a longer story or the beginning of a longer story, so I searched but couldn’t find anything by the author that connected to it).
Omega Night by Marion G. Harmon (Skipped it. I had read it already and didn’t need a repeat read. It reads like the fighter battle at the end of the original Star Wars movie-which I thought was rather boring in the movie itself. Not to mention there are even quotes from the movie to further drill home the resemblance between the two).
Zephyr Phase Zero by Warren Hately (Got irritated by it and ended up skipping over most of it. Sexist and negative language through the entire thing and I really didn’t care about the action since I didn’t like the hero who was a total pig. Not to mention that the story is about him trying to apprehend a super-rapist, distasteful subject).
Out of Mind by Drew Hayes (I liked the hero who’s stuck with the power of no one remembering him. The beginning and the ending were wonderful, how it really makes the reader feel for him not being able to have a life outside of the superhero biz, and some of the moments of him sneaking into the seedy building and not having people remember who he is once they look away. But the action was long, drawn out, and I ended up skimming most of it.)
Archenemy by Ian Thomas Healy (This one was entertaining. Speedster Mustang Sally recently arrived in New York City has to contend with another speedster who practically throws mud in her eye and challenges her to a duel. Endless action sequences, but it did keep the attention.)
Hunting Rabbits by Hydrargentium (I liked this one. Creative with the superhero powers, not that I haven’t seen heroes who can clone themselves before, but the reactions of others around him were fun).
The Fire of the Fly by Michael Ivan Lowell (This one was fun. It reminded me of the Batman vs Superman movie this summer with the moral question of if a person with that much power should be allowed to live after having a hand in far too much destruction in a major city. The girl in this one had a cult and a god-complex, along with being a teenager with questionable judgement.)
Firedrake: A Frosty Reception by T. Mike McCurley (I was bored with this from page 1. It read like an episode of yet another investigative crime show. I totally skipped over it).
Who is … the Whitecoat? By Landon Porter (Loved it! After reading it, I went so far as to try to track down the author and see if he had written any other installments of Whitecoat, which he had, so I’m definitely continuing my reading. After giving her a key to his apartment, the hero’s girlfriend catches him and he has to explain off why the superhero is there at her boyfriend’s apartment. What I liked most about this was the author’s hilarious sense of humor.)
Rocco by R.J. Ross (Fun introduction to the world of Capes High. The juvenile delinquent trying to be a hero was wonderfully amusing as bad things kept happening to him, and his subsequent attempts to get out of trouble).
First Date by Cheyenne Young (Honestly, this made me ashamed to consider myself female. Talk about a shallow heroine who uses her breasts as her main asset to mesmerize guys and obsesses on her shoes, clothes, guys, and friends (in that order). Made me go so far as to remove her other books from my Wish List.)
Thawed by Jim Zoetewey (Interesting, but then it totally lost me when the voices came in. It was interesting going from the point of view of the romance interest of the hero.)
Bedtime Story by Scott Bachman (I got bored quickly and skimmed it. Just a lot of action without really making the characters stand out any)
Two Hearts by Frank Byrns (I liked this one, but it did seem too drama-drama without much actually setting it as a superhero story. I did like the idea of partnered superheroes like Firestorm and how they’d have to deal with what happens when one moves on. But the story felt like either the end of a longer story or the beginning of a longer story, so I searched but couldn’t find anything by the author that connected to it).
Omega Night by Marion G. Harmon (Skipped it. I had read it already and didn’t need a repeat read. It reads like the fighter battle at the end of the original Star Wars movie-which I thought was rather boring in the movie itself. Not to mention there are even quotes from the movie to further drill home the resemblance between the two).
Zephyr Phase Zero by Warren Hately (Got irritated by it and ended up skipping over most of it. Sexist and negative language through the entire thing and I really didn’t care about the action since I didn’t like the hero who was a total pig. Not to mention that the story is about him trying to apprehend a super-rapist, distasteful subject).
Out of Mind by Drew Hayes (I liked the hero who’s stuck with the power of no one remembering him. The beginning and the ending were wonderful, how it really makes the reader feel for him not being able to have a life outside of the superhero biz, and some of the moments of him sneaking into the seedy building and not having people remember who he is once they look away. But the action was long, drawn out, and I ended up skimming most of it.)
Archenemy by Ian Thomas Healy (This one was entertaining. Speedster Mustang Sally recently arrived in New York City has to contend with another speedster who practically throws mud in her eye and challenges her to a duel. Endless action sequences, but it did keep the attention.)
Hunting Rabbits by Hydrargentium (I liked this one. Creative with the superhero powers, not that I haven’t seen heroes who can clone themselves before, but the reactions of others around him were fun).
The Fire of the Fly by Michael Ivan Lowell (This one was fun. It reminded me of the Batman vs Superman movie this summer with the moral question of if a person with that much power should be allowed to live after having a hand in far too much destruction in a major city. The girl in this one had a cult and a god-complex, along with being a teenager with questionable judgement.)
Firedrake: A Frosty Reception by T. Mike McCurley (I was bored with this from page 1. It read like an episode of yet another investigative crime show. I totally skipped over it).
Who is … the Whitecoat? By Landon Porter (Loved it! After reading it, I went so far as to try to track down the author and see if he had written any other installments of Whitecoat, which he had, so I’m definitely continuing my reading. After giving her a key to his apartment, the hero’s girlfriend catches him and he has to explain off why the superhero is there at her boyfriend’s apartment. What I liked most about this was the author’s hilarious sense of humor.)
Rocco by R.J. Ross (Fun introduction to the world of Capes High. The juvenile delinquent trying to be a hero was wonderfully amusing as bad things kept happening to him, and his subsequent attempts to get out of trouble).
First Date by Cheyenne Young (Honestly, this made me ashamed to consider myself female. Talk about a shallow heroine who uses her breasts as her main asset to mesmerize guys and obsesses on her shoes, clothes, guys, and friends (in that order). Made me go so far as to remove her other books from my Wish List.)
Thawed by Jim Zoetewey (Interesting, but then it totally lost me when the voices came in. It was interesting going from the point of view of the romance interest of the hero.)
February 27, 2015
Anthologies are great for short bursts of reading, and this collection works fine for that. If you've got a spare chunk of time this book will give you a good story. I really like some of these authors and bought this on the back of their reputation. They didn't disappoint. It's a mixed bag of approaches though. Some worked well, but others didn't really grab my attention enough to read all the way through. The thing is, that's what an anthology is though. Not every reader will read and/or enjoy every one of the titles.
If you're into superhero fiction, and boy that does include me, then this is a good one to have on standby for short bursts of reading. And hopefully some of the stories will propel you out into the world and buy the longer works of some of these authors.
If you're into superhero fiction, and boy that does include me, then this is a good one to have on standby for short bursts of reading. And hopefully some of the stories will propel you out into the world and buy the longer works of some of these authors.
December 29, 2014
Supers for the win!
The ONLY "problem" with this anthology is that I had to add more books to my TBR list; seriously that thing is out of control, Reader problems...!
The ONLY "problem" with this anthology is that I had to add more books to my TBR list; seriously that thing is out of control, Reader problems...!
October 7, 2014
A very fun mixture of superhero stories; many of the stories were obviously tied to their authors' individual worlds, rather than being complete standalones, but all were readable by themselves. The editor did a good job of mixing up the styles, too; only at the very end were the various stories starting to blur together (since theyr'e all superhero stories, after all!)
I don't think there was a story I disliked, but standouts include "Two Hearts" by Frank Byrns, which deals with superhero partners dealing with life's changes; "Out of Mind" by Drew Hayes, taking on the sort of hero who works from the shadows and deals with information; and "Archenemy" for its consideration of life as a speedster.
I don't think there was a story I disliked, but standouts include "Two Hearts" by Frank Byrns, which deals with superhero partners dealing with life's changes; "Out of Mind" by Drew Hayes, taking on the sort of hero who works from the shadows and deals with information; and "Archenemy" for its consideration of life as a speedster.
December 21, 2014
It takes me forever to read anthologies. The good thing is that happened upon a couple of additional authors that I'm now interest in picking up some of there other work.
Mixed bag as far as stories go, none were bad. Two of the better ones were
“Archenemy” by Ian Thomas Healy - set in the Just Cause world
“Firedrake: A Frosty Reception” by T. Mike McCurley
Mixed bag as far as stories go, none were bad. Two of the better ones were
“Archenemy” by Ian Thomas Healy - set in the Just Cause world
“Firedrake: A Frosty Reception” by T. Mike McCurley
January 24, 2020
Here is a collection of a super hero stories designed to introduce the reader to the worlds of several authors in the field. It’s an enjoyable anthology featuring a lot of quick dips into various super hero worlds but none of the stories were strong enough to motivate me to invest in a new series. The ones that came closest for me was Out of Mind by Drew Hayes and Firedrake by T. Mike McCurly. These are two very different types of stories by two very differently powered heroes. The first tells of a man whom nobody can ever remember—and it was quite possibly the best story in the anthology. The second was a more traditional “get in a fight with the bad guys” tale. I had already read Marion Harmon’s Omega Night from his Wearing the Cape series, but as I’ve sung its praises elsewhere I won’t do so again here.
If you want a handful of quick fun reads in the superhero genre, you should enjoy The Good Fight.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
If you want a handful of quick fun reads in the superhero genre, you should enjoy The Good Fight.
If you liked this review, you can find more at www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
April 5, 2018
This is a collection of superhero-themed prose short stories. The authors are all writing ongoing fiction series in the same genre, and many of the entries here suffer from them trying to fit into too much exposition about their setting, which often kills the momentum of the actual story being told. And then there are one or two that just aren't very good, regardless.
September 4, 2020
Collection of superhero stories.
Author freebie. Suitable for teens. A collection of superhero short stories. Each story has a blurb in front that introduces the author and his superhero milieu. Many of these are YA, and told from the perspective of the hero.
Author freebie. Suitable for teens. A collection of superhero short stories. Each story has a blurb in front that introduces the author and his superhero milieu. Many of these are YA, and told from the perspective of the hero.
July 7, 2018
There are a lot of different approaches to writing about people with extraordinary abilities, but what these stories all have in common seems to be spandex.
December 5, 2015
A superpower anthology published by the Pen and Cape Society. As is typical of anthologies the thirteen short stores within had some unevenness of skill, but most of the writers have been doing this long enough the starting point is pretty high. Each of the story is from one of their superhero universes, and I didn't enjoy all the universes equally. Many of the stories end with the typical "stay tuned for next week", like a comic book serial magazine, but not all. I preferred the stories which were complete in and of themselves.
My favorite, of course, is "Omega Night" by Marion Harmon. I have been enjoying his Wearing the Cape series and picked up this anthology based on his work. As he also sells this story as a stand-alone, I wrote my full review of the story under that book.
"Bedtime Story" (by Scott Bachmann) was cute while also having a good moral, as any good bedtime story should.
"Two Hearts" (by Frank Byrns) sad and had virtually none of the normal superhero activity. More of a character study of humanity.
"Thawed" (by Jim Zoetewey) - did not like, just couldn't figure out what was happening with the story - definitely does not stand-alone without knowledge of that particular superhero universe.
"First Date" (by Cheyanne Young) annoyed me as a woman. Police entrapment is not really hero activity.
"Archenemy" on the other hand, may have me following up in Ian Healy's superhero universe.
I found "A Hero by Any Other Name" anthology by Silence in the Library edgier, with more unique stories. But if you want to get an overview, a taster of superhero novels and comics available on the web today, this is a great book to expose you to a bunch of new authors. ... Off to look ups Mr. Healy's stuff.
ADDED NOTE: Just finished reading The Good Fight 2: Villains anthology. Wow, that one is GREAT!!!
Picked up while free on Kindle to push the second anthology of the series The Good Fight 2: Villains.
My favorite, of course, is "Omega Night" by Marion Harmon. I have been enjoying his Wearing the Cape series and picked up this anthology based on his work. As he also sells this story as a stand-alone, I wrote my full review of the story under that book.
"Bedtime Story" (by Scott Bachmann) was cute while also having a good moral, as any good bedtime story should.
"Two Hearts" (by Frank Byrns) sad and had virtually none of the normal superhero activity. More of a character study of humanity.
"Thawed" (by Jim Zoetewey) - did not like, just couldn't figure out what was happening with the story - definitely does not stand-alone without knowledge of that particular superhero universe.
"First Date" (by Cheyanne Young) annoyed me as a woman. Police entrapment is not really hero activity.
"Archenemy" on the other hand, may have me following up in Ian Healy's superhero universe.
I found "A Hero by Any Other Name" anthology by Silence in the Library edgier, with more unique stories. But if you want to get an overview, a taster of superhero novels and comics available on the web today, this is a great book to expose you to a bunch of new authors. ... Off to look ups Mr. Healy's stuff.
ADDED NOTE: Just finished reading The Good Fight 2: Villains anthology. Wow, that one is GREAT!!!
Picked up while free on Kindle to push the second anthology of the series The Good Fight 2: Villains.
August 26, 2017
I liked this anthology quite a bit. It introduced me to several worlds I'd not heard of before, gave me a few stories from ones I've read as well as stories from ones I'd heard of but haven't considered trying before now. I love Supers and I'm always on the lookout for quality series in that genre. I went ahead and picked up Super Powereds: Year 1 and Wearing the Cape: A Superhero Story after reading short stories from their respective series. I also picked up The Descendants Collection 1: We Could Be Heroes, a long web-series that has been collected into e-books on the strength of one of the stories I read. While the books aren't always going to feature the specific heroes from this collection, I'm more than willing to explore their worlds.
March 30, 2017
Interesting if uneven anthology 3.5 stars.
This is a collection of superhero fiction short stories written bij known an unknown authors. On the whole there is quite an interesting mix in stories on the point of tone, subject, impact and also (somewhat unfortunately) in quality. There were no real dud's, but I really din't care about some of the stories. On the upside there were some pretty good stories as well. Among others the stories by Drew Hayes of a cool, but rather lonely hero, and R.J. Ross's story about a super-powered kid on the run from Heroes were the positive 'stand-out's' .
So overall, not bad and pretty good read if you like superheroes and are looking for new authors to read.
This is a collection of superhero fiction short stories written bij known an unknown authors. On the whole there is quite an interesting mix in stories on the point of tone, subject, impact and also (somewhat unfortunately) in quality. There were no real dud's, but I really din't care about some of the stories. On the upside there were some pretty good stories as well. Among others the stories by Drew Hayes of a cool, but rather lonely hero, and R.J. Ross's story about a super-powered kid on the run from Heroes were the positive 'stand-out's' .
So overall, not bad and pretty good read if you like superheroes and are looking for new authors to read.
May 15, 2016
This almost got 4 stars but for the fact that several of the stories were based around government type agencies that the various heros are working with or for. In itself this isn't a bad thing, if you're into that kind of superhero story, but for my part I prefer the more personal stories about their trials and tribulations. Frank Byrns always comes through for me there and deserves 5 stars all on his own. None of the stories are bad, as such, but there are a good few here that are merely average.
Having said all this, this was, and is still free to download, and given that fact I'd recommend anyone give it a try, if only for the Frank Byrns and one or two others.
Having said all this, this was, and is still free to download, and given that fact I'd recommend anyone give it a try, if only for the Frank Byrns and one or two others.
August 12, 2015
I'm way too busy. Time is my most valuable commodity right now. Because of this, I've been reading more anthologies. They work for me because I can get a whole story even if I only get some portion of an hour to read during. This anthology was so much fun! A great variety of tales under the superhero umbrella, including a wide range of universes and characters and powers. The only bad part? I really liked these stories, so I just added a whole lot of new books to my TBR list--the full novels by all these authors!
December 29, 2014
Some good short stories, others not so good. I suppose if I was already reading the authors' works, the stories would be better - some did not master the introduction of their world building very well. It served its purpose, though, I have at least one writer that I plan to find so I can read more. :)
June 12, 2015
This was a fine selection of superhero short stories. The variety was good, the characters were good and I enjoyed most of them. A couple were less fun, some were excellent! I may be seeking out additional works by some of the authors.
March 6, 2015
A good collection of stories where superheroes pave the way into plenty of fantasy action and adventure.
I don't give spoilers but will say that for those who enjoy this genre, this set from a variety of authors is for you.
I don't give spoilers but will say that for those who enjoy this genre, this set from a variety of authors is for you.
March 12, 2016
Some of the stories were fantastic, some were just eh. I'm definitely interested in reading the follow up compilation though. Most anthologies are at least a bit of a mixed bag, and I do love reading anthologies.
March 8, 2018
Like most anthologies, a mixed bag, some very good stories and and some weak ones. The ones that tried to subvert rather than embrace the superhero genre generally felt flat to me. But not a bad read and interesting to see supers in prose rather than in graphic novels,
September 13, 2014
Most were good. A few like that Marion Harmon one bored me to where I tuned out.
November 29, 2014
I am not a huge fan of superhero fiction, but the stories were ok. Most of them were action-packed, some of them predictable or boring. But all in all a good collection for fans.
March 24, 2016
I liked all but one of the short stories in the anthology. I've read some of the authors before and I am inclined to read the works of several others now.
May 19, 2016
Mixed bag
Some of these stories were great and some were okay and a couple stunk. Great way to sample different authors. Not great by itself.
Some of these stories were great and some were okay and a couple stunk. Great way to sample different authors. Not great by itself.
September 23, 2016
A very mixed bag.
A couple of stories I really enjoyed but mostly I found them forgettable
A couple of stories I really enjoyed but mostly I found them forgettable
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews