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Objects in Motion: A Progression Fantasy Adventure
An action-packed progression fantasy adventure from Inadvisably Compelled, the bestselling author of Paranoid Mage!
Underestimated. Underpowered. His greatest weapon is his mind.
Twenty years ago, the hero Glorybeam and the villain Blacktime fought. The aftermath leveled twenty city blocks, killed thousands, and orphaned hundreds. Neither of them have ever faced any consequences.
Isaac Hartson was one of those orphans. As a nominal-class metahuman – a dreg – he knows that he’ll never be able to hold them accountable by force, but years as a janitor have taught him the value of simple plans and hard work.
But once set in motion, events stay in motion, and in Star City there is always someone with an angle. Isaac will need more than just hard work and a simple plan to keep from being buried under the tide of consequences he’s created.
He was supposed to be a background character. Instead, he’s the glitch in their perfect system.
From the bestselling author of Paranoid Mage, OBJECTS IN MOTION is a progression fantasy adventure featuring an intelligence-based MC who is given a brawler power.
It's perfect for fans of Super Supportive, Invincible, and Superpowereds!
Underestimated. Underpowered. His greatest weapon is his mind.
Twenty years ago, the hero Glorybeam and the villain Blacktime fought. The aftermath leveled twenty city blocks, killed thousands, and orphaned hundreds. Neither of them have ever faced any consequences.
Isaac Hartson was one of those orphans. As a nominal-class metahuman – a dreg – he knows that he’ll never be able to hold them accountable by force, but years as a janitor have taught him the value of simple plans and hard work.
But once set in motion, events stay in motion, and in Star City there is always someone with an angle. Isaac will need more than just hard work and a simple plan to keep from being buried under the tide of consequences he’s created.
He was supposed to be a background character. Instead, he’s the glitch in their perfect system.
From the bestselling author of Paranoid Mage, OBJECTS IN MOTION is a progression fantasy adventure featuring an intelligence-based MC who is given a brawler power.
It's perfect for fans of Super Supportive, Invincible, and Superpowereds!
394 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 5, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 12, 2026
Extremely good book and maybe the interesting superhero concepts I've ever encountered
Wow, this was a major step up from Paranoid Mage. A much bigger focus on characters and events aren't just glossed over. Isaac and his powers are fascinating. And this is some of the most unique world building I've ever run into in fiction. How superhero powers can grow based on expanding concepts is quite frankly brilliant and one of the most interesting Superhero worlds and power designs ever made. This should be an Amazon show someday. Great world design, good characters, solid plotting, really interesting action scenes and mostly excellent prose. Highly, highly recommended read. Just phenomenal.
Wow, this was a major step up from Paranoid Mage. A much bigger focus on characters and events aren't just glossed over. Isaac and his powers are fascinating. And this is some of the most unique world building I've ever run into in fiction. How superhero powers can grow based on expanding concepts is quite frankly brilliant and one of the most interesting Superhero worlds and power designs ever made. This should be an Amazon show someday. Great world design, good characters, solid plotting, really interesting action scenes and mostly excellent prose. Highly, highly recommended read. Just phenomenal.
May 15, 2026
Good book
No idea how the physics worked but the story was gripping. I’m curious to see how Issac’s powers develop in the future.
No idea how the physics worked but the story was gripping. I’m curious to see how Issac’s powers develop in the future.
May 20, 2026
3.5 Stars
I'm in it for the magic system. I want to see all the ways Isaac can leverage the concept of Inertia. The rest is pretty average for the genre.
I'm in it for the magic system. I want to see all the ways Isaac can leverage the concept of Inertia. The rest is pretty average for the genre.
May 26, 2026
It’s ok? 2.5 stars. It’s very clearly is from the same author as paranoid mage, with a main character with strong anti-establishment beliefs and the idea of “doing it his own way”. I don’t feel that there is any real character growth with Isaac, and he repeatedly makes choice that are… questionable.
The world building is fairly shit, as the setting is on Earth, but there are all kinds of differences, from people on the Moon to cavern layers underneath the Earth, to place names and cities that are never explained how they relate to each other.
The magic/power system is both interesting and incredibly poorly done. The main character has an interesting powerset, but the author just kind of sticks labels on various supers without really explaining any sort of classification system. Like almost every other superhero book would address how people got superpowers, or what the process of awakening them was, or why some people did or didn’t get superpowers. Like it might be genetic? Or not? None of these things are addressed in this book. Additionally, why the hell is magical girl a power set type?
It’s just things like that that I think would be ironed out by the time an author is on their second book series. The book touches a dozen things and doesn’t go deeper than a puddle into any of them. That’s what frustrates me with this book.
Oh, and before I forget, I wouldn’t call this book really a progression fantasy. That would require some measurable way to progress. Of course, nothing that the MC does in this book is measured or understood, he just “pushes” at his power and it works. How much he can affect things is never really outlined. Sure we see some growth of the scope of his power, but nothing measurable.
The world building is fairly shit, as the setting is on Earth, but there are all kinds of differences, from people on the Moon to cavern layers underneath the Earth, to place names and cities that are never explained how they relate to each other.
The magic/power system is both interesting and incredibly poorly done. The main character has an interesting powerset, but the author just kind of sticks labels on various supers without really explaining any sort of classification system. Like almost every other superhero book would address how people got superpowers, or what the process of awakening them was, or why some people did or didn’t get superpowers. Like it might be genetic? Or not? None of these things are addressed in this book. Additionally, why the hell is magical girl a power set type?
It’s just things like that that I think would be ironed out by the time an author is on their second book series. The book touches a dozen things and doesn’t go deeper than a puddle into any of them. That’s what frustrates me with this book.
Oh, and before I forget, I wouldn’t call this book really a progression fantasy. That would require some measurable way to progress. Of course, nothing that the MC does in this book is measured or understood, he just “pushes” at his power and it works. How much he can affect things is never really outlined. Sure we see some growth of the scope of his power, but nothing measurable.
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May 15, 2026I've read the previous series (Paranoid Mage), but it's this one where the author really finds his wings. Isaac is also a protagonist that just wants to be left alone (plus, get back on some people from the past at the same time) and goes to tremendous lenghts to achieve it, which of course fails miserably, but he has his own quality. It is endlessly entertaining, especially as I've grasped what the protagonist's superpower really is , even if he does not yet understand it, causing so many domino effects in the process it's hard not to laugh.
May 12, 2026
This book made me think of the Disco Elysium game, which has similar wacky but brilliant things stuffed in there. In DE your stats are alive, and give you feedback.
In this book it's about powers that work not just on the physical but also on the way you think about them and how you think about them.
Your power could even be philosophical, which is a bit of a mind bender.
Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I personally think that the author has progressed substantially from his first series. Where the first series the MC was a bit stiff and strange, this is much less the case here.
Looking forward to book 2 in august!
In this book it's about powers that work not just on the physical but also on the way you think about them and how you think about them.
Your power could even be philosophical, which is a bit of a mind bender.
Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I personally think that the author has progressed substantially from his first series. Where the first series the MC was a bit stiff and strange, this is much less the case here.
Looking forward to book 2 in august!
May 16, 2026
Interesting but....
Very interesting premise from Inadvisably Compelled. I was a huge fan of Paranoid Mage and was extremely excited for this series, but it seems like a little out of the author's comfort zone. The world building was interesting but felt crowded with little exposition. Why is there a civil war on the moon? What is the Cosmic Orrery and crystals that surround the planets? Definitely looking forward to the next work!
Very interesting premise from Inadvisably Compelled. I was a huge fan of Paranoid Mage and was extremely excited for this series, but it seems like a little out of the author's comfort zone. The world building was interesting but felt crowded with little exposition. Why is there a civil war on the moon? What is the Cosmic Orrery and crystals that surround the planets? Definitely looking forward to the next work!
May 10, 2026
Cool super hero vibe. People who liked Steelheart or Superpowereds would like this. The MC finds himself kind of in between the super heroes and villains through a lot of the story. This leads him into interesting situations. The world is cool and the MC’s ability is original. Overall it was a really good start to the series.
May 24, 2026
Slow burn, but amazing
I’ve read a lot of this genre, and didn’t recognize the author and had resigned myself to “prob another AI slop book”. I’m quite glad I tried it, because the author does an excellent job world building and building fun characters who aren’t immediately overpowered.
Def recommend picking this up, and I’ll check out the other works by this author.
I’ve read a lot of this genre, and didn’t recognize the author and had resigned myself to “prob another AI slop book”. I’m quite glad I tried it, because the author does an excellent job world building and building fun characters who aren’t immediately overpowered.
Def recommend picking this up, and I’ll check out the other works by this author.
June 14, 2026
I have a hard time calling this a fantasy book, because it deals with metahumans, or people with powers. I love hope a boy from an orphanage grew up to have a weak power, but through hard work the power got stronger, and he had to hide from people who wanted him for his power. I loved the Chains persona, it made him seem tough.
May 7, 2026
wow
Now THAT’S a superpower.
The beginning feels a little ho-hum. Nothing special, clever power use but no surprises.
Then the narrative gains momentum and really starts to cook.
Going to preorder book 2 right away.
Now THAT’S a superpower.
The beginning feels a little ho-hum. Nothing special, clever power use but no surprises.
Then the narrative gains momentum and really starts to cook.
Going to preorder book 2 right away.
May 13, 2026
Very good book
This is a fine fantasy adventure novel. It is well written and edited. I especially like Smokeshow. I anxiously await the author's next novel.
This is a fine fantasy adventure novel. It is well written and edited. I especially like Smokeshow. I anxiously await the author's next novel.
May 22, 2026
I love a good superhero story. It's a fun read, and it's interesting to follow the MC's unravelling of what his power actually does.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews