Character Profile
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Summary

Reminiscent of D.C. comics, a teenage boy competes in a reality television show in hopes of getting an official superhero license. Then one of the other contestants are murdered…

Stats

Genre: Teen (13-16 years) superhero

Series length: Three books

Violence: Moderate to strong comic-book violence

Magic/Supernatural: Moderate "supernatural" pertaining to the superhero powers and related elements

Romance: Light to moderate subplots 

Christian/spiritual element: Overt and strong Christian content woven thoughout the stories

Recommendation: Excellent for geeky boys or girls

You might like this book if you liked... 
Marvel or D.C. comics

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Opening Lines:

Being a superhero was hard enough. Being one on reality television...Why had I thought this was a good idea? 

The production assistant, a young Asian woman in her late twenties, poked her head into the green room and called my name. I followed her out of the room. You'd think after four weeks of competition, they would give me a little credit for being able to find my own way, but no. They couldn't let the contestants get lost. 

Failstate (Failstate, Book 1)
by John W. Otte

​Why did Robin Laughlin (a.k.a. Failstate) think being a superhero on a reality show would be a good idea?

Things seemed so simple: Win the show, become an official, licensed hero. But with his brother, Ben (a.k.a. Gauntlet) stealing America's heart—and with Rob's own powers proving too unwieldy for TV—Failstate begins to wonder if he's going to live up to the failure in his name.

Until one of his friends and fellow competitors is murdered.

Robin vows to find the killer, and he sets out on a very real quest to unmask the hidden villain. Can Failstate find justice? Or will his lunk of a big brother ruin everything-including taking the girl who has stolen Rob's heart?

Very soon, Failstate and Gauntlet will come to blows.

Which has been the villain's plan all along.

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Opening Lines:

Legends stared down at me from the walls. I squirmed under their scrutiny. I could almost hear them whispering to each other, Who does this kid think he is? Does he really think he deserves to be here?

Of course I didn't.

No, that wasn't entirely true. I had earned a vigilante license four months earlier. I had even gone on a fifteen city victory tour over the summer to celebrate the fact. But now that the initial rush had worn off, now that I had returned to New Chayton, now that I was sitting in the Vigilante Oversight Commission's office waiting to meet my liaison officer, I felt woefully inadequate. 

Failstate: Legends (Failstate, Book 2)
by John W. Otte

A young superhero.
A legend reborn.
And a whole mess of zombies.

Failstate (a.k.a. Robin Laughlin) thought his life would get easier after he'd earned his superhero license. But now a legendary superhero has returned from the dead... along with a horde of shambling horrors who want to eat his brains.

New Chayton's other licensed heroes are indisposed, meaning that the whole weight of protecting the city has fallen on Failstate. And nobody thinks he's up to the challenge. At least he has help from his older brother, Gauntlet, and his best friend, Veritas. Or does he?

As if the zombie apocalypse weren't enough, complicating things are not one but two beautiful girls vying for Failstate/Robin's affections-and his own powers are doing something... interesting.

In the superhero business, interesting is bad.

Legends walk the streets of New Chayton. If Failstate can somehow survive the next few weeks, he could become one of them.

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Opening Lines:

At least I wouldn't have to pay for the property damage.

I glanced around me. The street had been ruined. Craters large enough to swallow a person dotted the pavement, with deep cracks running between them. Most of the buildings, brick and cement structures only a story or two tall, had been wrecked in some way. Lots of broken windows, although the doors to a CPA's office had a mailbox tossed through them. I could already hear the calculators totaling up the bill to fix it all. 

My hands roamed over my costume, checking for damage. Not that I should have expected to find any. Six months earlier, Dr. Olympus, a genius superhero, gave me a super durable outfit. I kept thinking I was wearing my old costume, one I had cobbled together from second-hand clothing. 

Failstate: Nemesis (Failstate, Book 3)
by John W. Otte

Abaddon will destroy you all! 

Robin Laughlin (a.k.a. the superhero Failstate) has finally achieved his dream. Not only is he a licensed vigilante, but he’s respected by his fellow heroes, feared by criminals, and he’s finally achieved peace in his family, especially with his brother, Ben (a.k.a. the superhero Gauntlet). That, plus the love of his girlfriend, Charlene, has made life good.

But then Failstate learns a secret about his father. Rather than the loving family man he remembers, Failstate’s father was a criminal who got himself killed when he crossed the wrong people. Before he can process this new information, he receives a warning that a villain named Abaddon is coming to New Chayton. The message is all the more disturbing since it’s delivered by Lux. She died in Failstate’s arms a year earlier. How can she possibly be alive?

Those mysteries will have to wait, though, as Abaddon storms New Chayton, strewing death and destruction in his wake. But he’s not the only newcomer. Unusual heroes are appearing throughout the city.

Can Failstate get to the bottom of the reappearance of Lux, the influx of new heroes, and the truth behind his father's past––all while keeping Abaddon at bay? Abaddon may prove to be Failstate’s greatest nemesis. But what will Failstate have to sacrifice along the way?