I’ve mentioned Zero.Hero a few times and flashed a couple of covers, but I wanted to give it a little spotlight because it’s so much more than stat screens and DnD character transformations. This book has a rich, established world that developed just like Earth, then took a sharp left turn in 2012. The world is drastically different, but the girls aren’t. The event in 2012 left them physically changed, but not mentally. The series of events throughout the course of the book forces the girls to grow and develop into their powers. Some really cool powers.

Claire – Raven

Claire, the main character, transforms into the half-demon shaman, Raven Gressahla. She can summon a monster from the demon realm—whom she named Gary—who sucks her eyeball out of her socket to use as his body. Gary is just the cutest little blood-sucking buddy, who resembles a dog in behavior. She comes face to face with a creature that forces her to rethink her training styles, and unlock her true potential.

Norah – Penelope

Norah, the Foxian demolitionist Penelope Denetore, sports weapons of all kinds, and a bag of endless holding. She can mix black powder on the fly with various other substances for explosions, walls of pink bubbles that solidify into concrete, or smoke bombs. Her grenades have a short fuse, but not as short as hers! She builds her own weapons that belch fire, or spark with lightning, and is never caught without a backup plan.

Elise – Groff

Elise, the cute, quiet book nerd transforms into Groff, a giant Tree Ogre. With skin that can harden like the toughest bark, muscles that can crush a man’s head like a sparrow egg, and natural healing abilities, she feels like a stranger in her own monstrous body. Poor Elise wants nothing more than to get her CompSci degree so she can start doing some real good in the world, but her friends evening patrols would be disastrous without her strength and healing powers to save the day.

Piper – Xebaria

Piper, the deadly Xebaria Dark Dancer, the mysterious Sky Elf rogue. But really, she wants to eat pizza—and pad thai, burgers, macaroni and cheese, loaded fries… anything she can get her hands on. Relaxing on the couch with her old 16bit handheld and coasting by with C’s is her modus operando. She just loves spending time with her four best friends, and never had much ambition.

Monsters are a normal occurrence for Earth of 2022, but something new is causing massive mutations. Spider monsters the size of vans, rat herds as big as cows stampeding down the streets, and worse is infiltrating their metropolis. When the girls are the only ones left standing in a city full of more competent heroes, their mettle will be tested along with their skill.

Haha, sorry if that sounds marketingy! I really love this series, I don’t know if it’s obvious. I had to take a little hiatus from Zero.Hero to work on another concept that punched its way into my head (Bastion Academy!) but I promised Claire and the girls I’d wrap up their story this year! All the more reason I need to cut this off here, and get back to write so I can make that happen.

Thanks for tuning in. Let me know which character is your favorite in the comments below!

~J.D. Astra