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April 18, 1985 -- Into a world already wound tight with the desperate tensions of the Cold War comes a man with a startling Declaration: Metahumans exist, they demand autonomy, and Dr. William Karl Donner has the reality-bending power to enforce their status. The balance of power is thrown askew by the addition of not one more Superpower, but six thousand.

Before the Donner Declaration, high school sophomore Nate Charters was just an outsider and self-proclaimed freak. His unusual appearance, hair-trigger reflexes, and overactive metabolism should have made him something special, but his differences and low self-esteem have long since marked him as a target for the jocks and popular kids.

Now, just as his unique nature brings him the attention of a self-assured older girl, Nate must find his place in the world. Why is he the way he is? Where did he come from? Is he part of a remarkable, powerful new minority... or just a misfit among misfits?

He'd better find out fast... others want the truth, and they're closing in...

Praise For "Brave Men Run - A Novel of the Sovereign Era"

"The brilliance of Brave Men Run is not only in its vision, but its execution. Matthew Wayne Selznick spins a superhero story that transcends predictable ‘grim-n-gritty’ and ‘rock-’em-sock-’em’ conventions, capturing a realism and emotion rarely seen in the genre. Part Stan Lee, part John Hughes..!" -- J.C. Hutchins, author of the "7th Son" trilogy

"Selznick effortlessly spins a strong nostalgia for the ’80s with a fascinating alternate history where the superpowers wake up and may not be entirely hip on the idea of serving the rest of mankind. If Peter Parker had been one of the characters in 'The Breakfast Club,' you would have Brave Men Run. -- Mur Lafferty, author of "Playing for Keeps" and the "Heaven" series

"A fantastical novel written with that all-too-rare attention to character and drama… Selznick speaks softly — yet eloquently — and wields a very big literary stick." -- Mark Jeffrey, Ulysses Award-winning author
of The Max Quick Series

"This book rocks. It’s engaging, the characters are robust... Brave Men Run is the finest podcast novel I’ve listened to… A solid story made even better by an exceptional performance by the author, it serves as an example of what a self-produced ‘podiobook’ can be. You won’t be disappointed." -- Evo Terra, founder of Podiobooks.com

"I thoroughly enjoyed Brave Men Run for its sympathetic characters, its eighties nostalgia, and its comic industry in-jokes, as well as its thoroughly entertaining story! If John Hughes had written the ‘X-Men’ films, this is what we would have gotten." -- Steven H. Wilson, Parsec Award-winning creator of creator of The Arbiter Chronicles

"A great read, a real page turner. This book could be a bestseller." -- Henry Baum, author of "North of Sunset"

"Brave Men Run is at once fantastical and ordinary, gripping and emotional, shocking and intelligent. I thoroughly enjoyed it." -- Paul Story, author of the "Tom Corven" podiobook.

"Well written, with great dialogue... utterly convincing." -- Paul S. Jenkins, the Rev-Up Review podcast.

"Amazingly good... I'm totally hooked! Matthew's prose is clean and true..." -- Jesse Willis, SFFaudio.com

Extended Show Notes

Check out the annotated show notes and comment on each episode!

More From The Sovereign Era

Immerse yourself in the Sovereign Era at Matthew Wayne Selznick's FREE ongoing serial fiction fiction project, "Hazy Days and Cloudy Nights."

Enjoy a new short story set in the Sovereign Era of "Brave Men Run!" Read "The World Revolves Around You" for free, or purchase an e-book or signed and numbered limited edition chapbook right here.

Visit Matthew Wayne Selznick's website for more fiction, plus music, commentary and other content!

Support the Author

Support independent creative endeavors! If you enjoyed the free podcast edition of "Brave Men Run -- A Novel of the Sovereign Era," consider purchasing the paperback book or electronic editions for the Amazon Kindle, iPhone / iPod Touch, and other DRM-free e-book formats from BraveMenRun.com.

This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives 3.0 United States License.

Audio Quality: Out of 253 ratings

Narration Quality: Out of 252 ratings

Writing Quality: Out of 253 ratings

Overall Rating: Out of 253 ratings

By: Matthew Wayne Selznick
Hi Bored! Yeah, the intro on the first episode or two is kinda long, isn't it? That was created back in 2005, when there only a dozen or so podcast novels in existence, and we were all really pretty much making it up as we went along when it came to what was "right" and "wrong." Good times, back there on the pioneer trail. I encourage folks who can't wait to get to the story to use the fast forward controls on their computer or portable media device. As for being self-serving... I shamelessly admit that. The whole "release your novel in free podcast form" is an exercise in self-promotion. That's one of the reasons we do this -- to promote ourselves and our work, and hopefully encourage the people who enjoy the free content to support us by purchasing the book in other formats like paperback or e-book. I hope you'll give it another shot, Bored... and everyone else, just fast forward through the intro if it's too long for you, with my thanks. Best, Matthew Wayne Selznick

By: Bored Listener
I'm sorry, but over 2 minutes of bad music and overly dramatic author telling us the title... all for an intro... is way to much. I stopped there and have moved on to something else. Seriously. It's so self-serving and I don't understand the point of doing that. Just spend 30-45 seconds on an intro with little/no music and get on with it already.

By: Matthew Wayne Selznick
Thanks for you kind words about the podcast edition of "Brave Men Run - A Novel of the Sovereign Era," Jim! If you're interested in more Sovereign Era material, I invite you to check out my ongoing serial fiction project, "Hazy Days and Cloudy Nights." It begins about a year before the events in "Brave Men Run" and features many of the supporting characters from that book in leading roles. Also, I have a short story set in the Sovereign Era, "The World Revolves Around You," on my web site, which you can read for free or enjoy in several e-book formats or as a hand-made, signed, limited edition chapbook. Finally, look for "The Sovereign Era: Year One," an anthology of Sovereign Era stories by authors like Mur Lafferty, P.G. Holyfield, J.C. Hutchins, Matt Wallace and others coming from MWS Media, LLC in the coming months! Lots of Sovereign Era stuff to keep you going! Enjoy -- and thanks!

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