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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 here!

Immerse Yourself In The Sovereign Era

At Matthew Wayne Selznick's website, participate in the forums, where you can contribute your own Sovereign Era fan fiction, artwork, and other content, browse the wiki, explore Matt's blog, or just hang out with the community of Matt's friends and fans. Register for free!

Support the Author

Support independent creative endeavors! If you like "Brave Men Run -- A Novel of the Sovereign Era," consider purchasing the paperback edition on July 13, 2008 - more information will be at the author's website! Or, you can order the e-book or MP3 audio CD editions of the book right now.

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

Audio Quality: Out of 180 ratings

Narration Quality: Out of 179 ratings

Writing Quality: Out of 179 ratings

Overall Rating: Out of 180 ratings

By: Matthew Wayne Selznick
Cactusnic, psionandy, and Kelly... thanks so much for your comments, and I'm so pleased you enjoyed "Brave Men Run -- A Novel of the Sovereign Era." Lobster, thanks for taking the time to write such an insightful critique -- it shows that the book had an impact on you, and for that, I'm grateful! I hope I'll see you all in the comments and on the budding forums over at http://www.mattselznick.com -- at the site, you can also read (and comment on) the detailed show notes for the podcast edition of "Brave Men Run," download wallpaper featuring cover art, and even buy songs mentioned in the book to make your own soundtrack album! Also, of course, mattselznick.com is where I continue to update everyone on the upcoming events I have planned for July 13, 2008, that very special day this Sovereign Summer when "Brave Men Run" is released in a new paperback edition from Swarm Press. See you there - and thanks again!

By: Lobster
I'm not big on the superhero genre or the teen drama genre (or the 80's, for that matter), but after BoingBoing.net recommended this book I thought I'd give it a listen and I was very impressed. The audio quality struck me as particularly good with the author's voice easy to listen to and clearly engaged (and the themesong is catchy too!). The writing itself is quite good, particularly the dialogue, which is usually realistic with only the occasional hint of contrivance. I found Nate's relationship with Lina to feel a little unnatural, the sort of thing geeks like me wish would happen to them but never does, and for most of the book I was expecting a twist that never came. Still, both characters were written convincingly enough that I quickly came to care about them and was willing to overlook how unlikely it is that a rich, beautiful young woman would instantly fall in love with a younger teen who, for all intents and purposes, has physical deformities. I felt the writing was the weakest when describing the powers of characters, particularly those of Nate, since they broke out of very engaging narrative to essentially give a laundry list of superpowers, though I suppose in this genre that can be hard to avoid. On a similar note I was a little disappointed Selznick resorted to the old trope of having Nate look at his reflection in order to describe himself, but it wouldn't be a trope if it didn't work. The storyline is good and as believable as any superhero story I've ever seen though it feels like some details are missing (I won't elaborate on that due to spoilers). On the other hand, as soon as the "super-sovereign" was introduced early in the story I was worried that this story would try to be too self-important, as very often I've read stories of 15-year-olds facing off against great evils and changing the world (particularly when they have superpowers). I was very relieved to find that this is not the case in Brave Men Run. Selznick keeps the story focused and the emphasis not on doing incredible things with supernatural powers, but rather the effects of a world-changing event on a teen as he struggles to find his identity (even moreso than most teens!). It's an angle that is sadly rarely explored and Selznick did it very well. The only problems I found with the storyline was that there were a few leaps of logic, ones that didn't really seem to follow yet all the characters acted like that was the reasonable conclusion. The ending is also somewhat abrupt and while it is thought provoking I'm not sure there's enough meat tying it to the title to give me a good sense of closure. All in all I was impressed with this book and would recommend it to fans of the genre, as well as cynical and jaded readers such as myself who think if they've read one superhero novel they've read them all, as this one goes places I've never been.

By: Kelly
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I must be the same age as the author because the 80s references were right on, and part of the fun of this book. I really enjoyed his style of writing and the intricate plot. I can't wait to learn more about this world. It was very well performed and produced as well. Great job!

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