J. S. Frankel Knihy

For Edward T. Scupper, life has been one long, lonely road. Born in the mid-eighteen-hundreds, for reasons unknown, he stops aging at eighteen. At first, it's exciting to live through the various decades while others succumb to time, but after a number of years, he finds that immortality is boring.Science proves to be the answer, or so he thinks. Edward-Ed-journeys from one city to another in the US in order to find an answer to his predicament. He doesn't wish for death. He only wishes to have a normal lifespan, like everyone else. After numerous searches, he winds up in Portland, Oregon, where he meets Doctor Farhan, a molecular biologist and geneticist who is working on using gene therapy to improve or cure various ailments, including blindness in his daughter, Diana.Ed tells Farhan of his desire to achieve mortality. Farhan promises to help him in return for the scientific knowledge, and a bargain of sorts is achieved. Initially, Ed and Diana don't get along. However, over time, they find themselves drawn to each other, as each of them seeks a cure for their problem, and only Doctor Farhan can provide it.Before long, though, the young couple finds themselves under attack, Doctor Farhan is killed, and the two teens are pursued by hitmen sent by Fester Norton, an elderly tycoon who wants what Ed has got-the secret of immortality-and will stop at nothing to get it!

Jake Cullen, a disabled teen novelist, is contacted from the great cyber beyond by a person who calls herself Miranda.It turns out that Miranda isn't a hacker, but an AI program, a free-roaming, independent program that can go anywhere and do anything it likes within the confines of cyberspace. Jake finds her creator, Doctor Helena Schreiber, and receives the greatest gift-a way to link up to her creation, Miranda.Jake enters the internet and finds a cyber world that's much like our own, but more so. He and Miranda go exploring together, and also find out they're more into each other than they thought possible. While all is fun and games at first, trouble looms in the form of Marvin Throckmorton, Schreiber's former employer. He's aware that Doctor Schreiber has created a sentient program, and he wants it. To that end, he sends his enforcers to coerce the information out of Jake, and they attack him and threaten his life and the life of his mother.What he does not know is Doctor Schreiber's ultimate goal-to make her creation more human. Jake also has a goal-to survive. With Miranda's help, he finds a way to fight back and discovers just where he truly belongs.

Ed Sawyer, seventeen, is one of those ignored types at his school. A nerd hopelessly obsessed with all things cinematic, he lives for his next flick. He's matched by Linda Usher, a classmate who is also into movies, as well as computer coding and hacking. On the last day of school before summer vacation, Ed is given a flash drive by a dying man. He sees a code on it, and Linda, for all her genius, can't decipher it, either. They are soon pursued by not only domestic terrorists-ex-members of the Department of Defense-but also by Russian agents who are after the same thing. It seems that the creator of the program, Harry Haskins, devised it as the ultimate smart bomb, the ultimate tool for controlling the internet and every single computer program around, including those of defense. It's a secret that the wrong people will kill for, and Ed and Linda have to go on the run from those who would capture and kill them-and that includes citizens as well! Only Linda has the knowledge to prevent such a catastrophe from happening. The only question is whether the duo can remain alive long enough to deliver the goods to the right people.

Everyone has a place in the world. Now, for Number Eight, a teen with no past, no identity, and little chance of a future, it's time for him to find his. Number Eight, a teen trained to be a warrior, escapes from a shadowy place known only as the Facility. He has no memory of his past and only wishes to discover who he is and where he is going. Enhanced with exceptional strength, speed, and aural ability, he stumbles upon a small circus sideshow act that calls itself the Oddities. And oddities they are. Small-Tall can change his height. Feet can hurl knives with unerring accuracy with only his toes, Lips uses the power of wind, and Grace can generate the heat of a small sun. Yet, they hide their true powers for fear that the government will deem them a threat. Number Eight adopts the name Nick Andimer as a cover. Afraid that the members of the Facility will come after him, he needs a place to hide, and the Oddities accept him as their resident strongman. They travel from place to place, living an itinerant lifestyle, all the while pursued by those who don't have their best interests at heart. Soon, the members of the Facility catch up with them, and Nick must fight for his future as well as for the only friends he's ever had.

A choice to be made, and a price to be paid. Sometimes, doing the right thing means paying the ultimate price.Linden Lampkin, fifteen, ignored by an uncaring father, bullied and harassed by his peers, almost meets his end one night in an alleyway. The victim of a random mugging, he enters a portal into a parallel universe, a universe very much like ours.Linden ends up at the Tower, a hangout where a group of very unusual people-the Ultras-live and work. With advanced technology and medicine, they heal his injuries.The procedure ages him to that of someone almost twenty years old, and he begins a new life working with his mentors, a group of enhanced individuals who help out those on Earth whenever help is needed.Fitting in is difficult at first, but through hard work, Linden copes, succeeds, finds a girlfriend, and thinks he's found happiness.However, a chance meeting with someone on Earth leads him to think that the Ultras aren't really who they say they are.His search also pits him against a super-villain who has no qualms about killing, and when Linden finally learns the truth about who he's been living with, he also has to make the choice between saving his life and doing the right thing.

Vicar-Vic-Farbstein, seventeen, resident of Eugene, Oregon, an average high school student in every way, happens upon an alien who has come to Earth in search of warriors to defend her world. With a long, unpronounceable name, he calls her Iris, with her blessing.Iris has abilities-flight and strength-and soon, the NSA discovers what she can do. Led by Agent Randolph Haynes, he urges her to keep a low profile and blend in.Blending in, though, isn't something Iris can so readily do, as the destroyer of her world, Kherter, a fearsome giant of a man, sends his forces to Earth to destroy her as well as enslave mankind. Iris manages-barely-to beat them back the first time, and in doing so, reveals herself to the world.Vic accepts her as a friend, and so do many others at first. The press dubs her Iris Incredible, and she's hailed as a savior, a mantle she is unwilling to assume. Her only goal is to find someone who can help her in her own cause.When Kherter and his forces return to ravage downtown Eugene and subsequently threaten the world, human nature takes over. Trust turns to mistrust and fear, and Iris becomes a pariah, as does Vic. Soon, social order breaks down as the worst of human nature comes to the fore.In spite of the public's antipathy, Vic and Iris take on Kherter's forces in one, final, all-out assault. Iris knows what she has to do, as does Vic, and they engage in a battle that will determine the future of mankind.

For Nelson Benjamin, former juvenile offender, seeing Mara Lontez, an alien come to Earth in a role to do good, in action, is one thing. Meeting her is another, and running from the law, well, that’s a different story altogether.Nelson Benjamin, eighteen, the owner of a criminal record who only wants a fresh start in life, is given his chance by Mara Lontez, an alien come to Earth, and also by a shadowy government agency known as the Agency that Mara works for.Mara has super-powers, and Nelson finds himself in the position of being her confidante, her guide to human life and its ways and mores, and eventually, her boyfriend. Serving truth and justice and whatever else comes with it, Nelson does his best to help Mara fit in.However, as with all things, agendas rule, and he discovers that the Agency isn’t what it seems and its goals under its leader, Colton Samel, differ wildly from its stated purpose. By the time Nelson and Mara discover the truth, it may already be too late.

Medusa, the Gorgon, is free-temporarily. Penned up in Tartarus, the gods-Zeus and Hera-show her mercy. Medusa is given two weeks in which to track down their wayward daughter, Eris. Transformed into a beautiful young woman, Medusa is given only one warning: not to use her powers of transforming those to stone. She agrees and adopts the name Meddy Gorgonne. In a stroke of chance, she finds lodgings with the Goldstein's, Sam and Trudy, and tries to figure out how modern Portland works. Cars, showers, television-all are mysteries to her at first, although she adapts.Meddy is somewhat naïve about life and especially about love, as she slowly falls for Sam, a teen who is suffering from Usher's Syndrome, a disease that will blind and deafen him in time. What is more troubling to Meddy is that her powers of turning people to stone have returned, and she is at a loss as to why. With the police slowly closing in and time running out on how to get Eris to return to Olympus, Meddy discovers that sometimes old is new, and that time-worn traditions can surmount modernity.But will they be enough for her to stay with Sam, or will she be forced to return to Tartarus for eternity?

Making the world safe for another turn of the sun is harder the second time around when vampires and zombies are involved. Carl Silverman, Grover Plover, and Genevieve Gray return, this time making a new life for themselves in Baltimore, Maryland. They continue their zombie-killing lifestyle, while Carl tries to go back to school and attempts to lead a normal life. But things aren't well on the personal side. Amanda ends her relationship with Carl, and he starts dating Miranda, a vamp from the other side of the segregated city. Vamps are not considered full-fledged citizens, and fears over them are stoked by an ignorant human populace. Worse, a new drug is killing humans and vamps, and Amanda dies in an ambush. Carl grieves, and he vows to find her killer. His quest leads him to battle people on both sides of the city. It also leads him to question which world he belongs in. Justice, though, must be served, and he does his best to serve it, even at the possible cost of his life.

What happens to defenders of a city when they're no longer needed? Some fade away. Others turn to a different line of work. And still others... turn evil. Zander Nelson, formerly known as Phantom and a member of a superhero group called the Backup Crew, loses his job and his apartment-due to a bomb-in one afternoon. He finds refuge with his ex-girlfriend and teammate, Millie Lennet, formerly known as Mule, but her apartment is also torched, and they realize that someone has a vendetta against them. Searching for clues nets them nothing. Their former leader, Andrew Shorter-AKA Blaster-is missing, and their former teammate, Glen Fooks-AKA Substance Abuse-is dead, courtesy of another bombing. Zander's notion of justice is sorely tested, and once he puts the clues together, he realizes that things aren't so black-and-white anymore. He also realizes that if the real culprit isn't caught, he and Millie might not live another day.