Seven Wonders

Praise for
Adam Christopher

"Adam Christopher has distilled the purest elements of our modern super-hero fascination, and crafted prose that reads as beautifully as the finest panels, invested with all the power, creativity, and force that both mediums can muster. This is traditional heroism with a decidedly wicked and iconoclastic twist. Inventive, engaging, bewitching, and delightful, a feast as much for fans of the tropes as for the innocents amongst us."

Greg Rucka, New York Times bestselling author of
Alpha, The Punisher
and
Batman

"
Seven Wonders
is everything that's great about superhero novels – a fast pace, a complicated plot, iconic characters, and an unlimited effects budget. Absolutely wonderful."

Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author of
Discount Armageddon
and
Ashes of Honor

"A cool, clever, wickedly twisty superhero story… You can, and will, provide your own pictures…"

Mike Carey, New York Times bestselling writer of
The Unwritten
and
X-Men

"A blast of pure pleasure. This is Watchmen meets
NYPD Blue
, while
The Incredibles
stroll by; fast-moving action infused with Christopher's infectious love of pulp fiction and the superhero genre."

Philip Palmer, author of
Version 43
and
Hell Ship

"Rocketing ahead on a super-human combination of lightning-fast story, sharp-witted writing, a supervillain who will give you chills and a superhero team as diverse and complex as the Avengers or the Justice League,
Seven Wonders
is, quite simply, the superhero novel we've all been waiting for."

Caitlin Kittredge, author of
The Iron Throne
and
Street Magic

“
Seven Wonders
is the exploded view on superheroes. Set pieces are described in colourful visuals like enhanced comic frames and the heroes' physical vulnerability is deftly shown in a way only novels can. Adam Christopher forges superhero glamour with the gritty proceduralism of police noir."

SL Grey, author of
The Mall
and
The Ward

"Superheroes, we've always been told, are far above the common man in both powers and nobility, but Adam Christopher unrelentingly tells the story of heroes struggling to guide the world long after they've lost their own way.
Seven Wonders
slams readers in the gut from the very first page and then just keeps on firing cannons, giving readers the same choice as every single citizen of San Ventura – either duck and cover, or ride along with the laser."

Paul Tobin, author of
Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man

"Witty and cinematic, packed full of spectacular set-pieces, labyrinthine plot twists and devious double-crosses, and populated by an imaginative array superheroes as flawed and fallible as the citizens they're sworn to protect, Adam Christopher's
Seven Wonders
is the literary equivalent of a lazy Saturday morning with a stack of your favorite comic books: pure, unadulterated fun!"

Owen Laukkanen, bestselling author of
The Professionals

"A novel with the best of superhero traditions: cool adventure, great action, and heroes and villains with genuine personality."

A Lee Martinez, Alex Award-winning author of
Emperor Mollusk vs the Sinister Brain
and
Gil's All Fright Diner

"An exhilarating, rocket-heeled ride. Adam Christopher grabs the super hero story crashes through the comic book frame and carries it straight into your mind's eye. These pages are filled with gleaming spandex, sinister motives and explosive action.
Seven Wonders
is wry, sly and ready to fly." 

Tom Pollock, author of
The City's Son

Never too dark and never too campy, this book's just the right amount of fun."

Stephen Blackmoore, author of
City of the Lost

"Adam Christopher is a bold new voice in the prose world, merging the literary with genre into a explosive new vision for modern fction."

Joshua Hale Fialkov, Harvey-, Eisner- & Emmy nominated writer of
I, Vampire, Echoes
and
Tumor

"
Seven Wonders
is a rollicking roller-coaster of a novel – Christopher has created characters you care about and a plot that doesn't let up, all wrapped up in prose as feisty as its superheroes… Ka-pow! I loved it. A must-read."

Alison Littlewood, author of
A Cold Season

"With
Seven Wonders
Adam Christopher has proved himself the master of a new type of noir for the modern age. A noir where Chandler meets the Avengers on pages of delightfully crisp prose. A noir favoured with echoes of
Sin City
and
Watchmen
. A noir that's simply marvel-ous and entirely his own."

Sarah Pinborough, author of
The Chosen Seed
and
Mayhem

"Adam Christopher grabbed everyone's attention with his debut novel
Empire State
, and his follow up
Seven Wonders
will surely please all of his readers who have been waiting breathlessly for more. A smart, entertaining, energetic take on the superhero genre."

Victor Gischler, writer of
X-Men
and
Deadpool

"An awesome heroic adventure that cannot slow down. This book was so much fun!"

Mur Lafferty, John W. Campbell Award-nominated author and editor of
Escape Pod

BY THE SAME AUTHOR

Empire State

ADAM CHRISTOPHER

SEVEN WONDERS

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Chapter 55

Chapter 56

Chapter 57

Chapter 58

Chapter 59

Chapter 60

Chapter 61

Chapter 62

About the Author

Acknowledgments

Deleted Scenes

For Sandra, always and forever.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Head down the Pacific Coast Highway in California and you won't find a turnoff for the city of San Ventura; it doesn't exist, although you might reach San Buenaventura – more commonly known as Ventura – if you go far enough south. Any resemblance between the real seat of Ventura County and the fictitious Jewel of the West Coast as presented in this book is entirely coincidental.

  Likewise, you won't see the Draconid meteor shower if you look to the night sky in summer, in the Northern Hemisphere at least; you need to wait until early October in our universe.

"Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.

It has been ten years since my last confession.

In that time, I have murdered and terrorized.

I have destroyed the city."

SAN VENTURA, CALIFORNIA
– Jewel of the West Coast! The Shining City! A modern metropolis of industry and commerce, a city synonymous with progress!

  And a city in thrall of
THE COWL
, that superpowered supervillain whose identity is concealed by the famous dark hood, that evil-doer who enacts his reign of terror with the help of the enigmatic and mysterious
BLACKBIRD
, the Mistress of the Night, her features concealed behind a bird-like mask!

  But hope is not lost, for the Shining City is home to the last group of superheroes, that band of marvels who keep the city safe as they prepare for the ultimate showdown with their arch-nemesis! Watch the skies, for they are
THE SEVEN…

W

ise is their leader, that champion of champions who carries the amazing atomic power of the very sun itself within him! No villain is a match for the supreme strategies of Earth's superman,
AURORA'S LIGHT!

O

ut of the ordinary, her mental powers read the secrets of the criminal mind, and in her anger unleash a psychic lightning storm that none can weather! Villains can hide nothing from the penetrating gaze of
BLUEBELL!

N

ight-stalkers, take flight! For there walks among you a magical warrior woman, born of a lost tribe of Arabian nomads blessed with a supernatural link to the animal kingdom! Beware the claws of
SAND CAT!

D