Almost Infamous

Eighteen-year-old Aidan Salt isn’t a superhero. With his powerful (and unpredictable) telekinetic abilities he could be one if he wanted to, but he doesn’t. He’s unambitious, selfish, and cowardly, and he doesn’t want to have to deal with all the paperwork required to become a professional superhero. But since the money, fame, and women that come with wearing the cape are appealing, he decides to become the first supervillain the world has seen in more than twenty years: Apex Strike.

However, he soon finds villainy in a world where the heroes have long since defeated all the supervillains. While half the world’s heroes seem to want him dead, the other half want to hire him as their own personal villain to keep them relevant. Choosing the latter course, Aidan enters a world of fame, fortune, and staged superhero fights that is seemingly everything he ever dreamed of . . . at least until he sees what truly hides behind the cape-and-mask lifestyle.

Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.

Matt Carter is an author of horror, sci-fi, and young adult fiction. He has written The Prospero Chronicles series with his wife and frequent co-author, F. J. R. Titchenell. Almost Infamous is his first solo novel, and he lives in the usually sunny town of San Gabriel, California.

"Almost Infamous has a tough job: telling a compelling story where most, if not all, of the characters are bad guys. But Matt Carter makes it seem effortless, offering a funny, dark, and thoroughly enjoyable story about friendship, heroism, and the lengths to which we’ll go to disrupt the status quo when needed."
—San Francisco Book Review

"Matt Carter has crafted an engrossing, enthralling, set of scurrilous lies about my chosen profession. In spite of myself, I couldn't put it down. I will crush him."
—King Oblivion, Ph.D., author of The Supervillain Handbook

"A clever premise...irresistible reading."
—Booklist

“One hell of a fun read! Highly recommended for fans of superhero fiction and comic book lovers, especially if you enjoy the gritty stylings of comics like Garth Ennis’ The Boys. I had an absolute blast with this dynamic tale of sex, drugs, and supervillainy.”
—BiblioSanctum