Herokiller

“An incredible new voice in sci-fi. The kind of writer who keeps you turning the pages long into the night.”—A.G. Riddle, bestselling author of The Atlantis Gene and Pandemic

Ready Player One meets Gladiator in this high-octane thriller that mixes black-ops espionage with fight-to-the-death combat in the arena.

In the near future, the line between entertainment and brutality has blurred. Mysterious billionaire Cameron Crayton is a household name from televised spectacles in which prison inmates fight to the death, but his old shows pale in comparison to his new event, The Crucible, a gladiatorial tournament anyone can enter. The winner is promised unimaginable wealth and glory . . . if they’re able to survive a series of globally broadcast fight-to-the-death matches with medieval weaponry against the world’s most fearsome fighters.

Former black-ops operative Mark Wei wants nothing more than to be left alone to drink after sacrificing everything—including his family—in America’s covert Cold War II against China, a war won largely because of him. But there are rumors that Crayton’s background and business dealings involve shady connections to foreign powers, and soon Mark is convinced to reluctantly dust off his training, strap on a sword and armor, and enter the tournament arena as an undercover agent.

It’s the most dangerous assignment he’s ever been given, and Mark quickly finds himself not just fighting for his life in the arena against trained killers, but racing to expose The Crucible’s founder’s secrets while navigating a viral phenomenon in which the stakes are literally life and death. . . .

Paul Tassi decided after years of consuming science fiction through a steady diet of books, movies, TV shows, and video games to try writing his own stories in the genre. Now the author of the Earthborn Trilogy from Talos Press, Paul also writes for Forbes, and his work has appeared on IGN, the Daily Dot, Unreality, TVOvermind, and more. He lives with his wife in Chicago.

Praise for Herokiller
“An incredible new voice in sci-fi. The kind of writer who keeps you turning the pages long into the night.”—A.G. Riddle, bestselling author of The Atlantis Gene and Pandemic

"Tassi successfully merges elements of The Hunger Games and Mission Impossible in this action-packed thriller . . . [a] heart-pounding and ironically cinematic novel."—Publishers Weekly

“Keeps the reader interested and guessing. Readers who enjoy action and intrigue will find both in this novel.”—Booklist

“With Herokiller, Paul Tassi has once again created an all-new universe you have to read to believe. This is the kind of edgy sci-fi we've been waiting for, one that moves at breakneck speed, but also with a purpose, taking you along for a wildly fun ride with characters you won't soon forget.”—Jon Negroni, author of Killerjoy and The Pixar Theory