[Age of Heroes 01] • The Witch Hunter's Gauntlet

Fans of Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, Maximum Ride, Mortal Instruments, and I Am Number Four are sure to enjoy this exciting new YA adventure series.

For generations the Hathaway family has secretly protected the world from the evil forces of magic, monsters, and mad science. Now only Samantha Hathaway and her new friend and national video game champion, Lucas Fry, can prevent a war between science and magic.

When a pair of wizards show up at the mall to arrest Samantha for the theft of a powerful magical artifact used to resurrect an evil sorcerer with ties to her late parents she is propelled headlong into an exciting adventure that will change the fate of the world.

The first stop on her journey is the elite Miller's Grove Academy. Instead of the usual cliques of geeks, nerds, jocks, and cheerleaders, she had prepared for in high school Sam finds herself the least talented student in a school full of super-genius inventors, monster hunters, pop stars, and wannabe world emperors. Not to mention the hover boards.

Guided by nothing more than a riddle from her father Sam, Lucas, and their new friends must survive their extreme new school, find the real thief, confront the greatest evil wizard in recent history, and find the one weapon that could usher in the next, and possibly last, Heroic Age.

Worst. Freshman Year. Ever.

Review"It is so good!!! I love it!!! I loved it so much that I am going to recommend it to all my friends." - GameGirl

"I really enjoyed this story and the characters. I will definitely read more in this series. Reminds me of the Buffy and Scooby gang." - Eli Darling

"Bret Schulte blends elements of Harry Potter with the Men in Black into a good introductory level fantasy/sci-fi story that a lot of teenagers could relate to." - Tony Wellington

"I started reading this book a few hours ago, and I cant stop! (reading on my Kindle--I'm 13 year old girl)" - JulieW

From the AuthorInterview with the Author:

What inspired you to tell this story?I am as much a fan of Luke Skywalker, Harry Potter, and Buffy Summers as the next guy, but you have to admit it is a lot easier to fight evil when you have the same or similar powers as the bad guy, or at least some powers. I have always been drawn to the Han Solo, Xander Harris, and Indiana Jones type of characters. People without powers who step up to deal with supernatural forces and overwhelming odds.

Many fictional schools are centered around one or two special skill sets. Why did you decide to make Miller's Grove Academy so diverse?I feel it makes it more like a real school. It gets a little boring if everyone is into the same thing. Besides, one of the best parts about school is getting to meet people with a wide variety of interests.

Speaking of diversity, you have a very varied and distinct cast of characters. Was that intentional or did it just happen that way?It was totally intentional. I love crossovers, and the possibilities they create. What if Buffy went to Smallville or Percy Jackson showed up at Hogwarts? So instead of creating a hero and supporting characters I set out to make a cast of characters who could all be the heroes of their own series and genres and brought them together to see how they played off of each other.

Have you put any thought into who should be cast for the movie?Oh, lets not get too far ahead of ourselves. Still it is fun to think about. I certainly could recommend some great songs to use for certain scenes.

What do you hope readers take away from this book?That you don't have to be born with a special power to make a difference. Everyone has a talent that they can contribute to make the world a better place.