TheSentinelsnovelsbyVan Allen Plexicocomprise a sequence ofsuperhero fictionworks in prose format with occasional interior illustrations. They are set primarily in the present-dayUnited States.The first novel was published in 2006.
| Author | Van Allen Plexico |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Chris Kohler |
| Cover artist | Jim Jiminez, Rowell Roque, Danny Wall, Mitch Foust, Chris Kohler |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Superhero fiction,space opera |
| Published | 2006-2017 |
The novels follow the adventures of a group of paranormal agents loosely affiliated with theUnited States governmentand theUS Defense Department.The central character, Lyn Li (codenamed "Pulsar" ), is a Chinese-American college student and self-proclaimed "nerd" who discovers she possesses electromagnetic-based super powers. She is pursued by both good and villainous agents wishing to recruit her onto their teams. Thus far the series includes nine novels and one anthology, plus a large-format book collecting the interior and cover artwork done for the series by Chris Kohler.
The first trilogy of novels,The Grand Design,centers around the schemes of an over-the-top villain called the Warlord and his assistant, Francisco, to unify the Multiverse into a single realm that the Warlord can rule. The second trilogy,The Rivals,takes on a more "cosmic" aspect, with vastly powerful entities from space coming to Earth and possibly destroying it as a consequence of their ancient conflicts. The third trilogy, originally calledOrder Above Allbut then revised toThe Earth - Kur-Bai War,began in December 2012 with publication ofMetalgodand concluded in 2017 withVendetta.
Plexico has spoken in interviews and in panel discussions at conventions about the origins of the characters and the series, and of planning a total of twenty or twenty-one novels in the series. He has described them as "action/adventure novels with a heavy “cosmic” SF theme, but with the flavor of 1970s-80s Marvel comics such as the AVENGERS. "[1]He has said that the main themes he seeks to address in the series are the concepts of identity, memory and loyalty.[2]
Plexico has said his reason for writing superhero stories as novels rather than in the more traditional comic book format is, "I'm able to both cover a LOT of ground, time-wise-- more than a year's worth of story in just one book--and go more in-depth with the characters, the way a novel allows you to do."[3]
The first three novels in the series were published in 2006 and 2007 byWhiteRocketBooksand then, beginning in 2008, were reprinted bySwarm Press,an imprint of horror/apocalyptic fiction publishers Permuted Press. Subsequent volumes have been published by White Rocket Books. A paperback omnibus of the first three volumes, as well as a limited edition hardcover containing the first three books plus additional art and features, were published in 2007 but are now both out of print. New omnibus paperbacks of the first and second trilogy were published by White Rocket Books in 2012. Sentinels short stories have been published byA Thousand Faces magazine.
The seventh volume overall and sixth novel,Stellarax,completing the "Rivals" trilogy, was published by White Rocket Books in June 2011. The eighth volume overall and seventh novel,Metalgod,beginningThe Earth - Kur-Bai Wartrilogy, was published by White Rocket Books in December 2012. The ninth volume overall and eighth novel,The Dark Crusade,was published by White Rocket Books in September 2016. The final novel in the third trilogy,Vendetta,was published in May 2017.[4]
The Sentinels series
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- When Strikes the Warlord(White Rocket Books edition, 2006; Swarm Press edition, 2008)ISBN1-934861-06-5
- A Distant Star(White Rocket Books edition, 2007; Swarm Press edition, 2008)ISBN1-934861-07-3
- Apocalypse Rising(White Rocket Books edition, 2007; Swarm Press edition, 2008)ISBN1-934861-08-1
- The Shiva Advent(2009)ISBN978-0-9841392-1-7
- Worldmind(2010)ISBN978-0-9841392-2-4
- Stellarax(2011)ISBN978-0-9841392-4-8
- Metalgod(2012)ISBN978-0-6157339-0-6
- The Dark Crusade(2016)ISBN978-0984139293
- Vendetta(2017)ISBN978-1546517832
The nine novels have been collected in three paperback omnibus editions:
- The Grand Design(omnibus paperback collection of first three novels; 2008; reissued 2012)ISBN978-0-984-13925-5
- The Rivals(omnibus paperback collection of second trilogy of novels; 2012)ISBN978-0-984-13927-9
- The Earth - Kur-Bai War(omnibus paperback collection of third trilogy of novels; 2018)ISBN978-1721688487
Following publication of the ninth novel, an over-sized art book was published containing all the black-and-white interior illustrations from all nine books plus cover artwork and commentary by artist Chris Kohler and author Van Allen Plexico: Sentinels: The Art of Chris Kohler(2017)ISBN978-1548867454
There is also an anthology with stories by Plexico and several guest writers: Alternate Visions(anthology; 2009)ISBN978-0-578-01120-2
In 2007 White Rocket issued a special limited edition hardcoverWidescreen Special Editionvolume that included the first three novels plus the short stories fromAlternate Visionsand additional sketch art and other material.
External links
editReferences
edit- ^[1]ComixMix interview with Lisa Collins, 11 June 2013
- ^[2]Interview with the "Daily Dragon Online", 30 August 2017
- ^Thomas (2012-06-29)."The Nocturne Travel Agency: Elsewhere In The Multiverse Part One: Meet Van Allen Plexico".The Nocturne Travel Agency.Retrieved2023-11-07.
- ^"Van Allen Plexico's SENTINELS".whiterocketbooks.Retrieved2023-11-07.