“Lighting Bolt and Blazer,” written by Alex Hounchell, a student majoring in English at Washburn University, is the first in an action-packed heroic adventure series.

Lighting Bolt and Blazer are superheroes who have no memory of their past, and are trying to stop the chaos taking over the town of Landerton. These two young brothers try to stay a step ahead of multiple forces working against them including a female mastermind, an assassin and a teleporting bank robber, all while having to uncover their past and survive the bad guys’ attacks.

This book is filled with fast-paced action, clever quips and creative metaphors that give it comic relief. Excessive comedy is not normally found in superhero series but it works well to paint the interesting characters portrayed in this series.

The contrast of Lighting Bolt to Blazer is not only effective, but adds depth to the characters themselves. Lighting Bolt is a quick-witted character with girl troubles, and Blazer is the more respected and responsible younger brother that gets his comrades out of trouble.

Despite the brothers differences, they are always able to work together and stay loyal to what they believe in.

“The theme is loyalty. Even if reality is crumbling, or you are being pursued through time and space, or your legs are broken, my main characters stay standing and loyal to each other, their cause, and who they are. They aren’t willing to give up,” Hounchell said.

Hounchell hasn’t been working alone, and thanks both his co-writer, Jon Lundin, and Professor Karen Barron, who has been a big supporter of him. He was able to finish his first book in a little over four years and is writing the second one.

He said that he has a passion for writing, and he hopes to continue in the future with the rest of the series and some novels.

“My favorite part of writing this series is knowing that I created these brilliant characters with my co-author and best friend, Jon Lundin, when we were in third grade,” Hounchell said. “We told stories together for years and I get the joy of putting it on paper with him and letting others enjoy what I care about.”

Hounchell said only the first book has been published so far in 2012, but a second one is about to come out this summer. He said the plan with his co-author includes nine novels with possibility for fifteen novels conceptually, as of now.

“I would recommend this novel to anyone willing to take a long journey filled with rich characters and comedy and time travel and superpowers and love and friendship – so everyone.” Hounchell said.