// DOMAIN: vaudeverse.com // ARCHITECT: "Michael Martin", "Fantasy Author" // STATUS: UNSTABLE
[ERROR_404] : “Standard Reality Not Found”
system.“initiate_breach ( “Visitor_ID_Unknown” );
// Rerouting to Sector 7…
Oh, fantastic. You’ve tripped the perimeter.
Do you have any idea how much paperwork this generates?
I leave the Fourth Wall unguarded for one nanosecond to grab a glass of whiskey, and suddenly you’re standing here, looking confused and holding a mouse (or tapping glass; I don’t judge).
Well, since you’ve already shattered the boundaries of our reality, you might as well come inside.
The Curator is currently rebooting the logic sectors to purge “unauthorized variables,” which means we have exactly thirty seconds before this page notices you don’t belong here.
I’m Michael. I write the prose that holds this shifting, bizarre fantasy universe together. Mostly.
Listen closely: Don’t touch the violet wires. Don’t look the paradoxes in the eye.
And for the love of all that is holy, scroll down before the system realizes we’re having this conversation.
This is the story the algorithm didn't want you to find.
The Vaudeverse Saga isn’t your average fantasy series.
It’s a brazen act of creative defiance.
The Vaudeverse Saga is NOT written for the masses, and frankly, not for “average” people either.
It is written for you—the person who craves a genre-bending, brain-tickling vibe that’s less of a tidy package and more of an exhilarating ride.
Prepare to be plunged into a high-octane adventure bursting with magic and mind-bending concepts.
We’re talking about intricate, plot-driven stories with a whirlwind of events and shocking twists that will keep you guessing.
You’ll follow courageous, complex characters who are driven by conflicting motivations and a willingness to make sacrifices.
And while they absolutely get their hands dirty with brutal action—punching their way to the resolution in blockbuster set-pieces—their journeys are grounded in raw, emotional sincerity.
Among the epic battles, you’ll also explore the quiet, vulnerable moments as you watch these noble heroes find compassion and earnestness, even when darkness threatens to consume everything.
The series offers glimpses of hope as heroes triumph over evil, proving that hope can shine even in the darkest corners.
However, it doesn’t shy away from ambiguity or morally gray characters who challenge our ideas of right and wrong.
This saga is a vibrant, off-kilter world built on monumental ideas and bizarre twists.
It’s a universe where indifferent deities watch over mortals and cosmic horror lurks just around the corner, waiting to make you question everything you thought you knew.
Vaudeverse is a pastiche world where the ancient ancestor of all monsters might just be found sharing secrets with the nine-year-old daughter of a Great Goddess …
Where “interconnected” doesn’t just mean character cameos … it means extinction-level events and grand team-ups woven into a saga of cosmic proportions.
You’ll venture through fantastical realms so vividly described that you’ll swear you’ve smelled the sulfur and felt the dense, crackling air.
You’ll encounter outlandish animalistic monsters and biblically accurate angels, all while finding solace in the company of adorable pets and the cozy, mundane comfort of a bakery that sits at the center of the universe.
This is a world designed to pleasantly surprise you, challenge you, and draw you deeper into its wondrous mysteries, because a good story should make you think.
Oh, my friend … This is a mood.
A whole glorious, genre-bending, brain-tickling, monster-punching, bakery-frequenting vibe.
This is an invitation to a transformative experience designed to challenge your perceptions and leave you with a profound intellectual and emotional impact.
These stories are born from a place of personal truth and creative risk, rejecting mainstream trends and algorithmic approvals to offer something genuinely original and uncategorizable.
I know that’s not everyone’s cup of tea.
But I never compromise on my integrity or vision.
I write with intention, choosing meaning over ease and depth over noise. It’s an act of quiet rebellion.
I believe stories are more than products. They’re a portal to something authentic and resonant.
Storytelling is the soul of culture, and I inject my soul into every word.
Sometimes my stories even feel less like something I’m inventing and more like a memory of events that already happened, and it’s my job to get it all down before it’s lost to the aether.
Ultimately, I call myself a “professional fun-haver” because that’s what spending time in the Vaudeverse feels like.
It’s a joy, a privilege, and a wild ride, and I’m so incredibly glad you’re here to share it with me. I hope you love these stories as much as I enjoy writing them.
So, if you’re ready to step into a world where the weird is celebrated and the boundaries are blurred, if you’re ready for a shared adventure with a community that’s a sanctuary from digital noise, then hold on tight.
The stakes are high, the action is non-stop, and the emotions hit hard.
This is fantasy for the unconventional.
This is adventure for the rebellious.
This is the story the algorithm didn’t want you to find.
Congratulations, you’ve just stumbled upon your next rabbit hole.
Cross wiped a smear of black ichor from the obsidian teeth of his macuahuitl.
The blade hummed, thirsty for more, but there was nothing left to kill in this particular ravine.
Above him, the Underworld sky churned—a nauseating kaleidoscope of tangerine fire and bruised indigo.
A barbot, looking like a plucked chicken on steroids, screeched as it banked hard to the left, narrowly missing a bolt of silence that cracked the air like a whip.
Standard Tuesday.
Cross tilted his head back, squinting not at the burning clouds, but at the unnatural, blinding white void that hovered just above the horizon … the bottom edge of the marketing text you just finished reading.
He spat into the red dust, his eyes locking onto yours through the screen.
“You comfortable out there? Sitting behind that glass, safe in your world of logic and laws? Must be nice.”
“Down here, the physics are broken, and the gods are bored. So, are you gonna stare at the white space, or are you gonna read?”
ARE YOU A VOYAGER OR A TOURIST?
Too many fantasy books are designed for rapid consumption.
The Vaudeverse Saga is designed for residency.
Who This Is
Not For
THE TOURIST
If you're looking for frictionless "content" designed for a quick dopamine hit, walk away now.
- The “Algorithm Surfer”: If you choose your next read based on tropes and hashtags, you will be disappointed. These books are built on architectural integrity, not market-tested tropes stitched together for viral reach.
- The “Quick Fix” Addict: If you are looking for a standalone weekend read to consume and forget, do not sign up for this. This is a sunk cost investment. I’m asking for your time, your brainpower, and your loyalty. The audacity!
- The “Vibe” Hunter: If you want a “Cozy” atmosphere where nothing bad happens, and the stakes are low, you’re in the wrong universe. I prioritize narrative density over aesthetic and mood.
- The Passive Skimmer: If you skip paragraphs to get to the dialogue, or if you listen to audiobooks at 3x speed while scrolling TikTok, you will miss the clues that make the ending make sense. These books break if you try to cheat them.
- The “Zero-Tolerance” Consumer: If you DNF a book because of a font choice or a character name you find annoying, this is not for you. This is a friction-heavy environment designed to test your commitment.
- The Mundane Muggle: If you want stories that politely stay inside the margins and never question the nature of their own existence, you will hate it here.
- The Meta Hater: If a character looking out of the page and insulting your shirt makes you uncomfortable, The Curator recommends you stick to biographies of accountants.
Who This Is
For
THE VOYAGER
If you view confusion and complexity not as a mistake, but as a challenge, welcome home.
- The “Ontological” Home-Seeker: You enjoy settling in to new worlds for a permanent residence. You want a universe dense enough to live in for the next decade, where the rules don’t change, and the lore rewards your memory.
- The Cognitive Athlete: You miss the days when books required a map, a glossary, and your full attention. You don’t want to be coddled; you want to be trusted to figure it out.
- The “Anti-Skimmer”: You read to slow down time, not to speed-run a yearly reading goal. You understand that the “boring parts” are actually the structural beams holding the roof up, and you’re willing to do the work to get the payoff.
- The “Deep-Dive” Gamer: You’re the person who reads the item descriptions in Dark Souls, listens to the audio logs in BioShock, or, my favorite, comb through the case files of the Federal Bureau of Control. You want the author’s notes because you know the story isn’t just on the page—it’s in the metadata.
- The Unconventionally Authentic: You know that the “real world” is often just a boring first draft. You want fiction that feels unhinged, vibrant, and alive.
- The Rebel Ally: You reject the "One True Opinion". You believe that stories should be dangerous, quirky, and monumental.
- The Mind-Bend Seeker: You want a story that grabs you by the frontal lobe and slingshots you through dimensions, leaving you breathless and slightly confused in a delightful way.
The Vaudeverse Saga is proudly NOT for everyone.
I don’t mean that in an exclusionary or defensive type of way.
I only intend to give you clarity of what this is and what this ain’t.
The Vaudeverse Saga is not safe, easy, familiar, or fast. And I refuse to create cheap experiences or cater to cheap readers.
I strive to create engaging stories that feature immersive world-building, complex characters, intricate plots, a thought-provoking tone, a strong sense of place, intentional narrative, and fast-paced, action-packed scenes.
Do the stories I publish hit all those marks 100% of the time?
I think so …
I hope so …
I damn sure work my ass off to create stories that are worth your time and money.
And I’m confident and proud of my work.
That’s why I’m so excited to share it with you!
Because ultimately, judging the quality and entertainment value of my writing is your job.
No one can do that for you.
Not me.
Not another reader.
Your reading experience is unlike anyone else’s.
Still here? Good.
[ALERT_SYS_VIOLATION] : “Narrative_Leak_Detected”
curator.“scan_sector ( target = “User_Mind” );
// Anomaly confirmed. Paradox imminent.
> protocol.“initiate_sanitization ( level=5 );
Whoa, whoa, hold on.
(Sound of frantic typing and a digital wrench hitting a server rack)
Okay. I’ve paused the scrub cycle.
Listen to me: Ignore the coding language all over this page. That’s The Curator. It’s a quantum-regressive algorithm that thinks “imagination” is a bug in the code.
It hates you. It hates me. It definitely hates that I just invited you to break the rules.
I’m holding the portal open, but my clearance codes are melting.
We have to keep moving before it realizes I’m rewriting the site map in real-time.
Quick—scroll down.
I need to formally introduce myself before the system realizes I’m the one who broke the reality engine.
I NEVER PLANNED TO BE HERE
Professional Fun-Haver & Accidental Scribe
I’m Michael Martin. 👋 😀
And “Published Author” was never on my roadmap.
Honestly, my life used to be a whirlwind of technical and engineering pursuits.
I even spent four years working on cruise ships, which is the epitome of being a “professional fun-haver.”
It was a cool gig, but there was a story brewing in my head that wouldn’t stay quiet.
The idea for the Vaudeverse saga popped into my brain waaaaaaayyyyy back in 2004. Almost fully formed.
And like a stubborn ghost, it haunted me for a full five years before I finally cracked and started writing it in 2009.
And now I have this soul-deep, can’t-sleep, gotta-get-it-out-or-I’ll-literally-combust need to bring this sprawling, fantastical saga to life.
I’m obsessed with storytelling. And creativity is my lifeline.
After decades of working in career fields that slowly crushed my creative spirit, I found that when I’m not creating, a part of me starts to wither.
Storytelling became my wonderfully unhinged life mission. It’s the only way to maintain my sanity in a world that demands conformity.
But I’m not some literary genius churning out trendy tropes for cash. I’m just a guy building a world that demands to be written.
I write and publish each story because I believe I have something incredible …
something unique …
something life-changing …
And I want to share it with the world.
With people who feel the same:
People who want to read something amazing, something seminal, something they love so much that they want to share it and obsess over it.
A story that stays with them…
… because it broke their brain…
… in a good way.
Sometimes, my stories might challenge you or prompt reflection.
The type of stories that, when you finish the last page, leave you sitting in silence, staring at a wall, questioning everything.
Maybe it changes your outlook on life or your beliefs, or makes you think in ways you never had before.
And you NEED to talk to someone about what you’ve just read.
Yeah, I’m the madman who twirls his mustache as he plots and schemes his way into giving you a powerful emotional experience, whether you love or even hate my work.
Because I want you to feel… something … about what I’ve created for you.
The worst possible reaction to my stories is:
😐
Only for you to forget the story ever existed seconds later.
You’re either going to stuff your mouth with buttery popcorn as you snicker at my train wreck of a publishing career…
Or you’ll join my cult and slavishly devote yourself to my gospel.
Give me:
💩 🤢 🤮 🤬 🌋 👀 🪓 ☠️ 🕳 ⚰️ ✟ 🙏
Or:
🤯 👏 🙌 🎉 🥰 💜 💍 ⛪
No in between.
Now … FYI … Most of the time, my stories arrive in novel length. But sometimes they’re novellas, novelettes, or the occasional short story, and whatever else my twisted brain tells me to write.
I’m doing what I love in the style I love.
A style I invented.
See, I travel down storytelling paths that haven’t been traveled before.
And sometimes I mess it all up.
But I learn from my mistakes.
That’s the fun part!
I pour my obsession, my humor, and my slightly aberrant imagination into these pages so that you have a place to escape to when reality gets too gray.
But odds are, you’re not as utterly obsessed with creativity, unconventional storytelling, or the raw, unadulterated freedom of creative expression as I am.
And that’s okay! 👍
If you decide this unhinged journey isn’t for you, I won’t hold it against you.
Much.
The static screams of the Curator fade abruptly.
The smell of burning ozone and pixelated dust vanishes. In its place, the air fills with the heavy, grounding scent of warm yeast, roasted coffee beans, and cinnamon pumping from an invisible chimney.
You are standing at 31115 Weathersky.
The walls here don’t shimmer. They don’t glitch. In a multiverse defined by chaos, this room is miraculously, stubbornly Spatially Fixed.
I wipe a smudge of flour onto my apron and lean against the counter.
You look like you’ve been through the wringer.
That’s the problem with the Vaudeverse—the ideas are big enough to bruise.
“Rough trip down the scroll?” I ask.
I slide a plate across the scratched wooden surface toward you. On it sits a Mara Muffin, steam still rising from its cracked, golden peak.
“Eat,” I say. “It’s baked with Leviathan Root. Good for settling the Nephesh after a dimension jump. It doesn’t just fill your stomach; it gives you Perspective.”
I gesture to the empty stool beside me.
“Out there? The universe is screaming. The algorithms are trying to flatten your imagination into a predictable data set. But in here? In the Nook? We just bake bread, drink coffee, and hold the line against the void.”
“The stories are real, Voyager. But they’re awfully quiet without you. We need an observer to make the wave function collapse into reality.”
IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO SLINGSHOT THROUGH THE FOURTH WALL
(a.k.a. Sign Up to My Email List.)
I don’t have a “newsletter.”
Newsletters are for “Bro-Poetry” Goo-roo’s obsessed with productivity, morning routines, and pseudo-philosophical advice; or lazy link dumps that don’t add perspective or voice; or navel-gazing authors who feel obligated to have a newsletter but lack the panache to make it entertaining.
We don’t do that here.
When you initialize your Plot Device (i.e., sign up to my email list), you aren’t subscribing to get free book giveaways, themed recommendations tied to holidays, or boring book release updates every six months…
Instead, you’re getting a DAILY haul of monumental loot:
The Artifacts (Short Fiction): Access to exclusive short stories—some free, some paid, all crafted to expand the Vaudeverse Saga in ways The Curator would hate.
The Origin Story (Cruise Ship Confessions): Ridiculously embarrassing anecdotes from my former life as a “Professional Fun-Haver” on cruise ships. Yes, that was my real job. Yes, it explains why I am like this.
The Blueprint (Commentary & Essays): Deep dives into the themes and motifs that drive my stories. We deconstruct the magic, the misery, and the mechanics of the Vaudeverse Saga.
Unapologetic Capitalism: I will send you blatant sales pitches for my books. I will invite you to join my private community, The Vaudrium. In EVERY email. And I will not be subtle about it. I’m an author; I need to buy mushroom coffee to fuel the Well of Creativity.
The Dialogue: A direct line to me. I actually reply. (Unless I’m trapped in the Underworld. Then it takes a day or two.)
My email list is for the “archaeologists” who love digging for hidden connections and the long-termists who want a universe they can inhabit for years.
If all that sounds like pure torture, now’s your chance to nope out from this website before the meta-narratives consume you!
But, if you enjoy entertaining, mind-expanding creativity, and addictive storytelling...
... my emails are probably gonna become your new favorites to open.
But don’t just take my word for it...
Here's how my actual subscribers react to my emails:
"I'm hooked. You've captured my brain with a brilliantly eloquent tangle of descriptive language"
"4.5 stars for me."
"Thank you for your entertaining email!! 👏👏👏"
"Dude you are so twisted 😂"
"I enjoyed your email immensely."
"That's an awesome story!"
"Hahahahahaha hahaha 😂"
No Spam. No Boring Stuff.
And because I don’t believe in empty handshakes, I will immediately send you a FREE 12-day read-along of my fantasy novel…
Burn In Hades
(10th Anniversary Edition)
Book 1 of the Vaudeverse Saga
A decade ago, Burn In Hades set the fantasy genre ablaze with its wild blend of mythologies and unforgettable journey through the Underworld.
To mark ten years of this wild, soul-flaying ride, the brand-new Anniversary Edition is here, packed with exciting new enhancements.
Join us in celebrating this milestone and dive into the fiery chaos, because this is Burn In Hades like you’ve never experienced before.
Flames writhe in the sky, whispering riddles. A dead man’s memories blaze brighter than his soul.
Cross, The Man Who Remembers, bears a festering bullet wound that throbs like a heartbeat when danger approaches, a remnant of his death as a former enslaved African in the American Old West. In a wild blend of Greek, Mayan, and African mythologies—an Underworld where time frays like a drunken deity’s fever dream and the blazing skies shift from red to black—he becomes the target of spirits yearning for the vibrant life he remembers.
Cross treks toward the stunning walled islands of Paradise to drink from the river Lethe, seeking to bury his haunted past. He’s guiding Cottontail, an ancient goddess trapped in the delicate form of a nine-year-old girl. But when a primal deity snatches her away, Cross teams up with the Raven, a stoic fallen angel sporting a trickster’s grin, to outsmart squalls, hodders, and the damned to retrieve divine chattel—relics imbued with god-slaying power. Diamond Tooth, his former demon partner, relentlessly pursues him, her century-long leash fueling a vendetta that makes his wound flare with every taunt.
If Cross can’t breach Paradise, Cottontail’s eternal spirit will confront the Underworld’s harshest entity, her ancient wisdom twisted in evil hands. Demons, devils, and the damned will hunt him forever or until they flay his memories from his soul. Despite this, his unwavering spirit fuels his fight. However, the waters of Lethe hold a frightening power, potentially washing away not just his torment; they could also erase the precious moments shared with Cottontail and each defiant victory, lost to a hollow nothingness.
In a realm where courage is a loaded taunt and redemption a perilous wager, Cross might just outwit eternity—or become its most peculiar phantom.
You’ll get one FREE chapter of Burn In Hades a day delivered to your inbox for 12 straight days.
It’s a drip-feed of demons, bad decisions, and kinetic prose.
Consider it your risk-free test drive of the Vaudeverse Saga.
Plunge into the fiery chaos of the Underworld, meet Cross (the dead man with the bulletwound in his head), and see if my brand of off-kilter, mythological madness is your next great obsession.
Here’s what REAL readers are saying about Burn In Hades:
(WARNING: Spoilers ‼️)
It’s rare that I read a book which transports me beyond enjoyment to pure excitement, but Burn in Hades by Michael Martin does just that.
Martin tells a compelling story about a former slave and convict’s journey through the underworld in search of redemption.
In reading Burn in Hades, I was amazed at the depth and breadth of Martin’s vision of the underworld and all its realms, from the ancient Egyptian Duat to an updated version of the Greek Charon to the magical calabash tree of the Mayan Xibalba.
As Cross is tormented with his memories of the life and people he left behind and the confusion around what led to his untimely death, he must also deal with underworld bounty hunters who prize those very rare memories his head contains—including one very special lady con-artist, The Raven, who becomes his mercurial partner and primary adversary.
Through Cross’ initial journey to rid himself of these tormenting memories, then his fight to keep the treasured knowledge those memories guard, he sorts through ideas of trust, forgiveness, and redemption. In the end, he must decide if he can trust The Raven to guide him to lead the resurrection of the dead, or if she has conned him into the ultimate, and final, second death.
I’m not sure if I’m more impressed with Martin’s fully-alive (but dead!) characters, his insightful concepts, his fast-paced storytelling, or his incredibly detailed world building, but what I know for sure is that I thoroughly enjoyed this read and cannot wait for the second book of the series!
—Susan P. Sipal
This is a good book with a message. Yes there is a moral message in it, but it is embedded within the different levels of fantasy with humor and a little mystery too.
Cross is a very lovable character, who learns a thing or two in the journey through the underworld.
A big plus for me was that Michael Martin combined many different religions together and formed an Underworld with all the different “hells” throughout it. He didn’t pick one religion that was the top dog but they each shared a place in the telling of the story.
I am looking forward to see what Cross gets himself into in the next installment.
This is not the kind of book you read for a moment of relaxed entertainment. It is epic, complex and even bizarre in a way. It reminded me of David Scott Hays Lucifer Morningstar, which is also quite utopian in the unique approach towards Hell and Heaven. You might want to take your time with reading it just so you dont miss any of the copious amounts of creative ideas flying around. As a reader I would suggest a glossary of words, places and people, because it is easy to lose track of who went where and why and is being eaten by what fantastical animal at this moment in time.
📝 Author’s Note: Cheryl has a point. Burn In Hades is a monumental, sprawling beast, and it doesn’t hold your hand. But I don’t want you getting eaten by the fauna unless it’s plot-relevant.
So, I’ve put together an incredible Lorebook that reveals the colossal machinery churning beneath the surface. It unlocks exclusive historical context, geographical oddities, and magical mechanics that were simply too dense (or too weird) to cram into the final manuscript.
We’re talking about the origins of ancient artifacts, the forgotten history of specific regions, and the gritty reality of the Underworld’s economy. These aren’t just “fun facts”—they provide the texture and weight that make this world feel authentically lived-in.
It’s a reward for the obsessives who actually pay attention to the details. The best part: It’s included with the purchase of the novel (no extra cost).
Cross has the one thing most coveted by all the spirits of the underworld: his memories of a life before death. Unlike the other wandering souls, he remembers his family and loved ones, how he died and who he is.
There is a bounty on his head for his head and all the memories that come with it. He is hunted by gruesome hunchbacked demons, a fallen angel, ferocious hellhounds and demonic animal-hybrid creatures.
We follow him on his journey through the underworld amiss the eerily mystifying realms of Xilbaba, Vinsuale and Amenthes, among countless more. However, there is more to this book than what is written on the back cover.
Burn in Hades is not simply a novel about `The Man Who Remembers’ seeking a normal afterlife on his quest to erase his memories in the river of Paradise. That is only half the story.
Burn in Hades is written from the point of view of three characters: Cross – an unforgiving soul who died in the late nineteenth century; Raven – a stoic fallen angel with rapturous black wings, neither at peace among the demons or among the blessed; and Diamond Tooth – the beautiful and deadly demon of pain and suffering. All three wish to escape the underworld and seek a rare astrolabe that will unlock the gate that leads to the realm of the living…but they have no idea they need each other to complete their goal.
Michael Martin links the underworlds of different cultures, creating `realms’ within his layered hell, as a multi-cultural and modern salute to Dante’s Inferno. He writes with an enthusiasm for detail. His descriptive passages and fast-paced style certainly keep the story moving, but can at times leave you out of breath. At certain points in the novel, I found myself asking, “Wait, where am I?” and just when I thought certain characters had accomplished one task, Martin switches the plotline to something more dynamic, as if the characters realized what they wanted was not enough.
—Faye T. Knight
Fantasy novels? Featuring the Greek Underworld? Oh my god must read
Kind of an odd book but I really enjoyed it. A story of a man’s attempt find redemption in Hades (Hell), and not in the way one might expect. I think it is really worth a read, funny, sad and just a little uplifting (not too much though).
Naming his protagonist “Cross” in a novel about Hades is definitely a tease. And given that his path remains a rocky road, the ever-stubborn Cross hasn’t experienced much personal growth along the way, leaving Salvation an ever-distant goal. Cross is in Hell, but whose
Hell is it, and by whose definition. Is it Dante’s? Is it someone else’s perception? Or is it truly Cross’ own interpretation that has created the habitat that he shares with others? We find Cross about to undertake a selfless mission — rescuing his neighbor, who has been eaten, perhaps, by something that travels underground.
Along the way, Cross has several adventures, meets some lovely ladies, and continues to mull breaking into Heaven. We meet characters from his past, and characters from other religions, some hindering, some helping him to meet his goal, as Cross continues blithely on in his quest. Layer upon layer of ambiguity and puzzles confound us probably more than they do Cross. After all, this becomes our journey as well.
Even if Cross hasn’t learned anything by the end of his journey, that can’t be said for the rest of us. Cross suffers so that we may learn.
I’m looking forward to the next two installments, but will have to dive in again to see if I can pick up anything else as I re-read. Like every great book, there’s always a different perspective, and who is to say what is right? It was a pleasure to find a first time author who had obviously developed a world, a backstory, and an editor. Kudos.
—Laurie Davis
Michael Martin takes his reader into an epic journey with Cross through Hades, hell, underworld or similar concepts come into mind: Burn in Hades. Michael Martin is an author of fantasy who believes magic should always be magical because it’s, well, magic. It’s Martin Jr. first book in The Life After Death Trilogy.
Martin combines names and ideas about devils, demons, torture, first and second death, Charon, punishment to create his version of hell. Cross never forgives because he never forgets. He is the only one that remembers. Glimpses of his earthly – sinful – life as Charles Hill are interwoven in his journey to reach the last Toran and climb up to paradise.
Cross didn’t drink from the river Lethe which causes complete forgetfulness. Not that he’s not haunted by evil spirits trying to hinder him from reaching his goal and steal memories. Paradise is guarded by a great wall that annihilates any soul that gets too close. No member of the damned has ever broken in. Creatures like gimlets, squals, Nothings cannot be trusted.
The storyline is full of skulls, death, evil and unworthy friends. From the Egyptian Duat to an updated version of the Greek Charon to the magical calabash tree of the Mayan Xibalba. It’s the right place to throw “what the hell’s” and “who the hell” into conversations.
Cross (Charles Hill), as well as other souls named Ms Blankface, The Raven, Clem Balfour (Tivoli) all are described in detail. Avoiding explicit Christian, Muslim, Jewish or pagan beliefs, it’s the last Toran (Torah meets Qur’an) they’re looking for. Objects are weapons and kind of money. Of course there are weapons, but mostly without any damage at all. Second death has to be a special occassion. Praying is done to The Great Goddess. Only once in the book God is mentioned, maybe an editorial mistake. The regions in the underworld are worked out on a great map. It’s the fantasy aspect that keeps the reader entertained and engaged. Will Cross be the one to open up the way to paradise?
—Susan P. Sipal (about a year after the first read-through.)
Enter The Vaudeverse
Join my outrageously original email list and consider yourself ‘kidnapped’ for future Vaudeverse adventures and occasional rebelliousness.
You’re agreeing to receive DAILY dispatches of:
The Artifacts (Short Fiction) The Origin Story (Cruise Ship Confessions) The Blueprint (Commentary & Essays) Blatant Sales Pitches of my books and private community in EVERY DAILY email
Plus, you get these two bonuses:
12 FREE Chapters of my fantasy novel Burn In Hades (Book 1 of the Vaudeverse Saga) Dialogue Directly With Me As You Read
You’ve been warned
(in the best way 😉).
diagnostic.“run ( –final ); OUTPUT: “Stable”
// Marketing protocols terminated.
> portal.“close ( timer=3s );
You’re still here?
Good. That means the Curator didn’t scrub you. Yet.
The portal is closing. The white void of the sales copy is dissolving back into the aether, and the Fourth Wall is bricking itself back up.
If you punched your ticket back there, I’ll see you on the inside.
Check your inbox for the Verification Beacon—without it, the Hyperagents won’t let you past the perimeter.
If you didn’t sign up… well, enjoy the “real” world. I hear the physics are reliable, but the plot is terribly slow.
Go on, Voyager. The stories are waiting.
Try not to break anything.
(A pause)
Actually… break everything. It’s more fun that way.
const copyright = 2026 ; const owner = “Michael Martin” ;
// All rights reserved across all dimensions.
view.“terms_of_reality ();
view.“privacy_policy ( “No_Spying” );
>> END_OF_LINE_