Burn In Hades (10th Anniversary Edition)
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 10th 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.
Story Description
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.
Meet Michael Martin,
The Author of the Vaudeverse Saga
I never set out to be a writer. “Fantasy author” was never on my roadmap.
My life used to be a whirlwind of technical and engineering pursuits. I even worked on cruise ships for four years, 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 this series of fantasy novels popped into my head waaaaaaayyyyy back in 2004, a full five years before I finally started working on it.
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.
It turns out writing isn’t just a passion for me; It’s my wonderfully unhinged life mission. It’s how I maintain my sanity and do work that feels genuine and exhilarating.
For me, creativity is a lifeline. When I’m not actively creating, I can feel a part of myself start to wither. And after decades of working in career fields that crushed my creative spirit, I realized that creative expression is as essential to me as breathing.
But I’m not some literary genius churning out trendy tropes. I’m a self-proclaimed “professional fun-haver” who’s building a world that demands to be written.
Your Ideal Entry Point into the Vaudeverse Saga
The Vaudeverse Saga is the series title for a set of fantasy novels by me, Michael Martin.
And I’m warning you now … forget everything you think you know about fantasy.
Seriously, grab that rulebook you’ve been clinging to, set it on fire, and then use the ashes to draw a map to your next adventure.
Because the Vaudeverse Saga isn’t your average series. It’s a brazen act of creative defiance.
I don’t write these stories for the masses, and frankly, I don’t write for average people.
I write for you—the person who craves a genre-bending, brain-tickling vibe that’s less of a tidy package and more of a captivating, exhilarating ride.
You’re about 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 do get their hands dirty with a whole lot of brutal action in blockbuster set-pieces, my characters aren’t just punching their way to the resolution.
I mean, let’s be real … they do be doing that sometimes.
But their journeys are also grounded in a 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 hopefulness as heroes triumph over evil, proving that hope can shine even in the most shadowed 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 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.
Congratulations, you’ve just stumbled upon your next rabbit hole.
Warning: May Cause Obsessive Reading & Questioning of Reality
Your Adventure Starts in Your Inbox 💌
Look, I’m just going to be blunt.
This isn’t a fluffy, “get a free chapter and then vanish” kind of list.
This isn’t where I send you a generic newsletter with links to blog posts you’ve already seen. If that’s what you want, you’re in the wrong place. Go back to your bland, corporate-algorithm-driven inbox.
I’m sure it’s a blast.
My emails are a different breed entirely. They’re a chaotic, off-the-cuff, slightly unhinged portal directly into my brain.
It’s a place where I’m not just selling a book, but sharing the bizarre, behind-the-scenes reality of what it’s like to build a world with my bare hands.
Remember that time I almost became a rapper, but then my hard drive died and I spiraled into an abyss of depression? Yeah, we talk about that kind of stuff.
Because my stories—and what I send you—grow from a unique vision and voice that values authenticity over what’s trendy.
I’m talking about unedited rants about the state of literature.
I’m talking about sharing my “bad” ideas that are so absurdly specific they might actually be genius.
I’m talking about stories that feel less like a polished product and more like a memory I’m frantically trying to jot down before it’s lost to the aether.
These emails are an act of quiet rebellion in a culture of speed and automation. They’re weird, they’re witty, and they are unapologetically me.
So, if you’re a seeker of the spectacularly weird, and you’re ready to dive headfirst into a sprawling, brain-tickling, and truly unconventional adventure, then and only then should you dare to sign up.
You’ve been warned (in the best way).
And look, you’re the captain of your own destiny here; you can unsubscribe from these dispatches from the vibrantly weird any time your heart desires.
(But seriously, why would you? Your future self is practically begging for more joy, more wonder, more of this exhilarating escape.)