Ken Allen Super Sleuth

Eighteen years ago, Ken Allen played the famous fictional superspy in Near Death, a movie so bad it was never meant to be seen. Since then, Ken has faded into cult obscurity, but when his celebrated successor is killed in the same ghastly fashion as the villain in Near Death, Ken is cast as the prime suspect.

The name is Allen. Ken Allen. These days, Ken Allen is a nobody. But once upon a time, his name was Brand. Jove Brand. Eighteen years ago, Ken Allen played the famous fictional superspy in Near Death, a movie so bad, it was never meant to be seen. Since then, Ken has faded into cult obscurity, but when his celebrated successor is killed in the same ghastly fashion as the villain in Near Death, Ken is cast as the prime suspect.

When the actors who play iconic superheroes in big screen blockbusters start dying on set, Ken Allen, failed actor and neophyte detective, answers the call after the blame falls on effects expert Ray Ford, Ken’s oldest friend. But the deaths are not accidental. Someone is killing heroes. Maybe for love, maybe for money. Maybe both. Ken Allen finds himself outmatched and outgunned when he learns that Ray Ford’s banished apprentice makes weapons that are anything but props. No one is safe, including Ken’s estranged son, who grew up worshipping the father who never knew he existed.

The hit TV show, The Lands Beyond, has become a cultural phenomenon, influencing fashion and baby name trends. Its creator, R. R. Reynard, masterminds the story each season, pitting the cast against each other in a toxic, kill or be killed, environment. But Reynard has even greater ambitions. He’s formed a feudalistic society of superfans who are willing to do anything to rise in the ranks and be officially canonized as a character on The Lands Beyond.