Jon Hollins / Jonathan Wood Books In Order

Publication Order of The Dragon Lords Books

Publication Order of Arthur Wallace Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Author Jonathan Wood is an Englishman living in New York. There is a story that involves falling in love and failing out of medical school, and in the end it worked out for the best anyway. And even he admits that the medical community as a whole is much better off without him. So really, the less said about the whole thing, the better.

Barnesandnoble.com listed “No Hero” as one of the twenty best paranormal fantasies of the past decade. The novel also got a rave review out of Charlaine Harris, who said the novel was so funny that she laughed out loud. The book came highly recommended from Publishers Weekly for fans of light science fiction and urban fantasy, and said it was a funny and dark rip-roaring adventure with a ton of heart.

Under his own name, he writes the “Arthur Wallace” series of urban fantasy novels. His debut novel, called “No Hero” was released in the year 2011. Wood also publishes under the pen name of Jon Hollins, and releases the “Dragon Lords” series of fantasy books, which he started publishing in the year 2016, when “Fool’s Gold” was released.

Jon’s short fiction work has been in Chizine, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Weird Tales, and anthologies like Year One, The Book of Cthulhu 2 and The Best of Beneath Ceaseless Skies.

“No Hero” is the first novel in the “Arthur Wallace” series, which was released in the year 2011. “What would Kurt Russell do?” This is something Arthur Wallace, an Oxford police detective, asks himself quite a lot. Arthur is not a hero. He is a good cop, but prefers the heroics and action stay on the screen, being safely performed by the professionals.

Then, a secretive government agency called MI12 comes calling, and they hope to recruit Arthur in their fight against the tentacled horrors from another dimension called the Progeny. Arthur is not a hero, though. Can this every man stand up against sanity-ripping cosmic horrors?

This is a fun and fascinating dark urban fantasy, with a ton of action and some British humor. Readers enjoy reading about Arthur Wallace, who is just a normal person that is thrown into an abnormal world. The story is full of interesting characters, and a world that, despite being bleak, is exciting. The story holds your attention and has you keep on reading.

“Yesterday’s Hero” is the second novel in the “Arthur Wallace” series, which was released in the year 2012. Another day and there is another zombie T-Rex to put down. It is part of the routine for MI37 and Arthur Wallace. A zombie T-Rex is just the first of the problems that is about to roar, trample, and slaver through Arthur’s life. Before he is able to ask if he saved the world yesterday, there is a new co-director at MI37 that threatens his job. Some middle-aged Russian cyborg wizards threaten his own life. While his coworkers threaten his own sanity.

While Arthur tries to unravel a plot trying to re-enact the Chernobyl disaster in England’s capital, he has to fight a foreign occult science as well as keep the trust of his team intact. Friendships fray, events spiral way out of control, and loyalties get tested right to their breaking point.

Fans enjoyed seeing the characters get developed more fully and there is a great trajectory for the plot. Readers like that the emotional punches made in these books are earned, genuine, and not very manipulative. This is good stuff that readers want more of. Wood is not afraid of some casualties, and is a reason some enjoy reading these books.

“Anti-Hero” is the third novel in the “Arthur Wallace” series, which was released in the year 2015. Machines attack MI37 as they are attending Clyde’s funeral. Their version of Area 51 gets in touch with them about a version of Clyde (2.0) that has escaped and is on the Internet. Area 51 needs their help in catching this 2.0 and sends Agent Gran as their contact. The team tracks down a lead to a landfill in India and find 2.0 is in the mind of a child. They find that 2.0 thinks he is saving the world, but has to destroy humanity.

They go to Area 51 which gets attacked by 2.0 and the versions of Clyde they believed were working for MI37. Tabitha activates 2.1 who is able to get them out of the building, but spore zombies have destroyed New York City. They locate the gigantic ice palace 2.0 has and MI37 find it populated by odd, half vegetable life forms Clyde apparently creates with biological 3D printers. The group is split on how they should proceed. Eventually Arthur is able to find a way to save them all and repair Clyde.

These stories have characters you root for, mature emotional exchanges, and some tense changes. Even Arthur grows some balls in this one. You wind up getting hooked and have a tough time putting it down for too long. With each book it is clear that Jonathan Wood’s writing is getting better and this helps the story out immensely.

“Broken Hero” is the fourth novel in the “Arthur Wallace” series, which was released in the year 2016. How is a secret agent supposed to catch a break? If it is not some demi-god going through puberty, it is some renegade Nazi clockwork army that is going senile. Or there is a death cult in Nepal. Or the relationship problems of a battery-chewing wizard.

Arthur Wallace, agent of MI37 (Britain’s agency for dealing with the extraterrestrial, supernatural, and generally odd), must pull everything together. He must do so before the magical bomb tears all of reality apart.

These are funny stories and the characters aid the story in its progress with their very personalities. Readers felt the entire time they read this one that they felt like something bad was going to happen, it made them feel impending doom and taste of dread in their mouths the entire way through. Some like the way this one wraps things up, feeling it is a great send off for the series.